For the Republic!

Come GET some!

Wow! Not since the ‘Hope’ trailer have I been this jazzed.  Troopers ROCK!

Some people recently asked me what the heck a trooper was, and I was like…what? Then I had to think about it. Besides the iconic stormtrooper/clone trooper, how many people actually know where the original word ‘trooper’ came from? According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a trooper is a private soldier in a cavalry or armored unit.  Almost anyone who has seen movies has seen images of cavalry, right? John Wayne’s works like ‘She Wore a Yellow Ribbon’ and ‘The Undefeated’? You know, the guys on the horses? Charging in to save the day in the nick of time? What? You DON’T? Sheesh…what do people learn these days…?

Ok, back to basics. Cavalry units, that is soldiers who fought from horseback, were generally thought of as elite forces, separate from the rank and file of infantry, artillery, etc. That fits this new update from Bioware to a ‘T’. These soldiers of the Republic are anything but common. And the video… I won’t ruin it. Just…watch it. Watch it NOW! Even if you plan to play Empire, you need to see this stuff:

Historically speaking, cavalry units were usually not well thought of by regular troops. Part of that was envy of course – the fact was that the cavalry got most of the attention. After all, what is some general or other bigwig going to look at closer? Some private in a ditch with a spear or rifle or will that hypothetical bigwig look closer at some guy on a horse? My bet is on the horse.

That dates back to the days of knights on horseback, which are not as far back as some might think. The last time a cavalry charge occurred in modern times was actually in World War II, on the Eastern Front. Admittedly, the cavalry were Cossacks serving the Germans, but no one could doubt their courage. Their good sense we can doubt however. After all, charging machine gun positions on horseback seems a bit stupid to me, but I am looking at it from a modern historical perspective. I wasn’t there, so I really can’t say. Nowadays, mounted police are more commonly called troopers as well, but the basis is there. They are elite operatives of some kind, supposedly above the rank and file soldiers. Some Special Operations units in real life use cavalry nomenclature according to some sources, to differentiate themselves from common soldiers as well.

So cavalry were the elite. They needed more supplies to keep their horses fed than regular troops did as well, that also garnered some ill feeling. So it was with just a bit of a sigh that many militaries replaced their horse cavalry with mechanised cavalry. The APCs and tanks that replaced the horses need fuel and maintenance, yes, but generally they do not excrete all over the road, or on the General’s feet.

Speaking of transportation… The new starship looks like it will be really, really cool to fly and kick Imperial tail in. My only problem with it is this. Where the heck are the missile launchers? Am I missing them? I know the three lasers cannon are powerful, but I want something that goes ‘Boom’ not just ‘Zap’. Other than that, I cannot wait to play it. I cannot wait to fly this rapid assault ship and blow stuff up with it.

Speaking of blowing stuff up, check out the advanced class information! Whoa… Vanguard or Commando. Hmmm… Such hard choices there. Vanguards are all about durability, probably with less damage output, offset by insane health regeneration and/or damage mitigation from armor.  Commandos are all about damage, period. Big guns and bigger guns. I REALLY want one of those two barrel jobs that the female trooper wields in the video. Just watching her mow down that whole line of Sith soldiers was worth the wait.

I like big guns, always have, always will. About those guns, what do you think we will see in the way of single being portable heavy artillery? We saw the two barreled cannon both in screenshots and in the video. We see single barrel cannon of various kinds. Some firing what looked like heavy bolts with others firing faster.  We have not seen any other weapons, but likely they are coming. Grenade launchers, missile launchers, possibly some kind of man portable ion cannon? The possibilities are almost endless.

My only complaint is about the companion. Why the heck did they have to go with the stereotypical demo guy? Yeah, he is not human, and yeah, he looks cool. But how many real life demo specialists have you met who were insane? They don’t generally last very long if they are nuts. If their own munitions don’t kill them, their squad mates might. They are dangerous to be around when they are sane. When they are nuts? Stay FAR away from them.

All in all, this was an EPIC update. A new race in inhabitants, and the Trooper update with the video. I know what I am going to roll first, no question. Not that there ever really was one. FOR THE REPUBLIC!  ((And the chance to use REALLY big guns))