Crafting is a legit form of gameplay for many MMOG players and the guys over at BioWare know this! Today's Friday update covers Star Wars: The Old Republic crafting and other tasks that your crew will be able to perform.

Gathering Skills - As you explore planets in the galaxy, you’ll discover a variety of exotic resources and valuable pieces of information. With the right training, you and your crew will be able to scavenge for raw materials, slice computer systems, and track down valuable artifacts. The resources and information you gather can be sold on the open market for a profit, or your crew can use them to craft useful and valuable items. If you like, you can select Gathering skills for all three of the Crew Skill slots available to your team.



Crafting Skills - Whether your team gathers resources or you acquire them through other means, they’ll be the cornerstone of crafting. Depending on how you choose to specialize, your crew will be able to construct armor, weapons, implants, or other types of useful items and gear. You can use these items yourself or put them up on the open market for profit. You’ll receive Crew Skill reports even while you’re away from the ship, and if one of your companions returns with the schematics for a valuable item, you can assign someone else to start crafting the item right away on the ship’s workstation without having to return to the ship! Crafting skills are very specialized disciplines; for your three Crew Skills slots, you’ll be able to select one Crafting skill for your crew to master.



Mission Skills - Mission skills are a unique addition to thevCrew Skills system. With these skills, you send companions from your crew across the galaxy on various missions to recover information, hunt down loot, or complete other goals to bring you rewards. When you use a mission skill, you’ll select a companion, choose a mission from an ever-changing pool, and send that companion out after the prize.



You can choose from a variety of mission skills – is your crew into conducting research? Participating in diplomatic missions? Trading in illicit goods? There are many options, each with their own set of benefits and rewards. Some can even earn you light or dark side points. As with the other skills, your companions complete these missions on their own time and bring the rewards back when they’re done. Any number of your Crew Skills can be a Mission skill, so get ready to put your team to work!

To get more info on the crew skills and to check out the nifty video showcasing these features, please visit the official SWTOR website.