Exploring Expertise: Commando

At a glance:

  • Commando Expertise
  • Assault Expertise
  • Tips
  • Commando Expertise Skill Sets
    • Grenadier
    • Heavy Weapon Specialist


Commandos are heavy hitters on the battlefield. As masters of armor, demolitions, and heavy weapons, commandos inflict massive damage on their enemies and can withstand much of the damage dealt to them. The commando expertise tree focuses on remote detonators, killing frenzy, armor, de-buffs, damage-over-time (DoTs), and healing abilities. The assault expertise tree focuses on heavy weapons, grenades, and statistical enhancements.

As we explore expertise for commandos, we'll give you a quick look at the expertise skill lines, explain how the kill meter works, and share two new expertise skill sets; the grenadier and the heavy weapons expert!


Commando Expertise

Let's take a look at the categories available for commando expertise. Commandos can find these abilities by opening up your expertise window and clicking on the "commando" tab.

Remote Detonator Expertise

This line of expertise allows a commando to place a powerful explosive device that will lay in wait for an enemy. Once placed, the device lasts for a couple minutes until it self destructs.

Pressing the command to place the remote detonator a second time detonates the device.

The abilities listed below the device's main expertise ability all increase the power, radius, and effects of the Remote Detonator.

Timer Reset: Extends the Remote Detonator's time limit.

Angled Shrapnel: Increases the radius of the Remote Detonator.

Improved Explosives: Increases the damage of the Remote Detonator ability.

Tip: Solid teamwork can make Remote Detonator even more dangerous for your enemies! Set your charge and hide. Have a cloaked spy keep an eye on the charges while you hide. Then, when enemies get within range of the charge, the cloaked spy can signal you to blow up the charges - - catching your foes off-guard!


Suppressing Fire Expertise

Suppressing Fire expertise allows a commando to keep enemies from getting a clear shot, causing your enemies to hit less for a short period of time. You can also increase the effectiveness of this expertise with the ability Suppression Efficiency.

Suppression Efficiency increases the chance of your opponent getting "glancing blows" when they attack you.

Glancing Blow dramatically reduces the amount of damage done by an attack. When you see the combat fly text "Glancing Blow" it means the attack didn't do very much damage.


Riddle Armor Expertise

Crush your enemy's armor with the expertise ability Riddle Armor. This expertise riddles the armor of enemies, making them temporarily more vulnerable to damage. By riddling your opponents with a hail of blaster fire, you can reduce their armor from 1000-3000 points!




Armor Expertise

Powered Armor and Pinpoint Shielding both improve a commando's armor. Deflective Armor reduces total damage taken, after armor effects. In addition, here are three very helpful armor enhancing abilities:

Stim Armor: Built into the commando’s armor is a stimulant delivery system which, when activated, heals the commando over time.



Diagnostic Armor: Diagnostic Armor reacts to the environment of the commando and can absorb heat, energy, caustic materials, toxins, and even help slow blood loss.



Mirror Armor:
A coating of radar-absorbing material keeps the commando on a low profile. While this ability is active, commandos won't appear on anyone's radar. It is best used to sneak up on enemies or evade hostile situations.


Kill Meter Expertise

Some expertise abilities kick into gear when a commando gets into a combat frenzy. As a commando racks up kills, these powers also increase in effectiveness.

•  "It Burns !" increases the chance to set enemies on fire.

•  Blow 'Em Away increases grenade damage to enemies.

•  Killing Grimace increases weapon damage to enemies.

•  Armor Splash increases the chance to splash acid on enemies.

•  "You'll Regret That" increases your chance to dig in and become more defensive once you are snared. This ability essentially increases your armor.


The Kill Meter

The kill meter is a new feature available to commandos if they spend expertise points to gain the ability. When a commando gets into combat and kills an opponent, the kill meter is displayed. The kill meter will appear as an icon with a number over it.

As you rack up kills, the meter's number will count your kills and change from yellow to red. The highest amount of kills the meter can have displayed is 50.

Each kill on the meter increases the potency of kill meter expertise abilities. For example, if a commando spent a point on the Killing Grimace expertise, each kill point on the meter would increase weapon damage by 1%. A total of 10 kills would increase weapon damage by 10%.

Kills on the kill meter decay over time, so once you start rolling, don't stop! The more kills on the meter causes the bonuses to decay more quickly.


Commando Assault Expertise

Now, let's take a look at the second set of abilities. Commandos can find assault expertise by opening up the expertise window and clicking on the "assault" tab.

Position Secured Expertise

This line of expertise abilities helps a commando "dig in" for better aiming.

Burst Fire supports the Position Secured ability and grants higher rates of fire with a weapon or allows a commando to strike with devastating damage.

On Target allows a commando to hit critical points on their targets while at the same time helping keep themselves from being critically hit.

 

Base of Operations Expertise

When using this ability, commandos create a general protection field around their party members as well as themselves.

 

 

 

Weapon Enhancing Expertise

This line of expertise increases the power or decreases the required effort needed to fire a weapon.

Hose Down reduces the effort needed to Focus Fire on a target.

Keen Eye increases the range of a weapon.

Heavy Ammunition increases the damage of weapons.

Grenade Expertise

This line of expertise increases the commando's ability to use grenades.

Blast Radius increases the radius of a grenade when it detonates.

Strong Armor reduces the effort needed to throw grenades.

Packed Explosives means that a commando has modified the grenades used to do more damage.

Blast Resistance is a form of explosive avoidance that commandos are trained for. A battlefield hardened commando is an expert at this ability.

 

Electrical Warfare Expertise

Shock Tracers are modified electrical charges that commandos intermittently add to their ammunition. These tracers electrify targets hit by commandos.

Voltage Overloaded are shock tracers fired by commandos are charges that have been deliberately plugged long enough to become unstable. These charges will cause targets to be electrified longer than usual.


Muscle Spasms
are caused by changing the frequency of the shock tracer fired by commandos.

Shock Grenades are simply clusters of shock tracers combined into an explosive device that commandos sometimes use against artificial combatants.


Additional Tips

  • Diagnostic Armor is very helpful in PvP as many players will try to use damage over time effects against you.
  • Blast Resistance can reduce the area-of-effect attacks against you to zero damage. Most creatures and non-player characters do not use area-of-effect attacks, so it is not effective against them.
  • Grenades are predictable in PvP and easy to avoid, so most Commandos use heavy weapons and plan their expertise around it.
  • Remote Detonator is best used against non-player characters and creatures, although a group of commandos laying in wait on a battlefield near a choke point could easily take out an entire team of players with multiple detonators.


Expertise Skill Sets

Profession expertise expands the possibilities to create unique professional differences with your characters in Star Wars Galaxies. The choices you make to define your character's skill set will bring new depth to your character and how it can be played.

Since the total list of profession expertise abilities available for each profession costs more expertise points than any one player has to spend, the challenge becomes understanding the different ways expertise points can be spent to effectively customize your character.

Here are a couple of suggested skill sets for commandos to demonstrate how different arrangements of expertise abilities can be used to create different ways to play the profession. Each arrangement of abilities is an expertise "skill set" that will define the different aspects for any given profession.

Here, we present two different skill sets that can open up new ways to play your commando: The rifle toting grenadier and the heavy weapons expert.

Commando Skill Sets:

Grenadier

A grenadier focuses on a single, high powered weapon. Using this weapon allows a commando to toss grenades at enemies and fire Shock Tracers , while affording extra armor to withstand attacks.


Expertise Purchase

Level

Enhanced Constitution

10

Enhanced Constitution

10

Enhanced Stamina

10

Enhanced Stamina

10

Shock Tracer

10

Powered Armor

12

Powered Armor

14

Powered Armor

16

Powered Armor

18

Blow Em Away

20

Pinpoint Shielding

22

Pinpoint Shielding

24

Pinpoint Shielding

26

Killing Grimace

28

Pinpoint Shielding

30

Blast Radius

32

Blast Radius

34

Blast Radius

36

Blast Radius

38

Strong Arm

40

Strong Arm

42

Strong Arm

44

Strong Arm

46

Packed Explosives

48

Packed Explosives

50

Packed Explosives

52

Packed Explosives

54

Voltage Overload

56

Voltage Overload

58

Muscle Spasm

60

Muscle Spasm

62

Muscle Spasm

64

Muscle Spasm

66

Shock Grenade

68

Deflective Armor

70

Deflective Armor

72

Deflective Armor

74

Deflective Armor

76

Stim Armor

78

Hose Down

80

Hose Down

82

Keen Eye

84

Keen Eye

86

Heavy Ammunition

88

Heavy Ammunition

90

Heavy Weapon Specialist

A heavy weapons expert focuses on using multiple heavy weapons to maximize the amount of damage over time through heat, acid, and poison damage. These commandos tote heavy weapons and have high armor.

Expertise Purchase

Level

Powered Armor

10

Powered Armor

10

Powered Armor

10

Powered Armor

10

Pinpoint Shielding

10

Pinpoint Shielding

12

Pinpoint Shielding

14

Pinpoint Shielding

16

Killing Grimace

18

Suppressing Fire

20

Deflective Armor

22

Deflective Armor

24

Stim Armor

26

Deflective Armor

28

Deflective Armor

30

Suppression Efficiency

32

Suppression Efficiency

34

Suppression Efficiency

36

Suppression Efficiency

38

Riddle Armor

40

Armor Cracker

42

Armor Cracker

44

Armor Cracker

46

Armor Cracker

48

Enhanced Constitution

50

Enhanced Constitution

52

Enhanced Stamina

54

Enhanced Stamina

56

Position Secured

58

Enhanced Precision

60

Enhanced Precision

62

Hose Down

64

Burst Fire

66

Burst Fire

68

Keen Eye

70

Keen Eye

72

On Target

74

On Target

76

On Target

78

On Target

80

Base of Operations

82

Heavy Ammunition

84

Heavy Ammunition

86

Heavy Ammunition

88

Heavy Ammunition

90