First things first. Most of us know that Commander Luke Skywalker (CLS) is arguably the most powerful character in the game, even after the new Nightsister releases. Practically every top tier Arena Squad uses him, for example, and he's perfectly capable of dominating in both Pit Raids and AATs. What's fantastic about CLS, though, is that he's obtainable by the average player. That is, if they've got the required event characters leveled up: Farmboy Luke, Old Ben, Princess Leia, ST Han, and R2D2. Obviously, R2 requires having a nasty Empire squad to acquire, but the other characters are easily farmable and have been around since the beginning of the game.
Now, it's my speculation that the next Hero's Journey is going to require CLS. In fact, I think it's going to be the next installment of Luke's cinematic journey. Keep in mind, I could be very wrong, but it makes a lot of sense that the next Hero's Journey character will be Jedi Knight Luke from Return of the Jedi. Here are the two major reasons why I think this is probably the case.1. A Commitment to Powering Up Factions
Of the recent RJT release, the devs said that they designed her with a Resistance squad in mind, specifically that she would replace Zeta Finn in the Leader slot. In other words, while you can plug-n-play RJT with your current Arena Squad, she's really most effective in her faction specific squad. It's the synergies that devs love, to which the Phoenix characters attest, for instance, and I'm guesstimating that the next faction that will receive a new OP character with serious offensive skills is the one that needs it the most: Jedi. Rather than breaking the Arena, JKL would promote the diversification of its current homogeneity, just as, I believe, RJT is designed to do. She isn't another CLS. And, more importantly, players have repeatedly screamed into the void for a Jedi rework, myself included. A JKL lead would stand to make Jedi not only relevantly potent in the Arena, but also in AATs and, especially, Pit Raids. I mean, it stands to reason that a Zeta JKL would be able to solo an entire Pit Raid by himself, right!?
2. Franchise Faces
So, the future is in squad synergies. Phoenix fell short in this regard, but at least the devs later added Zeta abilities to sorta kinda make up for their shortcomings. Be that as it may, the second reason I think JKL will ultimately appear is that Luke and Rey are ultimately our protagonists. They're the main heroes. They're the leading faces of the Star Wars franchise and, while the idea of a Dark Side Villain's Journey is interesting, the logic of following through with already established character arcs makes much more sense. First, Farmboy Luke becomes CLS. Then, Scavenger Rey becomes Rey in Jedi Training. Then, CLS becomes Jedi Knight Luke. Then, another Rey event. And so forth, until their respective journeys are complete.
Okay, so, there's obviously more to my rationale, but the above cuts to the core of it. Now for the bad news.
If I'm right, then it stands to reason that, for a JKL Hero's Journey event, characters from The Empire Strikes Back will be required. One of the other, minor reasons I think JKL will eventually happen is because the devs very slyly released three new characters from The Empire Strikes Back with the relatively new Territory Battles: Hermit Yoda, Rebel Officer Leia Organa, and Commander Han Solo. Before these three were released, LS Empire Strikes Back toons were few and far between. Lando and Lobot are the most obvious. Oh, and that damned Ugnaught. I just recently rewatched Empire and, while Lando and Lobot are key to the narrative, Lando has only one line of dialogue with Luke at the very end of the film. Considering that this Hero's Journey event would center upon Luke, then my guess is that, in addition to CLS and R2D2, HYoda, ROLO, and CHS would be required. Yikes!
With requirements like this, JKL should prove to be the most potent character released into the SWGoH universe. It will also keep JKL out of the reach of everyday players. Unless, of course, we have a little foresight and start putting together our squads now. To recap, I speculate that we'll need CLS, R2, HYoda, ROLO, and CHS all 7*. As I mentioned earlier, if you've got a 7* R2, then CLS is potentially obtainable with easily farmable characters. That's 2/5.
As for CHS, he is fairly easy to farm for more experienced players on Neutral Node 7-D, Boss Lvl 80. So that's 3/5. HYoda is only available in the Guild Events Store, which requires massive amounts of Guild Event Tokens. He unlocks at 145, so 4/5 is a grind. But, ROLO presents the real problem.
Her shards are only available in the Phase 3 Special Mission of the LS TB, which requires 5* CHS and Hoth Rebel Soldier to participate. And here's the real rub: When you finish the Final Tier of this Special Mission, you earn a whopping 1 ROLO shard for everyone in the guild. 1. Yep, I'll say that again. 1. The loneliest goddamned number. So, if indeed these characters will be required for a JKL event, we'll need to help one another earn ROLO shards. There's no other way to do it. And if we don't start working on this soon, together, we stand to miss out on a character that will potentially outshine both CLS and the new Rey, while, at the same time, making all those Jedi characters collecting dust in your inventory suddenly killer.
So, after consulting with Admiral Fishy McFishface, who is an expert on TRAPS, I've developed the following plan of attack:I. Upper Level Members
1. Collect HYoda shards.
2. Farm both CHS and HRS to 5*. Earn ROLO shards in LS TBs like a boss.
3. If you don't already have CLS, like me, then prep your required squad asap, too. The next event is right around the corner!
II. Lower Level Members
1. Develop your Empire squad to earn R2 at 7*, who you'll need to earn CLS.
2. Grind away to eventually unlock, level up, and use both CHS and HRS to earn ROLO shards.
3. Once you have R2, switch your focus away from Empire (they're already awesome) and continue to develop the required Rebel squad to earn CLS.
4. Balance collecting HYoda shards with spending on necessary gear.
The more of us who do all of this, the better off we all are, even if JKL turns out to be just a mirage of logic and never actually happens. But I think it will. And I want all of us to be prepped and ready to kick some ass. That's always better than panic farming in the eleventh hour, right?
I'd like to hear from you. What do you think about all of this? I'd especially like to hear from the less experienced members of our guild. Do you need advice on building your Empire squad to earn R2, on the specific requirements of the CLS event, or how best grind your way to earning CHS shards? Let me know, I'm your Guild Leader. I'm here to help. Send an email, drop me a line in the comments section, or join LINE and we can talk.
Until then, good hunting.
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