Ask A SWTOR Question

I confirm, you can.
At Paris Games Week, two weeks ago, players used to do some duels waiting for the PvP demo to start :)

Yes you can.

There was actually a short scene in one of the gamescom videos where the player had just duelled another player on one of the origin worlds. Go find it if you need a confirmation.

Yes.

You earn them either through conversation or by your actions. I'm not sure about the change in apperance, but Bioware has done that before so I don't see why not.

Yes, Dark side points can change the look of your character. It has been described as "corruption" and will be a toggle-able feature, meaning if you don't like it, you can turn it off.
You gain Dark side points by completing the story and choosing the more "evil" of the options available. Often, these options will flat out tell you that they will give you either Light or Dark side points. You can also gain Light or Dark side points via the Diplomacy Crew Skill.

Basically by being an asshole in conversation.

I'm unsure if it will change your appearance but it probably does, knowing BioWare.

Basically by being an asshole in conversation.

I'm unsure if it will change your appearance but it probably does, knowing BioWare.

Each Planet has commendation badges that you can use to buy gear from vendors. There is not a standard rep grind as there is in other MMOs (like WoW).

Yes, they're called Operations and there will be two of this high level instance at the release of the game.

Yes. They're called Operations in SWTOR.

50.

the max cap is level 50 for release

Not at this time. Currently, there are no macros and no addon support. As always, there's a nice big firestorm on the forums on whether this is a good thing or not. Also no word either way whether SWTOR will have macro support later on, but WAR (also owned by EA now) didn't have addon or macro support for a few months after release.

They do not plan on adding macros that play the game for you (aka button pressing) but are thinking of adding macros for button press+text.

Personally - the game doesn't really need them.

No macros at launch has been confirmed i think, but they said they will soon add them.

According to posts on the (now defunct) official forums, that's actually expected.  If you finish patching, you'll get that message rather than your PLAY button lighting up.  When you get into Early Access, you'll see that message go away and the button will enable. :)

http://torwars.com/2011/11/18/james-ohlen-speaks-on-the-swtor-legacy-system/

Of course there will be server queues at some point.  Hopefully the Early Game Access programme will help to lessen the blow, but there's likely to be some.  BioWare's stress tests went very, very well from a user's perspective.  

Yes, you can change your specialisation, but you cannot currently change your Advanced Class.  It will obviously cost you some coin to change your specialisation and it will cost more and more if you continue to change it.

No.

It is something they are thinking about but no immediate plans. You can reset your talent trees though.

8

yes for 1/10th of the price you bought it from.

yes for 1/10th of the price you bought it from.

yes, just like in class instances the person who's ship you want to board has to walk in first And you need to finish your quest

The list of servers and their status is updated at 
http://www.swtor.com/server-status

Names could change at launch and server number are most likely to increase

Adari Vaal
Atris
Atton Rand
Bao-Dur
Baron-Surgeon Ybann
Belgoth's Beacon
Bondar Crystal
Brianna
Canderous Ordo
Cell of Imu
Corellian Run
Cosmic Turbine
Darth Bandon
Darth Malak
Darth Nyriss
Dorin Sky
Dramath's Crypt
Dravin Cut
Dreshdae Cantina
Dreshdae Settlement
Drexl
Dreypa's Oubliette
Ebon Hawk
Exar Kun
Exis Station
Eye of Ashlanae
Firkrann Crystal
Flames of the Crucible
Freedon Nadd
G0-T0
Gnawer's Roost
Goluud Corridor
Guun Han Saresh
Handmaidens of Atris
Infinity Gate
Iron Citadel
Jory
Jung Ma
Juyo
Kaggath
Kavar
Keetael
Kellian Jarro
Kemplex Nine
Khoonda Militia
Kissai Caste
Lenico Gargantuan
Lonna Vash
Ludo Kressh
Mind Trick
Mira
Murakami Orchid
Muur Talisman
Nayama
Nigut Road
Odacer-Faustin Academy
Odan-Urr
Pius Dea
Primus Goluud
Prophecy of the Five
Queen Talia
Rekkiad
Reneget Vause
Rogue Moon
Sel-Makor
Shaltin Tunnels
Shii-Cho
Sith Meditation Sphere
Sith'ari
Sluis Shipyards
Sobrik
Starstorm One
Stenness Terminal
Sword of Ajunta Pall
Sylvar
T1-LB
Tarro Blood
Tedryn Holocron
Telos Citadel Station
Terentatek
The Auriga Fire
The Cay's Dream
The Cinzia
The Fatman
The Last Resort
The Leviathan
The Moomo Williwaw
The Omen
The Queen of Ranroon
The Shadowlands
Tingel Route
Tract of Makem Te
Trayus Academy
Tyresius Lokai
Uphrades
Visas Marr
Vodo-Siosk Baas
Vulkar Highway
Whitebeam Run
Xim's Guardian Corps
XoXaan
Yaru Korsin
Yoke of Seeming

Locations by Planet:
There are a total of 66 Datacrons in the SWTOR universe. Here are their locations by planet. We did this on the Empire side but the Republic side should mirror it.

GH = Galactic Histories

Hutta:
Aim +4 (GH 1)
Presence +4 (GH 2)
Blue Shard (GH 3)

Tython:
Endurance +4 (GH 9)
Willpower +4 (GH 10)
Blue Shard (GH 11)

Ord Mantell:
Aim +4 (GH12)
Presence +4 (GH 13)
Red Shard (GH 14)

Korriban:
Endurance +4 (GH 15)
Willpower +4 (GH 16)
Red Shard (GH 17)

Coruscant:
Endurance +4 (GH 4)
Cunning +4 (GH 5)
Yellow Shard (GH 6)
Strength +4 (GH 7)
Presence +4 (GH 8)

Dromund Kaas:
Yellow Shard (GH 18)
Strength +4 (GH 19)
Endurance (GH 20)
Presence +4 (GH 21)
Cunning +4 (GH 22)

Taris (Republic): (GH 23-27)
Aim +4 (GH 23)
Cunning +4
Green Shard
Strength +4
Willpower +4

Balmorra (Empire):
Aim +4 (GH 28)
Cunning +4 (GH 29)
Green Shard (GH 30)
Strength +4 (GH 31)
Willpower +4 (GH 32)

Nar Shaddaa:
Aim +6 (GH 33)
Cunning +6 (GH 34)
Presence +6 (GH 35)
Yellow Shard (GH 36)
Strength +6 (GH 37)

Tatooine:
Aim +6 (GH 38)
Cunning +6 (GH 39)
Blue Shard (GH 40)
Strength +6 (GH 41)
Willpower +6 (GH 42)

Alderaan:
Aim +10 (GH 43)
Endurance +6 (GH 44)
Presence +6 (GH 45)
Strength +10 (GH 46)
Willpower +6 (GH 47)

Taris (Empire):
Endurance +6 (GH 48)
Aim +10 (GH 49)
Willpower +10 (GH 50)
Presence +10 (GH 51)
Cunning +10 (GH 52)

Balmorra (Republic): (GH 53-57)
Endurance +6
Aim +10
Willpower +10
Presence +10
Cunning +10

Quesh:
Cunning +10 (GH 58)
Endurance +10 (GH 59)
Strength +10 (GH 60)

Hoth:
Cunning +10 (GH 63)
Endurance +10 (GH 64)
Presence +10 (GH 65)
Red Shard (GH 66)
Strength +10 (GH 67?) (Still haven't found this one)

Belsavis:
Aim +10 (GH 68)
Endurance +10 (GH 69)
Presence +10 (GH 70)
Green Shard (GH 71)
Willpower +10 (GH 72)

Voss:
Endurance +10 (GH 73) (Currently bugged for Imperial players)
Cunning +10 (GH 74)
Presence +10 (GH 75)
Strength +10 (GH 76)
Willpower +10 (GH 77)

Corellia:
Green Shard (GH 61)
Blue Shard (GH 62)
Aim +10 (GH 78)
Willpower +10 (GH 79)
Presence +10 (GH 80)
Cunning +10 (GH 81)
Strength +10 (GH 82)

Ilum:
Aim +10 (GH 83?, currently doesn't give a galactic history codex entry)
Endurance +10 (GH 84)
Red Shard (GH 85)
Yellow Shard (GH 86)
Willpower +10 (GH 87)

So if you add all these up you'll see that there are 9 datacrons for each stat: +4(2), +6(2), +10(5), giving you a total of +70 to each stat if you collect all the stat datacrons. You'll also notice that there are 3 shards of each color, making up the other 12 datacrons for a total of 66. I think this is a pretty nice stat increase for the work put in, not to mention the Matrix Cubes you can make with the shard datacrons. Speaking of Matrix Cubes...

Matrix Cubes (Relics):
Matrix Cubes can be created on your faction's capital planet. On Dromund Kaas they're created in the Ancient assembly chamber that is on the way to the Dark Temple. On Coruscant they're created in the Lost Assembly Vault which is directly to the West when you enter the Jedi Temple. Each character has 3 relic slots, however if you have a matrix cube on you, you cannot make another. But if you put your matrix cube in your cargo hold and return to the assembly room you can make another matrix cube. If you keep repeating the process you can make up to 4 and then equip 3 of them. I'm not sure if this is intended or a bug. I'm hoping that at release there will be other kinds of relics besides matrix cubes.
Different matrix cubes can be made depending on which color shards you put in the assembler and if you're a force user or tech user. It doesn't matter which order you put the shards in. The order the colors are listed in below is the way the game currently names the matrix cubes.
After creation matrix cubes can be broken back down into their respective matrix shards in the disassembler which is in the same area as the assembler. In order to power it you have to buy a Reconstructed Disassembler Core from a vendor on Tatooine in Mos Isla or Anchorhead depending on your faction. The Reconstructed Disassembler Core currently costs 20k.

Me and Dracarys each spent 400k testing all of these personally, so they have all been verified.

Matrix Cubes:
R = Red
Y = Yellow
G = Green
B = Blue

Lvl 15 (T2):
RBY: 11 Str, 15 End
BYG: 8 Str, 18 End
RBG: 15 Aim, 11 End
RYG: 15 End, 11 Will

Lvl 24 (T3):
RYY: 23 Str, 16 End, 5 Crit
BYY: 11 Aim, 24 End, 9 Def
GYY: 22 End, 17 Cun, 6 Crit
RBB: 16 End, 23 Will, 5 Crit
YBB: 11 Str, 24 End, 9 Def
GBB: 17 Aim, 22 End, 6 Crit

Lvl 32 (T4):
YRR: 14 Str, 33 End, 8 Acc, 10 Def
BRR: 22 End, 29 Will, 14 Crit
GRR: 23 Aim, 26 End, 16 Pow
RGG: 26 End, 23 Cun, 16 Crit
YGG: Bugged, gives YRR
BGG: 14 Aim, 33 End, 8 Shield, 10 Def

Lvl 50 (T7):
Force Users:
YYY: 24 Str, 62 End, 26 Def, 24 Surge
GGG: 50 Str, 43 End, 18 Crit, 26 Surge
RRR: 50 Will, 43 End, 18 Crit, 26 Surge
BBB: 50 Aim, 43 End, 26 Acc, 18 Crit (Possibly bugged since force users have no use for Aim)

Tech Users:
YYY: 24 Aim, 62 End, 24 Acc, 26 Def
GGG: 50 Str, 43 End, 18 Crit, 26 Surge (Also possibly bugged)
RRR: 52 End, 43 Cun, 18 Crit, 24 Surge
BBB: 50 Aim, 43 End, 26 Acc, 18 Crit

Currently you can find Matrix Prisms, Matrix emitters, and Matrix amplifiers that say they can be used to alter matrix cubes when they are being created. They can be found through archeology (not sure about other gathering skills). Currently there is no use for them in game. I imagine they will be used to make T5, T6, and T8 matrix cubes. Hopefully their uses will be more interesting than just boosting stats though.

To add  to the previous answer you can also get a discounted subscription rate by signing up for  3 or 6 months at a time.

On month subscription is $14.99 (in the U.S.), £8.99 (in the U.K.), or €12.99 (in the European launch territories).

All healers have different benefits.

Sith Sorc/Jedi Sage and Imperial Operative/Scoundrel are pretty equal.

The Commando/Mercenary heals are secondary heals at best.

I would say Sith Sorcerer (Inquisitor Advanced Class) or it's mirror class Jedi Sage (Consular Advanced Class) purely because I played a Sorcerer in the beta and really enjoyed it.

I'd go for the sith warrior's juggernaut. Its definitely the main melee-tank class for the empire, with it's heavy armor for protection, huge amounts of health and the protection focused abilities

Mercenary/Commando medium range dps
Sniper long range dps
Gunslinger med-long range dps

They all do the exact same amount of dps, only the burst/sustained dps is different.

The highest ranged DPS (in the current build) is probably a Bounty Hunter: Mercenary, with the Imperial Agent: Sniper a close second. Mercs have much higher AoE DPS, and Snipers are single-target.

As yet  unannounced. I'd  expect there to be some details on this some time after the  SWTOR forums reset this weekend.

as previous stated you can purschase gear/weapons that show a brighter or darker side depending what side you went, both types of gear give the same stats unless you decide to change with modify them

I've heard rumours in-game (I didn't get very far in beta) that you will only be able to wear certain armour if you have enough Lightside/Darkside points.

James Ohlen announces that your darkside/light side alignment can change your appearance!

There are 66 known datacrons. Altogether, they provide: 68 Aim 70 Strength 78 Willpower 70 Cunning 72 Endurance 68 Presence 3 red matrix shards 3 yellow matrix shards 3 blue matrix shards 2 green matrix shards

As far as I know there is no 'hairdresser' feature like in World of Warcraft.

There is achievements in SWTOR - HOWEVER! You will only get achievements for heroic accomplishments and epic encounters.

There are no achievements for useless things such as killing 20 chickens in a minute or fishing in a certain location.

Currently no. There's a good chance for them later, though.

I may be wrong so you'll want to do some more  research on this  but I'm pretty sure I  read awhile back that they are planning chevies for SWTOR but they  will not be in  for launch.

Eight characters per server.  (If there's a limit on how many servers you can play on, that's not been announced that I've seen.)

The  SWTOR UI will not be  customizable at launch. Devs  have  mentioned on more  than  one occasion that they forsee UI customization eventually  after launch but  have not  given any time frame for this.

To the best of my knowledge, no, at least not in the way you're asking. In the first weekend beta there was an option to have it match the colors of your gear, but I couldn't find this option in the last two weekend betas.

This is purely  subjective at this point. All of  the DBs are in a state of  flux  as many  things in SWTOR  have  been  changing with every new build. At this  point they all  seem pretty  even due  to  the  fact that none are truly  complete and where one  DB is  weak in a particular area another  one  may be  more complete in  that  area but lacking in another. This will  be easier to  gauge a few weeks  after launch.

http://www.theoldrepublicordie.com/swtor-guides/

If you played in the beta after 11/25, you have the launch client and will not have to reinstall. If you played before 11/25, you will need to redownload.

if the beta client you have was installed before the 11/25/11 beta test weekend, then yes.  If you have the client from that weekend test, no.

There is both BOP (Bind on Pickup)  and BOE (Bind on Equip) gear in SWTOR.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

Using Boot Camp, you'll be able to play TOR as long as you meet the following minimum system requirements. I'll post the recommended specs here when we get them.

Processor:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 4000+ or better
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor 2.0GHz or better

Operating System:
Windows XP or later

RAM:
Windows XP: 1.5GB RAM
Windows Vista and Windows 7: 2GB RAM
Note: PCs using a built-in graphical chipset are recommended to have 2GB of RAM.

Video Card:
Star Wars: The Old Republic requires a video card that has a minimum of 256MB of on-board RAM as well as support for Shader 3.0 or better. Examples include:
ATI X1800 or better
nVidia 7800 or better
Intel 4100 Integrated Graphics or better

DVD-ROM drive - 8x speed or better (required for installation from physical editions only)

Internet connection required to play.


USEFUL LINKS

Boot Camp Manual for OS X 10.7:
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/...setup_10.7.pdf
(note: this version supports Windows 7 only. The included drivers may not be compatible with XP or Vista.)

Boot Camp manual for earlier versions of OS X:
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/boo...tall-setup.pdf

Not sure what the specs on your Mac are? Look them up here:
http://www.everymac.com/systems/appl...applespec.html

Confirm your hardware's compatibility with the minimum specs here:
http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri/
(take these results with a grain of salt)

For more info on how to get started with Boot Camp, check here first:
http://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/

Curious about your Macbook video card? Find it here:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/

Kryssprolls' "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly":
http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=399689

* Check out the full video here, Mac comments are at around 13:51.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChrqpYv1wqM&t=13m51s

** David Bass, Stephen Reid and James Ohlen discuss Boot Camp and Macs briefly:
http://www.askajedi.com/2011/07/24/s...se-qa-4-video/

*** http://darthhater.com/2011/10/14/nyc...nel-live-blog/



A NOTE ABOUT DRIVERS:

Sound and video drivers are the thing I see people having trouble with the most when they make the switch to Windows. Following the steps below, I have not had a single driver issue in Windows 7, although sometimes it's tricky to find the version that's compatible with certain games due to the frequent updates.

The drivers that are installed when you use Boot Camp are there to get you up and running, but they're most likely outdated. The latest is usually, but not always the greatest. If you find you're having trouble after an update, follow the steps again and reinstall a previous version.

Before updating any drivers, I always do the following:
uninstall or delete any old versions of the one I'm installing.
run a free program called Driver Sweeper to find and delete any straggling files that didn't get removed.
run another free program called CCleaner to clean out any leftover files and registry entries.
restart.
It's not something OS X users are used to dealing with, but with the proper drivers, your Mac will run Windows games at least as well as any PC with equivalent specs.

Good luck!

Items  like Companions, Lightsabers and Starships are all tied to your main  quest line and not to  a specific level. You  get these items at key points  in your characters story line. So depending on your play style and how much exploring or bonus  questing you do for  instance  you could get your  starship anywhere between level 12 (kind of  useless at this  point  because  anywhere you can travel the content is way over your  level) to level 17 -18.

Items  like Companions, Lightsabers and Starships are all tied to your main  quest line and not to  a specific level. You  get these items at key points  in your characters story line. So depending on your play style and how much exploring or bonus  questing you do for  instance  you could get your  starship anywhere between level 12 (kind of  useless at this  point  because  anywhere you can travel the content is way over your  level) to level 17 -18.

Depends on how fast you do the story quest, for the jedi it can be as early as lvl 7 or 8.

SWTOR beta has now ended.

Next Beta Testing Weekend - FAQ | Yesterday , 01:15 PM

Does this announcement mean I can play Star Wars: The Old Republic this weekend (November 11th to 13th)?

No it does not, unless you have a previous testing invite - either to this weekend (November 11th to 13th) or to general Game Testing (ongoing). The Beta Testing Weekend we are referring to will happen within the next few weeks.

When will the Beta Testing Weekend start?

It will happen in the next few weeks. We'll have an announcement on the exact timing closer to the weekend's start.

Will this be the final Beta Testing Weekend?

Currently, we expect it to be.

Will I be able to download the game client in advance of the weekend?

Yes, we will be sending out invites to download the game client in advance of the upcoming weekend.

I logged in to www.swtor.com/tester and there is no download link. Am I still invited to testing?

Yes. The page will change when you are able to download the game client, which will happen closer to the upcoming weekend's start.

I have previously tested Star Wars: The Old Republic. Will I get invited to the upcoming Beta Testing Weekend?

Yes, you will. Every person that is signed up and opted in for Game Testing before November 11th will be invited to the upcoming Beta Testing Weekend.

I have previously tested Star Wars: The Old Republic and already have the game client. Will I need to re-download the client for the upcoming Beta Testing Weekend?

Yes. The game client has changed substantially since earlier Game Testing phases, and you'll need to re-download it for the upcoming Testing Weekend. If you have been invited to the 11-13th of November Beta Testing Weekend, you will need to patch the game client for the upcoming Beta Testing Weekend.

Will I need to re-download the game client after the upcoming Beta Testing Weekend, or can I use it during Early Game Access?

You may have to re-download the game client. This will be confirmed after the upcoming Beta Testing Weekend.

What if I do not live in a launch country for Star Wars: The Old Republic?

As long as you are signed up and opted in for testing, you will be invited to test in the upcoming Beta Testing Weekend.

What if I have not signed up, or opted in for testing by November 11th?

We are partnering with a number of games media sites worldwide to give away Beta Test Weekend Codes. They are listed in this article. If you receive a code from any of these sites, you will need to sign up on StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com to redeem that code. Further instructions are listed in the post directly below this one.

Should I try and get a key from a media partner, just in case?

If you were already signed up for testing before November 11th, you do not need an additional key. By taking a key, you'll deny someone else a chance to test the game - so please do not apply for a key you will not need!

If you have further questions, please ask them in this thread and we'll try to answer them.
Stephen Reid | Senior Online Community Manager
Follow us on Twitter @SWTOR | Like us on Facebook
[Contact Us] [Rules of Conduct] [F.A.Q.] [Dev Tracker]

To be fair, we (r2-db) copied a good portion of our layout ideas in the questions section from stack exchange.

Yea but but a bit planer r2's is more easy on the looks

3-4 bosses per flashpoint in SWTOR

First, you need to subscribe here http://www.swtor.com/fr/tester. You can also look at this article, which give a list of videogames websites  which have or will have invitations to offer.

You need to get an email invite from Bioware which i think is random

It is 8 v 8 in warzones at this time

At this point, it's 500 members.

At this point, it's 500 members.

Blue, Green, and Red. Saw yellow and purple on the beta.

First mount is at lvl 25

Early access starts at the earliest on December 15th, depending on when your preorder code was inputted, and continues until launch.

No official answers has been given yet. Gotta wait for them to post it!

You can see the blue xp bar in some videos so I'd assume yes

Damion Schubert and Stephen Reid talked about this on the official forums:

To shed a little more light on how the system works right now: you earn Rest XP by going to a Cantina. You continue to earn Rest XP over time if you are logged out, provided you log out in a Cantina. Currently, Rest XP is capped at (meaning you can only accumulate up to) roughly a level's worth of experience. As long as you have Rest XP, you earn double XP from any creature kills. Rest XP does not contribute to other sources of experience (completing missions, exploration, codex discovery, etc).

it makes your health accuracy and more go up as well. Stuff breaks a little if u get killed

You need to be a Advanced Class that can heal to have any heal, first. Every class should be on par with heal efficiency, as Bioware said, they are working VERY hard to balance everything.

Endurance is for everyone.
Aim is for Troopers.Willpower is for Consular and InquisitorStrenght is for knights and sith warriors

There is a limit. For example, Flashpoint: Black Talon is a two person instance. That's two players with companions, that equals four slots.

Yes you can group with companion characters for flashpoints. No on Warzones, and unknown on operations (although it would probably be a very bad idea on operations)

Star Wars: The Old Republic is a massive multiplayer online game, and really, theres is no "End" to the game.  Sure there is 'End-game Content', but that is a term used once your character reaches max level of the game.  The game is as long as you make it. 
There are currently a total of 8 classes in the game, with each class having its own unique, fully voiced, story line.  Bioware has made estimates that currently each class has approximately 200 hours of gameplay to reach max level, or "End-Game".  So if you were to consider playing all the classes of each faction, it would take you approximately 1600 hours of game play.
TLDR: 1600 Hours;200 hours per class. (if you took out the whole MMO aspect)

Sure with the same group and @level 50 on hardmode/hero

you can replay instances as often as you want, although some instances have a lockout timer (I believe Flashpoints were set at 24 hours, no word on Operations but traditionally they go about a week on lockouts)

i read that a while after its out they will make It Mac compatible but not for a while

No, Mac's are not available to play SWTOR.  The following is the minimum system requirements.  It has however been confirmed that you can run SWTOR if you're running a supported version of windows via BootCamp on Mac OS
http://www.swtor.com/preorder/faq#123216

I am interested in pre-ordering Star Wars: The Old Republic but do not know if my PC can support it. What are the minimum system requirements needed to run the Game?

Processor:

• AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 4000+ or better
• Intel Core 2 Duo Processor 2.0GHz or better

Operating System:

• Windows XP or later

RAM:

• Windows XP: 1.5GB RAM
• Windows Vista and Windows 7: 2GB RAM
• Note: PCs using a built-in graphical chipset are recommended to have 2GB of RAM.

Video Card:

Star Wars: The Old Republic requires a video card that has a minimum of 256MB of on-board RAM as well as support for Shader 3.0 or better. Examples include:

• ATI X1800 or better
• nVidia 7800 or better
• Intel 4100 Integrated Graphics or better

DVD-ROM drive - 8x speed or better (required for installation from physical editions only)

Internet connection required to play.

Not on release

As Quoted By Georg Zoeller on the official forums:

“The ability to respec your skill point distribution is still in the game.

Summary, since this is a confusing topic:

You can change your skill point distribution by paying credits at a vendor on your capital world. That has not changed.

You may or may not be able to change your Advanced Class, we haven’t decided on this one yet. If you can, the cost would be significant. That has not changed.

There is currently no plan to add dual spec (the ability to swap almost instantly between two skill point configurations) for launch. At this point, it seems not necessary for us, but we’re not opposed to add it at a later point / patch should we feel that the game would benefit from it.”

In addition to JediHealer's comments, the Shield Specialist Vanguards and Shield Tech Powertechs also have more mobility around the battlefield than the Defense Guardians/Kinetic Combat Shadows & Darkness Assasssins/Immortal Juggernauts.  They don't need to stay within mêlée range and are able to manoeuvre freely.  I certainly suggest the ranged tanks over the mêlée ones.

In addition to JediHealer's comments, the Shield Specialist Vanguards and Shield Tech Powertechs also have more mobility around the battlefield than the Defense Guardians/Kinetic Combat Shadows & Darkness Assasssins/Immortal Juggernauts.  They don't need to stay within mêlée range and are able to manoeuvre freely.  I certainly suggest the ranged tanks over the mêlée ones.

In addition to JediHealer's comments, the Shield Specialist Vanguards and Shield Tech Powertechs also have more mobility around the battlefield than the Defense Guardians/Kinetic Combat Shadows & Darkness Assasssins/Immortal Juggernauts.  They don't need to stay within mêlée range and are able to manoeuvre freely.  I certainly suggest the ranged tanks over the mêlée ones.

The purpose is to have three balanced tanking class, so there not a right answer to your question.
If you're planning to play tank in The Old Republic and wanna try something original, I would rather tell you to try trooper/BH tanking since the distance tanking mechanic will be a quite original gameplay.