[2022] Developer Insights: Ninth Sister

[ Developer Insights - Kit Reveal ] Hi Holotable Heroes,

The Ninth Sister, formerly a Jedi known as Masana Tide, is coming to the holotables to reinforce the Inquisitorius!

Below, we take a dive into the developers’ motivations and inspirations while creating the kit for this fan-favorite Jedi: Fallen Order character.

The Basics:

• Ninth Sister will interact with Purge in both an active and passive capacity.
• Her Too Easy Basic and Not Worth My Time Special abilities work actively.
• Her Can't Stop the Empire Leader and Ground Pound Special abilities work passively. More on these below.
• Ninth Sister is very much a tank unit. She works well with Empire units such as Mara Jade for now, but will work best with Inquisitors units in the future.
• Her abilities focus on making hers and her squad more durable.
• Ninth Sister’s kit also has a build-and-spend component, which will see her gaining power over the course of battle in order to cash in for some big swings in momentum.

Unique Attributes:

• Ninth Sister applies Purge via her Basic ability (double stacks on Jedi enemies).
• Under her Leader ability, when Jedi enemies gain Turn Meter, they also have a chance to gain Purge.
• Ninth Sister uses Purge to apply Damage Over Time to enemies and Heal Over Time to herself via her Not Worth My Time Special ability. She also has an Area of Effect (AOE) in her Ground Pound Special ability, as well as Defense stacking depending on number of enemies.
• If she is in the Leader slot, Ninth Sister’s team can gain immunity to Speed limiting effects.

Inspiration:

• The inspiration for Ninth Sister’s abilities are taken from her appearance in Jedi: Fallen Order. More specifically, from her fight with Cal Kestis on Kashyyyk. The ability names were also taken primarily from her appearance in JFO.
• Visually, Ninth Sister’s fighting style doesn’t feel as fast or as graceful as Second Sisters, but she still had some unique moves that we really wanted to highlight in her abilities. She’s ruthless and brutal but her control is astounding
• Getting to know Ninth Sister through her comic book appearances and her lore really made her out to be an individual who has suffered a significant amount of loss, both physically in terms of her limbs and mentally/emotionally in regards to her separation from the Jedi Order, but who channels that loss in a way that she feels makes herself stronger. She’s the epitome of ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’.
• Overall her kit design plays heavily into the idea that Ninth Sister was an almost unstoppable force, and the ways that she interacts with the Purge mechanic further her and her team's ability to survive and complete their mission - to purge the galaxy of Jedi scum.

Strategy Tips:

• Ninth Sister is an Inquisitorius tank. Use her accordingly.
• The Speed limiting immunity provided by her Leader ability makes her strong against Jedi Knight Luke teams.
• Ninth Sister’s Territory Wars-focused Omicron ability will make Inquisitors stronger via their immunity to Ability Block and Stun.
• Eventually, Ninth Sister will have a home as part of a dedicated Inquisitorius squad. For now, try Mara Jade, Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine and Second Sister.
• Instead of focusing the Purge effect on a single target, try to apply Purge to as many opponents as possible. This will allow Ninth Sister to capitalize on her stacking Defense bonuses that she receives via her Ground Pound Special ability.

FAQ:

• Who is Ninth Sister?
• Ninth Sister is an Inquisitor, formerly known as Masana Tide. She’s done missions for the Inquisitorius alongside Darth Vader and most famously Second Sister in their pursuit of Cal Kestis in Jedi Fallen Order.
• Has the functionality of Jedi Knight Luke’s Speed limiting ability changed?, Or is it that Ninth Sister’s Leader ability mitigates the Speed limiting?
• We did not change the way Luke’s Speed limiting works. However, we’re updating the description to his Speed limiting ability only to make it more consistent with what it's already doing. We are not changing the functionality of this ability.
• Does Ninth Sister have a Legacy tier in her Marquee?
• Yes, players will need both Ninth Sister and Second Sister at 5-stars in order to participate in her Legacy Tier.