Shhh! Don't tell! She's a DPS . . .

As my husband and I are questing on our mains together and trying to remain at pretty much the same level as we go, it puts me in something of a quandary if he has to travel.  You see, his laptop doesn't run SWTOR very well at all, so we can't play together when he's on the road.

With this in mind, I created a Smuggler bearing my real life given name, with the intent to play her only when I really couldn't play my Consular.  In spite of the name, my Consular is the one with whom I identify the most and who bears my identity in the game.

The other day, my Smuggler reached level 10, and I was faced with a choice:  what Advanced Class should she pursue?

To be honest, I hadn't really thought about it, as I hadn't really thought I would have sufficient time to play her all the way to level 10.  Now, I am a healer; that's what I do best.  So when finally faced with the decision, I naturally first looked at the Scoundrel healing spec.  But as I read more about the choice, I became more uncomfortable.  I realized a Scoundrel's dps forte is at melee range, with stealth.

I've done that kind of thing before.  Playing a Druid in WoW gave me the chance to try that style out, leveling as a feral cat.  The really wonderful thing about playing a Druid in WoW is it gave me the chance to try out tanking, melee fighting, ranged fighting, and healing, at various points over the years, which is how I figured out I am a lousy tank and a good healer.  So I can say with some experience that, given the choice between melee and ranged fighting, I vastly prefer ranged.

But if I picked the Gunslinger Advanced Class, which really focuses on ranged dps, I would be cutting myself off forever from the option to heal on my Smuggler.

Ugh.  (Or, as the Sea Witch said on Disney's The Little Mermaid, "Life's full of tough choices, idn't it?")

I stared at the talent trees.  I read on the SWTOR forums.  And I kept coming back to the idea that I just didn't want to play the sneaky melee style.  But . . . to not be able to heal . . .

Finally, I had a thought which tipped the balance.  This character would be running solo most of the time.  Why would she really need to be a healer?  She had no plans to raid or even run flashpoints--just to quest her way through adventures and story lines, with perhaps a bit of PVP tossed in on the side.

Besides, dual-wielding blasters is sexy.

So, while it may come as a surprise to people that I did not choose to specialize my Smuggler as a healer, her future is set.

/furtive looks . . . This could be a lot of fun.

/giggle