May the Force Be With You: A newbie's guide to the Jedi Profession
Star Wars Galaxies correspondent Thomas Allegood takes us from Padawan Learner to Jedi Master in this guide to Jedi in SWG.
The powerful Jedi, once the guardians of the galaxy, now reduced to a handful of warriors, hiding from persecution from Imperials and Rebels alike. The Jedi class is the only post-NGE class that is focused primarily upon melee weapons and close-quarters combat. As a Jedi, you will primarily use swords until level 26, and lightsabers afterwards. You will also be able to use a variety of Force powers from the movies and other games based on the Star Wars universe.
As you start out in the tutorial area, Tansarii Point Station, you will be introduced to your Jedi trainer and obtain your first weapon. This two-handed weapon will be your best friend until you find a better weapon. With enough foraging, you can find a Two-Handed Sith Sword which you can find by fighting CL5 enemies on all floors. By now, you should be at least CL1 and have your first Strike skill, Shiim. This is a powerful attack that should defeat any enemy, or at least get it down to almost no health. As you continue your starter quest for your profession, you will also receive your standard-issue Padawan robe, and your starter accessory. Both increase your agility, making it harder for your opponents to do damage.
At CL4, you will unlock your first few Force powers: Force Throw and Force Focus. Force Throw is a great way to pull an enemy that is dangerously close to other aggressive enemies. Force Focus is your first toggle skill, which improves various stats focused on dealing damage. As you level up, this Focus will become stronger. At CL7 you will unlock Force Stance, which reduces damage received, making you capable of tanking. You also then are capable of going Palpatine on everyone and use Force Lightning 1: Spark. I would suggest staying on Tansarii Station until you have finished all quests in space, on the station, and on Gamma Station. This will allow for you to start the next phase of your adventure with relative ease, and with a strong knowledge of what your skills are, and how they work.
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After you leave Tansarii Station, you will begin your training on the quiet planet of Tatooine. Everyone starts here, and it is the best place to meet new friends, and possibly find a nice guild to join. Many recruiters hang out near the Mos Eisley spaceport in order to expand their guild, so don't be afraid to ask around if you're interested in joining a guild. Also, now would be a good time to look around and learn about the various economic systems in place. Near the spaceport, you will find the bank, where you can deposit your credits and extra items you want to keep for safe keeping. You will also find the bazaar terminals. These are the central hubs of the economy for Star Wars Galaxies. I would suggest putting the spare spacecraft parts that you looted on sale for around 1000 credits. This will help out later when you decide that you want that fancy Swoop that's up for sale. If the Bazaar doesn't have what you want for sale, you can click the Vendor Search button to find NPC vendors that are controlled by other players, and see if they might have what you want.
Now that you have the economy figured out, its now time to begin your epic struggle against the Empire, or perhaps the Rebellion. Now, you don't have to join a faction, but it will help you out a bit. You will be able to obtain certain special items as you advance in your Galactic Civil War rank. You can increase your rank by killing enemy faction NPCs to gain GCW points.
If you have reached CL10, you will have learned that you don't just gain skills by leveling up, you can also allocate Expertise Points to obtain new skills, and empower your old ones. Personally, I started out working on my General skills tab, but you can also allocate points to your Path. Your Path decides what kind of Jedi you will be. You could be a Light Jedi which primarily tanks, or you can be a powerful Dark Jedi which is capable of doing high amounts of damage in a very small amount of time.
You think you're done? Not so fast. There is a specific quest line for new players, called the Legacy quests. These quests allow for a newbie player to get accustomed to combat, various points of interest, learn about various planets, and even interact with certain famous characters from the Star Wars universe. Your Legacy quest line will take you all across the galaxy, and not to mention, get you up to around CL45-50 in the process. You will also receive plenty of credits, and various kinds of equipment from your rewards. I would say, for now, this is your best bet of getting a good, firm hold on the game. By now, you're probably asking me "Where's my lightsaber?" Don't fret, you'll get it soon enough. After all, no modern Jedi can magically wield such a powerful weapon. You have to have years of training. But luckily, we don't have to wait for years to get our hands on the most awesome weapon of all time, just have to level up to CL26. At 26, after completing a small quest, you receive your first lightsaber, the Training Lightsaber. This is the most basic of lightsabers, but is much more powerful than any other melee weapon you can get at that level. It can hold one color crystal and, by now, you should already have one or two in your inventory. If not, you can find plenty on the local Bazaar. As you continue to level up, you will receive your second lightsaber, the First Generation Lightsaber at 30. This weapon can hold one color crystal and one power crystal. It doesn't stop there though. Every few levels, you will learn how to construct stronger, better looking lightsabers by using materials purchased from vendors across the galaxy. Also, you will be able to learn how to make the strongest sabers in the game by completing certain quests and fighting certain bosses.
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As a Jedi, you won't have to worry about credits too incredibly much, as you won't have to buy most of your gear. The majority of your equipment can be farmed from enemies, and the rest you can quest for. Which, if you decided to get a guild, you can probably get one of your CL90 guild mates to give you a hand, making it extremely easy. You will also need to remember that every 20 levels, you should try to find yourself a new robe. At CL20, you receive your Initiates robe, but thats not quite going to get you to CL90, now is it? Ask around in your guild, as you get close to CL40, CL60, and CL80, on where to obtain your new robe, or use various other online resources. Also, ALWAYS remember to get higher quality power crystals for your saber as you become higher level. These will save your neck.
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When you reach CL80 and higher, you should stop by Tyrenia on Corellia and speak to a certain Jedi by the name of Matareno. He will give you your mastery quest. This is what separates the men from the boys, so to speak. As you begin completing the segments of this quest, you will learn how to build the fifth-generation lightsabers, gain a powerful meditation skill, obtain a powerful belt, and, last but not least, obtain the most powerful cloaks: the Cloak of Hate and the Shatterpoint Cloak. You can begin the holocron collecting for your belt and meditation earlier. If you choose to start early, your path will be very difficult, as the holocrons usually are very expensive and they only drop from CL60+ Force sensitive NPCs.
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Now, enjoy your new-found power, and, as the Jedi of old would say, may the Force be with you, always.
