Star Wars Galaxies Jedi are back in armour!

[Q'in]

SWG Stratics News Reporter BadgerSmaker interviews his old friend Jedi Senator Glzmo on the recently announced ability for Jedi to once again equip armour in Star Wars Galaxies.

BadgerSmaker: Currently in testing for Game Update 12 is a change that allows Jedi to wear armour in combat, can you tell us a bit more about how this works, are there damage penalties or restrictions involved?

Glzmo: It's rather simple. Jedi will receive the Armor Use skill at the level 22 box of their Profession skill wheel just like any other profession. The lightsaber damage penalty that was a leftover from an ancient system that was originally meant to prevent non-Jedi to use lightsabers effectively has been removed. This means there are no more restrictions for Jedi to wear regular, non-professiofn specific armor except having to reach combat level 22 or above.

BadgerSmaker: How does wearing armour compare to the currently available and much sought after Jedi Shatterpoint Cloak and the Cloak of Hate?

Glzmo: The Shatterpoint Cloak and Cloak of Hate from the Master Cloaks Collection as well as the Elder Jedi Arbiter and Elder Jedi Oppressor Robes in combination with clothing that holds attachments will still have a slight edge over a full suit of armor with armor attachments, but wearing armor will be a viable alternative for those that have not completed the Master Cloaks Collection or don't have access to Elder Jedi Robes. This means they will be able to enjoy the game at the high end even while they are doing the collection instead of feeling forced to grind for weeks or months until they feel they can finally "start playing" and be on par with level 90 characters of other professions. The collection Cloaks and Elder Robes will still be the best of the best, however.

BadgerSmaker: If Jedi can wear armour, does that mean we will see some Jedi in full Stormtrooper armour wielding a lightsaber? How do you feel about that, is it a good or bad thing in terms of Star Wars lore?

Glzmo: It will certainly be possible to wear any armor, including factional armor like Stormtrooper armor when the Jedi is a member of a faction. My feelings are split on this. While there are Jedi/Force Sensitives in Star Wars lore that wore stormtrooper armor and weilded lightsabers with it, they usually aren't aligned with the Empire for real but only use the armor for hiding. The most prominent is likely Luke Skywalker on the first death star, or Obi-Wan Kenobi in The Clone Wars (although technically, he's wearing Clone Trooper armor). Luke Skywalker in Armour

It still leaves a bit of a sour taste in my mouth, but I think a Force Sensitive or Jedi in Stormtrooper is still a lot more true to Star Wars canon than females and/or alien characters wearing the same armor in the time Star Wars Galaxies is set in, which is currently around the time the Battle of Hoth took place - or characters that are running around in their undies with angel's wings growing out of their back and an abomination of a cross between Ewok and Carebear following them around for that matter.

It would certainly be better if Jedi couldn't be members of a GCW faction and have their own secret war of dark and light in instead. Alas, this isn't the case.
But allowing Jedi to wear Stormtrooper armor will likely also benefit roleplayers and storytellers in various situations where a Jedi character wants to portray a stormtrooper or disguise themselves as one for a while.

Of course some of the Rebel factional armor, like the Rebel Hoth Cold Weather armor or the new Rebel SpecOps Battlefield reward armor have been used by Jedi in canon as well.

BadgerSmaker: Have Jedi been able to wear armour before? If so, when, and how did it play out?

Glzmo: Just like any other profession, Jedi were able to wear armor from 2003 on when the first incarnation of the unlockable Jedi Profession was first introduced to the game up until the infamous Publish 9, which happened in 2004.

Back then, Jedi were content with being able to wear armor, but just like any other professions at the time, they wanted more options in appearance rather than being restricted to composite armor as top level equipment to stay competitive in combat. Some may still remember that composite armor was much better than any other armor back then.

Some ideas were thrown around including equalizing all armor efficiency and adding more armor some of which also looked more like the robes and cloaks known from the movies as options. The devs back then, however didn't understand that Jedi only wanted more options to wear so they wouldn't all look the same and decided to give Jedi their own exclusive armor in the form of Jedi Robes.

However, they ran out of time and couldn't add armor values to the Robes as planned, which then remained that way for a long time as they neglected to ever go back and fix it.

Luckily, the current development team is much more open minded understanding and realizes the craving of players to have various appearance choices, including armor.

And they know the most important thing about a game is to have fun, which is commendable.

BadgerSmaker: How about other professions, will they be able wear robes or use lightsabers now?

Glzmo: While the idea of allowing other profesisons to wear Jedi armor Robes and Cloaks has been talked about, I don't think it will be the case with Game Update 12. There is still a profession restriction on them on the current Test Center build and it would take a rework of every Robe and Cloak to remove the profession requirement on them. I feel it's certainly a possibility for the future, however, as long as there is enough demand for it.

Personally, I wouldn't mind if all professions were able wear Robes and Cloaks, as everyone could benefit from some content the Jedi profession receive. Of course it's a matter of balance as well, as other professions would also become a little bit stronger through it, as the high-end Robes and Cloaks are a bit better than regular armor. I guess that's the main reason it hasn't happened yet. Of course if profession restrictions on Jedi Robes and Cloaks were to be lifted, the same would have to hold true for other profession specific armor like Mandalorian Armor as well.

Lightsabers are a different beast, as they don't have anything to do with armor but are weapons. There are other professoin specific weapons out there that can only be used by certain professions or have penalties when used by any other profession than the intended one. Again, if all these restrictions on weapons were to be removed, then it would be okay if that was the case with lightsabers as well, possibly giving non-Jedi a similar penalty like non-commandos weilding heavy weapons to make sure Jedi are the only ones that are truly proficient with lightsabers.

An action cost or even Health cost penalty for attacking with a lightsaber, perhaps that resembles an inexperienced weilder of a lightsaber injuring him/herself int he process. There are of course many instances of non-Jedi holding or using a lightsaber to some extend, the most prominent being the Smuggler Han Solo cutting the belly of a wampa open with Luke Skywalker's lightsaber, although he wouldn't have been truly efficient with it in combat nor been able to parry blaster fire with it.

Lifting profession restrictions on various equipment would certainly open more roleplaying possibilities for everyone. For example, a Medic wearing a Jedi robe/Cloak and holding a lightsaber could roleplay a Jedi Healer and support/help other people to simulate a much beloved part of the Jedi profession that was removed with the ill-fated Publish 25. Or a Bounty Hunter could carry around a Lightsaber and pretend it was a trophy from a Jedi she has slain.

[Q'in]

BadgerSmaker: Are there any specific benefits to Jedi wearing armour, any situations where it might be advantagous?

Glzmo: There are benefits to Jedi wearing regular armor of course, although not so much on the high end of the spectrum. The main benefits from a functionality standpoint are for lower level Jedi from level 22 on as well as Jedi that have yet to complete the Master Jedi Cloaks collection.

It allows Jedi to wear the same armor with the same protection and modifiers as all other professions of the same level while levelling up, which hasn't been the case in many years and one of the main issues new Jedi had when levelling up. It brings low level Jedi up to par with other professions.

Also, Jedi that have finished levelling but haven't completed the Master Cloaks collection yet and don't have access to Elder Jedi Robes will be able to enjoy high end content without feeling to be forced to log in and grind holocrons for the collection all day just to finish the collection quickly and be equipped for high end content on a similar level to other professuibs in a decent way.

In addition, Jedi will finally be able to wear cybernetics without penalties, be it the old reward ones or the new Engineer-crafted ones without having to suffer an extreme lightsaber damage penalty and having to be without armor protection while the cybernetic limb is equipped.

Jedi now also won't be limited to certain armor values, combinations of modifiers and armor types when it comes to damage over time resists (Jedi Robes and Cloaks are treated like a full suit of recon armor when it comes to DOT resists).

Another benefit of course is that Jedi now get a lot more choices to mix and match for appearance purposes and are now finally roughly on par with other professions in that respect.

Jedi will also be able to benefit from the various reward armors that any other profession has access to, which in a way means more content.

BadgerSmaker: What happens if a Jedi wears both a Cloak or Robe and armour?

Glzmo: Jedi Armor Robes and Cloaks override any other armor. This means Jedi won't be able to stack regular armor and armored cloaks/robes. For example, when a Jedi wears say Armor Pants, Helmet and a Shatterpoint Cloak, the armor values from the helmet and pants will be ignored and only those of the cloak applied. Any possible modifiers will still remain intact, of course, but they aren't different than what's possible for clothing anyway. Glzmo in armour

BadgerSmaker: The Jedi Cloak and Robe system features a set level progression, as Jedi players level up they gain access to more powerful Cloaks and Robes. This is not currently the case with the armour system as players are able to equip the best armour in the game at combat level 22.

Which system do you think is preferable, a system where level progression grants the player better protection as they level or a system where the best protection possible is granted at a very low level?

Glzmo: It all depends on how the devs intend the system to work which appears to be to have the ability to wear the best armor from level 22 on.
Having various armor for various degres of progression would certainly have it's benefits but also it's drawbacks, just like it is the case with having access to any armor from a certain point on.

It would be interesting to add level restrictions to various version of armor, but it would have to be a unified system for all professions, not different, mutually exclusive systems for various professions as we have had until Game Update 12. Of course one would also have to weigh in how it would affect sub-level 90 characters participating in content including Heroic instances and PVP, both of which are designed to be accessible from level 75 on.

Since we have that with Game Update 12, any change made to armor will affect any profession across the board equally, which is a good thing, as no single profession will be "forgotten about" and left out due to time constraints and at a disadvantage when it comes to armor at any time.

BadgerSmaker: What are your overall feelings and opinions on this change? How has the SWG community reacted to it?

Glzmo: I believe this change was for the best of Jedi and the overall game. Traditionally, as with any changes to Jedi (or even any recent changes/announcements to the game in general), there has initially been much panic, outcry and hostility by non-Jedi against it on the SWG forums, but it was mainly from vocal, misinformed individuals and trolls that know little about the Jedi Profession, didn't look at the facts (be it deliberately or because they just didn't know any better) and spread misinformation. But that's the unique attitude that the official SWG forums sadly have been filled with for a long time, and while it's gotten better, it's still there.

I have created a thread over at the SWG Jedi forums to help people understand the facts about these change (Game Update 12: Armor Use Facts) and do away with the misinformation about the topic. After reading that post and understanding the facts about the change, most reasonable people that were previously sceptical about and vocal against the change have realized that there is no need to panic and it's for the best of not only the Jedi Profession, but the overall game in the long run.
Feel free to read that thread for more information!

Listening and talking to players of all professions in-game about the subject yielded a largely positive response towards the changes, I didn't feel the negativity spread by some posters of the forums at all with players actually playing the game. It appears that the actual game players seem to be a little more open minded than some of the more vocal and rowdy members of the official SWG forums.

BadgerSmaker: What do you plan to have your Jedi wear when this goes live?

Glzmo: That's a tough decision to make, although certainly a very pleasant one. Jedi now have so much to choose from, which is simply wonderful. I'll likely have my Jedi wear something that suits their character, is appropriate for the situation and allows them to blend in with the crowd.

For example, my old Jedi hermit that lives on Tatooine will likely still be wearing his sandcolored Elder Jedi Arbiter Robe or some sort of sandcolored/brown Cloak and clothing combination as it's the traditional apparel of common people and farmers on Tatooine and agricultural worlds as well as travelers in the galaxy.

One of my other Jedi that frequents crowded places will be wearing apparel that suits what people in the environment he's in usually wear, which will certainly include many armor combinations as well as a mix and match of armor parts and clothing. He'll also wear a Style 3 cybernetic hand or forearm as he has lost part of his limb in roleplay many years ago and always had to pretend to wear it because cybernetics used to cripple Jedi's lightsaber damage output and didn't allow for Cloaks and Robes to be worn with them installed before these changes.

Another one of my Jedi that is sympathetic to the Rebel Alliance although still doesn't show her lightsaber in public will likely wear the Rebel SpecOps Battlefield reward armor which is usually worn by Jedi in Star Wars lore anyway - Luke Skywalker enjoys swinging his lightsaber while wearing it for certain.
My low level Jedi will certainly wear a full suit of armor from level 22 on and I'll finally be able to level her up more easily just like other professions. She will possibly wear something different in the appearance tab, however.

I'll likely have any armor helmets hidden with the /showHelmet command unless the situation calls for the Jedi's face to remain hidden or head to be protected.
It's a good thing that Game Update 12 will also introduce 30 item storage droids, which means I'll be able to carry around three times as many different outfits as I do now on my characters and be able to change into them depending on the location, situation and the mood I'm in.

In conclusion, I'm very excited about the upcoming update and the changes that allow Jedi to wear regular armor without penalties just like any other starter profession.

Thanks for conducting this interview with me.

May the Force be with You!

Thank you Glzmo!