In every new MMOG there will be inevitable comparisons to classes and content. Star Wars: The Old Republic’s (SWTOR) Smuggler class has at times been likened to World of Warcraft’s (WoW) Hunter, but SWTOR’s Principle Lead Combat Designer Georg "Observer" Zoeller recently caught sight of this discussion on the official forums and took to the boards to set the record straight and clarify some of the finer points of Smuggler PvP.

In response to discussion hinting at the Smuggler’s similarities to WoW’s Hunter, Zoeller responded:

A Smuggler can be a Medic, healing and supporting his allies.



A Smuggler can be a marksman, entrenched in cover and decimating the enemy with devastating single target attacks.



A Smuggler can be an explosives specialist, leaving craters and blown up Imperial squads in his wake.



A Smuggler can be a stealthy mid range scrapper, approaching enemies unseen and hitting them hard with his scatter gun.



A Smugger can be a daring risk taker, running and gunning into close range and finishing enemies with a few good kicks into places where it hurts.



A Smuggler can be a Smuggler, delivering his group behind enemy lines unseen.



As you can see, saying 'a Smuggler plays like this class from another game' is never going to be terribly accurate. I'd say, it's probably wrong.

Zoeller also expanded on the Smuggler’s usefulness in PvP and how when ignored can mean a quick and surprising end to an unsuspecting team. Smugglers also seem to be good guards for PvP choke points. Keep reading to find out what I mean.

For the cover specs, cover is very viable in PvP. The ability to entrench grants them immunity from a wide range of effects, including ballistics and makes them impossible to charge. Their superior range means they are guaranteed to get the first shot, which could be a powerful alpha strike, a snare or one of several other options.



An entrenched sniper guarding a choke point like a bridge on the Voidstar or objective in a Warzone is painful for most solo classes to deal with. If you get a sniper or gunslinger with cover spec set up in your flank during a battle and don't do something about it, expect the fight to be over quick.



In our last round of testing, I've seen a single Smuggler guarding a bridge wiping out four attackers trying to swarm him by sending them into the bottomless with a well timed cover pulse. Granted, they weren't exactly smart charging him head on, but these things happen when people get overconfident.



A number of interesting mechanics, such as the powerful Cover Pulse AOE defense and the ability to instant snipe for a short duration after exiting cover allow characters that got surprised to regain control of the situation or transition into an organized retreat.



Of course, cover based classes are not suited for all roles equally (few classes are) and the cover gameplay is surely not for everyone, especially not people who just like to charge into the fray. Playing in our Alderaan Warzone for example, cover based classes are more likely to act as defenders than scouts and that requires patience and tactical movement to be successful. Charging head on into a Lightsaber wielding enemy is a very good way of getting a free speeder ride in these scenarios.



We don't expect them to be as wildly popular as a Jedi Knight or Consular, it is definitely a class that is harder to master than most, but I do think that players who like this kind gameplay will be satisfied with their options here and do well in competitive PvP.

Regardless of your class choice, the Smuggler class certainly seems to be just as brazen as Han Solo.


To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Star Wars: The Old Republic Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

About The Author

Stacy "Martuk" Jones was a long-time news editor and community manager for many of our previous game sites, such as Age of Conan. Stacy has since moved on to become a masked super hero, battling demons in another dimension.

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