[Spank-A-Thon]

Originally Posted by Meiko

Thanks! It's sort of clearer now! But now I'm wondering: if your character doesn't really level up, how can he face stronger enemies or more difficult adversities while the game goes on? I guess you can't always face the same weak monsters the whole time or that some enemies must be stronger than others. This would mean this game is boring and there's no variety in it... If your character, for example, doesn't gain more strenght or agility and such things that we have in classic RPG games, how can you do new stuff? Is it only based on skills? Do skills make your character more able to do new things as you acquire them, so that from a certain point of view they work like stats for the character's developement?

As you progress and gain more skills for your player, you also gain new specials. Within each profession you have 4 skill trees and once you have completed all 4 trees you can become a Master of that profession (0000 - 4444).

So for example, when I acheived Carbineer 0300 I gained the skill CrippleShot. This is a special attack I can use with my carbine which has a 7.5x damage modifier - hence I can do more damage and therefore tackle tougher enemies. It's not just about damage though, it's also about speed. Each weapon and special has a delay factor. As you develop your skills you gain speed which affects how quickly you can fire a special.

So with CrippleShot I can do an average of 2K damage per shot. With +60 Speed I can do this special once every 3 seconds which means I can take out some bad guys fairly well. However, I also have Bounty Hunter 0400 which gives me an extra 45 Carbine speed points which means I am +105. Because of this I can use any special once per second which means I can take out even harder enemies.

The basic priniciple is the quicker and harder you hit, the tougher you are. So when I started Carbines I could only hit for about 100 every 4 seconds, now I hit for about 2K every second.

Now, there are some very strong monsters in the game (Krayt Dragons, NightSisters, Dark Jedi Adepts) and there is no way in hell I could kill one on my own - so this is where the Multiplayer from the MMORPG comes in.

If you want to take out the real bad guys you have to form a group - and when there's 20 of you in a group then things are a little easier.

SWG is not a traditional RPG in the way you level up. Your character stays the same - it's the skills that are gained which define your character.

- S