Star Wars: The Old Republic: Republic Classes

I intend this page to grow as my knowledge of the game increases. What I have so far is a very high level overview of the classes, but I hope in the future to drill down a lot further to get to the really interesting details. As I created this lens it became apparent that I haven't even touched on something that is going to be a massive part of Star Wars: The Old Republic - the player stories. Bioware are renowned for their story-crafting and have stated that each class will have a completely different story experience. I will be updating the lens soon on this subject so remember to check back for new information!

Oh... and don't forget to check out the links at the bottom of page to sites I recommend for finding out more about Star Wars: The Old Republic and the Star Wars universe as a whole.

Just like the Jedi Knight, the Trooper class in Star Wars: The Old Republic is able to fill more than one role within a party. As the class video shows, wearing heavy armour and carrying BIG blaster rifles are a large part of being a trooper. It's not too surprising then that the Trooper, like the Jedi Knight, looks like a good choice for tanking or DPS play. The crucial difference however is that the Trooper is a ranged damage dealer unlike his lightsabre wielding ally, so I guess that means he also a ranged tank, which is a relatively novel idea. When you think about it though, if enemies are all using ranged weapons too, it makes pretty good sense. Troopers do have a close combat attack in the form of a rifle-stock blow, but its clear their main focus is on dealing damage from a distance.

Interestingly both Trooper advanced classes give players skills to further broaden their adaptability. Most notable is the Commando class' ability to heal themselves and their teammates. This definately lends weight to Bioware's claim that players won't be tied down to a certain playstyle by their choice of class.

That said however, it's clear where the trooper will excel, so if strolling around in enough armour to plate a tank and carrying a similarly sized laser cannon is your thing then the Republic Trooper class is for you.

I'll make no secret of the fact that the Smuggler was the class I looked forward to playing the most. Han Solo was always my favourite character in the films so the Smuggler was naturally my first choice when Star Wars: The Old Republic finally put it servers live.

So what does playing a Smuggler entail?

Well, going on my experiences so far, the Smuggler is quite a versatile class, which several viable options when it comes to play style. Initially the main theme seems to be ranged damage, but unlike the Trooper, the Smuggler doesn't have any heavy armour to rely on. Instead they can utilise a cover mechanism coupled with some stealth skills that allow them to unleash a barrage of blaster bolts from a defensible position. They also have a couple of close quarter attacks that can stun enemies allowing them to follow up with some hefty stun-dependant DPS moves.

At first glance this seems to be a more typical ranged combat archetype than the Trooper, with the high damage output of the Smuggler's dual pistols weighted against his lack of armour, but as one might expect, in Star Wars: The Old Republic the Smuggler has a few more tricks up his sleeve...

Both of the Smuggler advanced classes offer some interesting skills, especially when it comes to group play. The Gunslinger has some handy debuffs that slow enemies down and reduce their accuracy, while weilding his dual pistols to great effect for a high damage output. The other option, the Scoundrel only uses one blaster pistol, backed up with a short-range scattergun, stealth belt and healing skills. The Scoundrel is the path I chose - they seemed to have a bit more to them while the Gunslinger (at least in combat) seems to tend towards pure DPS. The other important difference between the Gunslinger and the Scoundrel is that the latter has the aformentioned Healing Skill Tree, which again is the route I took. I have never played a healer before in an MMO and found it to be great fun in Star Wars: The Old Republic! For anyone else thinking of going down this route I can recommend it - the smaller than usual group size (4 person) makes learning a healing class a lot less daunting than it might be in some other games.

I read somewhere that Bioware expected there to be far fewer Smugglers in the game than Jedi or Sith classes, but I always knew where I was headed first. I wanted to be an interstellar smuggler for the last thirty years, and now I've finally got my chance!

The last Republic class available at launch is the Jedi Consular. The Jedi Consular differs from the Jedi Knight in that their powers are not manifested as simple combat enhancements, but as more mystical skills. Think of Obi-wan's mind tricks, or Yoda lifting the X-wing Fighter out of the swamp on Dagobah. That's not to say their powers aren't useful in combat, but their focus on telekinesis allows them to step back from the battle a little and Force-throw whatever is at hand at enemies, making them something different to a melee class. They can also use their force powers to down several foes at once and this coupled with a selection of healing skills make them better suited to remaining a short distance from the thick of things.

As far as the Advanced Classes go, the Jedi Consular has a choice of Sage, which seems to lean towards a crowd control and DPS role, while the Shadow seems to be a proficient tank. The Shadow is the only Republic force user who can wield a double bladed lightsabre which boosts defence with it's increased ability to deflect blaster bolts.

This is the class that tempts me the most after the Smuggler, there seem to be plenty of cool skills and potential for fun, and well, who can resist a double bladed lightsabre?