simplified.. note: still based upon test centre stuuf at time of plaugerism.
Props to MSNil for thier work on this..

Smuggler expertise

The Expertise System: Smuggler

The new expertise system might be difficult to swallow. This guide attempt to simplify the terms as much as I can. Hopefully it will be enough for you to get a hang of what the expertise system offers.

Character Creators
Character Creatores serve as excellent tools to build different templates and weight them against eachother.

MajorXP's webbased calculator:
http://www.golegend.com/swg/expertise

Phlar-Torog & SWG-Inside, webbased calculator:
http://swg.action-inside.com


The Basics
Throughout the levels a Smuggler will be rewarded Expertise Points. 5 points at level 10, then 1 point every 2 levels up to a total of 45 points.

There are 18 skillines to spend in. Each skilline consists of 1-5 boxes. Some boxes must be upgraded with up to 4 points to earn the next box in the same line.

If we are not satisfied about the skillines we have chosen, we can find ourselves a Profession Counsellar that can reset our expertise points and pick a new template.
I often use the Profession Counsellar right outside Mos Eisley Starport, to the left of the entrance, but there are one in most large cities near the Starport entrance.
There are many ways to build a smuggler. Perhaps we want a Pistoleer, or a Melee Specialist, or maybe just a smooth scoundrel with lots of contacts. It's up to you.

Our Free Skills
The following seems to be given to all Smugglers for free. Some of theese are reduced in power compared to what we used to have, but may be upgraded with expertise points.

Level 1: Fast Draw 1, Precision Strike 1, Find Illicit Goods, +25 Terrain Negotiation
Level 4: Concussion Shot 1, Dizzy 1
Level 7: Self Heal 1: Patch Up, Cover Fire 1, Pin Down 1
Level 10: Call a Favor 1: Smuggler, Issued Smuggler Backpack
Level 14: Fence Items, Stolen Cargo Manifest
Level 18: +25 Terrain Negotiation
Level 22: Armor Use, Rogue Chest Armor
Level 26: Dirty Trick 1, Stolen Receipts
Level 30: Scoundrel's Scout Blaster
Level 34: Self Heal 2: Self Preservation
Level 38: Dirty Trick 2, Issued Smuggler Ring
Level 42: Forged Documents
Level 46:
Level 50: Dirty Trick 3, Precise Striker Pistol
Level 54:
Level 58: Self Heal 3: Survival Instinct
Level 62:
Level 66: Dirty Trick 4, Issued Smuggler Pendant
Level 70: Bleed 2 (not actually granted)
Level 74:
Level 78: Dirty Trick 5, Plan Beta
Level 82: Self Heal 4: Vitality
Level 86:
Level 90: Dirty Trick 6, Camouflage Ally, Disarm Trap, Belt of the Smuggler

What we have at level 90
Call a Favor 1: Smuggler
Camouflage Ally
Concussion Shot 1
Cover Fire 1
Dirty Trick 6
Disarm Trap
Dizzy 1
Fast Draw 1
Find Illicit Goods
Pin Down 1
Precision Strike 1
Self Heal 4: Vitality

Our "Lost" skills
The following are removed from our free skills, but are given back through expertise.

Bleed (Bleed, Artery Strike)
Coneshots (Combat Reflexes, Multi-Target Shot, Fan Shot)


The "Skill lines"
The name of the skillines are not official. They are just there to give you a quick hint what the line is about.

An Underlined power means a new special is granted.

The Max Cost will tell you the max amount of points required to get the whole line.

Effect will give you a very short description what the line is about.

Quickchart
The 18 skillines in short, followed by the power that initiates the line and the points required to max out the whole line.

Scoundrel
Enhanced Precision 2pt
Enhanced Luck 2pt
Armor Bonuses (Hidden Padding) 6pt
Pistol Bonuses (Gun Oil) 14pt
Melee Bonuses (Elbow Grease) 14pt
Debuff Line (Spot a Sucker) 7pt
Buff Line (Off the Cuff) 4pt
Narrow Escape 1pt

Smuggler
Easier Smuggling (Sly Lie) 6pt
Fast Talk 1pt
Smugglers Luck (Easy Money) 14pt
Combat Bonuses (Ploy) 13pt
Healthy Profits 1pt
Fake ID 1pt
Underworld Boss 1pt
Business (Off the Books) 5pt
Long Odds 1pt
Quick Fix 4pt


Details about each skilline

The roman numbers equals the tier of the ability.
Tier I is free, you can buy it at any time.
Tier II requires 4 points spent in abilities from the same specialization (Scoundrel/Smuggler) and all earlier boxes from the same line.
Tier III requires 8 points spent in abilities from the same specialization (Scoundrel/Smuggler) and all earlier boxes from the same line.
Tier IV requires 12 points spent in abilities from the same specialization (Scoundrel/Smuggler) and all earlier boxes from the same line.
Tier V requires 16 points spent in abilities from the same specialization (Scoundrel/Smuggler) and all earlier boxes from the same line.

Scoundrel Specialization

Enhanced Precision
Max Cost: 2 Points
In a nutshell: +25 Precision per point spent

Enhanced Luck
Max Cost: 2 Points
In a nutshell: +25 Luck per point spent.

Armor Bonuses
Skilline: Hidden Padding, Lined Pockets, Idiot Proof Plan
Max Cost: 2+2+2 = 6 Points
In a Nutshell: Improved damage reduction, with and without armor.
I. (2/2) Hidden Padding: +1000 Override armor* per point spent.
III. (2/2) Lined Pockets: +1000 Override armor* per point spent.
V. (2/2) Idiot Proof Plan: All damage is reduced by 2% per point.
* Override armor adds (Overridable Armor - (Armor / 2)) to armor as long as (Armor / 2) is not greater than your total Overridable Armor value.

Pistol Bonuses
Skilline: Gun Oil, Hair Trigger, Precise Bead, Hammer Fanning, Break the Deal
Max Cost: 1+4+4+4+1 = 14 Points
In a Nutshell: Makes you better when you fight with pistols.
I. (1/1) Gun Oil: Fast Draw 2, A quick level 10 attack that causes bonus damage.
II. (4/4) Hair Trigger: Decreases Fast Draw line of attacks action cost 4% per point spent while using a pistol.
III. (4/4) Precise Bead: +2m range and +2% per point chance to increase critical chance rate with pistol.
IV. (4/4) Hammer Fanning: A passive chance of 3% per point spent to shoot twice as fast as usual with a pistol.
V. (1/1) Break the Deal: Debuff, -75% damage for 5 seconds, 40 sec cooldown, 25 sec immunity.

Melee Bonuses
Skilline: Elbow grease, Switcheroo, Head Crack, One-Two Pummel, Bad Odds
Max Cost: 1+4+4+4+1 = 14 Points
In a Nuthshell: Makes you better when you fight with melee weapons.
I. (1/1) Elbow grease: Precision Strike 2, a precise level 10 strike that causes bonus damage.
II. (4/4) Switcheroo: Increase chance to take glancing blow by 2% per point while using melee weapon.
III. (4/4) Head Crack: A passive chance of 3% per point spent to stun an opponent with a melee weapon.
IV. (4/4) One-Two Pummel: 4% per point to strike twice as fast as usual with a melee weapon.
V. (1/1) Bad Odds: Level 34 Poison attack, causing a dot.

Debuff line
Skilline: Spot a Sucker, Meager Fortune, Wretched Fate, Poor Prospect
Max Cost: 1+2+2+2 = 7 Points
In a nutshell: Debuffs a target, making them deal less damage.
Prerequisite: 4 points in scoundrel
II. (1/1) Spot a Sucker: Debuff target with -40 Precision for 8 seconds, 25 seconds cooldown.
III. (2/2) Meager Fortune: With Spot the Sucker debuff, -10% per point for victim to deal critical hits.
IV: (2/2) Wretched Fate: With Spot the Sucker debuff, 10% per point for victim to deal glancing blow.
V: (2/2) Poor Prospect: With Spot the Sucker debuff, 10% per point for victim to deal less damage.

Buff line
Skilline: Off the Cuff, Double Deal, End of the Line
Max Cost: 1+2+1 = 4 Points
In a nutshell: Ensures critical hits and boost the damage done with criticals.
Prerequisite: 4 points in scoundrel
II. (1/1) Off the Cuff: A buff that allows a next strike within 8 seconds to be critical. 2 minutes cooldown.
III. (2/2) Double Deal: A passive chance of 25% per point spent to strike two enemies while using Off the Cuff.
IV. (1/1) End of the Line: A buff that makes next critical within 8 seconds to deal double damage. 5 minutes cooldown.

Narrow Escape
Max Cost: 1 Point
In a nutshell: Gives you a buff that can make you immune against snares snares
Prerequisite: 16 points in scoundrel
V. (1/1) Narrow Escape: Level 34 buff, cures snares/roots and make you immune for 10 sec, 25 sec cooldown.

Smuggler Specialization

Easier Smuggling
Skilline: Sly Lie, Half Truth, Innocent Cargo, Inside Information
Max Cost: 1+2+2+1 = 6 Points
In a nutshell: Quick lies and good contacts make your smuggling easier.
I. (1/1) Sly Lie: Use this before NPC's found your illicit goods to make them not attack you. Can be used at any time to enable the bonus from Half Truth and Innocent Cargo. The buff lasts for 10 minutes.
II. (2/2) Half Truth: Increases Sly Lie and Fast Talk by 5% per point spent. Adds +25 Luck per point spent.
III. (2/2) Innocent Cargo: Increases Sly Lie and Fast Talk by 5% per point spent. Adds a +25 Precision buff per point spent to Sly Lie.
IV. (1/1) Inside Information: Communicates with a contact within Jabba's palace to get information on bounties.

Fast Talk
Max Cost: 1 Point
In a nutshell: When NPC's have found your cargo and initiated an attack on you, you can use Fast Talk to make them stop attack you. Sometimes they even attack eachother. You can use Fast Talk on any NPC to get the agility bonus from Fake ID, even if it would not have any effect. The buff lasts for 10 minutes.

Smugglers Luck
Skilline: Easy Money, Feeling Lucky, Lucky Break, Card up your Sleeve
Max Cost: 2+4+4+4 = 12 Points
In a nutshell: Luck bonuses and a temporary combat bonus after you looted a smuggler loot.
I. (2/2) Easy Money: +25 Luck per Point spent.
II. (4/4) Feeling Lucky: Chance to find smuggler loot increased 1% per point spent; Finding smuggler loot grants a +100 "Feeling Lucky" Buff that lasts for 60 seconds but can then not be earned again for 4 minutes.
III. (4/4) Lucky Break: While Feeling Lucky, Lucky Break has a 1% chance per point to buff 100% critical hits for 10 seconds.
IV. (4/4) Card Up Your Sleeve: 10% Chance per point to buff the player with double firing for 5 seconds, while Feeling Lucky and Lucky Break.

Combat Bonuses
Skilline: Ploy, Scandal, Smooth Move, False Hope, Fake Goods
Max Cost: 2+4+4+1+2 = 13 Points
In a nutshell: Makes a Smuggler more effective in combat.
I. (2/2) Ploy: +25 Precision per point spent.
II. (4/4) Scandal: Increases area affect damage by 1% per point.
III. (4/4) Smooth Move: All damage is increased by 1%, while using a pistol or melee weapon.
IV. (1/1) False Hope: Grants the False Hope ability, which is a stun area effect attack.
V. (2/2) Fake Goods: Extends the duration of the stun from False Hope by one second per point.

Healthy Profits
Max Cost: 1 Point
In a nutshell: Call a Favor 2: Medic, calls a Medic to your side through a favor, instead of a Smuggler. Cannot be used together with Call a Favor and the cooldown lasts as long (about 15 minutes).

Fake ID
Max Cost: 1 Point
In a nutshell: Smuggling Rank bonus, +10% Fast Talk/Sly Lie per rank. +50 Agility from Fast Talk.
Prerequisite: 4 Points in Smuggler

Underworld Boss
Max Cost: 1 Point
In a nutshell: Smuggling Rank armor bonus, +200 points per rank.
Prerequisite: 8 Points in Smuggler

Business
Skilline: Off the Books, Under the Counter, Best Deal Ever
Max Cost: 1+2+2 = 5 Points
In a nutshell: Calls in a junk dealer. When the dealer leaves, the party gets a buff.
Prerequisite: 8 Points in Smuggler
III. (1/1) Off the Books: Communicates with a junk dealer to visit your location for party members to sell to. The party get a +50 luck buff when the dealer leaves.
IV. (2/2) Under the Counter: Adds +25 Luck per point spent to the Off the Books buff
V. (2/2) Best Deal Ever: Smuggler gets 5% of profits per points. Off the Books buff reduces damage by 3% per point spent.

Long Odds
Max Cost: 1 Point
In a nutshell: Smuggling Rank, combat bonus, +1m range and +1% damage per rank.
Prerequisite: 12 Points in Smuggler

Quick Fix
Max Cost: 4 Points
In a nutshell: +10% damage healed to your self heals per point spent.
Prerequisite: 16 Points in Smuggler

-- Edited by Jibblett at 10:21, 2006-09-21

-- Edited by Jibblett at 10:50, 2006-09-21