The Old Republic

Just when I thought I was out, they drag me back in (thanks Gatling). So, I’m a couple months into playing Star Wars: The Old Republic, and I must say that I’m having fun.  I’m also surprised that Jill is having a great time too.  Seeing as I have my Sith Assassin dutifully farming dailies and I have a stable of alts, spanning all the classes within the Imperial Empire (my legacy even expands to the Republic as well), I thought I’d spend a few bytes giving my evaluation of the game and the associated classes.

Overall, I think that Bioware did a good job of bringing the Star Wars universe to life.  The addition of voice acting and animations to questing gives you a personal investment in your character that you really didn’t get in other MMOs.  The game is more casual as MMOs go and that’s not a bad thing.  Also, crafting is interesting (now, only if they would make it useful).  The bottom line is that I’m having a lot of fun and think that SWtOR is a good waste of time.  I also like the fact that you can get ‘orange’ armor at lower levels and use that armor throughout the game by upgrading mods/enhancements/armor.  That way you can keep the same look on your character throughout much of the game.

The game also lets you collect 5 ‘companions’ during your journey.  I really enjoy having a NPC that complements my skills and can help me solo any quest line if I so desire.  I’ve also been having more fun in PVP than I thought I’d be having.  There are some very well written companions, and some that, well, could stand to be re-tooled.  My favorites are; Mako (the first Bounty Hunter companion, a cute, plucky healer companion that you’ll use for the entire game), Blizz (the Bounty Hunter’s Jawa companion.. oh so cool), Vette (the Warrior’s first companion, a spunky Twi’lek with some of the best writing for a companion), Andronikos Revel (a pirate companion for the Assassin class, voiced by Steve Blum, who is in countless anime series… Which Hunter Robin, GTO, and Cowboy Bebop to name a few).

The classes are interesting.  My main is a tank spec’d Assassin, and I really do enjoy that class.  Where else can you have a light armor tank that totally survives at his/her job.  As a side note, you can get a full set of light ‘orange’ armor at level 14 for the Sith Inquisitor lines (Sorcerer and Assassin).  If you have a female character then she can wear a steel bikini for the majority of the game (Imperial Dancer’s Outfit).

Okay, so here’s my thumbnail on each class:

Sith Inquisitor:

Assassin – A solid class that can spec tank or dps.  Currently, the tank spec is probably superior.   Think of this class as the Ret Paladin in WoW, but with stealth and better tanking skills.

Sorcerer – The primary healer class (debatable, since other classes have healing trees) in the game.  All in all, a good ranged dps or healer.

Sith Warrior:

Juggernaut – Jill just started up a Jug and is loving it.  Gatling’s main is a Jug and he enjoys that class as well.  This is your basic heavy armor tank.  They also have a dps line.  Really it’s a solid class.

Marauder – This is a pure dps fighter class, limited to medium armor.  I found it a little squishy, but honestly haven’t given it a fair shakedown.  My Marauder is stuck as my Auction House mule.

Bounty Hunter:

Mercenary – I love my Merc.  She is a runnin’ gunnin’ death machine.  Any class with a skill called ‘Death From Above’ has got to be good.  She does great in PVP and has solid dps for a heavy armor class.  Mercs also have a healing tree, so they can be effective healers as well.

Powertech – Jill is playing a Powertech and they seem solid as well.  They call them a ‘ranged tank’ which sounds weird, but kind of works.

Imperial Agent:

Sniper – Jill’s main is a Sniper and I’ve spent many an hour trying to keep her alive.  The Sniper is the squishiest class in the game.  They have a very high dps potential, but that dps depends on setting up and preparing for the situation.  The agent story line is awesome though, but this class does need some work.

Operative – The Operative is more like the classic rogue than any other class, although it does have a healing line to make it one of the more effective healers in the game.  I think the Operative is more versatile than the Sniper because it doesn’t rely on the ‘cover’ mechanic that the Sniper does.  It’s more of a run around and stab things class, which makes it very good for PVP.

The Republic classes are essentially the same ones as the Empire, but put in different clothes.  At any rate, I’ve prattled on enough.  If you are interested in playing, come over to the dark side on the Darth Brandon server.  We are in the guild Fear Machine with our mains.  Look for Hastur (me), Rhysta (Jill), or Gatling (Jim) and say hi :)  You can also find me on my stable full of Alts (all named after Great Old Ones) under the R’leyeh Legacy.