Welcome to DDM’s Smuggler and Imperial Agent beginning class guides for Star Wars The Old Republic (TOR). Why am I discussing Smuggler and Imperial Agent together? The answer is simple: mechanically speaking, they are played almost exactly the same, have the same powers, and fill the same roles in a group. The two have vastly different storylines and completely different goals, but when you boil down the nitty gritty of each class, they are very similar. You will see what I mean soon enough.

These class guides will be focused around the mechanics and play style that each class fits into. The Smuggler and Imperial Agent play the same roles, work the same way, use the same powers, and seek the same equipment.

Do you want to play a character that likes to hang back from the front, taking shots at your enemies with your blaster or sniper rifle? Do you want to master small arms weapons to tear up and debilitate your enemies while protecting and healing your allies? Whether you want to fight for the Republic or scheme through the Empire, these classes might be right for you in TOR.

One thing to note is that when you play as the Smuggler, you are a bit more of an outsider, on the fringes of the Republic. In stark contrast, the Imperial Agent’s story revolves around deep cooperation and alliance with the Empire. They both fill the same role and have the same powers, but their stories are very different. I would go so far to say that these two stories are the farthest apart compared to the other paired classes in TOR.

Smuggler Class Description

Living life by their own rules, Smugglers are the galaxy’s most unpredictable characters. They dress for ease of movement (with a healthy dose of style) and carry one or dual blasters. They are always ready to shoot first, stealth up and sneak away after.

Smugglers can be: Human, Cyborg, Mirialan, Twi’lek, and Zabrak

Imperial Agent Class Description

Behind every Imperial surprise attack, sabotage, and all the great betrayals, was an Imperial Agent. Armed for stealth and assassination, Agents do the jobs nobody else can and as such are trained to use a variety of tools, such as sleeping darts, sniper rifles, stealth belts, knives, and advanced probe droids.

Imperial Agents can be; Chiss, Cyborg, Human, Rattataki, and Zabrak.

Smuggler and Imperial Agents Role in TOR

Both of these classes have a little bit of every class mixed into them. This class could be considered your ranged or melee damage dealing character, as well as a healing class like bards and rogues in other MMO’s. There are a couple of different class paths you can take later to fine tune the role you like best, but for now, we are going to stick with the basic ranged damage and healer role.

This means that this class can easily fit into just about any role that is needed for a group and at the same time has the ability to solo well through the wide range of abilities.

One thing that stands out with this class is fact that they are able to use cover. This means they have a hotkey that allows them to move into cover and fight from there. This is a great advantage as some abilities can only be used from cover, but more importantly, cover grants the Smuggler and Imperial Agents a very nice defensive bonus. This can be a fun mechanic to use, and it makes this class much more survivable once the ability is mastered.

This class could be considered a support class for all of the others. They do not use the force but they can use melee weapons. They tend to shine when using blasters from cover, but they can use the many other tools this class has at their disposal. They can even buff and heal party members depending on the paths and style they are.

Even though in many respects they are considered support classes they can still solo quite well. They are not the powerhouses that some of the other classes are they are able to survive and even thrive in almost any situation. If you want versatility, the Smuggler and Imperial Agents are the classes you want to play.

You will be able to use light and medium armor. You also have one of the most diverse choices of weapons of any class.  You can use blasters, vibro knives, thermal grenades, and more. Play around with your abilities but always remember, your Cover ability is the best tool you have.

Smuggler and Imperial Agent Starting Ability Points

Both of these classes start off with the same beginning ability points. However, they can and will change frequently depending on the gear you wear and a few other things you can do in game to change them (Such as using a datacron to permanently increase an ability).

• 10 Strength
• 48 Presence
• 21 Aim
• 54 Cunning
• 48 Endurance
• 10 Willpower
• 0 Expertise

You will notice three abilities that are far higher than the others. Presence will help with your agro (aggression) generation. Cunning determines how well your Smuggler abilities function. Endurance will determine how many hit points you have and how much damage you can absorb. These abilities should be your primary focus. Try to equip items and gear that increase Presence, Cunning and Endurance.

Smuggler and Imperial Agent Armor

These classes can use light and medium armor. Light armor will have less of a bonus than medium armor. However, be sure to check the particular item’s statistics. Mouse over the item and the information will pop up. Quality light armor is often better than standard medium armor. Good changes will show as green and poor changes will show as red. Though it is nice to boost up your primary abilities, look closely at the armor rating.

Smuggler and Imperial Agent Weapons

Your primary weapon as a Smuggler or Imperial Agent in TOR is going to be your blaster. You will also be able to equip a vibroknife, but your blaster is going to be your bread and butter for a while. As you branch out into your advanced class, you will have more options, but early in TOR you will use your blaster. Remember; always use it from Cover if possible. This will give you a great advantage.

Your blaster is going to be the first weapon you are able to upgrade and modify. Try to stay on top of this to make sure your blaster is as good as it can be. Watch for quest rewards, drops, and most especially good crafters that can create these modifications for you. Try to focus on Cunning and Endurance or Aim modifications.

Smuggler and Imperial Agent Abilities

Lvl	Smuggler	Imperial Agent	Activate	Cost	Cool Down	Range	Type	Description
1	Flurry of Bolts	Rifle Shot	Instant			30m	Ranged Damage	Fires a flurry of bolts from your blaster, dealing weapon damage.
1	Lucky Shots	Coordination	Instant		6s	30m	AE Buff	Increases the target’s critical hit chance by 5% for 60 minutes. If the target is a party member, all other party members are also affected.
1	Recuperate	Recuperate	Instant				Self-Buff	Allows you to catch your breath, recovering health and energy over 15 seconds. This is only usable outside of combat.
1	Charged Blast	Snipe	1.5s	20		30m	Ranged Damage	Fires a series of powerful blasts for weapon damage. Can only be used from cover.
1	Take Cover	Take Cover	Instant				Self-Buff	Roll into the selected cover point. Taking cover increases your ranged defense and, so long as your remain down, most ranged attackers strike your cover instead.
1	Sabatoge Charge	Explolsive Probe	Instant	20		30m	Enemy De-Buff	Attaches a sabotage charge to the target that detonates when the target takes damage, dealing kinetic damage. Standard and weak targets are additionally knocked down and set on fire, dealing additional elemental damage over 3 seconds.
2	Blaster Whip	Shiv	Instant	15		4m	Melee Damage	Strikes the target with your weapon for kinetic damage.
3	Thermal Grenade	Fragmentation Grenade	Instant	20	6s	30m	AE Damage	Throws a thermal grenade that deals kinetic damage to up to 5 targets in an 8-meter radius. If the primary target is standard or weak, it is knocked down by the blast.
4	Dirty Kick	Debilitate	Instant	10	45s	4m	Crowd Control	Stuns the target for 4 seconds and deals kinetic damage.
5	Vital Shot	Corrosive Dart	Instant	20		30m	Ranged DoT	Fires a shot that causes the target to bleed, dealing internal damage over 15 seconds.
6	Flash Grenade	Flash Bang	Instant	10	60s	10m	Crowd Control	Lobs a flash grenade that blinds up to 5 targets within 5 meters for 8 seconds. Damage causes this effect to end prematurely.
8	Quick Shot	Overload Shot	Instant	17		10m	Ranged Damage	Blasts a target for weapon damage. Fires both blasters if dual wielding.
9	Escape	Escape	Instant				Self-Buff	Breaks you free from all incapacitating and movement-impairing effects.

• Level: The level you are able to train this ability.
• Name: The name of the ability.
• Cost: How much Focus/Rage it takes to use this ability.
• Activate: How long it takes to begin. Instant means right away. Channeled means it is used for the time duration listed. A time listed means it takes that long to begin the action. Both timed and channeled actions can be interrupted.
• Cool Down: How long you will have to wait before you can use this ability again. Seconds are abbreviated as (s).
• Range: This is the distance you must be within to use this ability. Some abilities are used up close while others can be used from afar. Meter is abbreviated as (m).
• Type: The kind of ability, if it helps you and your friends or harms your enemy. AE means Area of Effect, which will hit multiple targets.
• Description: A detailed description of the ability.

Smuggler and Imperial Agent Combat

Combat for this class can be difficult if you do not use the tools you are given properly. You will not be required to use Cover all of the time but it should be something you get in the habit of using as often as possible.

Smuggler and Imperial Agent Special Ability Cover

The default key for cover is the 2 key. I would suggest keeping it there so you can easily access it from the ASDW keys. You can use cover anywhere, even in the open, but it will be more effective if you use it to tumble into one of the green outline areas that will present itself.

To get the cover locations to appear, you need to have an enemy targeted. Once an enemy is targeted, you will see specific cover locations appear on your screen as green outlines of you in a crouching position. Hit your Cover key (2) and you will roll into place. This can be used to move quickly from one place to another, especially if you want to get in range fast.

To leave cover just move in any direction and you will automatically pop up and start moving.

When you enter cover, your primary hot bar will be replaced by a hot bar that only appears while in Cover. Get in the habit of organizing this hot bar along with your others so your most used abilities are easily accessible.

Fighting Groups of Enemies While Playing Solo in TOR

There is a lot of solo content in TOR, especially as you work your way through your class quest. Soloing means playing through content by yourself. If you are fighting a group of enemies, you can use your abilities however you choose. I would suggest experimenting in order to familiarize yourself with your abilities so you can easily decide in combat what you need to use and the results to expect. However, for most general playing in the game you will want to use the class’s one-two punch. Use the Tab key to cycle through the group and figure out if there is one that is the strongest. Select the strongest one, but if they are all similar in power, pick the one that is closest to you of the group of enemies.

1. Get into Cover!
2. Stick a Sabotage Charge/Explosive Probe to it.
3. Toss a Thermal Grenade/Fragmentation Grenade at it, blowing it and its friends up.
4. Finish the remaining enemies off with Flurry of Bolts/Rifle Shot.
5. Loot

Soloing Single Powerful Enemies and Boss Fights in TOR

You’ll want to use different tactics when you are fighting a single tough enemy, such as in boss fights.  The one-two punch tactic may not work as well. Keep in mind that you will be learning how to bring the pain fast soloing. But when you are grouped up, you may not want to unload on the bosses as much. More on that later.

So when you are fighting hard bosses solo, you will want to go into the fight with a plan. You have a lot of tools to stun and disorient your opponents and you will want to utilize them here. In Flashpoints and Raids, you will have to use these tactics or you will die, so take it seriously and learn the tricks to using your abilities well here so you can be an awesome player later in the game.

This will be great practice in learning to fill your role as a secondary damage dealer and crowd controller in TOR. That means you will help in the fight but should not be at the center of it. To do secondary damage and crowd control, check to see if the MoB has any friends around it that will assist it. If there are, your first job is to eliminate them while crowd controlling the boss. The reason for this is that even if they are weaker MoBs, they will tear you up if you waste your time fighting the hard enemy and let the weaker ones take shots at you. Even with medium armor and cover you are vulnerable and can easily die if you let too many things attack you at once. If the boss has friends, try handling them this way.

1. Take Cover!
2. Stick a Sabotage Charge/Explosive Probe to your target.
3. Toss a Thermal Grenade/Fragmentation Grenade at it, blowing it and its friends up.
4. If there are minions left, toss a Flash Grenade/Flash Bang to blind them. Then pick them off with Flurry of Bolts/Rifle Shot
5. Hit the boss with Vital Shot/Corrosive Dart to start the bleed.
6. Stick a Sabotage Charge/Explosive Probe to it.
7. Then blast it with Quick Shot/Overload Shot until dead.
8. Loot some blues!

Note: If the boss is a melee mob that runs up on you, make sure to use Dirty Kick/Debilitate as soon as it gets to you. Then drop it quick, which you should be able to do now that it is really beat up.

Grouping in TOR

When you are grouped with others, the MoBs should drop pretty quickly, so there shouldn’t be much need to use a lot of different abilities. Use Flurry of Bolts/Rifle Shot as you go into the fray. Make sure to let the tanks hit the MoBs first. This assures that they get initial agro. Also,  there can be ambushes or hidden mobs and if you are the first to strike a target you might find yourself quickly surrounded by enemies. You do not want this to happen. If it does, use Flash Grenade/Flash Bang to blind them so you can get away or you may quickly die. Keep to these simple attacks to save your resource pool for when you need it to fight nasty bosses and their friends.

When you’re in a group, your job will be secondary damage and to help control mobs, especially when you are rushed by many of them. Thermal Grenade/Fragmentation Grenade is good to damage many targets. Try to use this from cover so when they retaliate you are protected.

Use Flash Grenade/Flash Bang to stop a group for a few seconds. When they are blinded, they will just stand around holding their heads. However, if they take damage, the blindness will go away and they will immediately start attacking again. Keep this in mind when you are trying to control mobs. Don’t blind them then toss a grenade. That will just immediately end the effect.

Grouping in Boss Fights in TOR

Grouping and fighting bosses is much different for your class as compared to soloing. First and foremost, you should never be the first to strike, in fact, you should wait until the boss is down at least 10%, 20% to be safe before you attack. It might be tempting to jump right onto the Elite or Champion boss. I urge you to hold back to let the tanks establish good agro. If they don’t keep agro, you will die, simple as that.

If you just have to start tossing destruction, you should focus on the minions of the boss. You should use some of your crowd control abilities to keep them off the main tank while you pick them off. This will really help to keep control of a battle that can quickly get out hand if the boss starts bouncing around. You want those super nasty MoBs to be hitting someone else, hopefully the party’s tanks.

If you draw agro off the tank, then you need to stop attacking. Let the tank re-establish agro. Stay in Cover, or seek it if you are not in it. Just sit back and wait a few seconds before you re-engage.

When you do start attacking again make sure not to attack as hard or as fast. You want to keep the boss parked and stationary so the entire group can work to bring the boss down. Sabatoge Charge/Explosive Probe, Vital Shot/Corrosive Dart and Charged Blast/Snipe are all good abilities to use to defeat powerful boss MoBs.

Overall the Smuggler and Imperial Agent are a great class to play in TOR. They can really bring a wide variety of tactics to any situation when needed. They are a boon to any group in even the hardest of missions, if they are played well. Through your first 10 levels, you should get a feel for which way you want to take your class when it is time to pick your path. Both offensive and defensive choices are great characters and will be needed classes for any end game content. The choice is ultimately yours. Play what fits your style, your character and what you envision these to be.

Below are a couple quick summaries to give you an idea what you will be looking for in TOR for advanced paths.

Smuggler Class Paths for Star Wars TOR

Gunslinger

Master of the trick shot and willing to take advantage of every opportunity, the Gunslinger learns how to fire two blasters at once, specializing in long-range combat.

• Class Role: Damage – Offensive
• Weapon: 2 Blaster Pistols
• Armor: Medium
• Skill Path: Dirty Fighting, Saboteur, Sharpshooter

Scoundrel

In addition to his trusty blaster, the Scoundrel packs a stealth belt, a scattergun and a med pack – everything he needs to get in, knock the enemy for a loop and get out alive.

• Class Role: Heal, Damage – Defensive
• Weapon: Blaster Pistol, Scattergun
• Armor: Medium
• Skill Path: Dirty Fighting, Sawbones, Scrapper

Imperial Agent Class Paths for Star Wars TOR

Imperial Agent

Behind every Imperial surprise attack, each sabotage, and all the great betrayals, was an Imperial Agent. Armed for stealth and assassination, Agents do the jobs nobody else can and as such are trained to use a variety of tools, such as sleeping darts, sniper rifles, stealth belts, knives, and advanced probe droids.

Operative

Whether ambushing enemies with stealth or using advanced medical technology to keep colleagues in the fight, the Operative will do whatever it takes to advance the agenda of the Empire

• Class Role: Heal, Damage – Defensive
• Weapon: Blaster Rifle, Vibroknife
• Armor: Medium
• Skill Path: Concealment, Lethality, Medicine

Sniper

Identified as the most elite sharpshooters in the galaxy, Snipers use their extensive training to eliminate sensitive targets and turn the tide of battle in the Empire’s Favor.

• Class Role: Damage – Offensive
• Weapon: Sniper Rifle, Vibroknife
• Armor: Medium
• Skill Path: Engineering, Lethality, Marksmanship

Enjoy playing these fun classes in TOR. Remember, once you choose a path, there is no going back, so choose carefully. Make sure you are certain what you want to do. Follow what you want to do with your character and consider your play style. Both classes are mirrors of each other, so pick the side that you think will fit your personality and role play style. You will have a lot more fun this way instead of trying to make a Jedi act like a Sith or vice versa.

Focus the innovative thinking and be ready to tackle any situation that Star Wars The Old Republic throws your way. Play this class well and it will make a huge difference in a group and take it to victory in TOR!

Play smarter, not harder!