Jump to content

Does Anyone Like Sgt. Rusk? (some spoilers)


Pilgrim_Grey

Recommended Posts

Really curious on this one, as he is the main companion out of the storylines I have played a lot that I don't like (I've played all or a good amount of the Jedi Knight, Smuggler, and Trooper stories). I suppose Tanno Vik comes close, because he's so different from most of the companions for the Trooper, but man... Sgt. Rusk just does nothing to win me over.

 

I don't even know WHY he joined my group. He worked with me on Hoth, consistently overtasking his soldiers and showing no sympathy for them whatsoever (and doing little to make me want him on my team, unilke every other companion that joins the Jedi Knight). Even if I had been playing Dark Side, I doubt I would have liked him--his squads consistently have low morale and high casualties. Heh, the storyline doesn't come out and say it, but I almost felt like getting him off planet was in his best interest so his own men didn't mutiny (and the base commander wasn't sure what to do with him, either).

 

After that, he's more of a robot than T7. They obviously modeled T7 on R2-D2 (which means he's going to be likeable), but come on. Rusk only talks about percentages and rarely gains affection from conversation choices I would think he would agree with, like helping other soldiers and such.

 

I obviously don't click with Lord Scourge as much since I'm light side, but I can at least respect him. He bided his time and was more of a noble warrior than anything. Rusk doesn't really exemplify any of the Republic's virtues at all, at least that we are allowed to see. He's all about efficiency and getting the job done, which gives me very little to like about him.

 

Now, I'm still getting him to max affection (mostly with gifts), but at 6-7k, I haven't seen much to like at all. Even his past experiences with other squads show little about him to like... and that's where most companions get more interesting. I didn't like Aric Jorgan first on my Trooper, but his backstory really helped show who he was, and at least showed aspects of him you could respect, even if he kept being gruff.

Edited by Pilgrim_Grey
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like him, besides his buggy cannon. He's not a *********** whimp like the other 3 you get before him.

Gave mine the BFG from the latest cartel pack, along with the biggest armour I could find, augmented, modded with 66s and 69s. Mows down enemies, looks badarse, enough to take him for a spin from time to time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sgt. who? Oh right...Rusk...that pointy headed lump of uselessness that I have to look at every time I go in and out of my ship. I wish I could swap the places my companions hang out on my ship. I'd put T7 in his place so we could high five when I'm coming and going instead of having to look at that ugly mug. I would cover his face with a helmet, but alas, that's not a viable solution. Bioware should implement a special paper bag helmet for Rusk only so that I don't have to look at his face. Or maybe one where I can just push him out of the airlock. I have a standing rule that he always wears the handmaiden skirt because his tough guy attitude drives me insane and I want to take him down a peg.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

All ingame companions are meant to meld with each kind of take you can have for your Character. Since the Knight is essentially a Holy Warrior fighting the good fight, we get these: T7 goes with straight up stereotypical Lightside Jedi. Kira is the former with some personality and a disregard for rules and authority. Doc is for the Jedi in it for the Fame and Glory. Sergeant Rusk is for the patriotic defender of the Republic that believes the ends justify the means, Scourge is for straight up Dark Jedi. If Rusk fits your idea of the Jedi Knight, he works well. Since if I was the Knight I would be somewhere between Kira's and Doc's outlook, I play my Sentinel that way. Edited by Emperor-Norton
Link to comment
Share on other sites

All ingame companions are meant to meld with each kind of take you can have for your Character. Since the Knight is essentially a Holy Warrior fighting the good fight, we get these: T7 goes with straight up stereotypical Lightside Jedi. Kira is the former with some personality and a disregard for rules and authority. Doc is for the Jedi in it for the Fame and Glory. Sergeant Rusk is for the patriotic defender of the Republic that believes the ends justify the means, Scourge is for straight up Dark Jedi. If Rusk fits your idea of the Jedi Knight, he works well. Since if I was the Knight I would be somewhere between Kira's and Doc's outlook, I play my Sentinel that way.

 

That's what I'm saying, though, Rusk is too much of a robot to like: all the other ones reveal their character a lot more "humanly," making it easier to like them, or at least understand them. Maybe if they brought out WHY he was the way he is, or even had a more heartfelt discussion of it then "if I do this, I'll up combat efficiency by 20%," I'd like him more. While I don't agree with Scourge (I think I lost 1000 affection with him in the confrontation with the Emperor, because I wanted to help my team too much), I understand him a lot more as a character and don't mind having him on my team. Rusk... just feels like an accident or a charity case. Like MightyAl said, he's almost mentally deranged--there might have been a "Mutiny on the Bounty" on Hoth if I hadn't yanked him out of there.

 

This is the first companion I've felt this way about, to be honest. I just started a new Operative, and while my orderly Chiss Intelligence Agent doesn't quite click with Kaliyo over her violent tendencies, he's already seeing a more "human" side over her as they both face alien discrimination at the hands of other officers.

 

Making it even funnier for me is that the guy that voiced Rusk sounds like Elaine's boyfriend, David Puddy (also known for his work on The Emperor's New Groove and Rules of Engagement). It's not the same guy, I know, but the expectation of comedy from that voice makes for somewhat hilarious results with how Rusk's character plays out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

He seemed kind of squeezed in, too. Like we have to give you a certain number of companions so we'd better quickly stuff this one in here. Felt like he was only around for ten minutes or so before Scourge popped up. And Scourge, being far more interesting and cool, became my travelling companion for a long while after that, which pretty much meant that I never went on any adventures with Rusk (until I decided to crank him out later to work on his achievement scores while farming planetary comms).

 

So it's not so much that I don't like him, more that I never really got to know him. Getting back to the ship after a hard day's grind I'd be up those stairs and be all "who's that guy over there, again?"

 

 

I'd much prefer it if Scourge stood there, so I could say "How's it hanging, Scourgy-baby?" every time I get on my ship. He sulks somewhere down in the guts of my ship where I never see him, glaring at my astromech vendor droid, and daring it to make fun of the awful bright and cheery clothes I've put him in.

Edited by PLynkes
Link to comment
Share on other sites

i was leveling an alt with my gf and another friend. my gf is leveling a sentinel and we get to the point where she picked up rusk as a companion. i immediately blurted out 'i keep forgetting that rusk is a companion that exists in this game'

 

he's so forgettable and unimportant.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Really curious on this one, as he is the main companion out of the storylines I have played a lot that I don't like (I've played all or a good amount of the Jedi Knight, Smuggler, and Trooper stories). I suppose Tanno Vik comes close, because he's so different from most of the companions for the Trooper, but man... Sgt. Rusk just does nothing to win me over.

 

I don't even know WHY he joined my group. He worked with me on Hoth, consistently overtasking his soldiers and showing no sympathy for them whatsoever (and doing little to make me want him on my team, unilke every other companion that joins the Jedi Knight). Even if I had been playing Dark Side, I doubt I would have liked him--his squads consistently have low morale and high casualties. Heh, the storyline doesn't come out and say it, but I almost felt like getting him off planet was in his best interest so his own men didn't mutiny (and the base commander wasn't sure what to do with him, either).

 

After that, he's more of a robot than T7. They obviously modeled T7 on R2-D2 (which means he's going to be likeable), but come on. Rusk only talks about percentages and rarely gains affection from conversation choices I would think he would agree with, like helping other soldiers and such.

 

I obviously don't click with Lord Scourge as much since I'm light side, but I can at least respect him. He bided his time and was more of a noble warrior than anything. Rusk doesn't really exemplify any of the Republic's virtues at all, at least that we are allowed to see. He's all about efficiency and getting the job done, which gives me very little to like about him.

 

Now, I'm still getting him to max affection (mostly with gifts), but at 6-7k, I haven't seen much to like at all. Even his past experiences with other squads show little about him to like... and that's where most companions get more interesting. I didn't like Aric Jorgan first on my Trooper, but his backstory really helped show who he was, and at least showed aspects of him you could respect, even if he kept being gruff.

 

I completely agree man, he doesn't even do that much dps so hes kinda useless. Really the only comp you will need is Doc he works great for me especially since im a tank so me and him working together we are invulnerable. Also another reason he is useless is you get an awesome new companion right after Hoth.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rusk is my favourite companion in whole game. Don't you dare insult him.

 

He is the kind of man who gets stuff done. I play as the woman who gets stuff done. He is my perfect companion and we have huge killcount together.

 

If only all his abilities worked properly. I sometimes switch him with Kira, who is also nice, but too emotional. TBH I'd rather wonder why does Scourge slack around. I don't hate that guy, but his work is done, he is not needed in my crew anymore, I could use more soldiers. Give me Yuun or someone instead of him. I'd also trade my T7 for M1-4X, but guess an astromech unit comes in handy at times. If I could only wipe his memory and make him actually useful astromech instead of blabbering box of screws.

 

But Rusk would be my fighting buddy of choice over anyone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

After maxing out affection on all companions to get a better sense of their background the only ones I don't like are Rusk and Skadge (BH melee tank). Rusk is just poorly done- his voiceover is weak and he's very 2 dimensional. Skadge is also 2 dimensional- one of those dimensions is just being an over the top sadist. Neither have a good reason for joining your crew. They're just shoehorned into your story.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Really curious on this one, as he is the main companion out of the storylines I have played a lot that I don't like (I've played all or a good amount of the Jedi Knight, Smuggler, and Trooper stories). I suppose Tanno Vik comes close, because he's so different from most of the companions for the Trooper, but man... Sgt. Rusk just does nothing to win me over.

 

...

 

After that, he's more of a robot than T7. They obviously modeled T7 on R2-D2 (which means he's going to be likeable), but come on. Rusk only talks about percentages and rarely gains affection from conversation choices I would think he would agree with, like helping other soldiers and such.

 

I obviously don't click with Lord Scourge as much since I'm light side, but I can at least respect him. He bided his time and was more of a noble warrior than anything. Rusk doesn't really exemplify any of the Republic's virtues at all, at least that we are allowed to see. He's all about efficiency and getting the job done, which gives me very little to like about him.

 

Now, I'm still getting him to max affection (mostly with gifts), but at 6-7k, I haven't seen much to like at all. Even his past experiences with other squads show little about him to like... and that's where most companions get more interesting. I didn't like Aric Jorgan first on my Trooper, but his backstory really helped show who he was, and at least showed aspects of him you could respect, even if he kept being gruff.

 

If each companion is supposed to click into a certain part of the typical jedi knight story, then Rusk could actually be your standard clone trooper that would follow around in Episode 2-3. Of course, it would be better if you could put a helmet over his head, but, hey, nothing is perfect.

 

Scourge was actually the result of a few darkside points for me, because I respected the guy too much to outright reject his views, and I honestly can't think of Sith being evil by default. The sith code does allow for light side, it's just a matter of "might makes right", so if you've got the muscle to back it up, you can be a lightsided sith all you want. Anyone who disagrees should speak with your lightsaber.

 

Problem is, most Sith are Sith because the Sith code lets them be puppy-kicking bastards, and any light sided sith they will relish killing with impunity before said Sith can get powerful enough to stand up for themselves.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If each companion is supposed to click into a certain part of the typical jedi knight story, then Rusk could actually be your standard clone trooper that would follow around in Episode 2-3. Of course, it would be better if you could put a helmet over his head, but, hey, nothing is perfect.

 

The main thing is

 

a)clones showed more personality

b)had better voices

c)actually had helmets on instead of the ugliest face after Khem Val

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rusk is my favourite companion in whole game. Don't you dare insult him.

 

He is the kind of man who gets stuff done. I play as the woman who gets stuff done. He is my perfect companion and we have huge killcount together.

 

I can understand wanting to use him in a fight if you want DPS, he's not shabby there. But the rest of what you said would really only hold true for me if he had any personality.

 

He gets stuff done more robotically than any other robot in the Star Wars universe... seriously, your ship's robot has more of a personality. He doesn't talk about adjusting your companion's caloric intake due to being too thick, etc. He just goes on about percentages and doesn't seem to care for anything else.

 

There are ways to portray a monolith that gets things done and is still likeable--check any classic action movie, for instance. I forget what the native american character's name is in Predator, but he had what... 2-3 lines in the movie, and you just know how tough he is and hate it when he dies.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Really curious on this one, as he is the main companion out of the storylines I have played a lot that I don't like (I've played all or a good amount of the Jedi Knight, Smuggler, and Trooper stories). I suppose Tanno Vik comes close, because he's so different from most of the companions for the Trooper, but man... Sgt. Rusk just does nothing to win me over.

 

I don't even know WHY he joined my group. He worked with me on Hoth, consistently overtasking his soldiers and showing no sympathy for them whatsoever (and doing little to make me want him on my team, unilke every other companion that joins the Jedi Knight). Even if I had been playing Dark Side, I doubt I would have liked him--his squads consistently have low morale and high casualties. Heh, the storyline doesn't come out and say it, but I almost felt like getting him off planet was in his best interest so his own men didn't mutiny (and the base commander wasn't sure what to do with him, either).

 

After that, he's more of a robot than T7. They obviously modeled T7 on R2-D2 (which means he's going to be likeable), but come on. Rusk only talks about percentages and rarely gains affection from conversation choices I would think he would agree with, like helping other soldiers and such.

 

I obviously don't click with Lord Scourge as much since I'm light side, but I can at least respect him. He bided his time and was more of a noble warrior than anything. Rusk doesn't really exemplify any of the Republic's virtues at all, at least that we are allowed to see. He's all about efficiency and getting the job done, which gives me very little to like about him.

 

Now, I'm still getting him to max affection (mostly with gifts), but at 6-7k, I haven't seen much to like at all. Even his past experiences with other squads show little about him to like... and that's where most companions get more interesting. I didn't like Aric Jorgan first on my Trooper, but his backstory really helped show who he was, and at least showed aspects of him you could respect, even if he kept being gruff.

 

Hmm. I don't use him much since I mostly use Doc in combat (healer... nuff said) but when I do pull out Sgt. Rusk I pretty much get high approval with him all the time. Then during his companion conversations, I talk to him and get 300+ approval from one conversation choice, I'm not exaggerating.

 

His "problem" is that he's willing to die for the Republic. He demands that every soldier under his command be willing to die for the Republic. If you think that you are going to die trying to complete the mission, suck it up. You're a soldier of the Republic. You signed up, you agreed your life belongs to the Republic, and if that means you die, then so be it. Which, granted is VERY dark side attitude when it means you are willing to accept casualties like that.

 

Look at it another way... played Mass Effect? Sgt. Rusk is like an Earthborn Ruthless Renegade Shepard. So, if you are playing your Jedi as a Paragon (light side), or even being a Renegade Jedi (Dark) but without the "ruthless" attitude implied by the "ruthless" history on Shepard, then you're going to find his attitude not meshing with your attitude.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I actually really like Rusk, he's probably my second favorite companion. My Jedi Guardian was a dark side, defeat the empire at any cost kind of jedi, and as such, he and Rusk really clicked. Plus, after having to put up with the rest of the Republic army being entirely useless for the game, it really felt like Rusk and his squad were contributing to the mission. If the general on Hoth had stepped up and assigned Rusk to my team, I would have happily chosen the dialogue option to request him.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I actually really like Rusk, he's probably my second favorite companion. My Jedi Guardian was a dark side, defeat the empire at any cost kind of jedi, and as such, he and Rusk really clicked. Plus, after having to put up with the rest of the Republic army being entirely useless for the game, it really felt like Rusk and his squad were contributing to the mission. If the general on Hoth had stepped up and assigned Rusk to my team, I would have happily chosen the dialogue option to request him.

 

I finally finished chapter 2.

 

Talk about forcing a companion onto you.

 

I had thought Doc felt really forced...but he was nothing compared to Rusk.

 

Granted, I completely understand that he was an integral "behind the scenes" part of the Hoth missions...but he is never even a guest companion during the Hoth story line.

 

Then at the end...some general orders you to take him...even if you say no. How is that possible? I thought Jedi Knights were above military ranks.

 

Then you go from Hoth to rushining the emperor and being put under Sith control.

 

Doc and Rusk just make no sense as forced companions.

 

I completely understand T7, Kira, and the Emperors Wrath...but Doc and Rusk should have been optional.

Edited by VitalityPrime
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think what would have been better if they really wanted Rusk to be used would have made him a ranged healer and had Doc be the ranged DPS.

 

As Sentinel DPS its pretty much doc or kira. \As a guardian tank, could see some use in rusk. Never really understood why anyone would use scourge

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think what would have been better if they really wanted Rusk to be used would have made him a ranged healer and had Doc be the ranged DPS.

 

As Sentinel DPS its pretty much doc or kira. \As a guardian tank, could see some use in rusk. Never really understood why anyone would use scourge

 

For me...it's not even about what they bring to the table for combat. It's about story...and whether or not it makes sense for the story.

 

That's why for actual planet wide missions...It's always Kira and my Guardian.

 

For the Jedi Knight story...they just make the most sense for any mission. Unless the storyline calls for something different...such as Ord Mantell with T7, etc.

 

While Doc was still somewhat "forced"...his guest companion mission at least had storyline backing it. However, him joining you on your ship and mission made no sense.

 

Rusk being forced on you was completely absurd...and made absolutely no sense at all.

 

Scourge joining you and your mission made complete storyline sense.

 

 

EDIT: The worst part about Rusk...is that he is right THERE...everytime you get on your ship. At the very least, they should switch the places of him and T7.

Edited by VitalityPrime
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I

 

I completely understand T7, Kira, and the Emperors Wrath...but Doc and Rusk should have been optional.

 

No, because then people would take the option to not take them, then complain that they don't have a healer, or they don't have as many companions for crafting.

 

It's like in beta it was possible to kill your companions (in fact, one warrior companion I wish it still was. I totally would give him up now that I can replace his combat role with Treek) but people actually DID... and realized that with no going back, they were screwed.

 

Now, granted maybe a better writing job on why you agree to take them with you, but to actually make them optional.... Just not possible.

 

Actually I like Doc and Rusk, and agreed to let them come with me on my Sentinel, the real "*** WHY IS THIS PERSON ON MY SHIP" for me (and really don't know any players I've seen say "Yeah, I totally would take him, he's awesome!") is the Bounty Hunter companion, um can't even remember his name now... but you get him on Belsavis, he's a psychopathic killer that should have been thrown back into his jail cell and had the door controls fused shut, not taken with me...

 

There is one other BH companion a lot of people have a problem with and that's the one on Tatooine... I'll talk about it in spoiler tags.

 

 

After chasing Tyresus Lokai across Tatooine, when you finally confront him he tells you that he has a clone he created to try to fake his death and run away. If you agree to take his clone in for the bounty, he'll join you and change his name to Gault. Which, you agree to. Because you have no choice. Because he's a story companion. As I was trying to stick to the Bounty Hunter's Creed as much as possible, I particularly hated it, because I was actually decieving my employer... really bothered me. I mean, I LIKE Gault, but the way he was introduced, as a player trying to follow the Creed (which other than that I found very easy, as long as you look at the Great Hunt being a special case that negates the "don't interfere with another's bounty" part)

 

Edited by AbsolutGrndZero
Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...