Pros and Cons of Playing a Jedi Consular in ‘Star Wars: The Old Republic’ (SWTOR)

"Star Wars: The Old Republic" (SWTOR) is a highly anticipated MMORPG (massive multiplayer online role playing game). Critics and fans have speculated over whether the game will rival MMO giant "World of Warcraft."

I played SWTOR in the beta testing phase. Since its release, I have played it regularly as a Jedi Consular character. Here are the pros and cons of playing that class.

Pros:

Best Companion in the Game: Tharan Cedrax

Jedi Consular characters get an amazing companion option in the game. The third companion available is Tharan Cedrax, a healer with bonuses to slicing and cybertech crafting skills. He likes pretty women, so naturally he adores my consular - even if he is attached to that pesky hologram chick. (I'll find a way to deactivate her eventually.)

Tharan allowed me to re-spec from full healer to DPS (damage per second), making it easier for me to solo missions. Unlike Qyzen (the consular's first companion, who serves as a tank), Tharan is pretty intuitive. He alternates between DPS and healing as another player would, avoiding damaging effects instead of charging into them.

Throwing Debris

My Jedi Consular has multiple attacks that involve throwing debris. One of them pulls random matter up from the ground and uses it as a weapon. You never know what will come up: pots, rocks, droids, and other objects are buried throughout game worlds.

The dark side consular equivalent (Sith Inquisitor) gets force lightning. Having played an inquisitor in beta testing, I wasn't sure if anything could compare to the awesome of that ability. However, the consular's attacks are just as awesome.

Class Quests

I adore the Jedi Consular class in this game primarily because of the class quests. As someone who likes to play diplomatic and snarky characters, I find plenty of options available in SWTOR. The class quest involves acting selflessly by receiving pain to assist Jedi Masters, including the consular's own master, Yuon.

Cons:

No Dual Spec

As a consular, I can play healer or DPS. Not both. If I want to re-spec, it costs money. There's no way to switch from one spec to the other. Even with the best gear, it's virtually impossible to go on quests solo with the healer spec.

At level 25, I changed to DPS spec (the first re-spec is free) and let my guild mates know I'd heal them in PvP down the road if they help me with the re-spec costs.

Annoying Companion: Qyzen Fess

Qyzen Fess is the first companion you receive as a consular. It makes sense to get him, since he's a tank-and the way he's acquired in the class quest is well-written. However, he isn't the brightest NPC in the game. Qyzen likes to run into AOEs (area of effect abilities) like fire. I feel a lack of attachment to this obvious computer player. It's also annoying, because whether I'm playing healer or DPS, I need to pause to heal him after he walks into fire.

He also gets in the way sometimes when I'm trying to click on loot. That said, he's only half the size of the inquisitor's companion, who has many of the same issues.

The SWTOR staff actively encourage feedback, and have even sent out requests for feedback. Despite the annoyances involved in playing a consular, they respond to feedback in a timely manner. I look forward to playing this game for years to come.