First of all, I'm pretty new to the whole MMO experience. While I've tried several, I've never really enjoyed one before SWTOR. None of them were bad games, just not my cup of tea. Now SWTOR comes along and I've found myself engaged and having a lot of fun with an MMO for the first time.

That said, one of the reasons I'm enjoying it so much is that I can solo-play this game. This is the part I'd like some help with from players who are more advance than I am- not only in this game but MMOs in general.

I've gotten each of the Force classes (Sith Warrior and Inquisitor, Jedi Knight and Consular) up to lvl 10 and beyond and now it's time to start picking advance classes. What I'd like advice on, is which of the available advance classes are better for solo play. In most cases, The class I think looks cool and the class that seems to have the skills I think would be most beneficial are completely opposite.

So for those of you who've played past level 13 (my characters are at or under this lvl), if you can offer any guidance I'd be infinitely appreciative. Tips, suggestions, points of interest, anything would be most helpful. A few suggestions about crafting choices couldn't hurt either. I've read the "Advance class options" pages on the official site, but the info is a little vague.

Thanks!

Sith Warrior / Jedi Knight

The Sith Warrior and Jedi Knight are mirror classes, they are functionally identical. If you plan on playing both story-lines, you can experience the combat styles of both advanced classes by selecting one for your Sith and the other for your Jedi.

If you're looking for the easiest solo experience, picking their respective tanking ACs are the best bet. By becoming a Juggernaut / Guardian and investing your skill points into the Immortal / Defense skill trees, you will be able to survive incredibly long. Combine this with a healing companion and you'll be able to tackle standard encounters with ease. As far as coolness is concerned, Darth Vader / Old Obi-Wan are the aesthetic template that they are based around.

Sith Inquisitor / Jedi Consular

Since their light armor makes them squishier than the other classes, you'll be best off focusing on healing. The Sorcerer / Sage ACs and their Corruption / Seer skill trees will give you the ability to keep yourself and your companion alive in almost any combat situation. Just pick a strong, beefy companion and make sure you keep them well equipped since they will be taking most of the hits for you. Unfortunately neither class will look all that cool in action.

~~~

Keep in mind, though, that TOR is generally an easy game as long as you're skipping to solo content and not attempting Heroics / Flashpoints. With the aid of companions, soloing as any AC is viable. Personally I'd recommend picking whatever you think is going to be the most fun.

Well, since you have all 4 classes at 10, why not try one of each since thr classes and advanced classes pretty much mirror each other. i wouldnt worry about viability of soloing, since you'll get companions to cover any of your weaknesses and tor isnt such a hard game to solo in the first place.

I'll at least assume you're familiar with class roles in MMOs: Tank, Healer, DPS. Every Advanced Class (you will see AC a lot) has DPS options available, but most ACs will have another role they can fill.

First things first, Sith Warrior = Jedi Knight, and Sith Inquisitor = Jedi Consular. As far as mechanics go, they play exactly the same as their mirror; the differences will be aesthetic, storylines, and whether or not you have friends to play with, should be what swing your decision.

Sith Warrior/Jedi Knight: Juggernaught/Guardian - Tank/DPS. I honestly haven't played one, but I know they play very similarly to warriors in wow, complete with a rage mechanic, and almost word-for-word mirrored abilities.

Marauder/Sentinel are purely DPS, no tanking option. As far as both ACs go, I've heard a lot of people say this class is a bit underpowered at the moment. Having not played one personally, I can't say, but if you like the playstyle, I'm sure this class would eventually get a buff if they are not doing well.

Sith Inquisitor/Jedi Consular: Shadow/Assassin - Tank/DPS. Apparently some of the best tanks right now, but they are gear-dependent. As DPS, you will be close-combat, mostly trying to stay behind your target for the best damage. You also get stealth, so enemies will have a harder time detecting you (Note: You are NOT invisible).

Sorcerer/Sage - Healer/DPS. You will turn into a ranged fighter, being pretty much a "magic user", with casting stuff instead of attacking in melee. If you've played wow, they play a little like a priest, with protective shields as a healer, and periodic damage as DPS. I've heard mixed reports as to how good a healer they are (great burst, but hard to sustain healing in a drawn-out fight). For dps, on the other hand, they seem to be less bursty but very sustained. It's too early in the game for any of this to really matter though. P.S. at least on my server, there are like 500 sorcs/assassins running around. Popular class.

I could say so much more probably, but I don't want to overload you, hopefully there's some useful information in there.

@Ulain said:

I'll at least assume you're familiar with class roles in MMOs: Tank, Healer, DPS. Every Advanced Class (you will see AC a lot) has DPS options available, but most ACs will have another role they can fill.

First things first, Sith Warrior = Jedi Knight, and Sith Inquisitor = Jedi Consular. As far as mechanics go, they play exactly the same as their mirror; the differences will be aesthetic, storylines, and whether or not you have friends to play with, should be what swing your decision.

Sith Warrior/Jedi Knight: Juggernaught/Guardian - Tank/DPS. I honestly haven't played one, but I know they play very similarly to warriors in wow, complete with a rage mechanic, and almost word-for-word mirrored abilities.

Marauder/Sentinel are purely DPS, no tanking option. As far as both ACs go, I've heard a lot of people say this class is a bit underpowered at the moment. Having not played one personally, I can't say, but if you like the playstyle, I'm sure this class would eventually get a buff if they are not doing well.

Sith Inquisitor/Jedi Consular: Shadow/Assassin - Tank/DPS. Apparently some of the best tanks right now, but they are gear-dependent. As DPS, you will be close-combat, mostly trying to stay behind your target for the best damage. You also get stealth, so enemies will have a harder time detecting you (Note: You are NOT invisible).

Sorcerer/Sage - Healer/DPS. You will turn into a ranged fighter, being pretty much a "magic user", with casting stuff instead of attacking in melee. If you've played wow, they play a little like a priest, with protective shields as a healer, and periodic damage as DPS. I've heard mixed reports as to how good a healer they are (great burst, but hard to sustain healing in a drawn-out fight). For dps, on the other hand, they seem to be less bursty but very sustained. It's too early in the game for any of this to really matter though. P.S. at least on my server, there are like 500 sorcs/assassins running around. Popular class.

I could say so much more probably, but I don't want to overload you, hopefully there's some useful information in there.

Ill jump in to fill in some info on the marauder / sentinel part since I have one :D. It is like it says above, tanking is not the option for this class. You will use Medium armor and duel wield which means you can solo most of your quests and just burn them down. So Far I have yet to see if they are underpowered compared to other classes as I have yet to see someone my lvl of another class kill anything faster then me. Think of this class as what the tank would be if he got bored of being a tank. You have no other option but to burn things down with your dps. Your companion also is a huge dps also which helps with the fact that you have very few defensive / healing skills during fights. This was my first character and so far the game was pretty easy playing as it while my friend started out as a Sith inq and went sorc. His companion is a tank so All he does is kill things from afar and heal his companion so he doesnt have to worry about getting hurt. I have really found that almost all classes are decently even in solo play so it would more or less be what do you like to play as? Do you want to tank? Do you want to dps?

@StarvingGamer: @McShank: @StarvingGamer: @yinstarrunner: @Turambar: @Ulain:

Thank you all for the helpful suggestions. Until reading this, I didn't realize how similar these classes were. I'm unfamiliar with so many of the MMO terms that most players seem to know as second nature. But thanks to the suggestions here, I now know exactly how I'm going to go forward. I really appreciate everyone taking the time to help. If I ever did decide to stop playing solo, I hope I find people as helpful and friendly as you guys.

@ZZoMBiE13: No problem, hope it was helpful. Ask more questions if you need to; it's better to ask now than to ask in-game during a dungeon or something and look like a fool :P

http://www.mmoglossary.com/mmorpg_terms/1/index.html

Just googled this, looks pretty solid on terms if you're not sure. As far as star wars itself, i've noticed it's quickly making its own, so those can just be asked in-game since they're still being established.

lol, havent played this in a week. Playing Fallout 1, but I'm debating taking a break to hop on TOR.

@StarvingGamer said:

@Turambar But both Shadow and Assassin tank builds don't really start to come in to their own until around 30 or so whereas healing Sages and Sorcerors are incredibly effective from the get-go. It's not which AC solos best in the end but which has the easiest course from 10-50.

How is "soloing the best" not the same as having "the easiest course"? Lol.

If you don't like to play a caster class, or wanted to tank, you won't be getting to 30 or 50 anyway.

Well, the easiest way to level is either being able to heal yourself or have a companion that does it well. it maximizes uptime and lets you take on tougher content without needing a group.

The key downside of Marauders, Jugs, and Assassins compared to Sorcerers is that they don't really have that until a good bit later. It isn't that it makes them poor soloers, it's just that they don't have it quite as ridiculously easy early-on. Which really just means when you run into group content you'll actually need a group (or to out-level it considerably) more often that Sorcs do.

From my time playing one, another downside of Marauders in particular is that they seem to be more of a sustained MDPs class. At least early on they lack the burst damage necessary to quickly down stronger enemies and the whole time they're whittling away at them they are stuck in the thick of it at melee range soaking up damage unlike, say, a Sniper (the only other PURE DPS Imperial class - meaning no option for healing or tanking) who has both the burst damage and the benefit of doing most of it at range behind cover.

By the way (since it came up earlier) Assassin's fare just as well as Jugs in the armor area. Assassins' defensive stance boosts armor like 120% whereas the Jug's equivalent boosts their armor about half that. It makes up the difference between light and heavy armor quite well. The classes are different in the types of abilities they have and the ways they go about an encounter, but they are fairly balanced so that one isn't necessarily "better" than the other. It's Darth Vader or Darth Maul.

Feel free to substitute in the Republic equivalent classes. I've spent the majority of my time on Imperial. I have an Assassin main character, Juggernaut I don't play anymore, healing Operative, DPS Mercenary, low-level Sorc, and I had a Marauder I deleted to make room for another character.

@Robo definitely has a point there. I remember soloing the last boss of Hammer Station from about 15/20% as my merc healer. After I just couldn't keep the tank/dps up anymore from standing in the cone aoe, mines, and letting adds run loose O.o I kited him around some while popping a heal on me occasionally. Had I been a powertech or something, we would have wiped for sure. Self-sustainment is very useful indeed.

@StarvingGamer My bad I didn't know that's what you meant lol. Not having a level 50, I can only imagine the more CC and healing you have, the better for those silver and gold mods.

If you're going to play mirrored classes to experience all 4 Force stories, I'd recommend choosing opposite advanced classes. The mirrors are as followed:

Jedi Sentinel - Sith Marauder

Jedi Guardian - Sith Juggernaut

Jedi Shadow - Sith Assassin

Jedi Sage - Sith Sorcerer

Each vertical set is entirely different, but each horizontal set is functionally the same. My recommendation is to choose opposite advanced classes per class. For example, go Jedi Shadow and Sith Sorcerer--two entirely different gameplay experiences and stories.

If you plan to play the non-Force classes, here's your reference:

Scoundrel - Operative

Gunslinger - Sniper

Commando - Mercenary

Vanguard - Powertech

As far as recommendations go, I don't know what to tell you. When I play MMORPGs, I typically really enjoy playing healers. Naturally, I have my Operative specced into the healing tree, and run around with a damage companion. Having a blast doing this, but this isn't for everyone. Basically all talent trees should be viable for questing, so long as you have a companion who compliments your style.