I'll be back, Bennett.

by: Tony "RadarX" Jones

Are you the type of person that prefers to shoot first and ask questions later? Is your idea of subtlety the RPG instead of a rocket launcher? Do you have at least a dozen weapons strapped to your person at all times not including grenades? If so, this class in Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa may be exactly what you are looking for. The Commando is the brute force of the AFS military and brings a necessary and powerful skill set from the Tier 3 classes which no squad should be without. They are the traditional "tank" of the MMO game world and are designed to not only take heavy damage but dish it out as well.

How to become a Commando - The Commando is part of the Tier 3 class selection and requires you to follow the Soldier branch. When you gain enough experience to become level 5 you will receive a mission to find the Soldier and Specialist trainer. Choosing the Soldier branch will allow you to continue along until you receive enough experience for level 15 and will need to see a Commando or Ranger trainer. While Commando trainers can be found at many locations, the most accessible is just outside the Foreas Command Center in Foreas Base. After training as a Commando you will receive the following skills:

• Ability: Force Blast
• Ability: Rushing Blow
• Ability: Scourge
• Training: Launchers
• Training: Graviton Body Armor

Abilities:

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Force Blast - Utilize Logos to direct a powerful blast of elemental energy that damages opponents for extreme amounts. What this means is you'll be able to hit your target with devastating blast damage. With only a 1.5 second cool down this ability could be used over and over until you run out of power. It's important to note that it does eat up 5% of adrenaline per shot so you'll need to have killed a few things for it it to work.

Each pump of this skill allows you to use a different damage type. The damage types are as following: Sonic, Photonic (laser), Electromagnetic (EMP), Fire, and Ice. Utilizing your knowledge of various creature weaknesses this is an extremely powerful ability to have available to you.

You'll need to find the Backward Logos which can be located in a rather aggressive area of Bane control to the southwest of the Delta Outpost in Concordia Divide around 290.2, -489.0. You'll also need the Movement Logos which is located in the Crater Lake Research Center at -0.2, 114.9. Finally you'll need the Target Logos which can be found in the Enigma Caverns to the south of Ranja Gorge around -908.6, 188.0, -646.8.

Rushing Blow - Utilize Logos to propel yourself into an opponent using a burst of kinetic energy. Causes heavy damage and knockback to the target.

This ability basically turns you into a linebacker by throwing you at your enemy. This ability can take out a difficult target for a few moments when you are in trouble. Environments can also be used such as cliffs to knock opponents over the edge causing them additional damage. While the basic level will allow to attack from only 20 meters away and knock your opponent back 3 meters, the maximum makes this available from an unbelievable 60 meters and knocks back 15. Pump 3 and later also include reduced recovery time, up to instantaneous recovery at a full Pump 5.

You'll need to find the Self Logos which is on a tiny peninsula in Lake Corman just east of Ranja Gorge around -450.3, -97.3 in Concordia Wilderness. Next you'll need the Projectile Logos which can easily be located right next to Memory Tree around 189.3, 172.9, 256.9. Finally, you'll need the Attack Logos northeast of Twin Pillars around 41.0, 190.0, -332.4.

Scourge - Utilize the power of Logos to stir debris from the surrounding environment into a damaging cloud around the user. All nearby enemies will take injuries from the scourging cloud, which lasts for a long duration.

This ability is pretty self explanatory and is simply an area of effect attack striking everything around the user. This will work very similar to the "Shrapnel" ability the Soldier has in that it will damage anything close by, however unlike Shrapnel there is no material for this required. Additional training in the Scourge skill will not only increase the radius of damage but the amount as well. This particular ability can prove quite useful in areas of high population where the Commando is outnumbered and needs to make a devastating attack.

You'll need to locate the Self Logos which is on a tiny peninsula in Lake Corman just east of Ranja Gorge around -450.3, -97.3 in Concordia Wilderness, the Damage Logos in Pinhole Falls around 406.4, 244.6, 438.1, and the Around Logos in Crater Lake Research in the pens around 18.1, -11.8.

Training

Launchers - Allows the use of Rocket-Propelled Grenade (RPG) and Rocket Launcher weapons. These weapons fire explosive self-propelled charges towards enemies, damaging them directly and doing collateral explosion damage around the target. Each skill level gained adds 10% damage bonus to these weapons. At Pump 3 you gain the ability to more rapidly reload Rocket Launchers, and to stun targets with a Grenade Launcher. Pump 5 gives a 40% weapon damage bonus, 60% Reload time decrease and 50% stun chance.

Unique to the Commando class is the ability to utilize two very powerful weapons. The Rocket Launcher is an extremely slow but deadly weapon causing a great amount of damage. Now while some would argue they aren't that powerful, they are an extremely useful weapon for an opening area of effect attack (optimal at 60 meters) but their slow reload does keep them from getting out of hand. The other weapon available to the Commando is the Rocket-Propelled Grenade (RPG) launcher. This weapon is useful at closer range having an optimum distance of 40 meters, and like the launcher hits with an area of effect that dissipates as you move from the point of impact. The splash damage makes holding a CP a lot of fun.

Gravitron Armor - Allows the use of Graviton Body Armor. Graviton Body Armor offers greatly improved protection from knockback and stun effects. These protections are improved with better training and are based on the number of pieces of Graviton Body Armor worn.

Graviton Armor is hands down the most powerful armor in the game providing extreme protection to the users against not only damage but the adverse affects of battle. Providing the best absorption and recharge it is the clear choice over Reflective or Motor Assist. Each training skill level you increase will provide a +3% additional bonus to both stun and knockback per piece. What this means is, with a full set at level 5 you'll receive a +75% bonus to avoid both effects.