I thought it might be really bad ass to see a Smuggler (or non force user class) to whip out a force user (like a jedi knight type) as his/her companion into battle. If I was to play a Sith Warrior and saw a smuggler I wanted to do that Force Jump/Pounce move, it be awesome to be thwarted by his tankish jedi who I would have to struggle to take down while being shot in the back from the smuggler using cover. This could be tons of fun and would make strategies/tactics/life on the line battling key, rather than just click click boom for 1 minute then your dead play. There probably will be a bunch of other unique combinations that will have the companions not only add a layer to your "story" but gameplay combat as well. This depth could really break a lot of repetitive stuff via PvP and make it more complex because you will start to have to know what companions do what for each specific class to prep for your battles. Looking forward to more info on companions!

Lastly, awesome podcast guys. I think I said this last week, but I really love the longer podcasts! I mean, they can be long, but most of the time I pause them and listen to them over a spread of time because I am sooo busy. Overall, I really liked this one and thanks for donating your time towards your community.!

This is all I have to say about DH podcasts and updates...

I would agree with the podcast's suggestions of CC being a factor in TOR, but I'm not sure it's in the same vein as in raids (not that they said it, but it's being discussed here as such).

In raids, many people use CC to either keep a mob at bay temporarily or to interupt a particularly nasty AOE attack. While this may come into play in whatever raid format TOR will offer, I would think that Bioware's interest in CC comes more into play in day to day questing. They've said many times that they want the heroic, epic experience where you're fighting outnumbered. That's easy to say, but not as easy to create.

If I walk into a hornet's nest of mobs at equal level, it'll be a combination of CC, self-heals and AOE attacks that will see me through. If this is the case, I'm looking forward to it. I love the challenge of using every trick in my toolbox to get through a challenging section of the game. CC for everyone!

It's funny that you mentioned (in the podcast) that Bioware viewed some classes (or companions) mainly from the perspective of CC.

I used to play a Bureaucrat (oh so fun) in Anarchy Online, and I remember at the later levels people really wanting me to "calm" (Put a mob in a tranquil state, removing threat/aggro on everyone and making it sleep) all the adds so the rest of the team could smack down one big baddie down at a time. I fully specialised on it, lowering the cast and cooldown time of my calming spells.

In The Burning Crusade, Crowd Control was a -big- thing in WoW. You couldn't really get through Shattered Halls heroic without at least 2-3 of your DPS being able to Crowd Control. Now in WOTLK it seems long forgotten.

I think CC is the one thing that truely emphasizes teamwork "right there, right now" as it is. "Sheep the left one, sap the one on the right and keep that healer silenced" are situational things that -must- be discussed every single pack of enemies.

Also I have a feeling Bioware is removing the "dedication" required in ALL roles.
- A tank will hold aggro, mitigate team damage and other than - deal damage.
- A healer will throw that occasional heal on the tank - and deal damage.
- A CC'er will occasionally control an enemy here - and there and do damage.

You'll need to pay attention and do your job, because else you'll fail on hard encounters. BUT.. it'll remove that tedious "This is my role, there are many like it but this one is mine" feel that some MMO's give when day in day out you're doing the same damn thing - over and over again.

It's a good way to go I'd say.

Hey all...thought id listen to the podcast before i go out for a couple of sherberts.Good as always,bit short tho...lazy sods :D
As you were talking about the sith lord get up in the t2....uhm i mean big armour,i wasnt too keen on the look looked a little goofy to me but early days yet :P

Didnt realize e3 was was so soon...i got big expectations for a republic highlight during it (maybe another kick ass movie ?)
Gotta run,im late cya guys...republic ftw muwahaha

Did any notice how the sith warrior video showed us what ganking might look like in tor .
1: sith pwnts jedi off the bridge "rofl"
2: sith throws light saber and one shots SAME jedi
3: sith uses "Upper force push light saber pwnd cut" on the same jedi lawl!!

it seems like there making republic look really weak
idk why maybe is cause there going to surprise every one by makeing them
really bad ass.

but they did say the republic will get there time to shine .

Good podcast as always!

I also found it funny that both moons managed to top the poll. Yavin IV does look rather appealing since we got the last timeline entry. However, I don't know if it will be explorable. I could definitely see it as an instanced area instead. Since Nar Shaddaa is a moon of Hutta, it may just be another area (perhaps more restricted in terms of exploration) for Hutta. Lot of the other options are likely candidates too. I'm expecting another KOTOR planet, perhaps from KOTOR 2, which I happen to be playing at the moment and totally enjoying despite the unfinished sections.

If you read through the FAQ on the TOR website, there's this rather interesting quote:
"There will also be a number of new planets and star systems to explore."
Mentioning star systems seems a bit odd unless we could be looking at moons or systems (Yavin system) being explorable too. Of course, the FAQ is rather outdated, but I think there was a reason for mentioning star systems directly.

Mentioned already, but Vette seems to be based around Mission Vao, an older version of her. Same playful attitude too. I'm hoping the affection system will be similar to what I'm experiencing in KOTOR 2 with the influence system. Your actions influence your companions to reflect your own alignment (light/dark), unless they tend to be the stubborn type that only sticks with one alignment path.

This week's update will have the comic in addition to whatever else, so the "Thursday update" won't kill off all the excitement for Friday :p

Great pod cast guys.

Sinphonic -GM- Infensus Obscurum

The Trandoshan and Wookiee piqued my interest for the Consular and Smuggler, respectively.

Allways like comming in to work when it's podcast time <3

Besides Yavin 4 Geonosis or Nar Shaddaa, I think Manan would also be cool, if they would let us explore the undersea, in vehicles, and on foot... that could be a really different view for star wars :)

Bit short this week :( Ah well, still good! Talking about the mounts and the swerving around trees etc reminded me just how much i'd want some kind of racing system in the game. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrum!

Also if you can actually go to Nar Shadaa to get Vette then that would suggest its a low level planet as they did say they were going to stick to showing the companions you'd meet early on in the game for now..

On another note and unrelated to the podcast. Did you know the hero engine has allowed space flight/combat for some other games? It's probably already been mentioned but would love to see what Bioware would do with space combat.

nice podcast, thanks. When you talked about the different screenshots i had the idea that you should maybe raise the podcast to the next level and do a video podcast? How about that. I don't necessarily mean the webcam-thing, but more something like a news report in TV where apropriate pictures or videoclips are shown when talking about a specific topic. This would help to remind the people what you are actually talking about (e.g. the speeder and the imperial ship) and would also attract people that do not have the background knowledge that you have and therefore perhaps are overextended with the podcast.

I know that this would involve much more work than just sitting down and talking, but it would definitely be worth the effort. You could also just fraps your PC and show the relevant content on a just in time basis. Wouldnt that be cool?

I agree with Ben Geonosis could be kickin.

What would I do without DH every week?

Glad to hear you are prepping for E3. I hope that means some DH coverage -- in person.

I think the Trad with the Jedi, and a Twilek with the Sith, as well as the wookie in the comics, shows that species are not 'fractionally' bound, imo.