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Is Trooper story really THAT boring? If so should i be Smuggler or Councilar?


XCantaloupeX

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I tried the trooper story up to the end of chapter one, but the thing that killed it for me was the voice acting and script. It's just awful, more like some straight to video, low budget action movie than Star Wars. Rather than sounding like a soldier, you end up sounding like some meat head with a testosterone imbalance.

 

Which is why they should have got Adam Baldwin to voice the Trooper instead of that 90210 Jason Priestly replacement, imo. :p

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From my perspective as a Trooper Vanguard fan, the situation is thus.

 

The story isn't the most spectacular in the universe, but that's because it's limited by the nature of what the defines the class. You are the very best the Republic military has to offer, and as such you tend to operate and function within more strict guidelines than the Smuggler or even the Jedi classes. Whereas the Jedi's orders are usually somewhat general and leave a lot open to interpretation, as a member of the armed forces the Trooper at the end of the day is required to follow certain orders to the letter, leaving very little wiggle room in how they are to be carried out.

 

Now, the positive aspect of the Trooper story is that once you

finish taking care of the Havoc squad traitors, the war starts getting into full gear and you do start to use your new squad to its utmost ability more effectively and more often. In some parts yes, you're still Garza's errand boy, but a lot of the time you actually get to go behind enemy lines and secure or take out high-security and dangerous targets, which is what special forces are designed to be best at.

 

 

As for the moral compass as far as the dialogue and story choice options go, it's kind of hit and miss. I for one like it a lot, but still recognize they could have made the choices a little more complicated or motivated. Many times if you try to be the good, patriotic Republic poster-boy and choose the light-side options it feels like you're just constantly spouting tag-lines and propoganda at every opportunity(if I hear my trooper say "For the Republic" one more time I'm going to blow chunks all over my keyboard).

 

Subsequently, the dark side choices are occasionally cool, but often make you seem like just a thug with a rank, and are unecessarily cruel or serve to only inflict as much damage as possible. I chose to try and play my Trooper as a good person, but more concerned with fighting the Empire and the Sith and preparing for war than the personal, help the orphans and change tires and kiss babies type, but sometimes it was difficult to do without being either Captain Perfect or a total douchehammer.

 

There are relief groups and other people who can do clean up and repair, I'm a specialist with high-tech weaponry and advanced training, and I should be using those to take down the Empire and criminals and such, not helping the infrastructure of a local farming town. War is war, it ain't pretty, but its necessary, and Havoc Squad is the nasty, ugly but effective tip of the sword.

 

Now then, as for gameplay, I think the Trooper and especially the Vanguard is brilliant. I play as a tank, and it's a sometimes mid-range, almost always close-range tough-as-nails, heavily armoured specialist who can go toe-to-toe with anyone, anytime, anywhere. I love the idea that in a galaxy of mystical Force powers, ancient alien civilizations, system-spanning criminal cartels and everything in between, I'm someone who through grueling training, the best weaponry and defensive tech in the galaxy, and superior tactics can take down even the people regular hard-asses are scared of, like the Sith. If there's a situation that requires a special strategy or weapon, the Trooper has access to it and has been trained to know how to use it.

 

So yeah, maybe I'm biased, but the gameplay itself is endlessly fun. Just ask anyone how sweet it is to sneak behind a group of enemies all clustered up and then unleash Mortar Volley in the middle of them. It's beautiful. :D

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From my perspective as a Trooper Vanguard fan, the situation is thus.

 

The story isn't the most spectacular in the universe, but that's because it's limited by the nature of what the defines the class. You are the very best the Republic military has to offer, and as such you tend to operate and function within more strict guidelines than the Smuggler or even the Jedi classes. Whereas the Jedi's orders are usually somewhat general and leave a lot open to interpretation, as a member of the armed forces the Trooper at the end of the day is required to follow certain orders to the letter, leaving very little wiggle room in how they are to be carried out.

 

Now, the positive aspect of the Trooper story is that once you

finish taking care of the Havoc squad traitors, the war starts getting into full gear and you do start to use your new squad to its utmost ability more effectively and more often. In some parts yes, you're still Garza's errand boy, but a lot of the time you actually get to go behind enemy lines and secure or take out high-security and dangerous targets, which is what special forces are designed to be best at.

 

 

As for the moral compass as far as the dialogue and story choice options go, it's kind of hit and miss. I for one like it a lot, but still recognize they could have made the choices a little more complicated or motivated. Many times if you try to be the good, patriotic Republic poster-boy and choose the light-side options it feels like you're just constantly spouting tag-lines and propoganda at every opportunity(if I hear my trooper say "For the Republic" one more time I'm going to blow chunks all over my keyboard).

 

Subsequently, the dark side choices are occasionally cool, but often make you seem like just a thug with a rank, and are unecessarily cruel or serve to only inflict as much damage as possible. I chose to try and play my Trooper as a good person, but more concerned with fighting the Empire and the Sith and preparing for war than the personal, help the orphans and change tires and kiss babies type, but sometimes it was difficult to do without being either Captain Perfect or a total douchehammer.

 

There are relief groups and other people who can do clean up and repair, I'm a specialist with high-tech weaponry and advanced training, and I should be using those to take down the Empire and criminals and such, not helping the infrastructure of a local farming town. War is war, it ain't pretty, but its necessary, and Havoc Squad is the nasty, ugly but effective tip of the sword.

 

Now then, as for gameplay, I think the Trooper and especially the Vanguard is brilliant. I play as a tank, and it's a sometimes mid-range, almost always close-range tough-as-nails, heavily armoured specialist who can go toe-to-toe with anyone, anytime, anywhere. I love the idea that in a galaxy of mystical Force powers, ancient alien civilizations, system-spanning criminal cartels and everything in between, I'm someone who through grueling training, the best weaponry and defensive tech in the galaxy, and superior tactics can take down even the people regular hard-asses are scared of, like the Sith. If there's a situation that requires a special strategy or weapon, the Trooper has access to it and has been trained to know how to use it.

 

So yeah, maybe I'm biased, but the gameplay itself is endlessly fun. Just ask anyone how sweet it is to sneak behind a group of enemies all clustered up and then unleash Mortar Volley in the middle of them. It's beautiful. :D

 

i know the feeling already ;) level 14 trooper

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Okay so I was wondering if there is any point in the trooper story where you actually lead a group of soldiers, so it actually makes you feel like a commander. In many of the progression videos it shows the jedi or trooper or something leading 3 or 4 troops into battle. I am yet to see this, does this happen?
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Okay so I was wondering if there is any point in the trooper story where you actually lead a group of soldiers, so it actually makes you feel like a commander. In many of the progression videos it shows the jedi or trooper or something leading 3 or 4 troops into battle. I am yet to see this, does this happen?

 

As a trooper you will get to micromanage assets tactically, but you will not have direct control over more than one pet.

 

The trooper story gets a bad rap. A soldier's life is tends to be unexciting unless he/she is actively engaging the enemy. I could rant for hours about the treatment of soldiers in media. Trying to force more excitement out of the trooper storyline would just come out contrived, especially if you have any idea what being a soldier is like. It should be noted that the trooper storyline is the only one that I have seen multiple "I hate you Bioware" threads because the player was forced into an emotional decision.

 

As simple as the trooper story may have been, the companions storylines were not. Jorgan's story has interesting implications when used as a "lens" to look at the trooper story. Dorne's situation is complicated. 4X is brilliant. Vik is the quartermaster every officer wants access to and prays he/she is never responsible for. Yuuns was brief but insightful.

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As a trooper you will get to micromanage assets tactically, but you will not have direct control over more than one pet.

 

The trooper story gets a bad rap. A soldier's life is tends to be unexciting unless he/she is actively engaging the enemy. I could rant for hours about the treatment of soldiers in media. Trying to force more excitement out of the trooper storyline would just come out contrived, especially if you have any idea what being a soldier is like. It should be noted that the trooper storyline is the only one that I have seen multiple "I hate you Bioware" threads because the player was forced into an emotional decision.

 

As simple as the trooper story may have been, the companions storylines were not. Jorgan's story has interesting implications when used as a "lens" to look at the trooper story. Dorne's situation is complicated. 4X is brilliant. Vik is the quartermaster every officer wants access to and prays he/she is never responsible for. Yuuns was brief but insightful.

 

I actually agree with part of this assessment. As a former member of the US Army, I can vouch for the fact that about 85 - 90% of time spent in a war zone is pretty damn boring. Now, that doesn't mean they couldn't have MADE the Trooper story more exciting. As far as a realistic portrayal of a soldier's life and duties/assignments, it's about as realistic as Star Wars can get on that count. I mean, WHY DOES THE SMUGGLER GET TO TAKE COVER AND THE TROOPER DOESN'T????

 

But then, the Imperial and Republic armies NEVER knew the use of proper cover tactics. "Herp derp let's all stand out here firing wildly with NO FIRE CONTROL whatsoever until we all get fragged." :eek:

 

It felt to me during Chapter 1 like a B rated Action straight to DVD movie, tbh. I did enjoy it, but I also took it for what it was.

 

The parts I did NOT like were when the old part of my brain kicked in and I realized how much crap the LT would have been in for fraternizing with SGT Dorne as his subordinate. Granted, it was fun and funny to watch, but also made me cringe until I realized the Repub Army is NOT the US Army, and they have a somewhat different UCMJ.

 

Old habits die hard, so when I hear someone say "over and out" I cringe at the improper radio procedure. :p

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  • 7 months later...
Yes but you must consider that smuggler has EXCELENT crowd control, best in the game I would say, so when my smuggler gets in a tight situation, i can put a cc on the person, take off, then heal, then burn down the player after that. I only die about 2-3 times in a voidstar match, with about 30-40 kills, normally finishing tops in damage. And the great thing? my character started doing that at level 12
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Trooper story in a nutshell:

 

Act 1. Havoc Squad defects

 

After that you can shut the computer off because there is not a single surprise or interesting thing happening except the designers deciding to kill your main squeeze...thanks for that Bioware.

 

With 1 exception.

 

At the end of Act 2 you get some neat interaction between your companions. So Act 2 is "bleh" except for the finale, and act 3? Don't bother with Act 3.

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I disagree with most people saying that the consular story is boring until the end but I must admit its an aquired taste.

 

The act 1 is by far the worst. You feel dragged into a story that doesnt really make you feel all that important and it makes you chase people across the galaxy that you dont care about unless youre really into roleplaying that youre a selfless jedi caring only for the good of the jedi order and the republic.

 

Act 2 and 3 however really get interesting as you become the one who interacts with nations leaders and make you do things that are really tied with the background planet quest series as someone else mentionned before. So on balmorra, the class quest is really tied to the planet reclamation effort, on Hoth you take on the White Maws pirates, on Belsavis your quest is directly linked to the Esh-ka, etc... It gives a feeling that your in the middle of every planet crisis that every other classes know of and not just for your personal interest/mission.

 

In the end, the consular story does feel much less personal than many other class stories since its not about a personal vendetta or things alike but you do things that affects every republic/imperial players in the game storywise. Like I said, its an aquired taste, to feel that most of the game story affecting the other classes is directly influenced by the consular's actions.

 

Absolutely agree with you. I have no idea those quest that i done were planetary quests untill i reach Ilum. In every planets The consular story tie close with planetary quest i guess because as a role of a Diplomat. The smuggler stories is nice a funny, though i would prefer consular

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Okay so I was wondering if there is any point in the trooper story where you actually lead a group of soldiers, so it actually makes you feel like a commander. In many of the progression videos it shows the jedi or trooper or something leading 3 or 4 troops into battle. I am yet to see this, does this happen?

 

 

End of Act 2 you get to lead the entire squad for one fight before having to break off back into leading you and a pet. But in this moment, you still only control one pet.

 

It's a great fight though. And fits what you're asking for.

 

Edited by SnoggyMack
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I wish I didn't play the Agent story first, all the other stories have been bland in comparison.

 

That being said I do really like the Smuggler storyline. Doesn't fall into the epic yet cliched 'save the world' thing you have going on with the Jedi Knight or 'being the most powerful, feared sith evaar!' with the Sith Warrior, but thats why I like it. Its one series of amusing shenanigans after another with some witty dialogue, quirky characters and just a taste of the seedy underworld.

 

The Consular story was boring, very boring in fact. The person who called it an 'acquired taste' here I suspect is the one responsible for writing it.

 

The trooper story was meh, but again I don't particularly care for soldier types or anything to do with a military ethos. I just find all that gun-toting and 'get some!' mentality tedious. Though I suspect the class would have been more interesting on the Imperial side.

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The problem with asking which storyline is best is that, for most people, it comes down to personal preference. Some people don't like the Smuggler storyline because its not epic enough for them. That's not a fair critique of the actual storyline. It's more like saying, "I don't like the smuggler storyline because I don't like being a smuggler."

 

The only way to find out which you like is to try them. The only storyline I would say is flat out badly written is the Sith Inquisitor.

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Trooper and Imperial Agent have the best storylines. Smuggler and Consular have been my least favorite.

 

This...This is a weird post.

 

For sure, without a doubt, if you want to play for story: Imperial Agent.

People don't scream IA's story without a reason, it is literally fantastic. So much that the writer was hired off Bioware for bigger projects. Don't worry though, he supposedly has written up to chapter 6 for the IA.

 

I have really heard discouraging thoughts about the Trooper. However, I feel like many expect more war-themes and then are let down when sent on more specific, small strike force teams.

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My stance on Consular is they made the class perfectly to what the character is designed to be; a diplomatic voice of reason with the mindset of helping others in a selfless manner.

 

Unfortunately, as a Jedi Shadow, this just doesn't hold weight at all.

 

Voice of reason? No. Covert operative. Not exactly a public speaker.

 

This is probably the main problem with the JC storyline. It bases itself upon the assumption that you will be a diplomat. Which a Shadow really isn't. Nor should they be. And so the story really only aligns correctly with one AC.

 

And as for helping others, sure. But really only because the alternative dialogue choices make you sound like either a petulant teenager, or an idiot. Commonly, in fact, both.

 

This is really the crux of what annoys me about the JC gameplay; the dialogue. Either you're taking the 'the jedi way is to serve' position, or you sound like a nerf herder who came down on the last shuttle. I've found very few alternatives to the 'holier than thou' approach that aren't completely terrible. And almost every time you try an option that isn't so sickeningly self sacrificing, some NPC or another will chastise you for it.

 

I'm trying to play a neutral jedi, who isn't just a complete tool for the Order and is attempting to look outside the box a little without going batsith crazy. But it's actually quite difficult to achieve. I find myself thinking, 'did I really just say that?' after a large proportion of dialogue choices. Mostly, because I want to be a reasonable, neutral jedi, I've had to plump for the standard, not-a-complete-imbecile option just so I can live with myself after each conversation.

 

I've not had this feeling with the other storylines. I feel I can pay DS or LS warrior with no sense of being compromised. Inquisitor too works well with DS and LS choices. The same for BH, smuggler and IA. JK, I'm not so sure of, having not progressed far and actually playing mine as a compete tool for the Order, and trooper I haven't tried.

 

So, overall, and certainly for my playstyle, the JC story has been rather irritating. The premise is fine, but the execution is poorly thought out and then just badly written. I get what jedi are and how they're generally portrayed, but there are options and alternatives in a game like this that are just begging to be discovered. It's just a shame they were not given due respect in their development.

 

H.

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  • 1 year later...

I'm coming in a little late but I thought I would inject my 2 cents here. I've beaten the Agent, Consular, Warrior, Smuggler, Knight, Bounty Hunter, and Trooper story lines, and I'd say that it's all about the mental state you're going into the story line with.

 

The Bounty Hunter, Smuggler, and Agents were a 3 way tie for me as best story line. Bounty Hunter had a great plot twist in it that really motivated you to dislike the Republic (though they could have done a better job of building it up). The Smuggler was just a blast to play all through, and the Agent is very James Bond.

 

By comparison, if the trooper could seem boring. But being in the military, I really enjoy the mission-oriented nature of the story line. You're not some freelance super hero, you're an elite squad of soldiers and so the story puts you in a place to receive orders and carry out 'difficult' missions as a SpecOps group. It makes sense in that respect and if you keep that in mind, you can see how the missions you perform have a ripple effect in the greater galactic story.

 

With that being said, the Trooper doesn't have the biggest direct hand in anything going on and there aren't many plot twists that give you that 'just saw a good movie/ read a good book' feeling.

 

I enjoyed the Consular story for the record - after the first act anyway - and that class does indeed feel as though you are more directly impacting galactic politics single-handedly. Trooper is more behind-the-scenes making stuff happen without getting much credit beyond praise from your military superiors.

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Jedi Consular story starts boring, but chapter 2 is ok, and chapter 3 is great. Patience required though.

Jedi Knight, good pace changes enough to never get boring, is considered the KOTOR3 story.

Smuggler, irratic story, good in parts, bad in parts, good overall.

Trooper, marmite story (you either love it or hate it) I found in plodding, with you essentially doing the same thing again and again.

 

Bounty Hunter Story, good story, slow starting, and chapter 1 is irrataing in places, but over all good.

Agent, amazing story, best one hands down, most important decisions have an impaxt on the ending, very dynamic.

Sith Warrior, I like it, but it can be considered as just cutting down all opponents, no sublety.

Sith Inquisitor, Great story, ridiculous plot, I loved it.

 

PS the title is Consular, it comes from a diplomatic rank in ambassadors, you might want to change the title.

Edited by AlexDougherty
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I have a Vanguard Trooper, a Shadow and a Sage Consulars, and am now levelling a Scoundrel.

 

Trooper:

I thought this was rather fun. Very survivable class with decent damage, even specced to be a tank. The storyline is a bit bland, but not bad. It does however have what I consider to be the best mission in the game (that I've seen so far).

 

Consular:

I'm probably in the minority here, but I enjoyed the Consular storyline. It gives you a good look at a Consular's duties, even if this does make it feel slightly disjointed, almost like you are playing three different games with the same character. I have a Sorceror healer too, so I can tell you that Consulars can make awesome healers.

 

Smuggler:

Probably the best dialogue, and probably the best combat move (Hoof In The Nads). I'm only just coming up to the end of chapter one though, so can't really comment much on the story. It has been entertaining enough so far though. So far, my Scoundrel is making a pretty good healer.

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Jedi Knight, good pace changes enough to never get boring, is considered the KOTOR3 story.

 

Trooper, marmite story (you either love it or hate it) I found in plodding, with you essentially doing the same thing again and again.

 

Sith Inquisitor, Great story, ridiculous plot, I loved it.

 

Do you not have the Knight and Trooper the wrong way around? I found the Knight storyline to be really boring because every planet was exactly the same mission. Literally.

 

 

 

Oh, look. Yet another Republic supwerweapon has been captured by the Empire. You need to go get it back, or destroy it.

 

 

 

That is all but the entirety of the Jedi Knight storyline. If the JK storyline is considered to be KotOR3, then the KotOR brand has been severely let down.

 

I do, however, agree with you about the Inquisitor. I loved that storyline. It was crazy, yet exactly what you would expect for someone being raised froma slave to use the Dark Side. DS Inquisitor did come across as being somewhat sadistic, but in such a fun way.

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II hate the Trooper's story (I'm still in act 1 , cannot bring myself to finish it), the Consular's story (of my 3 of them, I was only able to level 1 because it is so boring, although the end of act 1 was quite good, imho.

Of all of them, I preferred the Smuggler's story. Installing the feeling of revenge worked very good for me there.

The Jedi Knight's story (I#m still in act 1)is something in the middle, between of them, imho.

Edited by AlrikFassbauer
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Do you not have the Knight and Trooper the wrong way around? I found the Knight storyline to be really boring because every planet was exactly the same mission. Literally.

 

 

 

Oh, look. Yet another Republic supwerweapon has been captured by the Empire. You need to go get it back, or destroy it.

 

 

 

That is all but the entirety of the Jedi Knight storyline. If the JK storyline is considered to be KotOR3, then the KotOR brand has been severely let down.

A legitimate view, personally I was able to see the focus being different for each chapter for the knight.

 

 

Yes, Chapter one was find the superweapon, Chapter 2 was for me defeat individual sith, and chapter 3 was find the corrupted jedi and redeam them. While for me the Trooper story was just follow General Grazas order's, she told you exactly what she wanted for each planet, and accepted virtually no interpretation of her orders, which is why I found it plodding, maybe ds choices would have been better for me.

 

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