For many years now, my husband and I have played games together as a couple. Many games are designed to be played this way but even those that are not, we find a way to enjoy the experience together. In SWTOR, we leveled several characters as a team and in some ways, it was more difficult than in other games. It seems many aspects of SWTOR are designed for solo RPG-like play.
However, there are many great ways to enjoy leveling as a pair in SWTOR. If you have a spouse, partner or friend you want to play with, you can begin from level 1 and go to 50 together. Here’s a mini-guide on how to do it.
First, consider your class pairings. Some will work better than others because you start on the same planet or because your skills pair up well. For some your companion skills will work well for the overall group and some will give you the best group pairing right from the start.
While you can create a pair of anything you want, I do recommend not pairing up with the exact same class. For one reason, you will find yourself in competition for gear in the low levels and for another reason, you share the same class stories so unless you split up, you will have to do the same storyline twice in a row on many occasions. However, you can still play two of the same class if you choose and if these points don’t bother you.
Here are some pairings to consider:
- Imperial Tank/Healer
- Republic Tank/Healer
- Imperial Tank/Damage
- Republic Tank/Damage
- Imperial Healer/Damage
- Republic Healer/Damage
- Imperial, Both Damage
- Republic, Both Damage
Once you know what classes you are playing together, it’s time to consider your crew skills. It makes sense to choose different crew skills so you are not fighting over the same items while leveling up together. You can also choose complimentary crew skills to help work together more efficiently as a team, make items you need for leveling or earn more credits to support you throughout your levels.
Finally, create a plan and discuss upfront how you want to level together. You should determine what percentage of your leveling you want to do with PvP, Flashpoints or just questing. You also have to take into account solo time for space missions and your class quest lines. Then you also need to discuss Light Side and Dark Side choices. Will you go the same or different? How will you determine your choices? If you’re going the same, it helps to make a plan where you choose the same options each time you roll for storyline. This will get you more points when your response is chosen.
The better you are able to communicate with your leveling partner, the better the arrangement will go and the more fun you will have. This is probably one reason this type of leveling is popular with couples and with best friends. Regardless of how you choose to play, remember to have fun!
