Playing everyone as Light Side

[Xilizhra]

How well does this work? I don't know how many classes I'll actually do, but by and large, I don't really enjoy dark options (hurting people isn't quite fun for me, and defying expectations with a LS Inquisitor decidedly is thus far, though mostly on Korriban, even though I've only just started Dromund Kaas). Do Light Side stories hold up as well as Dark Side ones?

[Wulox]

I find a lot of the dark side options to be cartoony evil and relatively stupid in the long run. Most of the time it just involves killing somebody because they looked at you funny, even if they are a high ranking general or something which could benefit you by keeping them alive.

All of my characters are lightside, however I do not hesitate to use dark options if I really feel like it (I'm looking at you Thana Vesh).

I've had fun playing all of my characters mostly light side personally in basic terms, but I guess it is each to their own.

[Euphrosyne]

I'd say that a light side Warrior and Agent both make pretty good sense, although the Warrior in particular can sometimes suffer from wonky dialogue-wheel choices. (You often get three options: "For the Empire!"/"I'm only in it for the money"/"KILL KILL KILL". Yeesh.) Both classes have storylines that differ somewhat based on morality and the choices you make.

 

A light side Inquisitor is all right, but unfortunately there isn't really enough variation in the Inquisitor's story between light side and dark side to make it feel all that accommodating. I wasn't overly impressed with the Inquisitor's story in general, though, so I might just be projecting that onto the morality thing.

 

Light side Bounty Hunters are kinda weird. I wasn't a fan of most of the story quests, and the entire conceit of Chapter III was bizarre if you make the LS choice at the end. On the bright side, Blizz and Mako are both great companions for LS characters, and Torian isn't bad either. Gault and Skadge suck, but Gault and Skadge suck regardless of alignment.

Edited August 26, 2013 by Euphrosyne

[Kaedusz]

How well does this work? I don't know how many classes I'll actually do, but by and large, I don't really enjoy dark options (hurting people isn't quite fun for me, and defying expectations with a LS Inquisitor decidedly is thus far, though mostly on Korriban, even though I've only just started Dromund Kaas). Do Light Side stories hold up as well as Dark Side ones?

 

There really isn't any point in playing sith inquisitor ,agent,warrior and bounty hunter if you are full light side.It kills the immersion and the fun of those classes.Grey is a different matter.Grey with an inclination to the dark side,or full grey makes more sense.

 

But full light side is a waste and it is not the way imperial classes are meant to be played/RPed.The story and lore surrounding those classes,just doesn't fit full light side.It's just weird.

 

But i guess it's up to personal taste, ^ this is mine.

Edited August 26, 2013 by Kaedusz

[Xilizhra]

There really isn't any point in playing sith inquisitor ,agent,warrior and bounty hunter if you are full light side.It kills the immersion and the fun of those classes.Grey is a different matter.Grey with an inclination to the dark side,or full grey makes more sense.

 

But full light side is a waste and it is not the way imperial classes are meant to be played/RPed.The story and lore surrounding those classes,just doesn't fit full light side.It's just weird.

 

But i guess it's up to personal taste, ^ this is mine.

Hmmm. Can you elaborate on this?

[Allronix]

I dunno. I'm playing a Bounty Hunter, Level 42, and up to Light III. I'm no angel. I hunt people for cash, but those people have usually done something to earn that price on their heads, and the clients will pay just as much for a carbonite block as a bloody corpse (less of a mess to cleanup).

 

Several factors are involved. One, I'm playing a Miraluka hunter (Legacy unlocks FTW). Means the Imperials would just as soon see me in a slave labor camp or worse. But they need the services bad enough to hire some "alien scum" and I'd just as well shoot them as my target. Second, being Miraluka, I'm probably tracking that prey via the Force (the species doesn't use conventional sight), which means the Sith probably don't like me any more than I like them. Unfortunately, those backstabbing, racist, sexist, incompetant, crazed jerks are hiring. The only good thing I can say about those maniacs is that they're more reliable than the Hutts when it comes to paying bills.

 

I thought that, by playing Imperial, I could see their point of view, maybe sympatize with them, see their point. My head's not fitting that far up my rear, and it's obvious to me that the Mando 'ade are getting scammed yet again. So if I can troll the Imperials or undermine them and still get paid? Win-win for me!

 

The last factor? Well, Old Man Braden ran a good shop, as clean as you can get for the kind of work Hunters do. Means you capture when you can, make it quick and clean when you can't, and do not leave unnecessary collateral damage. The old man hired professionals, not butchers. You want a butcher, there are dozens of thugs on Hutta working cheap. The shop's still Braden's, he just ain't around to run it anymore, and I can think of no better way to honor the old man and flip the bird to his enemies than to carry on as though he's still in charge.

 

(And if there is an opening in the Genoharadan, I'm signing on ASAP)

Edited August 27, 2013 by Allronix

[Bleeters]

Much as I try to avoid just going full on light or dark and prefer a mix between the two, it's been my general experience that the smuggler, trooper, agent and warrior work pretty decently either way (bar the occasional time where the game forgets to give you a viable choice, that is. Balmorra as a Sith warrior tends to make me tear my hair out in frustration, and it grates whenever my character cut down someone with their lightsaber without my intervention), and whilst the jedi stories run into all sorts of problems in the making sense department if you dark side them, they work fine as light.

 

The inquisitor story is something of a mess. I'd say act one works, in part because the choices it offer are generally better overall and in part because your character has no actual agency over their actions, though a certain section on Alderaan is pretty gosh darn comical if you follow your entry into that situation with light sided diplomacy. After that, well. I could list problems all day, but the fact you kill thousands of people in a cutscene at one point pretty much says all that needs to be said.

 

Bounty hunters kill people for money. Lots of people. You can at best temper your ruthlessness and how much you're willing to do for said money, but it still comes down to the fact your characters motivation is always going to be their own fame and fortune and a whole lot of people are going to die for it. I suppose smugglers have this as well, but it didn't feel as poignant during their class story.

 

But full light side is a waste and it is not the way imperial classes are meant to be played/RPed.The story and lore surrounding those classes,just doesn't fit full light side.It's just weird.

The agent and warrior stories practically bend over backwards to accomodate both moralities. Between the events of the story and the general nature of how agents are noted as often joining for their own undiscolosed motivations, it's not hard to make that fit into a character who makes predominantly light side choices. I can even look past occasionally blowing the Empire's trumpet and saying how great killing is to other Imperials, given how passing yourself off as something you're not is at the core of being an imperial field agent.

 

And the warrior? They recieve practically no actual Sith training. They're purposefully rushed through something most acolytes undertake over the course of months. It isn't hard to make that story fit a character that makes light decisions either, and the story does go to some pretty impressive lengths to allow you to consistently do so. I can see how the grand finale might be a bit anti climactic that way, mind.

Edited August 27, 2013 by Bleeters

[Hudlar]

I think the writers tried to set things up so that all the stories would make sense for both LS and DS characters, but some of the stories still seem to fit one alignment better than the other. I played a (mostly) LS Inquisitor, and I agree with Bleeters that there are parts of the class story that just don't work well for a LS character (or at least my particular LS character). However, I did enjoy playing the character, despite some frustration.

 

I'd also encourage you to try the Agent story at some point. It's a great story, and as several people above have already mentioned, it works well for a wide variety of character types.

[BrianDavion]

one thing worth noting is mechanicly speaking you get a reward for maxing light side and dark side once across your entire legacy. after that alignment is totally meaningless

[Allronix]

Light and Dark alignment scores also help with certain equipment or relics, but all of the level 50+ gear has no alignment restrictions.

[EranofArcadia]

The idea I have of my IA is someone who embraces being gray, and always takes the pragmatic choice - but 90% of the time, "pragmatic" and "LS" are the same choice. So he's a little bit lighter than I would prefer.

 

Also, I find myself taking the LS (for pubs, or my BH or IA) or DS (for sith) choice regardless, because for some reason I can't bring myself to pick otherwise. So it's my own fault as much as the game's when my idea of the character doesn't match their alignment. Oh well.

[PowerJediRanger]

Well, all my characters, including my Imp ones, are light side with a bit of dark.

[saremun]

Darkside and Lightside in this game is more Cusmatic than actual feature, you can be Full Darkside with all the Red eyes and Sith armor but you can still enter the Jedi Temple and do what you want, just disapointing and against Lore really...

 

So after leveling 13 to max level on both sides i found that what ever you do/choose doesnt really change anything...

[morfius]

Play as you wish.

 

Republic light side (Jedi stereotype) is pretty different from Empire light side (Honor & For the Empire) opposed to dark ones witch are always in personal goals and kill them all.

 

This doesn't mean most of the choices (more in side quests) aren't pretty stupid.

 

Very good single one in Trooper story, some very good ones in Agent story, SW can flow both ways (light could troll Baras to the limit), SI have some weird points but pretty viable both sides. JC just doesn't seem right in dark but can be done, JK could shine in both ways (after story turn in chapter 2), Smuggler is more about laugh than light/dark - but viable both ways.

Edited August 30, 2013 by morfius

[Bytemite]

Play as you wish.

 

Republic light side (Jedi stereotype) is pretty different from Empire light side (Honor & For the Empire) opposed to dark ones witch are always in personal goals and kill them all.

 

This doesn't mean most of the choices (more in side quests) aren't pretty stupid.

 

Very good single one in Trooper story, some very good ones in Agent story, SW can flow both ways (light could troll Baras to the limit), SI have some weird points but pretty viable both sides. JC just doesn't seem right in dark but can be done, JK could shine in both ways (after story turn in chapter 2), Smuggler is more about laugh than light/dark - but viable both ways.

 

Yes, I think this. There hasn't been a story choice I've made yet that I couldn't come up with a viable alignment oriented explanation for the character. It's easiest for Republic characters if you're a bit honor before reason and make the dumb choices just because you refuse to compromise your principles out of pragmatism. I only ever got dark side points once on my Trooper, because even I couldn't just let a mass-murderer go, and the only other option the game provided was to shoot them.

 

The imperial characters are more nuanced, but you can still play against the stereotype pretty well.

 

Sith Warrior you can play LS as deliberately building pragmatic alliances, sparing "worthy" opponents who have "earned" their survival, and also kind of an arrogant "above all this petty in-squabbling and pointless cruelty, I'll do what I want how I want to, and just try and stop me," and it works. Still Sith in attitude and philosophy, and actually still kind of a jerk, but LS in action.

 

Sith Inquisitor makes some sense if you look at it as taking LS actions out of spite for the alternative. Because of the backstory motivation and because DS is what everyone expects.

 

And LS BH can work if you play the character as trying to live up to Braden's name and style, like someone else already said. A professional who sees the job as more being a problem solver.

 

Agent as already said can work with lots of different alignments because it has more story branches than any of the other class stories.

[TheSupaCoopa]

My Bounty Hunter is honorable and a true mandalorian(Unlike the Mandalore, who is an imperial puppet.), doesn't work for money, and is normally good at suppressing more violent tendencies, did do some DS choices. Most of these DS choices were punching Nobles on Alderaan (Did some of that on my LS Trooper, too) Edited September 6, 2013 by TheSupaCoopa

[Helig]

I think you're losing out on the Dark Side material. Granted full Dark Side characters come across as stupid (unless they're Sith Inquisitor, especially male - his voice is so delightful when he's about to commit an atrocity. Full Light Side characters, depending on the class, can look just as awkward though), but "dark-grey" mixes can make a lot of sense, depending on what you have in mind for your character.

[Jesterslore]

I am glad they made 50+ items require no alignment. It was crippling in a sense to play a character such as a bounty hunter or smuggler that wouldn't be pure light or dark and would do nothing more than end up leaning one way or another.

 

A bounty hunter could very well be a pretty nice guy outside of a contract..."do what I say or I'll rip your head off" or "gimme all your money instead of the agreed upon reward" or "you are my target...time to die...but I'm gonna kill your wife, kids, friends, boss, cousins and anyone else that has ever breathed the same air as you just for kicks" just doesn't fit all that many personalities, even in the SW universe, regardless of faction. Imps were "bad guys" but not because they were evil, but because they followed the orders of their ruthless and sometimes tactically genius sith overlords. Imps had families and everything, too...they were just more...disciplined? Fear of punishment for failure likely outweighed most moral conflicts in the eyes of most imperial soldiers/officers. Vader at his worst, even forgave someone once...just don't screw up again. (telechoke)

Edited September 6, 2013 by Jesterslore

[EranofArcadia]

A character could very well see a disconnect betwee the Sith and the average citizen of the empire. I mean, my IA sees one of his duties to protect the common people from the depredations of the Dark Council, because he sees the real leaders of the Empire as the moffs and generals and people like him, and the Sith are just parasites.

 

So if you look hard enough, there is a justification for anything.

[Xilizhra]

A character could very well see a disconnect betwee the Sith and the average citizen of the empire. I mean, my IA sees one of his duties to protect the common people from the depredations of the Dark Council, because he sees the real leaders of the Empire as the moffs and generals and people like him, and the Sith are just parasites.

 

So if you look hard enough, there is a justification for anything.

Question: why would that be any better than the Republic? The Sith are at least somewhat different philosophically than the Jedi and could add debate to the stagnancy of the latter order, but the Imperial politicians and officers are no better and frequently worse than the Republic ones.

[EranofArcadia]

Question: why would that be any better than the Republic? The Sith are at least somewhat different philosophically than the Jedi and could add debate to the stagnancy of the latter order, but the Imperial politicians and officers are no better and frequently worse than the Republic ones.

 

Because the character values political stability over freedom, and ignores/justifies the bad behavior of any given Imp leader as a "necessary evil". I mean, I'm not saying the guy is RIGHT, but many American and Soviet citizens thought highly of their respective power blocs during the Cold War, notwithstanding the nasty things each side did.

Edited September 7, 2013 by EranofArcadia

[Xilizhra]

Because the character values political stability over freedom, and ignores/justifies the bad behavior of any given Imp leader as a "necessary evil". I mean, I'm not saying the guy is RIGHT, but many American and Soviet citizens thought highly of their respective power blocs during the Cold War, notwithstanding the nasty things each side did.

I'm just wondering what makes the Empire necessary. I have a hard time getting into it myself, because I'm not terribly affiliated with my own government as being an inherent good.

[Sacrmeno]

Question: why would that be any better than the Republic? The Sith are at least somewhat different philosophically than the Jedi and could add debate to the stagnancy of the latter order, but the Imperial politicians and officers are no better and frequently worse than the Republic ones.

 

It's not better than the Republic, at least the politicians and officers of the Republic don't commit atrocities very often, like the genocide project from Pub-side Nar Shaddaa.

Edited September 7, 2013 by Sacrmeno

[EranofArcadia]

But then, I don't see "light side character" as synonymous with "character whose worldview and understanding of galactic politics is 100% accurate".

 

Or vise versa - you can be naive without being innocent.

[JacenHallis]

I'm just wondering what makes the Empire necessary. I have a hard time getting into it myself, because I'm not terribly affiliated with my own government as being an inherent good.

The Empire is there to serve the needs of the Sith and Humans that make it up. That's pretty much it. Since the False Emperor debacle, however, the Empire has opened up to be a bit more inclusive of aliens, but it's still far from being as cosmopolitan as the Republic. Supporters of the Empire believe in a highly structured society, where everyone has his role that serves the betterment of the society. It's very Animal Farm. Everyone is equal, except the Sith. And by everyone, we mean non-force sensitive humans and sith. Other species are worthy only of serving.

 

The Empire's main reason for existence is to exact retribution on the Republic and the Jedi for the Exile of the Dark Jedi (who bred with the original Sith to make the Sith we have in the game's time) and the aftermath of the Great Hyperspace War, where the Republic couldn't leave well enough alone and decided to wipe out the Sith entirely.

 

They're actually a very good example of a people who were horribly wronged and have chosen to address their grievances in a very violent manner. So, you can sympathize with them, but you also hate them because they're just such bad people. Of course, there are good people stuck in crappy situations there, too. But the visible face of the Empire is a pale, spider-veined, sunken-eyed terror.