My Characters

When I discover a new MMO blog, I always quite like it if the author has a page not just about themselves, but also about their characters. It can be quite insightful: do they play a lot of different alts or do they recreate the same character in every game? Do they focus on a particular role or aspect of the game (e.g. lots of tanks, multiples of the same class) or are they a jack-of-all-trades?

I've been meaning to make a page like that for this blog for a while but always put it off before. At last, here it is! I don't currently roleplay any of my characters or have extensive backstories for any of them, however with the way questing in The Old Republic works, it's hard not to feel that they develop personalities of a sort after a while, which is why I gave them all brief in-character descriptions as well.

For the Republic!

I started on Republic side because that's where my friends at the time were playing, but even after most of the original crew stopped logging in, the Republic remained my home. While the Empire tells some interesting stories, I can't really think of it as a comfortable home, considering how "evil" it is in many respects. PvPing a lot has also strengthened my faction pride, causing me to automatically associate familiar names on Empire side with hostility.

Shíntar, Commando

In Character (IC): Shintar is a loyal soldier of the Republic and considers herself a defender of the people above all else. Outside of her work she can seem unapproachable sometimes, but after giving so much of herself during her day job, she prefers a bit of solitude and privacy when she can get it. (light side)

Out of Character (OOC): Shintar was the first character I created when the game launched and has remained my main ever since. I just loved the idea of the trooper class ever since I saw the "Hope" trailer. I specced into the Combat Medic tree as soon as she got her first talent point and have never tried anything else as I simply love healing. As my undisputed main, Shintar is the character I take to all the operations and into whom I invest the most work in PvP.

Golu, Sage

IC: Her hulking physique makes her look pretty intimidating, but actually Golu is pretty much the perfect Jedi: always serene and not easily fazed by anything - possibly because she takes all her negative emotions out on her opponents during Huttball. (light side)

OOC: Golu was my first Republic alt, and like Shintar she was a healer from the start and has never been anything else. While Jedi consulars don't have the most exciting of class stories, it did resonate with me on a personal level, and the Sage's healing style reminded me a lot of WoW's priest (which is what I played before coming to SWTOR), so playing her has always felt very natural. She's my "main alt", meaning that I try to keep her geared enough that she can fill the occasional healer vacancy in another ops group, and she also gets a lot of PvP time.

Fali, Guardian

IC: As Golu's younger sister, Fali inherited the same strength in the Force, but prefers to use her powers in a more hands-on way. Unlike her sister, she finds it hard to always keep her calm and is more prone to occasionally letting her emotions run away with her. She always means well though. (light side)

OOC: I love everything about Fali's character and story, but unfortunately I suck at playing melee dps. Before Rise of the Hutt Cartel, I would occasionally PvP on her or take her to a retro ops run, but I found my frequent underperformance too frustrating to dedicate more time to working on her consistently. Knights of the Fallen Empire served to reinvigorate my interest in her somewhat, as I found it fun to play through the story chapters as a Jedi knight (the story did feel like it was written for them!).

Shilu, Scoundrel

IC: Shilu is a very happy-go-lucky character and nothing can keep her down for long. She doesn't always give a lot of thought to things but generally means well. (light side)

OOC: I created Shilu as my "event main" for 2016's Dark vs. Light event, as a result of which I used her to power through a lot of content in a relatively short amount of time. Before I knew it, I had become attached and she had replaced Racelle (see below) as my "go-to Scoundrel", so it's her role these days to heal casual story mode operations or random warzones when I don't feel like doing so on Shintar or Golu.

Talara, Gunslinger

IC: Talara's work may not always be legal, but she's a good person at heart who doesn't want anyone to get hurt and believes in the ideals of the Republic. (light side)

OOC: Since I was so bad at playing melee but still wanted a dps character, I tried to gear up my gunslinger as my go-to character for occasional alt operations instead. I did better than as melee, but still not great, and I just don't find doing dps nearly as engaging as healing, so she doesn't see a lot of play time these days.

Racelle, Scoundrel

IC: Racelle is an opportunist who always looks out for herself above anyone else. She doesn't get any particular joy out of getting other people in trouble (or well, maybe a little) - but better them than her! (moderately dark side)

OOC: Originally created for the purpose of doing lowbie PvP as dps, Racelle ended up being conscripted into being the levelling partner for my pet tank's gunslinger and quickly hit max level. Seeing how powerful Scoundrels were in PvP, I continued to focus my efforts in that area. Up until Shadow of Revan, she sported a hybrid spec most of the time, because it was fun to play a healer who could also pack a bit of a punch if needed. After the discipline system eliminated hybrid specs, she became a healer full time, and spent a lot of time in the midbie bracket once Shilu (see above) supplanted her as my "Scoundrel main".

Shey-la, Vanguard

IC: Shey-la considers herself a faithful protector of the people and servant of the Republic, but she doesn't pull any punches when the going gets rough, which doesn't exactly endear her to everyone. (neutral)

OOC: The main reason I created Shey-la was because I wanted to re-play the trooper story, and why not with the other advanced class while I was at it? While levelling I swapped between damage dealing and tanking a couple of times but eventually stayed with the tanking role, since I enjoyed that much more than melee dps. Originally I wanted to go dark side for a change of pace as well, but I always wuss out because it makes me hate my characters, so she's only somewhat neutral really.

Cheesha, Shadow

IC: Cheesha is an eternal optimist and believer in the power of the light side to the point of naiveté, which means that while she always has the best of intentions, things don't always end well for the people involved. (light side)

OOC: Cheesha was created because I wanted a Cathar, and she became a Shadow because at the time, this was the only advanced class I had never played on Republic or Empire side. The idea of a cat skulking in the shadows just seemed to make sense. She quickly became part of yet another levelling duo with my pet tank and was therefore specced to tank (while he healed). I often think that I'd like to play her more, but as our duos have become too numerous and spread out over time, I don't get to play her very often. (She still hasn't finished her class story at 55.)

Zeresa, Commando

IC: Zeresa looks like she's perpetually in a bad mood, and this impression isn't entirely wrong. It's better not to mess with her (moderately dark side)

OOC: Zeresa turned out a bit meaner than Shey-la, but I only really played her class story up to the end of Coruscant. She's another character that I created for the Dark vs. Light event, and since I found running flashpoints and doing PvP with her so much fun, I actually got her all the way to max level solely through those activities. I still don't really know how to dps as a Commando (there are like... five buttons!) but it seems more fun than most dps specs I've tried.

Starberry, Guardian

IC: Starberry is a big optimist and believer that every situation can be salvaged. She's also not afraid of taking the lead herself when it comes to figuring out the best course of action. (light side)

OOC: Starberry, too, was created for the Dark vs. Light event, and I keep coming back to her every so often because I really love her design and because tanking as a Guardian is pretty fun.

For the Empire!

Due to my loyalties lying with the Republic as explained above, the vast majority of my time in game is spent on Republic side. All of my Empire characters mostly only exist because I wanted to see their class stories.

Sigex, Sorcerer

IC: Somewhat unusual for a Sith, Sigex is a kind soul at heart. She understands what being a Sith is all about, but as a former slave she'd rather use her power to pursue freedom and happiness for herself than use it to terrorise other people. (light side)

OOC: Only created in spring 2013, Sigex was far from my first Imperial character, however I came to consider her my Imperial main after my pet tank and I levelled our duo of inquisitors to max level in what felt like record time and completed pretty much all the quests on Imperial side together, with the exception of some ops missions. Like her Republic mirror Golu, she's been a healer from day one - because it's fun.

Arrah, Marauder

IC: As a pureblooded Sith, Arrah is proud of her heritage and everything that it stands for. It sometimes confuses her how it's not obvious to non-Sith just how inferior they are and that they should just accept their proper place in the world. While this makes her unpleasant company to be around for many people, she does adhere to a personal code of honour and unlike many of her peers, she doesn't delight in casual cruelty that serves no purpose. (moderately dark side)

OOC: Arrah was levelled with my now ex-boyfriend and mostly drove home the point that I'm terrible at melee dps. While I loved the Sith warrior story, the sea of angry red faces on her action bars didn't make me enjoy the everyday gameplay very much. My interest in her saw a resurgence in Knights of the Fallen Empire however, as she was the best candidate out of my stable of alts to offer a different (dark side) point of view on the story.

Corinthe, Operative

IC: Corinthe is a fervent believer in the Empire and all that it stands for, though the way certain Sith regularly abuse their power has made her very weary. The knowledge that what's best for the citizens of the Empire may not always be best for the Empire as an institution weighs heavily on her with every decision that she has to make, but she tries to serve to the best of her ability and has faith in her own judgement. (moderately light side)

OOC: Corinthe was the very first alt I created in the game, and was a character that I mostly played on my own for most of her levelling. (To this day, she probably has the lowest social rank of all of my more frequently played max-level characters.) While I love the agent story and the healing Operative play style, the lack of regular engagement with other players means that I don't find reason to log on to her very often. I used to PvP with her for a while, but Republic faction pride kept pulling me back to the other side.

Tessal, Mercenary

IC: Tessal has seen a lot in her young life and is somewhat world-weary and distrustful as a result. She is loyal to those she cares about, but getting her to care in the first place can be a challenge. (moderately dark side)

OOC: I originally created Tessal because I felt it was about time that I had an Imperial character of my main's mirror class, but then I didn't quite know what to do with her... until inspiration for my flashpoint levelling experiment struck. To this day I like coming back to her to pug random flashpoints every so often, and thanks to her being able to wear my main's hand-me-downs, she's always well geared.

Hekka, Powertech

IC: Hekka is very easy-going for a bounty hunter. Getting the job done is obviously important, but there's no need to be cruel or more violent than necessary. (light side)

OOC: Hekka was pretty much created as an experiment in tanking. It was quite fun, but like most of my Imperial alts she doesn't see much play time now.

Nettika, Juggernaut

IC: Nettika possesses a calm that is alien to most Sith but which grants her powers her enemies often don't understand. (light side)

OOC: Nettika was one half of a Sith warrior levelling duo with my pet tank - for him it was the only class story he had never completed, and I wanted to see the light side version, including a completely different Jaesa Willsaam. That, and I simply wanted another Cathar. (Her name is "a kitten" spelled backwards.) I also enjoyed playing the tanking role again, even if it seems like none of my tanking alts ever end up seeing much play time at max level.

Dormaba, Sorcerer

IC: Dormaba is a survivor with a chip on her shoulder about her former status as a slave, who enjoys lording her new status as a Sith over those who would have looked down on her previously. She has sympathy for others in unfortunate situations, but if you get on her bad side, she won't be shy about letting you know it. (neutral)

OCC: Dormaba was part of an early set of Imperial alts I made and whose levelling stalled because I just couldn't get into their story. When I levelled Sigex, another Sorcerer, right past her, her existence felt increasingly pointless, but at the same I felt too attached to her to delete her. I used the 12x XP event leading up to Shadow of Revan to level her to the then-cap of 55 and to at least finish her class story. This also provided me with an opportunity to try out Sorcerer dps (so much lightning).

T'ir, Powertech

IC: T'ir takes a lot of pride in her physical prowess and in how it allows her to get every job done, no matter how difficult it is. She's not cruel, but can be quite ruthless when it comes to hunting down her targets or when people annoy her. (neutral)

OOC: Like Dormaba, T'ir was an early alt that never really went anywhere and effectively got replaced when I levelled another character of the same advanced class right past her. Like Dormaba, I decided to level her to the cap during 12x XP and chose a dps spec for her to distinguish her from my other Powertech.

Shinister, Assassin

IC: For a Sith Pureblood, Shinister has not had the best start in life and she has felt perpetually perplexed by this. The experiece has humbled her somewhat, but she's still convinced that eventually she'll be able to claim her rightful place in the Sith hierarchy. (moderately dark side)

OOC: Shinister is another character that I created for 2016's Dark vs. Light event. Assassin was the last advanced class I had not played yet at the time (only its Republic mirror, Shadow) and it turned out to be pretty fun. Still, with so many other alts that I find even more fun, she hasn't received much attention ever since the event ended.

In addition to all of the level 55-70 characters listed above, I have a bunch of lowbies that I'm still levelling. The reason I'm not listing them separately is not that I think that the game starts at endgame (which I don't), but rather that I feel that both their characters and their role in my "play schedule" are not sufficiently fleshed out to write about them in much detail yet.

Last updated: April 2017.