Bounty Hunting in Star Wars: The Old Republic

I'm all about the credits.

Any MMO player will tell you that there is a world of difference between reading a list of character abilities and actually using them. This is especially true of the Bounty Hunter in BioWare's upcoming MMORPG, Star Wars: The Old Republic. A heavy armor-wearing, rocket-shooting, laser-gun-wielding character whose main motivation – at least when I play him – is credits.

When most people think of bounty hunters in Star Wars, Boba Fett comes to mind. He was one of many, though, in a universe where criminals can make good money, people hunting those criminals can too. My Bounty Hunter begins his story in a room with three strangers. They are, as I quickly learn, his backup Bounty Hunting team. You see, in the Star Wars universe, the more famous a Bounty Hunter is, the more they can charge for their services, and the quickest path to fame is winning The Great Hunt, an annual contest for the best hunters out there. My team is there to help me qualify for and win.

However, things don't go according to plan, and after being sabotaged my team falls to pieces. My first ten levels on Hutta, the homeworld of the Hutts (like Jabba), are then spent investigating who was behind the sabotage and trying to gain a new sponsor for my entry into the Great Hunt. This is done by appealing to one of the local crime lords called Nem'ro and helping him eliminate a rival.

The Bounty Hunter relies entirely on his kit. Arm-mounted rocket-launchers provide a variety of functions, from simple attacks that knock down opponents and deal good damage to darts that stun. If I close the gap on my enemy (which, at the early stages of The Old Republic require me to simply run over to my foe), my rockets can help supercharge a punching attack for huge damage. At that range, however, I can just as easily use my flamethrower to deal damage over an area and stun weaker enemies. Using these abilities creates "Heat," the Bounty Hunter's resource. The simplest explanation of Heat is that it works like reverse Force for the Jedi Consular or Energy for rogue classes in other games, where skills use a rapidly regenerating resource with a very small overall cap. As I use abilities my Heat builds up to a maximum of 100, and once it's too high I can't use any more until it drops lower. There currently doesn't seem to be an obvious difference between Heat and Energy/Force, although the Bounty Hunter can use an ability to vent his Heat to rapidly lower the gauge.

One of the nicer things about the Bounty Hunter is his versatility in the early game. His heavy armor means that I don't often find myself having to be especially careful about how I tackle my foes, and his mixture of long- and short-range attacks means that regardless of the environment I'll be able to perform admirably. My crowd-control abilities let me pick and choose exactly who dies first, and should things get too nasty, they give me a better chance of living if I flee.

However, that versatility also means that I find myself wondering what my role is. At least in the early stages, I can't seem to keep an enemy's attention very well. Many of my crowd control abilities also only work on weaker foes, which just as easily die thanks to my stronger area-of-effect attacks. The Bounty Hunter's iconic ability, Death From Above, seems a little lost too. It causes the Hunter to jetpack into the air and hover as he rains down rockets on enemies in a targeted area. As most enemies use ranged attacks, it doesn't seem to protect too much from enemy fire. The few enemies who aren't ranged are too close to use the ability on, and any movement while hovering cancels the attack. It's flashy looking to be sure, but its exact purpose seems vague.

As I reach level 10 I get to choose an advanced class – either the Mercenary or the Powertech. The Powertech seems to be more along the lines of a tank, while the Mercenary, the class I ultimately choose, is a damage dealer with healing options like healing missiles and darts (for myself or my allies). Interestingly, the healing is a new addition and, like all classes in The Old Republic, everything about the Bounty Hunter is subject to change.

As a Mercenary I get to choose between three talent trees, similar to World of Warcraft. One tends to primarily enhance my healing, another makes my abilities more cost efficient and adds extra effects, and one, currently shared between the Mercenary and Powertech, improves the base Bounty Hunter abilities (like missile and rocket attacks).

While the skills feel a little mixed at the moment, the Bounty Hunter's story is very solid. During my journey on Hutta I had opportunities to be good and just (which I ignored) and totally heartless and greedy. There was one moment in particular where I had the opportunity to track down the accountant of my temporary employer Nem'ro's rival. Being that he was in charge of the rival's money, I was given the option of threatening him into giving me an exorbitant amount of credits in exchange for his life. After he did so, I was still given the option to kill him. It was brutal (and I even felt a pang of guilt as I chose that option), but role-players will not be disappointed with the story options on offer for the Bounty Hunter.

We'll be posting stories about Star Wars: The Old Republic every day through next week, so check back tomorrow for our thoughts on the Imperial Agent.

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