Sticking with a class...

[Malphyzar]

Guys, I am hoping you can give me some help. I am having a ridiculously hard time sticking with a class. Choice paralysis, I guess. I have tried every advanced class at least to level 16-18 and I find things to enjoy about each of them. I really want to experience all the aspects of the game (PVP, PVE, FPs, Crafting, etc.); I just can't pick a character to do it with. I don't necessarily have a strong preference for either melee/ranged, force/non-force, or role (although I have the least experience w/ tanking).

 

Ideally, I think I would like to level a Republic and Imperial toon simultaneously just to have two crafting skills that support one another, be able to switch off without getting burnt out one character, and experience storylines from both factions.

 

What I would really like to hear from the community is how you choose your main. What do you like best about the different classes? Any others with the same sort of choice paralysis? How did you overcome it? Just give me any pros/cons that come to mind.

 

Just want to add, I am not a min/max'er and don't care about putting up the biggest numbers or being the most in-demand.

 

Thanks all.

[Dorin_Kai]

It's hard to give advice when you don't have a preferred play style. Level 16-18 really isn't far enough to have a really firm grasp on each AC, but if you intend to do Flashpoints, etc I would recommend rolling a Tank and Healer. Maybe a Juggernaut(Guardian) and a Scoundrel (or Operative) that way you've got a couple of different play styles, will have demand in group finder and very different storylines.

[Legolose]

Healing I would go Sorcerer but that is I did and they are crazy good healers but as tanking goes I went Guardian and they are pretty good but I love playing my Sorcerer more...

[NOTACTICS]

Like above has said you don't get as true feel for an advanced class and what might suit your style and what you might enjoy most until further down the line. I think you need to advance the levels more to know, once you get to around 28-30 you get alot of your abilities by then and get learn them and your rotations more and you start to learn what combos work together well. No classes overall are better than others just different. Flashpoints and Heroic's are a good place to learn about how effective you are with a certain class as the group are relying on you doing your job so you get to learn quicker, both from their guidance and from your mistakes. In solo play even if you do mess up it is rare that you really punished for it with the companion at your side. PVP can be good place to learn but I is all down to the team your are in and weather they play together as a team which is not always the case, you not learning much if left isolated against 2-3 opponents and getting smashed all the time because they are all acting as a bunch of individuals.

 

Tanks and healer get to get into Flashpoints quicker, but there is more responsibility to your team mates as a tank or healer. It is a little easier on your first char to be a DPS as there is a little less pressure on you in group play to always perform as expected.

Edited August 20, 2013 by NOTACTICS

[OwenP]

Talking from my experience I raised a pair of characters as my first ones, Republic Trooper (Commando) and Sith Warrior (Marauder). Both DPS so there was no need to concentrate on a healing or tank rotation and I got to enjoy the stories of both focusing on the character instead of others. Both characters were different types of DPS, Ranged with Cannon, and Melee with Lightsaber. One completely Light and the other completely Dark so I could experience both types and styles of gameplay.

 

TL:DR Basically, find opposing class designs and styles so you won't get burnt out playing either character and you can enjoy the stories without distractions.

Hope that helps you choose your classes to stick with.

[PLynkes]

You don't need to pick a class and stick with it if that isn't your thing. I have eight characters of differing classes that I regularly play, and enjoy playing them all.

[Heathenblood]

You don't need to pick a class and stick with it if that isn't your thing. I have eight characters of differing classes that I regularly play, and enjoy playing them all.

 

Yeah. I you have been deleting them don't just level something if you get bored of it level something else for a while and so on. I have never been tired out of a certain class this way. Some days I feel like playing my sage somedays I feel like playing my op. really nice if you are indecisive

[Heal-To-Full]

Guys, I am hoping you can give me some help. I am having a ridiculously hard time sticking with a class. Choice paralysis, I guess.

Someday, you'll just have them all. Many players do.

For now pick two that contrast the most and that you like best.

 

 

Ideally, I think I would like to level a Republic and Imperial toon simultaneously just to have two crafting skills that support one another, be able to switch off without getting burnt out one character, and experience storylines from both factions.

Not all storylines are made equal.

 

You'll probably want to skip Jedi Consular; might also skip Trooper, though it has a few fans. They are side stories, and not very well done. About on par with planetary quests and complementing them.

 

You definitely want to do Imperial Agent, Sith Warrior and Jedi Knight. The game's story just isn't told without these three, of these Agent is the best overall, Warrior and Knight are most important and complement one another.

 

Smuggler is a side story, but nicely done; it's also a fun class to play in both ACs. Imperial Agent is dark and James Bond-ish, Smuggler is comic relief, they're very dissimilar.

Inquisitor is a story about the Sith society, but more involved in the overall plot.

Bounty Hunter also a side story, most similar to the Smuggler, and also nicely done.

 

 

What I would really like to hear from the community is how you choose your main.

Usually it's the other way around - your main chooses you. As you get to level 30-40 on multiple toons, having completed Chapter I, started II, leveled all skills to 300ish, geared up, played 30-54 PvP, serious flashpoints, it's going to happen.

[EranofArcadia]

I don't have alts. I have 8 mains. (None past Chapter 1 / Level 23 . . . working on it.)

 

Embrace it.

[WHearth]

I don't have alts. I have 8 mains. (None past Chapter 1 / Level 23 . . . working on it.)

 

Embrace it.

 

This.

 

I have a character for every advanced class.

[parmie]

My main was simply my first. The key for me is to level 1 character at a time. Level them in the spec you want to end game in to get intimately close to the abilities and gain experience.

 

Don't try to level multiple characters all at the same time, this can be boring in the extreme especially if you're trying to level at the same pace across.

[PLynkes]

Don't try to level multiple characters all at the same time, this can be boring in the extreme especially if you're trying to level at the same pace across.

 

I would say DO, if you want to. I am more likely to get bored playing the same character for long periods myself. I find switching between characters enjoyable, and if they are levelling at roughly the same rate and all have different crafting niches, they can craft for each other as they go. There are many ways to play, all equally valid if you are having fun.

Edited August 22, 2013 by PLynkes

[Nazdika]

I don't have alts. I have 8 mains. (None past Chapter 1 / Level 23 . . . working on it.)

 

Embrace it.

 

+1 (except the mains are all between 32-55)

 

I had planned to level them about the same, but some were just more intriguing, and doing any planet 8x in a row was just too much. For me it depends mainly on playstyle, story, and companion(s). Some I play because I like the companions (4X, Tanno, Khem, etc.), some because of playstyle (e.g. Sage - companions, and story so far are somewhat meh, but FPs etc. are great fun to me), etc. Other criteria may also be looks (of armor for example), animation (e.g. throwing lightning > stones), quests fitting into my personal story of the char (not RPing, but still like the stories to somewhat fit), etc. Just to give examples. I just play who currently intrigues me most, or who is in a group to play with.

 

Having several mains has downsides too, though. Collecting armor and mods, sometimes even for 2 companions, is a bit of a headache. Attributing skills to keys is somewhat difficult-ish, since I want similar skills on the same keys across the ACs, and finding which skill triggers best say on a healer vs. DD, is demanding with every new key skill. Also, before doing anything serious with a different class than I played the last couple of days, I may sit down and re-read some tooltips of my skills.

[JacksonMo]

You should really just pick one. The legacy benefits from completing each story cannot be over stated.

Each companion for each of the 8 basic classes grants a +50 bonus to presence for all toons.

You'll notice the difference after completing just one. Once you get 4 toons complete with their set bonus, your lower level companions absolutely destroy anything in your path.

[Kerensk]

I think the answer is in the middle. Work on getting characters to 50 (or 55) but if it's feeling repetitive switch it up. I rotate every 2 Weeks or so.

 

Definitely get 4 main classes upto chapter 2 ASAP so you can get the legacy wide class buffs. I'd recommend getting 1 toon maxed soon so you have a "rich uncle" to pass gear and money down to other characters. Preferably a human since the unlock gives a Huge presence buff to the legacy.

 

And if you plan on doing elder game content I'd recommend an actual main toon you play more often. It's good to have one class you know inside and out. Because switching play mentality from a ranged sniper to a glowstick waving jedi every night can throw off your game.

[Heal-To-Full]

And if you plan on doing elder game content I'd recommend an actual main toon you play more often. It's good to have one class you know inside and out. Because switching play mentality from a ranged sniper to a glowstick waving jedi every night can throw off your game.

And many guilds will require you to pick one main for purposes of master loot distribution. They can't afford to splash collectively acquired 75's all over your multiple characters. That's just the rules. Now to out of pocket costs...

 

Fully augmenting a pair of PvP and PvE gear sets - 26 pieces if you share both relics - will run you 7,000,000 credits if you're in a weak guild or 4.5 to 5 million if you're in a guild that free crafts everything. Optimizing your gear, half a mil to a million per set. You'll probably want a million+ in shells too so as not to waste these augs on f2p looking gear. You'll want to get certain character specific unlocks - priority, droids, legacy of crafting - for at least another million per toon. This is 8-12 million right here.

 

Acquiring craftables you just can't get dropped, a million in top crafting guild or 2 million if unguilded for each, and let's say you're frugal and do with just 5, although most players need more. A more advanced fit would have separate relics and add several alternate pieces of gear for both PvP and PvE, so you can support respecs and defense/attack rounds, for a total of 40-50 pieces or 10 million

 

Overall you're looking at 15 to 20 million to frugally outfit an endgame character, or 25-40 if you're willing to splash somewhat to achieve perfect optimization, alternate gear pieces, full unlocks and a few cosmetics.

 

If you have all 8, it's safe to assume that either they're all in a strong guild or you have enough crafting to reliably support yourself, so we'll take the bottom numbers. But even then you're looking at a cost of anywhere between 120 and 250 million credits to have 8 mains.

 

If we do what EVE does and calculate it in real money value, per cartel market+GTN (illegal methods are less cost-efficient anyway) ratio of $10 per MM creds, it's $1,200 to $2,500 equivalent overall. About the value of a Leviathan or an Avatar with an Officer decked clone. This said, there are Titan owners, and I know a few players with 8+ main-grade characters in SWTOR, but you're looking at the same level of exclusivity as solo Titan owners in EVE.

[JacksonMo]

That's interesting and all, but since I have no frame of reference with anything to do with Eve, it's not unreasonable to assume I'm not the only one lost.

I think your point being that "8 mains" over the long term will be a very big investment. Yes?

Then again, you're talking end-game best in slot. The more casual player with 8 "mains" might well be just as happy with a full set of Basic gear for all 8 to run solo content, HM flashpoints and the occasional story mode op.

All of which being VERY easy to manage with a few crafting alts.

[Heal-To-Full]

If EVE reference doesn't work, look at the cash equivalent. A geared toon is only worth a couple hundred dollars, but 8 of them would be a lot of value. Acquiring that many creds in-game is a feat few have accomplished, and mostly through luck.

 

I think your point being that "8 mains" over the long term will be a very big investment. Yes?

Impossibly so for all but the most hardcore or successful players.

 

You can, of course, simply stick to doing low-end content, but come on - you'll get bored.

You'll want to run some real operations. You'll want to do some real PvP. You'll want to seriously help your team win or try a progressive raid. And to do that, you'll need to pool the credits and the efforts from all your toons into equipping one character to the absolute best of your ability.

 

There is a term for this kind of character - "Main".

Perhaps you can have one PvE main and one PvP main, that works well. But that's about it. Some players can afford to make a new PvE main, but mostly this was done when 2.0 came out and class balance changed - since lvl50 gear became obsolete, players could finally take the plunge.

Edited August 22, 2013 by B-Dick