Star Wars: The Old Republic is testing new combat styles 10 years after launch

BioWare’s Star Wars: The Old Republic is currently testing four new combat styles in its public test server and is asking for feedback from fans.

The Star Wars-themed MMORPG is in the process of adding four new combat styles to the game - Mercenary, Powertech, Juggernaut, and Marauder - which will be available alongside the already playable Jedi Guardian, Sentinel, Sniper, Operative, Assassin, and Sorcerer combat styles.

According to a blog post released to the game’s Steam page, the developer behind Star Wars: The Old Republic wants to make its combat styles "clearer and easier to understand, while also ensuring that the class retains its identity" using the Sith Warrior and Bounty Hunter classes as an example of combat styles that require a lot of memorization and a deep understanding of their abilities to play.

To avoid this happening again, The Old Republic dev has said that it plans to identify key aspects of the four new combat styles in order to "understand how players both perceive and utilize the classes' abilities." BioWare has also stated that its focus is to "equip the player with knowledge and understanding of these abilities so they can make impactful choices when it comes to ability upgrades and customizations."

"To make these classes feel less encumbered and customization more concise, we are working to reduce the quantity of abilities but ensuring that these classes remain distinct and unique," the blog post concludes.

Despite initially releasing in 2011, Star Wars: The Old Republic is still receiving updates with the Legacy of the Sith expansion releasing for PC sometime later this year. This new expansion will expand the game’s story - which is set thousands of years prior to the events of the films - and will also introduce a number of quality of life improvements, which may be connected to this latest public testing.

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