[2021] Developer Insights: Mara Jade, The Emperor's Hand

[ Developer Insights - Kit Reveal ] Hi Holotable Heroes,

Mara Jade, The Emperor’s Hand, is making her way onto the holotables! According to legend, she served as the true hand of the Emperor at the height of the Empire, going after his foes, be they remnants of the Jedi or duplicitous Imperials.

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

For more info and insights from the devs on this character, check out this interview with Operation Metaverse.

The Basics:

• Empire, Unaligned Force User, Attacker, Dark Side
• Mara Jade, The Emperor’s Hand’s Omicron ability is focused on Territory Wars
• Mara Jade is an Empire Unaligned Force User Attacker who is meant to work well with Emperor Palpatine and his core allies

Unique Attributes:

• Working well with Emperor Palpatine is thematically important for Mara Jade, The Emperor’s Hand. As such, her kit has several abilities that look for him as the leader.
• Looking for an AOE Tenacity Down? Mara has that!
• When paired with Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader, Mara can boost the potential to start a Turn Meter train for her squad. All aboard!
• Mara stacks lots of damage with Loyal Hand. Overall, her kit is also good for inflicting a lot of debuffs on her enemies.

Inspiration:

• Mara Jade operated under direct orders of the Emperor, but was many times left to her own devices. This is thematically reflected through the bonuses she gets while Emperor Palpatine is the leader, as well as the “Useful Pawns” she creates when he is not.
• Mara Jade and Luke Skywalker eventually would fall in love and get married. We wanted to pay homage to this by having Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker “blinded by love” when they are opposing each other on the battlefield.
• Mara Jade would be tasked with taking out rogue Jedi as well as Imperials who were not loyal to the Emperor. The callout to Jedi and the Daze effect help reinforce this aspect of her past.
• She was also a master infiltrator so Stealth had to be part of her kit.
• Being a Hand of the Emperor like Darth Talon was to Darth Krayt, we thought it would be fitting if they shared a common buff in Loyal Hand.

Strategy Tips:

• Mara can embrace different play styles depending on whether Emperor Palpatine is in the leader slot.
• On the theme of embracing different styles, Mara won’t always want to open the battle with the same Special ability each time. Which works best will depend on the circumstances.
• Mara’s Omicron ability “The Emperor’s Hand” is great at hindering non-Galactic Legend enemy leaders in Territory Wars.
• If the Galaxy of Heroes version of Mara Jade, The Emperor’s Hand had a motto, it would be “go real fast and defeat everything.”
• The ideal squad composition for Mara can change depending on the enemy team. It may come down to a simple question of “To have a tank, or not to have a tank?”
• She will likely perform best alongside Darth Vader, but can still be effective without him.
• Having said that, Emperor Palpatine lead is usually the best situation for Mara Jade. But, there are other squad comps that are fun and effective.

FAQ:

• Who is Mara Jade?
  • Mara Jade was an assassin for the Emperor who was tasked with killing Luke Skywalker. She nearly accomplished this by infiltrating Jabba’s palace, but was prevented from going to the Sarlaac Pit to finish the job.
• Why this version of Mara?
  • Mara Jade has had many different careers throughout her history, but she started out as The Emperor’s Hand for Palpatine. We thought this version of the character set parity with the 50th Anniversary marquees in having two light side and two dark side units to easily collect.
• What are the requirements and rewards for the Legacy tier in her marquee?
  • You will need both Mara Jade and Darth Talon at five stars and you will get 4 Omicron materials for beating it.
• Where is her sleeve gun?
  • The most recognizable visual look for Mara Jade as The Emperor’s Hand is an ensemble featuring a sleeveless top, so it didn’t make sense to include it here.