Star Wars Galaxies Starters Guide

Galaxies isn?t like most other MMORPGs?here?s what separates it from the rest of the herd.

If you consider EverQuest as a game that focuses entirely on the adventuring aspect of fantasy life, then Galaxies is more of a fantasy-life simulator. Even those who wish to spend most of their time exploring or fighting will find themselves chilling out in a cantina from time to time, or browsing the Bazaar for player-created wares. There?s so much more to do in Galaxies, and the game does an exceptional job of rewarding you for doing it.

The basic unit of Galaxies? character system is the Profession. Whereas other games of this type force you to choose a class, Galaxies gives you six starting professions to choose from at the beginning.

where do you fit in?
Find your place quickly, whether it's in the cantina or in the wilderness.

Brawler: A melee fighting master who uses hand-to-hand weapons and techniques in combat.

Marksman: A master of pistols, rifles, and carbines, and the techniques for using them effectively.

Scout: An explorer, hunter, and survivor who learns to harvest hides and bones from creatures, set up camps, stalk monsters without being detected, and construct traps that hinder creatures in combat.

Artisan: A crafter who masters the arts of surveying for resources and turning those resources into usable items.

Entertainer: Dancers, musicians, and image designers who heal battle fatigue through entertainment, and who have the ability to make changes to the way characters look.

Medic: The healer, who learns the ability to create stimpacks, heal wounds, and eventually resurrect fallen comrades.

These professions interact in intricate ways. For example, a marksman or brawler will accumulate Battle Fatigue and Wounds as they fight over the course of a day or so, and in order to get rid of those, they?ll need to go to a Medical Center (where the medics heal their wounds) and a Cantina (where the entertainers perform and heal the Battle Fatigue). Scouts can create camps, in which medics and entertainers can do their work in the wilderness, and they can harvest hides, bones, and meat, which artisans and medics can use to create items. Artisans craft weapons, armor, and clothing for the other professions to use, and they form the backbone of Galaxies? player-exclusive economy, since you can?t rely on NPCs for buying and selling. Of course, you may train in any profession you like, as long as you have Skill Points left over, and you can ?surrender? skills you never use, in order to free up Skill Points for another, possibly more useful skill. It even behooves you to be nice and teach others the skills you know, because doing so earns you Apprentice points, which are needed to gain full Mastery of your profession.


Monsters make great pets!
Once you?ve advanced a bit in the starting professions, you?ll open up advanced professions, like Smuggler, Tailor, Pistoleer, Creature Handler, and more. These advanced professions all give you abilities that no other profession can give?for example, the Smuggler gains the ability to feign death in combat, while the Creature Handler can tame baby creatures and train them to fight and perform tricks. If you?re particularly dedicated, you can try to become a Bounty Hunter, which requires complete mastery of the Marksman and Scout professions, or, eventually, a Jedi, for which you?ll have to embark on a secret quest that no one has ever come close to completing?and that?s just to open up a second character in your account that is ?Force sensitive? that could eventually become a Jedi.

Of course, there?s a civil war raging across the galaxy, and you can throw in with any side you want. By completing faction missions, you can eventually join either the Rebellion or the Empire and enter player-versus-player combat against the other side. Most players will remain neutral at first, though, as neutral players are completely immune to the attacks of other players. Once you sign up for the war, you?re a fair target for your enemies.

All this only really scratches the surface. If you do get into Galaxies, be aware that anything can change at any moment, since there?s a team of developers constantly working on making the game better. Since it shipped before it really should have, there are bugs left to work out and balance issues (how many experience points certain things are worth, how effective certain professions are compared to others, etc.) left to fix. To be fair, the game probably won?t be completely complete for another five months or so, which is why some Galaxies players are referring to this early-post-launch period as ?Beta 4?, but what?s there now is tons of fun. If nothing else, it?s worth it to get in on the ground floor and get involved with this truly cool game while it?s shiny and new.

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