There were rumors coming from Test Center this summer of a total revamp of the Jedi system and the inclusion of force sensitivity to normal characters. For those of you that do not know, the previous Jedi system mandated that players had to master six different professions to unlock a character that could pursue Jedi aims. This grind caused a lot of dissension within the SWG community. Folks that many relied on for various services gave up those professions to grind out others to get their Jedi character. Many of us felt this disrupted the community and were rather bitter. SOE heard our griping and changed the path to Jedi from grinding to a quest based system. Over the course of two publishes, this new system was carefully introduced to enhance the game, but not ruin the countless hours many people spent grinding out professions. The result is a surprisingly satisfying system that allows all players to participate.

Force Sensitivity refers to the level of connection a character has to the Force. Think of Anakin Skywalker in Episode I. He had never received formal training in using the Force, but had many benefits from being connected to the Force (increased reflexes and mechanical inclinations). This has now been included in SWG. How strong a player’s connection to the Force is determined by their accomplishments within the game. To increase your Force Sensitivity, characters must complete various quests and theme parks, master a profession, and collect badges from various points-of-interest. As you progress through this “to-do list”, you will gain a stronger and stronger sense of the Force (type /check in game to see how strong the Force is with you).

To achieve full connection with the Force, you must accomplish the following:

• Master any 1 profession
• Achieve all 3 Jedi POI Badges (Ben Kenobi's Hutt –Tatooine, Exar Kun's Temple – Yavin 4, and the Jedi Temple Ruins – Dantooine)
• At least 2 "Difficult" POI Badges (Krayt Skeleton – Tatooine, Salacc – Tatooine, Tusken Pool – Tatooine, Krayt Graveyard – Tatooine, Lesser Sarlacc – Dathomir)
• 5-8 of any other of the POI Badges (The upper ones count also, therefore it is wise to get all 5 of the the "Difficult" POI badges.) for a total of 10 POI Badges
• 5 Content Badges ( Warren quests, Jabba's themepark, Nym's themepark, Rebel/Imperial themepark, and ANY of the 9 Corellian Corvette badges)

Once you’ve completed these tasks, you will feel the inner glow of the Force (referred to by many as “Feeling Glowy” or getting “The Glow”).

Before I tell you what happens after this, I want to comment on this addition. I think this is a fantastic idea by SOE. Many people, myself included, never did the Corvette missions, Jabba’s or Nym’s themeparks, or visiting the POIs. By forcing (sorry for the pun) folks to accomplish these tasks, new life has been given to this older content. BRILLIANT! It also has another benefit; it builds up players in preparation for the next steps to Force Sensitivity.

Once you start Feeling Glowy, the waiting game begins. It may be hours or days until your path to the Force begins by a visit from an Old Man. It’s generally accepted that the Old Man likes to visit you when you are away from the major cities and out in the wild. What worked for me and many of my friends is to hop between player cities by shuttle, run outside of the city, and attack a creature lair. He generally appears at inopportune times, but luckily he’s pretty patient. When you speak to him, he’ll ask you if you’d like to learn more about the Force (I’d recommend a positive response, or else the rest of this article is moot). He’ll give you a Force Crystal that acts like a quest log. Following this visit, you’ll be attacked by a couple Sith. Actually, they are more like a gang that calls themselves Sith as they are very very very very easy (weaker than Meatlumps). Be sure to loot these guys and you’ll find a data disk that will lead you to more Sith. Once again, you’ll be able to loot a data disk that will reveal the coordinates to a mystical village on Dathomir, a village dedicated to training folks in the ways of the Force.

Aurillia. Not exactly the garden spot of the galaxy, but important none the less. It is in this village that you will be able to unlock skill trees that represent concentrations in the Force. The following are the paths you can take, and their benefits:  

• Crafting Mastery
• Force Experimentation
• Force Assembly
• Repair
• Crafting

• Heightened Senses
• Luck
• Persuasion
• Surveying
• Healing
  
• Enhanced Reflexes
• Melee Defense
• Ranged Defense
• Vehicle Control
• Survival

• Combat Prowess
• Melee Accuracy
• Melee Speed
• Ranged Accuracy
• Ranged Speed

How do you progress up these trees? All those surplus experience points that you’ve been accumulating can be traded in for Force Sensitive Experience. There are various exchange rates for each type of experience you have and those can be applied to specific areas above. Grinding experience has returned!

While you are getting extra experience to advance in the various skill trees, there are missions to be done. These missions can be combat, medical, crafting, or reflex related.  Rather than go into detail in this article, check out this forum post from the official site for more details: http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=TestCenter&message.id=96723

There are four phases to accomplish that will recycle after it’s completion (right now we’re in phase two, so you can wait for phase one to come back later). Once you’ve mastered six branches of Force Sensitivity, you’ll be visited by the Old Man yet again. He’ll have various quests to be completed that will unlock Jedi Padawan for your character: http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=Forcesensitive&message.id=18

I did not intend this article to be a primer for becoming a Jedi, rather I wanted to give a big shout to SOE for a job well done. SWG was in danger of becoming quite stale, yet this new content has revitalized my gaming experience. And coming to a galaxy near you is Jump to Lightspeed! Lots of new content and opportunities are coming very quickly. My addiction has been renewed and my social life again returns to its dormancy. *heavy sigh* Till next time, May the Force Be With You!  Big Z has left the building.

By Zzyxx ©2004 gamebunny.com. 01/Oct/04