Squad Leader Archive

Everyone knows the problems with SL, so I wont go into them here.

Tomake this profession worth while, why not make it that Squad Leaders can have there own Non-Player Character pets?

Heres the idea:

• NPCs can be obtained by purchasing them in cantinas / hotels / guildhalls. To obtain them you will need to "hire them" (ie buy them for large amount of credits). They can spawn there randomly or maybe have some NPC that sells them.


• Any PA can create PA aligned NPCs (but have a limit on how many they can create - maybe only create 1 for every 5 members). This will either cost money or resource


• The principles of usage would be much like creatures and driods - similar commands and they can get incapped, but not die (heal in the same way as creatures)


• You can give roles to different NPCs - i.e medic or different weapon types


• NPC will havethe combat skill of a Player with skills upto the to the "specialist" row in the marksmen profession. Medic skills will be low.


• They have cool "Yes sir!" and "moving out!" audio

Reasons why I think something like this is needed:

• To get SL you need 3 primary branches, while as CH you only need 2 branches. CH at the moment are far more powerful and useful in a group. This isn't right, (especially when CHs are gonna get mounts in the future) so something like this needs to be done.


• Sometimes its hard to find people to group with - SL should be able to get XP, even when they are soloing

I know some people have mentioned ideas around faction pets, but I believe anyone in a faction should be able to use them. Also many Squad Leaders are not factioned base - all professions should get the same benefits whether they are aligned or not.

So what do people think?

I like this idea, but the SL skill tree has already been worked out. Adding this ability would either require it to be fully active at novice SL (ie: no new npc handler skills awarded as you progress) or the tree would have to be re-worked. I personally think the skill tree does need a re-vamp, but I've heard the devs aren't likely to do this.

I just became a Squad Leader the other day, and i must say, i wish it was worth the experience it took to learn. The base Leadership bonus is a mystery to me, because it seems to add nothing to the class of squad leader. There really doesnt seem to be a component that makes the squad leader a neccessary memeber of any group. The class should be so good that everyone will want to have a Squad Leader in their group. It is Imperavtive that the skill tree be reworked or improved upon to make the class gives bonuses not only to the members of the group, but to the Squad Leader his/herself. The leadership bonus should count towards something. It is necessary to give an individual a reward for being this class, other than being grouped, because every other class in the game can stand alone, the squad leader should not be rendered helpless because of the title he/she holds. I hope the designers will take some of these things into consideration, because as of right now there is no real reward by training in the squadleader class.

Sorry to say this.. but that idea is awful

There's entirely too many pets in this game as it is.. squad leader is SUPPOSED to be for being a group leader for PEOPLE. If they just make the bonuses and skills better for helping your group out, it'll be fine.

I completely agree with Zeraxis. The number of pets in this game is ridiculous as-is. Let's not add to it with Squad Leaders as well.

Stop the Menagerie!

"squad leader is SUPPOSED to be for being a group leader for PEOPLE"

Why can't people be NPCs? My main annoyance with the SL profession is they are insanely weak compare to other professions - why do people accept having rancors roam cities and NPCs just to stand on the same spot day in day out... you say that there are too mainy pets as is, but surely it would be more dynamic if NPCs where actually intergrated with Players??

I think we should just get some perks for using faction pets. When the Hutt faction is in, you should be able to buy mercenaries and bodyguards from them even if you aren't part of the faction. This will satisfy everyone, even if Hutt faction is a year off.

I'm at a loss to understand why a squad leader should get XP for soloing. Squad leader is a social profession folks, not a solo job. The power derives, or it should derive, from leading a group of players successfully into combat. Of course a squad leader on his/her own is going to be weak in comparison to a bounty hunter or commando (assuming the profession isn't as messed up as everyone says it is). IRL, a specially trained and equipped commando operating solo would be expected as a matter of routine to make quick work of some M-16 toting infantry sergeant whose squad has been shot out from under him ... probably by that same commando(no offense to you hard-working squad leaders out there ... I salute you).

The reason I'm drawn to this class is because it's the one combat line that compelsYOU, the player, to use your brains to succeed and advance, rather than simply macroing a great combat script or having a health bar that stretches from here to Paris (not that there's anything wrongwith that ...)The game doesn't give you the skills to analyze a situation, deploy your people properly, obtain the objective and get everyone home safely. You have to provide those on your own. The powers you get as a squad leader seem designed to support that function, not make you an all-powerful Combat God.

Me, I don't want to run around with a bunch ofcomputer generated dronesblasting everything in sight. I want to find challenging missions, get out there, get the job done and get my friends back home and do it in a way that makes playing the game fun for everyone.

But that's me. I don't begrudge you if you want to be able to cause the scariest beast around to explode just by looking at it. As I understand it, the galaxy will keep spawning them for me and my friends to hunt in ourown fashion.But if that's what you want to do, just pick a different profession, say creature handler. I don't think squad leader is for you anyway.

Don't get me wrong - the reason I became a Squad Leader is because of the social aspects you get when you go hunting (thats why I play these games).

I just think there should be somethingfor us to do when grouping isn't possible or you can only play for like half-an-hour - being in a group usually means playing for several hours (which sometimes isn't possible) and sometimes its actually impossible to form a group in the first place.

I'm not saying that NPC pets should be unstoppable forces like Rancors - actually what I'm saying is they should be pretty weak...

One of the reasons for NPC pets is so that people who can't commit to a lot of playing hours can actually get xp - as I've said, being in groups means you have to play for several hours.... its the only profession that requires you to be online for several hours to get xp... can't casual gamers be Squad Leaders??

I'm all for NPC pets. I actually thought this is what the SL was all about when I first heard about the profession pre-Beta. It takes more xp to reach SL than CH. At novice we get the ability to talk to our group, nifty, something I could already do. A novice CH gets a 5k, if not more,HAM killing machine. This is unbalanced no matter how you look at it.

I have a suggestion to reduce the number of pets: get rid of CH. This is Star Wars, not Pokemon. CHs have no precedent in the Star Wars universe, other than the fat rancor keeper in RotJ. It's a busted class that has destroyed PvP and is ruining my, and I'm sure many others', Star Wars experience. Save them for the mount expansion and make them mount trainers.

What? Give Squad Leaders a squad?? Are you insane? Creature Handlers would go bananas over this..Imagine..someone else than them having something that may make em a viable tank option...

Some say "squad leaders" are a "social" profession, made for leading groups of players.

Well..it is..well..kinda....Anyone can lead a group..and enyone can do a job like ours..

A group of players dont need a "master Squad Leader" to be a efficient unit, nor does having a "master Squad Leader" benefit much to that group...unless he's also a killing machine...¨

I planned on becomming a Squad Leader, and a Carbineer ever since they announced the 2 professions. I thought, that as a Squad Leader, I would like the creature handler have a NPC squad to lead, possibly be those who could get the faction pets to "do their job" the most efficient..meaning that even if anyone could have a faction pet..a squad leader shined in controlling the troopers.

If that wasnt so, I hoped that as a squad leader, I would as the leader of a player group, have the abilities to add to that groups attack and defence..make a group more efficient than a player group that did not have a SL in command..with my special abilities and "group bonuses"....

But I guess I was wrong..on both my hopes.

I won't be giving up on SL yet tho, just as I won't give up being a carbineer, as I am too stubborn to give up ans turn into yet another average Bounty Hunter god all mighty or Creature Handler of Ranchor unlimites.

There can be only one way for us Squad Leaders right? up up and away?..We can't get any lower can we?...can we?!??

I already have npc's following me.

Dark trooper

Medic trooper

Commando trooper

"My main annoyance with the SL profession is they are insanely weak compare to other professions - why do people accept having rancors roam cities and NPCs just to stand on the same spot day in day out... you say that there are too mainy pets as is, but surely it would be more dynamic if NPCs where actually intergrated with Players??"

Your opinion is interesting, and I can't blame you for voicing your suggestion here. However, there are other professions in the game besides Squad Leader that are perceived as 'weak' right now and I don't condone adding NPC sidekicks as a solution for class balancing. Whether you call them 'pets' or 'NPCs' you're still talking about adding more AI companions to compensate for incomplete classes, and I can't buy this as a valid solution.(even if the companions say neat things like 'yes sir' and 'k thx bye') Eventually, we'd all be Creature Handlers with different shaped Rancors.

Stumpfrowe of Kettemoor