Star Wars: The Old Republic Preview

It’s likely that you have already heard a fair share of opinions on BioWare’s Star Wars: The Old Republic recently, considering the NDA for testers has been lifted and a new wave of beta keys has been sent out, but should you be interested in reading something from the press, MMORPG has a preview for your perusal, describing their experience with the Sith Maurader class. Here’s a couple of mostly spoiler-free snip:

Unlike my previous experience with the Marauder, I didn’t start at level 20 or so, which gave me an opportunity to experience the class from the beginning instead of just in PvP. For those who aren’t familiar, the Marauder is a dual-wielding Advanced Class available to the Sith Warrior. Most Advanced Classes in the game are capable of filling multiple roles, but the Marauder? He’s a damage dealer through and through. That’s not to say you don’t have choice as a Marauder, in the end, it’s all about playstyle. The talent trees available to the Marauder allow one to specialize in straight up damage or damage-over-time abilities, but if you’re looking to have the option to tank when necessary, you’ll probably want to look at the Sith Juggernaut, the second Advanced Class available to the Sith Warrior.

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Sith culture is vastly different from that of the Republic. It is a brutal culture where the strongest survive and concepts such as mercy are looked upon as a sign of weakness; even the notion of loyalty is fleeting indeed. When playing the Trooper, the choices I had to make carried a sense of weight due to the potential consequences of your actions, but as a Warrior, early choices almost felt pressured. It’s true; you can be merciful even as a Sith Warrior, but the game constantly reminds you of how you’re going against the grain by doing this. When confronted with the decision to murder someone close to you, the character unflinchingly readies himself for battle, expecting it. This is simply the way of the Sith. Choosing to spare them evokes a sense of shock, even inner-conflict, as the character isn’t even sure if he should accept this act of mercy. The story will challenge you on this choice later on as well, in a clever way that forces you to reconsider the merciful path you appear to be treading on. Later, after returning to complete one of your trials, you can choose to hand over all your quest items to a failed hopeful in order to spare him a likely death, but choosing to do so means you’ll have to basically redo the quest over. Treading the Light path as a Sith is not easy, but it offers a just as compelling, if not a more compelling experience than perhaps playing an out-and-out Jedi Knight. It’s taboo to do what you are doing, and concealing your good deeds is necessary in order to maintain your reputation.