Is there any reason to play as Republic?

[Aethyrprime]

I got one for you. Using your Unity doesn't kill your companion like the horrible "mirror" ability for imperials "Sacrifice" instead it heals both you and your companion.

 

And people try to claim Bioware is biased for Imperials.. bah! That's some serious Republic Bias right there and horrible OP in PvP when put side by side.

[dlouismartin]

I am only reading the thread title and haven't read any responses. That said-- I would roll Republic for the story.

[Paganarh]

I do have 1 republic character, that I wanted to play since it was announced in this game- Trooper. I leveled it to 18 and was so unimpressed by blandness of character responses (heard from friends that Jedi are actually worse) and overall feel and look of republic, that I rolled a sith warrior and never looked back.

 

Now sith is reaching 40 and trooper is still 18...

I don't know what has caused this huge gap - different writers, or writers were handicapped for republic side to be "as good and noble as possible" - i.e. horribly unrealistic...

Yes, republic characters have "dark side" responses, but they are mostly just pointlessly malicious and unimaginative.

 

So yeah, if you're a player who wants to enjoy a story, roll imperium.

 

Tho heard that smuggler is "ok" for republic side, have to try that out sometimes (although I despise this game's cover mechanics)

[GeoLager]

Playing a Pub makes you morally superior to your counterparts.

[Bgiffo]

Reason: Join the winning side in the story.

[Tysusmed]

Let's face it, most developers have zero imagination when it comes to making the good/paragon/light side look cool. Evil/Renegade/Dark always get better looking gear, better delivered lines, and an overall more kick-butt experience.

 

Bioware is no different...

 

I really love how my level 50 Sage PvP gear either looks like:

 

1) A princess from the planet Naboo.

2) A nurse with a over-zealous seamstress, or...

3) An ancient Mayan Shaman with hand-me-down rags.

 

Wow - the Sith must be trembling in their boots when I show up to a Warzone!

 

Let's not even get started with Sith Corruption...The light-side counterpart...(crickets chirping away in the background.) Zero, ziltch, nada. Geesh, I'd settle for some cool glowing blue eyes for all the times I really wanted mouse-over the evil glowing red dialogue option, (which would allow my character to actually do or say something cool), rather than selecting the light-side option to farm points.

 

Anyway, must get back to the game. Apparently there's a diplomatic situation that my Sage must attend to. This will inevitably lead to her to deliver some long-winded, boring speech where she tells the recipient to avoid anything that involves sex, fun, or emotion.

 

Of course, nine times out of ten, she'll have to 'Jedi Persuade' the recipient because they all know the universal truth - the real party's happening on the Imp side.

 

p.s: Don't tell me good guys can't look cool. I offer you; Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus from the Matrix; Gandalf the White from LOTR; and Brandon Lee from The Crow!

Edited January 13, 2012 by Tysusmed

[HELhikari]

People quitting the Republic side is hardly going to help the republic population...

[Sznur]

People quitting the Republic side is hardly going to help the republic population...

 

It's not about helping some side, it's about better gaming experience. As an Empire you have much easier time finding a groups for heroic quest and flashpoints, better economy etc. Republic on many pvp servers is dying, nobody wants to invest a lot of time in republic character.

[Kadoozy]

a 60%/40% spread means one side (Empire) has 50% more players than the other side (Republic).

 

Just something to think about.

 

That doesn't mean they have more players. That means the Republic players are bad on your server. I roll pugs on my server and we beat the imp premades. Its sad.

[Enzid]

Here are the reasons I rolled Republic:

 

1. I think throwing rocks and junk is cooler than shooting lightning.

 

2. Assault cannons are cool and make awesome pewpew sounds.

 

3. I knew, from the day this game was announced, that the Empire would be the most populated side; I always pick the underdog faction.

 

So, yes, there are multiple reasons... at least for me.

[Winnerbagel]

Different strokes?

 

I happen to enjoy the Republic side, and this is coming from someone who's rolled Empire first.

 

Maybe it's the class I picked, but I found the Sith Warrior's story to be incredibly boring. It didn't suck me in at all. Inquisitor was much better, but still a bit drab. Korriban wasn't much to look at, and Dromund Kaas can't really hold a candle to Coruscant. But.. this is just my opinion.

 

Afterwards, I tried out the Smuggler and fell in love. Up to level 35 now and still enjoying it. Perhaps the Sith stories really pick up later on, but I'll see when I level one.

 

Perhaps many players feel at home on the Empire because they are FAR too familiar with the old and overdone Jedi/Republic story. The Sith Empire is a completely new experience considering we've been rooting for the Republic for so many decades. We already know all the ins and outs of the "good guys," and experiencing the other side probably feels fresh for most people.

[Akeche]

I'm of the opinion this stupid faction crap that WoW put into every developers head needs to go the way of the Dodo. Splitting the population of every server is the worst decision ever.

[SpieleNerd]

Well is always like this , people flock.

In this case to the empire , just like in WoW was to the horde.

It is better for PvE this way , only thing that suffers is World PvP ... not that i care even a little about world PvP lols.

 

no, actually the first 2-3 years of wow, Horde was the unloved underdog nobody wanted to play ...

[Nitewolfe]

I play republic because i (and i mean me myself and I not other people) can not bring myself to play on the evil side (yes even the creator of star wars GL himself said that star wars was a classic story of good verse evil). I have tried in the past in other games and just can not do it.

 

 

Besides Empire has no class that gets to use the BFG!

[Scargonar]

It really depends on the server. On my server empire always loses in pvp and it's really annoying....

[Merihim]

I'm of the opinion this stupid faction crap that WoW put into every developers head needs to go the way of the Dodo. Splitting the population of every server is the worst decision ever.

 

But in Star Wars the two faction thing, is like made for it. It fits perfectly imo .

[Nitewolfe]

I'm of the opinion this stupid faction crap that WoW put into every developers head needs to go the way of the Dodo. Splitting the population of every server is the worst decision ever.

 

2 factions does not mean that the player base has to split. Sadly not many games follow eq2 lead where on pve servers the 2 factions could actually group and guild together. Even thu the lore said quenos and freeport hated each other we still could poll from both factions for guilds and groups.

[Scrobes]

If you want to use assault cannons, then I guess that's a good reason..

[Boffin]

Personally I love playing as a Smuggler. I loved the class quest line and especially all the outrageous things the smuggler says. It's to the point that I've been debating what Empire class to play as, but haven't done anything about it for a week because none of the options really appeal to me.

 

As for my server - the Republic population is generally pretty good when I'm on, despite the fact that I'm a West Coast fella who's stubbornly stuck with the 'unofficial oceanic server.' Can't speak much for the PvP balance, but I've never really had problems finding a group for anything.

[Iusedtoplaywow]

People quitting the Republic side is hardly going to help the republic population...

 

LOL???????***????

 

So this guy is supposed to PAY MONEY for a POOR EXPERIENCE to make up for Bioware's mishandling of server balance so YOU can have a better experience?

 

Nice.

[Halofax]

Well the issue keeps coming up amongst the group of friends I am playing with.

 

Is there any reason to continue paying for a subscription to play as Republic at the moment?

 

I can't even begin to explain how depressing the game feels as Republic, and before Empire players come in and say it is fine QQ more etc. Please, please, please roll a Republic character up until at least Act 2 and let me know how many players you see or how your storyline compares to the empire side. Let me know how PvP pans out for you when you find out that Empire dominates (Recording 60/40%; yes I got so raged I started recording figures).

 

I had some free time this week so I decided I would give a Sith a go and I am genuinely speechless. The armor looks better, the storylines seem more engaging and I actually see friendlies running around (and multiple instances in fleet???? WOW!).

 

So far I think this game is great but I don't think my group of friends are going to be playing long by the sound of things (balance feels out of control and there has been no response bearing in mind we are closing on the first month renewal) and this game is rather lonely without friends to play with!

 

Population at 50 is so bad on my server that I am starting to remember 50s by name and class (don't tell me that people are still leveling, it is incredibly easy to hit level cap while holding down a job and being a university student).

 

It's not really an ultimatum post because really I will just head to wherever my friends are so it doesn't bother me what happens but I do think it is an issue that at least warrants a response from Bioware.

 

So to summarise there are two main aspects of an MMO; PvE and PvP, why play a race that doesn't excel in either?

 

Empire dominates 60/40 because its hard to lose when you play on both teams.

[karcyon]

Personally I love playing as a Smuggler. I loved the class quest line and especially all the outrageous things the smuggler says. It's to the point that I've been debating what Empire class to play as, but haven't done anything about it for a week because none of the options really appeal to me.

 

As for my server - the Republic population is generally pretty good when I'm on, despite the fact that I'm a West Coast fella who's stubbornly stuck with the 'unofficial oceanic server.' Can't speak much for the PvP balance, but I've never really had problems finding a group for anything.

I had the same experience. Played a BH on an EU server. The community was terrible, no one did Heroics, people told me I should skip heroics (after asking for help) because leveling is faster that way etc. and I thought the story was boring after Act1. Then I rolled a smuggler on a different server and that was the best decision ever. The class and story fits my style, the community is great etc. and I think my Warzone win rate is 50:50 which is ok. I canceled a few weeks back but now I'm in for another month or two. I think it all comes down to what server you choose.

Edited January 13, 2012 by karcyon

[HeroXx]

I just wanted to play a Jedi character, preferably a Jedi Knight. The thing that I find strange is that some people purport Jedi being an RL religion, whereas Sith is nowhere to be seen. I truly thought Sith/Empire would be the underdog. My mistake it seems.

 

It's a pity the Jedi (and Republic) classes and story lines are so underwhelming at this stage. I really hope there is some sort of review of this sort of thing, though I doubt it will occur. Playing Empire really isn't all that great in my opinion. It's vaguely amusing playing the biggest *****hole in the universe for a little while, then the allure wears off. I like the Republic worlds/backdrops a lot better.

 

Exactly how I feel.

[TheSwamper]

My SI is level 30 and my Trooper is 36. Both are fun, very different to play, and are in decent-looking gear. Except for the legs, I've yet to find pants that look cool on the Trooper, or lower robes that that cool on my Sith.

 

I care nothing for PvP, and I have no trouble finding groups in either side, provided I go looking at the right times! Being on the extreme east coast (Nova Scotia), the best time for me to find a group is around midnight. During the day, too few people on.

[KerythFOS]

Well the issue keeps coming up amongst the group of friends I am playing with.

 

Is there any reason to continue paying for a subscription to play as Republic at the moment?

 

I can't even begin to explain how depressing the game feels as Republic, and before Empire players come in and say it is fine QQ more etc. Please, please, please roll a Republic character up until at least Act 2 and let me know how many players you see or how your storyline compares to the empire side. Let me know how PvP pans out for you when you find out that Empire dominates (Recording 60/40%; yes I got so raged I started recording figures).

 

I had some free time this week so I decided I would give a Sith a go and I am genuinely speechless. The armor looks better, the storylines seem more engaging and I actually see friendlies running around (and multiple instances in fleet???? WOW!).

 

So far I think this game is great but I don't think my group of friends are going to be playing long by the sound of things (balance feels out of control and there has been no response bearing in mind we are closing on the first month renewal) and this game is rather lonely without friends to play with!

 

Population at 50 is so bad on my server that I am starting to remember 50s by name and class (don't tell me that people are still leveling, it is incredibly easy to hit level cap while holding down a job and being a university student).

 

It's not really an ultimatum post because really I will just head to wherever my friends are so it doesn't bother me what happens but I do think it is an issue that at least warrants a response from Bioware.

 

So to summarise there are two main aspects of an MMO; PvE and PvP, why play a race that doesn't excel in either?

 

Honestly, I have the exact opposite opinion. I am underwhelmed by the Empire stories. I honesty fail to see why people say they are better than Republic stories. Personally, I think most of those proponents haven;t even played Republic and are just gung ho Empire players.

 

Now, on the Republic Side...I have stopped the rebellion on Ord Mantel and exposed the Imperial agitators behind it. I have saved the Jedi Order from the Dark Side Plague. I have single handedly led the overthrow of the Imperial Conquest of Balmorra and brought them into the Republic. And I have kept Quesh from falling into Imperial hands.

 

I find myself less and less interested in the Empire side every time I come across another of the Empires abuses and atrocities in my Republic side stories. Not that I won't play my BH and IA, eventually.

 

I run into plenty of people, and have little trouble finding groups on Republic side (though, being a healer probably helps). And yes, there have been more than one republic Fleet instance on my server.

 

And on the PVP side, I get Hutttball (which I do enjoy) less than Empire Side. And I have not seen a PVP domination by the Empire. My matches have been roughly 50/50 wins and losses (Estimates). Then again, when I played in that game that shall not be named, people kept saying how the side with cows and corpses dominated and I never saw that either when I was on the side of Spacegoats and short people.

 

And as for the lvl 50 population, most people aren't there yet. I started on day 1 of EGA and only hit lvl 38 last night. I'm listening to every conversation, working on my crew skills, running flashpoints as they become available (The Jedi Prisoner 2 instance chain was fantastic), and playing around with PVP and Space Missions.