The Old Republic: An Addendum

I remembered a few things this morning that I had intended to put into my post yesterday, so I’m making this a two-fer.  That’s probably for the best - that last post would have been a serious wall of text if I’d added more to it.  One thing I will revise about my customization review - I haven’t found a way to dye my clothes or transmute them (if I find a look I want but need the stats from something else).  How am I supposed to cavort about the galaxy as the eyeball-shattering unholy spangled diva that I clearly am with these horrifyingly drab outfits?  HOW?

...Composure regained.  Here we go.

PvP: B+
Keep in mind, this opinion is from someone who has never played any MMO PvP before this game.  I didn’t get into PvP in Guild Wars 2, but seeing as this is the closest thing I’m going to get to a real life lightsaber battle, I jumped into a warzone to check it out.  As a 10th level character with the most basic gear and hardly any grasp of the controls I died a lot, but I walked away with a decent idea of how it worked and a sense that it has the potential to be incredibly fun.  One thing that bothers me about PvP in these games is that skill in the moment seems to be less of a factor than awesomeness of gear.  Which means people who grind for hours to get the best gear will always beat people who aren’t insane.  But I’ve realized there’s a little more strategy involved than hoping your cooldowns reset before the other guy’s do, and that is in the strategic application of gear.  For instance, I found a forum thread addressing all the people complaining that you can’t be effective in PvP until you’re max level because that’s when the good gear can be equipped.  However, this person pointed out that you can buy gear that you can’t equip, take the mods off it, and install them on gear that you can equip.  I’m not expecting to be able to take my level 12 character into a Warzone and own bitches all over the place, but its good to know that with some prep and class knowledge you can do well.

Also, I think the ladder has completely turned me into a competitive person.  I never used to care about winning before, but now you should see some of the victory dances I’ve done the last few weeks.  Let’s just say they aren’t humble.  And I kind of want to become good at this game because all I ever wanted to be when I was a child was a Jedi.  Starcraft, you have turned me into a monster.

Combat: C+
Flat out, I was hoping that the combat would be a little more dynamic and hacky-slashy.  I want to feel like I’m in a real lightsaber fight, not waiting for cooldowns and spamming one attack until they do.  I might be playing it wrong, I don’t have the controls down yet.  I might be looking through the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia, but I had hoped for something more like what I remember about Jedi Knight II.  I loved that game, and not just because I’d been shipping Kyle Katarn and Jan Orrs all the way through Dark Forces II.  But its still fun, and the leaping attack Jedi Knights get reminds me a lot of being a Vanguard in Mass Effect.  I don’t care how much hate Vanguards get, Charge+Nova+Shotgun = pure undiluted joy.