Today's update to the Star Wars: The Old Republic Web site is the 20th issue of the Threat of Peace Web comic. Community Manager Sean Dahlberg anticipated that this light week might upset some fans, so he emphasized in a post on the official forums that the team plans on "ending the year well."

According to Dahlberg, "we will be doing an update every Friday throughout the rest of the year, including over the holidays. And not a single one of those is a webcomic (by itself) and no Fan Fridays (although they will be returning next year... with some new facets)."

While you wait for these future updates, be sure to check out our look at the revealed classes as we try to piece together how they'll work as a team in combat.

As we watch the year coming to an end, all of us are eagerly awaiting this new decade for the predicted release of some highly anticipated MMO blockbusters. In particular, the one monster MMO that's been hogging a lot of the spotlight is BioWare's ultra-immersive, storyline driven Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO. While BioWare and EA have not yet officially confirmed a 2010 release date, other sources do suggest that they are perhaps pushing for an October 2010 unveiling.

Despite the fact that an official launch won't be seen for at least another half a year, one of the most interesting new concepts revealed for SW:TOR is its unique class mechanics and how each class will contribute to group combat, or if BioWare will even be employing that timeless MMORPG trinity of the healer, the damage dealer and the tank. Either way, we here at ZAM are so psyched about what kind of MMO SW:TOR will be that we've decided to look at some of the released classes to figure out just how they'll fit together into the jigsaw puzzle that is combat.

BioWare revealed the Imperial Agent playable class last week, so it should come as no surprise that the Empire's secret weapon was added to the HoloNet today. Described as an assassin and saboteur, Imperial Agents can strike from a distance and from the shadows, but are also capable fighting up close. HoloNet combat videos show the agent creating an energy shield for protection, paralyzing an enemy with a stun dart and calling in a satellite air strike to rain down lasers and missiles.

The agents are a master of disguise and stealth, and their "high-grade armor mesh provides protection and ease-of-movement." If you consider yourself a rogue, you're definitely going to want to check out the Imperial Agent. You can read the full description for the class after the jump and find Imperial Agent wallpapers on the official site.

Friday is always an exciting day for Star Wars: The Old Republic fans because it marks the addition of new content to the official site. Today is no exception: the next class has officially been revealed as the Imperial Agent, Senior Writer Drew Karpyshyn published a blog entry about creating the Jedi Knight storyline, and Threat of Peace #19 was released. You can read Karpyshyn's blog after the jump.

The Imperial Agent was actually announced at the Electronic Arts European Press Tour earlier this week, but Sean Dahlberg officially revealed the class in the forums today. "Imperial Agents work behind the scenes to get the work of the Empire done. Specializing in high-tech gear, the Imperial Agent always has the right tools at the right time," he said. The Imperial Agent will be added to the HoloNet next week and you can view screenshots of the class over at IncGamers.

BioWare just unveiled the next playable class in Star Wars: The Old Republic, and it's the Jedi Knight! While it should come as no surprise that you'll be able to pick up a lightsaber and fill the role of a Jedi in the upcoming MMO, this is still an exciting announcement for any Star Wars fan.

The HoloNet is filled with information on the Jedi Knight, including screenshots and videos of the class in action. The screenshots are also available in the media section of the official site, which contains two Jedi Knight wallpapers. If you want to use them as your desktop background, here they are: wallpaper #1 and wallpaper #2. Keep reading after the jump for more details on the Jedi Knight.

Master Gnost-Dural has added a new holorecord to the Jedi Archive that tells the tale of the battle of Bothawui, which was the Republic's first major victory in the war. The entire Republic fleet was waiting to take down the Imperial squadron when it arrived to seize Bothawui, which brought a much-needed ray of hope to the Republic forces.

Actually, the most inspirational event occured after the initial battle. A small force of Jedi and Republic troopers remained on Bothawui to wait for the arrival of Imperial reinforcements, and their heroic stand was enough to whittle away at the massive Imperial army to end the bloodshed in a draw.

In addition, the 18th issue of the Threat of Peace Web comic was released today. According to the announcement, the issue is "full of suspense and suspicion." Check it out to see if you agree with that statement.

The developers at Bioware just published a slew of new information on their official website, announcing the planet Balmorra to be included in the upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic. Still in development and getting closer to its beta testing phase every day, the highly-anticipated MMO is set in Star Wars' past, thousands of years before the rise of Darth Vader.

Fans can access the game's Web-based HoloNet database for info on new game elements as they're announced, like the recent Balmorra entry, which explains about the planet's "Republic-sponsored Balmorran Resistance forces [that] strive to keep the planet’s resources out of Imperial hands." The entry features lore-based information and stories about the planet, as well as new screenshots and other media. You can even check snag a couple new wallpapers featuring Balmorra's landscape, and check out the concept art that led to the planet's in-game design.

Read more about Balmorra's relevance in the SW:TOR universe after the jump, and stay tuned to our SW:TOR portal site for more news and information.

The Star Wars: The Old Republic Web site received two new updates today, and the big one is a video that details the making of Coruscant. According to the developers, players are going to see Coruscant like never before in the history of the franchise. For example, you'll get to see how the city is powered, from plumbing to electricity. Also, pockets of the city are still in distress following the Sith's sacking of Coruscant.

"This isn't just a city, it's a city world," said Rob Chestney, the manager of marketing production. "That's why we had to create just a massiveness and a depth and a vastness that you would almost get there and be astounded and feel small the first time you walked into Coruscant." The planet has no terrain, which adds to the qualities Chestney mentioned.

Also, the 17th issue of the Threat of Peace Web comic has been released. If you're interested in the game's lore, be sure to check out the issue after you watch the Coruscant video.

Writer Neil Pollner has written a dev blog entry discussing how the Sith Warrior class fits into Star Wars: The Old Republic. If you watched "A New Hope" and wanted to be Darth Vader, then now's your chance. "The Sith Warrior is about domination and control, as he seeks to utterly annihilate his enemies. No one wields a lightsaber with more devastating effect as he brings ferocity and all his rage to bear on every strike," Pollner said.

If you choose to play a Sith Warrior, you'll start out as an apprentice of a powerful Sith Lord. You'll fight against enemies of the Sith and become feared throughout the galaxy. It will be up to you to decide whether to follow your master's rules or plot to destroy him.

You can read Pollner's full dev blog entry after the jump. He seems pretty excited to play a Sith Warrior and already has Darth Vader's theme music blasting in his mind. Do you think you'll pick up a lightsaber and fight for the Empire?

As we reported, you can now sign up to test Star Wars: The Old Republic, and Community Manager Sean Dahlberg has confirmed on the official forums that the sign-ups are for Game Testing rather than a beta test. Regardless, our friends over at the Darth Hater blog have been combing through the Terms of Service agreement you have to accept to apply for a testing spot, and they've discovered that microtransactions may be a part of the game.

Terms H, I, J, and K in the agreement all deal with "points" and how BioWare controls them. Term K actually mentions a Game Store. Could these points be digital currency? It's certainly a possibility, although Darth Hater did point out that BioWare "reserves the right to add or remove points from your account without warning," which is quite different from most companies. Keep in mind this is pure speculation and the developers have not confirmed that SW:TOR will use microtransactions.

In addition, Darth Hater has gone through the Terms of Service and translated it into normal English. While it's a helpful read, please remember that this article was not written by a lawyer and should not be treated as legal advice.