Here is the topic about writers of the class stories: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=653895

 

Have to repeat after Jenzali - "the gap in quality is very noticeable between the Agent storyline and all the others"

 

I would even say "noticeable" is an understatement.

 

My first character was JC. Many say the story is boring - I did not think so before and do not think now. For me it's more like even, calm, steady and somewhat relaxing. No horrible dramas over nothing, no traitors at every corner - if your mind is already agitated enough you will enjoy the feeling of the story. You go from planet to planet, do your job and do not have to turn from a clear way.

Than I played other classes... And suddenly realized, on Imp side you are not just go "from planet to planet" but rather have an extra quests in between planets to the extreme (as I thought) at SW story. I declared Sith Warrior "favorite class of developers" and forgot about it. Until I played Imperial Agent.

 

Man, it is something! Not only you get 2-3 extra quests between each planet, not only you have some crossovers with all (or almost all) other stories in the game, not only one part of the plot is a solid reminder (or even based on) of KOTOR2 (which I love more then KOTOR1). But it's full of believable conflicts, tons of NPC you have to interact to and work in one group with (not just one villain and a hoard of silent mobs) and your choices are meaningful! On top of it you get real 3 (three, actually 6 with variations) very different endings! Not one just rephrased 3 times. Oh, and Scorpio alone would be enough to win the competition of "best crew" in the game.

 

I don't know, may be the author of the story - Alexander Freed - is just that great. But the story is very, very different and stands out among all of them. I would say more resources was spend on it as well. Probably developers could see the beauty of it or Freed is also a good seller of his ideas. Anyway - it's amazing. And though I feel sorry for my beloved Consular and angry for such inequality in class treatment - I applaud to the great work.

 

As AF said himself:

(...) In any event, I wanted the agent for myself largely because of that lack of an obvious Star Wars predecessor archetype. It meant the class would appeal to fewer players, perhaps–but it also meant I had a freer hand in developing what the class meant. (...)

 

And he did it.

Edited June 26, 2013 by Mirandel

Having played all of the classes, I can say with certainty that the agent is the only story I would play more than twice. How do I know this? I am starting my third, with two already at 51/55.

 

The variations are really amazing. I think there are four ways chapter 1 can end.

 

Chapter 1

 

 

 

Chapter 2

 

 

 

Chapter 3

 

 

 

10/10 for the Agent story, all the way through.

So far i've completed Agent, BH and SW. I completely agree (as will many) that IA story was done really well. The only complaint i have really is Kaliyo. I just dont see her as the kind of person i would want working for Imp Intel, even if they had info/leverage on her. I would have been happy with a crew of watchers, fixers and one psycho robot. Immediately after finishing my IA i actually started another one with the full intention of going completely light side and seeing how the other part of the story goes.

 

SW it was ok, except for the Quinn twist right before Corellia...i thought that was terrible. BH was ok, but i dont like how i went from a nobody to the best bounty hunter in the universe. That's something BW does a lot with the storylines. They elevate you to such high status and this was before ROTHC had come out. I hate it when games SP or MP have you reaching such high status. At the end of the game you are a general, vice admiral, or grandmaster of the universe. But the IA story doesnt really do that...and thats one of the things i like. I would rather be the same Jedi Knight, Lord Sith, average quality bounty hunter, instead of what they are having us become.

Chapter 3

 

If you leave Ardun Kothe alive, you can basically for all intents and purposes defect to the Republic, in not so many words. If you kill him, you can become a free agent for yourself, or bind yourself to the Sith. It is ridiculous how many options you have.

 

 

 

I've played all the class stories, except the sith inquisitor (about to go to Hoth now). But yes most defenetley Imperial Agent story is top 1 for me.

Just to provide a little balance I'm going to say that by no stretch of the imagination was agent my favourite story.

 

Yes it has some nice touches but once was through more than enough for my tastes and it was filled with missed opportunites for something far more interesting.

 

The Consular story is not popular because most people judge by chapter 1 alone and self-sacrifice is not a theme most people can relate to.

Just to provide a little balance I'm going to say that by no stretch of the imagination was agent my favourite story.

 

Yes it has some nice touches but once was through more than enough for my tastes and it was filled with missed opportunites for something far more interesting.

 

The Consular story is not popular because most people judge by chapter 1 alone and self-sacrifice is not a theme most people can relate to.

 

Actually, while I loved the IA storyline, I tend to agree with you on the JC one. I mean, I loved the later parts of it. Super slow to actually start but I still think the "murder mystery" was a bit of an interesting mix. I mean, if I had been asked prior to playing I would have pegged the Smuggy as getting that type of plot most likely with some Marlow-esque overtones- so, to me handing it over to the Consular doesn't seem a very intuitive choice but it does work. I also can't believe that Theran "Everyone-Has-Fun-On-Holiday" Cedrax of all people turned out to actually have one or two teeny tiny little drops of non-scuzzbag in him- whoddathunk?

I could be a one in a million here, but I didn't really care for the story. By no means was it bad, just not as good as everyone seems to make it out to be. The fault is probably on me though, my character was really boring. Chapter one was good, had a really good ending. Chapter 2, that was bad. I couldn't force myself to suffer through that, and ended up taking a year break from her because of how bad the story was at that point. Chapter 3 was a turnaround, and the ending was okay. But personally, out of the three stories I have finished, this is my least favorite.

I'm a huge fan of the agent story (I've probably said that 1000 times on this forum and also the fact that I've leveled 3 of them ). I'd probably just play "Star Wars: The Imperial Agent".

 

I think Consular gets a bad rap, still. I played Consular after having played a few other classes, and I actually liked it a lot. First chapter is the least interesting, but it all really comes together in the last chapter with some really amazing emotional moments.

I loved the consular story. Yes the first part was a little slow, but being a Jedi isn't all about fight evil. Sometimes it is about helping others.

 

One thing did annoy me though.

 

 

 

It was meh. Personally, I LOVE the Knight and Warrior story much more. The Agent had some really cool parts, especially on Corellia, but otherwise it was only "meh". 3rd favourite.

I'm not far into the stories and play Republic alone (apart from my Bounty Hunter Experiment, which nothing but supported me in my view not to play the other Imperial classes), and I'm surprised that these stories are so boring.

 

The Smuggler's story was good. So far, it's my number 1 story (under the above mentioned circumstances).

 

But the Trooper ? Ugh. Consular ? Uh. Jedi Knight ? Well, not that bad, it's actually quite interesting, but it could be better, too.

 

What I had expected from the Trooper class story after reading "Havoc Squad", I had expected something like an Agent's story : A strike team goes deep into Imperial territory and does special things there. I mean, *really* special, things that no-one else would be able to do.

 

But the result is now : I collect people. Ugh.

 

 

Over time I've become a hater of what I call "Empire Favouritism". I just become angry when I read so many people calling the Agent's story to be "superior" - and then i look at the Trooper's story : It's exclusively consisting of collecting people.

 

When I visited Dromund Kaas with my Bounty Hunter for the very first time, my suspiction of "Empire Favouritism" by the developers got a HUGE boost . Not only does this planet actually feel alive and breathing, even with weather effects - a thing that you won't never ever ever ever find of Republic planets ! - but it also doesn't play like pure hack & slay at all ! - that's what Coruscant feels like : Kill soooooo many mobs it becomes totally boring at one point. Dromund Kaas : No mobs in the wilderness (where is Wilderness like that on Republic planets apart from Taris ???) and only a few "pockets" filled with mobs, whereas the mobs are on Coruscant EVERYWHERE !

 

I still like SWTOR, but i don't like at all what Bioware made out of the Republic side. Like the mud-brown colour of the Republic Fleet Station. It's totally depressing, for me, personally.

 

"The Empire has style. The Republic has Advertisements."

 

*sigh*

Edited June 28, 2013 by AlrikFassbauer

I'm not far into the stories and play Republic alone (apart from my Bounty Hunter Experiment, which nothing but supported me in my view not to play the other Imperial classes), and I'm surprised that these stories are so boring.

....

*sigh*

 

Would it help if I tell you you can become a double agent and actually be a Republics spy at the end? IF you play right, of course

 

I mean, I do understand you - very pro-republic myself. And it was not easy to switch to Empire but with that in mind you might consider. It's just a pity you can not see the best story in the game. Though... If you could not play BH - the least Empire politic attached class, IA would be a huge challenge.

Edited June 30, 2013 by Mirandel

I have played 3 characters to the end of chapter 3: Trooper, Jedi Knight and Imperial Agent.

 

I echo the comments of the OP. The Agent story was amazing.

 

 

 

 

For me the Trooper story was "okay" (neither amazing nor horrible) and the Jedi Knight story was really interesting.

 

The thing I very much disliked about the jedi Knight story ...

 

 

 

 

I am on the lookout for more interesting stories. I am thinking about making a Smuggler or Bounty Hunter, and have a lvl 15-ish Sith Assassin.

 

Suggestions and mild spoilers are welcome, so long as they are wrapped in the SPOILER tags.

BH was ok, but i dont like how i went from a nobody to the best bounty hunter in the universe. That's something BW does a lot with the storylines. They elevate you to such high status and this was before ROTHC had come out. I hate it when games SP or MP have you reaching such high status. At the end of the game you are a general, vice admiral, or grandmaster of the universe. But the IA story doesnt really do that...and thats one of the things i like. I would rather be the same Jedi Knight, Lord Sith, average quality bounty hunter, instead of what they are having us become.

 

Probably because it's not very "epic/dramatic" to start the game as Dave-the-toilet-cleaner & not get any more important/powerful/etc. Especially since Star Wars starts off with Luke being a nobody on a planet in the arse end of beyond & ends up being (one of) the saviour of the galaxy (from the Emperor). So Bioware are "just" following the type of narative that Lucas started with, as well as trying to give the player an easy sense of improvement from the story (in addition to gear & skills growth).

Especially since Star Wars starts off with Luke being a nobody on a planet in the arse end of beyond & ends up being (one of) the saviour of the galaxy (from the Emperor).

 

Well, interestingly, Luke is nothing but a single, albeit special, warrior among the Rebels.

 

This can be seen very good by George Lucas putting the space combat scenes between the fight of Luke & Vader and the fights on Endor.

 

Without the Millennium Falcon and its Crew, the DSII would still exist, and be a threat to every civilization in the galaxy.

 

And bestroying BOTH the DSII *and* the Emperor would not have been possible without the combined efforts of both Ewoks & Strike Team ...

 

So, all in all, Luke was indeed important - but he was still just a a single Rebel member among hundreds or even thousands ...

Imperial agent was my first character to play as. All I can say is that the agent story was to most immerseive of the ones Ive played. Finished the sith inquisitor and working on smuggler. It really felt like you were working with imperial inelegance and making decisions that would affect the empire. You got an awesome ship, cool companions (even one is an anarchist and will attempt to have you killed if you follow her affection gains), there was more of go somewhere else between planets, also going back to dromund kaas a lot, the chapter 1 boss is the toughest class boss fight Ive done so far. that is if you choose to fight him, chapter 2 got even better with the whole brain washing or whatever it was. chapter 3 continued chapter 2.

The inquisitor was alright.

Smuggler I somewhat like. He is more of a freelancer and doesn't need to do much with the republic army or Jedi or anything of that sort. I love a lot of the conversations in the smuggler storyline. Ive quite a few of them the funniest.

I'd give the Agent 10/10 Inquisitor 8/10 and smuggler I'm not sure yet since I'm halfway done with his quest line

Overall Trooper is great. Chpt 1 and 2 both feel very good building the squad and then employing it. 3 is kind of like 2 remixed, but with less emphasis on squadmates and more emphasis on TEH REPUBICS, which takes away from some of the personalities you've grown accustomed to with the squadmate arcs (Aric in particular). Even so, it does make you feel like part of the army itself, which is kind of the entire theme of the Trooper storyline - hence with almost EVERYONE in the squad is pissed when you tell Garza to go screw herself.

 

Speaking of Garza, the storyline could GREATLY BENEFIT from less trips AAAAALLLLLLLLLL the way back to Garza's office. The walk from the Spaceport to the office is like 5 effing minutes. Probably an hour of the entire Trooper storyline is spent walking to or from Garza's office.

 

Lastly regarding Garza, I was very surprised we didn't get a Garza romance option. I mean with showing off a ghetto booty like that by wearing that tight uniform all game, when is she gonna let me clap dem cheeks?

 

Clearly needs to be in the next expansion.

I am right with everyone's general feeling on the IA class story, it's absolutely beautimus. I certainly haven't checked out all the story's yet, but of the one's that I have, IA is number one with a bullet.

Covert Ops, political machinations, treachery within the Sith.... plans within plans.

I almost regret that Agent was my very first story completion, only for the fact that it makes the other class stories that would have felt sub-par but at least acceptable to me into an utter letdown and mission ending after mission ending of "Ok.. I'm disappointed now...." , and that is generally the only feeling that peaks at the climax of a Chapter Finale.

After eating at a 5 star restaurant, it's difficult to follow that by trying to choke down some saltine crackers....

 

As a final side note, to those who favor the republic but are feeling the call to check out the I.A. story, I have only one thing to say.

http://i2.glitter-graphics.org/pub/215/215892msei5yfw8l.jpg

The agent story has something that I didn't find in any of the other stories: It is fine as your first class to play, as your last class or somewhere in the "middle". And replaying it is always fun.

 

My first character was an agent and it was all fine and nice. The story was really interesting for me, especially all the glimps behind the "curtain" (The dialog with the leading council of the Voss at the end of Voss? Pure genius). After playing the agent I leveled all imperial characters to 50, a smuggler to 50 and started the other republic characters.

 

Then I changed server (unfortunately without BW support at the time) and had to start again. My first character on the new server was an agent and the experience was completely different. Not only were there real differences for playing light side/dark side (my first agent was mostly dark side, my second one is more or less light side), but also because of all the references. Every story I've played since my first try was somehow touched in the agent story. Sometimes only in small ways, sometimes more direct, but always "plausable". I never had the feeling "a, they've added this just to pad the 'the agent knows everything'-theme".

 

At the moment I have something like 17 characters and have finished an additional story (consular). Maybe in the next days I will do a new agent, just to check if there are new references and if I am able to find a new variation to play it. Every other class I've replayed I always only leveled by PvP and never for the sake of the story.

 

So, my short resume would be: The agent story is like a fine wine. You can enjoy it when it is young, but it will also stand the test of time and taste even better years later.

I'm a huge fan of the agent story (I've probably said that 1000 times on this forum and also the fact that I've leveled 3 of them ). I'd probably just play "Star Wars: The Imperial Agent".

 

I think Consular gets a bad rap, still. I played Consular after having played a few other classes, and I actually liked it a lot. First chapter is the least interesting, but it all really comes together in the last chapter with some really amazing emotional moments.

Have to agree on the Consular Story, i grunted and pushed through chapter 1 and i really didnt like it but then all of a sudden were playing Diplomat and negotiator i felt much like Obi wan and then the whole sith thing the consular turned out to be one of my favorites.

 

Surprisingly i found the worst to be Inquisitor , it starts out good then goes off course then BAM here is your powerbase, not the palpatine slow rise i hoped for IMO.

 

My very first character was a Agent and it is the only class ive played through 3 times and never got fed up.

I agree with what others have said. Although I've enjoyed most of the class stories (to various degrees) the agent is the only one that really blew me away. By chapter three I was just ignoring all my side quests and frantically doing class stuff to find out what would happen next. It's probably the only class that made me really question some of my choices as well. Massive kudos to the writer who made that story happen!

Having played through the Warrior, Knight, Agent, and Gunslinger stories - I can say that I feel the Agent story was the best of them - I feel like the Republic side stories tried to be too heroic, or just didn't link you in well - the smuggler especially, randomly you just become "part of the republic" with no real reasoning.

 

I think the Republic side stories also got more attention (especially Jedi Knight), and because they did that - it actually made them worse, they just control the story so much, and you don't make many choices that come back in the end to be good/bad, which the agent did - like it was said early on, the agent story actually made me stop and think a few times, whereas the Warrior I just said "kill em" and the Knight I just said "save 'em" and went on with my day.

I wish the Jedi Shadow would have been similar to an Agent. He still feels to me that way, and the Shadow class is imho in *no* way connected to that to the Sage. To me, the differences are far greater than between Jedi Sentinel & Guardian.

 

In my opinion, putting both Sage & Shadow into ONE class story was a great mistake. They are so much different ... But perhaps it's only me seeing it this way, since no-one here ever complained about it.

 

Maybe I'm too sensitive for this world, RL, I mean.

Agent blew me away, SW and JK were awesome too. The others fall in the middle in varying degrees of goodness, but, I still firmly believe that Consular is the most boring, snore worthy story in the whole game. It feels like actual work, having to force yourself to do this story, its that bland. Honeslty, I don't know how people can like this, its devoid of decent action, so few flirts you may as well be a nun/monk...and the romance you do get is BORING. Zenith is so much more awesome for the Lady Consular. I was totally bummed that we couldn't get him. I'm hoping that will change in the future. It would spruce the experience up a bit. Edited July 11, 2013 by Lunafox