» Question » Which path to take as a noob?

My advice would be to play as one of the hybrid DPS roles (whether it be DPS/Tank or DPS/Healer) first and get the hang of the DPS side of it, then you can branch out and try the tank or healer role. A lot more pressure does certainly tend to fall on those roles more than DPS, but you really wouldn't have to deal with that until you get into group situations where those roles are required.

If you're just out questing on your own, a DPS role will work just fine as most of them come with tank-line abilities anyway to mitigate incoming damage.

DPS sounds like it involves alot of ranged attacks which is not a skill I've been particularly skilled in when playing previous games.

You can choose to play a melee-centric DPS as well, like a Sith Warrior/Jedi Knight (depending on the faction).

Seems like your research has served you well. Couple things.

As mentioned by others, parties usually are looking for healers, then tanks, then dps. So if you don't have a guild or friends to play with, it might be easier for you to find and keep a group if you go with a healer. However, in SWTOR this effect should be minimized somewhat due to the possible use of companions. I don't think it's worth being uncomfortable with your character.

So if you decide straight forward DPS is the thing for you, but you're still worried about ranged then I'd go Sith Marauder, or Jedi Sentinel. They have very little in the way of ranged or AoE to worry about, and they have the force leap abilities to make it easier for you to get next to your target.

Honestly though, there are no noobie classes. They all have their complexities at the high levels. But the nature of an RPG is that you slowly gain those abilities, so you shouldn't be too worried. You'll get eased into everything.

Finally, everyone's a noob sometime. The first time you do a Flashpoint or an Operation there will be things about the fights to come that you won't know no matter how good you are with your character. I recommend being up front with your group about it and asking them for tips and warnings. That way when you die because you didn't get out of the way of the massive DoT that boss does, it will be partly their fault for not remembering to warn you. :)

If you are interested in group play and are looking for which role will be the most in demand I will suggest Healing. From our Beta experience Healers are going to be most in demand, partially due to the challenge. All healing advanced classes have a DPS spec in case it turns out that you do not enjoy the healing role.

First, chose the type (ranged vs. melee) of prof. you feel the most comfortable with. Then pick dps, tank, or heal based on what you know will be your strength. Tank is always a good choice because it give you more defense. I would say that healing would be the toughest for new players because it is a demanding role and so many peeps are relying on you for success.

Also know that DPS, although fun, is the least in demand for groups.

DevLin's advice, would be my advice for you as well, usually. I would, usualy suggest the Trooper Commando, but you said you are not used to range.

So I have to change my advice. First find a group, a group of friends or find a guild. I would suggest a casual Guild for two reasons, this is your first MMO and you sound like a gamer you are not going to want to deal with the junk of the Harder core Guilds. I would also say you will want to get on a PvE server. If you like I can suggest some guilds for you, I can get 4 casual Guild names quickly and 9 in two days all with good leadership and communities.

The thing about a group is it is made up of Tank, Heal, and DPS. But there are 4 slots in a group and up to 16 in a Operation. There are off tanks/heal/and dps as well. So this gives you more options than you think you have.

With what you are saying I would say, you want to go Jedi Knight Guardian do it. Now this is a Tanks class, melee class. Just let your group know you are new to groups. The type of Guild I mentioned will teach you. This way you can be an off tank play the class you like and learn to be a Tank, have fun. That is after all the point of a game. You need the community that you fit in, this can change over time, but finding a group to game with makes the gaming more fun. You just have to keep the drama out imo. Good luck to you, and Good gaming. Remember HAVE FUN

PM me if you would like help finding a Guild. I would be happy to help you find one that fits you. (even if it is not mine, I support the TOR community as a whole)

Well, in the idea of dps, all advanced classes have a dps option. If you are new to MMO's a hybrid spec would be best if you don't want to roll alternate characters to try out each roll.

The main decision is do you want to be a melee dps, tank off spec/ ranged dps, tank off spec/ or ranged dps, healer off spec.

Usually each roll is pretty easy to pick up on when you try em out (especially dps in the sense of flash points, just make sure you are hitting the tanks main target, if you can't figure out which target is the main target have the group leader mark them)

On the topic of marking, this can be very useful for tanks, especially early on (and dps in the general sense of "oh, i should kill that one first, got it"). Beginner tanks can use this to tell people to focus one mob, unload on that mob to make sure you have threat maxed out, while keeping up a series of group taunts, or area of effect attacks to keep the mobs on you.

Healing is just something you get better at with practice, i would recommend a HoT class as a good start for learning (example being smuggler, or imperial agent). Since you can learn only using what you need and reserving energy for the heavy heal situations.

play around a bit with a couple of the different classes and see what you like.

don't be afraid of saying "hey I'm a bit of a noob, can I get some help" if you find you have questions. there were a ton of people who asked some basic mmo questions in global chat during the beta, and they all got useful answers.

other than that, each class will have a role, and each advanced class brings more focus to that role.

basic roles being tank dps healer crowd control

now some of those can overlap, and in general tanks and healers seem to require the most amount of skill, and a bad tank or healer can lead to party wipes.

dps role seems to be the easiest to grasp right off the bat, you just kill things.

the healer has to worry about who to heal, priority and timing, while managing their resources. nothing hurts more than the healer running out of steam because they pointlessly topped off healthbars, or over healed someone.

tanks main job is to grab the attention of the enemy, called aggro, and hold it so that the enemy focuses on them. tanks tend to have more damage reduction, or higher defense values and more hit points than other classes, but lower dps. they're job is to litterally tank the damage. they can cause party wipes if they can't hold the aggro or if they aggro too many enemies and end up dropping.

crowd controls job is to disable the enemy and break them down into smaller engagements. usually relying on a stun, sleep, root, knockback/down mechanics.

thats some of the basics, but mainly don't be afraid of asking questions. we were all new at one time, and with each new game things can change.