Why do so many people support the Empire faction?

[Highsis]

I don't see it as that far-fetched that there would be many people who support the Empire, even if doing so goes against their own interests in some way. After all, people vote against their own interests all the time and support exactly what's worst for them. We've seen it all throughout history. Feudalism was the standard setup for society for quite a long time, and while I'm sure the serfs and peasants weren't having a wonderful time, it's all they knew, and I wouldn't be surprised if many serfs were extremely loyal to their lords and kingdoms. Patriotism and nationalism aren't logical. They come from an emotional, tribalistic us vs. them mentality. So yeah I can definitely understand why a lot of ordinary people support the Empire even if they're not benefiting from it at all.

 

People vote against their own interest because they (falsely) believe that their choices are for their own interests, often duped by media and pretentious politicians; Sith Empire and the Siths openly do actions that are directly against interests of the majority such as killing people off by whims.

 

Feudal structure didn't last when the French revolution broke out. We are talking about a future where interstellar communications and travels are norms. As long as a substitution for the empire exists in the republic, people can't seriously support the empire.

 

Nationalism and Patriotism only work with a notion that the person with zeal feels belonging to the nation and willing to sacrifice much for its good; the empire is a group for and only for siths. Furthermore the empire's bureaucratic structure isn't effective at all when its members are ruled by fears and whims and betrayals are common. Every government organization will be deterring one another in a competition under such a setting.

 

A good real life example would be north korea and south korea. Give the citizens of NK a choice to either live in SK or NK; the majority will, despite their brainwashes and extreme nationalism and all, will choose to live in SK if given a choice because NK is a nation centred around preserving the vested interests of few elites.

[SithKoriandr]

The Sith Code is open to interpretation.

 

One could live by the Sith Code and not be evil.

It says that conflict is constant and ever present, there is truth to that.

It says that that you can draw strength from your passions, there is truth to that.

 

It's HOW the Sith live by the code that's the issue.

The Code itself is not evil.

The Sith Empire is evil.

 

The Sith themselves don't feel the code is up for interpretation. They teach the acolytes exactly what it means. Now, whether the player wants to agree with it, is another story.

 

One could say the Jedi code means something else, than how the Jedi live by it. Notice however, that no one says "It's up for interpretation" That phrase seems to be more about "Gotta make an excuse for it."

[AshlaBoga]

 

A good real life example would be north korea and south korea. Give the citizens of NK a choice to either live in SK or NK; the majority will, despite their brainwashes and extreme nationalism and all, will choose to live in SK if given a choice because NK is a nation centred around preserving the vested interests of few elites.

 

Yeah, but most Imperial worlds are police states where 1984 levels of monitoring are considered casual surveillance.

I'm betting you can't use the toilet on DK without Imperial Intelligence logging the time, duration, mass and content.

 

For every 10,000 people that try to escape Ziost, DK or Korriban, I suspect that only 1 manages it - hiya Kira Carsen!

[UniSWTOR]

I think it has to deal with the power that is born within the Empire just being so massive, while the Republic's power is so small in comparison. It also, most likely, deals with how much the Republic goes through paperwork to do even the most tedious and simple of things. While the Empire follows the will of the Sith, who (Not always, just more than that of the Jedi) are more action filled and skip the meaningless etiquette. Plus there is the underlying tone, with the Sith, that if you do not support them than you will die or worse. Edited December 26, 2016 by UniSWTOR

[UniSWTOR]

In the game itself, it has the Imperials knowing full well, what they do is evil. They don't give any speeches about "from a certain point of view"

 

Even with the moral view, there tends to be two constants in every society...don't steal or murder those in your society. To do so, gets punishment. The Empire of course, has it happen often and if you're the right person can get away with it.

The Imperials know exactly what they are doing, as you said. It all has to deal with who is going to pay me the most and has the most to offer me for my service. That and the fact that unlike the Republic, (Most of the time) the Empire doesn't hide what they really mean. They will come out and say it, not hiding their true intentions behind deceit and corruption.

[UniSWTOR]

I don't see it as that far-fetched that there would be many people who support the Empire, even if doing so goes against their own interests in some way. After all, people vote against their own interests all the time and support exactly what's worst for them. We've seen it all throughout history. Feudalism was the standard setup for society for quite a long time, and while I'm sure the serfs and peasants weren't having a wonderful time, it's all they knew, and I wouldn't be surprised if many serfs were extremely loyal to their lords and kingdoms. Patriotism and nationalism aren't logical. They come from an emotional, tribalistic us vs. them mentality. So yeah I can definitely understand why a lot of ordinary people support the Empire even if they're not benefiting from it at all.

Quite a few people do not like the idea of change. To go from supporting the Empire to supporting the Republic is a very huge change. If all of your life you've only known the way of the Empire it's going to take a lot more than just switching sides to support the Republic, you would have to change your entire way of life. But I do think that a lot of them see the ways of the Empire and bad, but see the deceit and hiding of one's true nature (The way of the Republic) as three thousand times worse.

[Txasbountyhunter]

I would say that people follow the empire because it is either all they know, or it is the idea of it. The empire for the sith is a place where if you hold the force you are above most military and just by passing the trails the common idea is that you are a king among men and you can get a basic command of military forces. The military although it doesn't publicly tolerate backstabbing it is very common way of getting a promotion allowing the non-force users a method of climbing the ranks easily. It's the idea that is like the dark side, it is quick and easy power but the further down you go the more dangerous it is and the chance for your longevity dwindles. That's just the military/sith. I would imagine if you look at the citizens the majority of them are living in hope of them having a child with the force or they just get along with their day not knowing much else.

[TalonVII]

It's not that I support the empire, but the BH is on that side. And I like being a Mando.

[Galahard]

Interesting question: why do people 'support' dictatorships all around the world?

 

1. Fear of retribution, if not falling in line/rebelling

2. (False) sense of stability

3. A way of personal gain/advancement in power, if lacking proper useful skills other than plotting and backstabbing

4. Genuinely lead to believe to be part of something bigger than themselves

5. Believing the propaganda about the enemy (would be surprised how many there are)

 

Even if some of them are intelligent to see through all of it, they sometimes just convince themselves than joining is much better and convenient than rebelling.

And what people believe in, is what they want to believe in, no matter the logic.

[SithKoriandr]

Quite a few people do not like the idea of change. To go from supporting the Empire to supporting the Republic is a very huge change. If all of your life you've only known the way of the Empire it's going to take a lot more than just switching sides to support the Republic, you would have to change your entire way of life. But I do think that a lot of them see the ways of the Empire and bad, but see the deceit and hiding of one's true nature (The way of the Republic) as three thousand times worse.

 

This may be more true to it. During the American Revolution, only 1 in 6 joined the war, with most figuring one would be changing one oppressive government for another.

 

People of the Empire could easily see it the same way, especially since we know (from Elara) just how terrible the Sith Empire makes the Republic out to be. Which has to be pretty terrible considering how terrible the Sith are.

 

Then there's all the garbage one goes through when they defect as well (again, look at Elara). Might just be best to escape to be a Hunter/Smuggler than try to be either side legitly

[Bouncy_Hunter]

Imperial society is most definitely indoctrinated. You can also read in the journal that comes with the collector's edition that over a thousand years they built up from nothing, being survivors after the Republic and Jedi almost wiped them out. From the start each generation was taught that the Republic and Jedi wanted to annihilate them and almost succeeded and that they are rebuilding the Empire to take revenge, like how Malgus says in the cinematic. The Sith want Vengeance.

 

Growing up in a militaristic society where every single person is part of the machine, it's "survival of the fittest" the strong make it to the top, the weak stay on the bottom or die. So from a young age Imperials are disciplined and ambitious. Not to mention they HATE the Republic and fear their Emperor and the Sith.

 

When you pick up the Gree event and watch the holo news thing, it gives you a glimpse into how their media operates, it's kind of like CNN or the rest, you see what they want you to see. They have an agenda. They paint the whole gree spaceship as a hoax and a lie to keep the population in line.

[UghkoffR]

interesting question. i will need to think at leisure.

 

On the one hand the Republic where you are free to choose your way of life, but corruption of power, and the likelihood that falls in the "lower levels of Coruscant", on the other hand the pyramid of the Sith hierarchy with slavery and other attributes and intrigue in the moments of absence of a common enemy. If you were born in the Empire, you don't know of any other system, for you is the norm.

I think people choose faction not more than focusing on their views in life, but more on something new, unexplored, and may even be forbidden.

 

From the point of view of human freedom and of humanity, I still see more or less ideal system Zakuul.

Edited December 28, 2016 by UghkoffR

[Guardian_Jake]

I personally find the republic really boring. Plus, the Jedi's philosophy doesn't make much sense. Besides who are they to decide who should die and who shouldn't. The Sith at least don't pretend to be righteous.

[SithKoriandr]

I personally find the republic really boring. Plus, the Jedi's philosophy doesn't make much sense. Besides who are they to decide who should die and who shouldn't. The Sith at least don't pretend to be righteous.

 

Where do they decide who lives or dies? Also, their philosophy makes perfect sense when it comes to dealing with the force. Those who get all worked up in emotions and have the ability to use the force, tend to become *****s.

 

Look at all the Sith (except for a few and even then they have their moments for sure), Vaylin, Arcann....force users who go all emotional, tend to be a problem. Those who keep the emotions in check, less likely. The problem is, even keeping the emotions in check, doesn't stop one from having them. Which they acknowledge anyways.

 

However, would you rather the big force using group train force users to temper their emotions, so they don't go force choking people willy nilly because they stubbed their toe or got called a silly name, or would you rather then teach them to just go with it, kill those beneath you (which is the majority of people) in power?

[vadess]

Interesting question: why do people 'support' dictatorships all around the world?

 

That is an interesting question. I think to answer it though, important to try and set aside democracy = good. Many good things about democracy, but it has its drawbacks too!

 

Drawbacks to democracy:

1. The will of the people isn't always the best thing
   
2. It is inefficient because it takes longer to decide how to govern.
   
3. Depends on the majority of the people participating in it.
   
4. People become so convinced of its superiotity, they don't see when it is failing
   

 

Now, why prefer dictatorships...

1. They are more efficient. When the dictator in charge says jump, people jump. In a democracy, if someone wants people to jump, it has to go through a long process of debate, speeches, approvals, votes and then more so if it moves into the upper house (aka senate in a lot of democratic countries), and then *maybe* it gets passed.
   
2. When dictators are just, things can go well for a country. For example, the Roman Empire was far from perfect BUT when Emperors ruled well, there was stability and peace throughout the known world. Might have been a fearful peace, and unstable, but it was there.
   
3. It does make things easier. I'm not saying easy is good, but it is easier.
   
4. Most dictatorships don't claim they're the best for everybody, unlike democracy where most democratic countries are convinced that the world would be better if every country was a democratic one

 

The last bullet there is why I think my characters, and myself as a person, prefer the Empire/Sith: The Republic and the Jedi over and over betray their arrogance and insistence that they are good and are the best thing for the galaxy, while the Sith Empire is evil. In doing so they put themselves on a VERY high pedestal, where it is a long and hard fall should they stumble. And it makes their own atrocities, such as the Republic with the Jedi's help massacring the Sith people at the end of the Great Hyperspace Wars just because they can and not because Sith were any real threat anymore. Encounters with Jedi in the Sith Warrior, Inquisitor, and Jedi Knight storylines are examples of this.

 

 

My favourite being Satele Shan saying the Voss Mystics are evil because they are Force users that reject the Jedi way. How arrogant on her part to make such a judgement.

 

 

The Empire and Sith don't make those kinds of claims. Yes, they want to take over and destroy the Republic, but they don't say or claim its because they want what's good for everybody. They're more honest in that regard: Taking over is great because the Sith Empire gets ahead regardless of where the moral compass lands. And when they do make moral judgements, it's usually because the Jedi/Republic have done something in the war against the Empire's people. Given

[SithKoriandr]

That is an interesting question. I think to answer it though, important to try and set aside democracy = good. Many good things about democracy, but it has its drawbacks too!

 

Drawbacks to democracy:

1. The will of the people isn't always the best thing
   
2. It is inefficient because it takes longer to decide how to govern.
   
3. Depends on the majority of the people participating in it.
   
4. People become so convinced of its superiotity, they don't see when it is failing
   

 

Now, why prefer dictatorships...

1. They are more efficient. When the dictator in charge says jump, people jump. In a democracy, if someone wants people to jump, it has to go through a long process of debate, speeches, approvals, votes and then more so if it moves into the upper house (aka senate in a lot of democratic countries), and then *maybe* it gets passed.
   
2. When dictators are just, things can go well for a country. For example, the Roman Empire was far from perfect BUT when Emperors ruled well, there was stability and peace throughout the known world. Might have been a fearful peace, and unstable, but it was there.
   
3. It does make things easier. I'm not saying easy is good, but it is easier.
   
4. Most dictatorships don't claim they're the best for everybody, unlike democracy where most democratic countries are convinced that the world would be better if every country was a democratic one

 

The last bullet there is why I think my characters, and myself as a person, prefer the Empire/Sith: The Republic and the Jedi over and over betray their arrogance and insistence that they are good and are the best thing for the galaxy, while the Sith Empire is evil. In doing so they put themselves on a VERY high pedestal, where it is a long and hard fall should they stumble. And it makes their own atrocities, such as the Republic with the Jedi's help massacring the Sith people at the end of the Great Hyperspace Wars just because they can and not because Sith were any real threat anymore. Encounters with Jedi in the Sith Warrior, Inquisitor, and Jedi Knight storylines are examples of this.

 

 

My favourite being Satele Shan saying the Voss Mystics are evil because they are Force users that reject the Jedi way. How arrogant on her part to make such a judgement.

 

 

The Empire and Sith don't make those kinds of claims. Yes, they want to take over and destroy the Republic, but they don't say or claim its because they want what's good for everybody. They're more honest in that regard: Taking over is great because the Sith Empire gets ahead regardless of where the moral compass lands. And when they do make moral judgements, it's usually because the Jedi/Republic have done something in the war against the Empire's people. Given

 

I actually felt Satele Shan saying "Evil!" was just bad writing. However, if she said they were on the verge of the Dark Side because of their way in the force, I'd by it.

 

However, I do have to wonder. Now I haven't read anything dealing with this Great Hyperspace War, but it sounds like the Sith were evil then.

 

So, my question is, why not go in and finish them off? Obviously, it was the right course of action and them failing to finish them off has only lead to problems.

 

They stop taking on the evil Empire, because they won, the evil Empire comes back. They don't actually finish them off, they come back to get revenge. Either way, you have an evil government coming back to try to take you on. The only difference with letting them stay and regrow is they may not be able to do it in such secret.

 

I will also give that some morals are a matter of upbringing, however, there are exceptions, which everyone seems to forget. Two constants in every society, is one does not murder or steal from ones within their own society. These are universal, as one can not have a functioning society where these acts are not punished.

 

The Sith Empire, does not truely punish these acts, in fact it encourages them among the non moral elite, while the moral majority (the non ruling class) try to survive, when not taken advantage of by the non moral elite (Sith) and the non moral part of the majority.

 

The only bad thing the Jedi and Republic did, was not making sure they had finished off the evil. By not doing so, they continue to have the problem they always do...it keeps returning.

[vadess]

I think it was wrong in the sense it betrayed the Jedi principle of not killing unarmed prisoner, they seemed to be killing everybody that was left (men, women, children), and broke the Jedi way of not executing prisoners, and not seeking vengeance. Kinda like the end of WWI and the Treaty of a Versailles: in making Germany pay and really breakfast back the country paved the way for some one like Hitler to come along. Only difference is the Empire took longer.

 

Also when it comes to factions, I don't believe personally that there are good and bad factions. They're are just a faction warring against another faction. Good and evil are on both sides. I think many of us are choosing to assign good to one faction, and evil to the other beside we are educate to think democracy= good, non-democracy= bad.

[Kaedusz]

The Empire is more like a nation state, not an idea. An Imperial fights for his country, a Republic guy fights for abstract ideas/ideals.

 

There is no ''Republic'' civilization. The Republic is comprised of many civilizations, like the UN or the EU. Coruscant is Brussels or the UN HQ. Dromund Kaas is pick the capital of any Empire from history.

 

Ofc there are some ideas into it too. For example people on the real world authoritarian, fascist + others ends of political spectrum will like the Empire.

 

Obviously the Sith Empire is not just 1 people , but the rest are are subjugated and absorbed into the SIth Imperial culture.

 

It's not only ''good'' vs ''evil'', most of the time it's them vs us.

 

So yea, that's why people in-universe support the Empire.

As far as the players go, there are many reasons , many of which are already mentioned in the thread. Some of the reasons include : that side of the fence is not explored enough in other Star Wars games + the Empire has better fashion sense and animations + morally gray, approaching evil or outright evil characters make for great stories and entertainment.

Edited December 30, 2016 by Kaedusz

[SithKoriandr]

I think it was wrong in the sense it betrayed the Jedi principle of not killing unarmed prisoner, they seemed to be killing everybody that was left (men, women, children), and broke the Jedi way of not executing prisoners, and not seeking vengeance. Kinda like the end of WWI and the Treaty of a Versailles: in making Germany pay and really breakfast back the country paved the way for some one like Hitler to come along. Only difference is the Empire took longer.

 

Also when it comes to factions, I don't believe personally that there are good and bad factions. They're are just a faction warring against another faction. Good and evil are on both sides. I think many of us are choosing to assign good to one faction, and evil to the other beside we are educate to think democracy= good, non-democracy= bad.

 

I don't think it's democracy = good. Non-democracy = bad. For one thing, Alderaan is not a democracy.

 

The Empire is about taking slaves. Killing aliens because they're aliens. A place where might makes right. Those are generally considered evil ideals.

 

Also, this is fiction, so there very much is, good vs evil. Star Wars is built around Good vs Evil. TOR tries to change it a bit, because they didn't want people to feel like they HAD to be evil, if they chose The Empire.

[vadess]

 

The Empire is about taking slaves. Killing aliens because they're aliens. A place where might makes right. Those are generally considered evil ideals.

Know what's interesting? That description of the Empire would in turn make North America and Europe evil. Perhaps even more so if they committed their atrocities while claiming the moral high ground: ~200+ years ago in the USA and more for Europe bought and sold people, treated non-white citizens as archive class citizens and had no problem killing them for whatever reason, and colonized the world by might at the expense of the native peoples already living in the lands they conquered. All while claiming the moral high ground over one another. I wonder if I dug deep, the Republic would prove to be just like that only it uses it very well? Once of the quests on Coruscant is about a senator who bought and used slave collars. All the while claiming the moral high ground.

 

And of course there is good vs. evil happening in SWTOR. I just don't beloved the factions are the representatives of good and evil. They are just countries/factions going l fighting other countries/factions.

Edited December 30, 2016 by vadess

[RowanThursday]

A great many of us, most likely, have any number of issues with our country's actions, with our government, and feel considerable dissonance with our alleged leaders' moral choices and actions in many respects. That doesn't mean that we wouldn't feel more allegiance to "our" country, rather than a foreign aggressor.

 

Most of Imperial Intelligence, for instance, clearly think "I love my Empire, and will do all in my power to protect and cushion her against the greatest threats to her well-being, namely, the Republic and the dimwit Sith."

[SithKoriandr]

Know what's interesting? That description of the Empire would in turn make North America and Europe evil. Perhaps even more so if they committed their atrocities while claiming the moral high ground: ~200+ years ago in the USA and more for Europe bought and sold people, treated non-white citizens as archive class citizens and had no problem killing them for whatever reason, and colonized the world by might at the expense of the native peoples already living in the lands they conquered. All while claiming the moral high ground over one another. I wonder if I dug deep, the Republic would prove to be just like that only it uses it very well? Once of the quests on Coruscant is about a senator who bought and used slave collars. All the while claiming the moral high ground.

 

And of course there is good vs. evil happening in SWTOR. I just don't beloved the factions are the representatives of good and evil. They are just countries/factions going l fighting other countries/factions.

 

Every country has had slaves. Every race has had slaves. I'm sure at some point in the world's of the republic's past, their people had slaves. What we go by is what we have now.

 

Also, when using NA, when only 1% of the population owned slaves, I'm not so sure we call that evil. While the Empire has many many more, and everyone is basically a slave to the Sith.

[AlrikFassbauer]

The Empire, as George Lucas *originally* had envisioned in "Star Wars", is / was an faschist system. You can see it by so many things, uniforms modelled after Nazi uniforms, for example, only humans at work within the Empire in Star Wars, and the letters of the words "Star Wars" themselves (there's an interesting article on their typography out there).

 

The SWTOR Empire is not that strictly an fascist system, but still full of hatred and bias against non-humans, even although non-humans are able to get their rank there.

 

What might attract a lot of people to that Empire is its order. Yes, it's an very orderly state, from the sheer look of it. Garbage and junk lying on the streets like on Coruscant is impossible there. Some people simply like "law and order". everything is very strict, very orderly - and it has a so much better overall design compared to he Republic.

Or, as I once put it : "The Empire has style - the Republic has Advertisements." I'm speaking of the Fleet decorations. They really should have used a different kind of colouring for the Republic, because that brown colour they used for the Republic's style-theme looks imho too much like mud. The Empire, on the other hand, has a so much better styling on the Fleet and elsewhere ( Black Hole ! ), compared to that. The "artist's eye" within us might get much more attracted by the Empire faction for stylistic reasons.

Edited December 31, 2016 by AlrikFassbauer

[ForjKlahaa]

While my heart lies with the ideals that the Republic holds dear, I keep coming back to the Empire. I always play good guys (well 90% of the time) and my first three characters were Republic. I never thought I'd play Empire but I enjoy it so much more. I do play both factions a lot but I prefer Imp. I'll try to list a few reason.

 

 

• I like playing as the underdog where you have to overcome the crappy hand life dealt you (Sith Inquisitor/any alien).
  
• I like playing as a subversive citizen who is secretly plotting a revolution. (SI, SW and IA if you want to)
  
• I like creating a little anarchy in a world of order as opposed to just living in general anarchy (the Republic)
  
• With the exception of the JK story, all the Pub stories are a snoozefest. The smuggler one is kinda funny if you play it that way but the companions are the worst. Actually the consular companions are the worst, I hate them all; especially that snot Tharan Cedrax and what is basically a holographic sex toy. Holiday or Scorpio? Who is more interesting? Is Holiday even sentient? Why does she have to talk like Marilyn Monroe after smoking too much weed?
  
• The voice actor for every Imperial class is either very good or outstanding (with the exception of maybe the female warrior). The only Republic voices I like are the the male smuggler and the female consular. I don't mind the male JK. I can't stand Nolan North's super weird, fake voice even though he's incredible in everything else. The trooper voices are old Bioware favourite characters for me (Varric and Femshep) but now it sounds like they lost all personality. Xanthe Elbrick (female Inquisitor) is a superstar.
  
• The Sith Empire holds evil ideals but the average citizen is no more evil than the average Republic citizen. The Republic leadership carries out many evil deeds in the name of peace and pretends the darkness doesn't exist within them.
  
• The Republic leadership is incompetent and just as trigger-happy as those in the Empire and the senate is corrupt. They make WMDs and don't secure them. They make back room deals with organized crime. Their police force is a joke.
  
• Coruscant is a sh-t hole planet that has been completely paved over with all it's natural habitat destroyed so that machines which are poorly maintained are responsible for the air that the peons breath and the water they drink.
  
• Coruscant is not a just society. The poor get poorer and live in squalor and the rich get richer. You are not "free" if you are stuck living in the lower levels, begging on the streets while the elite live quite literally in the stratosphere hoarding all the wealth.
  
• As you can tell, I hate Coruscant and in contrast Drommund Kass is a natural wonder with it's beautiful jungles and actual weather. I feel so much calmer just being on DK; I feel like I can breath. I'm actually IRL obsessed with the sound of thunder and rain and I have a track of it I listen to when I sleep and I have the ambient machines in my DK stronghold.
  
• I like the Jedi ideals of peace, forgiveness and redemption but I refuse to accept that "There is no emotion" just as I refuse to accept that "Peace is a lie". As with any religion, there are zealots that will blindly conform to the dogma they have been spoon fed.
  
• The Sith Empire may one day change because the individual is valued according to their worth. If someone rises to power, their ideas can be heard whereas the Republic is governed by a committee of self interested parties who keep their agenda secret to preserve the status quo. It's more insidious and dangerous because no-one acknowledges it.
  

 

Basically there is a lot about the Empire I can't get on board with (an authoritarian regime, slavery and the blatant disregard for sentient life), I'll never pledge my allegiance (sincerely) to a genocidal emperor but I think that the day-to-day lives of the average citizen is the same in both systems. You can be a slave on Drommun Kaas or a have your kid brother forced into indentured servitude by the justicars on Coruscant. It doesn't matter what the men at the top are saying if the result is the same. The difference is that I feel like the Republic either doesn't know or just doesn't truly care about the crime, poverty, corruption and racial segregation that goes on in its cities. They blindly cling to their ideals in the palatial suites of the Senate Tower and pretend that simply being free means we're all living in the utopia that they are. It's so maddening to hear these hypocrites spout their ideals when the evidence of misery, poverty and violence is all around them if they just looked down.

 

Some more shallow or technical reasons:

 

• The armour and weapons are cooler. It's not a fantasy of mine to dress up in a brown sack or whatever type of doily the game wants my shadow to wear.
  
• The heroics are faster/easier/less of a pain to grind for credits.
  
• You can do the bonus boss solo in veteran Black Talon but not veteran Esseles; a good source of solo CXP.
  
• In general, Imps win more PVP and take losses better than Pub players. They are more focused, organised and communicate better.
  
• Imp PVE PUGs tend to keep emotion out of it. You won't find as many super nice chatty people but you won't find as many sore losers who want to blame everyone else for a wipe. I've seen far more bullying and unnecessary vote kicks in Pub PUGs. Pub players are far more likely to just give up if things go wrong.
  
• Juggs hold their sabers one handed whereas Gaudians hold it like a baseball bat. I literally cannot play a guardian because of this.
  
• Mercs get blasters and Commandos get the monstrosity that is the assault cannon.
  
• Everything that Operatives do on the battlefield looks so much cooler than the scoundrel counterpart. You don't bring fists to a force fight. Punching Valkorian to death was one of the most ridculous things I've seen in the game. I realise knives aren't really much better but they are actual weapons.
  

 

But after all that I will say that a lot of Imp players are not the sort of people I really want to spend time getting to know. DK general chat is a cesspool with all those teenage edgelords living out their nazi fantasies. I don't think most Imp players are like this but if you're looking for the dregs of society, they are probably playing Imp and hanging out on DK talking about their Satele r-pe fantasies. So yeah, it's not perfect by any means.

 

This post is much longer than I meant for it to be so.. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Edited December 31, 2016 by ForjKlahaa

[Bouncy_Hunter]

That is an interesting question. I think to answer it though, important to try and set aside democracy = good. Many good things about democracy, but it has its drawbacks too!

 

Drawbacks to democracy:

1. The will of the people isn't always the best thing
   
2. It is inefficient because it takes longer to decide how to govern.
   
3. Depends on the majority of the people participating in it.
   
4. People become so convinced of its superiotity, they don't see when it is failing
   

 

Now, why prefer dictatorships...

1. They are more efficient. When the dictator in charge says jump, people jump. In a democracy, if someone wants people to jump, it has to go through a long process of debate, speeches, approvals, votes and then more so if it moves into the upper house (aka senate in a lot of democratic countries), and then *maybe* it gets passed.
   
2. When dictators are just, things can go well for a country. For example, the Roman Empire was far from perfect BUT when Emperors ruled well, there was stability and peace throughout the known world. Might have been a fearful peace, and unstable, but it was there.
   
3. It does make things easier. I'm not saying easy is good, but it is easier.
   
4. Most dictatorships don't claim they're the best for everybody, unlike democracy where most democratic countries are convinced that the world would be better if every country was a democratic one

 

The last bullet there is why I think my characters, and myself as a person, prefer the Empire/Sith: The Republic and the Jedi over and over betray their arrogance and insistence that they are good and are the best thing for the galaxy, while the Sith Empire is evil. In doing so they put themselves on a VERY high pedestal, where it is a long and hard fall should they stumble. And it makes their own atrocities, such as the Republic with the Jedi's help massacring the Sith people at the end of the Great Hyperspace Wars just because they can and not because Sith were any real threat anymore. Encounters with Jedi in the Sith Warrior, Inquisitor, and Jedi Knight storylines are examples of this.

 

 

My favourite being Satele Shan saying the Voss Mystics are evil because they are Force users that reject the Jedi way. How arrogant on her part to make such a judgement.

 

 

The Empire and Sith don't make those kinds of claims. Yes, they want to take over and destroy the Republic, but they don't say or claim its because they want what's good for everybody. They're more honest in that regard: Taking over is great because the Sith Empire gets ahead regardless of where the moral compass lands. And when they do make moral judgements, it's usually because the Jedi/Republic have done something in the war against the Empire's people. Given

 

The short answer is that a lot of people would pick security over freedom.