Find out how to make a blaster in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Also, the Jedi Sage won the advanced class poll.

It's Friday, which means eager Star Wars: The Old Republic fans are rushing to the official site for the weekly update. Today they'll be greeted with a lengthy dev blog entry by Systems Designer Patrick Malott that focuses on the Crew Skills crafting system. He discusses the team's design approach and the role of companions, but the most noteworthy part is the reveal of the Armstech skill.

Armstech, as the name suggests, is a skill that will allow players to create a wide range of blaster pistols, blaster rifles, sniper rifles, and assault cannons. The Scavenging skill will help you collect the metals, alloys and other materials you'll need to build your weapons. You can read more about the Armstech skill after the jump.

In addition the the blog entry, BioWare announced today that the polls have closed and the name of the Jedi Consular's advanced class has officially been changed from Jedi Wizard to Jedi Sage! The winning name received 54% of the votes and has been in the lead since the poll opened last month.

Armstech details

Alright, let's get back to the Armstech skill. According to Malott, there are three quality levels for crafted blasters:

• Premium: Gathered resources and common items sold on vendors
• Prototype: Rare gathered resources and other valuable items
• Artifact: Rare resources (gathered or otherwise) and other valuable items – possibly acquired from other players

Premium quality blasters should be pretty simple to make and will be on par, or slightly better than, the weapons you earn through quests or drops. The Prototype and Artifact qualities are going to require a bit more work. Here's Malott's explanation:

"Discovering and mastering Prototype and Artifact quality blasters takes considerably longer and requires much more player dedication. In The Old Republic, we want the crafting of such items – especially at the end game levels – to be a significant accomplishment. Our goal is for players to want to seek out renowned crafters who have learned the rarest schematics. Prototype and Artifact quality blasters will be exceptional, and their appearance and effectiveness will speak to their rarity and power."

Be sure to check out his entire blog entry for more details on Crew Skills. May the Force be with you!