Posts Tagged ‘Bounty Hunter’

Bounty Hunter Progression

For players of the ever popular Bounty Hunter class in SWTOR there will be two main choices of pathway, Powertech and Mercenary. These will demonstrate contrasting yet similar play styles, but both will of course focus on hunting down and bring to justice (or at least what is seen as justice on one side) players from the Republic.

Powertech BHs will be one of the most technologically savy classes in the game. Equipped with jet packs and advanced toxins they will make short work of other players, and with such a wide arsenal of weaponry and equipment, they will almost always be able to take advantage of one weakness or another.

In contrast, the Mercenary BH will be more of a heavy duty beat-em-up like class. In later levels players will be equipped with a rocket firing back pack (think Jango Fett), which as shown in the video should take huge chunks out of anything that stands in the Mercenary’s way.

Both classes have a large focus on armour, with them being some of the most well protected players in the game. By the end both will have full face shielding of different varieties and a suit that goes along with it perfectly. The advanced Mercenary suit was perhaps a bit of a surprise, as it looked almost like Daedric armour from the Elder Scrolls series of games, with its many intricate patterns which had not been seen before in a Galaxy far far away.

Regardless of the minute details of the profession’s two paths, BH will be one of the most popular professions in SWTOR purely due to its prominent part in the movies, and of course the freedom and entertainment that comes with hunting down other players when they least expect it.

Bounty Hunter Progression

Bounty Hunter will undoubtedly be one of the most popular classes in Star Wars The Old Republic. This should have been evident from the game’s precursor- Star Wars Galaxies – which was always filled with players trying to ply their trade by hunting down others.

The latest Bounty Hunter progression video shows just how the players of the class will progress as they climbs the ranks of SWTOR. Like other professions, the class separates into two main strains, each with their own special abilities and armoury.

All of the armour and weapons shown so far seem to be very befitting of the way the class has been depicted in previous games and movies.
Many long time fans of the trade may have played Star Wars Bounty Hunter back in the days of Playstation 2. Although it may not have been one of the headline Star Wars games of the console (Battlefront series anyone?) It was certainly up there with the likes of Jedi Starfigher and their many run-offs.

One thing that players of Bounty Hunter might find interesting in SWTOR is sure to be the music, as once again the Game composing legend Jeremy Soule will be on the scene. Although we have not heard much of the game’s soundtrack so far, mainly because no testers are quite game to lose their testing rights, soon all will be revealed with the release in upcoming months. One thing is for sure however, like similarly composed Knights of the Old Republic, the developers will not look past the soundtrack, and every profession and past time, Bounty Hunter included, will have its own theme for players to grow to love.

Nal Hutta

Many Star Wars translators have surely double checked their work when translating Nal Hutta and finding the basic equivalent ‘Glorious Jewel’. Although it may seem like a paradise to the Hutts of The Old Republic, through any other species’ eyes it looks more like endless toxic swamps, with a good dose of dangerous flora and fauna. So bad is the surface, that upper-class Coruscanti families often resort to threatening their children with the idea of moving there.

In at least the universe of SWTOR, Hutta was originally occupied by the Evocii. Unfortunately their business sense must have been about as advanced as their world, so they soon found themselves indebted to the Huttese Gangsters. Things went ok for them, until the Hutts decided they needed a new home world and moved right on in.

The benevolent beings that they are, the Hutts refused to share, and instead enslaved the Evocii which is where we find them during the events of The Old Republic. Hutta is well under Hutt control, although the particular clan in charge has been known to change due to the many internal disputes.

The Hutt clan still remains neutral in the war, however as seen in Fatal Alliance, this may change at any time, as both the Republic and Sith could benefit greatly from an alliance.

Surprisingly, Hutta is the starting point for Bounty Hunters and Imperial Agents. Perhaps Nar Shaddaa would have been a better and more sensible option, however these players will have to do their research on the ‘Glorious Jewel’ instead. This will make Hutta mostly a low level, non-PvP planet, however there are sure to be missions available from the Hutt cartels for the more experienced adventurer.

Bounty Hunter Specialisations

In SWTOR if you cross your allies, or just generally irritate your enemies, a visit from your friendly neighbourhood bounty hunter is inevitable. They are some of the most dangerous characters in The Old Republic and generally stop at nothing to get their jobs done, so whether you are one or fear one it is a good idea to get up to date on what they bring to the battlefield.

There are two main specialisations for Bounty hunters (BHs for short). First is Powertech; this gives the BH highly advanced shields, armour and other defensive items which will make them into walking brick walls. Anyone unfortunate enough to walk into a Powertech hunter needs to either have an ingenious escape plan, or carry a very VERY big stick.

The second specialisation of BH on the prowl is the Mercenary. Mercenary specialised BHs disregard their heavy armour and shields, instead favouring agility and cover to provide their defences. Due to these sacrifices, they are able to carry highly destructive arsenals. These will include heavy blaster rifles, dual pistols, and many forms of explosive ordnance.

If players thought Powertech hunters were hard to take down they will have another thing coming when they run into a Mercenary. Although they may be able to dent the hunter this time, if they give their opponent even a split second opening the fight will more than likely be over. Mercenaries will punish their targets very hard and very very fast.

Another recently revealed aspect of Bounty Hunter is the hunter’s companion, Mako. She is a lithe computer slicer from nar Shaddaa who knows the cities underworld like the back of her hand. With her skills of infiltration and intelligence, and the hunter’s raw fire power, it will be all but impossible for a target to avoid their combined wrath.

Most Bounty Hunters are ambitions enough to eventually want to leave their starting planet, and this is where the KDY D5-Mantis Patrol Craft comes in. This is every hunters dream vessel, bristling with laser cannons and sporting a super fast hyper drive it will be more than a match for any targets hiding in planetary asteroid fields.

With their strong combat skills, expert companion and advanced ship bounty hunters will have all the assets needed to track their foes to the ends of the galaxy, and beyond. Many players in Star Wars The Old Republic may find themselves surrendering to their hunters straight away, as this will surely be better than facing off against these expert mercenaries.

Nar Shaddaa

Nar Shaddaa, the Smuggler’s Moon, is one of the most dangerous and foreboding planets in the galaxy. It orbits the Hutt’s claimed home world, Nal Hutta, so it is a haven for those who scrounge their living from the often unscrupulous masters of crime.

In many ways, Nar Shaddaa is the most similar planet to the galactic capital, Coruscant. It is an endless city with the same tiered living found in the Capital, although it is likely that the highest levels of Nar Shaddaa would have as much class as Bantha poodoo in comparison to even the mid levels of Coruscant.

The lower levels of Nar Shaddaa are really a sight to behold; they show just how lawless, violent and corrupt a planet can get when left completely to its own devices.

Apparently in SWTOR advanced technologies tightly controlled elsewhere in the galaxy can and are developed here, as well as a wide range of other hazardous research. There will also be many heinous experiments in these lower levels, with test subjects rounded up from the local population of passers by.  Any player that adventures this way would have to be incredibly wary of this, less they become an unwitting lab-rat in some criminal enterprises weapon development facility.
Also in the depths of Nar Shaddaa are many inescapable high security prisons, where torture and violence surely abounds. Perhaps players will complete quests to rescue some of these facility’s inhabitants, or even escape from them themselves.

We can expect to see many PvE missions on Nar Shaddaa, as well as numerous underworld contacts for Bounty Hunters and Smugglers to work their trade with (or against).

This will make it a very dangerous planet, although the desirable night life might prove too tempting for some to resist. One thing we can be sure of however, in Star Wars The Old Republic you wont find many more wretched hives of scum and villainy.

Bounty Hunter

The less, lets say, morally constrained, players of SWTOR will have the ability, no, privilege, of playing as a bounty hunter. For a price, they will hunt down and bring to some form of justice republic operatives and law breakers alike.

At this point, the bounty hunter class of Star Wars The Old Republic seems to have a lot, at least visually, in common with the bounty hunters of the Star Wars Films, Boba and Jango Fett. Hopefully however, we will see some significant customisation options so not every hunter in town will be the Heavy armour and jet-pack wearing, flame thrower and rifle wielding clone depicted so far in concept art.

A Player versus Player Bounty hunter system is also something many are looking forward to, however the outlook has been somewhat bleak. PvP action is a big part of any MMORPG, however it is often opposed by the more… carebear… members of the community. To once again take Galaxies as an example, player bounty systems can generate endless content for the hunters and hunted alike, and generally do not disrupt the rest of the game in any fashion. Lets hope SWTOR will take a page out of their predecessor’s book and implement such a system, and not decide to ignore such an easy opportunity for endless content as current rumours suggest they might.

The Fett characters from star wars canon have always been immensely popular with dedicated fans and casual watchers alike. Even though Boba Fett says something like six lines over the two films he features in, he is one of the most revered and intriguing characters, as can be seen from the huge amount of merchandise said character produced. Perhaps it is this lack of speech and action which makes him such an attractive character, as it gives him a shroud of mystery under which to conduct his business.

The bad-ass feeling players get from playing a mercenary class motivated solely by financial gain, such as bounty hunter, will ensure its popularity in SWTOR, and perhaps we will see some players rise to the legendary status of Boba Fett, the character they emulate, within the realm of their server.