Yeah, I recognise parts of it. My current trousers are the civilian pilot's trousers. I went and did a few space missions and got the comms to get them. I quite like them. I agree, the social stuff is very nice, and very suited for us light armour wearers. I am tempted to stick on the dancing girl's chest when I do my next set of dailies for a laugh... Tim

My experiences (having only hit 50 last week) have been very positive. I've not been 'benched' for Ops or FPs yet, and I'm also an Infiltration-specced Shadow. So, whilst some people like the DoT that some Sentinels bring, I've had no one complain about my playstyle or spec. I should point out that my regular FP 'team' (we've been levelling together pretty much since mid-30s) consists of a KC Shadow, myself, a Gunslinger Smuggler, and a Sage Healer. It works well for us, though the smuggler does get kind of irked that most of the loot drops are Consular ones. Tim

That's a nice look. Are you rolling Dark Side? My main issue with our look (and this applies in some ways to Knights as well, or more specifically Sentinels as that's my main comparison due to my alt), and it's something I've said before, is that levelling PvE gear looks a lot more 'Jedi' than the endgame Tionese/Columi/Rakata gear. But, that's due to the shoulders and bracers with their overly-large components. If they were slightly less 'fantasy' then I'd be all for them. After all, isn't this what we're supposed to be raiding for? Currently, I prefer my levelling armour to that stuff. On a related note, with the recent Dev Q&A they mentioned that they were planning a hood up/down feature. One thing I do hope from that is that it's not simply a 'remove hood' button, as I'd like to see the pushed back hood, in a similar way to these Jedi Researchers (Sages if you believe the mouse-over): Female Researcher 1 (Front) Female Researcher 1 (Back) Female Researcher 2 Male Researcher But, as Rocky pointed out in another thread, they're wearing medium armour... I do like the exposed core of their saberstaves though - anyone know what that's called so I can have a look for it? Tim

It took me 3 attempts, but I finally beat him, as an Infiltration Shadow. The main thing I did was ensure that 90% of my orange pieces of kit were filled with lvl 48 blues (the little number that appears next to Armour/Mod/Enhancement), had my 3 red matrix shard cube (made only a couple of hours before on Coruscant), had several medpacks to hand, and used the highest level fortitude stim. As far as using your powers goes, it depends on your spec. This fight is the one and only time I've used Unity (which I had forgotten about up until that point as I browsed my skills list for anything that would give me an edge that I didn't regularly use). Also I found Battle Readiness to be very useful, as well as Force Potency, and near the end of the fight I had to use my deflection-like ability (I forget what it's called). I used Tharan, due to his heals and Holiday, and interrupted as much of his casts as possible using Force Stun and Mind Snap. One nice thing about the fight was 'The Will of Syo' a Force Lift that regenerated my health bar thingy to about 90% before it wore off and I was back in the fight again. Other than that I stuck to my established rotation (bar interrupts and re-applying buffs of course), popped a medpack when I got to ~30% health and generally burst him down. That's how I beat him, but it depends on your tree to an extent. And it took me 3 attempts, which was nice as I was able to open from stealth with a kick, which gave me an initial opportunity to get some damage down before he could start doing things. The main thing I interrupted was when he started to bring down the cave, with falling rocks. In quite a nice way most of his big casts happened just as Mind Snap's cooldown ended. However, I did end the fight with only 150/13340HP, so it was a very close run thing. In my previous attempt my laptop had 'stuttered' at pretty much the same point and I died. Tim P.S. I saved him, as a Light IV, having viewed the mini-cut scene of Syo's family, and having Tharan with me for combat and the conversations (strangely despite it being mainly to do with Jedi, I gained a tonne of affection from Tharan during that battle).

I see what you're saying, but I'm not a Sage, I'm a single target burst DPS Shadow, with no AoE to speak of, no Force shields to give my companions, or heals, bar medkits for myself. So, I do need a healer, and unfortunately it's Tharan, who is a strange companion to have along, but I can kind of see what he's about when you eventually get to Corellia. I agree, it is the best class to play by a long shot (as well as it's Imperial counterpart, the Sith Inquisitor). The main sticking point (for me anyway), was the fact that Chapter 1 takes so long, so Chapters 2 & 3 seem to zip by. Plus all of Chapter 1 seemed to follow the same formula; go to planet, spend most of it searching for the master, find master, defeat master, save/kill, leave planet (storywise anyway, though there's all of the other missions you do on the planet). I had no problems saving them, after all it's the right thing to do, but it would've been nice to have mixed it up a bit, e.g. defeat master at the start, sort out the mess he/she has made whilst they were under the Sith's control. Tim

As an Infiltration Shadow, I can say that it's good for hitting one target hard. Taking on groups of 2-3 normals if you're the same level can get tricky at times and requires you to occasionally juggle things. I found I needed to use some CC (Mind Maze) and keep Tharan out to keep the healing going during fights (and Holiday's nice as her own distraction). To be honest, to increase my survivability I geared up and levelled up on Balmorra, to the extent that when I eventually dropped onto Quesh I was 2 levels above the area, and continued to be so right the way through to hitting Corellia at 50, as opposed to 47-48. It means that I can usually take out a 'normal' on whichever planet (apart from Ilum) I'm levelling on with 2x Clairvoyant Strikes and a Strike (non-force using strike), or some combination of my normal rotation. Only elites tend to get somewhat taxing, and being the same level as the elite can lead to you getting easily killed (as I found out several times). One thing about Force Breach; in Kinetic it's got an AoE effect, in Infiltration it's single target. In my early 20s (on Tatooine mainly) I went Kinetic for a while and noticed that I was breaking other players' CCs in Heroics as I'd been so used to the Infiltration Force Breach. Tim

What's your tree? I'm not a big PvPer, but don't the PvP robes follow the PvE stuff where one set is for tanks, one for DPS Shadows/Sages, one for Healer types? If so, go with the one that more closely matches your ideal stats. Tim Edit - Personally I'd go with the Jedi Promulgator's robes, though TBH they've kind of lost their appeal since Bioware took off the shoulderpads they had in beta.

Well, having read all of that (and it was a wonderful series of posts) I would have to agree and disagree at the same time. Edit - Skip to the end for a short version. this post was longer than I thought! I agree, Chapter 1 went on for far too long, and could've stopped at maybe Nar Shaddaa or Tatooine. Chapter 2, the diplomacy and so on, was quite dull, but felt like a Consular's role - we're meant to be behind the scenes diplomats and mediators, not warriors like the Knight - though I barely noticed where it ended and Chapter 3 began. Chapter 3, the Children of the Emperor, felt somewhat rushed by comparison, and the big reveal on Corellia was well done, but didn't feel massively powerful, not in the same way Kira's backstory was revealed (I also have a Sentinel). I would have preferred to feel more proactive though, not just lurching from one post-catastrophe crisis to the next, as you say. I think any over-arching plot should be put together piece by piece, with varied goals on each planet all coming together like a jigsaw. The concept of the Esh-kha could've been expanded upon greatly in the Consular's story, and I would definitely have preferred to have Hallow Voice as a companion than Iresso or Zenith. The same with the introduction of Gaden-Ko. I would've loved to have had him as a new healer, to replace Tharan Cedrax, who is exactly as you described. For a guy who hates the Force and getting into tricky situations, he sure sticks around like a bad smell. Unfortunately he is the best companion to have along for a DPS Shadow like myself, so I'm stuck with him for solo work. Thank God for FPs and Ops where I can have a guildie along to heal me if I need it and not get snarky when I start talking about the Force. One other thing struck me as I left Voss; the Defender is actually a TARDIS! With so many attendants to Gaden-Ko, where are they all? I should be falling over Voss commandos as I travel around the ship - as it is half the time my companions aren't there either! The Consular wardrobe has been debated a lot, and there are many threads on it (some of which I've contributed to). Whilst in many ways I can see that Bioware were going for an epic feel to the endgame kit, it just looks bafflingly fantasical, almost cartoony. I wouldn't go so far as to suggest I want plain brown robes for all, but I would prefer something a little more discreet. For example, the Elder series of robes are really nice, and what I'd picture to be the high-end gear, though with the option to have a visible hood-down (not just hood vanish). Not banana shoulders and seering white, or hobo rags. Of course, that's my opinion, your mileage may vary. And I think Bioware are fooling no one when they call their lower robes 'legwraps', but that's a whole other thread. I've played a Light Side Infiltration Shadow all of the way through, mainly to see how nice I have to be to some of these people, and at times it has been massively painful to see how much of a toady you have to be to some of them. In contrast, I'm currently levelling a Light Sided Deception Assassin (she's an Imperial, not a Sith), and it's actually a lot easier. Plus, there are several glib lines you can pull out as an Inquisitor that you can't really do as a Consular, and still retain the Light Side feel. it could just be my perception though. Certainly an Assassin feels a lot more fun, whilst a Shadow feels more about doing one's duty to the Republic. I also have no issues with the gameplay, although some class bosses do feel like they were made for a certain build, and certainly not the one I've been levelling. And they do feel as if they all end in the familiar boss battle against a Sith (or several - look at Quesh), apart from the pre-Corellia mini-mission aboard the dreadnaught. The Knight's story felt more like a Consular one at times (Watcher One on Taris in particular). So, in short, I broadly agree with most points, though I think the story Chapters 2 & 3 are more in keeping with a Consular's role than you do, and should have had more time as opposed to the over-long Chapter 1. Our wardrobe needs some work, our companions are interesting (in their own ways) - but not as interesting as some of the random NPCs we pick up on the way, and being a Light Sider is more about how much you can put up with being shafted rather than how much good you can actually do. Going forward, and assuming Bioware makes some form of story expansion in the next couple of years, I hope we'll be able to feel more like Consulars - the investigators of secrets, keepers of lore, and (under the streamlining brought about by BW) destroyers of the Sith and their secrets (the Jedi Shadow's usual job). There are times I would like to finish a class quest 'boss battle' without having to draw my saberstaff, and instead convince the opponent to back down or join me. Something to make us feel distinct from the Knights. But, that's possibly a bit pie in the sky. Tim

Just to save you any trouble, here's the link to the item on torhead, with several screenshots. Link One thing that I always find curious is the difference between the same robe depending on faction. The link above has both Imperial and Republic versions shown and it's interesting. I do prefer the style of the Imperial ones (not necessarily the colour though - I'm a Jedi, not a Sith), but that could be me. And you might be right Rocky, but I think the blue does go better than the green. Here's a couple of pics of the current get up taken aboard Carrick (hence the dodgy lighting); front, back, running, bit of a close up, the butt hump! The main bits are: Elder Exemplar's robe, Civilian pilot's trousers, Shadow Strider's boots, Force Magister's handwraps, Sacred Vine-silk Waistwrap, and a pair of blue level quest reward bracers (can't remember where from). To me it's the most 'Shadowy' I've looked for a while, bar using my Noble Consular's Vestments. Tim P.S. Throughout this, it might seem that I'm hating the skirts/lower robes, but that's not the case. I do like them, I just don't want to use them for my dynamic Shadow. In many ways, the Sentinel's medium armour is more in keeping with a Shadow's 'feel', but I understand that the Consular-class is more about the mysteries of the Force, diplomacy and weaving through the politics of situations than straight up military force (which is more Knight role). So, whilst the skirts are good for diplomatic functions (and possibly the sages - though I'm sure several male sages hate them), I wouldn't picture a Shadow slinking through some Hutta sewer to hunt for a Sith artefact whilst wearing one.

I also had a version of that robe, though it was touted to be part of the Exemplar series (can't remember which version though). Currently I'm touting the Eldar Exemplar's robe. I need to grind some space commendations to get the civilian pilot's trousers (the blue ones), as the green from Alderaan doesn't quite cut it. Pic link (my set up's changed a wee bit since this one, but not by much). Tim

Something that crossed my mind last night; apart from 'because we say so', why are light armour and medium armour so different? All of our armour takes the same mods, so surely there's not that much in it? And I'll never understand why endgame we all have to look the same. A friend of mine plays that other game , and having seen her endgame character and the others in her guild, they all look pretty much the same when armoured up. I like the look of my Shadow, and I just need to grind the social to get the civilian pilot's trousers (the blue ones), since the green from Alderaan doesn't quite go with the greys of the Elder Exemplar's Robe (and gloves, and boots). I'm all for needing to swap out mods to get top tier kit, but not when I'm being forced to look completely ridiculous. So, I shall keep my 'inferior' kit for the day when I can successfully use it in endgame operations and FP. On a related note, in KoTOR, Bastila Shan had a range of armour she could use. All of it looked great, practical (apart from maybe the dance wear - but that's just my opinion) and simple. Admittedly it's mainly recolours of the same model (much like most of the armour options in this game), but it looks a lot more like it belongs to someone who is essentially our precursor. Why didn't the dev team have a look at that and build from it? But maybe that's just borne of the frustration of having just hit 50 and realising that I'm going to have to start grinding for banana shoulders... Tim

Yeah, Kira rocks as a companion. I might get customisation #8, as it looks like the closest match to her red hair. As an aside, does anyone know if it's possible to sort of recreate her as an actual PC? I ask because I'm considering rolling a second consular (Shadow tank this time) and I'd love her to look like Kira. Tim

Well, here's my input as a DPS Shadow (was a tank until level 28 or so, then decided that I wanted to kill quickly, not survive and prolong the fights) who regularly does FPs, with pretty much the same other DPS (smuggler) and healer (Sage). We ran Red Reaper with a Vanguard tank and a Shadow tank. The Vanguard tank dropped (though he was an experienced tank and higher levelled), but the Shadow tank never did. Was also great at holding threat, particularly on some enemies, allowing me to burst the enemy with very little worries. The Shadow tank can also (from what I gather) be a much easier levelling experience throughout than levelling a DPS Shadow (and possibly a DPS Sage), as you're much more survivable than even a trooper in heavy armour, you have the addition of stealth, which helps you bypass trash that you don't need to kill, and a respectable DPS which is good for obvious reasons. Tim

Just to revitalise this, I was wandering around Voss today and encountering the following: Jedi Researcher 1 Jedi Researcher 2 Jedi Researcher 2 (Rear) Now, they were touted as 'Sages' in the class distinction when I moused over them, with the official title mentioned above. So, if the NPCs can look like that, why can't we? Tim

Indeed! I got this yesterday, from a random drop on Hoth (the back view, and a close up taken on Belsavis)! It wasn't even an elite, just a standard White Maw soldier! It is very nice (I've also got the green-highlighted version of this style), but now I've got to find darker stuff to go with it (bracers, boots, gloves, etc). So if anyone's got any ideas as to where to get orange versions of stuff that'll go with it, please let me know. The only sticking point with it is that the hood looks like she's gone Beavis & Butthead and pulled her t-shirt up over her head. If the hood could be put down, or was more in keeping with the other hooded robes, I'd try to never change it. I know I can equip a helmet/hat to remove the hood, but I still want to see her face without ridiculous headgear getting in the way. Tim

As an additional, I would like an outfit like this in-game. That's one of the images of an older Satele Shan, in something other than her sleevless combat get up we saw during the CG trailers. If there's something pretty much identical (in all aspects, including boots and trousers) then someone let me know. However, I have a suspicion that actually this armour 'look' is now a medium armour used by the Jedi Sentinel class. If that's also the case, does anyone know what parts it is, as I'd love to have my alt (a Sentinel) in a get up like that instead! Tim

Indeed I have. I have been helped enormously by this. I have swopped several mods around, replaced some of my crit enhancements (not all though) with those that favour power (though not at the expense of willpower), and adopted Powerr's suggestion of incorporating Force Breach into my rotation immediately after Project (with 2x Circling Shadows buff on the Project). I have noticed an overall increase in my damage capability, using the somewhat shaky numbers that appear during PvE combat. Not masses, but enough that comparable level 'silvers' take the equivalent number of hits to kill as 'regulars' did when I used with different mods and had a slightly different rotation. My thanks to all in the Shadow community for their contributions when it comes to changing my kit/mod slots, despite the lack of combat logs to back up said statements. I will perform some experimentation as well, to see what works best for my playstyle. Tim

And the other person I was hoping to get an answer from! Thanks Powerr, that's good to know and something I'd not considered. I knew there was the Project delay, but I (foolishly) hadn't considered that hitting it with Force Breach immediately after triggering Project would do a major burst from double attacks. I knew that Infiltration would be an uphill battle, and in many ways I'm revelling in it because it's forcing me to be accurate with my rotation and not do anything stupid, which should hopefully carry over into the Flashpoints and Operations. Tim

Thanks for the answers guys. I was hoping Kitru would come in and give us a wall of text, as usually it does a good job of making things easier for simpletons like me to understand (note - usually). In many ways, I'm aiming to increase my damage across all attacks, with bonuses when they crit and/or various procs come up. So, if I read you rightly Kitru if a quest reward (let's say) gives me a choice of enhancements (or mods, or whatever) then I should be looking for ones that give me additionals in terms of Power then Crit? Tim

Ah right I see. The mods thing is mainly what has me confused. Thanks for clearing that up. I shall experiment with adding in some more power and alacrity mods to see what effect they have. Thanks for answering. Tim

Hi all, well I thought about this for a while (due to the sometimes savage nature of these forums), but thought I'd take the plunge and ask you, the community, how I (an MMO newbie) can be a better Infiltration-specced Shadow. I'm concerned that whilst I can solo story bosses (mostly appropriate to my level, though I now seem to be sitting on Hoth at level 43, which seems a tad above-level), the group content, specifically Flashpoints, makes me feel somewhat less like damage-dealing machine. For those that are interested, here's my current spec, and here's my current kit. I've been reading Powerr's guide, and whilst it does offer some helpful pointers, it's mainly concerned with PvP, whereas I do PvE. I also read Astral's Shadow Handbook (I must update the pdf and send it to him soon), and I've got a fair idea as to my rotation. However, I'm wondering if there's something I'm missing. As an example (during last night's FP Collicoid Game), I had to solo one of the lvl 40 elite hazard droids (team mates all behind gates and such in the hazard course) to get to the gate switch, my rotation looked roughly like this (started from cloaked and behind him): Clairvoyant Strike x2 -> Project (saw 2x Circling Shadows stacked, and 2x Clairvoyant Strike icon up) -> Sabre Strike -> Force Breach -> Sabre Strike -> Mind Snap (he had some DoT ability starting up) -> Clairvoyant Strike -> Deflection (my health bar was at about 60% here) -> Clairvoyant Strike -> Project (both buff icons on my bar) -> Sabre Strike -> Force Breach -> Sabre Strike -> Force Stun -> Shadow Strike (I had run behind him at this point) -> Spinning Strike -> Sabre Strike -> Clairvoyant Strike. And then he died. It's possibly not exact (I may have forgotten something in the ordering), but that was pretty much it. am I doing anything wrong here? Is there anything extra I should be doing to increase my damage output? Also, regarding my kit, which is better to stack in the mods: Critical rating, power, alacrity, or accuracy? Also, should I get Force Wielder or Resolve armouring, and other mods? In short; am I doing anything wrong? Why do I feel like I'm not as good as others? What am I missing? Tim Edit - Spelling!

I'd have to agree. Having looked around online, I find some of the Inquisitor gear somewhat overly-flamboyant, and I'd even say ridiculous. Particularly the Level 50 Columi/Rakata/Tionese sets, with their canoe shoulder pads (how are you expected to walk in that?!). It may be a matter of personal taste though, as I do like the Level 20 and Level 40 PvP stuff. As I posted earlier, when I think Sith Assassin, I think something like this, but with obvious changes (such as a lightsaber instead of a blaster). However, I've also thought this would work well as an assassin 'look', as it's distinctive, flashy, but not completely OTT; Pic 1, Pic 2, Pic 3. Mix in a bit of this guy's armour, and some of the Sith Stalker stuff, and I think it would be distinctive, not overly-flashy, but quite cool. Obviously that's just my opinion though. Tim P.S. Does anyone know why my female Assassin has to have this instead of this? The latter looks so much better, and smacks less of the cheap slag look. P.P.S. Does anyone know where to get some dark trousers for my assassin? She's a female so therefore can't have the Dromund Kaas Social trousers.

Oh I quite agree, I'd prefer a hooded robe, but after so long with the other robes, I decided a change was in order. And yes, the hooded version of the 'Jedi Prisoner' robes would be amazing! It would certainly make me think 'Shadow'. Tim

Well, this is what I picked up on Maelstrom today (running it for the first time): Front Back It's called the Untouchable Shadow's Maelstrom Robe (if I recall correctly). It's very nice. Another robe was dropped earlier in the Flashpoint, but one of the others in group (a trooper - go figure) got it, and I can't remember the name of it now. Also, Tim

Have you got a higher-res version of that shot, as the link goes to a really small picture (for me anyway)? Are they the other pair of Alderaan commendation trousers? Tim