By John Walker on November 14th, 2011 at 10:09 am.

Would you like to play Star Wars: The Old Republic for a whole weekend? For free? See, I thought you would. EA plan a free server-stress-testing weekend in the very near future (they haven’t quite nailed down which weekend it will be yet, oddly enough), and we have 12,000 keys to give away. No, I typed that right. Twelve thousand. It’s first come, first served, and we recommend you click below right away before the rest of the internet gets wind of this.
If you’d like one, you need to make sure you’re logged into RPS (link at the top), and then head here. It will automagically give you a key, which you’ll then need to redeem at SWTOR.com before midnight on Friday 18th. Do that, and you’ll receive an email letting you know when the beta is taking place to whichever address you have associated with your SWTOR account. (Which of course you’ll need to play the game.) Simple.
(By the way – if you’ve previously registered on the SWTOR site, and have received an email from SWTOR telling you you’re invited to the weekend, you don’t need one of these codes.)


I’ll take four, please. Thank you!
report
Erm, delete this comment please.
report
I’m ashamed to admit that i can not find where to put in my beta tester key on their darn black on blue site….
report
Minor remark: those who registered for Beta on TOR website before 11th November shouldn’t get the keys from RPS or any other service – leave them to others. You will be allowed to precipitate anyway. You should already get an e-mail about it :) (an e-mail that made many people, including me, confused regarding whatever I’m in already or I’m not… but I read from TOR admin that ppl will get the access after some time if they registered already)
Now… we wait. :)
Personally I can’t wait for this – want to see the game in action. It’ll help me decide whatever buy this game or not cause recently I jump between NOGO and GETIT states all the time – some trailers make me think that this game is a crap looking and working worse than KotOR2 did back few years ago, while other trailers make me think that it’s a huge marvel, one of very few amazing games of this decade… honestly: I don’t know what to think about it. Good that they plan to make this beta. I’ll get a chance to make up my mind.
report
Thanks
report
Well a friend of mine signed up for testing a few months ago but didn’t receive the email. So I got him a key. Don’t want to be left alone in the beta..
report
The email is especially odd if you are currently in beta testing .
report
Can’t wait to precipitate. I think I am a bit right now in excitement.
report
If I can get the launcher to download this time I’ll give it a shot………
report
I got my key and tried to create an account. Shame my user name contains inappropriate language. Oh well, I had other things to do this weekend anyway.
report
Thanks!
report
thaaaaaaaaaaaanks RPS!
report
Cool, now I’ll be able to see what the lack of fuss is about. Thanks!
report
What if we’ve signed up for beta at Swtor.com a while back, and recently received an email form Bethesda saying we’ve been selected for beta participation – do we still need these keys? Or will we receive our own keys and additional info soon?
report
No, you’re good. I’ll add a note.
report
Bethesda? Wait…WHAT?
report
Lol, Bioware – sorry :D
report
Epic! Thanks a ton :D
report
Did you on purpose announce this while Reddit is down? :)
report
Hah! Grab your key before the great unwashed arrive.
report
Why thank you kind sirs, wouldn’t mind an opportunity to look at this before I decide why it’s crap and ignore for all time.
report
I can’t see where to go to actually redeem the key. :/
Edit: Never mind, found it. You have to go to Account Management and then Redeem Keys.
report
Thanks for directing me, I was unable to find it either…Sneaky BioWare!
Edit: In the announcement on the SW:TOR site, it’s said that the websites who give keys away, would have instructions as how to redeem them. Sneaky John!
report
It seems that i redeemed, “Message not found” well that would mean lots of fun!
report
God bless you, sir.
report
Thanks! For me it says “Code Redemption” instead of Redeem Keys, but I never would have found it without you.
report
Thanks, me too had some problems finding it.
report
Yeah I’m getting ‘message not found as well. Patience…failing…enthusiasm…….waining….don’t….really……like…MMORPGs….anyway!
Edit: It worked – just took a bit of LMB spamming. I now love MMORPGs and all they stand for.
report
You, sir, are awesome.
report
All hail Horace the grand provider!
report
Signed up!
I think I’ll start as a Sith Inquisitor. Enough playing the good guy, I want to be an Evil Space Sorcerer! Mwahahahaha!
report
From the official forums –
These instructions only apply if you have secured a Beta Test Weekend Code from a media partner site. Click here for the list of participating sites.
Congratulations on getting a Star Wars: The Old Republic Beta Code for our upcoming Beta Testing Weekend! Now you need to redeem your Beta Code before 11:59PM CST on Friday, November 18th to get into this Beta Testing Weekend! To help you along, we’ve provided these easy-to-understand steps that will guide you through the process of redeeming your code:
Navigate your web browser to http://www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com
Login to your http://www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com account by clicking the “Login” button at the top right corner of the website.
a. If you do not have a StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com account, click “Sign Up” and fill in the appropriate information.
Sign up for our Game Testing Program by going to http://www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com/tester, and accept the Game Testing Agreement. This will enable your account for the Beta Testing Weekend.
Ensure that your computer meets the minimum system requirements to run Star Wars: The Old Republic. You can see the minimum system requirements for yourself in our Frequently Asked Questions.
Make your way to http://www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com/redeembetacode and redeem your Beta Code.
Congratulations! Your account is now ready to take part in our Beta Testing Weekend. We want to thank you for taking part in this Beta Testing Weekend, and we hope you enjoy your time playing Star Wars: The Old Republic!
report
RPS i love uuuuuuuuuuuuu :D
report
Awesome, I redeemed the key
My only doubt now is, is it possible to start downloading the client already? cause I dont see it at the SWTOR website
report
Same for me, I can’t find how to download it. Would be nice if it was possible to start downloading before the actual short event, for people with slower connections.
report
Hear hear.
2mb sucks, I don’t want to spend the weekend downloading the damn client.
report
checking the FAQs apparently it will show here http://www.swtor.com/tester when its avaliable for download
edit: I have slow download rate aswell so suspecting no testing for me until sunday unless I get to start downloading soon :p
report
It’s more than 18 gigabytes. Are you really sure you can/want to download it?
Can you do it in time?
Me, not… to all of the questions.
report
Give this link a go, but I have a feeling it won’t work…
Try and start it as soon as you can. The download is mammoth, over 20GB.
report
Ah, the glorious perks of working at night is getting first crack at things like this.
report
Or living in a different time zone…
report
I had never had a reason to register with RPS before but in order to get the key, I did.
In the registration form, I was prompted to reply to the question: “Who is the protagonist of the Half Life series?”
Upon entering my most serious response of “#care”, I was informed that it is incorrect…
Thank you for your attention :P
report
Must..Resist..Urge..To..Get..key..Twice..
report
Hmm. Although I used mine on SWTOR.com, it seems you can also redeem it in Origin itself.
report
Can’t wait ,………………… tnx RPS .
report
Thanks, RPS!
ThRPS
report
Thank you RPS. You’re one of the reasons PC gaming still remains the best thing in this crazy world.
report
It’s a close thing next to sex.
report
Nice! Thanks a lot, RPS!
report
Thank You So Much!
report
Looks promising:
By redeeming this code, you are now registered for the following:
Message not found
Well, let’s hope I’m in anyway :)
EDIT: Seems like I got it right so …
EDIT2: Hmm.. ok, I’m in but how I’m supposed to get that client? They will inform about that later on?
report
Wow, looks like there’s a point in gettin up before noon after all. Thanks RPS!
report
I would love one, if there are still any going!
report
Thanks for this guys :)
report
Can I have one please, Mr RPS? Thanks a bunch.
report
How to see the game at it’s very worst, surely?
“Come try a game which we’re trying to break with a sheer INVASION of new players(*)”
(*) idiots with only 2 days to cause chaos…
Still, if it grabs you in that short time, it’s not a bad thing is it?
report
Obviously a volume test. Ironing the bugs was earlier, now is to check how servers handle a bigger amount of players. As such, they only need a short period of time, and they are sure to push people to connect at the same time frame, more or less.
Because once again, beta =/= demo.
report
You’ll be seeing the beta client of course. However, most bug fixes will already be in the works for the inevitable release day patch. So whilst you won’t be seeing the final game, it will still be fun.
report
I want to thank RPS, Google reader and whoever created rss-feeds, otherwise i might have missed it.
Thank you, thank you…
Heh, had to resist the urge to write Morgan Freeman at the registering form question about half life.
report
Anyone else not receiving validation e-mail from the SWTOR site after registering?
EDIT: nvm, just took a while to come through. Although I did re-request it.
report
Me :(
Edit : Got mine now.
report
NIce one :)
report
I have a vague feeling this test is going to be a catastrophe considering the servers haven’t been that great even before inviting a million new players to test it.
Does the game use instancing or good old wow-like system, whatever that method is called?
report
Twelve Thousand? Yeah :) Now that sounds like a proper stress test.
Sadly, I’ll be sunning my pink arse in Cyprus. Not a bad thing though, I’m looking forward to the game without having the usual ‘beta fatigue’ for a change (although I did swipe a key for one of my guildies who hasn’t got one yet).
But cheers RPS :))
report
Me please. Thank you RPS!
report
Ta ducks.
report
Thanks RPS! I’m looking forward to giving the tyres a damn good kicking here (there are tyres, right? Space tyres?)
report
Thanks alot, I missed the previous sign ups on EA’s site.
When i saw IGN giving their keys only to paying subscribers i hoped so much that they won’t be the only platform with keys. Now you showed up :)
report
I’ve registered and tried to redeem the key, and I get this:
Any one got this? Or any idea what this means?
report
If all the keys have run out, you’ll see a message below telling you so, and sadness if you look in a mirror:
LOL
report
Congratulations!
You have successfully redeemed the following code:
COED GOEHS HEER
You are now registered for the following items:
Message not found
El oh el.
report
Wow, RPS, just wow. Thank you so much. We’ve talked about how to play beta with my mate only yesterday.
report
I was registered and received the email, but when I tried to download the client, first, it started with a 2 gigs video (or so it said), then it decided to start downloading 16 gigs client. Given that my top speed for most of the day is 50 kbps, I said, screw it, I don’t even like what I saw until now.
I don’t want to spend 8 days to download it.
Seriously 18 gigs?
Why don’t they take the Guild Wars route, to download only the part that are necessary, and then make the player download the other parts as he moves?
report
I… can’t be bothered to sign up, honestly.
Is it alright if I post my code here for grabbing?
report
I just redeemed my code on Origin, i hope that’s as good as making an account at SWTOR.com.
report
Got it. You guys are awesome. Thanks.
report
Terrific folks. Thanks for posting this.
report
Much appreciated guise.
report
Why thankyou RPS!
report
Guess who lives in a country where the weekends are Thursday and Friday?
report
everytime i click on click here it tells me to log on then wants me to update me profile D:
report
Same here. I always land on my profile page after logging in at RPS, and have to open RPS in another tab, where I am then (what kind of mischief is this?) not shown as logged in. And although I can obviously type comments, as soon as I click on “Login” I am prompted to login again (which I already am). Is this normal or just some crazy mistake that thought to himself this morning: “Hey, you know what? This is as good a day as any to mess up the login system of RPS a bit.”
report
I would enjoy experiencing massive server lag. So, if I could be one of the hive minds proud 12k, I’d consider contributing 2 tins of biscuits this year.
report
Is this going to require me to use origin? Probably should have read that before I applied for a key.
report
Me too. I dont wanna use origin.
report
No, doesn’t require Origin.
report
How come that, when logging in to RPS, I always(!) land on my profile update page? Also I’m not really shown as “logged in” in the upper right. When I click on “Login” (although I am already logged in) it prompts me to login again. BUT I AM! See, login program, I am typing this comment! This means I surely am logged in, doesn’t it? So I guess my question is: What is going on? ;)
report
trying
report
Give me some key please.
report
Used the code I got on this site and said it had already been used. Cool! That was a waste of twenty minutes.
report
If there’s one left, i’d like one, Thanks in advance:)
report
I’ll take one – thanks!
report
Thanks!
report
Thanks, RPS.
report
I’d love a beta key. Long time reader, don’t comment often but you guys do fantastic work.
report
Thanks for the key.
It seems that if you register for SWTOR.com using the email address tied to your Origin account then the Origin password gets updated. So if you try and run BF3 a bit later and get ‘cannot log in to Origin’ that’s why (i.e. if you use the SWTOR password to log in to Origin it will work)
report
Please send one my way!
report
I would very much appreciate one of your beta keys, thank you.
report
No thanks. Thanks for the offer though.
report
Thank you
report
Will I have to install Origin to play this?
report
Ta Muchly!
report
Hey.
May I get a code for this please. I will treasure it as much as my dog. :D
report
I press the “Enter a Code” button @ https://account.swtor.com/user/codes but nothing happens, it just reloads the page… :(
report
Oh bollocks.
I deleted the email saying that I had to update my password, and now this. I’m not recieving the email letting me change it after I selected forgot my password. I’ll just give my key to a friend.
report
I press the “Enter a Code” button and nothing happens… Just reloads the page :(
Is it happening to anyone else? Is this restricted to a list of countries or what?
report
Please, sir, may you relieve my tortured soul with a beta key? Thank you kindly
report
Awesome, Thanks RPS.
report
Thank you RPS, you were my only hope.
report
Thanks, RPS!
report
When can i get may key?
report
Got my key, went to login, didn’t let me. It was trying to merge it with my EA account, but failing horribly, getting things like my birthdate wrong but refusing to let me change it. Then I saw that getting Origin was also required. I’d love to get an early look at the game but I honestly think I’ll pass. Thanks for the keys though, really nice thing you guys did.
report
I hope I get one of these. Most anticipated game.
report
Me too please. Thank you RPS!
report
Awesome RPS!
So once you had a reason for me to make a account and comment to boot ^_^
report
May one have a code to partake in one’s beta?
report
Shame they buried their system requirements so well. I grabbed a beta key before I finally found what amounts to little more than a footnote in the pre-order FAQ that Mac OS X is not supported. : (
report
People just don’t read, do they? There’s a link in the post to click. Simple as that.
report
Now, I only felt the need to sign up for RPS now but I require some assistance D:
The site says my key has already been used :S What do?
report
Thanks RPS
report
thx RPS!!!
report
Thank you RPS!
report
Thanks RPS
I saved the betakey in a yellow-note on my phone yesteerday
today my beta-code was at first invalid when typing manually on keyboard in reedem field at https://account.swtor.com/user/codes and i cecked it 3 times but it still didnt work.
i had to Ctrl copy/paste it from RPS to work. haha weird.
:-)
report
bump
report
woot for WOT. I would love a key.
report
bump
report
Hey, where do I get the client, cant seem to find it anywhere :D
report
Thank you!
report
If their website is running this badly already, I fear for the stability of the game servers. Absolutely awful.
report
If this is how well their website works now, I fear for the stability of the game servers. Absolutely awful.
report
Wow! Nice.
report