Star Wars: The Old Republic celebrates May 4 with 12x Epic Story XP Boost through this fall

Yes, today is indeed May 4th, as your Twitter timeline and a number of Chatty posts may have indicated. That means it's Star Wars Day. So of course, if anyone's going to celebrate this day, it's the folks over at BioWare and the Star Wars: The Old Republic team.

Star Wars: The Old Republic players that log into the game today will receive an M4-1S Astromech Droid. This little pet is colored in a C-3PO-style gold color, but with the distinct shape of an Astromech. Players must either join or log in before 11:59PM PDT tonight to receive this droid.

Those that stick around will also see a major XP boost. As hinted to Shacknews back in December, BioWare has heard the love for the 12x XP Boost and is bringing it back for all story instances. This will not be a one-day thing, as the boost will last until this fall.

So what's waiting for anyone that hasn't logged into the game in a while? Well, The Old Republic recently issued Game Update 3.2, bringing along with it a new storyline called "Rise of the Emperor."

"When last we left you, many of you had experienced the Shadow of Revan storyline, learning the fate of one of our favorite Force users, Revan, while also being drawn into the struggle against the now-released Emperor," lead designer Michael Backus said on the Old Republic website. "This all took place on the beautiful Yavin 4, a moon steeped in the power of the Force and protected by the fearsome Massassi. The story wasn’t over, though. While Revan’s plans didn’t come to fruition, the entire experience left some unanswered questions. And that’s where we continue our story. Many of those questions will be answered with Rise of the Emperor."

Rise of the Emperor introduces new Force-enhanced creatures, new factions like the Sixth Line, and new features. One of those features is the Outfit Designer, which allows characters to switch outfits on the fly without taking up inventory space. Fast travel is also available via Taxi Paths, while Bind Points have received an upgrade. For more on The Old Republic's latest update, check out the video below.

Star Wars: The Old Republic celebrates May 4 with 12x Epic Story XP Boost through this fall