ExtraPenguin (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
extrapenguin) wrote2021-03-21 12:36 am
extrapenguin) wrote2021-03-21 12:36 am
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SWTOR: Imperial Agent ch 1
I went for one heck of a ride! Meet Irizi'ra'narath (core name Ziran), Imperial Agent. My principle leveling her is that I'll only do my class missions, not the purple planetary quests, and pick up regular yellow and exploration missions on the side if XP is a problem. It worked pretty well up until Alderaan, where a bunch of the yellow missions seemed tied up in the planetary quest so I had to pop an XP boost and hunt a bit. (I have the subscriber boost plus a guild boost, so while this mostly works for me, I wouldn't suggest it for a free to play account.) Screenshot album.
Yes, it's the Vin Atrius hair.
Hutta: 0 to 2h 8min (I did most of the yellow missions here, including a few exploration missions, I think)
(putzing about on the Fleet – this time, I remembered to buy a speeder – and the Black Talon flashpoint)
Dromund Kaas: ~3h to 5h 31min -> 2h 30min
(putzing about on the Fleet, plot visit to Korriban)
Balmorra: 6h 8min to 7h 13min -> 1h 5min
Nar Shaddaa: 7h 28min to 8h 59min -> 1h 31min
(putzing about on the Fleet)
Tatooine: ~9h 30min to 10h 38min -> 1h
Alderaan: 10h 45min to 13h 7min -> 2h 21min
Chapter 1 complete: 14h 11min
Huh, no wonder Alderaan felt like it went on forever – it was longer than any of the other chapter 1 planets! (Hutta and Dromund Kaas are the prologue.)
My biggest thought is that it's like they had a quota of interesting choices and allocated all of it to the agent. The Sith Inquisitor and Jedi Knight's big choices are mostly "will you spare/redeem this person or kill them?", or other straightforward "are you kind or evil" type stuff. For the Agent, they're ... mostly about balancing collateral damage and mission success, but idk, that's a very uncharitable view on it. They're great. Actual moral complexity! They're also not straightforwardly dark vs light, but I ended up picking mostly light side options on Hutta, so I set the toggle to LS. (Not that it matters, beyond me not having the Light V achievement yet.)
A significant portion of my time was spent in this position, contemplating my choices.
The story really went into the secret agent thing and it's executed well. It's great! I enjoy it. They also went really into the Star Wars by making the agents and Imperial Intelligence be at the mercy of two horrible Sith, first Jadus and then his daughter Zhorrid. The plot with trying to dismantle the terrorist cells responsible for Jadus's death only to discover that Jadus himself was funding/giving orders to the terrorists was great! As was the choice at the end of Chapter 1. (But really, all the big choices are good so far.)
Why yes, I got the TD-07A Scorpion armor set on yet another character. What can I say, I really like trench coats?
I had a bit of trouble figuring out how to roleplay Ziran, since the Agent very intentionally doesn't really give much of a backstory (unlike the Sith Inquisitor), and the role is very much about pretending to be someone else (unlike the Jedi Knight), but I think I've settled on imperial loyalist + bit of a ruthless streak/terrible sense of humor + dislike of Zhorrid et al. The voice also suggests something of an asshole, and the expressions a cynic. I am spoiled for the big thing at the end, so I'm intrigued about what choice I'll end up making for Ziran then, but really, it's also about the journey and I really like the journey so far. Given my current clip, I will probably be done by Tuesday.
So far I've only gotten two companions, Kaliyo and Vector. Kaliyo's great – she had a twisted sense of humor and she's really good "in"/"accessory" for underworld contacts. She's a good fit for the first planets, and I like her commentary. I only just got Vector, but the whole "diplomat who's joined a Killik hive" thing is definitely unique. He is also apparently the love interest for female Agents, and I don't hate his guts (unlike Andronikos and Doc), so I might actually go for it. I did make a resolution to go for all the single-planet romances available, but I failed at getting the flirt options for Sanju or Jordel Tlan, so, uh, looks like my next option is on Hoth.
Besides, Vector's and Ziran's eyes match! Sort of.
I also replaced the default "restore health" ability with the Chiss species ability, because that had a better animation...
I look at it a lot, since I have my companions set to DPS.
...and have started taking screenshots of various scenery for my "planets worst to best" list. Mostly cool stuff that I notice along the journey. There'll be a post at some point after Ziran is done and Kurebir and Midwan have gone to take screencaps of places she's missed.
Alderaan's scenery is unbearably generic, but the architechture is cool.
Yes, it's the Vin Atrius hair.
Hutta: 0 to 2h 8min (I did most of the yellow missions here, including a few exploration missions, I think)
(putzing about on the Fleet – this time, I remembered to buy a speeder – and the Black Talon flashpoint)
Dromund Kaas: ~3h to 5h 31min -> 2h 30min
(putzing about on the Fleet, plot visit to Korriban)
Balmorra: 6h 8min to 7h 13min -> 1h 5min
Nar Shaddaa: 7h 28min to 8h 59min -> 1h 31min
(putzing about on the Fleet)
Tatooine: ~9h 30min to 10h 38min -> 1h
Alderaan: 10h 45min to 13h 7min -> 2h 21min
Chapter 1 complete: 14h 11min
Huh, no wonder Alderaan felt like it went on forever – it was longer than any of the other chapter 1 planets! (Hutta and Dromund Kaas are the prologue.)
My biggest thought is that it's like they had a quota of interesting choices and allocated all of it to the agent. The Sith Inquisitor and Jedi Knight's big choices are mostly "will you spare/redeem this person or kill them?", or other straightforward "are you kind or evil" type stuff. For the Agent, they're ... mostly about balancing collateral damage and mission success, but idk, that's a very uncharitable view on it. They're great. Actual moral complexity! They're also not straightforwardly dark vs light, but I ended up picking mostly light side options on Hutta, so I set the toggle to LS. (Not that it matters, beyond me not having the Light V achievement yet.)
A significant portion of my time was spent in this position, contemplating my choices.
The story really went into the secret agent thing and it's executed well. It's great! I enjoy it. They also went really into the Star Wars by making the agents and Imperial Intelligence be at the mercy of two horrible Sith, first Jadus and then his daughter Zhorrid. The plot with trying to dismantle the terrorist cells responsible for Jadus's death only to discover that Jadus himself was funding/giving orders to the terrorists was great! As was the choice at the end of Chapter 1. (But really, all the big choices are good so far.)
Why yes, I got the TD-07A Scorpion armor set on yet another character. What can I say, I really like trench coats?
I had a bit of trouble figuring out how to roleplay Ziran, since the Agent very intentionally doesn't really give much of a backstory (unlike the Sith Inquisitor), and the role is very much about pretending to be someone else (unlike the Jedi Knight), but I think I've settled on imperial loyalist + bit of a ruthless streak/terrible sense of humor + dislike of Zhorrid et al. The voice also suggests something of an asshole, and the expressions a cynic. I am spoiled for the big thing at the end, so I'm intrigued about what choice I'll end up making for Ziran then, but really, it's also about the journey and I really like the journey so far. Given my current clip, I will probably be done by Tuesday.
So far I've only gotten two companions, Kaliyo and Vector. Kaliyo's great – she had a twisted sense of humor and she's really good "in"/"accessory" for underworld contacts. She's a good fit for the first planets, and I like her commentary. I only just got Vector, but the whole "diplomat who's joined a Killik hive" thing is definitely unique. He is also apparently the love interest for female Agents, and I don't hate his guts (unlike Andronikos and Doc), so I might actually go for it. I did make a resolution to go for all the single-planet romances available, but I failed at getting the flirt options for Sanju or Jordel Tlan, so, uh, looks like my next option is on Hoth.
Besides, Vector's and Ziran's eyes match! Sort of.
I also replaced the default "restore health" ability with the Chiss species ability, because that had a better animation...
I look at it a lot, since I have my companions set to DPS.
...and have started taking screenshots of various scenery for my "planets worst to best" list. Mostly cool stuff that I notice along the journey. There'll be a post at some point after Ziran is done and Kurebir and Midwan have gone to take screencaps of places she's missed.
Alderaan's scenery is unbearably generic, but the architechture is cool.