An update on Republic Trooper and a massive thank you to all of our readers!

Written By: Andy Muchmore

This past week, July 2nd to be exact, Republic Trooper turned 1 – happy birthday RT! Although it is our birthday week, I felt it was appropriate to update all of you with the status of RT as a whole. Obviously over the past several months things have slowed to a crawl and I would like to personally address the situation.

Three years ago a very good friend of mine, Dave, approached me with the idea of RepublicTrooper.com. At the time I was neck deep in other projects and I was unavailable to help out, even though I was eagerly following the development of Star Wars: The Old Republic. Over the years I would get phone calls, emails, texts, and the like asking if and when I would be available to “make it happen.” Around May of last year I was finally in a place where I could offer my services to Dave and help build Republic Trooper from the ground up. After several months of planning and development RT saw its first public reader and we were off to the races!

Since that time RT has seen tremendous growth and acceptance within the overall Star Wars: The Old Republic community – and I have to say, all of us cannot thank you enough for being readers, listeners, fans, and for not only playing the Trooper class in game, but being believers in BioWare and SWTOR to begin with. When RT went live we were woefully late to the game, in terms of established fan sites, but we did this for the love of the game, the love of the class, and to be honest – the love of the company that made it all happen. As long time gamers we had faith that a company like BioWare would, without a doubt, blow our minds with their new MMO.

Tags: Andy Muchmore, Ask A Jedi, beta, Bioware, Blizzard, Blizzard Entertainment, community, David Bass, David Souza, EA, Early Game Access, Electronic Arts, fan fiction, LucasArts, Mike Kern, MMOs, Patch 1.1, Project Titan, R2-DB, Republic Trooper, Sith Empire, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Stephen Reid, SWTOR, Titan Everything, TOR, TOR Syndicate, TORWars, Trooper

When it comes to the warfront no class defines the struggle against the Empire the way the Trooper does. Guts and Gunnery is the place that Troopers come to learn all of the tactics they will need to thrive on the PvP battlefront.

On the battlefield, you will face many different kinds of opponents. Chief among them is the healer. Be it the gun-toting mercenary or hate-infused sorcerer, a good healer will keep his team alive longer. Singling out an enemy healer and nullifying their effectiveness is often your only option. To do so, follow the four S’s of healer control.

Tags: Adrenaline Rush, Assault Plastique, Battle Focus, Bioware, Bounty Hunter, Brian Hein, Charged Bolts, Commando, Concussive Charge, Cryo Grenade, Demolition Round, EA, Electronic Arts, Erich Hein, Full Auto, Grav Round, Guard, Hammer Shot, Harpoon, healer, healing, High Impact Bolt, Hold The Line, LucasArts, Mercenary, Neural Surge, PvP, Reactive Shield, Relic of Boundless Ages, Relic of Forbidden Secrets, Riot Strike, Sith Inquisitor, Smoke Grenade, Sorcerer, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Stock Strike, Storm, Supercharge Cells, SWTOR, Tech Override, Tenacity, TOR, Vanguard, Warzone Adrenal, Warzone Medpac, Warzones

When it comes to the warfront no class defines the struggle against the Empire the way the Trooper does. Guts and Gunnery is the place that Troopers come to learn all of the tactics they will need to thrive on the PvP battlefront.

Warzones are a team effort and the Commando, with their giant autocannons and healing probes, can be the ultimate team player. Often times, playing a Commando in PvP requires you to step back from the defined role of healer or DPS and find that niche which helps make your team more than a group of individuals. Some situations require you to heal, others to deal damage, and even some will arise when you must hold back enemies or hold a ball. A Commando is equipped to handle all of these situations and with the right tools and skills, you can become a standout on any team.

Tags: Advanced Class, Advanced Medical Probe, Ammo, Assault Plastique, Assault Specialist, Bacta-Infusion, Bioware, Brian Hein, Charged Barrier, Charged Bolts, Combat Medic, Combat Support Cell, Commando, Concussive Force, Demolition Round, DPS, EA, Electronic Arts, Energy Blast, Erich Hein, Fire Pulse, Full Auto, Grav Round, Gravity Surge, Gunnery, Hammer Shot, High Impact Bolt, Incendiary Round, Ion Pulse, Kolto-Bomb, LucasArts, Medical Probe, PvP, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Sticky Grenade, Stock Strike, SWTOR, TOR, Trooper, Warzone Expertise Adrenal, Warzones

When it comes to the warfront no class defines the struggle against the Empire the way the Trooper does. Guts and Gunnery is the place that Troopers come to learn all of the tactics they will need to thrive on the PvP battlefront.

In this galaxy of open conflict every Trooper is looking for an edge over his or her opponent. You will need to ask yourself some questions. What play style best suits me? What tools should I bring to face my enemy? Will I be charging into a group of enemies and taking large amounts of punishment? Will I be the type to make eye contact with an opponent across enemy lines and single each other out, making sure only one of you is standing at the end? Do I want to carry the ball in Huttball or do I want to peel off enemies attacking him? Hopefully these different builds will help you make your choices about how to refine your own personal build to suit your play style.

A few words about rotations in PvP: In PvE there is a well-defined highest damage order in which your abilities should be activated to be of maximum effectiveness. However in PvP, you are limited by an infinite and ever growing number variables brought on by the human beings on the other end of your scope. So I’m going to reduce said rotations into a set of best practices. Opening Rotation and Sustained Rotation. An Opening Rotation explains itself. With all your cooldowns up and ready to go, this is how you should enter combat against your enemy. Variations will depend on whether or not you can kill him within your opening rotation or you should save some of your offensive cooldowns for a more effective moment. Sustained rotation is what you should be doing while you hunt for your next kill shot. Sustained rotations will generally be designed to soften up the enemy enough while keeping your ammo high so you can apply a well-placed burst in the middle of your enemies’ short lived career against you.

Tags: Advanced Class, Assault Specialist, Bioware, EA, Electronic Arts, Erich Hein, LucasArts, PvP, Shield Specialist, Star Wars: The Old Republic, SWTOR, Tactics, TOR, Vanguard, Warzones

When it comes to the warfront no class defines the struggle against the Empire the way the Trooper does. Guts and Gunnery is the place that Troopers come to learn all of the tactics they will need to thrive on the PvP battlefront.

Be it fighting for control of Alderaan, securing valuable information on a distant starship, or hearing your name screamed by the crowds of The Pit, every trooper has more than one life to give for the Republic. Come prepared because your enemies surely will be. One slip will leave you dead, dying and defeated and the last thing you will see is them seizing what could have been yours for the Empire. However, if you are stronger, faster, smarter and more organized than those that stand against you, victory will be yours. For the Republic!

Tags: Alderaan, Battlemaster, Battlemaster Commendations, Battlemaster Gear Bag, Bioware, Centurion, Centurion Commendations, Champion, Champion Commendations, Champion Gear Bag, Combat Medic, Combat Tech, Commando, EA, Electronic Arts, Eliminator, Erich Hein, Guardian, Gunslinger, Ilum, LucasArts, Mercenary Commendations, PvP, Republic Trooper, Sage, Scoundrel, Sentinel, Shadow, Sith Empire, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Super Commando, SWTOR, The Pit, TOR, Trooper, Unassembled Champion Token, Valor, Valor Ranks, Vanguard, Warzone Commendations, Warzones