* Energy and Kinetic Damage Basics * Elemental Damage * Critical Elemental Effects * Lightsaber Crystals and Elemental Effects * Elemental Combat o Weapon Tips o Armor Tips o Combat Tips o Expertise Tips
Traveling around the galaxy in a time of war can get pretty risky sometimes. Any spacer will tell you that having an edge in combat is how you stay alive. If you plan on traveling into a rough area, there are two main types of damage that you'll have to consider defending against: Energy and Kinetic.
Typical blaster technologies use energy attacks. These are very common in the galaxy. Lightsabers, of course, do energy damage. You will find in your travels that weapons with energy attacks are the most common.
Kinetic damage is physical damage that is usually caused in melee combat. Some of the rougher characters in the galaxy still carry weapons that do kinetic damage. Bullets, slugs and weapons that use a projectile all fall into this category. Anyone who's had to travel across the Tatooine desert knows Tusken snipers aren't using energy weapons.
Seasoned combat veterans will also tell you to be wary of some of the more exotic weapons in the galaxy.
Some soldiers and mercenaries carry beam weapons that have kinetic attacks, so you'll have to stay on your toes if you wander into a war zone.
Elemental Damage
Energy and Kinetic attacks will always be your biggest threat, but there is a twist. Some weapons can do Elemental Damage . To find out if a weapon you are using does elemental damage, click on it in your inventory or examine it. The type and amount of elemental damage it does will be in the description.
The elemental damage bonus on a weapon is a straight damage modifier. For instance, if you have a weapon that does 20 points of heat damage, any attack you do with the weapon will inflict your base damage plus the elemental damage bonus. Elemental Damage will pass through any conventional armor, so it's pretty handy unless you are on the receiving end of the attack.
here are four types of elemental damage that a weapon can possibly have:
* Acid * Cold * Electrical * Heat
The benefits of elemental damage aren't limited to the extra damage bonus. Each elemental attack has a critical damage effect that can possibly happen as a result of your attack.
Critical Elemental Effects
Here are the possible effects you can strike your enemies with if you get a critical hit with an elemental attack:
Elemental Attack
Critical Effect
Acid
Increased chance to get Critical Hits against your target.
Cold
Causes a short duration Snare.
Electrical
Increased chance for your opponent to suffer Glancing Blows .
Heat
Causes a Fire DoT.
Critical Attack: A Critical Attack does the maximum amount of damage for the attack. When you see the combat fly text "Critical Hit" it means you had a successful critical attack.
DoT: A Damage-over-Time effect means that your opponent will keep taking damage even after you have stopped attacking them for a short amount of time.
Snare: Snares reduces movement rate for a short period of time.
Glancing Blow: A Glancing Blow dramatically reduces the amount of damage done for an attack. When you see the combat fly text "Glancing Blow" it means your attack didn't do very much damage.
Lightsaber Crystals and Elemental Effects
If you face a Jedi in combat, be wary of elemental attacks. All Lightsabers have elemental effects. To know what kind of effects you will be facing, look at the blade of the Lightsaber. You can tell what elemental effect the Lightsaber has by the color of the blade.
Lightsaber Crystal
Elemental Damage
Blue
Cold
Dark Blue
Cold
Brown
Heat
Light Green
Acid
Dark Green
Acid
Orange
Heat
Light Purple
Electricity
Dark Purple
Electricity
Red
Heat
Dark Red
Heat
Yellow
Cold
Dark Yellow
Acid
Elemental Combat
Weapon Tips
* It is helpful to have weapons that do both energy and kinetic attacks. If you aren't doing as much damage as you expect against an opponent, try switching to a weapon with a different damage type.
This is especially helpful in player-versus-player combat.
* If your weapons have elemental attacks, you will benefit from a damage bonus and the possibility of getting a critical affect on your opponent.
Armor Tips
* Reconnaissance armor offers the best protection against energy damage. * Assault armor offers the best defense against kinetic attacks.
* Personal Shield Generators can only defend against energy attacks from ranged weapons.
Combat Tips
* If you are using a weapon that has an electrical elemental, be sure to press your attack if you land a critical hit. Your opponent will have an increased chance to get only glancing blows. For this short period of time, you have a good chance to do a lot of damage while they have less of a chance to do damage to you.
* If you get a successful critical attack with an acid elemental, switch to a weapon that has a heat elemental attack and you'll be able to cause a fire DoT. * When you are fighting with a group, try using different elemental attacks in combinations for more coordinated attacks.
Expertise Abilities
* Some Expertise abilities can give you bonuses to get a critical hit. If you are using a weapon that does elemental damage, you have improved chances to cause a critical elemental effect on your opponent. Some of these abilities are:
o Bounty Hunter Man Hunter o Bounty Hunter Deadly Strikes (only with carbines) o Jedi Incisiveness o Jedi Force Clarity o Officer Grim Blows o Smuggler Precise Bead o Smuggler Off The Cuff o Smuggler Precise Bead (only with pistols)