Anyone who picked up Slicing as their choice of crew skills, and many others who didn’t probably already know the credit income has been significantly reduced in the last The Old Republic patch. However, from what most players report the numbers are still high enough and this crew skills is still very profitable:

Current Stats:

• Missions: 126
• Total Mission Time: 42.6 Hours
• Overall Profit per Mission Minute: 23.76

Top Five Missions in order of ROI:

• Taking Back Control (37/min) (Rich Class 5, 27 samples)
• The Fly on the Wall (35/min) (Rich Class 5, 20 samples)
• Be Careful What You Read (19/min) (Bountiful Class 4, 12 samples)
• Droid Madness (20/min) (Abundant Class 3, 6 samples)
• Take The Money and Run (19/min) (Moderate Class 3, 4 samples)

I’d say these stats you see above tell a simple story: Slicing is still good for making credits. Read up a few of our tips on maximizing slicing income and you likely won’t be disappointed with your credits gain. In case you need to learn how to earn credits in SWTOR with other means, give a shot at Killerguides, it’s worth it.

In short, if you want to make credits slicing is still very good. At least for the time being.

Best part: it’s completely free! (except for the internet bandwidth)

First things first though: you’ll need an Android-powered device for this to work. This works on iPhone and iPad as well, but for the purposes of this short guide we’ll stick to Android. You’ll find detailed steps of exactly what you need to do to “play” SWTOR on your mobile device below:

1. Get TeamViewer

TeamViewer is a piece of software which you need to install on your PC. You can download it on the link provided, and surprisingly the application is entirely free of charge. You will need to create an account on the same website (again, free), and make sure to remember all the details. Additionally, make sure you create the account on the PC you’re using to play SWTOR.

If you need help setting anything up, I suggest you refer to the instructions on the official TeamViewer website. The application is fairly straightforward and you’ll likely figure it out pretty quickly.

2. Get TeamViewer for Android

Go to the Android App Market and download the TeamViewer Android app. When it’s installed on your table or mobile phone, run it and log in with the details from step #1. You can also download the TeamViewer for Android as well as iPhone and iPad on the official website (click the “Mobile” tab).

3.  Connect to your PC

That should be it! If you set up everything correctly, you should be able to see your PC’s desktop on your mobile phone. It isn’t the prettiest sight ever, but it’s more than enough for what we need.

Below is a screenshot of how The Old Republic should look on your device:

Just enough to bring up the companion menu (hotkey “N”) and send them to do missions. You can use the little keyboard icon to bring it up.

A couple of extra notes. This consumes fairly high amounts of bandwidth, so consider yourself warned. If possible, try to use a Wi-fi connection. Additionally, you will need to move around or just hit the “Space” key every now and then to prevent logging out for being AFK.

Do note that you won’t really be able to do much else in SWTOR, but if you want to grind some credits while at work this will be perfect for you!

For many of you who picked up slicing as your choice of crew skill, you did the right thing!

You’re probably on your way to your first million credits, or perhaps even better, but the following short guide will explain to you how you can maximize the credits gain from Slicing, just in case you’re still short on cash.

If you have any of your own useful tips or secrets be sure to add them in the comments section below!

1. Try not to queue anything less than a Bountiful Yield mission.

Even Bountiful Yield missions 2 or more tiers below your current one have higher yields than moderate/abundant ones at your current slicing level. The mission Yields go Wealthy (discovery purple) > Prosperous (discovery blue) > Rich > Bountiful > Abundant > Moderate. Mission Discoveries for slicing don’t seem to pay off, so avoid unless you want augments.

If you don’t have a Bountiful or Rich Yield Mission available, queue a lower class mission.

2. Try to stagger companion return so you have time to select a Bountiful/Rich mission.

Missions seem to be shuffled upon companions completing a mission or you completing any other mission (more investigation needed here). If you have to, queue a Class 1 mission to shuffle up your mission selection.

3. While leveling, orange colored missions have a chance of failure. Grey missions provide no skill ups.

Class 6 missions are either broken, or don’t work because of my skill level. I’ll be leveling another alt and collecting detailed data on the level up process soon.

You can view the exact numbers in this spreadsheet. Hopefully it helps!

Need more tips for making SWTOR credits? Take a look at our recommendation!

Alacrity Rating – Decreases activation time for all abilities. This does NOT affect the global cooldown, and only reduces the time on casted abilities.

Basically, if you’re familiar with the Haste attribute from WoW, Alacrity is pretty much the same. From the latest testing by players, Alacrity does in fact appear to be reducing the global cooldown (GCD) as well, but it’s still unconfirmed.

To get a 1% reduction in ability cast time, you’ll need 25 alacrity rating. Note that alacrity rating is different that alacrity percentage!

So for example, +150 Alacrity Rating would give you 10% Alacrity, at least 50% more than a +75 relic could possibly give. Global Cooldown (if affected at all) would be reduced to 1.36 seconds from 1.5 seconds. If you get 20 alacrity at level 50 it would give you roughly 13% quicker ability cast time.

Some players say alacrity affects all global cooldowns, some say it only reduces GCD on spells that aren’t instant cast, and some players claim it doesn’t affect GCD at all. Hopefully someone will do the proper testing soon and we’ll find out how good alacrity really is.

If you have your own data to contribute with be sure to post is in the comments below, and don’t forget to check out our leveling guide for more information!

We already have some of the information found in this guide posted previously, so I provided some links to my previous articles as well.

Those who wish to follow in the bootsteps of Han Solo, live life on the outside of the law or simply want to carve their own, fast-paced, independent way across the galaxy will want to investigate the Smuggler class in Star Wars: The Old Republic. A snarky sense of humor and oodles of self-belief will also get you off to a solid start.

Looking in the Mirror & Choosing a Species

So, you’ve decided to live life dangerously as a charming and stylish Smuggler? Good choice! After selecting your class the next thing you’ll need to do is choose a species. Options for the Smuggler are as follows; Cyborg, Human, Mirialan, Twi’lek and Zabrak.

Species has no bearing on your stats and only affects the Racial Ability (basically an extra emote) you are given. Also note that the Cyborg species is basically a human with metal bits grafted onto its face. The Cyborg Racial Ability, Scan, is quite fun though.

Primary Attribute

The Smuggler’s Primary Attribute is: Cunning.
Whenever possible, this is the stat you want to boost when upgrading your gear.

Game Quote:

“Cunning increases the damage and critical chances of the Smuggler’s Ranged and Tech powers. This remains so for both the Gunslinger and the Scoundrel Advanced Classes, while the Scoundrel’s Cunning additionally increases the effectiveness of healing powers.”

Armor, Stylish Vests & Equipment

A Smuggler wears Medium Armor and favors a look featuring a variety of leather leggings, multi-pocketed shirts and knee-high boots. Nothing screams “Back off corporate line-tower” more clearly than a nice, low-slung holster and a puffy cargo vest. Am I right?

Game Quote:

“They don’t wear fancy armor or carry high-powered blaster rifles, but Smugglers are outfitted for action nonetheless. Wearing comfortable, flexible clothing with some custom modifications, Smugglers are able to stay light on their feet and quick on the draw. Usually carrying a fast-firing blaster or two, Smugglers have everything they need to shoot their way out of trouble. Though style is rarely their intent, it seems to come naturally to Smugglers, and their dashing duds generally compliment their roguish charm.”

Starting Skills

The first three damage-producing skills you’ll have right off the bat are; Flurry of Bolts, Charged Burst, and Sabotage Charge.

You’ll also have a buff called Lucky Shots – which increases your Critical Hit chance by 5% – a self-heal called Recuperate and the ability to Take Cover (more on this shortly). Remember to use Recuperate liberally. After every battle if necessary.

At Level 2 you’ll obtain an up-close melee skill called Blaster Whip allowing you to clock mobs over the head with your pistol.

At level 3 you’ll obtain Thermal Grenade which damages up to five targets in an eight-meter radius. You will enjoy Thermal Grenade, trust me.

At level 4 you’ll learn Dirty Kick – hands down, the greatest single skill in SWTOR. Yes, Dirty Kick is a melee boot to an enemy’s groin. Humanoid or droid – they’re going down when you apply the ‘Kick! Ooof!

Level 5 brings in the Vital Shot ability. Vital Shot causes your target to bleed internally (dealing 124 damage over 15 seconds). This is a good thing. You want all of your enemies to be bleeding internally. Yessireebob.

More abilities: Here

Cover System

As a Smuggler you’ll need to find cover and use it to your advantage. You can dish out a whole lot of hurt but you aren’t the toughest toon on the block when it comes to soaking up damage.

When you have an enemy selected you will see a green silhouette appear next to an object (boulder, crate, tree, etc.) that can be used as cover. Click the Take Cover icon on your skill bar or hit the “F” key and you will stylishly roll into cover.

If you click Take Cover and there is nothing nearby to hide behind you will simply “take a knee”. Your cover-dependent abilities will then become available.

In later levels a Gunslinger can obtain a handy Portable Cover option which you’ll thank your lucky stars for.

Energy System

Smuggler skills work on an Energy system and it plays out something like this. Each time to you fire off a blaster shot or toss out a grenade you use up a bit of the Energy on your yellow, Energy bar. When your Energy bar is depleted you will no longer be able to use skills that require Energy to function.

Thankfully, right out of the starting gate, you have the Flurry of Bolts blaster shot which is free to use – costing no Energy. This is your bread-and-butter, basic fighting attack which you’ll rely on time and time again to pull your Smuggler hindquarters out of the frying pan.

Game Quote:

“Your energy regenerates faster at higher energy levels. As your energy decreases, so does the rate at which it recovers. To maintain a high amount of energy, use Flurry of Bolts regularly to allow your energy to recover.”

Skill Rotation

Let’s talk about a series of fighting actions which will help you battle your way through levels 1-10. This plan of attack may not be perfect but it worked well for me in early game.

Firstly, Take Cover. Throw out a Sabotage Charge at an enemy (preferably an enemy standing beside a few evil buddies).

Shoot the enemy with Vital Shot to get it bleeding.

Tab-Target the next enemy and throw a Thermal Grenade, Vital Shot for bleeds, fire off Charged Burst then use Flurry of Bolts as many times as needed.

Note that Sabotage Charge has a short cooldown period after use so you won’t be able to throw out these timed explosives more than once every 30 seconds. Also, keep in mind that Sabotage Charge can only be used when in cover.

To simplify even further; Cover, Sabotage Charge, bleeds, thermal grenades and flurry of shots to finish off any remaining.

Origin World: Ord Mantell & Leveling Like A Pro

You’ll first set down and begin your adventures on the wartorn planet of Ord Mantell. You’ll be assisting the local Republic troops in a battle against rebellious Separatists. The first tasks you’ll be asked to assist with include destroying some remote control stations and disabling some signal jammers. Rest assured, the local Seps will attempt to stop you.

Smugglers will also meet and learn to hate a dastardly thug who looms large in their personal story. I won’t spoil what goes down but you will be given ample reason to chase this fiend across the galaxy – beyond your Origin World beginnings.

TIP One: Grab up every side mission you uncover and get them completed before you leave Ord Mantell. You’ll enjoy the credits, gear and extra experience points they provide. There’s also plenty of fun story to be enjoyed.

TIP Two: Grab all Bind Points you come across. You will be able to use your Quick Travel ability to jump to any Bind Point you have unlocked previously.

You can grab a good Smuggler leveling guide here. It’s definitely worth checking out!

First Companion

Yeah, I know. You’d like a Wookiee as your faithful co-pilot, bodyguard and companion. Don’t worry – good things come to those that wait. Until then, you’ll be running with your first companion, a Heavy Armor-wearing fellow with a Southern American accent known as Corso Riggs.

Riggs ties-in closely with your story and Origin World play and he even helpfully provides you with your first, blue-quality blaster. Now, if we can just get him to wear a Wookiee mask we’ll be all set.

Advanced Classes: Gunslinger or Scoundrel

By the time you finish up your questing on Ord Mantell you should find yourself around level 10 or 11 (depending on how many side missions you completed). At this point you’ll be given a mission which sends you off to Carrick Station on the Republic Fleet. Here, the game really opens up before you and the galaxy is your oyster.

When you arrive at the Fleet talk to Sammo Kob and he’ll send you on your way to the Advanced Class trainers. You’ll be able to choose from one of two Advanced Classes; Gunslinger or Scoundrel.

Those inclined toward causing massive damage will want to select Gunslinger. Smugglers who prefer stealth and healing will want to opt for Scoundrel.

Game Quote:

“Gunslinger: Master of the trick shot, the first to dive for cover and able to take advantage of every opportunity, the Gunslinger and his dual blasters are the perfect team. There’s a right target for ending every disagreement, and the Gunslinger knows enemy vulnerabilities like the inside of his ship.

All Gunslingers learn how to fire two blasters at once, specializing in long-range combat and methods to keep enemies at a distance. Gunslingers can also opt to learn the skills of the saboteur, using grenades and demolitions technology that cause fire damage and ignore enemy armor; the Sharpshooter, shooting from cover and focusing on precise, high-damage attacks; and Dirty Fighting, crippling and bleeding opponents using underhanded tactics.”

“Scoundrel: The Scoundrel doesn’t have time for polite and doesn’t do fair fight. In addition to a trusty blaster, the Scoundrel packs a stealth belt, a scattergun and a medpac—everything you need to get in, knock the enemy for a loop and get out alive.

All Scoundrels learn how to move stealthily—sneaking past or surprising enemies—and various close-quarters fighting techniques that do damage at short range and prevent an enemy from fleeing. Scoundrels can also opt to learn the skills of the Scrapper, using scatterguns to deal even more damage close-up; the Sawbones, applying medicine and damage prevention techniques to heal and protect allies; and Dirty Fighting, crippling and bleeding opponents using underhanded tactics.”

Conclusion

Alright, Smuggler that should get you off to a running start in an exciting world full of new adventures. Remember to shoot first, leave ‘em with a sly wink and a snappy one-liner and hightail it to the next system before they can pick up your trail.

Keep in mind what one famous Smuggler once said and you’ll never go wrong:

“Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.”

Don’t miss this comprehensive Smuggler guide if you want to learn more about this class!

Once you’ve loaded the game and chosen your server, the first thing you’ll see is your character selection screen. If you’ve created a Consular already, great! If not, click ‘Create Character’ and have fun customizing. Race and gender give no advantages or disadvantages in game, so pick whatever looks good to you. When you’re satisfied that you have the hottest looking Consular in the galaxy, you’ll be taken to the opening crawl of your story. Enjoy reading it—this is YOUR Star Wars saga!

A shuttle will fly you down to the surface of Tython, which is the origin planet for both Jedi classes. You’ll meet Master Yuon Par, who has taken you as her Padawan. You’ll also get instruction on how to move in game, find your quest log, locate taxis, and equip items. This is a good spot to click the ‘Options’ button on your top bar, and check out your preferences. If your game is running slowly, the graphics are usually the culprit. Turn shadows, anisotropy, and grass down or off. Lowering ‘ground clutter’ can help, too. Under ‘social’, check ‘allow access to same class stories’ if you plan on grouping a lot. This will let you join other JCs in their class stories. Note—only one of you will get credit if you’re grouped with someone who has the same class quest. There is a choice to auto-loot the area on right click—this is very handy. Add more hotbars, especially the bottom two. You’ll need them as you gain skills. I enabled all four bars and put the skills I used infrequently on the right bar. I set my left bar for crew member skills. There’s a tab at the bottom of the preference window for keybinds. Adjust them as you desire—there are a lot of options you can hotkey or rebind to keys you prefer. Click ‘apply’ to save all your options, and then ‘OK’ to close the window.

You’ll also notice tips on the right side of your screen from time to time–click those to open the tip windows and learn more. These are incredibly helpful, and you want to ignore these about as much as you want to be eaten by a Rancor.

People to See, Places to Go

Once you arrive at the Gnarls taxi stop, make sure to pick up the bind point. Get in the habit of unlocking all your bind points, which are usually located by the taxis and in cantinas. This gives you many more quick travel options. You’ll thank yourself later when you want to hop back somewhere to turn in quests.

You’ll find your first skill trainer and some merchants in this area as well. Visit the trainer as soon as possible after leveling up to get your new skills. You need all your Jedi powers to defeat those enemies!

Skills for Survival
The default hotkey for your skills is ‘p’. Most skills will be automatically added to your hotbars if you have an open space for them. Some are not, however. Also, passive skills do not need to be on your hotbars. They’re always active. The skills are unlocked on your bar by default, so you can move them around freely to suit your particular play style. Click the little padlock icon on the left side of the center skillbar to lock or unlock it.

I usually keep Force Wave in slot one, Project in two, Telekinesis in three, and my melee skills in four and five. Seeing items ripped out of the ground and thrown at your enemy is Very Cool, so I lean more towards using the Force skills. I have those hotkeyed on my number pad. If you prefer more of a melee style, move the lightsaber skills to slots two and three instead. The issue of mousing versus hotkeying the skills has caused many a debate and even a few nasty little flamewars. Do what works best for you and ignore the fruitcakes out there who tell you that you’re wrong for doing it that way.

Quests and Maps

Right near the Gnarls taxi, you’ll notice Master Relnex, who will have your first real quest for you. Quest givers have cut out gold triangles above their heads when they have quests to offer. The triangles will be filled in when you have a completed quest to turn into them. Why BioWare chose triangles, I don’t know. In any case, go find those students before the Flesh Raiders capture them!

Check your map periodically (default hotkey is ‘m’). This is a great way to find more quests and new areas to explore. Accept all the quests you can possibly find, including the bonus objectives that come from taking down your foes. All of those will give you experience points (XP) towards the next level and practice using the different combat and healing skills.

Tempting as it is to move your class storyline along, don’t rush through the Gnarls area. You receive XP for discovering Lore objects, unlocking new areas, and meeting new species. You’ll have your first dialogue option that offers Light Side (LS) or Dark Side (LS) points. You can role-play it the way you want, though there is currently a definite advantage to choosing one side or the other. Some gear is restricted to either LS or DS, and you have to earn a certain level of points to unlock those ranks. Your Jedi can turn to the DS, though it will be a challenging path to play. Dark Side Jedi do not turn into Sith and switch factions to the Empire, just as Light Side Sith do not switch factions to the Republic.

When you receive quest rewards, take the time to mouse over them to find out which attributes they boost. The main attribute for the JC is Willpower, with Endurance coming in a close second. Willpower raises the amount of Force power, while Endurance raises your hit points. Since you can only wear light armor, raising both is essential. Presence is useful for raising your companions’ hit points, but don’t worry about that one too much. At lower levels, you can also put points into Strength if you want to raise the amount of damage you do with your lightsaber. Gear with this stat may arguably useful for Jedi Shadows, but not for Sages, who need the extra Force points more than melee damage. At higher levels, Willpower is always going to be the better option, however. Don’t bother with Aim or Cunning.

After finishing up in the Gnarls area, you’ll be directed to the Jedi Temple. Take the time to explore the area in and around the temple thoroughly. You’ll find class trainers, several quests, a cantina, lore objects, and a variety of vendors, including one for your Tython commendations. Don’t bother buying armor at this stage—you’ll receive a number of armor pieces as quest rewards. The understudy’s foil is useful for killing the bad guys faster than your practice saber, but it’s not essential. Save up the commendations for the Consular robe that you can buy at the Specialty Vendor. That served me well through most of Coruscant, which is the planet you go to when you finish your work on Tython. Pick up a few medpacs and stims that boost your Endurance and Willpower. You can find these at Stim Vendors and Republic Medical Droids.

Health and Welfare

Make sure to use your Force Valor buff as often as it wears off. It lasts an hour. You can buff an entire party or even other players. If you buff other players who aren’t Consulars as you meet or pass them in game, you’ll find that some of them will stop to return the favor. Every bit helps!

What happens if your health drops during battle? Well, when your foes are lying at your feet, take a few moments to use your meditation skill. This will heal you and replenish your Force points. Always go into the battle with a full health bar whenever possible. What happens if your health bar drops to zero? You’ll have a screen pop up saying you were defeated. You will be presented with two options–revive where you’re at, or get revived at the nearest medcenter. If you’ve finished all your objectives and were ready to turn in your completed quests, or are in the middle of a huge mob that you have no hope of defeating, then being transported to the nearest medcenter might be more convenient. Otherwise, revive where you’re at. You’ll have 8 seconds of stealth to get to a safe spot to heal yourself and re-apply any buffs and stims. Then go finish off the bugger who defeated you and pick up those drops he so kindly left behind. Your armor takes damage during battle, but it takes a lot more damage if you are defeated. Make sure to repair your items at a vendor when you sell all those terrific drops you’ve picked up during your adventures.

Explore, Explore, Explore

Once you’re done with the Jedi Temple orientation, you will be directed to Kalikori Village to help the Pilgrims there and to solve some of the mysteries for your class quest chain. Following that, you’ll end up at the Forward Speeder Camp to foray into the ruins of Kaleth. Explore all the areas–you never know when you’ll find lore objects, new quests, security chests and crates, and the fabled datacrons. There are some gorgeous areas on Tython where you have a chance to stop and just simply enjoy.

Sometimes, you’ll receive a mission item when you accept a quest. That item will end up in your inventory (default hotkey ‘i’). Click the ‘mission’ tab. You can drag the item to your hotbar so that you don’t have to open your inventory every time you need to use it.

Enemies of the Republic are Everywhere

The enemies get tougher as you advance through the different zones, and you’ll see more challenging foes and even a few bosses. Generally, if the enemy has a name, it means BioWare cared enough about him to shower him with love, attention, and lots of hitpoints. You’ll have a better chance of surviving a boss encounter if you’re in a group or if you’re the same or higher level compared to the boss. Left-clicking on the boss will give you some of his stats so that you know what you’re up against.

Bosses often have better quality loot drops than the average enemy. Usually the drops will shine with a white light, but if you see green, blue, or especially purple, there’s something special there for you!

A gold shaft of light indicates a drop needed for a mission has fallen. Make sure to grab those up.

Dialogue Options Can Be a Lot of Fun

BioWare has done a terrific job of making the quests varied and fun. I had to laugh at the baby flesh raider quest and the subsequent dialogue choices when turning in the completed quest for the reward.

Heroic Quests

At the Forward Speeder Camp, you’ll also receive your first Heroic quest. Pay attention to the number of people it says you should have in your party before attempting it, usually 2+ or 4. You’ll need at least that many players, and companions don’t count. These aren’t called ‘heroic’ quests for nothing! These quests are also excellent spots for grouping up and earning social points. Don’t miss out on that.

Companions Join You on Your Adventures

Your first companion, Qyzen Fess, will join you on Tython. You’ll receive more companions over the course of the game. Once you have him in your party, your dialogue choices affect you in more complex ways. These choices many times give you not only LS/DS choices, but now also give affection points. If your companion likes the choice you’ve made, you’ll get rewarded with affection points. If he doesn’t like your choice, affection points will be subtracted. The codex entries in your log (default hotkey ‘l’) on your companions will tell you what they like and dislike, so make sure to read those if you’re planning on maximizing affection with them. Sometimes, your companions won’t like your LS or DS choices. This adds a new dimension to your conversation options.

Don’t forget to equip your companion with items, too, though the equipment he has when you first receive him should be sufficient on Tython. He can wear heavy armor, so give him the best you can find or buy. Despite the fact that his main attributes are Aim and Cunning (both ranged attributes), he comes only with a weapon proficiency in techstaff, which is a melee weapon. You can access your companion’s equipment in the character pane (default hotkey is ‘c’). You’ll see the companion tab right next to yours. You don’t have to worry about assigning attribute points or abilities to your companion. He automatically levels up when you do.

First Lightsaber!

Finally, the time will come for you to craft your own lightsaber. This class quest is the toughest on the planet except for maybe the heroic quest. Make sure you’ve reached at least level 8, and preferably higher. Remember to equip the lightsaber as soon as you craft it. You’ll need it! Once you’ve completed this quest, you’ll return to the Jedi Temple and learn some important news that will send you on even greater adventures across the galaxy.

By this time, you should be well past the ‘newbie’ stage and ready to tackle the advanced stuff. May the Force be with you!

Need more detailed Jedi Consular tricks and tactics? Check out this strategy guide here and learn the mistakes every new player makes!

Guide source: Torwars.

Contents:

• Advanced Classes
• Companions
• Species & Appearance
• Leveling
• Stats & Equipment
• Crew Skills
• Heat System
• Skill Rotation & Combat

The Bounty Hunter brings a lot to the table, and has the opportunity to play any three of the major class roles; they can Tank, Heal, and DPS (the ‘Trinity’). Being able to fill all three vital spots of the Trinity leaves a lot of choice for your character, as if you do decide to roll a Bounty Hunter you will have some freedom before you decide your Advanced Class and which direction you’ll take.

Advanced Classes

As with all classes in SWTOR, at level 10 you will have to select your Advanced Class. The Bounty Hunter can choose from the Powertech which favors Tanking and DPS or the Mercenary which specializes in Healing and DPS.

Each AC has two unique Talent Trees, different specializations, and different ‘Cylinders’. You can only have one Cylinder activate at a time, and each provides different “buffs” for your character – They basically function like ‘stances’ in other MMOs. Each Advanced Class gains two unique Cylinders along with corresponding Talents to enhance them. Both ACs gain access to Combustible Gas Cylinder at level 4, which has a chance to add a damage-over-time effect to enemy targets with each attack.

The Powertech gains access to Ion Gas Cylinder which increases damage and threat-generation against enemies while also lowering total damage taken, providing increased Armor, and increases shield generation chance – this is mostly for Tanking. The other unique Cylinder for Powertechs is High Energy Gas, which increases all elemental damage dealt, this Cylinder would be used mostly for DPS.

Mercenaries gain access to High Velocity Gas, increasing Armor Penetration for more DPS and also Combat Support Cylinder which increases all damage & healing output, and allows you to shoot your allies in the face to apply some minor healing. It does take a little getting used to your Rapid Shots healing allies while Combat Support Cylinder is activated, but it is handy indeed.

Companions

Companions are also an important part of picking any character in SWTOR, and the first companion your Bounty Hunter gets is Mako, a pretty little lady who will heal up your wounds and follow you around with the utmost vigor.

(**Slight Spoiler Note: She tends to enjoy ‘good’ choices, although she loves her credits – so some Dark-side choices she will surprisingly agree with, but in general she tends to disagree with very evil moral choices)

Mako is the first legit Healing Companion that any of the classes get in SWTOR, which is also an added perk. If you decide to go Powertech or DPS Mercenary Spec then Mako will be a very handy addition to your adventuring.

The combination of any class role with a nice healing Companion pretty early in the game makes the Bounty Hunter a fine choice for the indecisive and Newbie MMO player. The combination of the Cylinder system with exciting abilities revolving around explosions, fire, and missiles lend itself to an aesthetically exciting character that also proves to be very versatile. Even once you pick your Advanced Class option, you’re still left with either Tanking/DPS (Powertech) or Healing/DPS (Mercenary) – a nice combo of options.

Species & Appearance

The Bounty Hunter can be played by five of the playable species in SWTOR; Humans, Zabraks, Rattataki, Chiss, and Cyborgs. Ultimately, species and appearance have no effect on your character, but it adds plenty of flavor and each race has its own unique emote which also adds some distinction. Feel free to play around with each, and make sure to choose something that you enjoy and makes you feel like a Bounty Hunter who’s ready to conquer the galaxy.

In terms of the Racial Emotes, my personal favorite for the BH is probably the Cyborg’s ‘Scan’ emote, as it adds some nice Bounty Hunter-eqse flair to your character.

Leveling

Starting off as a Bounty Hunter will land you on Hutta, which is a planet rife with plenty of greed and immoral activity for any up and coming Bounty Hunter. Your quest is to become a contestant in the ‘Great Hunt’, which is pretty much the Superbowl for Bounty Hunters. You’re competing, in usually not a nice way, against various other Bounty Hunters and attempting to win the favor of a Hutt who can make your dreams come true.

While on Hutta you’ll naturally deal with Hutts, but also the Empire, find your first Companion and complete plenty of mayhem for filthy credits. It’s also important to take a break from ruthless Bounty Hunting and remember to pick up the Datacrons on Hutta as well for some permanent stat increases. As far as I’ve been able to discover, there are 3 available Datacrons on Hutta, one for a bonus to Aim, one for Presence, and a Blue Matrix Shard.

Leveling up for the Bounty Hunter was for the most part, a piece of cake. Once you pick-up Mako and have a Healing Companion – you’re able to tackle many of the more difficult tasks, quests, and even Heroic Two-mans become pretty manageable.

The important thing to remember in SWTOR is to follow your main class story line. It will present you with everything you need, for the most part. Following the quest will you lead on the path to get your Companion, join the Great Hunt, “acquire” a ship (which is an awesome quest-line, mind you), and get you to the hub where you’ll be able to select your Advanced Class.

Stats & Equipment

As with all the classes, Bounty Hunters have a Primary Stat which functions as the definitive, most useful stat for them. Aim is the key stat for Bounty Hunters, as it adds damage to Tech skills (yellow damage), standard range damage (white damage), and Healing Tech skills (green). It also increases the Critical Strike chance on these types of abilities as well. Endurance is the second primary stat for most BH gear, increasing hit points and health regeneration.

There are plenty of other secondary stats that will become important to your Bounty Hunter later on, such as Accuracy, Alacrity, Expertise and the like; with stats like Willpower and Strength being much less important, to almost useless for a Bounty Hunter. Accuracy will be an important secondary stat for Hunters, as much of the time they will be attacking from Range – so making sure you hit is of added benefit.

Bounty Hunters also seem to be reliant on Critical Strikes, so secondary stats boosting Crit Chance and Crit Damage will be important as well. But for the most part in early game you’ll find yourself focusing on Aim and Endurance. Also, once you get upgraded to Heavy Armor when you select your AC, don’t forget to swap out/upgrade your Medium Armor gear for the better, Heavy Armor.

Crew Skills

If you’re a big crafting fan, you’ll want to pick up your Crew Skills or Trade Skills as soon as possible and the best opportunity is probably once you reach the Imperial Fleet at around level 10. There are plenty of good crafting options for the Bounty Hunter. The two main skills that stick out are Armortech and Armstech in terms of gear construction, depending on whether or not you want to be able to craft Armor or Weaponry for your character.

The Bounty Hunter uses various guns & assorted weaponry and Medium/Heavy Armor, So Armortech & Armstech are the natural selection if you’re interested in crafting some of your own gear.

If crafting equipment isn’t your thing, then Biochem or Cybertech may be good alternatives to those skills, as having extra ‘Consumables’ on hand or crafting gear for Droids can always come in handy if you’re a big fan of the non-Organic. Depending on what crafting skills you’ve selected, you’ll most likely want to choose the complimenting ‘gathering’ Crew Skill so you will be able to provide yourself with your own materials and save your precious credits.

Below is a list of the suggest pairings of gathering skills and mission skills with the listed crafting skills above.

• Armortech – Scavenging (Gathering), Investigation (Mission Skill), Underworld Trading (Mission Skill)
• Armstech – Scavenging, Investigation, Underworld Trading, Treasure Hunting (Mission Skill)
• Biochem – Bioanalysis (Gathering), Underworld Trading
• Cybertech – Scavenging, Slicing (Gathering), Treasure Hunting, Underworld Trading

With Crew Skills in mind, remember to keep an eye on your wallet – as each mission you send your Companion out on will cost you credits. While leveling up and needing to save for a mount and pay for skills, keeping tabs on your Galactic checkbook is always helpful.

Heat System

Your Bounty Hunter uses the Heat System to execute abilities, starting off with zero Heat and slowly building Heat as you continue to use abilities, with each ability having a ‘Heat Requirement’ or Cost to use. Some abilities, like Rapid Shots (your main attack ability), do not build Heat and it will be important to use abilities that don’t build Heat inbetween the use of Heat-building skills, as to give your Heat System time to cool down.

The Heat System works on a scale of 0-100 and the system is not ‘static’ in its depletion after you’ve built heat; so the less Heat that you have, the faster your Heat will dissipate. You can see your current ‘Dissipation Rate’ to the right of your Heat Bar in-game, represented as small arrows; the more arrows you have, the faster your Heat will dissipate. With this mechanic of Heat dissipating faster the less Heat you have built up, it’s in your Bounty Hunter’s best interests to attempt ‘Heat Management’ (or keeping your Heat at a lower level) so it can continue to deplete at the accelerated rate. There will, of course, be occasions where you’re forced to build up large amounts of Heat quickly, but keep in mind that your Heat bar will not ‘cool down’ as fast as it would if your Heat was only 1/3rd full.

You also have abilities in your arsenal to either lower your current Heat level, or not build any at all. Vent Heat is a prime example of one way to get rid of some of that nasty built up Heat, by venting out 50 Heat over three seconds, although it is on a two minute cooldown so be wary with its usage.

The quicker degradation of Heat when your Heat level is lower is an interesting mechanic, as if you are able to manage your Heat well – you could, in theory, stay at a consistent level and keep using your relevant abilities. As a general rule, I attempt to keep my Heat below 25% or 50% to keep the dissipation rate quick. So, when jumping into your Bounty Hunter, learning Heat Management will be key for future encounters as you continue to level up.

Skill Rotation & Combat

In your early days as a Bounty Hunter you’ll be limited in your abilities, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t efficient at blowing things up. As you level up and continue your adventures, your skill rotation will depend more & more heavily upon your Advanced Class, its Class Roles and Talent Specs.

When dealing with groups of bigger enemies; start off with a Power Shot, Mako missile, Death from Above, or Explosive Dart. Proceed with Rapid Shots, Rail Shot, or Regular fire. Attempt to keep Heat low. If enemies close distance, Rocket Punch + Flamethrower or Vice Versa (with Rocket Punch as a finisher) is a good combination.

One very effective combination for groups, up until at least level 20 (as a Mercenary specifically,) was opening up with Kolto Missile, followed by Death From Above. This combo pretty much eliminated most groups, perhaps needing to throw down a little extra blaster fire at most.

For single-enemies or Rare/Elite enemies; I found starting off with Power Shot, Explosive Dart, and Unload was an effective combo to really start the damage; at that point if Rail Shot is triggered, use it – it’s always a nice boon to add some instant damage.

Overall, Combat with the Bounty Hunter is extremely fun, engaging, and if you’re into pyrotechnics – the BH is your pick.

Conclusion

That’s about it for now. Hopefully you enjoyed this introductory guide to the Bounty Hunter class in SWTOR. Stay tuned for further looks into the intricacies of the Bounty Hunter and other SWTOR-related elements!

See also: Skill rotations, leveling tricks, PvP tactics, credits making and more guides specifically written for Bounty Hunters

Star Wars: The Old Republic will begin early access next week (woo!), and as people begin to roll new characters in a new game they’ll be wondering exactly how they should be gearing up. This guide will explain the functions of all of the different stats in TOR (and there are a lot.) As far as what specs want what, that’s a bit murkier, but by reading through today’s post you should be able to get a basic handle on things. I’m not going to get too heavy into what the stats are, take this as a quick reference sheet.

1. Primary Stats
2. Power Stats
3. Secondary Stats
4. Gear-Defining Stats
5. PvP Stat
6. Defensive Stats

Primary Stats

There are six primary stats that you’ll find on gear and weaponry which affect your characters the most. These stats provide multiple bonuses instead of a single increase, and (depending on spec) may have up to 5 different effects for a single point. To sum it up, each stat has multiple effects, and certain ACs and classes get additional bonus effects.

• Strength – Increases Melee Damage + Melee Crit
• Jedi Knight/Sith Warrior Bonus – Force Damage + Force Crit
• Willpower – Increases Force Damage + Force Crit
• Jedi Shadow/Sith Assassin Bonus – Melee Damage + Melee Crit
• Jedi Sage/Sith Sorcerer Bonus – Healing Power
• Aim – Increases Ranged Damage + Ranged Crit
• Vanguard/Powertech Bonus – Tech Damage + Tech Crit
• Commando/Mercenary Bonus – Tech Damage + Tech Crit + Healing Power
• Cunning – Increases Tech Damage + Tech Crit
• Gunslinger/Sniper Bonus – Ranged Damage + Ranged Crit
• Scoundrel/Operative Bonus – Ranged Damage + Ranged Crit + Healing Power
• Endurance – Increases health
• Presence – Increases companion damage, companion health, and companion healing

Power Stats

When you see those primary stats above increasing damage or healing, they’re not actually directly affecting your abilities. Rather, these stats bump up your character’s power stats, of which there are three. In addition to being modified by primary stats, tech/force/power can be found on gear such as weapons and foci/shields.

• Power – Generic stat that increases the damage (and healing!) of all of your abilities, regardless of type.
• Tech Power – Increases only damage abilities considered “tech,” such as grenades or flamethrowers.
• Force Power – Increases only damage abilities considered “force,” such as Telekinetic Throw or Shock.
• Healing Power (Tech and Force) – This is actually split up into Healing Power: Tech and Healing Power: Force, but for all intents and purposes they’re the same. Increases the amount healed by all of your healing abilities.

Secondary Stats

A staple of any MMO’s gearing process is having big powerful primary stats followed by the less powerful but more varied secondary stats, and Star Wars: The Old Republic is no exception.

• Accuracy Rating – Increases your chance to hit with all attacks. Keep in mind there are separate caps for different types of attacks. If you go over 100% hit, the additional percentage is converted into defense penetration!
• Critical Rating – Increases your chance to score a critical hit with all heals and attacks.
• Surge Rating – Increases critical bonus damage with all heals and attacks. The default bonus is 50% extra damage/heals on a crit, which this rating improves.
• Alacrity Rating – Decreases activation time for all abilities. This does NOT affect the global cooldown, and only reduces the time on casted abilities.

Gear-Defining Stats

Due to the extreme amount of gear customization in TOR, developers want you to be able to take any orange item (orange = fully moddable) and use it all the way to max level if you prefer. In order to achieve this, weapons and armor both have a dynamic stat on them which changes based on the level of the mods you have placed inside the item.

• Rating – Increases the damage done on a weapon. You’ll see this listed at the very top of a lightsaber or blaster’s tooltip. The stat itself does absolutely nothing except increase the damage done — think of it as the ‘item level’ stat you’re used to seeing in games like World of Warcraft.
• Armor – Armor, which you should be more familiar with, increases Energy and Kinetic resistances (more on that later), is the dynamic stat increased on pieces of equipped gear.

So, for an example, if you take an orange lightsaber with all level 1 mods in it, compared to the same lightsaber with all level 10 mods in it, the Rating stat will be much higher, and thus so will it’s damage. Same goes for Armor on those pieces with Armor on them.

PvP Stat

Conveniently enough, BioWare has condensed all the necessary PvP stats into one gigantic unit.

• Expertise – Increases damage/healing done and decreases damage taken in PvP situations.

I’m not entirely sure what’s defined as a PvP situation, but I would imagine it’s damage done/taken to/from other characters, or healing someone who has recently taken damage from another player. Expertise is a jack-of-all-trades stat, it helps everything a little bit.

Defensive Stats

Just in case some of you care about survivability…

• Resistance – There are 4 types of resistance in the game. Energy and Kinetic Resistance are affected by Armor as well as specific resistance stats, whereas Internal and Elemental resistance are only affected by their stats.
• Defense Rating – Increases chance to parry melee attacks and deflect ranged attacks.
• Shield Chance – For those who equip a shield in their offhand slot, increases the chance for an attack to be partially absorbed by your shield.
• Absorption Rating – Increases the amount of damage reduced when an attack is shielded.

Phew – I think that just about covers everything. Most of these stats should be pretty familiar, specifically things like armor and crit, but it’s good to take a look over everything to help out your gearing needs. Keep an eye out soon for my mega-gigantor-uber post detailing the playstyles and general rotations of each of the DPS specs available to us at launch. Until next time, stay frosty!

See also: SWTOR attributes and other strategies

Pretty much every SWTOR player I talked to is very excited by crew skills. More than often professions are just a needless grind in other games, but BioWare seems to have struck gold here and actually managed to make them fun. Everyone’s going to be picking up their favorite crew skills, and while some are recommended for particular classes, a lot of times players simply want to pick up the most profitable ones. So, if you’re interested in making credits rather than equipping your character with the best equipment, or perhaps even both, hopefully this post will guide to you the right direction.

• Don’t miss: SWTOR Credit Making Tips

First of all, some basics about SWTOR crew skills. You can pick only 1 crafting skill. Along with that, you can choose to learn either two gathering skills, two mission skills, or one of each, for a total of 3 different crew skills (professions, tradeskills; however you want to call them).

My recommendation is that you always pick the crew skills that benefit your class the most, especially crafting ones. The following pic (source) should give you a great idea which crew skills are interconnected and recommended for particular classes:

Now that you know which skills are recommended for your class, consider how many players are their considering the same. Data in the image below will show you which professions are most popular.

Why is this data important? Because if 30% of all players pick up Artifice as their crafting skills, the market will surely get saturated and the prices on the Galactic Trade Network (auction house) will likely be as low as possible, thus making profit from that profession will be hard.

Armormech for example is beneficial to Smugglers, Troopers, Imperial Agents and Bounty Hunters, which consist of almost 45% of all players, yet only 10% of them take this crafting skill. Scavenging and Investigation, the two gathering and mission skills which are related to Armormech aren’t too popular with players as well. By that logic, taking Armormech as your profession would be a good idea because of the following:

1. the demand for crafted armor will surely exist, especially since we’re talking about non-force users, i.e. 45% of all players
2. more demand means higher prices on the GTN
3. you can also create armor for your own character instead of buying it expensively from other players.

This is just one way of looking at it. Of course, the numbers may not be the same for every server, and things may change over time as they often do, so take a special note of that.

During SWTOR’s beta testing, Slicing was by far the most profitable crew skill, however it has been nerfed significantly lately and isn’t nearly as profitable as it used to. Slicing doesn’t even provide any materials for crafting skills, but rather just items and credits, so it’s a good pick up still if you want to make credits, but not if you need to purchase items from the auction house in order to level up your crafting skills.

Scavenging provides components for Armortech, Armstech, and Cybertech crafting skills, making the demand for those materials very high. However, about 26% of players will be taking Scavenging as their gathering skill of choice, which also means there should be a lot of inexpensive materials sold.

Lastly, Bioanalysis provide materials only for Biochem crafting skill, neither of which is overly popular. Whether the demand will be high is yet to be seen: most high-level guilds will probably have their own dedicated potion crafters so it might be hard to turn a profit on the auction house. However, it’s yet to be seen in which way the economy develops.

Conclusion

• Slicing will most likely still be great for making credits without much effort.
• Take crafting skills from which your character can benefit! Even if you don’t sell products like crazy, you’ll craft your own items and won’t have to spend credits on them, basically evening it out.
• It will take probably a few months for the economy and prices to stabilize.

Anyway, this is just my opinion. I only wish I could post one of the dozens of great crew skill tips from SWTOR credit guides I read. You’ll learn a lot more from these guides and I honestly recommend you check at least one out.

1. Introduction
2. Advanced Classes
3. Species
4. Storyline
5. Abilities
6. Khem Val (First Companion)
7. Equipment
8. Conclusion

Introduction

If you are thinking about rolling a Sith Inquisitor, but need a little convincing, I’m here to help. Would you like to shoot lightning from your fingers? Interested in wielding a lightsaber? Want to shock people to get your way? No desire to follow a strict moral code like the goody goody Jedi? Well, this Sith Inquisitor is the class for you.

To start, as an Inquisitor, you have each of the MMO trinity roles open to you. Depending on your Advanced Class, you will have the option to tank, heal, or deal crazy levels of purple lightning powered damage.

Advanced Classes

At level 10, your Inquisitor will journey to the Imperial Fleet and will have to choose an Advanced Class. If you want to tank, the Assassin class is for you. If you want to fulfill a support/healing role in groups, the Sorcerer AC is for you. The decision is a little harder if you want to DPS. The Assassin and Sorcerer have one shared tree called Madness that focuses on dealing damage. In addition, each AC has two skill trees that are dedicated to that class. The Assassin has ‘Darkness’ which is the tank tree, and a damage tree called ‘Deception.’ The Sorcerer’s trees are ‘Lightning’ and ‘Corruption’ which are damage and healing trees respectively. If you want fill a DPS role as an Inquisitor, the decision lies in what type of damage you want to deal.

If you want to shock your enemies from a distance until they are nothing more than smoking, still sparking husks on the ground before you, go with the Sorcerer. If you prefer your enemy a little closer to you so that you can bash them with a lightsaber, the Assassin, with his stealth abilities, is a deadly choice indeed.

Lightsaber types differ with your Inquisitor Advanced Class as well. You will receive a double-bladed lightsaber if you take the Assassin route and a single-bladed one with the Sorcerer. Truthfully, I wasn’t that excited many months ago to learn my future Assassin had to have a double-bladed lightsaber. I loved having two lightsabers in the original Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Mostly because I could have each one be a different color, and for some reason it felt like I was doing more damage. Two lightsabers equals twice the damage right? I understand why BioWare did this, and after playing my Beta Assassin close to level 30, it would be strange to have anything but a double-bladed lightsaber. There’s something satisfying about watching both blades ignite, decloaking and backstabbing an enemy, all in one devastatingly smooth motion. It just feels right.

Species

Sith Purebloods, Humans, Twi’lek, Rattataki, and Zabrak are your species choices for the Inquisitor. If you want to take the iconic route, choose the Darth Maul look-a-like Zabrak. I went with a human Assassin and a Pureblood Sorcerer. While species choice has no effect on gameplay, I have to admit, the racial abilities for the Purebloods are just kick ass. Slapping your companion and making them cry is just ruthlessly fun. Humans get a pump up the crowd racial ability where everyone around you hops up and down doing the Arsenio Hall fist pump motion. (I never thought I’d ever mention Arsenio Hall in a TORWars article, but there you go.) Bottom line, if you really want to be evil at all times, the Pureblood is the way to go.

Species, skill rotations, leveling, Datacrons, specializations and lots more are covered in more detail here!

Storyline

The Inquisitor story is dark. Really dark. I played the Consular on the Republic side until level 10. Not surprisingly, the story is very Jedi-tastic. Sure, there are Dark Side decisions, but those decisions, in my opinion, are nothing like the Light/Dark Side decisions the Inquisitor faces. It’s not really fair to compare the two, because they are completely different factions and storylines, but let me give you a spoiler free example of the sinister beauty that is the Inquisitor story.

Within the first few levels, you are faced with several opportunities to inflict pain on others as your quest for power unfolds. A typical Light/Dark Side dilemma will give you the choice to shock an NPC, or to kill him/her. In a word, the Inquisitor storyline is not for the faint-hearted. Granted, I played my Inquisitor as dark as possible, but if I was trying to go the Light Side route, the choices are just not all that light.

*Minor spoiler example incoming: On Balmorra, I walked in on a Sith Lord Force Choking another NPC. The Light Side choice was to interrupt a very powerful Sith Lord (Dark, would allow her to kill the NPC.) I chose not to intervene, but my hunch is that she would have killed him anyway, and probably would have been a little peeved at the interruption. Think about it, would you interrupt Darth Vader mid-Force Choke? I didn’t think so.

Without spoiling any more of a story filled with backstabbing, scheming and power posturing, the Inquisitor story is amazing in its darkness. If you are curious about how the Palpatines of the Star Wars universe got their sinister beginnings, the Inquisitor is for you. If you don’t want to hurt anyone at all, this is not the class for you. A Light Side Inquisitor, is only marginally more forgiving than its Dark Side equivalent. If that sounds like your cup of blue milk, take a big sip, and shock your way to top. And please, don’t be ashamed if an evil cackle escapes your lips from time to time.

It’s no secret that the Sith Inquisitor starts off as a slave. As I’ve mentioned in my Beta Impressions post a while back, within moments of appearing on the screen, your Inquisitor will have a rival, and every person in power is more than happy to see you fail and die. The rival I mentioned is the ‘star pupil’ of the young Inquisitors. He talks a lot of smack, and is looking to undermine you at every turn. Without giving too much away, if you are patient enough, you will see an opportunity to not only defeat him, but discredit his puppeteer as well. After playing through this scenario twice, it’s just as satisfying the second time as it is the first time. Did I mention the whole ordeal earns you a place at Darth Zash’s side? It’s a good day to be a Sith when you can help your master work her way toward the coveted status of Darth and beyond.

Abilities

I’ve mentioned before how satisfying Force Lightning is, but I’ll say it again. Force Lightning never gets old. In conversations it’s just plain fun, but on the battlefield it’s dominating. In the early levels on Korriban, you’ll be facing mobs of three to five enemies at once. It’s essential before you earn your first tanky companion Khem Val, that you learn to use your lighting-powered crowd control abilities to subdue enemies for a few seconds while you dispatch the others. Not surprisingly, the dark, flowing robes of the class don’t do too much in the way of absorbing damage.

When you venture into the first tomb at level one, you are cutting down K’lor’slugs with relative ease. You’re soon asked to take out the tomb looters that are hanging out in mobs of at least three. Aren’t looters supposed to be looting? Anyway, be sure you visit the trainer near the tomb entrance each time you level up. I remember when I died the first time – it came as a complete surprise. I was owning so completely, I just kept fighting, even after I dinged my next level. I realized pretty quickly that when faced with a mob of four looters, I’d need a new strategy. Buying new abilities from the trainer would have been a good start.

In the first five levels, Electrocute and Whirlwind will be your best friends. Whirlwind, which you get at level four, is an ideal way to approach groups of three or more. The ability will not only scoop an enemy up in a vortex for 15 seconds, but it will shock them, (and up to 8 others) every 3 seconds. Be sure you do not cause damage to the enemy you’ve used it on, otherwise it will break the whirlwind, and he’ll join his buddies in pummeling you.

After crowd controlling an enemy with Whirlwind, tab target the next enemy and use Electrocute. That will both stun and damage for five seconds. You’d think 15 seconds isn’t a lot of time, let alone five seconds, but at early levels, this is plenty of time to bash the rest of the mobs with your vibroblade, or use Force Lightning to do heavy damage. By the time the five seconds are up, at least one other enemy will fall, if not two. Then all you have left is the vortex guy. Do what you will with him. He’ll be close to death anyway.

Khem Val (First Companion)

As you progress in your class quests on Korriban, you will free the ancient devourer of thousands of Jedi, Khem Val. Besides combat becoming a lot easier when Khem Val joins you as a companion, he’s actually pretty entertaining and easy to please. That is, if you get right to the point, don’t put up with any crap, and kill everything in your path, Khem Val is easy to please. He’ll act as a meat shield of sorts for your pre-AC Inquisitor. He’ll absorb a ton of damage while you shock fools from a distance.

If you can get past his ugly mug, and partial nudity, he’ll get your back wholeheartedly. Be sure to choose Dark Side options if you want to keep his favor however. He will actually threaten you at times if it appears that you’re going soft. Kill enough, and make dark choices and he’ll happily kill, and protect you while you rack up a ton of Affection Points. Everybody wins.

Equipment

I mentioned before that the Inquisitor can only use Light Armor. It’s really important that you upgrade your gear as often as possible. Granted, if you decide to use Khem Val as a tank while you dish out the damage, you’ll survive. However, mere survival is not enough I’m afraid. Focus on gear which increases Willpower for a greater Force pool, and Endurance to help you survive the early levels.

Don’t forget the meat shield! Khem Val will die, and die often if you do not upgrade his gear. Focus on Endurance and Strength for Val if he’s to tank for you. He won’t last long on Heroic missions, Flashpoints, or later level encounters if you don’t hook him up with better (Heavy Armor) gear. If he goes down, unless you are a tank spec, you’ll be soon to follow. It happens faster than you’d think.

Conclusion

Overall, the early levels of the Inquisitor are a blast to play. You get to be more evil than you think is possible, shoot lightning from your fingers, shock people in conversations, and selfishly aspire to great power at the expense of everyone around you. If this doesn’t sound like your style of gameplay, this isn’t the class for you. As with all classes, you will be faced with many choices, but most of the Inquisitor’s are just plain evil. Would an aspiring Sith Lord have it any other way? That’s for you to decide.

Species, skill rotations, leveling, Datacrons, specializations and lots more are covered in more detail here!