Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes Community Update

Hi Holotable Heroes,

Welcome to a Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes Community Update! Today we will be giving you insights into the new Mercenary Tag and characters, Baylan Skoll, and a small snippet of Galactic Legend Ahsoka Tano.

As a reminder, anything is subject to change. But without further ado, enjoy our first topic, the Mercenary Tag! 

We look forward to reading and watching your reactions! 

What is the Mercenary Tag?

Mercenary is a new faction that represents the Soldiers of Fortune of the Star Wars universe. Unlike Bounty Hunters who are paid to bring in a specific target, Mercenaries are paid to perform a job, usually one involving or likely involving combat. Things like being a bodyguard or attacking an installation on behalf of a third-party (their employer).

Why did we make a Mercenary Tag?

There are a lot of characters in Star Wars who are guns-for-hire, and whose loyalty belongs more to credits than any given side in a conflict. This does not mean they are “Neutral” characters, as almost every character in Star Wars has a pull towards Light Side or Dark Side in the grand scheme of things.

Isn’t a Mercenary like a Bounty Hunter? 

A Bounty Hunter can be considered an extremely specialized Mercenary, yes, but not all Mercs are Bounty Hunters. For gameplay purposes, we’re trying to keep Bounty Hunters and Mercenaries separated as much as possible, you’re one or the other unless that version of the character is specifically seen doing both Bounty Hunting and broader Mercenary work (like Krrsantan for instance).

Will there be any new characters coming to SWGOH with the Mercenary tag? 

There are three new characters coming to SWGOH with the Mercenary tag this year. Baylan Skoll will be the Leader, and Shin Hati and Marrok will be Mercenaries designed to work under him. Additionally many (but not all) characters who have been defined as Mercenaries in lore will receive the Mercenary tag, making them synergise with other Mercenaries and especially Baylan Skoll.

How do old and new Mercenaries work together?

Mercenaries are the only faction that can have the Soldier of Fortune effect. This is a stacking blue status effect that does nothing on its own, but when paired with the new Mercenaries, various effects will be added to the character in question based on the number of stacks of SoF they have. 

• Only a Mercenary Leader can have the ability to give stacks of SoF to all/other Mercenaries on their squad. Initially this is only Baylan Skoll.
• Baylan, Shin, and Marrok will all have effects that they give to ALL Mercenaries based on the number of SoF stacks they have
• Baylan, Shin, and Marrok also have ways to gain (and lose) stacks of Soldier of Fortune for themselves in their own kits. (This allows Shin and Marrok to synergize even without Baylan in the squad)
• Older characters with the Mercenary tag will be able to gain SoF stacks from the method given by the Mercenary Leader (initially only Baylan Skoll)
• Older characters with the Mercenary tag will benefit from the effects that Baylan, Shin, Marrok, and all future Mercenaries bring to the table in regards to Soldier of Fortune stacks.
• Example: A squad made up of Baylan Skoll, Shin Hati, Marrok, Han Solo, and Dash Rendar will see Baylan handing out SoF stacks to everyone, including himself. Shin and Marrok will also be adding stacks to themselves, and Han and Dash are reliant on gaining stacks from Baylan Skoll.
• Example (continued): 
• Baylan will give all Mercenaries with Soldier of Fortune effects a stacking buff we’ll call Buff 1. 
• Shin will give them all a stacking buff we’ll call Buff 2
• Marrok will give them all a stacking buff we’ll call Buff 3. 
• Because of this all five members of the squad (including Han and Dash) will have Buff 1, Buff 2, and Buff 3 in varying levels of efficacy because the amount of Soldier of Fortune stacks they have will not be identical to one another (due to different ways each character can gain or lose them).
• Being able to put Soldier of Fortune stacks on older characters and having them reap benefits from those stacks via the new Mercenary characters will make for an exciting time of squad building as players will experiment to find which of the older Mercenaries can improve the squads the most.

Will previously released characters get the Mercenary tag?

Baylan Skoll
Boba Fett, Scion of Jango
Cad Bane
Canderous Ordo
Cara Dune
Dash Rendar
Dengar
Doc Aphra
Embo
Fennec Shand
Han Solo
Hondo
Jango Fett
Jedi Knight Cal Kestis
Krrsantan
Kyle Katarn
L337
Marrok
Mission Vao
Qi'ra
Sana Starros
Shin Hati
The Mandalorian (Beskar Armor)
Vandor Chewbacca
Vet Han
Young Han Solo
Young Lando
Zaalbar
Zam Wesell 

The designers of the upcoming Mercenaries wanted to give a little rundown of their characters, so here we go! 

Shin Hati

Shin Hati and her master Baylan appear to be self-sufficient mercenaries in the Ahsoka show. Their seamless coordination and prowess in every mission is reflected in Shin Hati's design kit. Alongside them is Marrok, whose support amplifies Shin Hati's effectiveness.

Shin Hati’s character is defined by her grace in combat, her lightsaber skills combined with the use of the Force. These attributes are central to her design as an agility attacker in the game.

Her kit reflects the careful consideration of her quick wittedness, which captures her ability to escape from perilous situations with ease.

Players are encouraged to dive into the game and explore the depth of Shin Hati’s skills. May your adventures with her be as exhilarating as her journey!

Marrok

 Marrok is a very interesting character to work with. In the show, he doesn’t speak much but appears alongside Shin Hati. He is a mysterious character about whom we don’t know much, so there is a sense of excitement whenever he is on screen. Marrok also has two crucial encounters with the formidable Ahsoka, showcasing his combat expertise.

My intention for Marrok’s kit is to highlight his skills as a fighter and how he supports his allies during critical moments in the story. The mystery he brings to the table is very exciting, and I am looking forward to revealing him to you all

Baylan Skoll

Baylan has proven to be a big challenge during development, simply because Ray Stevenson brought so much nuance to the character that we wanted to make sure it was included and felt in the kit so that it was right.

The way that his fight scenes played out in the Ahsoka show, Baylan felt like more than just a powerful Force user; he put all of his physical stature into his fighting style as well. He is brutal, but calculating and intentional. Even as we see Ahsoka start to struggle in the fight, Baylan only seems to get stronger. He is a Tank in label, but in reality he is also a bit of a bruiser or juggernaut in play style. His kit was developed with the idea that he will only get stronger as the battle continues, even as his opponent tires or weakens.

It’s been an honor to get to work on this kit and bring this character into our game, and I hope that the players enjoy all of the details we tried to incorporate based on Ray’s portrayal of the character

Galactic Legend Ahsoka Tano 

While development of Galactic Legend Ahsoka Tano is still in its early stages, we wanted to reach out to the designer working on them, CG_Mouse!

How is development going on GL Ahsoka, any early indicators on what direction you’d like to take her? 

CG_Mouse: 

Though it is still heavily in progress and subject to rigorous changes, she’ll be fulfilling a tanking role for her team with an emphasis on battlefield control and, like many other Light Side Galactic Legends, she will rely on her allies heavily.

Though, certainly she will be no slouch should the tables turn and she finds herself seemingly alone in the vastness of the galaxy (feels like she’s got some experience in this department).

What is the hardest part of making a Galactic Legend and how do you overcome it?

CG_Mouse:

Like many characters, we want to capture the essence of the snapshot in time we’re taking of them. This character has gone through many journeys and likely grown considerably in who they are since their first appearance. As such, we want to make sure we’re capturing those moments authentically. While this is an exercise on every character we make, it’s especially important and extra challenging on Galactic Legend characters who often represent the “ultimate” or “peak” version of that character.

Mechanically Galactic Legends can be challenging because there’s a lot more allowance and room for more complex mechanics, and while that can be very liberating from a creative point of view, it also brings plenty of considerations as well. 

Overall there’s just more expectations for how a Galactic Legend will play, feel, and perform in the game and when you combine all of those factors together, it adds up to quite a lot.

We overcome these challenges by heavily collaborating with one another and doing tons of research. Actor interviews (when relevant), clips, rewatching shows and movies, books - it’s all on the table and we can do some pretty deep dives to find those key moments that best represent the character.

Mechanically and balance wise it’s all about lots of changes, tweaks, and iterations very rapidly. Try an effect, test how it feels, test how it performs, adjust, remove, or add as necessary and do that repeatedly for months at a time and verifying those findings with colleagues. 

It’s an incredibly collaborative and fulfilling process, despite the challenges or perhaps even partially, because of them!

We are also excited to provide a very early look at a new ship making their way to the Holotables in the near future! 

Punishing One, the ship flown by the bounty hunter Dengar, is a modified JumpMaster 5000 which is known for its uniquely asymmetrical design. Dengar’s ship famously had no holding cells in order to transport his bounty hunting targets, so he would just take the former option of “Wanted Dead or Alive” and just transport his targets via the cargo hold instead.

Now for a quick breakdown from the designer! 

The Punishing One

Dengar’s ship, The Punishing One, is meant to provide another option for the Executor fleet. Adding The Punishing One to the starting lineup of the Executor fleet should help the fleet perform better against most matchups. Leviathan will remain a difficult matchup, but Executor should be able to hold more consistently against everyone else. 

Thank you all for stopping by our Community Update! 

There are a lot of great things coming to SWGOH and we’re happy to be able to share them with you and look forward to giving our next update in the future. 

We look forward to watching and reading your reactions. 

Until next time, see you on the Holotable 

• SWGOH DEV TEAM