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Star Wars: The Old Republic pits the Jedi Consular against the Imperial Agent
Ladies and gentlemen, this match is scheduled for one fall! In the blue corner, weighing in at 200 pounds of pure Force, we have the Jedi Consular. In the red corner, we have the conniving Imperial Agent. Who will come out on top? Well, that's for you to decide, but the folks at BioWare want to make sure everyone is making informed decisions. In light of that, the studio has released a new Star Wars: The Old Republic video in which a number of devs (verbally) duke it out in hopes of proving that their class is the best class. So jump past the cut and check it out, then decide for yourself who comes out on top (protip: it's the Agent). Oh, and while you're at it, don't forget that you can now preorder The Old Republic peripherals, so if you're in the market for a new mouse, keyboard, or headset, you can declare your allegiance for the Empire or Republic with a new gadget. For the full details, hit the SWTOR official site.
Lifting the beta curtain: Larry's hands-on with SWTOR's beta
Many of my friends in gaming media have speculated as to why BioWare has allowed some media outlets to report on the heavily veiled Star Wars: The Old Republic beta, but frankly, I don't care. It doesn't matter to me that BlizzCon happens to be tomorrow or that there is a possible connection between the start of that event and the lift of this embargo. All I really care about is that I can finally tell you about actual gameplay for this new Star Wars MMO that I've been personally following for over three years now. However, it will be extremely difficult to contain all my experience of SWTOR within the confines of this one article. However, I will do my darnedest. Over the past couple of weeks, BioWare allowed us access to the Republic side of this highly anticipated MMO and pretty much set us free. We can report on nearly every gameplay aspect within the first two planets. Two weeks -- that's enough time for me to run more than one class! And that's exactly what I did. Originally, I wanted to run through two classes that weren't going to affect me much when the game goes live. I accomplished this goal with the Jedi Consular. However, when I started to play the Smuggler class, I just could not stop. I was completely engaged in the story. Jump past the break and I'll tell you all about that -- and more.
SWTOR's meet the Medic -- er, Consular
Some fans have wondered if the rumors about a the Jedi Consular video were just vapor. Thankfully, the community team at BioWare has proven that wrong. This afternoon, we were introduced to the Jedi Consular class for Star Wars: The Old Republic. This keeper of Force tradition is split up into two advanced classes: The Sage and the Shadow. As their names imply, the Sage is a healer and ranged Force wielder, and the Shadow is a stealth and melee class. As we have seen in past screenshots, the Trandoshan hunter Qyzen Fess will join the Consular on his travels across the galaxy. This reptilian humanoid has hunted all the galaxy's most deadly beasts from the swamps of Belkadan to the Tatooine deserts, according to his bio on the official website. Witness all the wonder of this class in the screenshots below, and be sure to catch the full Consular trailer after the break! %Gallery-130055%
Hyperspace Beacon: Your eyes can deceive you
I don't know about you, but this Friday's update surprised me. After the freighter-full of information we have been receiving, I was kind of expecting a meager morsel of facts from Star Wars: The Old Republic in this most recent update. However, just knowing that the update was written by Lead Combat Designer Georg Zoeller, I was excited about it. Zoeller is surely the most active developer on the SWTOR forums, and he always has some incredible nuggets of information to share with the community. This week, I want to talk about combat roles. Although BioWare mentioned that it supports the standard trinity, it was refreshing to read that the team is mixing things up a bit based on advanced classes. For instance, your Bounty Hunter easily slips into the DPS or the tank role, but developers have thrown healing into the equation, too. This week, I want to talk about another role I did not expect to see: the Stealth Tank.
Hyperspace Beacon: Killer colors
The lightsaber is the most iconic tool of the Jedi in Star Wars. "This weapon is your life," Obi-Wan Kenobi said to Anakin Skywalker as the master handed back the lightsaber his student lost while chasing Zam Wessel. Without a lightsaber, the Jedi are just another group of wizards with fancy quotables. But as soon as you put the glowing laser sword in their hands, they become something more; they become the warriors whom every child has imitated in one way or another. Just what about that blade makes it special? Well, I can't tell you the reason people are intrigued by the illuminated weapon, but I can tell you that, according to lore, the crystal is the heart of the blade. In the movies, we have seen four different colored blades: red, green, blue, and purple, but other colors exist in lore. The Lead Writer for Star Wars: The Old Republic, Daniel Erickson, made a statement at PAX when questioned about saber crystal colors at the SWTOR presentation: "There is a broad spectrum of crystals available out in the galaxy. We have not made final plans on some of the more esoteric ones. They all have specific canonical connotations -- as to what they represent and how they came to be." Which raises the question: What are these canonical connotations? What do the colors of the crystals mean? I took a trip through Star Wars lore to uncover the answer to that question. Follow me after to break to find out more.
SWTOR devs dive deep in Jedi design in this week's dispatch
The character type that will likely be played the most in Star Wars: The Old Republic will be the Jedi. BioWare has been conscious of this from the early stages of the game. This is evident in the fact that there are two distinct Jedi classes: the knight and the consular. Yet, the designers have been the most tight-lipped about these two classes. They have said this is because they wish to get it just right before talking about it. But with this week's Fan Friday, things have changed. On the official SWTOR website, a new Developer Dispatch called Designing the Light Side has popped up. In the five-and-a-half-minute video, SWTOR writers, artists, and animators discuss the most important things it takes to create the two light side factions. "We want to give players the opportunity to be the heroic Jedi like Luke Skywalker or the darker, more avenging type of Jedi like his father, Anakin," Hall Hood, a senior writer, explains in the video. On which side of the moral spectrum do you fall? Are you a hero-of-the-ages light sider, or a ends-justifies-the-means gray Jedi? Watch the video after the break and let us know.
BioWare opens the Jedi Consular's class page
Emphasis on non-melee abilities? Check. Robes? Check. Hm, if it weren't for those lightsaber moves, we'd almost have to say Star Wars: The Old Republic's Jedi Consular is a "magic" class. BioWare's released the official page for the newly revealed class, and looking through it proves that even in a galaxy far, far away you can find clothies. The primary difference between the Knight and Consular is how they fight; one gets up close, while the other prefers to hang back a bit. Sure, the Consular can throw down in melee if need be, but when you command a significant degree of force powers why bother? Check out the new Consular screens below, and check out the official class page for all your lore related goodness.%Gallery-35033%
The Digital Continuum: SWTOR's 'inquistoring' Consular conundrum
The revealing of Star Wars: The Old Republic's final two classes has incited much discussion amongst the community and inside my own brain. On one hand, lots of people are happy to have more Sith and Jedi classes to choose from. However, on the other hand, some people are disappointed in the lack of creative and unexpected class options. In all reality, BioWare probably made the right choice, but let's look at the view of both sides for the sake of argument and to have a little fun.
