BioWare Unveils Star Wars: The Old Republic's Jedi Knight

John Funk

U.N. Owen Was Him?
Dec 20, 2005
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BioWare Unveils Star Wars: The Old Republic's Jedi Knight



Look out, here come the Knights of The Old Republic at last.

We all knew this one was coming - in fact, the only real surprise in BioWare's reveal of the Jedi Knight class for Star Wars: The Old Republic is that four other classes were announced before it. It may have been a long time coming, but the Jedi - and the lightsaber - are perhaps the most iconic image there is of the Star Wars universe, and certainly the defining image of BioWare's KotOR games, so it's nice to see a proper reveal [http://www.swtor.com/news/news-article/20091030_001] at last.

The Jedi is the third Republic class to be unveiled thus far, joining the Trooper and the Smuggler as the good guys. Assuming the pattern continues, the next of the three yet-to-be-revealed classes will be a dastardly member of the Sith Empire alongside the Bounty Hunter and the Sith Warrior. As for what else there could be ... unfortunately for Penny Arcade's Tycho, my guess is that there probably won't be a Protocol Droid class [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/10/24/], but I could see the Sith getting an HK-47 clone of their own.

It's interesting that they specify "Sith Warrior," so I could also imagine a caster-type Sith as well. You know, kind of frail physically, but able to rip your spine through your nostrils with a wave of his finger.

We can speculate all we want about the three remaining classes - and feel free to - but right now there's just one class in the spotlight. So, what does the HoloNet [http://www.swtor.com/info/holonet/classes/jedi-knight] have to say about the Jedi Knight, Guardian of the Republic?

[blockquote]Valiant, Determined, Guardian of Peace

A symbol of hope in dark times, the Jedi Knight stands for the legacy of the Jedi Order-more than twenty-thousand years of protecting the Republic and keeping the peace across the galaxy. Though Jedi Knights have served as generals, guerilla fighters, and warriors for generations, their legendary combat prowess faces its greatest test during this age.

Through years of disciplined training and meditation, the Jedi Knight hones body and mind into perfect harmony. Combining the foresight of the Force with unrivaled reflexes and practiced physical precision, the Knight turns combat into an art form, gracefully executing acrobatic feats in tandem with elegant lightsaber tactics.

A source of inspiration to allies and intimidation to adversaries, the Jedi Knight's presence is welcome in any confrontation. The Order's long history of fighting for justice has earned the trust of countless friends and the hate of innumerable enemies. Few, though, are foolish enough to challenge a seasoned Jedi Knight unless they have the skills and technology to even the odds.

Facing the Dark Side

The Jedi's dark counterparts scored many victories during the war, expanding their Empire, and putting the Republic on the defensive. Since the Treaty of Coruscant, the Sith have consolidated their military might, even while the Jedi have withdrawn to Tython, a move that's been looked at with suspicion by many of the Republic's politicians. Nonetheless, the war is far from over, and the Jedi Knight's resolve remains firm. With unwavering allegiance to the Republic and the light side of the Force, the Jedi Knight fights with valiant determination, wading into the thick of any battle to protect freedom and democracy and hold fast against those who oppose it.

No matter how dire circumstances may become, the Jedi Knight trusts the Force and keeps a cool head. Knowledge and self-control are the critical components of wise decisions, and emotional and mental clarity are an absolute necessity. Maintaining focus allows the Knight to rely on intuition; a right mind leads to right action.

For many, the Jedi Knight is the guardian of a precious dream; a dream of peace, a dream of justice, a dream of a brighter future. The fate of the galaxy depends upon the Knight's ability to keep this dream alive.[/blockquote]

Cool stuff. Unless the fourth Republic class is really, really awesome, I have to say I see myself going with the whole "Jedi" thing. If only so I can make lightsaber noises to myself while I play.

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BlueInkAlchemist

Ridiculously Awesome
Jun 4, 2008
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Community's been waiting on this a long time. Plenty of speculation is around about how the classes will specialize, the Jedi Knights in particular. Will players be able to hone their lightsaber skills in a Guardian path, while others develop Force powers as Consulars?

I note that BioWare's announcement, while exciting, is mum on these issues.
 

Amnestic

High Priest of Haruhi
Aug 22, 2008
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I'm not really surprised. We all knew this was coming. Still not enough to convince me to roll Light Side. I'll stick to my Bounty Hunter because wrist mounted flamethrowers are just too cool for school the Jedi.

Unless we get an Assassin droid class, in which case I might just nerdgasm.
 

ZeroMachine

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Oct 11, 2008
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The short-but-sweet videos they have up make the Jedi look more badass than the Sith Warrior :D

Huh, well, I'll be making one of each class anyway just to experience all the stories, but this has me wondering whether or not to make the Trooper first like I planned, or to go with Jedi Knight first...
 

Amnestic

High Priest of Haruhi
Aug 22, 2008
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ZeroMachine said:
The short-but-sweet videos they have up make the Jedi look more badass than the Sith Warrior :D

Huh, well, I'll be making one of each class anyway just to experience all the stories, but this has me wondering whether or not to make the Trooper first like I planned, or to go with Jedi Knight first...
Go with Trooper first. Avoid the massive lagz that will come from everyone and their dog's sister's step-cousin rolling Jedi.
 

Jandau

Smug Platypus
Dec 19, 2008
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Ahh, the greatest problem with a Star Wars MMORPG. I WANT to roll a Jedi, but the fact that 3/4 of the game population will do the same kinda sours me on the idea. I wouldn't be suprised if Jedi Knights (and Sith Warriors) eventually get the same rep as Night Elf Hunters... ;)
 

axia777

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Oct 10, 2008
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Death to the Jedi. Power to the Sith Empire.

Amnestic said:
Unless we get an Assassin droid class, in which case I might just nerdgasm.
HK-47 for the ultra epic win.
 

ZeroMachine

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Oct 11, 2008
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Amnestic said:
ZeroMachine said:
The short-but-sweet videos they have up make the Jedi look more badass than the Sith Warrior :D

Huh, well, I'll be making one of each class anyway just to experience all the stories, but this has me wondering whether or not to make the Trooper first like I planned, or to go with Jedi Knight first...
Go with Trooper first. Avoid the massive lagz that will come from everyone and their dog's sister's step-cousin rolling Jedi.
Jandau said:
Ahh, the greatest problem with a Star Wars MMORPG. I WANT to roll a Jedi, but the fact that 3/4 of the game population will do the same kinda sours me on the idea. I wouldn't be suprised if Jedi Knights (and Sith Warriors) eventually get the same rep as Night Elf Hunters... ;)
Actually, from what I've seen, a shocking amount of people are talking about rolling anything but Force-users first. Most are going for Bounty Hunter or Smuggler first.
 

Alias42

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Sep 10, 2009
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Oh man, being a protocol droid would kick so much ass.

You'd probably get sodomized by all the cool kids with lightsabers, but still: how many MMO's have classes that are distinctively BRITISH?
 

Amnestic

High Priest of Haruhi
Aug 22, 2008
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ZeroMachine said:
Amnestic said:
ZeroMachine said:
The short-but-sweet videos they have up make the Jedi look more badass than the Sith Warrior :D

Huh, well, I'll be making one of each class anyway just to experience all the stories, but this has me wondering whether or not to make the Trooper first like I planned, or to go with Jedi Knight first...
Go with Trooper first. Avoid the massive lagz that will come from everyone and their dog's sister's step-cousin rolling Jedi.
Jandau said:
Ahh, the greatest problem with a Star Wars MMORPG. I WANT to roll a Jedi, but the fact that 3/4 of the game population will do the same kinda sours me on the idea. I wouldn't be suprised if Jedi Knights (and Sith Warriors) eventually get the same rep as Night Elf Hunters... ;)
Actually, from what I've seen, a shocking amount of people are talking about rolling anything but Force-users first. Most are going for Bounty Hunter or Smuggler first.
Perhaps, but I take it these are the people on forums like this? You'll still have a very healthy dose of force-users from those who you don't see post, just as you had thousands upon thousands of Female Night Elf Huntards who didn't post on the WoW forums (and the ones who did almost universally lived up to their names).

I vaguely remember a poll a while ago on what people were rolling in TOR considering the (then) currently announced classes, and there was a rough 50/50 split between Bounty Hunter and Sith Warrior.

Can't for the life of me remember the Smuggler or Trooper stats. I can almost guarantee that of the currently announced classes, Trooper will have the lowest starting population though.
 

scotth266

Wait when did I get a sub
Jan 10, 2009
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And with this announcement, over 50% of the characters being planned for this game shifted to Jedi.

Let's just pray that Bioware's gonna have some good balancing going on...
 

SharedProphet

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Oct 9, 2008
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Really sounds like people will really be able to live the dream in this game. I can just imagine the first moments in the game after creating a new character:
[color="09f"]LukkeSollo: sweet! i can defflect lazers[/color]
[color="da0"]LayaKunowbee (shout): WTS [color="a0f"][Rancor Hide Boot][/color] x2 PST[/color]
On second thought, never mind.

Edit: also, I think droid should be a species/race option, rather than a class.
 

Amnestic

High Priest of Haruhi
Aug 22, 2008
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SharedProphet said:
Really sounds like people will really be able to live the dream in this game. I can just imagine the first moments in the game after creating a new character:
[color="09f"]LukkeSollo: sweet! i can defflect lazers[/color]
[color="da0"]LayaKunowbee (shout): WTS [color="a0f"][Rancor Hide Boot][/color] x2 PST[/color]
On second thought, never mind.

Edit: also, I think droid should be a species/race option, rather than a class.
How are you going to have a Droid Sith Warrior/Jedi Knight? Bounty Hunter is feasible, we did see HK-47 make use of wrist mounted weapons (including a flamethrower) during KOTOR, Smuggler...I suppose it's possible. Getting a droid leg in the nads probably hurts more than a human's leg anyway. Trooper works, in so much as it's just a soldier with a gun.

Honestly? I don't think Droid would work as a racial pick.
 

fluffybunny937

New member
Jul 5, 2009
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Littaly said:
This just in! Modern Warfare 2 will feature guns!
What?!!?!?!?! MADNESS!!!!!!


No but seriously since this game is story driven there is a good chance I will play through the story of each class at least once.
 
Sep 13, 2009
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That was expectable. Still Sith seem more interesting to me, mostly because of all these Dark Forces sequels where you play as a Jedi, I guess I got bored of them. Unfortunately half of the Internet will play as Jedi("they are kewl like Anakin in Episode 2"), while the second half will play as Sith("they are sooo dark and angsty, just like myself"). Anyway I'll stick to the Bounty Hunter. I think they are the most suitable class for the setting, as I see the Troopers are either normal grunts, only hyper-uber for some reason, or they are proto-Republic Commandos without all the balls that game had. Smugglers are copy+paste of Rogues.


There should be a Rancor class, so I can walk through Coruscant and eat everyone in my path, while smashing cars and making loud ROARS. That would be the best MMORPG ever. Skill trees would be:
1)Eat
2)Sleep
3)ROAR

Something tells me we should expect an astromech droid as a healer/engineer class on the Republic side.
 

Emperor Inferno

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Jun 5, 2008
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[HEADING=1]YAY!!![/HEADING]

I'm going to get this game. Now that I think of it, when I do, it will be the first MMO I've ever played.
 

The Cake Is A Lie

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Jun 27, 2009
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Personally I am leaning towards rolling a Smuggler or Bounty Hunter as my first char, only because I can see a huge amount of people rolling Jedi (although with people having the same fear everyone may end up rolling Smuggler/Bounty Hunter, lol).

Can't wait to get my hands on this game. :D
 

Jandau

Smug Platypus
Dec 19, 2008
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ZeroMachine said:
Actually, from what I've seen, a shocking amount of people are talking about rolling anything but Force-users first. Most are going for Bounty Hunter or Smuggler first.
The people that talk about the game aren't a significant section of the population. I preffer to let history speak for itself: Star Wars Galaxies, after they allowed players to start as Jedi... yeah, I rest my case. Also, how many people played KotOR as a ranged character?

Jedi will be overpopulated, especially around launch day. It's up to Bioware to make the other classes adequately badarse so there's at least some population balance. But no matter how awesome the Bounty Hunter and the Smuggler might get, a vast number of people will go for TEH LAZERSWORDZ!!!!11one1! ;)