Posted by Lady Republic | 4 Comments

The Smuggler’s Blues: Sneak Preview, 5 Credits Only

Introduction

“Kid, I’ve flown from one side of this galaxy to the other, and I’ve seen a lot of strange stuff, but I’ve never seen *anything* to make me believe that there’s one all-powerful Force controlling everything. ‘Cause no mystical energy field controls *my* destiny.” –Han Solo, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

Over the last couple weeks, I’ve been fortunate enough to get some hands-on time playing the Smuggler class in The Old Republic beta test, and I wanted to share some of my experiences with other readers. First, I’m going to try and keep this relatively spoiler-free as far as story and quests go – I’ll cover some general impressions, but I also don’t want to give away unexpected plot hooks.

Now that being said, I think the Smuggler leveling experience does a fantastic job – and, in fact, having played a few classes I’d argue potentially the best – at really capturing that original Star Wars feel to it. If you’re a fan of the movies, you’ll immediately recognize some iconic Han scenes as you play your Smuggler. I think the first one appears around your third quest or so – there I was, just getting the feel of my new Smuggler character and beginning the quests and then bam! There’s my Smuggler, acting in a way that was almost clip for clip from the original Star Wars: A New Hope movie.

Now for me, I loved it – after all, my decision to play a Smuggler was so I could channel a Han-type Scoundrel, and so I really enjoyed the nostalgia from being not only able to recognize certain iconic movie moments, but to actually experience my character acting them out.

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Posted by Raz | 3 Comments

The Nerfherder’s Guide To The Galaxy: Ord Mantell

From the crystal-laden caverns of Ilum to the Jundland Wastes of Tatooine, this is your guide to discovering the distant worlds and locales of Star Wars:The Old Republic. Welcome to The Nerfherder’s Guide to the Galaxy!

“This planet was a lifeless hunk of rock before the Republic came here; and if this war goes on much longer, that’s how we’ll leave it. You’re all here because you made some very good or very bad decisions, and I don’t care which. All I care about are the next few days, and seeing peace restored to this world. Now, who’s ready to put some dents in their pretty armor?”

-Commander Antilles, Havoc Squadron

 

Located in the Bright Jewel system, Ord Mantell lies in the middle of a bulge in the northern section of the Mid Rim. It was largely settled some 9,000 years before the Treaty of Coruscant by an expedition of Corellians.

The major establishment of Ord Mantell as a galactic presence, however, came with the world’s designation as an Ordinance/Regional Depot (ORD) planet. This made it an important military base for the Republic during its middle period of expansion.

Ord Mantell’s position in the northern section of the Mid Rim made it a military outpost of great importance. As the centuries passed, however, much of its role in the Republic military was diminished. Though the planet’s name retained a military root, private organizations began to move in and take over.

Many of these groups operated outside of the law, and Ord Mantell became a haven for gangsters, smugglers, and pirates. The political leaders of the Bright Jewel system turned a blind eye to the actions of these groups. Bribes became a standard commodity within the system’s political organization.

Following the Sacking of Coruscant, the leaders of Ord Mantell chose to remain loyal to the Republic. Some of the planet’s citizens, however, supported neither this decision nor the corrupt politicians who controlled their world. Guerrilla assaults from these Separatists over the last two years have plunged Ord Mantell into a civil war.

As the flames of war threaten to be stoked once more throughout the galaxy, Ord Mantell has already fallen into chaos and conflagration.

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Posted by Kray | 11 Comments

Fully Operational: The Republic’s Damage Dealers

“Now witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational battle station!” — There is no better example of damage in the Star Wars galaxy than the scene attached to that quote. Each week in Fully Operational, join Kray as he takes a look at the damage dealing role in Star Wars: The Old Republic. And yes, we’ll blow up a planet if we get the chance. 

Hoo doggy, it”s been a while hasn’t it! The past few weeks have been a blur with conventions and beta and updates, but we’re finally back on track to bringing Fully Operational to you every Friday, barring any orbital space station attacks on my house.

Last time in the column we went over the  basics of Advanced Classes and jumped into the damage dealers for the Empire, so let’s not dilly dally any longer and show the Republic some love. As always, listening music is provided.

Jedi Knight

Style: Force User – Melee

Jedi Knights are probably the most iconic of all the Advanced Classes in The Old Republic, home to such names as Mace Windu and Obi-Wan Kenobi. These Jedi tap into the force to enhance their physical abilities, whether that be stamina or strength, and charge into battle, lightsaber in hand. Though the class does have a few flashy “spell-like” force moves, most of what you’ll see here is varying saber strikes and acrobatics.

Guardian

Weapons: Single Lightsaber
DPS Style: Melee – High Survivability
Offspec: Tanking

The Guardian takes his or her strength from the serenity of the Force, focusing their power into a single lightsaber. Donning heavy armor, this class has very high survivability due to the possibility of a pure tanking spec. As a Jedi Guardian, you’ll assume one of a few different lighstaber forms, similar to ‘stances’ from Warriors in World of Warcraft. There’s not a ton of information available on Jedi Knights, but what we do know is that Guardians will focus on sustained damage with a combination of debuffs and resource-refunding talents. The Vigilance tree will improve your damaging abilities and even give you a new lightsaber form, while the Defense tree focuses on — duh — your defense, allowing you to tank. The shared Focus tree adds some more force-based abilities and form buffs.

Sentinel

Weapons: Dual Lightsabers
DPS Style: Melee – Burst or Sustained
Offspec: More DPS!

If the Guardian is a stone wall of Force, the Sentinel is an avalanche. Instead of focusing on survivability, Jedi Sentinels let loose a little and let the Force flow through them in the form of a lightsaber in each hand. Attacking with both weapons at once means a lot of damage potential, and the Sentinel has a few options available. If you’re looking for a more sustained, build up approach, the Watchman tree focuses on the Juyo lightsaber form which, according to Star Wars lore, essentially means each strike will be more powerful than the last. The Combat tree believes in burst and flurries of strikes, allowing the Ataru form which triggers additional strikes and create large spikes of damage at a time. Focus, as with the Guardian, gives general upgrades and a couple force goodies.

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Posted by Sentinel | 0 Comments

Coming Soon: Classes, Advanced Classes and More!

Very soon, Ask A Jedi will begin publishing a regular series of columns dedicated to complete knowledge and mastery of all of the classes available to players in Star Wars: The Old Republic. As more information is revealed, and we learn more about how they play in the game, what it means to use companions, and how advanced classes work, we’ll work on distilling that info and presenting it in a form you can use.

Our goal is to make sure you’ll be the very best  Smuggler you can be… and whether it makes sense to become a wiley Scoundrel or a flashy Gunslinger. And that goes for every class! We want to take a deep-dive right out of the gate, and become the authority on the topic.

So with that said, please stay tuned and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook in the mean time!

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