So you’ve downloaded the hefty client for Star Wars: The Old Republic, you’ve chosen a server and now you’re looking at the character creation screen wondering which character you should choose to begin your adventure. Over the past four months, we’ve sampled every single class in this accomplished MMO and do you know what our favourite is? That’s right, it’s the Smuggler and here are a host of reasons why the archetype based on Han Solo kicks some much bantha tail!
Flexibility to Play as You Want –
Sure Jedi and Sith archetypes have their attractive points, including eventually wielding various lightsabers, but playing as either of those dogma-led classes has none of the flavour of the Smuggler archetype. The moral ambiguity of this role is what makes the quest design so interesting, as it has allowed BioWare to throw in as much variation as possible. There are still choices which will align yourself with either the dark or light side of the Force, but choices don’t seem as clear-cut as other classes. This means that you spend more time pondering the reason why one choice is considered good while another is deemed bad, resulting in a much more engaging experience.
Ord Mantell -
We’ve played all the other starter worlds at this point and Ord Mantell beats them all. A world ravaged by a separatist movement which has distanced itself from the Republic faction results in regular encounters with refugees, soldiers apathetic to war and ethically questionable tactics to get the world back under law and order. There’s some really interesting quests revolving around what being part of the Republic faction actually means, but layered on top of those heady themes are some really funny side-quests with insane cave dwellers and maniacal media tyrants.
We found playing as a Trooper really dry and one-dimensional, but the Smuggler story quests help to break up that monotony with memorable characters, wanton flirting and regular betrayal. Most importantly of all Ord Mantell feels like a world that needs saving and that’s different to all the other starter worlds, and by the end of your time there you will have made a difference one way or the other.
Multi-faceted Combat -
This class is so versatile that even during the early levels you’ll have half a dozen vastly different combat tools to play with and from there it only gets better. Throwing thermal detonators at enemies before running in close and kicking them in the balls, dazing them for a few seconds, rarely if ever gets old and due to the array of skills available it’s easy to manage groups of enemies with little effort. Simply take cover behind any waist high obstacle and shoot away to your heart’s content. This class is very easy to get to grips with and feels really rewarding right from the off.
Corso Riggs -
Pretty much every companion character in SW: TOR is an instant favourite, but Riggs is just that little bit better. He hates Seperatists, boasts a keen sense of justice and is an incy bit chauvinistic, He’s pretty much a carbon copy of Nathan Fillion’s character from Firefly, Captain Mal Reynolds, and that makes us very happy indeed.
Your Own Ship -
Every player character in BioWare’s MMO gets their own ship at some point, the Smuggler is no different in that regard, but his class is the only one where galaxy-wide travel actually makes sense. You didn’t see Obi-Wan or Yoda travelling around the galaxy in their own pimped out space vehiclse during the movies, but Han Solo on the other hand was always trekking from one side of the nebulae to the other. This key aspect of SW: TOR’s appeal works better here than for any other class and the Corellian ship you unlock feels more in touch with the source material.
Overall the Smuggler class isn’t only the most accessible class, with its easy to understand cover-based gameplay, but it also has the most engrossing story content at least during the earliest levels. Admittedly the promise of a lightsaber is hard to resist when you first start out, but if you go with a blaster there will be a galaxy filled with courageous combat and fantastic fiction to reward your brave decision.
Do us proud you scoundrel!
Tags: Star Wars The Old Republic
TERA, Guild Wars 2, Dust 514 and Defiance previews plus a review for Tribes: Ascend and an exclusive interview for Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Download Now!
