Databank Download: Jedi Master Luminara Unduli & Barriss Offee, Jedi Padawan Preview

SWP04Jedi Master Luminara Unduli & Barriss Offee, Jedi Padawan

This Star Wars™: Shatterpoint preview features the formidable Jedi Master Luminara Unduli™ and her learned padawan Barriss Offee™ from the Plans and Preparation Squad Pack, a pair who fought ably for the Galactic Republic throughout the Clone Wars.

One of the most trusted and esteemed masters of the Jedi Order, Luminara is a female Mirialan praised for her patience and discipline, having complete control of her emotions and retaining a calm and cool demeanor even in the most adverse circumstances. In many respects, she embodies the qualities most sought after by the Jedi tradition, including a certain pragmatism toward inevitable losses in war. She is an equally capable mentor and teacher, and together with her exceptionally intelligent padawan, fellow Mirialan Barriss Offee, the pair proves a formidable team, fighting alongside Jedi such as Anakin Skywalker™ and his padawan Ahsoka Tano™. Through the course of their battles, Luminara eventually clashed with the Nightsister assassin Asajj Ventress™, engaging in a duel that nearly cost Unduli her life.

Luminara is noted for her more defensive style of engagement, drawing on her Force powers to aid the recovery of her allies and thereby giving them surprising durability. So long as she isn’t too far from an allied Unit, she can use Full Recovery, a potent healing ability that removes all damage and conditions. Furthermore, Sprint allows her to make swift advances despite her defensive reputation, a capability she can use to tactical advantage.

This Jedi master is uniquely attuned to the Flow of the Force around her, redirecting battlefield energies to aid those fighting at her side. Even as one ally is wounded, another is healed, and as her enemies suffer injuries, she can bestow a sudden burst of speed so she or an ally can advance on an objective or seek a better position. This also gives Luminara small glimpses of the future, which in-game allows her player to see who’s next in the Order Deck, allowing more strategic uses of reserves and to plan ahead. This works well with her other reactive ability, the Precise Strike, whereby Luminara can gain the support of an ally immediately after her own attacks, either allowing a unit which hasn’t activated yet to move into position or giving one that has already activated a bonus attack.

Luminara is not to be underestimated as a duelist, having proven her skill squaring off with some of the most lethal enemies of the Galactic Republic, and her two Stances reflect this. She is most comfortable and known for using Form III Soresu, sometimes referred to as the Resilience Form, which greatly facilitates defenses against incoming blaster fire as well as lightsaber or other melee attacks, possessing a very strong Defense Expertise Chart. This Stance’s Combat Tree can deal respectable damage but also affords opportunities to heal or jump, as well as to pin or shove her adversary.

When locked in a duel, however, she may prefer to switch to Form II Makashi, a more aggressive Stance ideal for squaring off against the Sith. This makes her slightly more vulnerable to attack but has a Combat Tree which offers superior options to reposition herself or shove adversaries off of key objectives, which can enable her to seize the advantage.

Though still a padawan, Barriss Offee is herself a formidable combatant already demonstrating versatile use of the Force. She can utilize Force Speed to accelerate herself toward an objective or to confront an adversary. Force Push is highly useful once enemies have closed on her, allowing her to better control the timing of engagement or to fling enemies away from objectives. Enemies will find her generally difficult to corner, as she can also Slip Away from engagements she would prefer to avoid, so long as an ally distracts the foe.

Where Barriss Offee truly shines, however, is fighting alongside a full Jedi, particularly her master Luminara. As a Faithful Padawan, such a duo’s prowess in combat is greatly magnified when engaging the same targets, becoming more accurate and lethal with their strikes. Barriss’ devotion to the Jedi Order also facilitates recovery from damage incurred for both of them.

Barriss Offee has as her Stance Form III Soresu, having learned many techniques at Luminara’s side, though it is worth noting her interpretation of this stance is not identical. She is not a master Jedi, so has a diminished Defense Expertise Chart, and is not quite as skilled in attack or defense, but has a particular focus on repositioning, which fits her slippery nature in combat.

Her facility with Force Push is also evident in her Stance’s Combat Tree, as she has many opportunities to Shove or expose her adversaries, and might even be able to trigger Force Push or Sprint. She is all in all a very tactically advanced padawan, having learned from one of the greatest Jedi Masters. That’s it for our first look at Jedi Master Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee, Jedi Padawan!

Make sure to check back for our next Star Wars: Shatterpoint Unit preview, where we give you a first look at how your favorite characters from the Star Wars galaxy translate into the gameplay of Shatterpoint. Pre-order your own copy of the Plans and Preparation Squad Pack at your local game store or through the webstore today.

Until next time, Atomic Mass Transmissions, signing off!