Welcome to a little corner of the galaxy and column I call Laura Shot Third. I’m Laura Hardgrave, and I’ll be your random gun-firing uh, writer in this dark, intriguing cantina of sorts we call FORCE Junkies. Okay, I’m done with the weird Smuggler talk. Maybe.
On top of my normal editorials, I’ll be using this column to bring you bits of community news, current hot topics, and interesting stories that happen in the world of Star Wars: The Old Republic. I like to think of this column as a source for tidbits of information that may make good conversation starters for the gaming community.
Now, onto the first item on the menu: making the final preparations for choosing your character.
As I discussed in an editorial I wrote yesterday, thanks to some recent information, now’s a pretty great time to begin finalizing our plans when it comes to character creation. In the months to come, we’ll hopefully garner additional information about BioWare’s character design philosophy and maybe even see some skill and spec trees. For now, however, I think the most important question we can ask ourselves is: what class suits me?
I’m sure there’s a large number of gamers out there that have known for months which class and advanced class they’re leveling first, but for some of us, we’re still tossing dice around. Contrary to this column’s theme and my RP-talk in the intro paragraph, I’m not actually rolling a Smuggler as my main (though I’ll have a Smuggler alt!). I’m most likely going to roll with a Jedi Guardian or Sith Juggernaut, but I’m still tossing the idea of a Vanguard Trooper around, largely due to the allure of a FemShep-voiced ranged tank.
For anyone that’s caught trying to make a similar decision, I have a few suggestions. First of all, figure out what draws you toward the classes/advanced classes you’re deciding between. It’s easiest to break down those elements into terms that are easily comparable against each other. In my case, for instance, it’s clear that I’d like to primarily tank. I’ve been a fan of lightsabers for years, yet I also really love the idea of the Vanguard Trooper, in that they are soldiers that protect their party utilizing any option available. My major decisions can therefore be simplified into Empire versus Republic and ranged versus melee.
After you narrow down your decisions, proceed to weigh the pros and cons of those factors. I would weigh the benefits of the Empire against those of the Republic side, and I’d watch videos showing both classes in combat to get an idea which type of combat suits my playstyle better. I’m currently leaning toward the Jedi Guardian, but if my decision shifts, so be it.
What decisions have you all made regarding class and advanced class choice? Anybody out there still tossing dice around or awaiting more information? To BioWare I say, “Show me the claaaaaass treees.” To my readers I say, “Someone out there’s going to get that quote, right?”
