As more and more MMOs’ release, it is evident that World of Warcraft’s success has been an anomaly. Remember when SWTOR was strutted as the next “WoW killer?” But ultimately a large exodus occurred, and layoffs followed. Many have since begun questioning the success of any subscription based MMO to follow. If Bioware is struggling with a subscription model when they have the biggest IP you can attach to an MMO, what hope is there for any other MMO that follows the same model? Essentially, Bioware needs to convert to the Free-to-Play model if they want to increase their profit and player base.

As I stepped off the ship on Korriban, I could feel the energy in the air, like small bolts of lightning dancing across my flesh. In my past life I was a slave. I was used to being ordered around and I harbored a hatred for every master I served, I would embrace this new challenge and fully accept my life as part of the Sith program. The man standing before me did not hesitate to berate and verbally abuse me, claiming I was nothing and another of the trainees was to be the new Apprentice to the mysterious Lord he served. A smile crept across my face and I felt a wave of cold darkness run up my spine and over my head, like a hood of pure hatred for this man. He told me his name was Harkun and he would make sure I would never make it beyond the trials. His paltry attempt to scare me would lead to the death of his precious favorite, I would make sure of it! I could feel the Dark Side taking hold.

FORCE Junkie Basics Series is an effort to help you decide and decipher between all the different Classes in Star Wars: The Old Republic. This series of video guides describes the eight basic classes in the game to help give you an idea of the classes mechanics and root abilities. Each of the eight different classes are broke up into mirrors; for example the Jedi Knight and the Sith Warrior are the two equivalent Imperial and Republic classes. Each of the eight basic classes are divided up into two separate Advanced Classes which are not covered in these guides.

So if you are new to the game and want to see a brief intro into each class, make sure you watch each video to get an idea of what you’re getting yourself into!

Even within the Empire, Sith Inquisitors are respected and feared for their deception and control over the Force™. Channeling their hatred, they bend the Dark Side of the Force to their will to crush their enemies while manipulating their allies. See for yourself just a few of the many paths of advancement for this wielder of the Force in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™.

(NOTE: Information is based off of the 11/25 beta build, and it may change by launch.)

The Sith Sorcerer is a well rounded Healer and Ranged DPS that has three talent trees that will dictate the role the Sorcerer will play. Each tree has a wide range of talents, that will impact the aspects of a player’s style. While it isn’t uncommon to stray into one or both of the other tree’s with a few talent points for “hybrid talents”, many will “specialize” in one tree to increase effectiveness. At the top of every tree, there is also a new ability available.

So, you’ve played through a beta weekend or two, you’ve got a good idea on what class you want to play but you’re struggling to make your mind up! Welcome to the club my friend, probably the most asked questions I’ve seen on the official SW:TOR forums are “Which class is the most fun?”, “Which class should I choose?” and “Which class is the best at X,Y or Z?”. In this small editorial, my plan is to give a small appraisal of each class for the Empire, what its strengths and weaknesses are and which roles they can fill.

Within The Old Republic, the Consular and Inquisitor are two of the major hybrid classes along with the Trooper and Bounty Hunter.  These powerful force users can fit any of the three positions in a group depending on what Advanced Class (AC) they take.  While some people have assumptions about the class in beta, very few have seen all the intricacies in the classes to understand how they advance and function at different levels.  The Jedi Sage and the Sith Sorcerer have the ability to both put out damage or heal depending on how the character is built.

With last week’s NDA lift, many fan questions can finally be answered!

Jedi Knight Guardian / Sith Warrior Juggernaut
The Guardian and Juggernaut are iconic Star Wars roles. From a high level, they closely resemble tanking classes in other games by force leaping into battle and using melee abilities to gain threat. Feedback from the beta seems to imply that these advanced classes are slightly underpowered. Specific complaints include: limited area of effect damage, low up-front threat generation, low DPS from the non-Defense/Immortal talent trees. This is not to say they are less than capable tanks! Nonetheless, they are slightly more challenging to play in their current state, particularly with large area of effect pulls. The good news is that this minor balance issue is something BioWare can easily tweak in the near future.

If someone decided to check out SWTOR’s Official Forum, there is always a debate to be had. Some are mild, but others can become very heated. One that may catch your eye is about lightsabers, and whether colors should be restricted to light side or dark side. While it could be argued that Bioware should stick to George Lucas’ universe, this should not be the case.

Star Wars, like many other fictional stories, have been re-imaged many times by many people. Every time it is done, somebody brings something new to the table. The same could be true about lightsabers, as everyone has an opinion about them. Some writers have stuck to Lucas’ idea that Sith should have red, and Jedi should have blue and green, and others have not.