Star Wars: The Old Republic Jedi Consular Guide: The Force Is Strong With This Class

This Star Wars: The Old Republic Jedi Consular class guide, for levels 1-10, is here to guide and inform you on what it means to be a Force-wielding Jedi Consular in The Old Republic. If you're looking at your pre-order of Star Wars: The Old Republic, and you're thinking to yourself, “Jedi Knights, Bounty Hunters, Sith Inquisitors, oh my! How will I ever choose which to play?” Well good friends, that's what we're here for. But, if you're already dead set on being a Jedi Knight, then be sure to check out our Star Wars: The Old Republic Jedi Knight guide.

You Should Play A Jedi Consular If: The Jedi Knight is a blunt instrument. A weapon. If you'd rather be exploring the infinite mysteries of the Force, educating yourself on all manner of Force manipulation, unlocking ancient secrets on forgotten worlds and then using that to either beat the snot out of your enemies as a long-range DPS class in SWTOR or to heal and buff as a support class, the Jedi Consular is for you. If you like your Jedi to be a little more Qui-Gon or Yoda and a little less Luke, this is your class.

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Background: Scholar and tactician, educator and diplomat; these are just a few of the many hats a Jedi Consular will wear in his life. As one who swims in and drinks deep of the Force, the Jedi Consular is behind the scenes of virtually every decision made by the Jedi Council. They are wise beyond measure and are often called in to settle disputes when hope of peace is still within reach.

Don't let their calm demeanor and intelligence fool you though. The Consulars are valiant warriors, easily one of the most powerful classes in Star Wars: The Old Republic. They can crush their enemies to dust with a thought, turn foe to friend, or rally their allies in a way no one else can. Though the Consular wields a lightsaber like the Knight, his attacks with it are of an extremely basic variety. Hence, the most important stats for a Consular will be those which boost their ability to maintain and regenerate Focus.

How You Play A Jedi Consular: It's hard sometimes to remember that the world of Star Wars isn't a magical one while surrounded by Consulars. They play similarly to ranged DPS classes in the feudal worlds so many MMOs take place in, so look to mages, wizards, sorcerers and the like for inspiration. Instead of charging headlong into battle, the Consular will use each of his abilities with careful planning and precision, dispatching foes with a wave of his hand before he must even swing his lightsaber.

Unlike a Knight's Focus, which dissipates with time and must be built up, a Consular's Force bar fills over time and does not need to be manually regenerated. It is a pool from which to draw your abilities, but be careful: its resources are finite.

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How To Plan Your Future As A Jedi Consular: Upon reaching level 10, you'll have the ability to take your Jedi Consular down one of two paths. While the Consular is a great DPS choice for levels 1-10 and also has some basic buffs during these early levels, once you've chosen the route of the Jedi Sage or Jedi Shadow Advanced Class, you'll likely be trading one for the other. So think ahead!

First up, let's talk the Jedi Sage. Like the Guardian Advanced Class for the Jedi Knight, this class doesn't receive training in new saber techniques, focusing instead on single-saber combat and ranged Force abilities. It can be a force (no pun intended) to be reckoned with from a distance, but up close the Sage is super squishy. Customize your Sage with the following talent trees:

• Telekinetics, a tree focused on keeping your DPS high, cost-effective, and at range.
• Seer, the closest thing you'll ever see to a White Mage comparison. This is the holiest of healers.
• Balance, which as the name implies balances out the Sage's lightsaber combat and offensive abilities, which are weaker than most classes as a Consular.

The Shadow is a wonderfully sexy Advanced Class for the Jedi Consular. Not only does it look just plain badass with its double-bladed lightsaber, but it also gains stealth and some wicked melee DPS. If you like the Consular a lot, but aren't the type to hang back and let your friends get all the action, this is the class for you. All that's left is to choose your tree.

• Infiltration, which maxes out the Shadow's most ninja-like traits and uses positional advantage in combat.
• Kinetic Combat, which turns the Shadow into a defense-oriented fighter and attention-grabber. It's a great tree if you want to learn the responsibilities of a tank or function as an off-tank yourself.
• Balance, same as with the Sage, complements the Consular's basic lightsaber and offensive Force powers to become something of a jack-of-all-trades.

Again, remember that no matter which class you choose as your Advanced Class, you're still a Consular. You'll continue to gain Consular abilities as well as continue a Consular story. Choose what class fits your playstyle; you won't miss out on story!



Jedi Consular Equipment: The Consulars are heavy hitters with their Force abilities, but in return they're soft and if you poke one too hard it might just need some medical attention. Light armor gives the best benefits to the Consular, and you won't have to worry about choosing between blasters, as the Consular isn't spec'd for them.

Like the Knight, you won't be receiving a lightsaber right away. In fact, if you grind out your levels and complete every single quest available on Tython, you may even exceed level 10 before you get it! Don't worry though, your training saber and Force abilities will be more than enough to get you through, assuming you keep up those Willpower stats.

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Jedi Consular Skills: The Consular's skills for levels 1-10 are, like the Knight's, pretty basic. You'll only cycle through two or three at first, steadily building up buffs, AoE and ranged attacks. As with every other class, you'll want to have your starting buff up at all times and try to conserve your Force unless you absolutely need it. Getting caught in the middle of three or five enemies with no Force pool is not a place you want to be.

As you could probably guess with this guide coming out before that just-within-arms-reach SWTOR release date of December 20, these skills aren't set in stone. They could still change in terms of animation, effects, damage, etc. Still, if you want to know what skills I can recommend at this stage, by all means look just below!

• Saber Strike: Something of a misnomer since you won't start with a lightsaber, but a useful melee ability nonetheless. The Consular deals weapon damage, spread through three swings of his blade.
• Project: Again, the name might not be quite what you expect. But this ability never gets old, as the Consular lifts a chunk of debris from the ground and hurls it at the enemy, dealing some good ranged damage.
• Telekinetic Throw: To keep enemies from so much as touching you, follow Project with this. You'll stream a constant volley of earth and debris at an enemy, slowing their advancement toward you while still dealing decent damage.
• Force Valor: Keep this buff up at all times for levels 1-10, and possibly beyond. It'll raise your resistance to attacks, helping you stay on your feet in those hectic situations where you get swarmed.

Jedi Consular Closing Thoughts: The Consular doesn't change much from its KOTOR and KOTOR 2 versions, but that's not a bad thing. It's the same playstyle you remember, just wrapped up in a neat little MMO package. That MMO frame also makes the Consular a little more specialized than he was in previous single-player games as well, but any weaknesses are typically are made up for with the Advanced Classes or the various companions the Consular will encounter.

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The Consular's story is one of diplomacy and behind-the-scenes negotiation. While you'll still be fighting in epic battles and swinging that flashy lighstaber of yours, it may only be because there weren't any negotiations to oversee or legendary lore to uncover. It's a remarkably fun class, but its slower pace in terms of story may be a turn off to some. If you're a fighter, you may be more tuned for the Knight or Trooper. If you're heavily invested in Star Wars lore though, you'll feel right at home.



What do you think of the Jedi Consular? Sound like your bag, or maybe you're more the blasting type? Be sure to look back on the Jedi Knight class guide, as well as the next class guide, the Trooper! After that, we'll close with the Smuggler, one of the biggest departures from traditional MMO playstyle in Star Wars: The Old Republic!

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