Garrett Fuller - Jedi Knight: Full Beta Preview

"You start with a basic attack and also a powered up strike. The fun really starts with the Force Leap ability which is similar to a Warrior charge in Warcraft except with a lot more visual flare. It also has a pretty solid range to it and allows you to jump into combat quickly. Each attack generates enough Focus for the Jedi to unlock additional attacks on their bar. After another level goes by you can also get Force Blast which allows you to stun multiple opponents when you land and basically pick your target to attack. They don’t stay stunned for too long, but it is long enough to help you finish them off. These abilities alone are amazing for the class and make the Jedi Knight a force early on in the game. From there combat continues with a bunch of different lightsaber attacks which help you max damage and generate combos on your hot bar. The combat is pretty straight forward. I will say that Bioware has done an amazing job with the animations on combat. Just doing a basic attack is not a one hit kind of move. It carries with it some great animations that really make you feel like you are in a sword fight. So really right from the beginning you are leaping around dropping foes with your training blade.

At this point you are probably wondering how a Jedi deals with shooting attacks. This is a critical element to the class and something I had several questions about as well. Jedi do make the moves to block shots or attacks as you go, however, you also get a Force Shield ability in early levels. This ability has a longer cooldown but grants the player a bubble around their character that can minimize or deflect shooting attacks. Use it wisely young Jedi, it is worth its weight in credits once you go up against larger groups of foes. The real story behind close combat and ranged combat or the inevitable debate of Han Solo and Obi Won with blaster vs. lightsaber will play out once the game launches. In the early beta there is no real way to tell how this balance will play out, at least not with the starting areas. For now the Jedi combat is fun and the animations really do enhance the click and target MMO game play we have all gotten used to. Combat is fun and fast paced. You also get combat music which with Star Wars is never a bad thing."

Read more of Garrett Fuller's MMORPG.com beta preview here!