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Star Wars: The Old Republic: The Smuggler Impressions
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
Today marks a big turning point for Star Wars: The Old Republic with a partial lift of the embargo for members of the press and we here at MMORPG.com have a full slate of articles covering the Republic side and levels 1-15 today. Managing Editor Bill Murphy has thoughts to share about the Smuggler class that you Han Solo-types will not want to miss. See what Bill thought and then leave us a few comments.
Needless to say, despite all the hubbub surrounding the game and whether it’ll be worth the wait… I want a time machine. I want to jump forward to 12/20 (or whenever early access begins) and I want to dive into the story BioWare has crafted for real. Awhile back, I wrote that SWTOR’s Story Would Change Questing Forever. I absolutely still believe this, now more than ever. Playing SWTOR is like playing one really long, massively multiplayer version of any BioWare RPG. The acting is top-notch, the visuals are fantastic (though perhaps an acquired taste), and the music and sound effects make the whole thing feel like one of the films. If you’re not sucked into the narrative the team is crafting here, then you probably just don’t like Star Wars. I can’t think of any other reason. I don’t know… maybe you don’t like things that are fun and engaging. It’s you we’re talking about, so you tell me!
Read more of Bill Murphy's Star Wars: The Old Republic - The Smuggler Impressions.
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Comments
can you elaborate on "pitch-perfect MMORPG elements"? this is the third of these previews i've read and aside from one mention of an "inorganic" space station, these might as well be reviews of a single-player game.
How is the grouping? How is the open world? Quest hub based? Is there exploration really limited to finding that 1 special place per planet? etc.
"Id rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity."
- Raph Koster
Tried: AO,EQ,EQ2,DAoC,SWG,AA,SB,HZ,CoX,PS,GA,TR,IV,GnH,EVE, PP,DnL,WAR,MxO,SWG,FE,VG,AoC,DDO,LoTRO,Rift,TOR,Aion,Tera,TSW,GW2,DCUO,CO,STO
Favourites: AO,SWG,EVE,TR,LoTRO,TSW,EQ2, Firefall
Currently Playing: ESO
Excellent review,
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience"
CS Lewis
Great write up. Thanks, Bill.
I think of all classes, the smuggler's casual, rugged look most appeals to me (no, not sexually, but because I am hugely casual and rugged myself too :P)
But I do have some serious reserves about the cover mechanic though. I'd almost certainly pick a Scoundrel if I roll one.
Stealth + melee abilities + some healing sounds much more diverse and dynamic in my eyes. Just hoping they won't be relient on cover too much.
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I skipped a lot of your article Bill. Smugglers my main... spolers ahead made me skip quite a ways down...
That being said, I'm really excited to play the smuggler on launch. I envision it will be somewhat different from the IA, at least initially.
All we need to know about smuggler is,
FACT Mr Lucas!
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience"
CS Lewis
I feel the exact same way about the Inquisitor I played for the last beta weekend. I can't wait to get the game and continue the story. Dec 20th feels so far away...
Not Bill here, but I can comment on a few of these things, sure. Grouping on your origin world is only necessary for the handful of heroic quests you can pick up there, otherwise, you can get through the planet completely solo and it feels fairly natural to do so. I personally grouped up a bunch whenever I could, even for stuff that isn't necessarily group content. You get social points for participating in multiplayer dialogue even with regular quests, it's also way more fun, and funny! In general, grouping becomes more and more important as you go through the game and the game opens up to you. And yes the game is quest hub based.
The starter world is completely open and having played on Dromund Kaas (the Imperial capital) in the past, that world is also completely open. Coruscant is open but there are different districts as it is a city planet so you have to taxi between them, but once there they are completely open and there aren't loading screens or anything like that.
There are things to see when exploring planets, though most of the enjoyment comes from hunting datacrons which are often hidden away -- and even when you find them the puzzle of getting to them is often enjoyable.
Hope that helps!
I agree the cover mechanic bothers me... Unless I hear other wise I will probably build around using it a little as possible outside of pve.
I, too, played the smuggler class and I, too, was fully engrossed in the storyline.
It's curious about the 460 GTX. I'm running the same card and was getting over 100fps almost all the time. Only during some of the cutscenes was my frame rate dropping, and some delay in texture loading.
Your love of the halfling leaf has clearly slowed your mind...
Yes. Very much yes.
That's because it is. Each side's classes are meant to be nearly (not totally) identical to the other side's classes except for storyline.
So gameplay-wise: SMG = IA, TRP = BH, JK = SW, JC = SI.
"Id rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity."
- Raph Koster
Tried: AO,EQ,EQ2,DAoC,SWG,AA,SB,HZ,CoX,PS,GA,TR,IV,GnH,EVE, PP,DnL,WAR,MxO,SWG,FE,VG,AoC,DDO,LoTRO,Rift,TOR,Aion,Tera,TSW,GW2,DCUO,CO,STO
Favourites: AO,SWG,EVE,TR,LoTRO,TSW,EQ2, Firefall
Currently Playing: ESO
Didn't read the article because I plan on playing a Smuggler, but glad to understand that the general tone is positive. I want to be immersed in my role as a smuggler, and yes, that is asking quite a bit from an MMO, but I am willing to take the chance that this game will allay my chief concerns.
Puzzle quests in datacrons? Probably the best thing I've read today!
I love puzzle quests!
"puzzle of getting to them" sounds more like a geographic challenge of reaching the actual item rather than any kind of real puzzle or quest - similar to how a lot of the treasure boxes in Rift were hidden on tops of hills or bottoms of lakes that you had to navigate through tricky terrain to find. at least that's how i read that.
"Id rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity."
- Raph Koster
Tried: AO,EQ,EQ2,DAoC,SWG,AA,SB,HZ,CoX,PS,GA,TR,IV,GnH,EVE, PP,DnL,WAR,MxO,SWG,FE,VG,AoC,DDO,LoTRO,Rift,TOR,Aion,Tera,TSW,GW2,DCUO,CO,STO
Favourites: AO,SWG,EVE,TR,LoTRO,TSW,EQ2, Firefall
Currently Playing: ESO
It's not a puzzle in the sense you may be thinking, it's more a question of how do I get to that spot..
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
I wanted to hop in and say, that yes, there is a great social atmosphere to the game as well. Sorry I didn't cover that too much, as I got swept away when writing about the story and choices.
The worlds are wide open, huge spaces, with room for plenty of people. Groups form up for plenty of content (it is beta after all), there are "Elite" or Heroic quests that require groups of 2+ (though aren't necessary to progress the game). I didn't join a guild yet, but I believe the functions there are what we've come to expect. I did play through the Esseles Flashpoint, but Mike covered that a bit more in his full preview, and we'll likely be doing a full write up on just Esseles down the road a bit.
But to say the least, SWTOR is NOT like an online single-player game. It's a theme-park yes, but it IS an MMORPG.
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I am so excited thank you so much for that write up. I knew it that Bioware would pull it off.
Correct. MMO platforming! It's actually pretty fun. I like this sort of stuff.
Thanks for an excellent review! The Smuggler class sounds like it's going to be a blast (no pun intended) to play.
Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. - Marie Curie
p.s. Mike and Bill ... can you tell us which one of all of you had the hardest time to stop with playing so far? Or did the beta adventure continue for you guys?
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I can tell you after having played in the first two beta weekends, Not being able to play after each one was like quitting smoking all over again. Even two weeks since last login it still infests my dreams... 8D
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Member Since March 2004
Haha, oh dear ... *smokes cigarette and is genuinly scared*
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I like fun. I look at this game and see yet another MMO game that just doesn't feel like Star Wars to me. Trying to remember all the gadgets used in the movies since it is said that I must not like Star Wars. Trying to remember in anything I read about people spraying a cloud of bacta to keep people fighting. Guess I am just so lost.
I wanted to read through and see if anything appealed to me since this is only class that did but still saw nothing. This is a game that might be the greatest but will never see me. The story might be nice but it looks like most other MMOs out there except it has a Star Wars skin. I guess I expected more than just story advancements when I thought of Star Wars.
I'm sorry you don't think you will like it. If you actually played it though, I bet you would feel otherwise. Especially if you are in fact a Star Wars fan...
It really is that good.