SWTOR: Flashy, save me!

I wrote earlier that I liked the smuggler story so much, but I could not have foreseen that I would level my little gunslinger as fast as I've done the past month. She's actually my highest leveled character after sage Ravanel now!

While the class story still is fun, I've become a bit bored with the landscape quests. Even though the quests look pretty cool, being fully voiced and all, it's the same bunch all over again for each character - there's only one planet per level range (two if you count Republic + Imperial worlds), as opposed to LotRO, where there are multiple regions to pick from. I'm not such a sucker for quests in the first place - they start to look all the same for me in each game. So what changed Y-u'no's life so rapidly?

Going lowbie

The answer is simple: lowbie PvP! I have been wanting to try PvP in SWTOR for a long time, but I was  afraid to queue up solo, because I didn't know how it worked and didn't want to mess up for everyone. I'm usually pretty terrible at PvP. Finally, a guild mate wanted to show me the ropes, while Tiger was sitting next to me, dictating me around giving me useful tips about how to play my character. And it was fun!

At first, I died a LOT. Even though I was supposed to be shooting at people from a far distance. I just forgot to move and couldn't keep up with everything that was happening around me. I ended up halfway the scoreboard as a general rule, but I was already happy I wasn't at the bottom!

It's nice to play warzones together with Tiger. The best thing is to queue up for warzones with a bunch of friends and try out crazy plans. I like the occasional solo queue as well, though.

Team Gank in preparation. No I don't need to pee, I'm dancing! Very important WZ preparation technique! What, you didn't know? *rolls eyes*

Twink twink

Then one day, Y-u'no got a mail from a guild mate. It was full of mods, armourings, augments and augmentation kits. The guy takes an evil pleasure in twinking his guildie's lowbie PvP characters and observes them obliverating their opponents. I like to think it's not *only* due to the new twink gear, but nowadays I'm more or less on the top of the scoreboard. Not at the top, of course, that place is reserved for Tiger. He has some sort of DNA code that makes him deal the most damage of everyone around him - doesn't matter what game (it's the same in LotRO). I'm still a noob now, but as I'm learning it gets more and more fun.

I've been playing PvP matches from level 15 or so onwards, and I've leveled quicker than I could've imagined. In addition, Y-u'no mysteriously ended up being the richest of all my characters - apart from just handing in the daily PvP quests, I've been selling some warzone stims and medpacs. A full stack of 99 currently goes for 99k of credits. Now I'm above level 40, I spend my comms on ranked warzone commendations, so I'm able to buy the PvP set when I hit 50 (or wait for the expansion and the level cap of 55 to use them) - although I'm not sure if I ever want to do serious ranked PvP on her: I may suck too much!

 Y-u'no's favourite spot, up high, where she waits for the targets volunteering to get shot at.

Favourite occupations

• Hutball: what's possibly better than dominating the upper ramps and shooting at helpless people who can't do anything back?
• Civil War: defending the middle from high up is Y-u'no's speciality. Assassins or operatives are my bane, but luckily on lowbie most aren't too bright and let me kick them in the nuts + send them back down.
• Novare Coast: whether it's defending a turret, running around to help where needed or fight a hot battle over mid, I like this warzone. Only downside is when people don't call our incomings, but that's the case for all the defensive maps.

I realize I just gave away my secret warzone tactics to those playing on the Red Eclipse. I'll get prepared for flamey death!

It's official: even noobs may end up at the top of the scoreboard! (Click for a larger image.)

Who's that Y-u'no person again?

Y-u'no is a young flygirl with a multiple name disorder that just manages to make ends meet by smuggling goods. She doesn't like dangerous situations, but is sometimes forced to take part in them in order to earn her credits. Luckily she has a talent to escape certain death. In warzones, Y-u'no likes to keep a safe distance, preferably seated at a high place, shooting while others cannot reach her. Recently, she has specialised herself as a cybertech, crafting parts to keep herself outfitted with the best gear. She's now already level 43!