SW:TOR Bounty Hunter

So, the first class has been announced, probably putting paid to the theories about a skill-based approach. And, somewhat surprisingly, it's the Bounty Hunter. This unexpected first player class for Star Wars: The Old Republic, well, it fills me with hope. For a start, it means that Bioware are not off chasing the lightsabres from day one; they're recognising the huge variety of other archetypes that exist in the Star Wars universe.

I'm wary of trying to draw too much information from this one class, but there are a few bits of information available. The main one I see is that the site says, "cutting-edge protective gear is standard equipment for most Bounty Hunters" and "powerful weaponry is necessary for any Bounty Hunter who might have to shoot his way out of a messy situation. It’s not unheard of for a Bounty Hunter to spend as many credits on an advanced blaster as others might spend to purchase an entire starship." From this, I'm guessing that the BH is going to need equipment - "gear", in the parlance of other MMOs.

Bioware are too smart to let something like that imbalance classes, so I reckon we can expect gear-dependencies of some kind for all classes, and therefore, I hope, some kind of player economy as such goods are won, bought, or made, and traded about.

Going from other text, the Bounty Hunter will be available on both sides, Jedi and Sith, and looks like it'll be available to a good few, if not all races. Given the normal egalitarian approach of the SW universe, I can't see many race/class restrictions cropping up.

For other classes, Syp has done some excellent speculatory work over on Bio Break, coming up with speculations including Scoundrels, Soldiers, Gray Jedi, and Scouts, alongside the more expected Force users. He also includes Droids there, although I'd reckon they're more race than class, myself.