The Trooper is a very tactical class, with an exceptional amount of tools available to take down opponents, mitigate damage and heal allies. The Commando advanced class makes use of the Assault Cannon, an over-sized blaster that requires two hands to wield, for both damage and healing. We have created a guide detailing this advanced class, its roles and how to play them most effectively after the jump.
Note: Audio quality on the following videos is not ideal. Companions list could possibly be deemed spoiler territory, if that's a problem, don't scroll down to the bottom of the post.
If you were in general game testing for any length of time, then you probably heard of the clear of Eternity Vault by Republic Justice, or encountered them in Star Wars: The Old Republic's Warzones. Known as Shards of Alderaan (guild site) for release, the Republic guild originally formed in Star Wars Galaxies and today's membership comprises of various MMO backgrounds. Darth Hater continues its Guild Interview Series (Ensidia, Afterlife) with Republic Justice / Shards of Alderaan members Air, CJ, Rookie, and Nyan to disccuss their overall impressions of testing endgame, and PVP class balance.
Arguably the greatest rift in the Star Wars: The Old Republic community came from the possibility, now reality, of four of the eight classes as force users. This discussion spawned shortly after the Sith Warrior was released and described as a melee focused class, and only grew in intensity. Having nearly a month to think about this design choice, we felt it was important to weigh in with our opinion.
Well, I will finally go there, one of the big questions... Instancing, how will it be handled?
Call them Flashpoints, Dungeons, Raids, or Instances, what it means is it's CLOSED for you and your party, without interruption. Who wouldn't like the option to go into single player-esque mode? You are minding your own business, until a lightsaber is shoved through your stomach, or someone thinks that it's a great idea to kill the quest giver (assuming the possibility). Sure, you run into those that choose to disrupt your game time, rather then lend a hand, but what about those who are playing to make friends?
Instancing, the closed world, single player, leave me alone time. You can get a lot done in this time, without worrying about anyone bothering you, or needing to rely on your buddy to log on and give you a hand. But if this is what you want, why not play a single player game? You will get the same immersion, and do not have to pay a monthly fee. But without a monthly fee, the game you are playing will hardly be updated, and you might possibly be bored in no time, which comes to a predicament: Switch to MMO, or deal with it and wait for another big game. I have had my fun in single player games, but I usually try to zoom through them as fast as possible, so I could justify my purchase by beating it, but I fight through a lot of the boring game play. I guess I am just MMO oriented now.
But what about those who are interested in the MMO portion of the game? The non-instanced, mass amount of players in sight, ask for help anywhere anytime. From the footage we have seen, the flashpoint of the Sith and Bounty Hunter, they are in a flashpoint. Which could be a major story quest, in that case my opinion is that it SHOULD be closed. Major Quests, certain party quests, raids, some but not all dungeons, should be instanced. Those parts most likely offer massive information in your class quests. But a good bulk of us are looking forward to an open world to have fun and meet people in
So my question is, how do you think instancing should be handled? My statement of the major quests, raids, etc. Or do you want a more closed game?
Call them Flashpoints, Dungeons, Raids, or Instances, what it means is it's CLOSED for you and your party, without interruption. Who wouldn't like the option to go into single player-esque mode? You are minding your own business, until a lightsaber is shoved through your stomach, or someone thinks that it's a great idea to kill the quest giver (assuming the possibility). Sure, you run into those that choose to disrupt your game time, rather then lend a hand, but what about those who are playing to make friends?
Instancing, the closed world, single player, leave me alone time. You can get a lot done in this time, without worrying about anyone bothering you, or needing to rely on your buddy to log on and give you a hand. But if this is what you want, why not play a single player game? You will get the same immersion, and do not have to pay a monthly fee. But without a monthly fee, the game you are playing will hardly be updated, and you might possibly be bored in no time, which comes to a predicament: Switch to MMO, or deal with it and wait for another big game. I have had my fun in single player games, but I usually try to zoom through them as fast as possible, so I could justify my purchase by beating it, but I fight through a lot of the boring game play. I guess I am just MMO oriented now.
But what about those who are interested in the MMO portion of the game? The non-instanced, mass amount of players in sight, ask for help anywhere anytime. From the footage we have seen, the flashpoint of the Sith and Bounty Hunter, they are in a flashpoint. Which could be a major story quest, in that case my opinion is that it SHOULD be closed. Major Quests, certain party quests, raids, some but not all dungeons, should be instanced. Those parts most likely offer massive information in your class quests. But a good bulk of us are looking forward to an open world to have fun and meet people in
So my question is, how do you think instancing should be handled? My statement of the major quests, raids, etc. Or do you want a more closed game?
Companion characters have always been a trademark of Biowares games. From KOTOR to Mass Effect, companion characters have given players someone to give them support, loyalty, and romance (for all you lonely guys and gals out there). After Petes interview with Leo, we definitely know that companion characters will be in SWTOR. This formula has worked throughout Biowares long history of single-player RPGs, but how will this transfer to the MMO stage?
In a typical MMO there is a progression of quest difficulty, which ranges from simple solo-able quests, to harder group quests, to raid quests, which are generally the most difficult. Companion characters would be a massive help in solo quests, but when you get in a group situation is when things get tricky. In a group that would mean double the people to heal, and more micromanaging for players. If anyone has ever done a simple instance you know that if one thing goes wrong in a pull everyone can get screwed. The same goes for raids: the more people and NPCs the harder it is to coordinate during a big boss fight.
Companion characters could not only have an effect on PvE but on PvP as well. If each companion is different with different abilities, it seems that Bioware would have a lot more work on balancing.
Bringing in companion characters isnt all a bad thing; they bring a whole new level of depth and meaning to your story. If you kill the captain, not only will his family hate you, but your companion could be horrified at your actions and leave you forever.
So whats your view on companion characters? Should they be there for the whole game, or only for leveling? Or they should be there for PvE, and not for PvP?
In a typical MMO there is a progression of quest difficulty, which ranges from simple solo-able quests, to harder group quests, to raid quests, which are generally the most difficult. Companion characters would be a massive help in solo quests, but when you get in a group situation is when things get tricky. In a group that would mean double the people to heal, and more micromanaging for players. If anyone has ever done a simple instance you know that if one thing goes wrong in a pull everyone can get screwed. The same goes for raids: the more people and NPCs the harder it is to coordinate during a big boss fight.
Companion characters could not only have an effect on PvE but on PvP as well. If each companion is different with different abilities, it seems that Bioware would have a lot more work on balancing.
Bringing in companion characters isnt all a bad thing; they bring a whole new level of depth and meaning to your story. If you kill the captain, not only will his family hate you, but your companion could be horrified at your actions and leave you forever.
So whats your view on companion characters? Should they be there for the whole game, or only for leveling? Or they should be there for PvE, and not for PvP?
The question that boggles the mind of casuals and hardcore alike, "What do I wish to do once I am max level?"
[poll id="4"]
It seems from what we are told, is that the PvE (Player Vs Environment) content will be stuffed full of shiney exploding goodness, but we have not been told much about the PvP (Player Vs Player). Will the raiding be enough to keep the hardcore players playing the content weekly, or are they looking to push them to do the, GASP, WoW thing, where you roll an alt when you get to bored. But I am not afraid to roll an alt, knowing that we are being given 200+ hours of story per class, but I do want some end game raiding And with the recent information given to us at Comic-Con, it appears classes will be able to get alignment towards the Light Side, and the Dark Side, for new abilities and what not, which could add more bulk and time to the story.
The the PvP comes in, "What if I want to PvP and not reroll? Will I be forced to reroll due to lack of people or objectives to complete?"
I do not think we need to worry, as interviews have stated, "This is Star WARS" So I am comfortable with myself knowing that BioWare is working on giving us a great PvP experience, the real question is, "What depth of conflict?" Many questions are out there and we are waiting for them to be answered, will there be PvP Planets? Objectives? Quests? Special Abilities? Titles gained through PvP? Vehicles? Spac---, nope, won't be opening that Pandora's Box. Time will tell, time will also answer these questions. I am sure BioWare will show us all these in due time, and we will all be happy.
[poll id="4"]
It seems from what we are told, is that the PvE (Player Vs Environment) content will be stuffed full of shiney exploding goodness, but we have not been told much about the PvP (Player Vs Player). Will the raiding be enough to keep the hardcore players playing the content weekly, or are they looking to push them to do the, GASP, WoW thing, where you roll an alt when you get to bored. But I am not afraid to roll an alt, knowing that we are being given 200+ hours of story per class, but I do want some end game raiding And with the recent information given to us at Comic-Con, it appears classes will be able to get alignment towards the Light Side, and the Dark Side, for new abilities and what not, which could add more bulk and time to the story.
The the PvP comes in, "What if I want to PvP and not reroll? Will I be forced to reroll due to lack of people or objectives to complete?"
I do not think we need to worry, as interviews have stated, "This is Star WARS" So I am comfortable with myself knowing that BioWare is working on giving us a great PvP experience, the real question is, "What depth of conflict?" Many questions are out there and we are waiting for them to be answered, will there be PvP Planets? Objectives? Quests? Special Abilities? Titles gained through PvP? Vehicles? Spac---, nope, won't be opening that Pandora's Box. Time will tell, time will also answer these questions. I am sure BioWare will show us all these in due time, and we will all be happy.
