I Don't Have a Command Crew for the Shuttle: When Guildies Split

We don't have much of a guild anymore.

Phyona and I started a guild early on in our WoW days which we eventually built into a proficient raiding group. More than that, as it often happens, we made a lot of close friends. We spent so many highly entertaining hours together, it was a foregone conclusion that we would stay in touch regardless of the gaming platform.

Shortly after becoming one of the first few guilds on our server to down Nefarian, we collectively burnt out of raiding. Just about everybody in our 10-person raid core canceled his or her subscription, saying that we would try SWTOR when it came out. Over the next 11 months or so, we stayed in touch via Skype. Brief trials of other games didn't stick, but SWTOR still loomed in the distance.

How exciting it was, then, when we had nearly the whole crew on for the Old Republic's launch. Guild chat was lively, we were running flashpoints, and it felt great.

But gradually, the number of guildies online started to dwindle. Then, Nazbur and Berugrim announced they had canceled their SWTOR subscriptions. Nazbur in particular had been such a huge part of our guild, usually functioning as our raid leader. I had spent countless hours formulating strategies with him in WoW, and I count him as one of my best friends.

Naz and 'Grim are what you might call "powergamers." They like to put in a lot of hours, get loot, and gogogo. Plus, they don't particularly care about the Star Wars license. I probably should have seen their cancellations coming, considering that in SWTOR you can't top the charts (there are none) and the focus is on the journey rather than pure results. They were always saying how they were spamming spacebar to continue their "cleave."

Since then, other guildies have started experimenting with Empire alts. We've all become spread out in level, so flashpoints aren't as rewarding an endeavor as they once were. When I play, the game feels like Knights of the Old Republic 3, but with a bunch of juvenile people trolling a general chat channel. Don't get me wrong, I am still having a blast...

But Phyona, Dunquinn, and I need to figure something out. It might be time to migrate over to another guild. Though, after four years with our current guild, it's easier said than done.

No Reward is Worth This! A Lovely Bug

I believe I was somewhere on Nar Shadaa when I encountered a belly-laugh-inducing bug.

Corso kept falling down. I would move, he would run over, then faceplant. 

We don't have time for this.

Alright, Corso, let's go...enough already. Okay, let's see if stealth snaps him out of it...

Great, now you're getting shot. In stealth. Pro, Corso, pro.

                                       Fine, I'm leaving without you.

Let's just say Bowdaar got to stretch his legs for a while after this...

Full Reverse! My Experience with Reverse Engineering

Chewie, how many times do I have to say it? Lock in the damn auxiliary power! Here we are being pulled towards the largest space station in the history of the galaxy and certain doom and you're rubbernecking in the copilot's chair!

Jeez.

It's like Bowdaar 2.0 in here.

Anyways, I want to talk about all of the reverse engineering I've been doing. All told, I've reverse engineered a grand total of 0 items. Zero. Zilch. Not a single one.

You would think this would make me wholly unqualified to talk about reverse engineering, but let me explain.

I don't reverse engineer because I don't think it will be profitable. For me to start reverse engineering an item, it would have to meet the following criteria:

1A. Coveted Premium (Green) Item: That is, if there is demand for the item slot, there will be increased demand for the better versions of said item. For instance, remember the level 15 Cybertech earpieces I love to talk about? Players buy those because they have no earpiece at all. Therefore, they're more likely to shell out a few extra credits for a prototype (blue) or even an artifact (purple) item.

OR

1B. Level Cap Item: There is no twinking in SWTOR,  so players are generally only concerned with getting the "best" gear at level cap. Easier to sell a player on a +5 stat boost when they know they will be keeping it for at least a while.

2. High Net Profit: The schematics granted through reverse engineering are coupled with higher materials costs. For instance, a green level ~15 mod might require two basic Underworld Metals at ~50 credits each, where the purple equivalent uses purple metals at 500+ credits each...when you can find them. It's difficult to pass a 1000% increase in materials costs onto your buyers and maintain profit margin, especially if the benefits are slim. So the question I ask myself is, Can I reliably find the mats I need to craft this?

It's hard enough finding a craftable item that meets those criteria (I do want to try level cap mods/armorings/etc. and will report on it if I do), but then there are other factors dissuading me from reverse engineering.

First, the opportunity cost is prohibitively high. Like, equal to 10 premium and 20 prototype items (a total guess based on a bunch of different guesses from around the net) for just a single artifact schematic. Making up for that drain in resources will take time.

Then, there is an element of randomness that can result in totally useless schematics. No Smuggler worth his spice is going to fork over extra credits for a +defense blue! Or worse, a +shield purple! And NOBODY is going to want level cap +presence purples, considering that stat is completely useless in endgame. This multiplies your opportunity cost. (Note: Mods, Barrels, etc. only gain existing stats rather than gain random ones, making them infinitely more predictable.)

Now, I understand that on high population servers, reverse engineering can open the door to untapped markets. But is it worth it?

So, have any of you forayed into the world of reverse engineering with success? Any selfless souls doing it for the good of their guild? Am I totally wrong on this? Let's hear it!

Mirror Class: Meet Kir

Quick update:

I wanted to make a Gunslinger so that I might eventually provide all you dual-blaster space cowboys with some tips and such, but I wasn't quite ready to revisit the Smuggler storyline.

So I turned to the Smuggler mirror class and created an Imperial Agent.

 

While I still (of course) prefer the Smuggler, I'm hoping this will allow me to provide extra insight to our favorite class and reach out to a larger audience without boring myself.

Now, who knows where I got the name "Kir" from? No googling!

Hear Me Baby? Hold Together: Energy and Smuggler Healing

 

I don't have quite enough experience with Smuggler healing yet to make a full-blown guide, but I can offer you some delicious food for thought in the meantime. Besides, I've been writing some puffy stuff lately, I have to throw a (saw)bone to you hardcore Smugglers.

Let's talk about energy.

As a longtime healer in WoW, I'm used to tracking a mana bar while healing. For all intents and purposes, you had a finite amount of resources (and therefore time) for each fight. When you ran out of mana, the fight was over. Exercising restraint in managing your casts, i.e.using mana-regenerating abilities or not always casting the most expensive heal, was a huge part of healing strategy.

Now, with our rechargeable energy bar (sounds like something you eat before a marathon), we can heal forever. Instead of having a countdown until we must stop healing, we have a limit placed on how many heals we can cast or how hard we can heal per unit of time. For instance, you might be able to cast five average heals or 2 big heals in any given 10 second window. And should you be overzealous at any point in the encounter, you risk not being able to heal at all.

This conceptual shift has to change the way we approach healing. Some rules have become apparent:

1. Never Cap on Energy: If at any point you allow your energy to cap, you are sacrificing healing throughput. You can always be stacking Slow-Release Medpacs if there isn't a lot of damage going around.

2. Never Stop Casting: Similar to the first rule, every second you stop casting is a throughput reduction. Regardless of your energy or incoming damage, you can at least cast Diagnostic Scan during lulls. It provides energy return (and thus more heals) even if the actual healing done is pitiful.

3. Keep Something in Reserve: The biggest challenge for Sawbones Smugglers right now is not getting too aggressive, especially if DPS is taking damage they shouldn't be. It's difficult, but try to hold a bit of energy just in case. Emergency Medpacs are a boon, allowing you to exploit Upper Hand as a second resource if need be.

4. Use Energy Regen Abilities: If there is HP to be healed, don't keep Cool Head on cooldown. The sooner you use it, the sooner you can use it again. More energy equals more healing.

I don't know about you guys, but I would be a bit scared to tank heal in a raid situation with the energy system. I feel like blanketing the raid with a stream of Slow-Release Medpacs, spot heals, and Kolto Clouds is more conducive to our heals/unit time limit. At that point, if we can't keep up with the damage it is the DPS' fault. Conversely, I would be hesitant to heal anybody but the tank if I were tank healing, which is neither productive nor fun. Could I get used to it? Yes, but I'm not sure I would want to.

How are you guys getting along with the energy healing system? Any horror stories? For those who may already be raiding: tank or raid heals?

Look What Phyona Got Me!

 

It's Max Rebo!

And since I'm a huge Star Wars nerd who also loves elephants, I happen to know Max Rebo's real name:

Siiruulian Phantele. Which sounds an awful lot like Cerulean Elephant. I see what you did there, Lucas...

Let's Keep a Little Optimism Here: Ten Best Things About SWTOR

We've all seen "Return of the Jedi" a bazillion times, so we know that the stolen Imperial shuttle Tydirium is blasted out of the sky by Vader's flagship because the rebels' clearance code was too old.

Wait, what?

This started as a post about what fixes/updates/additions need to be made to SWTOR. But after poking around the internet a bit, I realized that plenty of people have done that already. I hope (and do believe) this is the work of a vocal minority, but yeesh, there is a lot of negativity surrounding this game (some coming from my own guild)! Do I think that mouseover macros or UI customization or endgame bug fixes need to happen? Yes. Do these break the entire game? Are they going to stop me from playing? Of course not.

You can go just about anywhere else to read about what's wrong with SWTOR. Here you're going to read about what's right. Presented in a tidy list format!

1. It's Star Wars: Duh. Talk all day about flashpoints vs. instances or crew skills vs. professions or whatever other game system. The Star Wars license rocks and is indeed the main reason for many people playing SWTOR at all. You can't have lightsaber in WoW. You just can't. Add in John Williams' sweeping score, Corellian stock light freighters, scrolling yellow text, Mandalorian armor, and force lightning and you're in for a good time.

2. Missions: I know there are plenty of players who mash spacebar and 1 or 3 and I feel sorry for them because they're missing the core experience of this game. Missions,  and especially class missions, are so much more engaging than ever before. The voice acting is generally fantastic (I have to make a female Trooper, I hear she's voiced by female Commander Shepherd from Mass Effect), drawing you in to every step of your character's adventure. Considering the sheer number of lines spoken, I consider the dialogue system a major achievement. Not everybody agrees. We have a close friend and guildy who may be leaving the game because the talking "interrupts [their] cleave." I think Phyona addressed this best on our guild's facebook page, where she wrote

"I guess it has to do with how into your character you are. I'm obsessed (borderline in love) with my character so I listen to all the dialogue intently and flip out on people when they talk over it haha. I despised questing in WoW and adore questing in this game, which is a huge deal for me. I can understand that if all you want to do is the actual gameplay, the story can be frustrating, but I genuinely believe that if you find a character you really connect with, this game is unlike any other. For me, the major difference between this and WoW was that in WoW everything I did was to achieve a goal (leveling in one way or another), and in SWTOR, you're meant to savor and experience the journey. If you can manage to embrace that intention, I think this game will evolve (it's still just a fledgling) into something incredible."

You Just Can't Bear to Let a Gorgeous Guy Like Me Out of Your Sight

To which Phyona, my significant other, would likely respond, "I don't know where you get your delusions laser brain."

I suppose there's a Leia (or a Chewie) for every Han and she's mine.

Without getting all mushy on you, Phy is a huge part of my life and concurrently my gaming. It took 10 levels for my Scoundrel to meet Phyona the Jedi Guardian, but they've been inseparable ever since. Well, almost...

Anybody with a gaming buddy knows about the struggles involved in playing an MMO together. Such a large percentage of content is based on level that it can be difficult to find content to do together while leveling. Inevitably, somebody has a day off or doesn't feel like playing or has to give their wookiee a bath or whatever, and vroom, one player is off like a ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs. The gulf that can result from just one or two sessions of solo adventuring can tear two toons apart!

With respect to SWTOR in particular, one of the adverse side-effects of having such excellent story content and dialogue is that going back to repeat content isn't fun for either party. One person gets stuck waiting, waiting, waiting. The other can't enjoy the content to the fullest knowing their partner is itching to slice through some rakghouls. Not that I miss WoW's lack of compelling quests, but at least it made adventuring together a bit more accessible. You were in for the miserable, boring grind together, I guess.

Perhaps the easiest way to combat this is by creating alts, i.e. you have one character that you only play with your partner. But without fail, you get attached to that character, right? That's the one you have to play.

I find it curious that a game that is at its most fun a multiplayer endeavor often separates you from your friends, at least until level cap. And this isn't like WoW where the whole point was to play with your friends at cap. I absolutely love running missions with Phy and watching the dynamic between our characters unfold.

Then again, Phyona says that my unenlightened Smuggler only slows her galaxy-saving Jedi down, so what do I know?

What do you guys think? Do you have a leveling partner or are you in this for just one person? Prefer grouping with strangers? Or does a guild fill this void as it often does?

I've Made a Lot of Special Modifications Myself: Selling SWTOR Starship Parts

A Smuggler is only as good as his ship.

If you tried to lend the Republic a hand and run a couple of space ops for them upon finally retrieving your light freighter, you may have been in for a rude awakening. That Mike Tyson-faced thief Skavak stripped your ship! You have no beam generators, no armoring, no missile magazine! You're a sitting duck.

Ed Helms wears it better, you jerk.

At this point, you may have purchased a number of baseline parts from the local vendor. Or maybe you just said "forget it" and moved on to Taris. Or perhaps you checked the black mark--err, the GTN for parts.

For the savvy Smuggler, one thing is clear: there is a definite demand here. Every player gets a ship. Every player needs parts, 10 of them to be exact. Now, how can we take advantage of this?

Crafting, of course! Cybertechs can learn to craft grade 2 ship parts through schematics found via slicing. If you don't have a slicer, no worries. These are some of the first schematics a slicer will find, so you can usually find them on the GTN for a few hundred credits. Look for Grade 2 Beam Generator, Grade 2 Shield Regenerator, and Grade 2 Energy Shield to start.

Let's take a look at these items. They're blue, to start, which makes them appealing. In terms of stats, these are vastly superior to the Grade 1 items available via vendor. They are also comparable and in some cases surpass the green Grade 3 vendor items. For example, the crafted Grade 2 Beam Generator offers a 6 blasters/second firing speed and a boost to shields, while the Grade 3 vendor Beam Generator gives you only the firing rate increase.

So the crafted items are pretty good! And because players won't have to replace them until Grade 4 (also crafted!), they can afford to pay a premium for them. You should have success charging up to, and perhaps beyond, what the vendor charges for Grade 3 upgrades (between 2500 and 4500 credits).

This can be immensely profitable. Let's have a look at the mats for the Grade 2 Beam Generator:

4x Mullinine (roughly 100 credits each to acquire)
6x Plastoid (~25/per)
4x Conductive Flux (10/per)
8x Bronzoid (25/per)

So it generally costs me about 800 credits to craft one of these puppies. You can make thousands of credits on each spaceship upgrade. Try keeping one of each type of upgrade on the GTN at all times.

Because of the seemingly hefty materials cost and the fact that not all Cybertechs have these patterns, you will enjoy reduced competition when selling the finished products. Hope all of you are able to make a few credits this way!

And be sure to craft a set of upgrades for yourself. Stay one step ahead of those darned customs officials.

They Would Be Crazy to Follow Us, Wouldn't They? Kiting in SWTOR

Nazbur (my close friend and longtime MMO buddy), Dunquinn (Phyona's super-cool mom), and I were cruising through our first Flashpoint, the Esseles, when we hit a bit of a snag. It was that bonus droid boss. You know, the one that you have to activate by hitting those two levers at the same time? Anyways, Droid Boss executed some nasty AOE-lightning thing (?) and Nazbur, his little droid companion, and Dunquinn all perished in a matter of seconds. (More to come on these two; they're excellent players.)

I had been throwing out some spot heals and occasional damage from cover, so now I was left alone with a lightning-infused droid meanie.

In a true stroke of martial genius inspired by Monty Python and O.J. Simpson, I ran away.

And that's when I noticed an interesting side-effect of SWTOR's lack of an auto-attack.

I could still do significant damage. Reflexes had kicked in and I was kiting the boss in a looping figure-eight around the room. Through years of hunter-pvp-induced muscle memory (and that alone, I'm no pro), I was jump-turn-firing every 1.5 seconds and managing to keep up a steady stream of damage. After a prolonged chase, the boss collapsed into a pile of scrap metal.

For those who don't know or aren't sure, kiting consists of attaching fabric to a firm frame and allowing wind to "fly" said kite while it is tethered to you via a long piece of string.

In MMO terms, kiting consists of dealing damage while keeping an opponent at a safe, comfortable distance. Generally,  the kiter will periodically snare or slow an opponent while maintaining dps on the run. One of the best methods for achieving this is jump-turning. As long as you are using the mouse to move rather than your W key, you can

1. Run away.
2. Jump.
3. Use your mouse to turn 180 degrees in the air.
4. Now that you are facing your target, fire off an ability using a hotkey.
5. Turn back 180 degrees before you hit the ground.
6. Continue to run away.

This definitely takes some practice, but once you get used to it, it will become second nature. And you'll feel like a total bad-ass.

As a smuggler in particular, you are gifted with so many instant casts that can keep up decent damage even if you are melee/scrapper specced or a cover-reliant Gunslinger. Keeping a vital shot up, flinging grenades, and filling in with blaster fire will keep their HP dropping, while abilities like Dirty Kick and Tendon Blast give you the separation you need. An important part of kiting is keeping yourself from getting slowed, so be sure to use Escape if you need to.

 In WoW, classes are dependent on either auto-attacks and their auxiliary effects or hard casts. For instance, as much as ~60% of a Rogue's damage came from auto-swings and poisons and an Arcane Mage needed to stand still for 2+ seconds to cast an Arcane Blast, their main attack.

In SWTOR, a class with ranged capabilities can decimate an opponent or mob or whatever while kiting. Keep that in mind when you're out and about, Smugglegoods! May the Force be with you, I guess...

Who's Scrappy Looking? A Rough Guide to the Scrapper Tree

If you were blindsided by the Smuggler advanced class choice presented to you at level 10, you may have struggled to adjust to your new abilities and playstyle. Let's say you chose to be a Scoundrel, maybe to try healing at some point. You were running around Ord Mantell for 10 levels, dodging behind cover and flinging Sabotage Charges all over the place and now you have stealth, too. But you can't use stealth and cover at the same time. You'll never Back Blast from cover and you can't fire a Charged Shot from stealth. Bioware is tearing you in two!

While the end goal might be to heal as a Sawbones for endgame, who wants to level as a healer? I know I would rather endure the consequences of beating a wookiee at dejarik! (Yes, I'm trying to make this as nerdy as I possibly can.) You have two DPS skill trees to choose from: Scrapper and Dirty Fighting. While Dirty Fighting, with its bleed bolstering and energy regen, has a lot of appeal for the long boss fights of endgame pve, it can't compare to the pure awesomeness that is an ability named "Sucker Punch."  More seriously, this early in the life of the game, the Scrapper skill tree seems to be one of the more developed, cohesive combat systems. The scrapper has incredible burst potential, a dash of survivability sprinkled throughout the tree, and a sort of cherry on top in the form of Flechette Round. Like a smuggler sundae.

So, if you've come this far and decided to be a Scrapper, you need to understand one thing: you are now a melee class. Say goodbye to little green kneeling men, say goodbye to Sabotage Charge, say goodbye to hiding behind things while Corso harpoon shots all of the wrong mobs. Your new job is to sneak up behind baddies while  your companion distracts them, shoot them in the back, kick them in the spacejunk, and finish them off with a powerful right hook.

Let's take a look at the skill tree, filled with the points I recommend for a leveling/pvp build (since it's nice to take a break from missions with a game of Huttball). Follow along here.

 

Here is my rationale for taking each. I will proceed in the order I think you should spend your points.

Tier One:

Element of Surprise: Critting on your opener (Back Blast early, Shoot First when you get it) is a huge part of your burst ability. Hopefully you'll be getting off more than a few Back Blasts as well, considering your stuns/incapacitates in PvP or your companion tanking while leveling.

Browbeater: More burst post-opener via Flechette Round and a bit of a kick to Vital Shot if the fight drags out. Helps with Strong/Elite mobs and Flashpoint bosses while leveling.

Tell Jabba I've Got the Money: Scavenging for Credits

If this blog is going to prove worthwhile in any capacity, I've got to jump right into the "goods".

I've had a lot of early credit making success in SWTOR with my Smuggler-oriented crew skill triangle of Underworld Trading, Scavenging, and Cybertech. Here's the deal: I'll pass along some of my patented tips if (IF) you promise to follow, comment, or at least check back here every once in a while.

Let's get to it.

Everybody is leveling like mad right now, and that includes crew skills. The average player (read: the majority of players) identifies the quickest path to leveling their crew skills. Whichever schematic takes the fewest resources is what s/he'll use to level. In the case of cybertech crafting, this means armorings and mods. These items get vendored because better Mods and Armorings are readily available via commendation vendors and because you can't possibly sell through 15 green Skill Armoring 7's on the GTN. No matter to most players, they'll happily take a 200 credit loss for a skill up.

But for the stingy Smuggler out there, this is unacceptable.

Now, I'm always skeptical of any instructions that include some number of "easy steps," but hear me out, because I've got three easy steps for you to follow:

1. Measure Demand: What do players want? MMOs are famous for gear progression nuts (myself included), and SWTOR is no exception. Character progression yields more empty gear slots, including ship upgrade slots, new droid companion gear slots, and more. As a crafter, your bread and butter will be supplying all of those Jedi with the items they crave.

Here is an early example of a great Cybertech crafting opportunity. Earpiece-slot items do not drop until after Coruscant, when players are nearly level 20 or higher. However, Cybertechs can craft earpieces for all four classes that only require the wearer to be level 15. This early boost in stats, filling an otherwise empty slot, is appealing.

Still, because earpieces take two more Laminoids (~50 credits) and two Conductive Fluxes (20 credits) compared to the Armorings at that level, most Cybertechs skip them. See what you can do on your server's GTN by posting one of each type at ~1000 credits profit each.

2. Identify Gaps in Supply: Of course, you won't make a killing on level 15 earpieces on every server. Somebody may have beaten you to the punch. But whether it's a crafting a different item or posting at different times of the day, there are always gaps to be exploited.

One of the very best ways to find gaps in supply is by obtaining unique schematics. Most crafters won't invest in low-level schematics on their journeys to the crew skill cap, so that profit can be yours for the taking. You will at least enjoy reduced competition and perhaps greater margins.

3. Swipe Cheap Mats: Every credit saved is a credit earned. Don't just send your companions out on missions willy-nilly. Take some notes on their returns and try to come up with an average cost for every kind of raw material. Then, you will not only know which trade missions are most rewarding, but how much you would be willing to spend for mats on the GTN.

One habit many crew skill levelers have is dumping leftover mats on the GTN after they have finished a crafting tier. Don't be afraid to invest in a large stock of cheap mats, you'll make it up in the long run. (Quick protip: It took me a week to realize your companions will craft using items in your "Cargo Hold" bank. Free up some inventory and dump your mats in there!)

Advertising on trade or general chat can also net you some cheap mats, so don't be shy and give that a whirl.

Now, I haven't yet assembled the army of alts I would like to have, so I don't have specific advice for many of the crafting professions yet. That will change with time, as I plan to address all of the crew skills with regularity.

Be sure to check back often as I delve deeper into the universe of credit making in Star Wars: The Old Republic!

Punch It!

I guess I have to introduce myself.

I'm a pretty big Star Wars fan. Goldenrod would translate: he's read every single Star Wars novel from The Truce at Bakura through the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, wears a Millennium Falcon technical readout t-shirt, and even played the Star Wars CCG. I found the galaxy far, far away at a difficult time in my childhood and it served as exactly the kind of imaginative escapism I needed. I love everything about it. Even the prequels. I said it. I love the prequels.

Being, in general, a huge nerd, I also love MMO's. My lovely girlfriend, a fellow Star Wars fiend, hooked me on WoW way back when, and we enjoyed several years of high-end raiding, pet collecting, and pvp.

So you think I was excited when I learned that Bioware, developer of the esteemed KOTOR games and Mass Effect, was developing a Star Wars MMO? Just a bit. Phyona and I started playing SWTOR during launch week and it's everything we hoped it would be. As an outlet for my obsession, I decided to make this blog.

As times goes on, my ramblings will focus on:

-Smuggling: being the best smuggler you can, whether you're a scrappy scoundrel or a sharpshooting gunslinger. Tips, guides, theorycrafting, and Kessel-Run-time-reducing advice. Nothing better than talking shop for those who have fallen in love with this class.

-Credit Making: I was one of those lucky WoW millionaires and I'm already hard at work applying everything I've learned to SWTOR. Don't get stuck running spice shipments for vengeful Hutts; check back often for the inside scoop on how to stockpile some credits.

-General Game Thoughts: Where I try to do the impossible and produce objective, lucid articles about what Bioware is doing right or wrong.

-Whatever I want: Updates on our guild's progress; postings of me acting in a smuggler-POV "Star Wars Kid" video where I mime cover, Dirty Kick, and blaster fire; love letters to George Lucas; and whatever vaguely SWTOR-related content I think somebody might want to look at.

I hope you'll come along for the ride. Please do comment or ask me any questions you may have. After shooting first, of course.

I'll close with the first of many Han Solo pics you will see on this blog: