Smuggler
Profession Overview
Smuggler is a profession that focuses on dirty fighting, illicit goods, gear modification and smuggling contraband. Smugglers gain the unique ability to craft a critical buff item
spice, while a smuggler's
slice ability enables them to hack mission terminals to increase payouts as well as permanently improve weapons and armor.
While the profession grants access to abilities that are damage focused (e.g. Reckless Shot / Reckless Strike), most combat abilities you gain will focus on debuffing your target or crowd control. Unscrupulous fighters that they are, Smugglers can utilize an excellent set of tools to cripple their target and even the odds.
Prerequisites
To learn Novice Smuggler in SWG Restoration,
any two of the following are required as prerequisites:
- Brawler: Unarmed IV (4xxx)
- Medic: Medical Support IV (xx4x)
- Scout: Foundational (4xxx)
- Sharpshooter: Pistols IV (x4xx)
Restrictions
Smuggler contains fewer combat abilities than most hybrid professions, and some of the best smuggler combat abilities are restricted/enhanced when using certain weapon types (like pistols or melee). Because of the nature of the abilities in the tree, be thoughtful about the additional combat focused professions that are part of your completed template.
Abilities and Skill Mods
Abilities
See
Smuggler Abilities for up to date details on abilities.
Utility / Crowd Control:
- Concussion Shot - Deals no damage, but cannot miss, ignores defenses, and applies a root and mesmerize to an opponent for 45 seconds. It is one of a Smuggler's most potent abilities, though it has a long cooldown. Best used in situations where the Smuggler is outnumbered, as it can lock an opponent out of a fight for a moderate period. Can also be leveraged in PvP to interrupt key enemy abilities. In all circumstances, it can buy time to heal or retreat!
- Low Blow - Deals moderate damage and reduces an opponent's combat speed significantly for a short period. This is a helpful debuff the Smuggler will want to apply to their opponent when it is off cooldown.
- Overwhelming Shot - Deals low damage but reduces an opponent's state resistances and healing received for a moderate duration. Can be a critical ability in PvP to maximize DPS windows against an intended target.
- Panic Shot - Deals no damage, is a cone AoE, and applies blind and daze. This is one of the Smuggler's most powerful debuffs and can lead to opponents missing several attacks in a row. As with all AoEs, be selective when using it so one does not pull more opponents than intended.
- Restraining Shot - Deals low damage but inflicts a moderate snare on an opponent. Can be very useful to prevent an opponent from breaking line of sight or escaping. It also is powerful against melee fighters who will struggle to close the distance with the Smuggler.
Offensive Abilities:
- Last Ditch - Deals high damage, is a cone AoE, has high accuracy, and a high critical strike chance - but also a long cooldown. This ability will also increase the Smuggler's chance to critically strike their opponent for a short period.
- Lucky Attack - Deals moderate damage and allows the Smuggler to heal incoming damage for a short period. Keeping this applied during fights is key in improving a Smuggler's resilience when taking sustained damage.
- Reckless Shot - Deals very high damage and is enhanced with a pistol, though also has reduced accuracy and inflicts defense debuff to the Smuggler. Smugglers should use this ability to apply maximum pressure to their opponent. Smugglers are also advised to have defensive and accuracy buffs applied in advance of using this ability, to mitigate its downsides.
- Reckless Hit - Deals very high damage and requires a melee weapon, though has reduced accuracy and inflicts defense debuff to the Smuggler. Smugglers should use this ability to apply maximum pressure to their opponent. Smugglers are also advised to have defensive and accuracy buffs applied in advance of using this ability, to mitigate its downsides.
Defensive Abilities:
- Feign Death - Upon being hit, the Smuggler has a chance to enter a fake incapacitated state. In PvE this will cause opponents to lose aggro and reset after a short period, and can be used to avoid an unwelcome trip to the cloning facility. In PvP it can be used to fool opponents into thinking you are out of a fight, or to cunningly wait out an opponent's key buffs.
- Blind Recovery - Allows the Smuggler to expend a significant amount of their action pool to immediately remove the Blind status effect.
- Dizzy Recovery -Allows the Smuggler to expend a significant amount of their action pool to immediately remove the Dizzy status effect.
Buff Abilities:
- Modify Pistol - Allows the Smuggler to apply a powerful buff to their pistol, which grants 1-hour with +8% pistol damage and +10m of range (Note: this buff is tied to the player, not the pistol). Once the ability is used while holding a pistol, anyone else equipping that pistol will be able to modify it themselves and will gain the ability when equipped, if they don't have it. 2025 June Patch
- While this ability is acquired very early in the profession tree (Underworld I), it requires the consumable Illegal Weapon Module in order to apply it. These consumables cannot be accessed by the Smuggler until they begin Underworld Smuggling Missions. Upon successful completion of a contraband run, Illegal Weapon Modules are given as rewards alongside slicing components. This creates business opportunities for the Smuggler, who can sell unneeded modules on the open market for characters that lack the skill points for Master Smuggler - yet may be carrying Underworld I to access the buff for the obvious benefits!
Skill Mods
- Spice Assembly - Unused, spice are static crafts.
- Spice Experimentation - Unused, spice are static crafts.
- Language Comprehension - Allows the Smuggler to understand all languages.
- Critical Strike Damage Increase - Increases the % damage increase of critical hits(base is 50%).
- Slicing: Armor - Corresponds to a access to a wider variety of armor slices.
- Slicing: Weapon - Corresponds to access to a wider variety of weapon slices.
- Feign Death - Improves chance of Feign Death ability working.
- Pistol Accuracy While Moving - Provides bonus pistol accuracy while moving.
- Unarmed Accuracy While Moving - Provides bonus unarmed accuracy while moving.
- Additionally provides a variety of Ranged Defense, Melee Defense, General Ranged Accuracy, General Ranged Speed, Unarmed Accuracy, Unarmed Speed, and Recon Armor mitigations.
Crafts
Looted Schematic: Gambling Table (Furniture): 50 metal (recycled OK), 20 mineral (recycled OK), 15 polymer
Smuggler Builds
The Smuggler profession is intended to be used with ranged weapons. Even though it includes unarmed modifiers, melee smuggler builds are not viable at this time.
Below is a list of viable builds that take
Master Smuggler:
- Master Smuggler | Master Pistoleer | 4xxx Combat Medic
- Master Smuggler | Master Pistoleer | Master Sharpshooter | Novice Doctor
- Master Smuggler |43x4 Pistoleer | 4xxx Commando | 4xxx Combat Medic
- Master Smuggler | Master Commando | 4xxx Combat Medic
- Master Smuggler | Master Combat Medic |x4xx Pistoleer
- Master Smuggler | 444x Carbineer | 4xxx Combat Medic
Of course, more combinations than these are possible than these with the profession, and it carries many tempting options even for those who don't have the skill points for Master Smuggler! Utilize the
Skill Calculator to come up with your own builds.
Equipment
Armor
Smugglers can wear Recon Armor. Recon Armor provides greater energy protection, but has less kinetic resistance. It can be enhanced with Peko-Peko feathers and Interwoven Segments for additional health bonus.
Check out
Armorsmith page to learn more about Armor.
Slicing
With their Slice ability, Smugglers have the opportunity to increase Mission Terminal payouts, adjust weapon and armor stats and participate in the Galactic Civil War City Invasions.
For more details, reference the
Slicing page
Weapon and Armor slicing quick reference card.
Slice Ref
Spice
Smugglers can craft spice with any resources (including
recycled), quality does not matter and there is no experimentation. See
spice page for details about each spice type, but only Neutron Pixie, Booster Blue, and Muon Gold are currently used.
What's Next?
Becoming a Master Smuggler does not mean that your journey is over, in fact many new game-play opportunities become available to advance your character and carve out an even greater name for yourself amongst the denizens of the galaxy. Following your mastery of the Smuggler profession, the
Underworld Smuggling Missions will unlock, allowing you to gain a reputation with the Underworld. Additional stat bonuses and further rewards are achieved by running contraband across planets and through space.
You can also set up shop as a spice crafter, churning out the finest, purest substances for the galactic markets or personal use if that suits you. If crafting itself is not your favorite task, you can easily establish yourself as a slicer-for-hire, with individual players, as well as established armor- and weaponsmiths, paying to squeeze just a little more power out of their goods. You may be able to establish a long-term income base by working out an agreement with a crafter to pre-slice their goods in batches prior to sale.
It is also recommended to begin working on the various Contraband collections such as Counterfeit Credits and False Information. Finishing all 5 collections will grant the schematic for the DD6 Pistol.
-Talion Darksky, Master Smuggler (Polarias)