[SPOILERS] Bounty Hunter story — wow =)

[SW_display_name]

HEAVY SPOILERS FOR ENTIRE BOUNTY HUNTER STORY AHEAD, AND SOME JEDI KNIGHT / INQUISITOR STUFF. I'm not going to use a million spoiler tags, because you've been amply warned: READING THIS WILL SPOIL THE BH STORY. AVERT YOUR EYES IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE BH STORY TO THE END YET.

 

Yes, I know everyone will TL;DR this. That's OK. I just hope someone from BioWare can forward my praise to the writers/developers responsible for this story — I'm really impressed and I just want them to know.

 

I just finished BH chapter 3 and — wow. That's all I can say. Grats to the writers / developers who pulled this one together, you really impressed me.

 

The BH story was, until recently, the most boring story yet. I've seen Inquisitor (eh, popcorn fun, kind of stupid). I've seen Smuggler (great, fun adventure). And I've seen Jedi Knight (eh, lots of flashy stuff going on but not a really great story as a whole).

 

Now, don't take that the wrong way. I love all the stories, that's why I'm playing through each class. But those comments are my critical view of each story as a whole.

 

Anyway, BH started with a whimper — the Great Hunt is completely insipid and uninteresting, the targets ranged from OK (kill my daughter) to absurd (kill comatose guy on life support). It had some good moments of "brutal hitman" stuff going on, but overall was fairly "meh".

 

The showdown of Chapter 1 was well-done, though. It had a serious feeling of "Totally awesome badarse" going on, and left you thinking "This has got to have some consequences eventually." And the variety of different options for dealing with Tarro Blood was a nice touch for letting us define our character's personality.

 

Chapter 2 felt completely pointless while doing it. Nothing really happened. Taris was mostly just a dull Mandalorian plot I didn't care about at all. Hoth, to be fair, was really cool. It was ultimately irrelevant MacGuffin-ing, but the White Maw leaders were given cool gimmicks and personalities and the showdowns inside Star of Coruscant had a really nice "honor among thieves" sort of thing going on.

 

But Chapter 2 did one other thing — the seemingly-innocuous little scene on Quesh delivered on those consequences you suspected from Chapter 1's finale, and made clear that people in very high places had been pst off. Your character shrugs it off, but deep down you know this isn't over.

 

Then the plot swerved on me. I assumed the other 3 Black List hunters were going to backstab me — I mean, the Jedi Knight story lived up to expectations in paint-by-number fashion. "Let's see, 3 Jedi Masters... 3 planets in Chapter 3... yep, they'll fall to the Dark Side and I'll be killing them." And the JK story predictably delivered.

 

So I figured, BH chapter 2 would end with my head placed on the Black List by Jun Seros as revenge, fighting fire with fire in his anger. Then I'd have to kill the other 3 hunters as they tried to collect it throughout chapter 3 and finally kill the Jedi to get my name off the bounty list.

 

So I go strolling into the Star Cluster Casino, ready to fight everyone... and everyone's dead. Swerve. Looks like that business on Quesh meant something after all, and they really were throwing me a party. Oops.

 

So chapter 3 caught me totally off-guard. I was expecting to have to fight the other hunters, but instead I'm fighting to avenge them and get the entire Republic off my back. Not only that, but I'm trapped in the pocket of one of the most disturbing Sith Lords I've encountered in the game.

 

That's the thing. Most Sith Lords are just goofy. Like, Darth Decimus? I invaded Corellia at the behest of a bloody clown. I mean he looks like a clown. I laugh every time I see a cutscene with him. Most Sith are just too ludicrous to take seriously.

 

But Darth Tormen? His design is actually threatening and disturbing. He's... scary. And throughout Chapter 3, he's steadily built up into more and more of a monster. By the end of Corellia, I actually take this Sith seriously. This guy means business and, unlike most characters, I trust in him to deliver it. Really well-done character-building.

 

So I meander through Chapter 3 and I'm constantly struck, especially on Corellia, by how much I'm starting to feel like an Imperial lapdog. All the Imperials treat me like a dependable Imperial soldier. I'm helping the Empire cut down the Republic all over. Sure, the pay's good, but I'm feeling disturbingly close to being an Imperial lackey rather than a ruthless contractor. And the finale of Voss made me realize (in character terms) just how disturbing some of these contracts are.

 

So I finish off Jun Seros — another well-built character, too. By the end of Corellia I really hated the guy as an irritating zealot. Enemies who just want you crushed are one thing, but enemies who want you crushed and think this makes them morally superior — ooh, that's irritating. Instead of just "Faceless Jedi Hero #3000", I felt like I was finishing off a vendetta that was well-deserved. It felt like a personal battle of ideals between two stubborn, bitter people — not a simplistic "Jedi kills me because I am bad and he is a hero". Well done.

 

And it's all paint-by-numbers so far. I've knocked off all my targets, taken my revenge, now I go kill the Supreme Chancellor and become the big evil bad guy of the galaxy like I was forced into being by the plot guidelines. Ho-hum. Oh well. May as well finish because I'm so close to the end, right?

 

Storm the Supreme Chancellor's vessel — pretty awesome. I get to him, figure there'll be some token fight and then I'll get to either capture him for execution or shoot him right there, blah blah same as usual and —

 

And then it's like, Twilight Zone. SWTOR-ception. I'm not sure the game is really doing what it's doing. I'm seriously being offered the chance to double-cross Darth Tormen? I'm being reasoned with? The Chancellor isn't a giant windbag arsehole like Jun Seros?

 

I'm totally speechless here. Most other Chapter 3 finales are like "A or B", but it's more like "A, and slightly different A". Like JK chapter 3 — the finale with the Emperor is basically paint-by-numbers with no interesting choices at all. And now here the game is actually giving me the chance to choose between being Super Evil Badarse (kill Chancellor, ignore his pleas for reason) or stop and listen and do something honorable.

 

That... was really awesome. So I accept the deal to go kill Tormen.

 

Now, listen. This is good writing. Because not once on my previous 3 characters — not Darth Zash, not Darth Thanaton, not Skavak, not Voidwolf (lol), not even the Emperor — not once was I actually scared by any plot choice. I felt Plot Armored™ and totally confident my character would go happily annihilate their evenly-matched enemy.

 

But Darth Tormen? The writer built him up so well into a terrifying force of Sith-ness that I was actually scared when I agreed to go fight him. I actually wasn't sure I'd kill him plot-wise, or just betray him and flee for my life. I was actually nervous as I returned to the Tyrant. My adrenaline was actually pumping as I approached Tormen.

 

Because this finale was matching me against something I did not feel evenly-matched to — for the first time in a character story, I felt like I was going up against something I had no chance of defeating. Psychotically brutal Sith Lord from Hell vs. ... skilled hitman. I know I have Plot Armor™, but I still felt like I was marching to my funeral, my final blaze-of-glory, as I ran through the corridors of the Tyrant. It was beautiful in true Mandalorian spirit.

 

So, seriously, thank you to the Bounty Hunter writer(s). You started off slow (sloooooooooooooooow) and took your sweet time patiently planting all the little seeds, and then right at the last second you pulled the curtain up and delivered your big plot climax — one I totally did not see coming, one that had me feeling scared and excited, and one that finished the BH plot off with a huge, huge BANG.

 

And the final scene? Of my ship quietly flying off while the Republic and Empire continue to hopelessly shoot at each other? Really beautifully done. It was only a few seconds, but it summed up the BH spirit perfectly — independent contractor playing the scene while the war rages on, ultimately unchanged. And then leaving, unnoticed and uncelebrated, when my work is done. Really nice touch.

 

This was, by far, the most satisfying finale I've seen out of my 4 level 50 characters. It took forever to deliver the payoff, but wow, that payoff was worth it. Thank you for a very memorable ending, great twist, and satisfying control over my character's story and destiny. This renewed my faith in the story aspects of the game and my desire to see the rest of the class stories.

 

Oh, and the little "brutal hitman" touches — like marching up to targets with my pistol drawn in this characteristic "I've got you now" angle, or kicking people on to their hands-and-knees before shooting them in the head — really well done. I wouldn't want to be this person IRL, but it was a really fun romp to play such a ruthless and brutal character.

 

Awesome. I hope the team that made the BH story is still at BioWare. If not, tell me what they're working on now!

[SithKoriandr]

Did it feel like you were the crew of the Firefly in that last scene for you too? Totally did for me!

 

I keep telling my friends to play the BH. It's not the EPIC story, but it's good and fun. My end scene with Taro Blood...I loved it!

 

And much like you, I thought I was about to walk into a "Hahaha! No party for you! It's a trap!" and when I saw I was wrong, as I was all "Those bastards killed my friends!"

 

It had it's low periods. But it had it's really great moments too

[ekimmak]

So, you went from "Those goons think they can outwit me, eh?" to "How DARE he kill my friends!" In a few short moments?

[saremun]

So, you went from "Those goons think they can outwit me, eh?" to "How DARE he kill my friends!" In a few short moments?

 

lol that was the case for me, in fact i just wanted a reason to kill and chase some Jedies and i got it

[Jenzali]

BH story is and has always been my favorite. It has the biggest number of branching options other than the Agent. And Darth Tormen is the best-characterized Darth in the game.

[SithKoriandr]

So, you went from "Those goons think they can outwit me, eh?" to "How DARE he kill my friends!" In a few short moments?

 

Yup! Have to! You only get a few scenes with them, how else are you going to get involved with your story otherwise?

 

We get very little actual interaction with any of the NPCs. Mentor in the beginning of the BH storyline dies. We knew him all of 10minutes and only for a couple of scenes, and the story plays it out like you knew him well.

 

Then there's just the habit of trying to figure out where you think the writer is going to be going with the story and then finding you're wrong. Especially with Chapter 2 tending to feel like the "I've been betrayed!" chapter. But for BH, you weren't betrayed, you were beat...though...saddly, this goes on to showjust how pitiful Mandos are. Group of the best Bounty Hunters/Mandos in the galaxy, and they all got killed.

[Beniboybling]

Every time I read praise like this for the BH story it sends shivers down my spine - because it gets me remembering how awesome it was. This is by far the best story in the game, I loved it. Personally, I enjoyed Act 1 more than you did. I really found it exciting hunting down each of my contracts, and I loved the twist on Balmorra (although I suspected it was coming - but then got to tell Mako as much which made it all better ).

 

I'm also interested as to how you felt a Imperial lapdog, because I felt differently. My opinions towards Darth Tormen were very different to yours, I totally respected his power and thought he was amazingly done (totally agree, Decimus looks like a clown) I didn't fear him. I did however, want his admiration and respect. I'm a darkside player so my BH was pretty bad, while he did make so moral choices at times and never let the dark side 'cloud his vision', he was still pretty rough. So naturally I sided with Tormen and stuck the Chancellor's full of blaster bolts, because I had respect for Tormen and I don't betray employers that I respect. Also, the chance to kill the Chancellor of the Republic is one I can't help but miss. Oh and as a rule, anyone who crosses me - dies.

 

As for Jun Seros, couldn't agree with you more. I didn't think for a moment my fellow BHs would betray me but boy was I shocked when they were all slaughtered. And I was really, really angry. I totally wanted to slaughter Jun Seros and kill anyone who got in my way, which was exactly how my BH felt. Excellent writing. I also like, just as you said, how Jun Seros just wasn't another Jedi. Because it totally sucks the satisfaction out of victory when you opponent just lays down his arms and becomes 'one with the Force.'

 

Although Seros came pretty close to doing that, until I told him about how I intended to kill the Chancellor. 'Sssh...' great great line. I also really liked the ending because like you, it totally matched how I felt about the whole situation. On one hand you felt like Tormen's lackey, and so killing him was satifisying. I on the other hand felt like Tormen's ally, and the end scene captured that perfectly.

of how it went down - pure awesomeness.

 

P.S. That's it, time to kick start my female BH - I need to do this story again.

[YoshiRaphElan]

...though...saddly, this goes on to showjust how pitiful Mandos are. Group of the best Bounty Hunters/Mandos in the galaxy, and they all got killed.

 

None of them were Mandos, though, so it doesn't show them as pitiful at all. Remember, Mandalore asked you to become a Mandalorian because he was leaving the group, and he wanted a Mando representative, so the others weren't.

[SithKoriandr]

None of them were Mandos, though, so it doesn't show them as pitiful at all. Remember, Mandalore asked you to become a Mandalorian because he was leaving the group, and he wanted a Mando representative, so the others weren't.

 

Oooo...that's true. I figured since they were up there in rank, they were Mandos! Makes it a bit different, though still, Mandos never come off as looking to great. Always getting beat.