This was posted in the SWG beta forums, so some of the information may be dated.
There's nothing more frustrating than getting in a new game, not knowing how to build a decent character that can be self-sustaining and not too dependent upon other players. Getting killed all the time can cause someone new to an RPG game to give up because the pace is so much slower than most games.
Last night I had a new player come up to me without saying a word, request a duel. I accepted and the fight was over very quickly. I stimpack "resurrected" him from incapacitation and he was full of questions on what he needed to do to make a tougher character. Questions like, "How do I make money?" "What do I do next?" etc., etc.
Granted, this game is geared toward player interaction, but being totally dependent upon healers and a group can be a disadvantage at times. Here are some pointers for brand new players on how to build a self-sufficient character quickly:
1. With the starting 250 XP, buy Scouting and Marksmanship OR Brawling from an NPC trainer. Type /find in chat to help you locate them. Scouting, in my opinion is one of the most important skills in the game. Scouting enables your character to run faster up hill and gives good hunting bonuses. You can also extract resources from animal corpses that are very important in crafting other useable items such as stimpacks and medpacks. If you start your new character at the very first in the scouting profession you should receive a Generic Crafting Tool so you don't have to find someone to make one � they can be expensive!
2. Find a mission terminal and do several Destroy Missions. Most are relatively close by (500-2000m away) to earn credits. This will give you the needed experience at learning the awesome Waypoint System. Accessing the Planetary Map and seeing how waypoints are placed in relationship to the terrain and their direction (top of map is North) is a must to keep from getting lost. I find that the City Map zoomed all the way out (using the ctrl-mouse scroll button) is very helpful at showing you where the creatures are located (small red triangles) and how to negotiate around them to avoid aggression from several mobs at once.
3. Once you acquire enough credits train the rest in the Medic, Marksmanship and Brawling skills. The four over-all good skills to have are Scouting, Marksmanship, Brawling, and Medic.
4. Marksmanship: It�s up to personal preference which weapon class you want to choose for marksmanship. I chose pistol simply because of the rate of fire and the damage ratio that it gives.
5. Brawling: This is an extremely helpful skill to have since the majority of solo fights will eventually end up in a toe-to-toe fight. If you chose to run away � Burst Run completely to safety and hit the F7 Peace key to activate the Peace mode to stop the creature�s aggression. Don�t forget to use your Radar or City Map to avoid running right into another mob! Sometimes it takes hitting the peace key several times and at a distance from the creature for the aggression to end. Running away at regular speed will likely get you killed because the creatures now cause damage at a distance and you�ll end up missing a lot.
6. Medic: The first item you want to buy from a player is a Generic Crafting Tool. With this tool you can make stimpacks and when you get the first Organic Chemistry skill you can make Medpack-A using organic resources such as meat, hides, and bone. Meat works the best. This way you can heal yourself, and others in the field with stimpacks. You can also help out entertainers heal their action wounds in the cantina in return for healing your Battle Fatigue. Later, if the hospital is too busy you can heal your own wounds using Medpack-A � but listen/watch an entertainer to heal your Battle Fatigue first. Until the Medic is revamped, it�s not wise to train in Organic Chemistry II now because you will lose (or supposedly forget how) to make MedPack-A. To make Medpack-B you will need much more resources like water and it's very time consuming and makes you too dependent upon other players unless you want to jump into the Artisan profession and start surveying/sampling for your own resources. Again - you'll spend all day digging in the dirt if you go that route. (Some people like to dig in the dirt � I�m one of them with my Crafter Character!)
7. *Stick to one or two weapon types (i.e. Brawling and Pistol), as much as possible so that the skill tree for that weapon increases constantly rather than spreading out all of your XP on several different weapons. It takes long enough to max out one weapon skill tree on it�s own. Also, a good combination to consider is your order of tactics towards a creature. It�s best to kneel or go prone to get better accuracy, but once the creature gets close, stand up and deactivate your weapon and start brawling. Later on you�ll have more brawling special attacks that will devastate your opponent!
Hopefully this will help new players get started and provide a beginning template on how to build a quick self-sufficient character.
John�e Brav�o
Dearic, Talus
P.S. Lots of thanks and credit goes to Khybar Khan for much of this helpful information.
Additional information on camps, compliments of Sync909:
Other than entertainer I have spent some time with the scout profession and here are some things I found that I hope others will find helpful:
Only suggestions are to * use * those scouting skills and get scouting skills early in the Explore line ASAP. Being able to hoof it up a hill quick because you have some scary critters on your tail is a real plus.
I tend to find *so far* that most critters except for the meaner ones have trouble climbing uphill just like everyone else does normally.
Also mask scent can be helpful. I make two macros for my scouting.
First one is /loot; /harvest. The other is /maskscent; /forage.
Maskscent breaks a lot so when you turn it on so you might as well be getting another action in. The only downside is you can get your inventory loaded up with stuff like a tasty jar of grubs or something hehe. The food you /forage will boost your stats for a while as well so its all good. Also you will gain experience with mask scent. It is not much but you will gain some for your trouble.
The real handy item is that mask scent can save you a lot of headaches or help you avoid entanglements of a nearby nest that normally would swarm you. With maskscent working, basically you are invisible to them and you can get experience for doing it by simply running by. Bear in mind though the /con system, if the red eyed monster nearby is a high con meaning higher than blue then expect maskscent to break really fast � so stay clear of them unless you are looking for a fight.
If you want to increase you staying out in the boonies mission time - talk to NPC's. You can build up faction by killing their enemies. As an example: killing thug type characters will land you townsperson faction. Speak with Nomads, Jawas, Jabba types etc and many will offer you missions while you are deep in the wilds. Some of the conversations with NPC�s can be really funny.
Notes on NPC�s:
Please leave the white and yellow colored npc�s nests etc. alone if you can! If you bust a nest or NPC you could be killing someone�s mission. Also the yellow NPC�s will not attack you so there really is no reason to kill them off. Speak with them instead � its far, far more profitable if you do!
Also on scouting - advertise your camp! If you are deep in the wilds there are players out there that may not have camping skills or out of materials and really need a rest. Camps allow you (when they are working right) to have entertainers and medics work their magic out in the field. You can make friends fast this way and meet lots of interesting people who drop by. So if you have battle fatigue and a person drops by � you can heal them and the entertainer can get your battle fatigue problems solved � all in your camp.
If you pitch a tent and see a friendly dot in the area - its up to you but give a shout "Open camp is available at 2349, -1245 for rest and recuperation. The numbers are example X, Y Coordinates found below your radar typically on your lower left. Why do that? You get a chance to help a fellow player and.... you get camping experience! The longer the camp is open, the more visitors etc the more camping exp you get. That will later allow more powerful camps that will protect you from critters coming over tying to make a snack out of you. Think of it as a portable safe haven that hides you and others while offering a safe refuge - it�s a fantastic skill to have!
Just remember that camps are * not * bullet proof. Meaning examine your skill boxes about camping skills and note about how the higher level camps will protect you better from wandering monsters etc. A little green toad hopping about your camp will likely not break your camp but a foaming at the mouth Mountain Squill most definitely will.
Ok quick how to info about camps:
Hide and bone need to be of the SAME TYPE. So if you get 7 leathery hide and 12 avian bones then have plenty to try to make your first camp.
Second tip: Look for the little control panel at the entrance of the tent once you have created a camp. This will give some cool things like camp status, current camp members etc. Also if you want to leave use this panel to shut down your camp. It�s more reliable this way to get good camping experience. The last time I have my camp overrun by a ravenous beast � I did receive a nice camp bonus as the camp was destroyed so all may not be lost from a good camp.
Third tip for camping: Pre make your camps! Get a nice big pile of bone and hide and kick back and build up some camp kits. You can keep these in your bank if you want to as well. If you are a starting scout and want to learn and experiment with it, gather your resources (see the requirements found in your data pad under schematics). Now with a pre-made camp kit drop it in your action bar. Run outside the city limits and start punching that F key you have assigned your camp too. If you are far enough away from buildings and civilization in general � you camp will deploy. Mmmm look at that nice fire! Now its time to break out the food! Hehe.
One other note on harvested items. If a medic heals you, being a scout with all those piles and piles of hide and bone- what to do? Donate them! If a medic has healed you the biggest request I hear from medics is � �if you have any organics I would greatly appreciate it�. If you already have your pre made camp kits then digging up more hide and mode for a trap or two or for your hunting tools - is no big deal and you get more scouting exp for every successful harvest. After all that camping and scent masking fun � carefully examine your scout skill tree and see if there are other skills you would like to have. Scout is a great baseline class that leads to some very powerful professions later. All you have to do is add up the skill point costs with your other professions and plot your chart of your character.
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