Earlier this week Dave, Andy, and Mike from Republic Trooper had the pleasure of hanging out with the gang from Galactic Public Radio as guests on their podcast “All Classes Considered.”

The topic of discussion was, of course, the Trooper Class and a lot of ground was covered in the discussion. Leveling, Storyline, Skill Trees, Healing, DPS, Tanking, PvP, Operations, and even going commando!

Tags: Andy Muchmore, Assault Specialist, Bioware, Combat Medic, Commando, David Souza, EA, Electronic Arts, Flashpoints, Galactic Public Radio, GPR, Gunnery, LucasArts, Mike Kern, Operations, podcast, PvE, PvP, Republic Trooper, Shield Specialist, Star Wars: The Old Republic, SWTOR, Tactics, TOR, Trooper, Vanguard

Nothing prepares a Trooper more for deployment than having the most up to date intelligence direct from the battlefield. If you’re looking for the latest and greatest Trooper intel, you’ve come to the right place.

Patch 1.2 Is Now Live On The PTRs, Mega Patch Notes Released

Late Friday night BioWare released Patch 1.2 onto the TOR Public Test Realms. Anyone can now apply to play, and more importantly test the changes coming in the 1.2 release.

For those players lucky enough to get an invite to the PTRs there are a few perks you can receive. If you play a character to level 10 you will get an exclusive in-game title for all of your characters once Patch 1.2 goes live. Additionally, if you complete Chapter One on the PTRs you will receive a second exclusive in-game title for all of your characters!

Tags: 2V-R8, Alderaan, Andy Muchmore, Assault Specialist, Augmented, Bioware, C2-N2, Ceramic Plating, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Charged Barrier, Charged Bolts, Citadel, combat log, Combat Medic, Combat Tactics, Combat Training Dummies, Commando, Companions, Concussive Charge, Coruscant, Counter Attack, Crew Skills, Cure, Curtain of Fire, Demolition Round, Dromund Kass, EA, Electronic Arts, Energy Blast, Explosive Conflict, Field Training, Field Triage, Fire Pulse, Flashpoints, Fleet Pass, Full Auto, Galactic Trade Network, Gav Daragon, Grav Round, Group Rating, GTN, guild bank, guilds, Gunnery, Hard Mode, Hearttrigger Patch, Hoth, Hutta, Imperial Agent, Ionic Accelerator, Jedi Consular, Jedi Council, Kaon Under Siege, Karagga’s Palace, Kolto Recharge, Kolto Residue, Kolto-Bomb, Korriban, Legacy System, LucasArts, MMOs, Mortar Volley, Muzzle Fluting, MVP, Nightmare Mode, Normal Mode, Novare Coast, Operations, Ord Mantell, Patch 1.2, Plasma Cell, Power Screen, Psych Aid, PTR, PvE, PvP, Reanimation, Republic Trooper, Resuscitation Probe, Revival, Riot Strike, Senate Tower, Shield Specialist, Sith Inquisitor, Smoke Grenade, Sniper Rifle, Solo Rating, space combat, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Story Mode, Supercharge Cells, SWTOR, Tactics, Tauntaun, Tenacious Defense, The Lost Island, TOR, Trauma Probe, Trooper, Tython, Vanguard, Voss, Warzon, Warzone Commendations, Ziost Shadow, [DAILY] Emerging Conflicts V, [DAILY] Galactic Conflicts, [WEEKLY] Galactic Conflicts, [WEEKLY] Rakghoul Conflicts

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

Always in Motion is The Future is our column that deals with general news and information regarding The Old Republic based facts and finally spiced with the unique perspective of Republic Trooper.

The Gunnery tree in the Commando Advanced Class is a popular one, and my personal favorite. We’re the kings of AoE damage, do excellent single target damage – especially with a full 5-stack of Grav Round and Demolition Rounds – and possess much utility and good survivability.

But you can’t have it all. While it shines in PvE Gunnery, in your humble scribe’s opinion, is not exactly the most overpowered of PvP builds. Quite the opposite, in fact – it may be one of the weakest ones. Largely this is because of mobility issues – our need to channel many of our abilities. Other than Explosive Round, Sticky Grenade, and Hammer Shot, all of our Gunnery abilities are either channeled or require a channeled ability to be fully used (Demo Round, High Impact Bolt). A Gunnery Trooper really doesn’t have many options when on the run.

Tags: Adam Fitzgerald, Advanced Class, Alderaan, Assault Specialist, Bioware, Commando, Concussive Charge, Cryo Grenade, Demolition Round, DPS, EA, Electronic Arts, Explosive Round, Grav Round, Gunnery, Hammer Shot, High Impact Bolt, Imperial Agent, LucasArts, melee, Mortar Barrage, Pulse Cannon, PvE, PvP, Republic Trooper, Sith Warrior, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Sticky Grenade, SWTOR, TOR, Trooper, Vanguard, Warzones, World of Warcraft, WoW