I know this is a topic as ancient as this forum, however, I'd like to see some new and fresh opinions from the folks that weren't here since day one.

 

For myself, I love the Empire. Firstly because it is fair and egalitarian when you look beyond the obvious. I mean, anyone can get anywhere in the Empire, as long as you are strong with the Force and got a bit of wits. Just see the warrior's and inquisitor's story. As a Sith, you are free to take charge of your own destiny. Well, it sucks to be 'force blind' in the Empire, but so does being penny dry or without political influence in the Republic.

 

The Republic in the other hand, in my opinion, is just a place run by politicians and their lobbyists, where the Jedi end up tangled in such political games simply because they are foolish enough to follow the blind (Palpatine got it spot on, some thousand years later). And it is far less egalitarian and meritocratic than the Empire, unless you are born some sort of noble or just very rich, good luck getting into the big stage.

 

 

Also, Empire's got great architects, and all fashion designers went to the Empire I guess

 

Plus, red lightsabers. I cannot overstate how cool is a red lightsaber.

Edited August 18, 2014 by Socialist

I know this is a topic as ancient as this forum, however, I'd like to see some new and fresh opinions from the folks that weren't here since day one.

 

For myself, I love the Empire. Firstly because it is fair and egalitarian when you look beyond the obvious. I mean, anyone can get anywhere in the Empire, as long as you are strong with the Force and got a bit of wits. Just see the warrior's and inquisitor's story. As a Sith, you are free to take charge of your own destiny. Well, it sucks to be 'force blind' in the Empire, but so does being penny dry or without political influence in the Republic.

 

The Republic in the other hand, in my opinion, is just a place run by politicians and their lobbyists, where the Jedi end up tangled in such political games simply because they are foolish enough to follow the blind (Palpatine got it spot on, some thousand years later). And it is far less egalitarian and meritocratic than the Empire, unless you are born some sort of noble or just very rich, good luck getting into the big stage.

 

 

Also, Empire's got great architects, and all fashion designers went to the Empire I guess

 

Plus, red lightsabers. I cannot overstate how cool is a red lightsaber.

 

Yeah, Nazis are so much cooler than democratic nations.

Empire all the way for me, why?In my opinion the class stories from overall the empire are better, i like more the armor design that the imperial classes are wearing, and i like more the empire because i like how the sith heresy is, how you start as an worthless apprentice, then you become a lord then a darth and in SW's case the wrath.

I prefer the Republic.

 

The Empire is not really a meritocracy. There are some elements of it in Sith hierarchy, but only very minor ones, and advancing usually means conspiring against and murdering your rivals. And if you are not a Sith, then well, it sucks being you, as you are regarded as a completely useless drone in their games to stab each other in the back.

 

The Republic is capable of pulling together to achieve a goal. Yes, there are corrupt politicians, but they are much easily exposed and removed than Sith, which are also pretty corrupt or downright insane. Also, everyone, no matter how attuned to the Force they are, can attain a position of power in the Republic, if they are smart (see Saresh, who was placed to run a backwater destroyed planet, but through her cunning, she rose to the highest office in few years).

From a game perspective, ultimately, if you want to enjoy the setting to the full, you need to play both sides, all the way to the end game. I have all 8 classes at 55, largely due to the double XP week a couple of months back.

 

By personal inclination only one of my characters -- my Sith Juggernaut -- is fully Dark, most of the others are strongly light side, and even my Jug doesn't automatically pick the Dark option -- he is an Imperial Loyalist, meaning that he will do what serves the Empire best, not just what is expedient. The major flaw of the Empire is that there are no checks on the whims of the powerful, especially if they are Sith -- a devoted servant of the Empire can have their life snuffed out, just for looking the wrong way at a Sith (and as we see often, the Dark side of the Force is not conducive to a well-balanced mind).

 

Those, like Darth Marr, who can stay focussed on the bigger picture, are much the exception than the rule -- and much ruthlessness is utterly wasteful, especially when the Empire is on the back foot, as the situation is at the end of Act 3, and of Malgus' actions. Makeb may provide a sliver of hope, but it's not an immediage game-changer.

The empire is a slave nation, a nation led by dangerous sometimes lunatic sith who will kill anyone who gets in their way. Does that remind you of any countries today? It does me. Sith are torturers, elitist pigs. Kill or be killed. There is no equality in the empire.

 

The Republic works together for a cause which makes them a lot stronger than the sith. The many are stronger than the few. There is a better balance between the rich and the poor and jedi are peace loving saviors of the people.

 

That said, if I'm strictly going by Empire vs Republic, I'd go with Republic any day.

 

Story wise, I love the Bounty Hunter story because they make it known that the only reason they are in the empire is because of money. They do not serve anyone. I also love the Sith warrior story because playing the SW completely light side is awesome and the Sith warrior can be pro empire vs pro sith.

I have only recently started playing the game and so don't have any capped characters, meaning I haven't managed to experience the full story on either faction as of yet.

 

However, after extensive reading in to the lore I am fully aware of what sides I'm dealing with and so if I had to choose which one I would sympathize with most, it would definitely be the Republic. They basically stand for freedom, diversity between species and galactic peace, all of which I'd much rather roll with than authoritarianism, repression and outright elitism which the Empire stands for.

 

Though in terms of pure awesomeness I think I would choose the Empire, simply because I have always preferred the Sith to the Jedi and also because both Imperial Agents and Bounty Hunters are just freaking epic.

Empire for me.

 

I don't know why, but I could never really get into the Republic storylines - save for the Jedi Knight.

 

But i've always been a "has more fun being the bad guy" type of person - I mean my god I have a Vader tattoo lol

You've got it all wrong. Dostoyevski is disappoint son. Edited August 18, 2014 by Joesixxpack

Both, check my Sig.

Empire, agent story

I agree that the game is designed for you to play both sides to get the full experience. So I think of it like nationality on our planet: an accident of birth. Depending on where you were born, you have certain career options. I think of it this way: identical twins separated at birth, one raised on an Imperial planet, one raised in the Republic, would probably end up going into similar fields. But where the Imperial twin became a bounty hunter, the 'pub was drawn more to smuggling.

 

Of course, in real life you could break out of that pattern, or move to another country, but in the game you're stuck with the side you choose in the very first step of character creation. This actually fits in pretty well with the Star Wars universe, where predestination and who's-your-daddy affect your talents and level of success more than your willingness to work hard does.

 

Thankfully they give us the option to play a dark side Jedi, or a light side Sith. Even if you are born into one side, your natural tendencies and personality may lead you toward the other. I'm glad they gave us that option, because it makes for more interesting backstory possibilities. (I don't necessarily make up a huge, elaborate backstory for my characters, but I know them well enough to say how they would respond in different situations. The game ensures that by giving us conversational options.)

 

With all that said, I have more Republic characters than Empire, probably because I like to think of myself as being on the side of good. But I still do enjoy playing a baddie sometimes, too. I mean, it's all make-believe anyway, right? (Oops, sorry: spoiler!)

The moment people mix real life politics with space fantasy game is the moment the need to find new hobby.

 

Fantasy... in space.

 

Both factions got ups and downs I prefer the empire as their class and faction stories are more enjoyable for me then republic ones.

It depends on the two ways to look at it.

 

Realistically? Of course I'd pick the Republic. The Empire is a horrible place, even for humans. Hell, even for Sith.

 

However, this is Star Wars, not reality - and thankfully so. Thus, in terms of gameplay, story and overall feel, I definitely favor the Empire. I like their architecture more than the Republic's, whether it's ships and buildings, or their superior fashion designers. Furthermore, the voice acting on Imp side really blew me away on every class, and I just can't say the same for the Republic classes - not even for the female trooper. I love Jennifer Hale, I really do, but the trooper was just not one of her better performances.

 

Also, the epic feeling involved with getting to talk to the Empire's most prominent commanders is far more impressive. Ilum is a good example (seriously, don't open this if you didn't play the Ilum storyline at least until you get the flashpoints):

 

 

Edited August 18, 2014 by ThirdDementor

Republic - perfer democracy and the empire doesn't have any of that.

For myself, I love the Empire. Firstly because it is fair and egalitarian when you look beyond the obvious.

 

I was talking with someone on the Fleet about this very sentiment. "The Sith Empire is honest about what it does and rewards people for being skilled". Er... Sure. It also murders entire worlds, subjugates entire species, removes freedom from its own citizens, and subjects everyone to the hypocritical maneuverings of a quasi-religious elite. Dissent is only allowed if you're powerful enough to kill the people who oppose you. In practice, this means that no one short of a Sith Lord is allowed to express any criticism of the Empire.

 

"But, a slave was able to rise up to the top of the Sith Ranks!"

 

Yup... by killing loads of other slaves, other Sith, and normal Imperial soldiers and citizens who had done nothing worthy of a death sentence. And that is the way of the Sith Empire: Anyone can rise in power, so long as you are willing to kill or subjugate loads of other people.

 

"At least its honest..."

 

It's not. The current empire is based on a deception (that the Emperor is in control). The upper tier of leadership is in a constant state of chaos as various lords scheme against each other. Below them, corruption and deception is the rule. So, yes.... it's honest about how much lying and corruption goes on. That's not a positive thing.

 

The Republic in the other hand, in my opinion, is just a place run by politicians and their lobbyists, where the Jedi end up tangled in such political games simply because they are foolish enough to follow the blind.

 

That's the politics. All you see is politics because that is where the class stories are. Like any republic, there is corruption in the government. However, the Republic hasn't desolated any peaceful worlds. It hasn't engaged in genocide against non-combatants. It doesn't silence dissent, and most worlds affiliated with the republic seem to be free to operate with autonomy.

 

Remember, this is practically the definition of "Republic" versus "Empire". The Empire is a Nazi-inspired Fascism, where the government controls everything it wants to and forces complete obedience to the Empire. The Republic is a centralized-oversight government. On its own, it is only a government apparatus, and outside of military locations (where this game spends the majority of its time) the Republic doesn't exert much direct control. Corellia was ruled by Correllians and defended by CorSec. The Republic Senate didn't make decisions on how to rule the planet.

The Republic is far more interesting to me than the Empire.

 

The Empire: Citizens fear Intelligence, the military, and the Sith. Intelligence fears the Sith. The military fear the Sith. The Sith spend waaay too much time trying to kill each other, and too many Sith go to the "your meds need adjusting" side of the Force. Play a Sith, everyone is a "worm." Play an Agent, and everyone is a potential threat to the Empire -- paranoia is ongoing. Play a Bounty Hunter, and you're scum, or alien scum if you don't play a human Bounty Hunter.

 

The Republic: Built-in drama because of the different societies, and species. They aren't holding hands, and singing, "Kumbaya." The members of the Republic have in-fighting, disagreements, and sometimes outright dislike and disrespect for each other. However, they can't (or usually don't) just murder each other. They have to find ways to work together. To me, that's far more interesting. Troopers are tasked with protecting members of the Republic, which doesn't mean they like all members of the Republic. Jedis have their own agenda, outside of the military. Other than keeping the Empire from taking over everything, the Jedi and military aren't always of a like mind. Drama! Smugglers are just awesomely cool.

Edited August 18, 2014 by Nmyownworld

The Republic is far more interesting to me than the Empire.

 

The Empire: Citizens fear Intelligence, the military, and the Sith. Intelligence fears the Sith. The military fear the Sith. The Sith spend waaay too much time trying to kill each other, and too many Sith go to the "your meds need adjusting" side of the Force. Play a Sith, everyone is a "worm." Play an Agent, and everyone is a potential threat to the Empire. -- paranoia is ongoing. Play a Bounty Hunter, and you're scum, or alien scum if you don't play a human Bounty Hunter.

 

The Republic: Built-in drama because of the different societies, and species. They aren't holding hands, and singing, "Kumbaya." The members of the Republic have in-fighting, disagreements, and sometimes outright dislike and disrespect for each other. However, they can't (or usually don't) just murder each other. They have to find ways to work together. To me, that's far more interesting. Troopers are tasked with protecting members of the Republic, which doesn't mean they like all members of the Republic. Jedis have their own agenda, outside of the military. Other than keeping the Empire from taking over everything, the Jedi and military aren't always of a like mind. Drama! Smugglers are just awesomely cool.

 

Yep.

 

EDIT: Also, due to CM adaptive sets, we now have nice armor, too. Except for all the Jedi running around looking like Sith, and people barely wearing clothes.

Edited August 18, 2014 by arunav

Empire.

Just kinda happened. I like the storylines much more, coupled with finding a good friendly guild on that faction. No other reason than that.

The moment people mix real life politics with space fantasy game is the moment the need to find new hobby.

 

Fantasy... in space.

 

Both factions got ups and downs I prefer the empire as their class and faction stories are more enjoyable for me then republic ones.

 

What HE said....

Empire, because the Republic fleet station looks like a second hand purchase from the Hutts.

 

I have never been too keen on the Jedi Order either. No passion, no expression, no sex, no fun, inflexible and generally strike me as naive ideologues. As far as protagonists go (movies or otherwise), they have always been somewhat of a yawn fest for me. Although I have to say that playing a dark side Jedi Knight does have its... moments.

 

Yeah, Nazis are so much cooler than democratic nations.

 

The Republic is in actuality a mixture of plutocracy, bureaucracy and totalitarian democracy (head of state is elected by the senators as opposed to the citizenry). The democratic side of the Republic is restricted to the elections of senators/representitives so it is to be taken with a grain of salt. The decentralized nature of the governance also makes it very fragile, inefficient and unwieldy in times of crisis.

 

The Empire on the other hand is not necessarily a fascist state. In the time of TOR, power is actually held by the Dark Council which would make it a Authoritarian (rule by a centralized group) and Kratocracy (rule by the strong) state. At other times it is a Totalitarian (more focused on a central figure that requires absolute obedience) but still Kratocracy state. Anyway, such governance structure is prone to internal power struggles and arbritrary qualifications to rule but in times of great crisis, it does tend to react quicker as well as more effectively.

Edited August 18, 2014 by Oneirophrenia

I might have already mentioned it, but I would say Empire, if you enjoy playing an evil character. This is one of the few games where you can play a truly evil character if you wish, and in that respect Empire side has a much better set storyline than Republic does to that end.

I prefer the Republic.

 

The Empire is not really a meritocracy. There are some elements of it in Sith hierarchy, but only very minor ones, and advancing usually means conspiring against and murdering your rivals..

How is that not a meritocracy?

It seems that on the Republic side, except for the Smuggler, your character wind up just another cog in the political machine. It's too much like RL politics to be any fun.

 

On the Empire side, on the other hand, except for the Bounty Hunter, your character becomes someone with a rare and very special position, a unique one in some cases, with far more apparent freedom than your Republic toons. There is a brutal honesty in Imperial politics you just don't see in the Republic.

 

And oddly, on Makeb,

 

That said, I tend to play mainly Light side toons, in either faction. YMMV.

How is that not a meritocracy?

 

I said that the Empire as a whole is not a meritocracy, and that it is only present in its most violent form among higher Sith ranks. And regular meritocracy should usually not require you to murder you master/teacher/colleague