The Old Republic’s Healing Force

Of particular note in the forums for Bioware’s Star Wars: The Old Republic is speculation of classes, most notably of what will be the healer and support role in TOR’s universe. There’s a great link on the SWTORBlog that has a couple of threads about it.

Bioware has been fairly mum on this issue, although there are quotes out there that simply state that we should expect to see things we see in other MMOs. This certainly means that healers are incoming, but as to what form they’ll take is anyone’s guess. Some are even afraid that they might not make it in, leading to a bunch of speculation on how the role can be played.

As someone who traditionally plays healer or support classes, this certainly hits home for me as well, but I’m not too overly concerned. Actually, the prospect of not knowing what the healer class could be in TOR is quite interesting to me, because the potential to create something that fits within the Star Wars IP and KOTOR timeline that is new and fresh is high. Here’s some thoughts from the forums and from my own thoughts on how healing and support could be addressed:

-Alternate Jedi/Sith support skill trees: We already know that Jedi and Sith have an action point and finishing move setup reminiscent of rogues in other games. But PC Gamer UK’s article also sets them up as magic users as well, opening a whole path to speculate whether Bioware can defray the Jedi and Sith melee button-mashfest with a path to heal via the Force. The outcome would be more of a Yoda-like Jedi, who uses Force first and lightsaber last, rather than a Luke-type, who might be more on the frontlines. While this doesn’t do anything for the potential overpopulation of Jedi and Sith (and in fact this would make the problem worse), the idea of skill trees to create lightsaber-wielders of a different kind could create a great deal of variance among TOR denizens.

-Star Wars races in support roles: The KOTOR games and Star Wars universe doesn’t seem to leave much room for medics and healers – most of the mechanics involve characters on the offensive or defensive. But certain races or groups might naturally fall into a support role – droids, for example, are among the most thought of for this, mostly because by their very nature, they’re utility tools. There’s also the idea of using a race not normally accustomed to fighting in a utility or support role – the Jawa, for example, or even the Ewoks. Less likely? Perhaps. But the advantage of Bioware’s Old Republic universe is the freedom IP exploration.

-Something completely new: There’s always the possibility that something new and worthwhile can come from Bioware, although new additions to the universe would obviously have to travel through Lucasarts. But new characters, such as KOTOR’s Darth Revan, or new powers, such as Bastila’s Battle Meditation, aren’t far from the realm of possibility. if new mechanics that fit within Star Wars can be crafted, why not something that will allow support and healing to play a role? Maybe even something more radical, like not having a support class at all and using a crafting system or healing system to do the work, freeing up healer players to play classes that might be more exciting than watching health bars.

All in all, class reveals have always been part of the fun of following MMO development, and the nebulous nature of the support classes in TOR is a bit scary but also exciting at the same time. One can only hope that in an iconic archetype, Bioware can hit a home run.