11.23
While we were in San Francisco we were able to talk with many of the employees working hard on Star Wars: The Old Republic. You got to hear us talk with Jake Neri, Producer at LucasArts, on the last podcast, and here is a preview of the second half of that interview. In this brief excerpt he describes the thought process behind the Sith Inquisitor and Jedi Consular:
* * * * *
Jake Neri: I think you know when we looked out at all the possibilities when we talk about Star Wars—there are lots and lots of directions we could go.
At the forefront of this we know there is a hearty passion for Jedi vs. Sith and that just seems to be a religion in a way. People are lining up “I’m gonna be Jedi, I hate Sith!” or “I’m gonna be Sith, I hate Jedi!” and so that maybe informed the decision a bit.
Mostly (in) Star Wars, a lot of it is about is about lightsabers and its about really amazing force abilities and it fit with what we’ve been trying to do from day one, which is to bring action packed star wars combat to a MMO. We really wanted to have the opportunity to challenge ourselves to do force classes that also had lightsabers and were effective somewhat with both. It was a natural thing. There is a tremendous amount of passion for the force and “the force has been working so let’s go with that!” So that is sort of how we got at that.
There was a lot of debate on this for a long time. I’m sure over time we will talk about things that didn’t make the game, but there was plenty of other classes on the table. And at the end of the day, these just made the most sense. We’re looking at having a round group of classes.
We talked a lot today about being able to customize your classes in a number of different directions. When you think of Sith Inquisitor, you’re thinking about how we’re talking about him today in the Emperor Palpatine mold, the force lightning using guy. But as time goes on, we will show you other ways to customize that class that will give you a different gameplay style. We thought as core classes the Consular and the Inquisitor made the most sense. We thought they balanced well against the other two. You can think of the Jedi Knight and the Sith Warrior as more of a melee-style Jedi, and the other two maybe more of the ranged-style Jedi. I think it made a lot of sense.
* * * * *
Keep an eye on your browser and watch for the full interview with Jake Neri, our impressions of the two classes, and a lot more. As soon as we can, we’ll bring you the indepth, dissected coverage you have come to expect from us here at Darth Hater.
Related posts:
[...] but the bounty hunter would be popular enough to not make it obscure. Now they just released two more Force classes and it would appear that my reasoning is not quite as good as it was [...]
http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=91937 – there are something about healing abilities, some about lift/throw abilities, companions, droid companions, two specialization trees and some quotes at end of first post – mounts, planets, crafting
awesome thanks man
so they bascially confirmed, Mounts, 2 tree spec system, droid companion for the jedi and there will be a Sith home planet.
Any guesses on the sith homeworld?
Dromund Kaas (sp?) and Ziost would be the two guesses that jump to mind.
Not only this one planet, but many more of them
They did say they’d have everything a good MMO had, and now we will begin to see what they mean. I can’t wait for the news! And the Sith homeworld is Korriban, that’s were the first sith race lived, and how sith force users came to be. It’d be weird if they had some other homeworld. Because that is where it all began. Unless Lucas arts and BW “edited” the lore and made it ziost or something, but I don’t see that happening.
@Deidare – Korriban is original homeworld of Sith species, and in game time period is re-emerged, but I think that Korriban play same role as Tython for Jedi. Its not capital planet, but re-discovered again and make place for force regrouping and Jedi training ground. Maybe Sith take away official administration away from Korriban to protect this planet. Additionaly Korriban doesn’t have infrastucture to function as capital.
One thing about Ziost: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Zoist look on behind the scenes
ya not sold 100% on Korriban, its definitely a tython mirror. I want a death star but i know that wont happen lol
If you think having absolutely no knowledge of the role, talent tree options, complete spell list or combat mechanics of these two new classes is going to stop me for complaining incessantly, well than you are in for a surprise.
It is complete crap that inquisitors are going to be forced to become healbots. I read sith lore, and one darth lord had some knowledge of healing so obviously the only thing inquisitors will be able to spec is pure healing. Also, the consulars are exactly like the priest class in wow because the gear seen in the german magazine is obviously based on WoW priest loot. Lastly, consulars and inquisitors will have the exact same story line as their melee counterparts because all Jedi and Sith are exactly the same. Maybe if bioware wasn’t so lazy they would think of creative classes so we wouldn’t have recycled and overlapping stories.
All these facts are clearly supported by infallible logic. Also, don’t even get me started about how poorly intra-planet travel is designed. I saw this one piece of content art and can say with conviction that in-game transport is garbage.
/tor forums
I will now proceed to kill myself
snafu, i dont agree with your logic on how the force users stories will be the same. I believe there are many paths BW can take to make the 4 different. Also, they have stated that ALL class stories will be different. Inquisitors are probably not going to be forced (no pun intented) to be heal bots. There will most likely be a talent tree where you can play a dps roll. Shadow priest did it in wow.
Congratulations on falling into the sarchasm
http://nazareneblogs.org/robbie/files/2009/03/sarchasm.jpg
That was pretty rude…
how could anyone see that as sarcasm, it has opinion written all over it.
Ah yes. I wasn’t meaning to be an asshole by the way. My post was basically designed to point out all of the idiotic and flawed ideas and speculations running rampant over the tor forums. People are posting the most retarded crap based on no information and presenting it as fact, which is extremely irritating to read. I was mocking this behavior I’ve seen all over the forums and tried to make my post so ridiculous that nobody would believe it. I guess I was just disappointed that it was taken seriously.
I was looking forwards to something other than force users as much as anyone else, but I think some of your complaints are pretty out there. There may be some similarities to WOW priest gear but that headdress and overall outfit are classic Master Luminara.
What concept art are you refering to for intraplanet travel? And you’re really going to judge the whole system on a piece of CONCEPT art? It is just a concept after all.
Any clue as to when the rest of Jake’s interview will be put up, today, tomorrow, after the holiday weekend? Just curious and anxious.
Xavier, if I where a betting man (Illinois -15 tonight! LOL) I would say after the holiday’s. I don’t have any inside info but I bet it will be apart of the Dec 3rd reveal. jimo.
Soon ™
Why do I feel like Dark Helmet all of sudden?
When will then be now?
Soon.
Wait, does that make you Col. Sanders?
Bioware seems to be jumping on the ( EA) I just want your money band wagon. Where the game will be fun awsome exciting but turns gets old and dies quick. a sith is a sith, a jedi is a jedi, all 4 fu means is that all the classes are going to be very extremely limited in talent customization. I could care less if there was 2 fu 4 fu or 8 fu I was just hoping this game had some lasting power. My class will be trooper but this shows me trooper talents will be more of a carbon copy of all the rest, yes there might be a talent here and there we can take others might not have but in the end it wont be much.
Story goes only so far and it will end, then its just gameplay and classes. oh well there is always blizzards new MMO it might be better then WOW.
Josh, I respect your opinion but I don’t necessarily agree with it
. I think it’s still to soon to judge if the talent tree’s our going to be as limited as some seem to think. I will leave it to BioWare (until proven other wise) that they have this under control and will surprise us still.
I on the other hand think that there will be ton’s of options due to customization. And because so, this is the reason behind the 4FU’s, again all just imo.
Yes I agree with ValiceKohn. But from what we’re seeing so far it looks as though the class’s talents will not be similar (not counting their “mirror” counterparts). The Jedi knight appears as though he’ tank, melee dps, and something else. Same for the sith warrior. But the consular and inquisitor would heal, caster dps, and buff/debuff. If you ask me this “talent trees” look nothing alike. And I don’t think BW just trying to take our money, same goes for Lucas Arts. I think they’re really listening to us, however announcing to force user classes was an upset, but remember there’s always future class announcements, it’s not like it won’t happen. But I do also respect your idea Josh.
If this game is a success and it most likely will be im almost 100% positive that there will be expansion packs.
Yes, otherwise BW will officially become lazy if there are no expansions. lol
[...] classes have been revealed to deliver even more options while exploring the galaxy. According to DarthHater.com, the Sith Inquisitor & Jedi Consular will round out the playable class offering while fan [...]
Hey guys, was just wondering if the rest will be up in the next 5 hours or so? Not that I want your to rush, I just need to decide whether to stay up all night or wait until the morning =P.
Thanks in advance.
(Also, sorry if this is a double post, first one didn’t seem to come up).
It will not unfortunately.
[...] not. Even earlier today, there was debates about the screenshots being faked and the interview with DarthHater being a hoax. But I think it is over now. The debate about the existence of the Jedi Consular and [...]
Damnit, I wanted my Jedi Sentinel with 11 points in Stealth, Persuade and Demolitions. Oh well, guess I’ll live with the combat-sided extreme.
Glad they went this route. It was exactly what I was hoping for.
I have to be honest, I take it as good new’s. I understand there is a ton of upset people out there. But I back BW 100% that they will balance the story between the 4FU and abilities.
I was/am a druid in WoW and this feels a little like that. Ranged/Healer/Tank/Buff etc, I really think I’m going to put all 8 classes in a hat and just pull one out! LOL
If you wanna be a Druid, why not just keep playing WoW? I wanna play Trooper, and I haven’t played any analogues to it in WoW or other MMOs I’ve played. I’m up for something different this time around.
I wasn’t stating I want a “Druid” like class in ToR. I was just stating that this seem’s to be what people keep doing, comparing! @ least over on the ToR forums.
I should state that: I want ToR to be as original/ground breaking as everyone else.
I agree, however making a completely original MMO is impossible. I mean n matter how you look at it LA and BW have to take aspects from some MMOs that are already out there. But yes, it would be great if they incorporated some major things of their own. Which as it seems so far, should happen.
Is SWTOR.com down for anyone else? It’s probably getting hammered like a drunken prom date…
nope
Man im so bummed out by this news I was expecting something of the lines of the Sith Commando or a Republic Spy but now 4 force users how lame. I mean come on people are always saying they dont wanna see so many Jedi and Sith running around now theres gonna be four times the Sith and Jedi running around, whats the point of the Jedi Knight having the froce push now that they have Jedi Consular as a force user? Aw well guess i have to wait for the expansion for some new classes or maybe theres 2 bonus classes that there keeping tight lips on one can only hope.Help me Ob1 Kenobi your my only hope.
I really don’t think this changes the number of “Force” users on the servers. I always believed from the begging that a huge number of players where going to be Jedi/Sith. This new’s just means that not everyone will be a “Warrior” class. Regardless, this new’s doesn’t faze me one bit. I’m still just as excited for the game.
What I don’t get is all these people asking for a “Medic/Senator” class. Seriously?!?! How boring!
Agreed Gohann, and no madder how much that you put into its like, really? Why would I roll either of those classes over a BH. I’d roll a Jedi before I’d think about being a “senator”. I men sure the class might be able to work as a fighting class somehow, but still compared o the others it’s just a silly idea.
Dont give BW any idea in bonus classes they have a 50% chance of being force users lol
i dont mind this news, alot of people already have stated that these new classes have changed there mind on what they are going to roll
Yeah same here panzzer, however 6 force users would just be ridiculous. And if bioware let us get 2 other classes other than the 2 last force users, I’d take the none force users. But what we get is what we get, and I’m fine with that. In fact I’m stuck on whether I might want to roll an inquisitor or not…
Where is BJBrains? I need to tell him something. I’ll give you a hint, it starts with Told and ends with So.
Called it =)
Needless to say I am very, very happy about this
Well 1 thing i’m sure of its easier not knowing and trying to find out little bits of info, than the world famous DH crew knowing whats to come and cant say anything about it to us
Jedi Knight and Jedi Consular? One is a rank the other is a focus…join the crusade to have Knight re-named Guardian. http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=91765
id rather the inquisitor be renamed
Stay away from my class!
sounds like it should have a ? after it
“Inquisitor?”
sorry if i ruined it for u
I think inquisitor sounds cool, but the definition really doesn’t seem to suite a class in any way. However Jedi consular sounds more fail. I mean when you just say it, it sounds fine, but then take a moment to think about it. When you realize, uhh consular? Then you know the name sounds messed up. So hey I guess it’s a class that helps peoples with their problems
(hint hint healer…)
Darthhater, should this turn of events dampen our excitement for the 3rd of December or do we still have much more to learn on that day?
All I can say is that I’m excited to see what you guys think of the news we have for you on that day.
Right on! Thanks Dover.
Yes, this had been causing me to ponder exactly what goodies did you guys pry out of LA/BW? We all assumed it was info on the new classes. Now I’m wondering if it might be something…more.
As Samuel L. Jackson tells us; “You know what happens when you make assumptions? You make an ass out of you and…umption.”
from “The Long Kiss Goodnight”
possibly the other 10 planets or max level previews for all the classes? We’ll see in two weeks.
I predict the next news is announcement that the Game Testing/Beta is starting.
Now that would be something to look forward to
Except that my brother made me only 14 on the website instead of at least 18! So now I can’t sign up, I need to see if I can ask to get my age changed. haha
Ok a little scouting on the forums more info on these and other classes. There is only light/dark no gray.
The last 2 classes follow these rules they can be healer/buffer or Mages DPS class. This goes for all other classes so its more clear cut than most expected having no gray area for you to fall into.
i think we are going to have to wait for the detailed look to confirm that
Well, they’ve dropped the bombshell. As someone who was on the ‘one force class’ bench, I’m slightly disappointed, but only to the point where I’ll shrug, say “oh well” and move on to dig for more information. I’m rolling an Agent anyway, so what do I care that the last class is another force user?
Frankly, this reveal was a ticking timebomb either way. If they had revealed it to be a non-force using class, the same chaos we’re seeing now would have erupted, merely mirrored.
Yeh i hear ya…. a lot of players holding out for the class they most wanted to see.
Well 1 good thing you wont be as disappointed as the guy that wants a Wookie Emperor
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[...] of the internets. The classes by the way are the Jedi Consular and the Sith Inquisitor, and this has been confirmed in an interview at Darth Hater with LucasArts producer Jake Nerri. This means that 4 of the 8 classes in SWTOR will [...]
I would of like to see a full out healer/buff class than the norm MMO mage/wizzard status these 2 seem to have. I was only ever going to play Repulic and Jedi was not going to be high on my list as many will pick this class. So now im stuck with Trooper and Smuggler thanks BW you just cut the game down alot for me.
I couldn’t agree with you more.
Agreed. This actually dropped me down to 1 class for the Republic and one class for the Sith.
less people will role the jedi now tho which is good
I think people are really overreacting to this news. It has been speculated for some time, the possibility of (4) force user’s, now we know it’s true. I really don’t see the harm in this at all. And to just state that you could talent/spec your warrior/sith in one direction or the other to be melee-ranged is just crazy!
I really think everyone should sit on this news for a little while, absorb the new info that BioWare will release and then make your decision. To just read a rough translation of a German gaming mag about the final (2) class reveals with-out waiting to see what BioWare add’s is a “Knee Jerk” reaction.
I’m over reading the ToR (Forums) about how this is so “Mage/Healer WoW Clone” crap. I really think it won’t be and I’m excited to see what BioWare add’s to this new info. So please everyone just calm down, please for me.
BW said that all the classes would be unique and Empire v Republic would not mirror 1 another. now we have 2 very close mirrors per side and some would say BH and Trooper are also mirrors. Even AI and Smuggler both use cover. Why not have just 4 classes and pick which side you want. At least then they would be up fount with us all.
At least its not the exact same class like in wow
Yeah, but now its ending up like warhammer, and if you haven’t played that game, the “mirror” classes are pretty much the exact same, the moves just have different names, and sometimes slightly different stats. Which is cool, but I think a lot of people (including myself) were looking forward for completely different classes on each side.
BW said that all the classes would be unique and Empire v Republic would not mirror 1 another. now we have 2 very close mirrors per side and some would say BH and Trooper are also mirrors. Even IA and Smuggler both use cover. Why not have just 4 classes and pick which side you want. At least then they would be up fount with us all.
You just can’t do huge variety in 2 facets of the same character type. What can a Jedi Consular do storywise that a Jedi Knight can’t? Ironic for a universe dominated by Forcies, but I just see more potential in non-Force classes, both for story and class. Splitting them up into Saber and Force would be like splitting Trooper into Pistols and Rifles classes.
You can do an -enormous- amount of varied story between Consulars and Knights. One is the front line trooper, the guy who goes out and fights his enemy to defend the Republic. His story would be focused on the battles with the Sith. The Consular, on the other hand, is the more wise Jedi, who would travel to worlds in search of knowledge, perhaps forge alliances to aid the Republic. His story would be focused on the history of the galaxy, and the background of the war.
The way you describe Jedi Knight makes it sound just like the Trooper, which would make one of them redundant. Consular wouldn’t have all those powerful abilities if he wasn’t going to war too.
I hate to bring this up but…
First; I agree with keroko, I think you and I are on the same page via thought process behind the two classes.
Second; For those of us who watch StarWars: Clone War’s (Animated Series
). Take Anakin/Obi-Wan for instances. They are out traveling to the front lines of the war. Yoda/Mace etc (I assume the more Counselor type) are in the rear directing the battles, meeting with star systems etc.
So I see these being more along the lines of these two classes. IMO of course.
Gohann, Mace Windu is the only character used to describe the Jedi Knight so he’s not good to use for your example.
“The way you describe Jedi Knight makes it sound just like the Trooper, which would make one of them redundant. ”
That is quite a black and white way to look at things. The Imperial Agent and Bounty Hunter are both shadowy underworld classes, but that does not make both their stories the same. Just because a Knight will be on the front the most does not mean his story will be the same as the trooper.
“Consular wouldn’t have all those powerful abilities if he wasn’t going to war too.”
I never said they wouldn’t fight, I merely said the focus of their stories would be different.
Though of course it could be possible that the Knight story is the more ‘action heavy’ story while the Consular is the more ‘conversation heavy’ story. Who knows?
@-RogueJedi: Agreed, the consular is also going to be at war not running around the galaxy. But the Jedi knight is essentially a trooper, there more like generals in the war, however since BW focuses so much on story I’m sure you won’t be forced to make your character seem like he always faces the empire.
@-Keroko: Now while what you’re saying may be true, the Jedi knight too can still form alliances, and the consular can still fight a war. I know your just trying to say what their lore is depicted as in the world of star wars, but because we make our own stories the outcome could be very different.
“Now while what you’re saying may be true, the Jedi knight too can still form alliances, and the consular can still fight a war. I know your just trying to say what their lore is depicted as in the world of star wars, but because we make our own stories the outcome could be very different.”
And by the same logic a bounty hunter can take on an Agent’s missions, or a smuggler can take on a trooper’s mission. Yet, I hear nobody say there is only one class in TOR. To say this only counts for the Jedi is rather hypocritical at best.
There are many ways to create both a varied combat experience and a varied story, even if both characters are Jedi. It is far too soon to claim there is no difference between the two classes, and ridiculous to say that there are only six classes in TOR.
I agree with this too. 2 force classes is retarded in every way imagineable.
In the full length interview did you guys go into why they chose those names specifically? I only need a yes or no answer.
personal opinion but i dont like the names, they dont flow well
It also doesn’t help that the Jedi also get the iconic name Jedi Knight and the sith are stuck with warrior. Consular i can live with because of Kotor but to make things fair the inquisitor should have been called Sith Lord
Sith Lord wouldn’t work cause its a higher rank thus unbalanced.
Sith Lord is really the same rank as Jedi Knight it’s just there were more Jedi around then Sith.
It’s all about how bioware implements these classes. Based on the info we have now, I really think that they are not distinct enough from jedi knight/ sith war to merrit being their own classes rather than a spec choice… I also can’t imaging a warriors story being different from an inquisitor.
We’ll just have to wait and see, if anyone can pull this off it’s bioware.
I actually can see the distinction between the two. I for one think a lot of the quests story for a Jedi/Sith will be about the war side of the two factions. And the Inq/Con being more of the behind the scene’s, manipulation of this war. EX: Inquisitor doing quests along the lines of tracking down Jedi, battle plan’s etc.
chriiiiiiiiist, can one of you guys post over on the confirmed class NFO class saying that they did officially confirm this? >.<
guess linking the post would help eh? =p
http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=1998989
Translation: We needed a class for the mage/priest crowd and this loosely-derived archetype was the best we could come up with. Thanks.
This pre-interview bologna just makes things worse from my perspective.
I’m done, I’m too negatively biased to post anymore, I’ll be back when I’ve cooled down.
Good idea, calm down and wait for more information to come out so you can make an informed decision.
Im baffled that there is only 1 specific melee class.
I’m not to happy ’bout this but i’m slowly starting to accept it…
Agreed I’m in the same situation as well.
Looking forward to the rest of the interview. As he sais, Star Wars is mostly about lightsabers, so maybe some extra force classes isn’t that bad a thing, as long as they stay really unicue.
It could all end with some awsome fights.
Which makes the Jedi Consular an extremely odd choice, as it won’t rely on lightsaber attacks based on their description. “
id be interested in seeing what didnt make the cut