When we dive into the world of MMORPG games, one of the names that we hear a lot besides the obvious, World of Warcraft and RuneScape, is the movie inspired title Star Wars: The Old Republic. While a lot of us love Star Wars as a popular sci-fi franchise, this MMO gets to see new players every once in a while, but unlike many other MMOs, getting into the old republic might feel overwhelming!
And a lot of new players starting off with a completely new swtor account apparently don’t play the game just because it looks kind of TOO MUCH to start with and a lot of it has to do with the number of classes and then the sub classes or the advanced classes and then the class specific skills and roles that each of the sub classes present. I get it, it’s a lot to get in for a new player, so let me just try and break the whole thing down for you in this guide.
Getting Started SWTOR as a New or Returning player
Alright, so as we already know that SWTOR is an MMORPG with elements from the Star Wars franchise and so naturally the developers have tried to keep things in a certain way that the game justifies its appearance, gameplay and swtor credits system to make you feel like you are actually living a Star Wars universe.
And being part of that Star Wars universe, you already know that it is actually divided between two sides, the side of Darkness and the side of Light. Based on the two sides, there are two Factions in the game, the dark side is called the Sith Empire and side of Light is called the Galactic Republic. So, when you start the game, the first thing you need to do is choose between these two sides, as you would in any other MMORPG game out there.
What Roles Fit you?
And once you have chosen a side, there will now be different roles that you’d have to select for yourself, as you’d in any other MMORPG. There are 3 roles, Tank, Healers and DPS. Now this is where you need to really put some thoughts in, if you have played as Tank in another game and you think that’s where your power lies, you should definitely go with a Tank. But if you haven’t actually played any other MMO before and you are not sure which role would you fit in, you can just about your playstyle in general, like if you love to be the first line of defence for your team, Tank might be the option for you to go with.
But if you like your team to take the charge and you like to be there for their support, then you might want to go with the healer. But if you want to be the one who loves to just slay your enemies and get into fight all the time be it the melee combat or the the ranged combat, I would definitely suggest you go with the DPS, because this is the role that deals the most damage to your opponents.
The Base Classes
Now that you have settled for a role and you are ready to jump into the fight and take your team through thick and thin and help them in any way you can, the next step for you is to choose a primary class for yourself. Now again, just like any other MMO out there, SWTOR offers you to pick your class based on your playstyle and preference.
The game has a total of 4 primary classes for each of the faction and then these classes are further divided into 2 advanced classes and these advanced classes come packed with different abilities and skills in what is called a skill tree.
This is the part that most of the new players and returning players find to be most confusing about it and don’t forget the fact that there are also different modes in the game as well. If you pick a class that does great in PVE, it might not be as effective in PVP and then there is also a story mode, which doesn’t care much about the classes.
So, here is a little run down about which classes are the best according to your skillset and of course, your role.
Tank
If you have decided to play as a tank and you haven’t really had a chance to experience being a tank before, you should start with Vanguard (republic) or the Powertech (sith). But if you have some experience with the tank in other MMOs, you should go with either Sith Juggernaut (sith) or the Jedi Guardian (Republic).
Healer
Moving onto the Healer role, if you haven’t actually had any prior experience with it, you should stick with Jedi Sage or the Sith Sorcerer to get started with. But if you have some experience, I would highly recommend you stick to the Operative or the Scoundrel class.
DPS
Lastly, if you want to play as a DPS, you can go with a Sentinel or a Jedi Guardian, that is if you are good at melee combat but if you are good at ranged combat, maybe try Gunslinger or Sniper!
I hope this guide helps you to get a better idea about how to select the perfect class for you and hopefully untangles all the complexities that you may have had before reading this.
