SWTOR Imperial Agent Guide

The Imperial Agent is an interesting class that is unlike anything else in the game. This is the one class that has the smallest tie-in with Star Wars lore, and as such the developers have the most creative freedom when developing this class. In this SWTOR Imperial Agent guide, you will discover a class overview, advanced classes and roles, and the strengths and weaknesses of this class.

SWTOR Imperial Agent Guide – Class Overview

The SWTOR Imperial Agent has three specializations rather than the advertised two (one specialization has two markedly different roles), each of which has dramatically different gameplay. One specialization allows for melee combat, another for healing, and a third specialization focuses in on the ranged aspect of this class.

I think overall most players will pick this class for its ranged capabilities, as the Sniper advanced specialization seems to be the most pure ranged DPS class in the game. This class also makes extensive use of the cover system, which has some pros and cons which will be discussed below as well.

In the next part of this SWTOR Imperial Agent guide, you will find the two advanced specializations, what roles they fill, and the strengths and weaknesses of each specialization.

SWTOR Imperial Agent Guide – Operative

Although technically the Operative is a single advanced specialization, it two very different talent trees. The first tree, Concealment, sets the Operative to function like the Rogue/Thief class from other video games. It gives it access to close-ranged weapons like Daggers as well as abilities like Stealth and Backstab. Lethality, the shared branch, gives it access to poisons, making the Concealment talent tree perhaps the closest class to WoW’s Rogue class.

This class is likely to be great versus casters in PvP, as it has a variety of snares, roots, and interrupts. Then again, it may not have a good way to prevent getting kiting from ranged classes. It’s a bit too early to tell either way until we get a full ability list for all the classes.

Additionally, the Medic specialization allows the Operative to become a full-fledged healer. How this class will stack up to other healers in raids and dungeons we do not know just yet; we will have to wait and see. This class does have dispelling abilities though, so a hybrid between Medic and Concealment might be a viable option for PvP.

SWTOR Imperial Agent Guide – Sniper

I think the Sniper class is definitely the most appealing option for players looking to play the SWTOR Imperial Agent. This particular class is the only true ranged class in-game, with two different trees dedicated towards ranged DPS.

The first tree, Marksmanship, seems to maximize ranged attacks and damage. The upside to this class is that it is likely to do great damage from range, and if you have cover it will be hard to hit this class directly in PvP, making smart defense in PvP an interesting option. The only downside is that it seems you might actually need cover to be completely viable, meaning that you will lose mobility if you want to maximize damage or lose damage if you want to move.

The second tree is the Engineering tree, and it seems to be full of tricks and traps. Typically, these sorts of builds are ideal for PvP. It might be that for the Sniper, the Marksmanship build will be the PvE spec whereas the Engineering tree would be the PvP spec. This would seem logical, but you never know just how things will wind up when you hit the level cap and actually get into the warzones.

SWTOR Imperial Agent Guide – Pros and Cons

The Imperial Agent certainly has a lot of pros and cons. My first impression is that the Operative does not look like it will be a recommended specialization from me. Whenever you have a class that only has a single talent tree (either healer or melee dps, plus the shared tree), by default you will have less options to choose from.

It doesn’t make sense for an Operative to grab both healing and damage-dealing spells for PvE, which is likely to be a major portion of the game. You might be able to come up with a viable build for soloing or PvP, but when there are less options around it is never a good thing in my opinion.

On the other hand, I think the Sniper will be a great class. The Marksmanship and Engineering trees seem like they are open to good builds and that players will be able to use all three talent trees with ease to build the class that fits the situation they want to play in. If you want to be a ranged DPS class, this seems like a good fit.

Additionally, the Engineering tree does seem to focus on debuffs, which would be highly desirable in a raiding context. Debuffs do not do that much in a 4-man group, but when you get 16 people together, they can really make a difference!

I also think that in general the Imperial Agent will be under-represented, making gear and groups much easier to come by.

SWTOR Imperial Agent Guide Conclusion

The Imperial Agent is one of four classes available to play in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Its specific specializations allow it to be a melee damage-dealer, ranged damage-dealer, or even a healer. How good all of these classes will be we just do not know yet, but we should see soon enough. Be sure to come back to our SWTOR Imperial Agent guide regularly as we will be making routine updates here.

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