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Speculation
9/3/09 11:48 PM -
Imperial Agent - Next class reveal? 
by bjbrains
, posted September 3rd, 2009 at 11:48 PM
As many or all of you have seen, the most recent timeline from the SWTOR community fansite went into detail about the Sith Empire's intelligence agents, and their role in the Mandalorian attacks. The intelligence agents are described as "Just as deadly as their Sith superiors", and their efforts lead to the creation of a new Mandalore. This manipulated Mandalore became a puppet of the Sith Empire. The video highlights the influence and power of these agents. The previous timeline video "The Mandalorian blockade is broken" followed a similar pattern. The Smuggler class was revealed around 2 weeks after it came out, and the video itself showed the importance of smugglers to the Republic's survival.
 
The key question here is: Is this another class hint? I would say yes. Firstly, the Imperial Agent type of class fills a clear role in the Sith side. The two revealed sith classes, Sith Warrior and Bounty hunter have clear counterparts on the Republic side (Trooper and "Jedi"), as they both fill the same role (Heavy ranged damage and Melee fighting). This leaves the smuggler as the "odd one out" of the current class pairings. The smuggler's cover system, dirty tricks, and general subterfuge need a counterpart. This is where the Imperial Agent comes in. I foresee this class as a much darker version of the Smuggler. Where the smuggler uses comical moves, including the infamous "kick", the Agent could use even dirtier tricks. I could see poisoned weapons, a sonic stunner (a miniaturized pistol capable of causing excruciating pain), and aimed shots to disable and kill enemies.


The Sith Spy also brings a unique story to the table. Each story created so far fills an iconic story or role. The Trooper fills the "war movie" role, the Bounty Hunter fills the "Mercenary" story, the Sith Warrior fills the "Dark Jedi" story, and the Smuggler fills the "Romantic war comedy". The Sith Spy's story would be a dark tale of intrigue, treachery, undercover missions, and fills the "James Bond" fantasy. I could see a variety of plot lines opening up, including infiltrating the Empire's ranks in order to root out traitors, or assassinating a Republic Senator. Bioware is attempting to create (To quote Sean Dahlberg) "8 unique classes" in terms of story as well as gameplay.

The final case for the Sith Spy comes from screenshots from the game and from the cinematic trailer. This screenshot (Credit to Alkarin for digging this one up) could easily show the spy. Note the similarity in outfit to the Twi-lek from the trailer, the use of cover, and the completely different look from the smuggler. All in all, I think the case for this class is closed. The evidence is stacked to the point where I can't see another alternative.
 
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21 Comments
Comment by Imperial Agent Screenshot made on November 6th, 2009 at 6:51pm
[...] Agent will be a playable class. This may not be a surprising addition considering the amount of forshadowing, but, with last weeks Jedi Knight reveal, the timing surprised nearly everyone. In addition to the [...]
 
Comment by Could we see the Jedi Kni made on October 27th, 2009 at 10:01pm
[...] Picture two This image appears to be the hypothesized Imperial Agent. [...]
 
Comment by Sophidius made on October 2nd, 2009 at 12:33pm
I actually suspect that the timeline videos actually give away the next class. For example, 2 weeks after the "Treaty of Coruscant" was released, the Trooper class was unveiled. Also, 2 weeks after the "The Mandalorian Blockade is Broken" was released, the Smuggler class was revealed. In the "Blockade is Broken", Dural speaks of a victory for the Republic and especially mentions the Smuggler class. What I think is that every new vid is somehow related to the upcoming class. In the "Return of the Mandalorians" vid Dural mentions the Mandalorians not to be their allies, due to their allegiance to the Sith Empire. Is he here referring to the next class? (which would be the Sith Warrior). And now, in"The Empire changes Strategy" Dural mentions the Sith Spy. I wouldn't be surprised if that one'd suddenly pop up after a couple of weeks. But if you look at the description of the next video you see they speak of a great victory for the Republic in the Battle of Botawuii. I'm pretty sure this vid is related to the Jedi Knight class. The video after that mentions a surprise attack at the Republic by the Empire. I can't think of a class here, but I think it'll be the opposite of the Trooper class. And the last of the seven vids in the blue area (isn't it odd there are seven of them in that area?) mentions a great technological advance for the Republic. Droids, anyone?

That leaves only one class I can't explain for the Sith Empire, but I can imagine a Battle Droid. Surely, the Empire wouldn't use only Bounty Hunters for the Sacking of Coruscant, would they?
 
Comment by MER Episode 05 - PAX 2009 made on September 7th, 2009 at 3:43am
[...] From the Outer Rim -Player housing -Morality System -Sith Infiltrator [...]
 
Comment by biv made on September 7th, 2009 at 1:59am
great write-up. and I agree with the posters above, the clues are deliberate to those who are really follwoing the game progression. They just don't dedicate resources to videos like these without a straightforward ploy. It's more or less a reward to those willing to watch and eventually hook you more into this game(which they do well!)

That leaves few classes left.
Referencing this: http://www.swtor.com/info/holonet/classes

=====================================
Tropper
Smuggler
Yet to be released:
Jedi(or some twist, to why they haven't disclosed an more obvious class right away is precarious)
and ??

=====================

BH
Sith W.
Now, Agent
and ???


I find it interesting what others specualte the final pairings will be and their respective combat class?
 
Comment by Menok made on September 6th, 2009 at 8:21pm
I think they've been talking too much about the Mandalorians not to have them important in the game, be it a class, sub faction or some sort of NPC "guild"
 
Comment by /AFK – Sept 6 &laqu made on September 6th, 2009 at 9:07am
[...] newest TOR timeline has given rise to speculation that Imperial Agents will be announced as a playable [...]
 
Comment by celtickender made on September 6th, 2009 at 1:41am
This is certainly the obvious conclusion, it's just like the smuggler video "they do this and this and this" the focus is so intently on the imperial agents that its the obvious next step. Anyone else notice how they are associating all the key "evil" words with the Sith now? Imperial, Empire, Emperor, I know these are all derivative of the same government, but it sure sounds like they are leaning really hard on the "Empire" angle more then the "Sith" to catch the classic Star Wars fans.
 
Comment by Dan Loto made on September 5th, 2009 at 5:03pm
I agree that the Imperial Agent is a likely class but I disagree with the a lot of the evidence this article provided. I think that the woman in the "it takes skill to avoid detection by the Jedi" screen shot and the Twi'lek in the trailer were smugglers. In another interview it was confirmed that smugglers will have the option of fighting against the Jedi.
 
DH Team
Comment by bjbrains made on September 5th, 2009 at 5:38pm
That's simply not true. The smuggler is a Republic class, and the developers have said that they don't have any plans to allow faction switching.
 
Comment by Dan Loto made on September 5th, 2009 at 7:06pm
You are both correct and incorrect. It was confirmed in this interview : http://darthhater.com/2009/07/24/comic-con-panel-swtor-behind-the-scenes-panel/

If you don't have time to listen to the entire thing here's the quote: "They certainly are a unique class as they don’t get orders from on high – they will fight the Sith, the bounty hunters, and even the Jedi should they so choose. "

It wouldn't be faction switching since the Jedi =/= the Republic.
 
Comment by eria made on September 5th, 2009 at 1:18pm
I think this will be the next class for sure. I always viewed it more of the "emporor's hand" type class, using someone like Mara Jade as the iconic character to draw from. I wonder however if they might have limited force powers, like some of the "hands" in other novels and such, or if they will simply be more or less copies of the smuggler's in term of game play (using cover and such).
 
Comment by Hewo made on September 5th, 2009 at 12:55pm
Damn these conventions sound fun. They need to do one down south around Louisiana :(
I agree with sado regarding the worst kept secret so far. If this isn't a class then speculating about anything else in the future would be futile.
 
DH Team
Comment by Zoidberg made on September 5th, 2009 at 5:51pm
I vote Atlanta, that way I head west, you go east, and sado goes north.
 
Comment by Ellos made on September 7th, 2009 at 12:36am
I second that as I live in middle GA
 
Comment by Chasted made on September 5th, 2009 at 5:12am
Well... With the more recent mention of Mandalorians a lot of people also thought that class will be announced soon XD

Well, let us see what happens, aye?
 
Comment by Sedit made on September 5th, 2009 at 2:38am
Wow, very good write-up. I speculated the very same thing when DH first dissected the Vid Doc #3. There are tons of places within the flashpoint for a cover system, but since at the time the Sith had no cover using class, everyone thought it was for the smuggler. It's a pretty good bet now that it's for a spy, agent, or maybe even an assassin empire class.
 
Comment by Ellos made on September 5th, 2009 at 1:33am
No doubt about it
 
Comment by Feo made on September 5th, 2009 at 12:43pm
Agreed.
 
DH Team
Comment by sado made on September 5th, 2009 at 1:55am
At this point it's probably the worst kept secret yet in TOR.
 
Comment by Axlotl made on September 5th, 2009 at 4:12pm
I don't think it was ever meant to be hidden, I think the clues are very deliberate.