Apr 11, 2011

Posted by in Diplomatically Immune: Jedi Consular, News | 8 Comments

Tanks A Lot, BioWare.

Unless you: live under a rock, were born yesterday, don’t know how to use the Internet or have a life (which no one has anymore, it’s lame!), then you probably know what Star Wars: The Old Republic is. If the aforementioned aren’t applicable to you and you still don’t know what SW:TOR is, then peruse around and drink it all in, noob! This game is shaping up to be pretty awesome if I do say so. And, just when I think things couldn’t get any more awesome, Friday comes and BioWare’s Georg Zoeller gives us a nice look at how the classes are turning out.

Now, to be frank, the past few Fridays weren’t that spectacular. The Jedi Knight progression video was neat but it left a lot to be desired. It was almost as if BioWare was trying to derail the hype train with their fan Fridays and re-informing certain information. It’s clear to me now, well it was always clear, so I am reassured that they know what they are doing.

Read along, read along….

I’m a kid again. I have that feeling I had when I first watched the Original Trilogy, it’s euphoric. I am ready to churn out 15, 20, even $50 a month on a game that doesn’t even have a release date. While I do want to praise BioWare, for everything I feel they are doing right, that is not this articles purpose (or the reason for my elation). I am grinning from ear to ear because the class I have chosen to play and played since the first KoTOR, the Jedi Consular, will also be an able-bodied tank.

Jedi Consular tank, what does this mean exactly? Besides the fact they are now even more awesome? It means a class that already had the options to deal damage (ranged or close quarters), heal AND stealth, can now withstand loads of face pounding! They have become one of the most versatile classes in game. Though these additions are always subject to change, BioWare does not discuss game information they may end up taking away. It’s just not their thing.

With an update of this degree and magnitude it seems that BioWare is ready to give us the goods, speculation or not. The weeks to come are going to be amazing but grueling, as we await another delicious morsel of information to satisfy our insatiable nerd brains. I’m excited and I hope you are because whether you plan on playing a Consular or not, it’s apparent that this game is in the most capable of hands.

What do you feel about Consular tanks? Is the change too ambitious? Is it awesome? Do you feel this will make other tanks less valuable?  Will you play a Consular tank? Would you let a Consular main tank a group for you? Would you choose a Consular tank over a Trooper or Knight tank?

There isn’t any game play to come to any definitive conclusion but these are some of the questions on my mind.

Leave me a comment, tell me what you think. Or, warp over to the official forums and get in on the discussions.

  1. I am guessing a shadow tank will be more based on avoidance than mitigation, given the armor type…

    • Chronium says:

      Not necessarily they could also be a heavy force defensive combat. The hope trailer would be a good example of this, blocking a lightsaber strike with the palm of her hand.

  2. I like the idea of the Jedi Consular having a Tanking role. For people that want to play a tank (gameplay perspective) and a Consular (Story perspective), they now have that option in one character roll instead of rolling 2 separate characters :)

    • DJ Shadow says:

      This is exactly my reason for wanting to play Shadow. Also, it’s slightly PvP oriented. I am much more fascinated by the storyline of the Consular, however, I don’t like playing potentially squishy characters. Therefore, the Sage wasn’t for me. I planned on Pwning..err… pouncing from the shadows with a hit-n-run type of support character, that was until last friday.

  3. It’s definitely a cool alternative to being a heavily-armored Trooper or Jedi Knight tank. I like the idea of being acrobatic and avoidance-based.

    Although, Jedi Knights usually don’t make a point of getting smacked either. I wonder if there’s actually going to be a visual difference.

  4. MrGrimord says:

    Now, why not a smuggler / IA tank tree ? I can easily imagine them tanking range targets (and only range) while they are in cover… A wall could be the best armor ever.

    • Lethality says:

      Gotta agree here, that would be something we haven’t seen before that I know of. If the Smuggler could tank, I wouldn’t have to change my class to a Shadow :)

  5. i like class versatility and hybridization options, but at what point to classes become overly hybrid? will off-tanks and off-heals have stupid high dps too? or will hybridization turn classes to the jack of all trades and masters of none? or will bioware wave their magic wand and make everything just right? or maybe im a ranting noob and dunno what im saying?

    oh, and whos ever heard of a squishy tank?

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