The one in the list I'd like to see actually utilized is the Slicer. In the previous KotoR games and the tabletop RPGs which inspired them, Slicing had the potential to be a more than just a handy throwaway skill. Especially in the old West End tabletop game where Slicers could truly do amazing things. Personally, I'd like to see Slicer end up as a pet class, as in the previous KotoR games one of the bigger uses for it was to reprogram and control various droids. Mix in Droid pets ala something similar to Hellgate: London's Engineer with the more direct use of Slicing for opening locks, overriding security system, stealing information from systems and other hacker things and you have the potential for a really fun, albeit a hybrid, class.
I do think that, no matter what, Slicing IS going to be in SW:OR, even if it ends up being a glorified Pick Locks skill or, god forbid, SW:OR version of WoW's Engineering crafting skill. Personally, I hope Bioware sees the potential for it to be a standalone class though.
edit: I am kind of curious why everyone keeps saying that the Sith side needs a Scoundrel/Spy type class. Isn't that role potentially already taken care of by the Bounty Hunter? Judging from SW fiction, Bounty Hunters would seem to be more of a foil to the Smuggler than the Trooper, but maybe I'm missing something?
Maybe the OP should make his own game. What he is describing, most certainly has nothing to do with the game Bioware is developing.
I think we should all wait to see what Bioware announces for classes before speculating. Anyone with an ounce of intelligence knows that pvp games don't do well with a lot of classes and I am sure Bioware is very cognizant of that fact.
This is one article that MMORPG should have never posted as it is obvious that the OP has not read much material on this game at all.
Reading that article, I was really kind of upset. I was hoping Bioware would do SOMETHING other than the standard setup we see in so many games. But every article was talking about pigeonholing characters as healers, tanks, nuker-type dps, whatever. That, plus the segregation....
I just feel like it's WoW in space.
I'm praying their supposed emphasis on story, and the hints that players might be able to change sides, pan out. Otherwise I see nothing interesting about this game at all.
Originally posted by Vyre And MikeB, don't let the community here scare you away. Nothing is wrong with having a fun thread of speculation about a game the community is dying to play.
I believe what people are a bit peeved about is that this isn't just a "fun thread", its being misrepresented as gaming news. Were it not posted as a news item, I certainly wouldn't care, but as it stands I just don't see the relevance.
The headline wasn't exactly in greek. "Possible" is right there.
We put out articles quite regularly that deal with theoreticals, that's why it's labeled an editorial. The only difference between this and any of the lists we regularly point out is that it hones in on one specific game.
Just to be safe though, we've added a brief editor's note to the top so no one is confused.
Dana Massey Formerly of MMORPG.com Currently Lead Designer for Bit Trap Studios
I may not be a fanboi like others appear to be but I'm keeping an eye out for SWtOR and thought this was a fun and entertaining read. I think the classes sounded possibly fun and didn't get immediately upset or offended (how about that!). I too thought it would be cool to play as a droid engineer and have use of a combat HK, medical bot in place of a healer player, mouse or something for scouting, and a translator droid to aid in business transations or playing the small role of a diplomat. I can't seem to think of any other possible classes that are either done already or already planned for TOR.
The guy who wrote this article is out of his mind. The devs have said that the classes they launch with are going to be iconic and something that a player would want to play as much as a jedi, they also have strongly hinted at the fact that Jedi and Sith will be one class with the ability to branch off, so none of the jedi consulor, or sentinel buisness. The only points I agree with are the possible inclusion of a Spy or assassin class, as I think that this is something that players could Identify with.
Blizzard uses WOW to harvest hours played into bottles so that the dev team can remain immortal
I personally love to speculate on things like this. I know that we all would just love to share what we think might just possibly come out in the game.... but come on. If you read any of the class related articles of the SWtoR website, it says very clearly, more than once, that each class can be either empire or republic! The face that 7 of the 12 classes you made up were related to either one of the factions makes this article lose so much credibility in my eyes. The only thing I liked was some of your ideas for force sensitive classes, but the problem there is that those should all just be specializations of a jedi class. [Mod Edit]
Originally posted by Vyre And MikeB, don't let the community here scare you away. Nothing is wrong with having a fun thread of speculation about a game the community is dying to play.
I believe what people are a bit peeved about is that this isn't just a "fun thread", its being misrepresented as gaming news. Were it not posted as a news item, I certainly wouldn't care, but as it stands I just don't see the relevance.
The headline wasn't exactly in greek. "Possible" is right there.
We put out articles quite regularly that deal with theoreticals, that's why it's labeled an editorial. The only difference between this and any of the lists we regularly point out is that it hones in on one specific game.
Just to be safe though, we've added a brief editor's note to the top so no one is confused.
I don't think it was worthy of such a visible presentation at mmorpg.com. It would be a ok piece if it were a regular thread or someone's blog on another site. By presenting this piece in the way it has been presented stradden has given it an official status. Not good at all.
Why do every game now has to follow this tank, healer, dps, pet class, etc stuff?
I'm looking forward to this game, and will play it for sure, but i sure hope Bioware can diversify the gameplay a bit more than we are used to, i hope we arent looking at another one of those games this time around featuring lightsabers
Originally posted by Vyre And MikeB, don't let the community here scare you away. Nothing is wrong with having a fun thread of speculation about a game the community is dying to play.
I believe what people are a bit peeved about is that this isn't just a "fun thread", its being misrepresented as gaming news. Were it not posted as a news item, I certainly wouldn't care, but as it stands I just don't see the relevance.
The headline wasn't exactly in greek. "Possible" is right there. We put out articles quite regularly that deal with theoreticals, that's why it's labeled an editorial. The only difference between this and any of the lists we regularly point out is that it hones in on one specific game. Just to be safe though, we've added a brief editor's note to the top so no one is confused.
To be perfectly blunt most us are taking issue with the "Possible". It simply isn't.
Bioware has been pretty explicit that there will only be 8 classes (4 per faction) and so far they don't seem to be following the holy trinity that strongly.
EVEN if right this moment Bioware were to announce the addition of 4 new classes to their roster it would still in no way make this editorial any closer to reality as Bioware has also been very explicit about their class concept (Hero classes only). A politician is antithetical to what Bioware is attempting to do.
This was a "fun" article. It should have been presented as such, not as a "Possible" article.
At least with the addition of the disclaimer at the top it's not so bad now.
.... I enjoyed the article and completely understood it was just someone using their imagination and having some fun while we all wait for this game to be released. This community needs to relax and have some fun with their games (they are called games still right?)
Sith Scavenger/Republic Mechanist - Specializes in engineering and making use of random droid parts McGuyver style. Expert in bombs, contraptions, traps, turrets, custom lasers, and is the only class capable of temporarily modifying group members tasers, lasers, and sabers for different enhancements and damage types. It would be a hybrid class capable of dealing damage, buffing allies, and providing utility for all group members. Visual style would have mechanical limbs and/or engineered accessories like eye replacements.
I must voice my difference of opinion with many of the other posters - I, for one, appreciate this article.
I am used to getting notable contributions such as "Raiding 101" for post WotLK WoW, which to say the least is ridiculously overdue to the point of being potentially irrelevant (there are already around 11 million plyaers in that game, I contend it's a bit late to get into the Basic How To bit of the biz for WoW). MMORPG.com has brought out a host of similarly outdated articles in recent months, to my disdain. I think seeing proactive articles such as this one on this website is a welcome and fresh change, and the speculation offered by the author is fun, was clearly labeled as nothing official, and also is somewhat reasonable (I would like a bit more depth on parts of the article, but that is a small matter).
Kudos to the author, good job!
SWG Veteran and Refugee, Intrepid server NGE free as of Nov. 22, 2005 Now Playing: World of Warcrack Forum Terrorist
Jedi Prodigy - A defensive tank class where the character is blind. They have incredibly poor accuracy and rely entirely on the force to defend from ranged and melee attacks. Has high parry chance resulting in incredibly large critical hit counter attacks, and has high evasion. Most offensive capabilities are AOE's which include AOE CC such as stuns and knockbacks. The character has the ability to sense enemies and pull them towards them to keep them engaged defensively. The class shines when being attacked and can match or outdamage any other class when engaged wrecklessly in melee range. Visually they would look like jedi's but would have a number of visual styles to indicate blindness such as white eyes, bandanas over eyes, burnt eye sockets, etc.
And MikeB, don't let the community here scare you away. Nothing is wrong with having a fun thread of speculation about a game the community is dying to play.
I believe what people are a bit peeved about is that this isn't just a "fun thread", its being misrepresented as gaming news. Were it not posted as a news item, I certainly wouldn't care, but as it stands I just don't see the relevance.
The headline wasn't exactly in greek. "Possible" is right there.
We put out articles quite regularly that deal with theoreticals, that's why it's labeled an editorial. The only difference between this and any of the lists we regularly point out is that it hones in on one specific game.
Just to be safe though, we've added a brief editor's note to the top so no one is confused.
To be perfectly blunt most us are taking issue with the "Possible". It simply isn't.
Bioware has been pretty explicit that there will only be 8 classes (4 per faction) and so far they don't seem to be following the holy trinity that strongly.
EVEN if right this moment Bioware were to announce the addition of 4 new classes to their roster it would still in no way make this editorial any closer to reality as Bioware has also been very explicit about their class concept (Hero classes only). A politician is antithetical to what Bioware is attempting to do.
This was a "fun" article. It should have been presented as such, not as a "Possible" article.
At least with the addition of the disclaimer at the top it's not so bad now.
Well, the idea behind the article was simply: there are three unannounced classes, let's speculate on what they could be. These were 12 ideas to fill those three slots.
Anyway, generally speaking, you'll note a higher volume of content lately. We're still doing Q&As and dev journals like always - in fact more than ever - but we are also layering in more opinion, more lists and other non-official source content. It's a bit of a culture shock, I guess, for long time readers, but I think it creates more conversation in our community. We just have to make sure we always fully differentiate between the different kinds. I agree, this is one of those cases we could have done a better job being clear.
Hopefully the disclaimer clears up any potential confusion.
Dana Massey Formerly of MMORPG.com Currently Lead Designer for Bit Trap Studios
uggg, this speculation creeps me out, it is all the same classes in your average fantasy mmo's but with fancy starwars names tagged onto it, tank, dps, mage,crowd control, healers ect, If I ever decide to play this game I was hoping you can mix match the classes and skills, hopefully you will be able to branch off in different areas, say, some bit of jedi and then a bit of slicer and medic thrown in , just make it open already so you dont have to be set in stone playing the the life of your toon.
Not sure what the big uproar is about. This is nothing compared to what we have seen some players speculate. I do like the medic and engineer type classes though!
WOW!!!.....I have to say I'm entirely stoked and impressed with your creativity and initiative to present this MikeB. Seriously! I understand completely that this isn't from Bioware but IMHO it's stoked me more than the official game news has thus far. And as far as that goes I am enjoying the material more than 95% of the copycat drab boring same ol' same ol' MMO age of let downs and piss poor presentations/executions that's been going on basically since WoW.
I applaud and support diversity and creativity and you delivered. With this kind of presentation it just may turn some heads at LA/Bioware. And it just may dawn on someone there making the decisions that there is a large portion of this community that wants options, we want more. And I too am judging early on what Bioware is going to bring us....since well Smuggler isn't a “combat class”, just because Solo was an ass kicker doesn't make a smuggler iconic in my opinion. The way I remember the stories Solo was always trying to avoid a fight until some princess flashed him some p00ndnin.
Anyways, I will make this point..LA/Bioware would be smart in targeting the entire MMO community rather than those that would just settle for an NPC driven story/game and just want to pew pew AI raid bosses, etc.
I mean cmon...if they give us just 8 combat classes then it leaves out those whose primary focus is on crafting (there's a ton of these types around and they got cash too).
SWG had a few guilds who's primary focus was on entertainment. (*pssst* these varies from die hard SW fans to those who just liked to hang out or RP, these people have money also..hell they paid for their subs gladly and there were many who bought extra accounts just to run an ent. Afk for fast combat convenience or logged them on when needed.....same for docs).
A Politician class came into being in some other games but I'm not sure anyone has gotten a good sys/mech down for this yet...VG's was intriguing. Some there spent many game hours leveling the diplomat and a few of them properly focused had an impact on the game from mass crafting buffs to mass combat buffs. Personally I could see a class like this implemented in core combat (groups ect), from charms to group moral buffs (or debuffs) rallying support troops or faction grinds.
I would soooo play a Crime Lord (hell I could write up the whole class that would work well in an MMO combat system and any non combat system, whichever or both.). Maybe LA/Bioware will have some deeply creative staff members who can deliver on bringing us something more than just an NPC story and holy trinity system dressed up combat classes.
Although slicers can be smugglers but they are more of a techy hotwiring hacker/info broker-door opener-weapon overclockers often to be employed by smugglers and others. But a slicer is NOT a smuggler (pointed out since I can see from other posts that some people don't actually have a clue...usually a personality who wants an all in one tank/dps/healer/whatever)
Intelligence Agent works for me also...maybe something like a quasi slicer-politician type. Charismatic, crafty sneaky type...someone who could have an edge on the next encounter or a heads up on enemy number/locations whether it be NPC's or and Enemy guild your at war with.
Droid Engineer.....did someone say this wasn't or can't be a combat class??? bwahahaha. Ya IMHO that role is one of the SW staples and could have the potential of being a highly favored class. A jawa militant/merchant running his racket with a couple of highly advanced assassin droids (IG-88's for instance but there are others). A beefed up tricked out heavily armored R-unit. A seemingly passive 3PO who plays dumb...until it's time to make it's move then BAM it's enemy hits the ground do to a sonic burst or lasres...wolverine-like razors popping out!
Sith/Jedi Lord-Assassin-Marauder-Guardian-Consular would all come under the area of using the force. Options here could be basically endless from custom sabers/weapons to unusual and diverse or wild force powers. And training and could span in any direction from diplomacy to crafting to combat, etc.
Medics and medical droids are both practical to somewhat iconic. IMOP any healing based class should be primarily focused in just that...healing and very limited in doing DPS unless it's at an extreme cost to it's healing prowess due to the ease of a class such as this becoming way to over powered. But if so they should be likewise rewarded for their role to match a par for other class types being rewarded for playing their roles.
Pilot....ya ya ya...it's a space game but not everyone “would be or were” a Pilot or “The Pilot” to be revered or respected or sought out for making a flawless record breaking Kessel Run...for instance.
So to those bashing this I say, just because you like to be limited and bland..some others do not reside in the small box you dwell in. Or those who went “awwww crap this isn't official news from SWTOR so it's meaningless” THX for sharing your disappointment and keep sipping that half empty glass filled with next to nothing constructive. And no, many of us don't want to drink what your drinking.....it's half empty fool. It doesn't make sense to bitch, whine and needlessly critique a passion for wanting more or being creative...the way it's feeling from LA/Bioware you will have your WoW-like zeroxed over and over strictly combat classes.
So why so distressed if others push for having a better class of rare MMORPG?? that if well executed can have a potential to have something that will interest all of us. The makers of this story/game have an opportunity here to have a product that could be fun for all of these splintered camps I see and have seen for a decade. Mainly 2 camps tho....PVE and PVP, one is highly driven to want above all NPC content and the other who is creative enough to create their own content. After all we all share the Internet, forums, stores, parks, stadiums, museums, homes, businesses, schools, highways...the world that surrounds us and there is no reason why we cant all share a diverse a great MMORPG that has areas for PVE lovers, areas for PVP lovers, areas for crafters...safe carebear areas/worlds (limited pvp arenas or w/e), dangerous pvp combat areas/worlds (faction or guild strongholds).
In closing, MikeB /respectfulbow.
I thank you for welcoming creative input and opinions...If I was the CEO in charge of this SWTOR operation I would hire you on the spot and we would/could TKO the competition. And now for my desired class input.....
Space Pirate ma f'kars!!!! Charming enough that you wouldn't even realize that you should be hiding your women and shineys from them, Crafty enough to best you with a toothpick, Worldy as in not to be easily duped or surprised , Sneaky enough to have those convinced that it was their own brother and not us who swiped the family air loom and sold it for beer money or that blue swill Greedo got buzzed on that later spilled out his guts when he should have been still in the Fett School for Bounty Hunters who wear armor while hunting fugitives, ruffians or smugglers who are more Pirate than Slicer, Entertaining enough to pack a cantina so that driods not being allowed in is because there isn't enough room and not because they aren't wanted, Quick and Deadly to the point you will need 10 to 1 odds before you will ever get close to besting us, catching us or keeping us from taking what was yours but now ours...bring an army because you will need it and hope you can catch us alone!
I could not agree more with Warsong. I enjoyed the article very much and even made a copy on our guild site for all to read there. Thank you MikeB, it's really nice to see people think outside the carbon copy box that MMO's have become.
Ummm i don't post on this site, but this piece has made me log in. As an editor please do some homework before you post this kinda crap on a site that has 1.06 mill members. There will be no tankinghealing trinity, for the love of god edit your work beofre we get all dooms day threads popping up all over the joint!!
Comments
The one in the list I'd like to see actually utilized is the Slicer. In the previous KotoR games and the tabletop RPGs which inspired them, Slicing had the potential to be a more than just a handy throwaway skill. Especially in the old West End tabletop game where Slicers could truly do amazing things. Personally, I'd like to see Slicer end up as a pet class, as in the previous KotoR games one of the bigger uses for it was to reprogram and control various droids. Mix in Droid pets ala something similar to Hellgate: London's Engineer with the more direct use of Slicing for opening locks, overriding security system, stealing information from systems and other hacker things and you have the potential for a really fun, albeit a hybrid, class.
I do think that, no matter what, Slicing IS going to be in SW:OR, even if it ends up being a glorified Pick Locks skill or, god forbid, SW:OR version of WoW's Engineering crafting skill. Personally, I hope Bioware sees the potential for it to be a standalone class though.
edit: I am kind of curious why everyone keeps saying that the Sith side needs a Scoundrel/Spy type class. Isn't that role potentially already taken care of by the Bounty Hunter? Judging from SW fiction, Bounty Hunters would seem to be more of a foil to the Smuggler than the Trooper, but maybe I'm missing something?
Maybe the OP should make his own game. What he is describing, most certainly has nothing to do with the game Bioware is developing.
I think we should all wait to see what Bioware announces for classes before speculating. Anyone with an ounce of intelligence knows that pvp games don't do well with a lot of classes and I am sure Bioware is very cognizant of that fact.
This is one article that MMORPG should have never posted as it is obvious that the OP has not read much material on this game at all.
Time to put on the flame-retardant suit.
Reading that article, I was really kind of upset. I was hoping Bioware would do SOMETHING other than the standard setup we see in so many games. But every article was talking about pigeonholing characters as healers, tanks, nuker-type dps, whatever. That, plus the segregation....
I just feel like it's WoW in space.
I'm praying their supposed emphasis on story, and the hints that players might be able to change sides, pan out. Otherwise I see nothing interesting about this game at all.
I believe what people are a bit peeved about is that this isn't just a "fun thread", its being misrepresented as gaming news. Were it not posted as a news item, I certainly wouldn't care, but as it stands I just don't see the relevance.
The headline wasn't exactly in greek. "Possible" is right there.
We put out articles quite regularly that deal with theoreticals, that's why it's labeled an editorial. The only difference between this and any of the lists we regularly point out is that it hones in on one specific game.
Just to be safe though, we've added a brief editor's note to the top so no one is confused.
Dana Massey
Formerly of MMORPG.com
Currently Lead Designer for Bit Trap Studios
Looking forward to this game, nice info thanks for sharing.
I may not be a fanboi like others appear to be but I'm keeping an eye out for SWtOR and thought this was a fun and entertaining read. I think the classes sounded possibly fun and didn't get immediately upset or offended (how about that!). I too thought it would be cool to play as a droid engineer and have use of a combat HK, medical bot in place of a healer player, mouse or something for scouting, and a translator droid to aid in business transations or playing the small role of a diplomat. I can't seem to think of any other possible classes that are either done already or already planned for TOR.
The guy who wrote this article is out of his mind. The devs have said that the classes they launch with are going to be iconic and something that a player would want to play as much as a jedi, they also have strongly hinted at the fact that Jedi and Sith will be one class with the ability to branch off, so none of the jedi consulor, or sentinel buisness. The only points I agree with are the possible inclusion of a Spy or assassin class, as I think that this is something that players could Identify with.
Blizzard uses WOW to harvest hours played into bottles so that the dev team can remain immortal
This clas alone will be like having 12
I personally love to speculate on things like this. I know that we all would just love to share what we think might just possibly come out in the game.... but come on. If you read any of the class related articles of the SWtoR website, it says very clearly, more than once, that each class can be either empire or republic! The face that 7 of the 12 classes you made up were related to either one of the factions makes this article lose so much credibility in my eyes. The only thing I liked was some of your ideas for force sensitive classes, but the problem there is that those should all just be specializations of a jedi class. [Mod Edit]
I believe what people are a bit peeved about is that this isn't just a "fun thread", its being misrepresented as gaming news. Were it not posted as a news item, I certainly wouldn't care, but as it stands I just don't see the relevance.
The headline wasn't exactly in greek. "Possible" is right there.
We put out articles quite regularly that deal with theoreticals, that's why it's labeled an editorial. The only difference between this and any of the lists we regularly point out is that it hones in on one specific game.
Just to be safe though, we've added a brief editor's note to the top so no one is confused.
I don't think it was worthy of such a visible presentation at mmorpg.com. It would be a ok piece if it were a regular thread or someone's blog on another site. By presenting this piece in the way it has been presented stradden has given it an official status. Not good at all.
Why do every game now has to follow this tank, healer, dps, pet class, etc stuff?
I'm looking forward to this game, and will play it for sure, but i sure hope Bioware can diversify the gameplay a bit more than we are used to, i hope we arent looking at another one of those games this time around featuring lightsabers
To be perfectly blunt most us are taking issue with the "Possible". It simply isn't.
Bioware has been pretty explicit that there will only be 8 classes (4 per faction) and so far they don't seem to be following the holy trinity that strongly.
EVEN if right this moment Bioware were to announce the addition of 4 new classes to their roster it would still in no way make this editorial any closer to reality as Bioware has also been very explicit about their class concept (Hero classes only). A politician is antithetical to what Bioware is attempting to do.
This was a "fun" article. It should have been presented as such, not as a "Possible" article.
At least with the addition of the disclaimer at the top it's not so bad now.
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.... I enjoyed the article and completely understood it was just someone using their imagination and having some fun while we all wait for this game to be released. This community needs to relax and have some fun with their games (they are called games still right?)
Uhh... what?
I loved the article for what it was. Michael was just speculating as we do on these and the official forums.
And to say we have not seen some crazy or outlandish ideas come out of these and other forums is simply ridiculous.
As for all you who are getting so upset over this article.
If this upsets you so much then I implore you to take a step away from the computer. This is not something to get upset over.
It's a game. A game that is not even out yet so all we have is speculation.
Sith Scavenger/Republic Mechanist - Specializes in engineering and making use of random droid parts McGuyver style. Expert in bombs, contraptions, traps, turrets, custom lasers, and is the only class capable of temporarily modifying group members tasers, lasers, and sabers for different enhancements and damage types. It would be a hybrid class capable of dealing damage, buffing allies, and providing utility for all group members. Visual style would have mechanical limbs and/or engineered accessories like eye replacements.
I must voice my difference of opinion with many of the other posters - I, for one, appreciate this article.
I am used to getting notable contributions such as "Raiding 101" for post WotLK WoW, which to say the least is ridiculously overdue to the point of being potentially irrelevant (there are already around 11 million plyaers in that game, I contend it's a bit late to get into the Basic How To bit of the biz for WoW). MMORPG.com has brought out a host of similarly outdated articles in recent months, to my disdain. I think seeing proactive articles such as this one on this website is a welcome and fresh change, and the speculation offered by the author is fun, was clearly labeled as nothing official, and also is somewhat reasonable (I would like a bit more depth on parts of the article, but that is a small matter).
Kudos to the author, good job!
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Now Playing: World of Warcrack
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Jedi Prodigy - A defensive tank class where the character is blind. They have incredibly poor accuracy and rely entirely on the force to defend from ranged and melee attacks. Has high parry chance resulting in incredibly large critical hit counter attacks, and has high evasion. Most offensive capabilities are AOE's which include AOE CC such as stuns and knockbacks. The character has the ability to sense enemies and pull them towards them to keep them engaged defensively. The class shines when being attacked and can match or outdamage any other class when engaged wrecklessly in melee range. Visually they would look like jedi's but would have a number of visual styles to indicate blindness such as white eyes, bandanas over eyes, burnt eye sockets, etc.
I believe what people are a bit peeved about is that this isn't just a "fun thread", its being misrepresented as gaming news. Were it not posted as a news item, I certainly wouldn't care, but as it stands I just don't see the relevance.
The headline wasn't exactly in greek. "Possible" is right there.
We put out articles quite regularly that deal with theoreticals, that's why it's labeled an editorial. The only difference between this and any of the lists we regularly point out is that it hones in on one specific game.
Just to be safe though, we've added a brief editor's note to the top so no one is confused.
To be perfectly blunt most us are taking issue with the "Possible". It simply isn't.
Bioware has been pretty explicit that there will only be 8 classes (4 per faction) and so far they don't seem to be following the holy trinity that strongly.
EVEN if right this moment Bioware were to announce the addition of 4 new classes to their roster it would still in no way make this editorial any closer to reality as Bioware has also been very explicit about their class concept (Hero classes only). A politician is antithetical to what Bioware is attempting to do.
This was a "fun" article. It should have been presented as such, not as a "Possible" article.
At least with the addition of the disclaimer at the top it's not so bad now.
Well, the idea behind the article was simply: there are three unannounced classes, let's speculate on what they could be. These were 12 ideas to fill those three slots.
Anyway, generally speaking, you'll note a higher volume of content lately. We're still doing Q&As and dev journals like always - in fact more than ever - but we are also layering in more opinion, more lists and other non-official source content. It's a bit of a culture shock, I guess, for long time readers, but I think it creates more conversation in our community. We just have to make sure we always fully differentiate between the different kinds. I agree, this is one of those cases we could have done a better job being clear.
Hopefully the disclaimer clears up any potential confusion.
Dana Massey
Formerly of MMORPG.com
Currently Lead Designer for Bit Trap Studios
About the healing part, I bet most players will have use of stims ect, maybe the heal class will be secondary skill.
uggg, this speculation creeps me out, it is all the same classes in your average fantasy mmo's but with fancy starwars names tagged onto it, tank, dps, mage,crowd control, healers ect, If I ever decide to play this game I was hoping you can mix match the classes and skills, hopefully you will be able to branch off in different areas, say, some bit of jedi and then a bit of slicer and medic thrown in , just make it open already so you dont have to be set in stone playing the the life of your toon.
playing eq2 and two worlds
Not sure what the big uproar is about. This is nothing compared to what we have seen some players speculate. I do like the medic and engineer type classes though!
WOW!!!.....I have to say I'm entirely stoked and impressed with your creativity and initiative to present this MikeB. Seriously! I understand completely that this isn't from Bioware but IMHO it's stoked me more than the official game news has thus far. And as far as that goes I am enjoying the material more than 95% of the copycat drab boring same ol' same ol' MMO age of let downs and piss poor presentations/executions that's been going on basically since WoW.
I applaud and support diversity and creativity and you delivered. With this kind of presentation it just may turn some heads at LA/Bioware. And it just may dawn on someone there making the decisions that there is a large portion of this community that wants options, we want more. And I too am judging early on what Bioware is going to bring us....since well Smuggler isn't a “combat class”, just because Solo was an ass kicker doesn't make a smuggler iconic in my opinion. The way I remember the stories Solo was always trying to avoid a fight until some princess flashed him some p00ndnin.
Anyways, I will make this point..LA/Bioware would be smart in targeting the entire MMO community rather than those that would just settle for an NPC driven story/game and just want to pew pew AI raid bosses, etc.
I mean cmon...if they give us just 8 combat classes then it leaves out those whose primary focus is on crafting (there's a ton of these types around and they got cash too).
SWG had a few guilds who's primary focus was on entertainment. (*pssst* these varies from die hard SW fans to those who just liked to hang out or RP, these people have money also..hell they paid for their subs gladly and there were many who bought extra accounts just to run an ent. Afk for fast combat convenience or logged them on when needed.....same for docs).
A Politician class came into being in some other games but I'm not sure anyone has gotten a good sys/mech down for this yet...VG's was intriguing. Some there spent many game hours leveling the diplomat and a few of them properly focused had an impact on the game from mass crafting buffs to mass combat buffs. Personally I could see a class like this implemented in core combat (groups ect), from charms to group moral buffs (or debuffs) rallying support troops or faction grinds.
I would soooo play a Crime Lord (hell I could write up the whole class that would work well in an MMO combat system and any non combat system, whichever or both.). Maybe LA/Bioware will have some deeply creative staff members who can deliver on bringing us something more than just an NPC story and holy trinity system dressed up combat classes.
Although slicers can be smugglers but they are more of a techy hotwiring hacker/info broker-door opener-weapon overclockers often to be employed by smugglers and others. But a slicer is NOT a smuggler (pointed out since I can see from other posts that some people don't actually have a clue...usually a personality who wants an all in one tank/dps/healer/whatever)
Intelligence Agent works for me also...maybe something like a quasi slicer-politician type. Charismatic, crafty sneaky type...someone who could have an edge on the next encounter or a heads up on enemy number/locations whether it be NPC's or and Enemy guild your at war with.
Droid Engineer.....did someone say this wasn't or can't be a combat class??? bwahahaha. Ya IMHO that role is one of the SW staples and could have the potential of being a highly favored class. A jawa militant/merchant running his racket with a couple of highly advanced assassin droids (IG-88's for instance but there are others). A beefed up tricked out heavily armored R-unit. A seemingly passive 3PO who plays dumb...until it's time to make it's move then BAM it's enemy hits the ground do to a sonic burst or lasres...wolverine-like razors popping out!
Sith/Jedi Lord-Assassin-Marauder-Guardian-Consular would all come under the area of using the force. Options here could be basically endless from custom sabers/weapons to unusual and diverse or wild force powers. And training and could span in any direction from diplomacy to crafting to combat, etc.
Medics and medical droids are both practical to somewhat iconic. IMOP any healing based class should be primarily focused in just that...healing and very limited in doing DPS unless it's at an extreme cost to it's healing prowess due to the ease of a class such as this becoming way to over powered. But if so they should be likewise rewarded for their role to match a par for other class types being rewarded for playing their roles.
Bio-Tech/Engineering, Bio-Warfare/Defence, Interplanetary-Space Survival Experts.
Pilot....ya ya ya...it's a space game but not everyone “would be or were” a Pilot or “The Pilot” to be revered or respected or sought out for making a flawless record breaking Kessel Run...for instance.
So to those bashing this I say, just because you like to be limited and bland..some others do not reside in the small box you dwell in. Or those who went “awwww crap this isn't official news from SWTOR so it's meaningless” THX for sharing your disappointment and keep sipping that half empty glass filled with next to nothing constructive. And no, many of us don't want to drink what your drinking.....it's half empty fool. It doesn't make sense to bitch, whine and needlessly critique a passion for wanting more or being creative...the way it's feeling from LA/Bioware you will have your WoW-like zeroxed over and over strictly combat classes.
So why so distressed if others push for having a better class of rare MMORPG?? that if well executed can have a potential to have something that will interest all of us. The makers of this story/game have an opportunity here to have a product that could be fun for all of these splintered camps I see and have seen for a decade. Mainly 2 camps tho....PVE and PVP, one is highly driven to want above all NPC content and the other who is creative enough to create their own content. After all we all share the Internet, forums, stores, parks, stadiums, museums, homes, businesses, schools, highways...the world that surrounds us and there is no reason why we cant all share a diverse a great MMORPG that has areas for PVE lovers, areas for PVP lovers, areas for crafters...safe carebear areas/worlds (limited pvp arenas or w/e), dangerous pvp combat areas/worlds (faction or guild strongholds).
In closing, MikeB /respectfulbow.
I thank you for welcoming creative input and opinions...If I was the CEO in charge of this SWTOR operation I would hire you on the spot and we would/could TKO the competition. And now for my desired class input.....
Space Pirate ma f'kars!!!! Charming enough that you wouldn't even realize that you should be hiding your women and shineys from them, Crafty enough to best you with a toothpick, Worldy as in not to be easily duped or surprised , Sneaky enough to have those convinced that it was their own brother and not us who swiped the family air loom and sold it for beer money or that blue swill Greedo got buzzed on that later spilled out his guts when he should have been still in the Fett School for Bounty Hunters who wear armor while hunting fugitives, ruffians or smugglers who are more Pirate than Slicer, Entertaining enough to pack a cantina so that driods not being allowed in is because there isn't enough room and not because they aren't wanted, Quick and Deadly to the point you will need 10 to 1 odds before you will ever get close to besting us, catching us or keeping us from taking what was yours but now ours...bring an army because you will need it and hope you can catch us alone!
www.piratelords.com/
I could see some of these classes being passed in an expansion save for lack of vision.
PIRATE LORDS
I could not agree more with Warsong. I enjoyed the article very much and even made a copy on our guild site for all to read there. Thank you MikeB, it's really nice to see people think outside the carbon copy box that MMO's have become.
/Cheers
PIRATESS
[Matriarch of Shadow of Apophis]
Ummm i don't post on this site, but this piece has made me log in. As an editor please do some homework before you post this kinda crap on a site that has 1.06 mill members. There will be no tankinghealing trinity, for the love of god edit your work beofre we get all dooms day threads popping up all over the joint!!
I also got some great ideas for 38 professions ... http://www.swgcharacterbuilder.com :P
That is ... if they are iconic enough ..