As more characters are added to SWGoH, we cannot ignore how older characters are impacted and how the game continues to evolve. Today I start the Best Mods for Mara Jade, The Emperor’s Hand, an oft-used character in specific counters for the GAC in Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes. During my time with Gaming Fans I started the “best mods” series of articles which turned out to be what put the site on the radar of the community and with EA Capital Games. While my days with Gaming Fans are well behind me, I have been writing mod guides like this one since the early days of mods when they were added to SWGoH in 2018. Fortunately, writing these mod guides continues to be a way for me to continue to enjoy Galaxy of Heroes now that I have been playing this game for over a decade. I will seek to keep the same high quality content going as I continue the “best mods in SWGoH” series today with the Best Mods for Mara Jade, The Emperor’s Hand.
Today’s mod review focuses on Mara Jade, The Emperor’s Hand, a character built to elevate Emperor Palpatine squads in Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes while creating real headaches for Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker teams. Her kit is packed with Turn Meter manipulation, debuffs, and synergy that gives Palpatine loyalists plenty of reason for optimism. In Star Wars Expanded Universe lore, Mara Jade was originally introduced as the Emperor’s elite assassin and covert operative, a Force-sensitive agent personally trained by Palpatine before eventually forging her own path—an important distinction since that storyline exists outside current canon. As one of the December 2021 requirements to unlock Starkiller, it’s time to break down which mods best complement her abilities and maximize her impact in Galaxy of Heroes.
Note that I have learned that I get a bit wordy in these Best Mods articles, so as a result the TL;DR on mods for Mara Jade, The Emperor’s Hand is below. Also, I added a new(er) format on the recommendations below which I hope will help make these best mods articles easier to decipher.
Main Mod Stats to focus on…
When modding Mara Jade, Speed is the engine that makes her kit hum. With a blazing base Speed of 192 — one of the highest among non-Galactic Legends — she is tailor-made for a four-piece Speed set to ensure she opens the battle. Getting out in front allows her to apply Tenacity Down with Ultimate Predator or trigger Emperor Palpatine’s assist off her basic to spread Shock early, immediately putting the enemy team on its heels. In Territory Wars she becomes even more dangerous thanks to her Omicron: if the opposing leader is not a Galactic Legend, she gains 100% Turn Meter and strips their Protection at the start, meaning raw Speed becomes less critical in that specific mode — but outside of that scenario, Speed remains king.
Beyond Speed, Potency is extremely important to ensure Daze, Shock, Tenacity Down and her other debuffs consistently land. While Sith leaders such as Emperor Palpatine, Darth Traya and Sith Eternal Emperor can provide substantial Potency boosts — and Mara herself grants Empire and Sith allies +20% Offense and Potency when Palpatine leads — stacking additional Potency through mods keeps her control element reliable against high-Tenacity opponents. Offensively, building raw Offense tends to provide more value than leaning too heavily into Critical Chance or Critical Damage. Her unique adds layers of stat interaction through Useful Pawn, but because she and her allies already gain offensive bonuses under Emperor Palpatine, increasing Offense further helps maximize her damage output and overall pressure. For survivability, Protection is the preferred focus, particularly in Territory Wars where her Omicron can snowball Max Protection as enemies fall, helping her remain on the field to continue cycling Turn Meter and debuffs.
The modern Empire trio of Mara Jade, Emperor Palpatine and the newly released Darth Vader (Duel’s End) only amplifies the need for these priorities. Darth Vader (Duel’s End) thrives in debuff-heavy environments, and Mara’s ability to flood the battlefield with Shock, Daze and Tenacity Down feeds both Palpatine’s Turn Meter train and Vader’s escalating damage potential. When modded for high Speed, strong Potency and solid Offense with Protection backing her up, Mara Jade becomes the catalyst that allows this Empire core to overwhelm opponents before they ever get established.
Which Mod Sets to use & Dev Recommendations for Mara Jade, The Emperor’s Hand
For Mara Jade, The Emperor’s Hand, the plan is quite straightforward – make her super fast and let her apply the debuffs to break down your opponent. The devs suggest using Speed & CC sets and the Speed set is obvious, but I can see either CC or Potency on the second set. Personally, I am going with a Speed set of 4 and a set of 2 Potency mods given the importance of her debuffs. Thus, here is a look at my recommendations for Mara Jade, The Emperor’s Hand mods in SWGoH:
- Transmitter (Square) – The Transmitter mod always has a primary focus on offense.
- Recommended Mod Type: Speed
- Recommended Secondary Stats: speed, potency, CC and offense, health or protection
- Receiver (Arrow) – The Receiver mod can have a primary focus on several stats including speed, critical avoidance, accuracy, health, protection, defense and offense.
- Recommended Mod Type: Potency/CC mod, Speed focus
- Recommended Secondary Stats: potency, CC, offense and health or protection
- Processor (Diamond) – The Processor is always going to have a primary focus on defense.
- Recommended Mod Type: Potency/CC
- Recommended Secondary Stats: speed, potency, CC and offense, health or protection
- Holo-Array (Triangle) – The Holo-Array is a very specialized mod that can have a primary focus on critical chance, critical damage, health, protection, offense and defense.
- Recommended Mod Type: Speed mod, Critical Damage focus
- Recommended Secondary Stats: speed, potency, CC and offense, health or protection
- Data-Bus (Circle) – The Data-bus mod always has a primary focus on either health or protection.
- Recommended Mod Type: Speed mod, Health focus
- Recommended Secondary Stats: speed, potency, CC and offense or protection
- Multiplexer (Plus) – The Multiplexer (plus or cross) mod can have a primary focus on potency, tenacity, health, protection, defense or offense.
- Recommended Mod Type: Speed mod, Potency focus
- Recommended Secondary Stats: speed, potency, CC and offense, health or protection
Mara Jade Mods TL;DR
- Square – Speed mod with speed, potency & offense
- Arrow – Potency/CC mod, Speed focus with potency, health & protection
- Diamond – Potency/CC mod with speed, potency & offense
- Triangle – Speed mod, CD focus with speed, potency & offense
- Circle – Speed mod, Health focus with speed, potency & offense
- Plus – Speed mod, Offense focus with speed, potency & offense