What to try on the Imperial Side while 12x XP is in progress?

[TaelinThurn]

I'm an occasional player. I've got a family, a career, and graduate school on top of that, so I don't have time to play SW:TOR a lot.

 

In 9 months, playing one character as often as I could, I got to 36th level. Then the 12x XP bonus kicked in, and I shot to 48th level in a little over a week. I should hit the 55 cap before the end of the month.

 

I play a Jedi Sentinel on Ebon Hawk, so all my experience has been on the Republic side of the game. If I have the chance to level up a character on the Imperial side a lot as well, I was trying to figure out which one to do.

 

What are some suggestions? What has a really good story to it? I'm kinda inclined to go with an Imperial Agent because playing a darksider doesn't really appeal to me, I play to have fun and escape from the bad things I see in my everyday life, so playing a sadistic, corrupt, merciless and hate-filled character doomed to a life of torment, like a Sith doesn't really appeal to me, and I've heard the Imperial Agent plotline is a bit like a James Bond movie done in Star Wars, so that sounds kinda cool.

 

That said, I was looking for input and advice about what I could go for if I was going to try one Imperial character.

 

(Also, I know the 12x XP is controversial, but for those more casual players it's a chance for us to see a lot of the game we might not see for a long time, if ever, so I'm not complaining one bit)

[Aussircaex]

Agent is probably more engrossing a story than Bounty Hunter, in my opinion.

[BuriDogshin]

You can play light-side Sith or a Light side BH. Just saying. The Agent story line is generally considered a good one.

[CapWinterz]

Bounty hunter story is the worst out of them if you ask me, agent story is fantastic, follow be inquisitor and then warrior

[DarthVitrial]

Agent is widely considered to be the best of the 8 stories. Warrior is awesome as well.

[Gwena]

Agent would be a good choice, as the story is quite good and I found that I really wanted to see what was next instead of wading through unrelated sidequests.

 

I'd also recommend the Warrior. I don't like playing evil, mean characters either, but I played a lightside Juggernaut and loved it. I found him to be calm, merciful, and honorable (but still a force to be reckoned with, no doubt), and it was quite fun befuddling people by being willing to talk and be reasonable.

 

Both were great, but I enjoyed the Warrior more overall.

Edited November 15, 2014 by Gwena

[BuriDogshin]

I'd also recommend the Warrior. I don't like playing evil, mean characters either, but I played a lightside Juggernaut and loved it. I found him to be calm, merciful, and honorable (but still a force to be reckoned with, no doubt), and it was quite fun befuddling people by being willing to talk and be reasonable.

And the voice is awesome, and he gets Vette. LS Warrior + Vette is one of the best romances, IMO

[LyraineAlei]

It may be contrary to popular opinion, but BH is pretty fun. The middle part is a bit "~eh" but chapters one and three are fun. You can be LS or DS if you want without always making stupid choices (really, some of the Pubside characters have awful DS options that just sound stupid for being DS).

[Cernow]

LS Agent plays out very nicely and adds some nice twists to the story, which is one of the best in the game (if not the best). If you're only going to roll one Imp and story is your main motivation, this has to be the top choice.

 

LS Bounty Hunter works fine, that would be my second choice, but more for the gameplay than the story.

 

LS Sith Warrior works better than you might expect and puts an interesting twist on things. But even as LS you'll still run into a lot of brutality and sadism.

 

LS Inquisitor is the weakest of the four. It's not the strongest story in the game anyway and seems more suited to DS.

[LyraineAlei]

LS Inquisitor is the weakest of the four. It's not the strongest story in the game anyway and seems more suited to DS.

 

The game really tries to railroad Inquisitors into DS alignment, starting with the first companion. And all the [shock] conversation options.

[DarthVitrial]

The game really tries to railroad Inquisitors into DS alignment, starting with the first companion. And all the [shock] conversation options.

 

Really? My Inquisitor's LS choices usually felt pretty natural...an ex-slave trying his best to help people and sabotage his enemies without being seen as weak.

[LyraineAlei]

Really? My Inquisitor's LS choices usually felt pretty natural...an ex-slave trying his best to help people and sabotage his enemies without being seen as weak.

 

For every two DS options, one of them usually being [shock], there would be one neutral or LS choice. Not saying it was impossible, but they really did try to make DS more likely. Or at least neutral.

 

That being said, I am enjoying my LS Sorc' playthrough.

[DarthVitrial]

For every two DS options, one of them usually being [shock], there would be one neutral or LS choice. Not saying it was impossible, but they really did try to make DS more likely. Or at least neutral.

 

That being said, I am enjoying my LS Sorc' playthrough.

 

I guess I always just pictured my LS inquis as being slightly insane and prone to electrocuting people who wouldn't be reasonable.

[LyraineAlei]

I guess I always just pictured my LS inquis as being slightly insane and prone to electrocuting people who wouldn't be reasonable.

 

I have used it a few times, but mine's rather meek-ish until something pokes the hornet's nest, or she needs her self-defense. She likes her following, but doesn't like threats to them.

[LadyVix]

For every two DS options, one of them usually being [shock], there would be one neutral or LS choice. Not saying it was impossible, but they really did try to make DS more likely. Or at least neutral.

 

That being said, I am enjoying my LS Sorc' playthrough.

 

I'd have to agree that leveling attunement on a light side Imp is challenging. You really do have fewer "acceptable" answers to maintain your attunement, and they're often minor items that give fewer attunement points. Nothing like being ~Lv 41 and realizing that you finally flipped into Light II.

 

I'm currently leveling a new sorcerer, and answering questions naturally, i.e. not influenced by light/dark side attunement. Overall I'm managing to remain pretty neutral, with a slight southward tilt towards the dark side. That really kind of puzzles me though, because I consider myself a generally "good" person. (Though I will admit that on my 55 Marauder, Vette is still wearing her shock collar)

[Essence_of_Light]

I'd recommend playing the Imperial Agent if you want to play a non force user, or go Sith Inquisitor if you want to play a force user.

[TaelinThurn]

The game really tries to railroad Inquisitors into DS alignment, starting with the first companion. And all the [shock] conversation options.

 

Yeah, my one prior attempt at playing an Imperial character, I created a Sith Inquisitor, got him up to 10th level on Korriban and finished the intro, and found it really, really tries to push you towards DS actions. There were some LS options, but they seemed almost nonsensical in context, and it was like the game was making clear that Sith "could" be LS, it really wasn't designed for it.

 

The idea that the Sith Warrior is a little more LS friendly is a concept. I've heard the romance with Vette is good. My biggest regret in my Jedi so far is not romancing Kira. I didn't know that wasn't a DS action. The idea of a Jedi seducing his Padawan seemed so abhorrent to me that I ignored every [flirt] option, just assuming they were all DS. Then later I find out that it doesn't count as DS and is a popular choice. Oh well, I play my Jedi as a paragon of the Jedi Code, so it was in-character for him to not hit on her.

 

So, LS Warrior or LS Agent it is then. I hit 50 with my Jedi last night, so I'll probably make my Imperial character later this week and see how far along the story I get before the 12x runs out.

[DarthTHC]

Agent is the best story in the game, if you like the type of story that corresponds to a covert intelligence operative.

[Heezdedjim]

You won't regret leveling an Agent. The story is fun, and the playstyle is 180 degrees the opposite of Sentinel, so it will be a nice contrast all around.

[Eidolooon]

12x is more than enough to hit 4 classes by december but i liked sith warrior most, then SI then agent and BH...but tbh all are quite nice.

[JediQuaker]

I am basically a Republic player - I have 9 Rep toons (one of each advanced class + an extra Sage). I also have a level 13 Imp Bounty Hunter I made to get HK parts for the Reps.

Anyway, given the 12x xp thing I thought it would be the obvious time to start a new Imp character (after which I'll level up the BH). So, of course, to me the obvious choice was a Sith (which ended up to be an Assassin) - I mean, if you're going to go Imp, you might as well go all the way.

Basically, by just making the choices that felt good to me, my Sith is LS - and that's even after shocking some guys and killing some others, so I can't say I see any DS pressure.

 

But, the best thing for me about doing an Imp, is the chance to experience parts of the game that you don't see by sticking with Rep.

So, to answer the OP's question - do whatever class seems good to you, but keep in mind that, just like on the Rep side, you won't really know what class you really like until you've played it for a while.

 

P.S. Since the Rep guild I'm in has basically fizzled, I may spend even more time as an Imp - levelling the BH and starting an Imp Agent and Sith Warrior of some type.

Edited November 15, 2014 by JediQuaker

[Master-Nala]

Since you are playing a melee character now, I would try a ranged, either a Sorcerer or Sniper. All the stories are at least decent. I don't love the Agent story as much as the general populace, but it is entertaining. Edited November 15, 2014 by Master-Nala

[TaelinThurn]

I figured I would give an update on this.

 

I got my Knight up to 55th level a few days ago (I'll save all the various unfinished quests for when the expansion comes out so I can start work on going to 60), so I created my first Imperial character. I went with an Agent, and have played him up to 20th level so far, just finishing up the prologue, on all light-side choices.

 

I'm rather impressed with just how many choices and options the Agent plot has. The Jedi Knight plot always felt very linear, and the "right" choice in conversation was usually pretty crystal clear. The Agent has a lot more tough calls and no-win scenarios. It was amusing to see Keeper acting rather perplexed at how the Agent solves problems mostly though negotiation and non-violent means when possible, instead of just killing everyone that gets in his way, I guess reacting to all the Light Side choices.

 

Going to start a Sith Inquisitor and go light-side with it. I really tried to mentally wrap my mind around a light-side Sith, but the best example I could think of was Asajj Ventress and how she eventually turned her back on the Dark Side (before her redemption was retconned/undone for the The Clone Wars TV series so they could use her as a recurring villain), so I'm making a Rattataki Inquisitor tonight, play through the prologue, and see if I like that.