This guide is from pre-3.3 SWTOR, originally posted on SWTORHUB.com

The Jedi Shadow is a melee DPS / Tank with short range abilities, like Project. This makes it a strong competitor when it comes to short range combat; however, Jedi Shadows have no self or targeted healing outside of a few situational abilities and talents. This means that survivability comes down to either companion healing, group healing, or slaying the enemy before they slay you. Luckily, even though Shadows are light armor wearers, they get a strong boost in their defense thanks to shield generators.

Jedi Shadows choose their playstyle by activating different lightsaber techniques which reflect either damage or tanking. These techniques drastically affect gameplay and synergize with their abilities in order to enable a Jedi Shadow to hold the attention of the enemy or pummel it into the ground.  There are three techniques: Combat Technique (Tanking), Force Technique (DPS), and Shadow Technique (DPS).

Combat Technique: This gives the Jedi Shadow’s attacks the ability to drain life from the enemy, boosts threat generation, increases armor (150%) and shield chance (20%), and reduces bonus damage.

Force Technique: Adds additional lightning damage.

Shadow Technique: Adds additional lightning damage, much more damage than Lightning Charge.

Jedi Shadows equip shields along with light armor, making them fairly weak in the defense department, but with Combat Technique, the armor becomes much greater and the shield chance increases greatly, making them a real tank. So don’t let the armor fool you, robes can take a beating when you have the force on your side.

The different techniques come with an extra special boost. They can be “breached” for additional effects. Force Technique adds a DoT (damage over time) debuff, Combat Technique hits five nearby enemies for a small amount of damage and reduces their accuracy, and Combat Technique deals direct damage. Force Breach is one of the most powerful abilities in the Shadow’s damage rotation, so make sure to use it liberally.

The other unique trait of the Shadow is their ability to stealth. It works like the other stealth classes stealth. Stealth is a great way to position you for positional attacks (such as Shadow Strike) and to avoid combat when attempting to explore the various planets. It has an even bigger role in PvP, allowing a Shadow to sneak in for a kill or to take an objective unnoticed.

Stealth is broken on combat and while activating many of the various quest objectives. Those who put their points into the Infiltration tree will find that their stealth is more efficient, but that doesn't negate its usefulness to a Kinectic Combat Shadow. Stealth is a great positional tool, allowing a Shadow to move into the perfect spot before combat without being seen.

Choose your Destiny

Why should you pick the Jedi Shadow? First, let’s look at the two options that you have when you hit level 10 as a Jedi Consular. The first option is the Jedi Consular, which is a ranged DPS/healer and the other a Jedi Shadow which is a melee DPS/tank. While they share abilities, the Sage gets a range bonus and a bigger Force pool, making the ranged attacks much more effective. The Shadow gets the ability to wield a double bladed lightsaber and a shield, which increases its defense and melee attack. They can also stealth, something a Sage cannot do.

Which is better? Well, they’re both the same, it depends on your playstyle. If you’re new to the game, then you’ll want to think about how you played your consular to level 10. If you used mostly the Force based abilities then a Sage might be a better fit. However, if you were in the heat of battle throwing your lightsaber around then the Shadow might be for you.

Compared to the other classes, the Shadow is more of a “magical” tank. There is a lot of flashy Force based attacks that help break up the melee combat and the primary tanking rotation involves Project, which is a fun skill to use. They’re competitive and on par with any other tank in the game, it’s just their playstyle is a bit different. If you like the “look” and “feel” of the class, then you’re good to go.

Equipment

Jedi Shadows have a single primary stat: Willpower. The secondary stat is, of course, Endurance. The rest of the stats don’t give very much benefit. Luckily, most Republic side Light Armor comes drenched in Willpower and Willpower mods are obviously abundant as you level.

Mods come in two different flavors, Willpower heavy or Endurance heavy. Melee DPS Shadows will want to pick the mods with higher Willpower while tanking Shadows will want more Endurance.

For weapons, the double bladed lightsaber is king and again, the same thing applies. Tanking Shadows will want weapons with more Endurance while melee DPS will want more Willpower.

At later levels, gear will start to show up with additional stats such as Absorption Rating and Defense. Melee DPS Shadows will want to go for more Alacrity (attack speed), Power (attack strength), Surge, and Critical Strike while tanking Shadows will want more Defense (block, parry, dodge), Absorption (amount the shield absorbs), and Shield Rating. All Shadows will, of course, want Accuracy.

In PvP, the tanking type Shadow may want to go for more offense and less defense, as the defense stats generally are less efficient in a PvP environment.