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Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Platform: PC with patch 1.03 installed
Copyright 2005 Stephen M. Shipione
RW Thomas (rw_thomas@hotmail.com)
Version 1.0 - March 13, 2005
This CharacterFAQ can be distributed only after asking the author's permission
and only in its entirety. You may not use this guide to make any kind of
monetary profit, nor can you post it anywhere that requires viewers to pay a
monthly fee.
All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their
respective trademark and copyright holders.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is (c)2003 BioWare Inc.
Star Wars and all related characters are (c)1977-2003 Lucasfilm ltd.
Throughout this guide I'll use certain abbreviations for the sake of brevity.
This section lists the most commonly used abbreviations and what they stand
for.
STR MOD = Strength modifier
DEX MOD = Dexterity modifier
CON MOD = Constitution modifier
INT MOD = Intelligence modifier
WIS MOD = Wisdom modifier
CHA MOD = Charisma modifier
VP = Vitality points (same as hit points for those D&D-types like me)
SP = Skill points
FP = Force points
LVL = Level
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* Table of Contents *
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1. Starting Classes
a. Scoundrel
b. Scout
c. Soldier
2. Starting Stats
3. Jedi Classes
a. Jedi Consular
b. Jedi Sentinel
c. Jedi Guardian
4. Suggestion on Feats
5. Suggestion on Force Powers
a. Light-side Powers
b. Dark-side Powers
c. Universal Powers
6. Special Alignment Bonuses
7. Problems with the game
You start out the game playing one of the three non-Jedi classes. At some
point in the game you are taught the tenets of the Jedi Code and permanently
change to one of the three Jedi classes. For the remainder of the game, your
character level will be the sum of the number of your non-Jedi levels and your
Jedi levels. The maximum level allowed in the game is 20, meaning that if you
have 7 levels in your starting class when you become a Jedi, then you can only
reach 13 levels of your Jedi class. No matter which class you started out
with, you can change to any one of the three Jedi classes, which means there
are nine possible class combinations in the game. The more you carefully plan
your character up-front, the better you'll enjoy playing it.
NOTE: Whatever skills, abilities and feats you have in your starting class
transfer over to your jedi class when it becomes available. This also holds
true for class skills.
Another note on leveling-up your character. When you get the little yellow
arrow symbol over your picture icon, you can choose to level-up your character
at that time or choose to level-up later. This allows you to essentially
"save" some of your level-ups until you gain your Jedi class. At the beginning
of the game, you're forced to level-up at least once (you can't leave the
bridge of the Endire Spire until you are 2nd level), but you can choose to not
activate the others until later. Some people choose to stockpile levels until
they become a Jedi then have several Jedi levels-worth of force powers and
force poitns at their disposal.
If you rush through Taris (the first planet), avoid all the unnecessary
side-quests, and only do the bare minimum...you'll have enough experience to be
character-level 6 with very little needed to make level 7...you'll also
probably sill be neutral on your lightside-darkside alignment bar.
If you do every side-quest on Taris, fight every opponent possible and do
everything you can to squeeze any experience points possible out of Taris...
you'll have enough experience to be character-level 8 and you'll probably be
more than half-way toward one end of the lightside-darkside alignment bar.
Do you stockpile levels or not??? That's up to you. It's theoretically
possible to get through Taris as a level 2 character...but that final battle on
Taris will be incredibly hard...even for soldiers. Being level 6 or higher is
almost overkill for Taris encounters (except maybe for the duel in the ring
with Bendak Starkiller), so the happy medium seems to be level 4...which leaves
16 Jedi levels left...that's a descent balance in my opinion.
The statistics for starting classes are shown below:
Scoundrel
---------
(6 + CON MOD) = vitality points per level
(4 + INT MOD) * 4 = starting skill points
(8 + INT MOD) / 2 = skill points each level-up
Feat Progression: 1,2,5,8,11,14,17,20
Class Skills:
Demolitions
Stealth
Awareness
Persuade
Security
Pros:
Highest skill points available
5 class skills out of 8 including Persuade & Security
Sneak attack ability
Scoundrel's luck ability
Cons:
Few vitality points
Treat Injury is a cross-class skill
Only starts with light armor proficiency
Slower feat progression
Commentary:
This class is good for those who are looking towards becoming a force-throwing
Jedi Consular from the back of the party who has high Persuade skill, or for
those who really love the sneak-attack ability (+1d6 damage every odd # level).
Prior to becoming a Jedi, scoundrels are better at defensive and/or ranged
combat support roles while leaving the melee combat to the soldiers and some
of the scouts. Dexterity is the primary attribute, followed by intelligence,
charisma and wisdom. Strength is rarely needed for a scoundrel. If you are
interested in skills, then the scoundrel is a good choice especially when you
follow-up with choosing consular as your jedi class because between the two
classes every skill ends up becoming a class skill. This means that if you are
a scoundrel that really wants to repair HK-47 and/or really likes slicing into
computers...save some of your scoundrel skill points until you become a
consular and buy those skills at only one point each instead of 2. :o) As for
how far to progress as a scoundrel before becoming a jedi...that depends on how
much sneak-attack you want at the cost of jedi powers. A 5th level scoundrel
has +3d6 sneak attack and another feat to spend. This is a popular point at
which to change classes.
Scout
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(8 + CON MOD) = vitality points per level
(3 + INT MOD) * 4 = starting skill points
(4 + INT MOD) / 2 = skill points each level-up
Feat Progression: 1,2,3,5,7,9,11,13,15,17,19
Class Skills:
Computer Use
Demolitions
Awareness
Repair
Treat Injury
Pros:
5 class skills out of 8 including Computer Use & Repair
Can get Repair high enough to upgrade HK-47
Can play any role needed (once customized)
Implant feat progression come free
Uncanny dodge
Starts with Flurry
Starts with Medium Armor Proficiency
Cons:
Does not excel at any one thing
Not as many vitality points as a soldier
Not as many skill points as a scoundrel
Feat progression less than a soldier
Commentary:
This class is good for offensive ranged combat and supportive melee combat, but
not as able to survive toe-to-toe in melee like the soldiers can. They have
less vitality points than soldiers but more than the scoundrels. They have
less skill points than scoundrels but more than the soldiers. Therefore, the
popular mindset is that scouts are a "Jack of all trades, Master of none".
It all boils down to how you build your scout. The free implant feat
progression is nice, but you don't get the 3rd implant feat until scout level
8...which is after you want to change to your jedi class. The 2nd implant feat
as well as the 1st Uncanny Dodge feat come in at lvl 4, which is a descent
place to switch to your Jedi class. The base flurry feat and the ability to
upgrade HK-47 are also nice, but at the expense of the feat progression and
vitality points of the soldier. Other than wanting a fully-upgraded HK-47 or
just wanting more skill points than a soldier at the expense of vitality and
feats, playing a scout is a good starting class for a healthier (aka more VP)
future Jedi Consular or a more skilled future Jedi Guardian. Wisdom is the
primary attribute, followed by dexterity and intelligence.
Soldier
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(10 + CON MOD) = vitality points per level
(1 + INT MOD) * 4 = starting skill points
(2 + INT MOD) / 2 = skill points each level-up
Feat Progression: 1 feat every level except 17 & 19
Class Skills:
Demolitions
Awareness
Treat Injury
Starting Feats:
Armor Proficiency: Light
Armor Proficiency: Medium
Armor Proficiency: Heavy
Power Attack
Power Blast
Weapon Proficiency: Blaster Pistol
Weapon Proficiency: Blaster Rifle
Weapon Proficiency: Heavy Weapons
Weapon Proficiency: Melee Weapons
Pros:
Highest vitality points available
Most number of feats in the game
Can wear any armor except Jedi robes & droid plating
Cons:
Few skill points
Only 3 class skills
Must spend feats to get flurry
Commentary:
This class is good for the offensive melee combat 'Tank' that can go toe-to-toe
with many of the foes in the game. They don't have many skill points to play
with, but with all those vitality points and feats available you won't be using
your skills much anyways. For the hack&slash player, this is the class to
pick. This class is good for players that want to do maximum damage as
lightsaber-wielding Jedi Guardians, or for players that want their future Jedi
Consulars to be able to last longer in a one-on-one lightsaber fight with tough
bosses (like the final boss, for example). I've even seen (and experiemented
with) a dual-pistol-wielding Jedi that started out as a soldier. As strange as
it may seem, it is actually quite successful and a refreshing change to the
standard stereotype Jedi builds. As far as main attributes, strength is the
primary attribute followed by constitution and dexterity.
Once you pick your gender, starting class & your portrait, it's time to set
your starting ability scores; but what exactly do these ability scores mean?
Basically, they determine a bonus or penalty that is applied to different
things you can do throughout the game. The lowest attribute value in the game
is 8 and I've not tested what the highest value is yet (though with some cheats
enabled I did get attributes fairly high without maxing it out). A table
showing the attributes and their corresponding modifiers is shown below:
Attribute Attribute
Value Modifier
---------------------
8 or 9 -1
10 or 11 0
12 or 13 +1
14 or 15 +2
16 or 17 +3
18 or 19 +4
20 or 21 +5
...and so on. As you can see, raising an attribute from even to odd (like
raising from 10 to 11) DOES NOT increase your attribute modifier. You'd have
to put in another increase to make the attribute value even again in order to
get the modifier to go up.
At character creation, you start out with all 8's and have 30 points to spend.
You can raise any attribute as high as 18 to start the game with. At first
look, one might think that three stats could be raised by 10 points each giving
a 1st level character three 18's. However, the catch is that not every
attribute increase costs 1 point each. Raising an attribute ONLY costs one
point each until the attribute value reaches 14. After that, it costs 2 points
each until it reaches 16, then it costs 3 points each until it reaches 18.
What this means is that once you raise an attribute value above 14, it becomes
more costly to keep raising it, as shown in the following table:
Attribute Increase Point cost
-------------------------------
From 8 to 9 1
From 8 to 10 2
From 8 to 11 3
From 8 to 12 4
From 8 to 13 5
From 8 to 14 6
From 8 to 15 8
From 8 to 16 10
From 8 to 17 13
From 8 to 18 16
As you can see, to raise one attribute to 18 will cost 16 out of your initial
30 points, leaving you with only 14 points left to spend on the other 5
attributes. This is one of the reasons why it is so crucial to spend these
initial 30 attribute points wisely. The good news is that there are plenty of
items throughout the game that will allow you to increase your attribute
values, some are purchased from vendors and some are found as treasure or loot.
The bad news is that despite these attribute-boosting items and abilities
available, anything that boosts your intelligence attribute will NOT equate to
having more skill points at level-up time.
One more note on attributes is in regards to soldiers with low intelligence and
their low skill point progression. The game is programmed to always give you
at least one skill point at level-up, even if your skill point equation comes
out negative because you left your intelligence attribute at 8 (meaning a -1
modifier). So even if you make a soldier with an 8 intelligence, you'll still
start out with 4 skill points to spend (instead of 0), which is the same as if
you has raised your intelligence attribute to 10 (meaning a 0 modifier). This
might be considered exploiting a bug by some, but when compared to other
classes in the game....pretending a soldier's intelligence score is 10 instead
of 8 at creation or level-up isn't going to unbalance things enough with the
other classes to be a real concern.
So, with that said, lets determine where best to spend your 30 points. First
thing is to think ahead to what kind of Jedi you want. If you are going to
concentrate more on force powers and less on lightsaber fighting, you'll want a
higher wisdom and charisma score. If you are going to concentrate more on
lightsaber fighting and less on force powers, you'll want a higher constitution
and strength. If you are going to concentrate more on skills and less on
lightsaber fighting, you'll want a higher intelligence score.
Once you determine what kind of Jedi you're aiming for, it's time to spend
those 30 points. The build that I've found to work with most class combos is
simply to leave intelligence at 8 and raise the other 5 attributes to 14. With
the numerous attribute & skill enhancing items available in the game, this
build lets you pretty much raise any attribute or skill high enough to get
through whatever tough spots the game throws your way (at least on normal).
This looks as follows:
Strength 14 +2 MOD
Dexterity 14 +2 MOD
Constitution 14 +2 MOD
Intelligence 8 -1 MOD
Wisdom 14 +2 MOD
Charisma 14 +2 MOD
If you want to concentrate on offensive melee combat...there are strength-
boosting items in the game (stims, implants, gloves, belts, some upgradable
armors). If you want to concentrate on defensive and/or ranged combat...there
are dexterity-boosting items in the game as well (stims, implants, gloves,
belts, masks, some upgradable armors). If you want to concentrate on force-
throwing...there are wisdom-boosting items in the game (a mask and two special
jedi robes) as well as a charisma-bonus for maxing-out in light-side alignment
(consulars only). If you want to concentrate on skills...there are
skill-boosting items in the game (gloves, belts, masks).
The only builds where I'd do something different are for the ranged scoundrel-
consular who doesn't want to ever see melee combat and who insists on having
more skill points. For this case, I'd leave strength at 8 and raise the rest to
14. This gives you 24 skill points to start with and 5 per scoundrel level
afterwards. If you want even more skill points, then you can take 4 from
constitution and raise intelligence to 16 which will give you 28 skill points
to start instead of 24 (but you'll still get 5 each level-up afterwards).
Once you become a Jedi consular you'll get 2 skill points per level. Yes, your
strength is awful, but lightsabers are based on strength OR dexterity
(whichever is higher), which means if your dex is higher than your strength,
then dex counts for lightsabers to-hit. The scoundrel-consular build is
usually in the back of the party using force powers from a distance, but high
-enough defense to avoid hits from many enemies (except powerful bosses like
Malak). This looks as follows:
Strength 8 -1 MOD
Dexterity 14 +2 MOD
Constitution 14 +2 MOD
Intelligence 14 +2 MOD
Wisdom 14 +2 MOD
Charisma 14 +2 MOD
...or for those that want more skill points...
Strength 8 -1 MOD
Dexterity 14 +2 MOD
Constitution 10 0 MOD
Intelligence 16 +3 MOD
Wisdom 14 +2 MOD
Charisma 14 +2 MOD
...or if you want a scoundrel-consular with more force points...
Strength 8 -1 MOD
Dexterity 14 +2 MOD
Constitution 10 0 MOD
Intelligence 10 0 MOD
Wisdom 16 +3 MOD
Charisma 16 +3 MOD
The other build where I'd deviate from the standard allocation of points is for
the soldier-guardian who refuses to waste time with skills or offensive Jedi
force powers. This would look as follows:
Strength 16 +3 MOD
Dexterity 14 +2 MOD
Constitution 16 +3 MOD
Intelligence 8 -1 MOD
Wisdom 10 0 MOD
Charisma 10 0 MOD
The game awards attribute increases for characters every 4th level. Since the
maximum character level is 20, that means that you'll get 5 more attribute
points to allocate once you spend your initial 30 points towards your
attributes. The question then becomes "Where do I put those last 5 points when
I get them?" Again, that depends on what you want your character to do during
the game. With my standard build (8 INT and 14 elsewhere), I'd put one into
charisma (leaving it at 15) and put the rest into wisdom (bringing it to 18).
The reason for this is that I love the "Light Side Only" items in the game,
which include the special bonus for maxing-out the light-side alignment. For a
Jedi Consular, maxing out the light-side alignment gives you a +3 charisma
bonus which means my 15 charisma (+2 modifier) becomes an 18 (+4 modifier).
For Jedi Sentinels, I'd put one point into constitution (making it 15) and put
the rest into Wisdom because the light-side alignment bonus for Sentinels is a
+3 to Constitution (bringing my CON MOD from +2 to +4). For Jedi Guardians it
depends on whether or not I care about force powers. If I don't, then I'll
alternate putting one point into Strength and the next point into Constitution.
This would put my strength at 19 and my constitution at 18. The light-side
alignment bonus for Guardians is +3 to Strength, which raises the modifier from
+4 to +6. If I do care about force powers with my Guardian, I'd alternate
between a point into Strength first and then a point into Wisdom.
The things to look for during the game are attribute-enhancing items that (when
equipped) will raise your stats to an even number. For example, if you have a
16 strength and find some "Strength +1" gauntlets...they won't give you any
immediate benefit. However, one of your NPCs could possibly get some benefit
from wearing them in the meantime (like Canderous who starts out with a 15
strength).
Now let's take a look at those prized Jedi classes.
Jedi Consular
-------------
(6 + CON MOD) = vitality points per level
(2 + INT MOD) / 2 = skill points each level-up
(8 + WIS MOD + CHA MOD) = force points each level-up
Feat Progression: 1,3,6,9,12,15,18
Force Power Progression: 1 / lvl
Bonus Force Powers: 1,3,9,15,18
Special Abilities: Force Focus line
Class Skills:
Computer Use
Demolitions
Awareness
Persuade
Repair
Treat Injury
Starting Feats:
Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Lightsaber
Jedi Defense
Force Focus
Pros:
Highest number of force points
Highest number of force powers
Force Focus makes force powers much harder to resist
6 class skills including Computer Use and Repair
Cons:
Low vitality point progression
Low skill point progression
Low feat point progression
Summary:
This class is good for those who want to specialize in force powers. You'll
have plenty of force points for combat, especially if your wisdom and charisma
scores are high. Defensive roles are popular with consulars due mainly to the
lower vitality and feat progression. If your starting class was scoundrel, all
skills are now class skills but you won't get too many skill points to spend as
a consular. Saving skill points from your scoundrel levels to use on computer
use and/or repair is not a bad idea...especially if you really want to upgrade
HK-47 but don't want to start out as a scout. As for items...you could either
find items that raise your weaker stats (like +CON Implants, for example)...OR
you could find items that boost your wisdom even higher for even more force
points (like +2 WIS robes on Korriban and a +5 WIS mask on Kashyyk).
Jedi Sentinel
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(8 + CON MOD) = vitality points per level
(4 + INT MOD) / 2 = skill points each level-up
(6 + WIS MOD + CHA MOD) = force points each level-up
Feat Progression: 1,3,6,9,12,15,18
Force Power Progression: 1 / lvl
Bonus Force Powers: 1
Special Abilities: Immunity line
Class Skills:
Awareness
Persuade
Treat Injury
Starting Feats:
Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Lightsaber
Jedi Defense
Immunity: Fear
Pros:
More vitality points than consulars
Immunity line (Fear, Stun, Paralysis)
More skills than Consulars (barely)
Cons:
Same low skill progression as Guardians
Fewer force points than Consulars
Not as many vitality points as Guardians
Same # of force powers as Guardian
Same class skills as Guardian...only 3
Skill point progression NOT as advertised
Summary:
Other than the Immunity line, there really isn't much of an incentive to play a
Sentinel as opposed to a Guardian or a Consular. With identical class skills
and skill point progression as a Guardian, the only reason to pick Sentinel
over Guardian is you want more force points at the cost of some vitality and
two feat points.
Jedi Guardian
-------------
(10 + CON MOD) = vitality points per level
(4 + INT MOD) / 2 = skill points each level-up
(4 + WIS MOD + CHA MOD) = force points each level-up
Feat Progression: 1,3,6,7,9,12,13,15,18
Force Power Progression: 1 / lvl
Bonus Force Powers: 1
Special Abilities: Force Jump line, Lightsaber Specialization
Class Skills:
Awareness
Persuade
Treat Injury
Starting Feats:
Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Lightsaber
Jedi Defense
Force Jump
Pros:
Lightsaber Specialization (+2 Damage) available
Force Jump line is highly useful
Lots of vitality points
More feats than any other Jedi class
Cons:
Low skill points
Only 3 class skills
Low force points
Summary:
This class is great for causing damage with lightsabers due to the ability to
specialize in them (+2 damage). The force jump ability is a great way to cause
initial damage, second only to the scoundrel's sneak-attack. The low force
points usually become a problem if using offensive force powers alot, though
it's enough to cast buffs before battle to raise your stats temporarily or to
heal the party in a pinch after battle. Guardians tend to be popular choices
for soldiers that want to continue playing melee tanks right on the front lines
in combat, though they CAN play other roles.
-----------------------
* Suggestion on Feats *
-----------------------
If you've read through any of the other FAQs available, you probably have
noticed that there are mixed opinions on whether to pick the Flurry line of
feats versus the Power Attack line of feats for melee combat players. In the
early levels of the game (aka Endire Spire & Taris) Power Attack does come in
handy for quickly inflicting lots of damage. However, in the middle and late
stages of the game it quickly becomes too costly in terms of defense penalty
to consider using regularly because the penalty does NOT go down as you upgrade
it. Flurry's defense penalty, on the other hand, DOES go down as you upgrade
it, plus you get an extra attack with Flurry. This combined with the extra
attack you get from wielding 2 weapons and the extra attacks you get from
casting the 3rd level Jedi Power 'Master Speed' give you 4 or 5 attacks per
combat round with a minimal defensive penalty.
So with that said, I suggest all soldiers and the more melee-driven scouts go
with Flurry and Two-Weapon Fighting feats. For the scoundrels and less melee-
driven scouts, I suggest the Critical Strike line instead. If you don't want
to invest feat points in Two-Weapon Fighting, then you should consider Dueling
as an alternative because if you're not gonna go offense, then you should raise
your defense and Dueling does just that...providing you're wielding a one-
handed weapon. Dueling gives you +1 defense and +1 to attack for each feat
point you put into it up to a maximum of +3 defense and +3 attack.
Once you get your Jedi class, Jedi Sense comes automatically with your level-
ups, so don't worry about saving feat points for those. Look instead for feats
like Lightsaber Weapon Proficiency upgrades. Avoid the Armor Proficiency
upgrades...what you start with is all you really need. Many of the Jedi Force
Powers don't allow you to cast them while wearing armor anyways. And when you
are in combat the game won't allow you to pause and take-off your armor. If
you want to deflect blaster bolts back at those shooting at you, then spend the
feat points on Jedi Defense...otherwise avoid this feat line. Consulars might
want to consider one feat point towards this, but nothing past 1.
Feats like Caution, Empathy and Gear Head are to be avoided. If you really
want to increase your skills, equip an item that has +skills on them while you
do your skills-related action...then unequip it when you're done.
Conditioning should be avoided for the most part unless you are finding that
you have an uncanny knack of regularly failing your saving throws. What does
this mean? Basically FORTITUDE saving throws help keep you from getting
stunned during combat, REFLEX saving throws help you avoid the full brunt of
the effects of grenades and blaster weapons, WILL saving throws help you avoid
the full brunt of the effects of some of the more offensive Jedi Powers.
Scouts have the best saving throws of any class in the game. Fortitude Saves
get a bonus from your Constitution Modifier, Reflex Saves get a bonus from your
Dexterity Modifier and Will saves get a bonus from your Wisdom Modifier.
Toughness is a feat line that might be worthwhile if you find that you just
don't have the vitality you need during battle. Another draw towards this feat
line is the 2nd level Toughness feat...it negates the first 2 points of damage
you receive. This is great for the early part of the game (Endire Spire and
Taris), but not as beneficial later-on. Scoundrels might want to invest their
1st-level feat bonus into the 1st Toughness feat to give them a little more
vitality to survive the early levels, but no more. Toughness is also good for
soldier NPCs who have tons of feats coming their way and are looking for a
place to invest them.
Unless you're building one of those ranged-combat Jedi characters, avoid the
ranged weapon feats Rapid Shot, Sniper Shot & Power Blast. They're just the
ranged versions of Flurry, Critical Strike & Power Attack (respectively).
As tempting as it looks, the Melee Weapon Specialization line does NOT count
towards lightsaber weapons. That's why they have their own weapon
specialization line. Avoid them unless you've decided that one of your soldier
NPCs should use melee weapons instead of their given ranged weapons.
-----------------------------
* Suggestion on Jedi Powers *
-----------------------------
For what it's worth, I think Jedi Powers are the best part of this game. There
are quite a few ways to throw around your Jedi Force Points on both the light
and dark side of the force. You can obtain or upgrade any Jedi Power that you
meet the level requirements for; however, the amount it costs to cast many of
the Jedi Powers depends on your position on the light-side/dark-side alignment
bar. The only exception to this is for 'Universal' Jedi Powers. They cost the
same to cast for everyone regardless of their light-side/dark-side alignment.
One other note that I've yet to verify is in regards to using opposite-aligned
powers. I've heard somewhere that if you continually use opposite-aligned
powers you'll eventually start moving along the alignment bar that direction.
For example, you're a light-side Jedi and you start using Force Storm as your
main attack action. It'll cost you a bundle to cast it, but supposedly after
you use it lots of times it gets cheaper to cast it and therefore move you
further down the dark side. *shrugs shoulders* Like I said, I've not verified
this yet and I've still got some testing of other things to do.
Light-Side Powers:
------------------
Cure, Heal - All light-side Jedi and even neutral Jedi characters (like Jolee)
should max this out as soon as it becomes available. Having Jedi in your party
with Cure or Heal and the script set to 'Jedi Support' will literally be a
life-saver especially in a pinch. Sell-off most of the medpacks once all Jedi
have this. However, you might want to keep the Life Support packs around for
the final boss fight in the game since you'll be fighting all alone with NO ONE
to heal you except yourself. This is one of the only two Force Power line that
you can cast while wearing armor.
Stun Droid, Disable, Destroy - This is a good line of force powers for two of
your Jedi to pursue. The top two levels of this line will damage droids, which
is nice. This is the only other light-side Force Power line that you can cast
while wearing armor.
Force Aura, Shield, Armor - A descent line of Jedi powers. This is one of
those powers that you can't cast while wearing armor. If you're wearing Jedi
Robes, then this is a good line to invest in as it will boost your defense
a bit.
Force Valor, Knight, Master - A great power to cast before a fight, or before
attempting a skill since it gives a +2, +3 or +5 to ALL attributes AND saving
throws. Knight and Master levels even give poison immunity to the party. If
you have an odd-numbered attribute like a 17 strength, then the Master level
will boost the modifier by +3 which turns your 17 Strength to 22, which raises
the modifier from +3 to +6. This power is WELL worth the investment for light-
side Jedi. However, you can't cast it while wearing armor.
Stun, Stasis, Stasis Field - This is another good line of force powers, but you
might not want EVERY Jedi in your party to pursue it. Pick one Jedi to pursue
this line. If you want to give this to Bastila, then make sure another Jedi
also pursues this line. This is another line of powers that you can't cast
while wearing armor. This power is very useful in my opinion since I can walk
towards a group of enemies, cast Stasis Field, and watch as they all are unable
to fight for several seconds. Consulars can greatly benefit from this since it
will make it easier to fight-back when attacked suddenly.
Dark-Side Powers:
-----------------
Drain Life, Death Field - This is the dark-side answer to the light-side's
Cure line. Not only does this damage foes, it transfers that damage into
healing points for you. Definitely give this to Jolee as well as yourself if
you're playing the dark-side.
Slow, Affliction, Plague - This is basically a debuffing power that drops your
opponents' attributes and speed. If you upgrade it all the way to Plague, you
will also be able to poison your foes; however, Plague won't let you wear armor
while casting it whereas the lower 2 levels will let you wear armor. Juhani
starts out with Slow, so this is the one character I'd select to invest in this
line. If you do decide to let Juhani invest in this, don't have her invest in
the light-side Stun-Stasis progression.
Fear, Horror, Insanity - This is a good choice for dark-side Consulars to go
after. This weakens enemies by making them too-afraid to attack you. It's
neat to walk up to a group of enemies, cast Insanity, and watch them cower in
fear while you "Wipe their pathetic bodies off the face of the galaxy."
However, non-consular players might not want to invest their precious few force
powers along this line. No armor restrictions along this line, which is nice.
Shock, Lightning, Storm - This is a favorite among dark-side Jedi that causes
damage to groups of enemies from a relatively safe distance. The only drawback
to this line is the armor restriction. Jolee should pursue this as well as
your Jedi-Robed dark-side character.
Wound, Choke, Kill - This offensive-line stuns & damages opponents. This is an
excellent way to finish-off enemies, especially once you get to the top level.
Kill will let you easily defeat opponents whose vitality has dropped to half or
lower. Jolee should definitely pursue this line as well as your dark-side
character. No armor restrictions here, which is nice.
Universal Powers:
-----------------
Burst, Knight, Master Speed - Every non-armored Jedi should max this line out.
Yes, this means that you can't wear armor while casting this line of powers.
Burst level increases movement speed and adds +2 to defense. Knight level
increases your defense bonus to +4 as well as giving you one extra attack per
round. Master level gives you an additional extra attack per round. That
means once maxed out, you get +4 Defense and 2 extra attacks per round.
Combine this with Master Flurry and you get 4 attacks per round with a penalty
of only -1 to defense.
Force Resistance, Immunity - Don't start pursuing this line until you're ready
to tackle Korriban or Manaan. Tatooine and Kashyyk only have 1 group of 3 dark
jedi each, so it's not worth pursuing it just yet. But there's a Sith embassy
on Manaan and the Sith academy is on Korriban, so you'll need this line at
those parts of the game. You can't cast this line of force powers while in
armor and it is only useful against dark jedi. If you don't have this line by
the time you get near the end of the game, you'll find it very difficult to get
through.
Energy Resistance, Improved - This is an ok force power line, but unless you're
a Jedi Consular with force powers you can't find another place to spend, don't
bother. You'll absorb sonic, fire, cold & electrical attacks with this line,
so it'll help against those dark jedi who use Force Storm against you & your
party, but there are other force powers you could invest in that would help you
better.
Affect, Dominate Mind - Only the player character can use this since it opens-
up new dialog options throughout the game. It only works on weak-minded people
so if you're talking with someone strong-minded they'll see right through your
attempt to play with their minds. If you're going the diplomacy route through
the game, this is a force power line to invest in. If you're a dark-side
player who wants to force someone to give you more credits on some quests, then
you also can benefit from these powers. Otherwise, don't bother. No armor
restrictions here.
Force Push, Whirlwind, Wave - This is a useful line of force powers with no
armor restrictions. It temporarily incapacitates as well as damage one or more
foes. Whirlwind will incapacitate a single foe for several seconds. Wave will
damage multiple foes & push them back a bit. I haven't found this line to be
all that helpful when compared to other force powers I could invest in instead.
Then again, the end boss uses Whirlwind against me...so perhaps it's worth
something.
Force Supression, Breach - This line only debuffs a dark jedi's buffing powers
and you can't cast it while wearing armor. One of your NPCs might get some use
from this, but when you consider the force powers you'd be giving up to invest
in this line....I don't think it's worth it. Then again, dark jedi seem to
love using this against you.
Throw, Advanced Throw Lightsaber - This line may not seem like much when
compared to other force powers since it only does 10-60 points of damage. BUT
there is NO saving throw for this...meaning it ALWAYS HITS and ALWAYS CAUSES
DAMAGE. No worries about resisting this force power and there's no armor
restriction. The Advanced Throw Lightsaber will attack multiple enemies near
each other, meaning if you come up to a group of 3 enemies side-by-side...you
just aim for one of the end guys and it'll hit all 3 in order for 10-60 damage
each. Not bad for a guaranteed hit if you find your attacks are constantly
being resisted by tough enemies.
-----------------------------
* Special Alignment Bonuses *
-----------------------------
Once your character is built and you begin playing, certain actions and dialog
options cause you to add either lightside points (light blue) or add darkside
points (red). The more you walk down the path in either direction, the less
your force powers of that alignment cost you in terms of force points. For
example...cure and heal are light side powers. The more light side points you
get thoughout the game...the less it costs in force points to cast it. But the
drawback to that is that it costs more force points to cast force powers from
the other side. Which means that if you get more light side points...then cure
and heal will cost less, but dark side powers like force storm cost MORE. If
you play the game consistently getting all the way towards one side or the
other, you get a special alignment bonus based on your jedi class.
For Jedi Consulars, full dark side alignment will give you an extra 50 force
points. Full light side alignment will give you a +3 to your charisma score.
For Jedi Sentinels, full dark side alignment will give you immunity to poison.
Full light side alignment will give you a +3 to your constitution score.
For Jedi Guardians, full dark side alignment will give you an extra +1d8 damage
Full light side alignment will give you a +3 to your strength score.
If you get all alignment points on Taris to go towards one side or the other...
you should already be about 1/2 way there by the time you get your Jedi class.
It is possible to get full alignment on either side before you get to level 14,
which is around the time you have 2 pieces of the map and are working towards
your 3rd piece.
Problems:
The Jedi Sentinel is SUPPOSED TO BE the one with 'Average Skill Progression'
according to the game manual. Since the Jedi Guardian and Jedi Consular are
supposed to have 'Low skill progression', this implies that the Jedi Sentinel
is SUPPOSED to have better skill progression than both the other Jedi classes.
However, I've run numerous tests (observing Bastila's progression as well as
building my character as a Sentinel) and have discovered that the Jedi
Sentinel's skill progression is identical to that of the Guardian. Perhaps
it's just something to do with the difference between the XBOX version and the
PC version. I don't own an XBOX and haven't played the game on an XBOX so
perhaps someone can run tests to see if the same problem is found there
as well.
