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Star Wars : Knights of the Old Republic II
The Sith Lords (PC)
Duelling Jedi Guide
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By DarthMuffin aka Coffee_Addict and many muffin/coffee names |
E-Mail : See Contact Info Section |
Created on : January 21, 2004 |
Posted on : March 4, 2005 |
Last Update : May 13, 2007 |
Version : V1.4 |
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- This guide is based on the PC version of the game.
- I suggest reading a specialised guide on the 3.0 DnD rules, such as
DSimpson’s 3.0 DnD Guide, since the SW d20 rules are roughly the same. It
helps to understand how the system works. I would also like to shamelessly
plug my NeverWinter Nights : Hordes of the Underdark Ranger guide, in which I
have written a complete section intended for newbies that covers the basic
rules.
- This guide may contain some SPOILERS. I’ll try to avoid huge spoilers, but
if it’s your first time through the game, be careful when you see the word
SPOILERS before a paragraph.
- When I refer to hit points, I mean vitality points. I’m just more used to
DnD.
- Also, please note that English is not my primary language, so there are
probably some mistakes here and there. I try to be careful though.
Deep inside, I always knew that my Reader’s Submissions system was messed up.
What I ended up doing was to leave things in that section that really should
have made it into the guide proper. Tyrael pointed about a few holes in my
guides, some of which had been somewhat covered in the mail section but not
in the guide proper.
So I tried to patch up the holes and this is the result. In truth, not much
has changed. It’s pretty much a few details in the skills and companion
sections.
Anyway, in any future guide I write, I will use a different approach which
will hopefully be better overall.
So, here we are. Knights of the Old Republic II : The Sith Lords was
*finally* released on the PC (and LucasArts had promised a simultaneous
XBOX/PC release...). It’s a great game for sure. Lots of improvements, new
stuff, more party interactions, prestige classes, etc. KotOR II : TSL
(henceforth referred as TSL) has it all.
Before I go into details, I must first introduce the guide properly.
This guide covers the creation, development and gameplay of a combat-focused
Jedi using a single lightsabre. Even from the depths of my ultra-secret HQ
(i.e. my bedroom), I can hear you ask : “Why in the nine hells would I use a
single sabre if I am to fight in melee???”.
A fine question indeed. DSimpson (probably the best RPG Guide writer around)
states in his great walkthrough that the bonuses from the Duelling feats
aren’t worth it. My opinion? The duelling feats are useful, especially with
the coming of the Lightsabre Combat Forms. True, the bonuses aren’t
breathtaking. And I *really* think that the Two-Weapon Fighting feats are
unbalanced in the KotOR games, especially with the new ones in TSL. Anyway.
Check the “Why Duelling” Section (:SAGI1:) to see why it is a valid choice to
go the single sabre route.
So read on, and I will make sure you’ll have a great time playing with your
character.
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| TABLE OF CONTENT |
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Section A : General Information>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> :SAGI0:
1 – Why Duelling.................................................... :SAGI1:
2 – Sides of the Force.............................................. :SAGI2:
3 – Analysis of the Classes......................................... :SAGI3:
4 - The Builds...................................................... :SAGI4:
Section B : Character Creation Process>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> :SBCC0:
1 – Starting Classes................................................ :SBCC1:
2 – Attributes...................................................... :SBCC2:
3 – Skills.......................................................... :SBCC3:
4 – Feats........................................................... :SBCC4:
5 – Force Powers.................................................... :SBCC5:
Section C : Character Development>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> :SCCD0:
1 – Prestige Classes................................................ :SCCD1:
2 – Forms of Lightsabre Combat...................................... :SCCD2:
3 – Creating your Lightsabre........................................ :SCCD3:
4 – Equipment....................................................... :SCCD4:
Section D : General Strategy>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> :SDGS0:
1 – Fighting (and Killing) Enemies.................................. :SDGS1:
2 – Using Force Powers.............................................. :SDGS2:
3 – Party Selection................................................. :SDGS3:
Section E : Stuff From Readers>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> :SFSR0:
Section F : Favourite Character>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> :SGFC0:
Navigation : Copy (ctrl-c) the code at the end of each line, use the find
command (ctrl-f) and paste (ctrl-v) the code to quickly jump to a specific
part of the guide. Please let me know if one of the does not word.
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| SECTION A : GENERAL INFORMATION :SAGI0:|
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I will start by listing the reasons why Duelling + single sabre is a good
choice in the game.
Then, we will decide which classes to use to create our Jedi. I will start
by discussing which side is the best for the build, then move on to the
starting and prestige classes. Finally, I will list the possible builds for
the choices we will make.
There are a number of valid reasons to pick a single sabre instead of duals
or the overused sith sabre. These are :
- Every damn Jedi in the movies use a single sabre, except for Darth Maul and
Anakin. And I will not say anything more about this, since I could easily
start a huge rant on this subject (something I once did on the forums, and I
got blasted by an amazingly high amount of Darth Maul fans).
I know, I know, Grievous uses four sabres in Revenge of the Sith. But notice
how Obi-Wan just owns his droid arse.
- Lucas had first decided that single sabres would be the weapons used in the
Jedi’s epic duels. He later screwed his idea by putting Darth Maul in,
probably to give more “hoomph” to The Phantom Menace. Critics attacked TPM
really hard, but, for my part, I actually liked it. However, the desert duel
is, for me, so much better than the later one.
On it’s side, wielding two sabres was born as a curiosity; again to make
people say “wow!” when they see the duel. Fortunately, our good friend Dooku
managed to end this with a single swipe.
- Consider this : A dual wielding Jedi is really skilled, of course. But so
is the dueller who can defend himself successfully and attack others without
missing, all using a single blade.
- Let’s check numbers now. Duelling will, once you master it, give you +3 to
attack bonus and +3 to defence. In other words, you’ll hit more often and
the enemies will hit you less. Does it really make a difference? At lower
levels, it obviously does. Later on, I still noticed that my main character
could hit more often that Visas, who had a sith sabre and the three two-
weapons fighting feats (and yes, she had finesse : lightsabre). So from my
experience, it does make a difference.
- TSL brings Lightsabre Fighting Styles. These styles often come with
penalties to AC. Those can usually be completely negated by Duelling. Using
Form III with Duelling will make you very hard to hit by blaster-wielding
enemies.
Look, I *give* you the permission to use a single sabre... so do it!
As a single sabre master, you’ll become as good as Dooku at duelling, and as
good as Obi-Wan at defence. You’ll also look like an actual Jedi from the
movies.
If you’re interested in role-playing a little, then going the duelling way is
good for you.
But to tell the truth, I’m pretty sure that about 70% of the people who will
read my guide do not give a damn about roleplaying. Therefore, I am forced
to do some number crunching again :
Taking the two-weapon fighting feats will negate (most of) the penalties for
wielding a second weapon, i.e. to get an extra attack per round. The
duelling route will give you more attack bonus and more defence. So to make
a long story short, a dual wielder will have an extra attack, while a dueller
will hit more often, and will be harder to hit. If you have some basic
knowledge of the rules, you probably know that the scarier enemies usually
have a high attack bonus and high defence. Therefore, a dueller will
generally do better against “bosses”, while a duel wielder will be more
efficient against the mobs.
The Lightsabre Fighting Forms of TSL really bring the debate to another
level, in my opinion. Most forms, especially the more specialised ones, come
with great penalties and bonuses. The duelling feats will often negate any
defence penalty. Lets take Form VII as an example. It gives a –4 to defence
and a –4 to saves, but a +2 to defence against your target, an extra attack
per round, and a great bonus to critical strikes. With the duelling feats,
you’ll end up with +1 to defence against your target, and –1 against other
enemies. Most importantly, you’ll also get an extra attack per round,
bringing you on par with those dual wielders. The only downside is the saves
penalty, but nothing is free.
Another example would be Form II. It gives +3 to attack and +3 to damage,
but a –5 to blaster deflection and –2 to saves. The blaster deflection is
not really a problem; with your feats, you already have a free +3 to defence.
The bonuses, coupled with duelling, will net a +6 to attack bonus and +3 to
damage. If you have decent attributes, it is most likely that you’ll hit
almost everything that wields a sabre. Force powers can also bring the
numbers even higher.
The same thing can be said about Form III. This time, however, we are aiming
for maximum defence.
-=SPOLIERS=-
I have heard about some people who have some trouble beating the final
boss(es), i.e. the three flying sabres. Even DSimpson states in his guide
that this is a tough fight. Well, my duelling Guardian/Weapon Master could
melee them with no problem. Just so that you may know, I used Form II for
this battle. Generally, you want Form VII for a boss, but since I was
attacked by multiple opponents, the defence penalty was getting serious.
Form II made sure I hit while still enabling the +3 to defence from duelling.
-=END SPOILERS=-
I **know** that TSL encourages dual wielding even more with the new feats.
But what I’m trying to say is that the single sabre way is certainly a potent
choice, especially when the duelling bonuses are coupled with the fighting
forms.
Just as an example, one of the “boss” you fight in the late game fell in one
normal attack (i.e. no flurry) by my single blue blade (I used Form VII).
Not bad for the underused and underestimated dueller.
So be cool a little, and use a single sabre.
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2 – Sides of the Force -----------------------------------------------:SAGI2:
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Anyone who has seen at least one Star Wars movie knows that there are
officially two sides of the Force.
I use the word “officially” because some well-known Expended Universe
characters see the world in grey. Notable examples include Jolee Bindo from
KotOR I and Kyle Katarn from the Dark Forces series. Add to this the fact
that your character can choose to stay “neutral”, and you can possibly say
that there are actually 3 sides. But then, you could say that the EU’s
viability is debatable; such as the “Jedi can’t love” vs “Nomi Sunrider was
married” curiosity. Anyway, I’m steering too far from the subject.
For the purpose of this guide, we will stick to the traditional “two-sided
Force”.
In game terms,
Light Side = buffs
Dark Side = damage
Since we are going for a melee fighting class, then (for me, at least) Light
Side makes more sense. The point is that what we really want is to become
stronger when hitting things with our lightsabre. Also, as a warrior, we put
more emphasis on strength, dexterity and constitution. Not focusing on
wisdom and charisma cuts the difficulty class of your force powers
significantly. In other words, the enemies will easily make their saves
against your damaging Dark Side powers. For these reasons I believe that
it’s a better idea to go Light Side with this build. Of course playing Dark
Side is also fun, and you should do what you want. I admit, however, that I
find it very difficult to play evil, so I’m a little biased on this.
The problem with Dark Side is that it involves the “stupid-evil” answers,
which goes completely against the movies. Sith are supposed to be
manipulators, not dumb like orcs!
Whatever your choice might be, we will discuss each force power later.
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3 – Analysis of the Classes ------------------------------------------:SAGI3:
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Before we even start, we need to make something clear. Each of the classes
has the same Base Attack Bonus progression, i.e. a BAB equal to the
character’s level.
Why do you need to know this? Since the BAB is really half of the melee
combat (the other half being hit points), Jedi Guardian is no longer the
obvious pick for a starting fighting class. In other words, Jedi Sentinel
makes a very decent choice as the starting class. Jedi Consular is less
attractive, because of the lower hit points.
As far as prestige classes are concerned, you should either stick to the pure
melee with Weapon Master (Marauder), or going for more skills and abilities
with Watchman (Assassin). This will be discussed later.
Conclusion :
What we want to do is fight in melee. Two of the three classes have the
potential of being good starting classes : Jedi Guardian and Jedi Sentinel.
With Guardian, you will have more hit points (remember : hit points are half
of melee combat; you can’t kill enemies if you’re dead) and slightly more
feats. As a Sentinel, you will have more skills and more force points.
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4 – The Builds -------------------------------------------------------:SAGI4:
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If you followed my advises this far, you now have the following :
A Light Side Jedi Guardian
-or-
A Light Side Jedi Sentinel
With Jedi Weapon Master (Marauder) or Watchman (Assassin) as the prestige
class.
The next choice you must make is slightly linked to the attribute choice we
will make later :
Do you want to be strength or dexterity based??
Basically, a strength based warrior will do more damage, while a dexterity
based will have a higher armour class. Also note that you now have to choose
the Weapon Finesse feat if you want your dexterity modifier added to your
attack rolls, unlike in the first game.
Back in my guide for KotOR I, I praised the use of a high dexterity. For
TSL, I used to go for a higher strength for the following reasons :
-Lightsabre Forms : Form III notably comes with a good bonus to defence.
-Duelling Feats : The +3 bonus represents a score of 16 in dexterity.
-Force Powers : They can really help your AC significantly (speed and armour)
-A Jedi’s defence naturally goes up at certain levels
-More customisation possible for the lightsabre
-=SPOILERS=-
-Handmaiden : She can give you a power that adds your wisdom modifier to AC
Note that the Handmaiden is only available to male characters. Note that
this power is restricted by armour.
-=END SPOILERS=-
***However***
Going for a high dexterity also has it’s advantages. Yes, lightsabre forms
and the duelling feats helps your defence, but a high dexterity really makes
it skyrocket, which is great.
The debate really comes down to damage versus defence. At this point, it is
entirely up to you. I now favour dexterity. I must point out however that
playing a dexterity build is a little harder at the beginning (since you will
most likely not pick finesse in melee weapons); or it could just be that the
game is indeed harder in the difficult mode (never tried strength in anything
but normal).
We now roughly know what our Jedi will look like. So lets proceed to the
character creation.
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| SECTION B : CHARACTER CREATION PROCESS :SBCC0:|
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Here we will finally create our Jedi. I will start with the classes and the
attributes, then move on to which skills, feats and powers to choose during
the process, and discuss each one of them in detail.
Class skills : Persuade, Treat Injury, Awareness, Demolitions
Strong Saves : Fort and Reflex
Weak Saves : Will
Feat progression : 1 at every odd level, plus another at level 2
Force Power Progression : 1 every level, 2 at level 1
The Jedi Guardian is your basic melee warrior. They have the most vitality
points of the Jedi classes and more feats than others. The force points
progression is fine if you stick to buffs. As far as skills are concerned,
you won’t go far with a Jedi Guardian. This class is best suited for melee
fighting, supplemented by buffing force powers.
For the template we are going to create, Jedi Guardian is probably the most
obvious choice. But lets look at the others first.
Also, in case you wish to create a movie-like character, you should note that
Obi-Wan, Anakin, Dooku and probably Luke are all considered Guardians by
Wizards of the Coast (official pen and paper SW RPG).
Class skills : Persuade, Treat Injury, Awareness, Computer Use, Security,
Stealth
Strong Saves : Fort and Reflex
Weak Saves : Will
Feat progression : No clear progression; slightly slower than Jedi Guardian
Force Power Progression : 1 every level, 2 at level 1
The class that people blasted the most when KotOR I came out. The popular
forum saying was : “Sentinels fight like consulars and cast like guardians”.
As far as I’m concerned, I’ve always liked Sentinels, though I used to prefer
Guardians. With the coming of TSL, all classes have the same Base Attack
Bonus progression. Therefore, the *only* melee disadvantage for the Sentinel
is the lower vitality points. But then, 2 less than Guardian per level is
not much. Therefore, considering that the Sentinel offers more skill points
(and more class skills) and more force points, it makes sense to see this
class as perfectly viable for a melee character.
Class skills : Persuade, Treat Injury, Awareness, Repair
Strong Saves : Fort and Will
Weak Saves : Reflex
Feat progression : 1 every level that is a multiple of 3, 1 at level 1
Force Power Progression : 2 every level that is a multiple of 3, 2 at level 1
and 1 every other level
The Jedi Consular is the “spellcasting” version of the Jedi classes. What
they do best is to use force powers to kill enemies, and to buff allies. It
now has, like the Sentinel, a BAB equal to his/her level. However, 6
vitality points per level is a little low for the melee character we are
trying to create. Therefore, I do not think it’s the best class to start
with (for our build).
After doing some forum lurking, I realised that many people considered the
Consular/Weapon Master combo as one of the most powerful class combination.
Try it if you wish, but I prefer playing the extremes (all fighting or all
casting). Besides, a Light Side Guardian/Weapon Master will have all the
force he needs to cast his buffs.
Conclusion :
To be honest, I’d say choose the class that you like the most; I don’t think
it will dramatically influence the build, unless you start with consular.
Just keep in mind that vitality points are very important, but so are skill
points. Of course you can have a sentinel with high constitution, or a
guardian with high intelligence to create more rounded characters. In that
case, I would choose the Guardian with higher intelligence simply because
intelligence seems to show up more often in dialogues than constitution
(never saw it, actually). Just mess around with the attributes, and find a
combination that you like.
I generally choose Jedi Guardian as my starting class.
If you are familiar with the way the d20 rules work, you might know that it’s
better to spread your points at the beginning, and later focus on the
attribute you want. Why? As you toss points in a certain attribute, the
cost to increase the said attribute goes up. Experiment yourself, or check a
specialised guide for more information.
Still not convinced? Let’s look at it with an example. Raising strength to
16 will cost 10 points and give you +3 to attack and damage in melee.
Bringing both strength and dexterity to 14 will cost 12 points, but give +2
to attack bonus, damage and defence. It is most cost-effective that way, in
my opinion.
The attribute number only serves as an indication. What really matters is
the modifier, which goes up by one for every even number, with a +0 for 10
points in a specific attribute. In other words, you get absolutely nothing
more for having 15 instead of 14 in a said attribute. Here’s a table for the
basic modifiers :
The modifier determines how the attribute will affect your character. For
example, a score of 16 in strength, which gives a modifier of +3, will give
your character a +3 to attack bonus and damage in melee.
At every level that is a multiple of 4, you can spend another attribute point
where you wish. Generally speaking, four candidates are possible for the
template we are trying to create. The first is strength, for more attack
bonus and damage. The second would be dexterity, should your character be
dexterity-based. The third is constitution, since, to take an old Diablo
saying, “you can never have too many hit points”. From my experience, this
rule applies to most RPGs. The final candidate is wisdom, for more juicy
Force points. The decision should be based on your playing style. You must
also consider things such as Force Mastery bonuses (such as the guardian and
weapon master each giving a +3 to strength, for a total of +6). For the
melee Jedi we want, I would suggest sticking to either strength (or
dexterity, if you are dex-based) or constitution. Upgrading wisdom is also a
possible option though, and worth considering if you want more force powers.
For more information, consult a specialised guide, or my NeverWinter Nights :
Hordes of the Underdark Ranger guide for a section on how all the rolls are
calculated.
Let’s start by checking what each attribute does.
Strength (STR)
Strength determines the attack bonus in melee, as well as the added damage.
Basically, if you wield a melee weapon, then your strength determines
everything; unless you choose the “weapon finesse” feat. Very important for
a melee character, since they are dependant on fighting to dispose of their
enemies.
Dexterity (DEX)
Dexterity is used to calculate the attack bonus when using ranged weapons.
If you choose the “weapon finesse” feat, then dexterity is used to determine
the said attack bonus with the chosen weapon category. Damage, however, is
always determined by strength. Dexterity also affects your defence rating
(which can be limited by armour) and the reflex saving throws. Useful for a
Jedi since you will want to wear robes (a Jedi in armour is just stupid).
Constitution (CON)
Constitution gives hit points. Basically, you get an extra vitality point
per level for each modifier in constitution. Quite important to have for a
melee character. Constitution also affects your fortitude saves, and which
implants you can wear.
Intelligence (INT)
Intelligence is used to determine how much skill points you get at character
creation and at each level. Other than that, it affects some skills.
Intelligence also brings up new dialogue options. It is an important
attribute for anyone who wishes to use skills, however.
Wisdom (WIS)
Used to determine your Force points and the difficulty class (DC) of your
offensive Force powers. Important for any Jedi character, especially for
guardians. Why? Guardians do not get many Force points per level, and their
will saves are not that impressive. Therefore, it makes sense to get a bonus
where your character is the weakest. It also adds a few dialogue options.
-=SPOILERS=-
Also, Handmaiden can give you a power (restricted by armour) that adds your
wisdom modifier to your defence. Quite useful if you bothered tossing a few
points at character creation. Only available to male characters.
-=END SPOILERS=-
Charisma (CHA)
Charisma is used to lower the cost of Force powers of the opposite alignment.
It also influences the DC of your saves. Finally, charisma influences the
persuade checks, one of the most important skill in the game.
Let’s check some attribute spreads now.
This is the point spread I used for my first character, a Light Side
Guardian.
In my opinion, this is a great spread for a well rounded melee Jedi. By
having 14 in both Strength and Dexterity, we start with a +2 modifier in
each. Therefore, we have +2 to AC and attacks with ranged weapons as well as
+2 to attacks in melee and damage. Having 14 in Constitution gives us more
hit points; more hit points mean that you’ll last longer. It also determines
which implants the character will be able to wear. Intelligence gives more
skill points; I brought it up to 12 so that I get 2 skill points per level.
This way, I can focus on persuade at each level, while still developing other
skills (demolitions and treat injury come to mind, since they don’t require
an enormous amount of points to be useful). Wisdom has two important uses :
more force points and better will saving throws. Will saves and force points
are lower on a melee Jedi class, so it makes sense to get a bonus if we can.
Finally, Charisma also helps in force powers, and improves your persuade
checks. It’s main use, however, is to reduce the penalty from using force
powers of the opposite side. Since you will most likely not go force-heavy
with a melee character, it might actually be better to reduce charisma to 10,
and upgrade wisdom to 14. As of now, I’m still happy with my initial point
spread.
A powergamer could lower Intelligence to 8, and raise Charisma to 14. But
like I said, a dumb Jedi makes no sense to me. In that case, the point
spread would look like this :
You could also raise your primary attribute (either Strength and Dexterity)
to 16 and lower Wisdom, Charisma and/or Intelligence. I still maintain that
it’s a better choice to spread your points at the beginning. Anyway, it
would be like this (choose either strength or dexterity) :
One may choose to put more emphasis on skill points. In that case, I’d
suggest cutting wisdom and/or dexterity in favour of intelligence. This is
the point spread I would use for a sentinel.
You should just choose your build accordingly to your playing style. For a
balanced, all around Jedi, I’d go for the first build. The two alternates
are variant builds. The third is like the first, though only powergamers
would possibly want to play a stupid Jedi. The fourth is for more emphasis
on combat; I’m not sure if the +1 attack is really worth the loss in force
points. The last is for someone who likes to use skills; great with sentinel
as a base class.
Skills are much more important in TSL than they were in KotOR I. The best
example would be awareness. In KotOR I, it is only used to find mines. In
TSL, it also occasionally appears in dialogues. That’s great, in my opinion.
Of the three starting classes, the Sentinel gets the most skills, followed by
the Consular and the Guardian. Therefore, you must plan this section while
keeping in mind which starting class you chose earlier. I will start by
listing and discussing each skill, and I will make my recommendation for each
class after.
Apparently, all the skills are used in dialogues.
Awareness (WIS)
Awareness is used, just like in KotOR I, to spot mines. In TSL however, it
also makes new dialogue options to occasionally pop up (your character
becomes “aware” of something strange). I guess you could spend some points
here for the added dialogue options, and mines are easy to find anyway.
Computer Use (INT)
Back in KotOR I, I liked to develop this skill with my scout-based
characters. Before you could get your Jedi levels, it helped to defeat hard
enemies (by blowing up stuff), and downloading area maps. In TSL, it also
influences dialogues. Additionally, it can be used to improve T3’s
attributes. If you intend to use T3, then development of this skill with the
Exile is recommended. Otherwise, other party members (T3 being the best
contender) should take care of the slicing.
Demolitions (INT)
This one lets you disable and set mines, as well as recovering them if so is
your desire. This is actually a very potent skill to toss some points in,
since, from my experience, most mines can be disabled with a low score. So
you could very well develop it at lower level, then move on to something else
later. Disabling mines give you some XP, though you will not get a pop-up
saying so. You should not need more than 8 or 10 points here; you probably
won’t disable the nastiest mines, but at higher levels you can simply take
the damage.
Persuade (CHA)
This is the most important skill to have, hands down. Only your character,
the Exile, can develop it, which is just another good reason for tossing
points in this one. It really does help in dialogues, which play a major
part in any RPG, especially TSL. Always, ALWAYS, put points here when you
can.
Repair (INT)
Used to repair droids and such. It is also used to determine how many
components you get by breaking items. The only reason, in my opinion, to
develop this skill in KotOR I was to repair HK-47 and get the best bonuses.
As far as I know, this won’t happen in TSL. However, you can use it to
repair T3, and thus give him important attribute bonuses. Finally, repair is
used in the creation of several items at the workbench. Tyrael points out
that, when breaking parts at a workbench, the game will use the PC’s repair
skill to determine how many components you will get, no matter which
character is at the bench. Apparently, maximal yield is achieved when you
have at least 20 in repair. So it might be a good idea to raise repair if you
intend to do a lot of crafting.
Security (INT)
Someone might say : “why use security when you can bash?”. Well, security
gives some small experience, just like demolitions. Also, if you bash
containers, items inside will occasionally break, making them useless (and
only worth one component). For doors, the new “use lightsabre” will do fine.
I don’t really recommend getting it with your character; party members (such
as Mira or Atton) should be able to handle this.
Stealth (DEX)
There are some situations (I can remember two) in the game when using stealth
can be profitable. Other than that, I would only get this if you want to
become a Jedi Watchman or Sith Assassin, in order to start a battle with
sneak attacks. If that is the case, be sure to pick the feat that allows you
to run while invisible.
Treat Injury (WIS)
Used to determine how many vitality points you will recover from using a
medical kit, and to create various medical-related items and implants. Since
you start out as a Jedi this time, you can access force heal quite early.
Therefore, the only good side is the ability to mess with the lab stations in
the game (especially the implants creating side). Like for repair, the PC’s
skill is used to determine how many chemicals are received from breaking down
items with any character.
Conclusion :
Like I said, skill points play a much larger role in TSL. A Sentinel with
higher intelligence should consider learning most of the skills, while a
Guardian of a Consular would rather focus on two or three (one, if you have
low intelligence).
So for a Guardian, I would recommend the following :
Persuade (always max)
Demolitions/Awareness (if you have higher intelligence; I would say split
your points between the two.)
For a Sentinel with high intelligence (be sure to take “Class Skill X” for
the skills you want that are not class skills (repair, demolitions)) :
Persuade
Repair
Computer Use
Awareness
Demolitions
Stealth (if you want to go Assassin or Watchman, but I am steering too far
from my guide so I will pass on these.)
However, you really should develop your skills accordingly to the type of
character you want. Check out what I did in my Favourite Character section.
There are 4 types of feat. Bonuses to skills, Special Attacks, Weapon
proficiencies and miscellaneous bonuses (such as running while stealthed or
toughness). Basically, you generally want to focus on one type of weapon and
one special attack. In our case, we want to focus and specialise in
lightsabres, master duelling and at least one special attack (probably flurry
or critical strike). Other feats should be taken when you have the above
first, except for the “Class Skill X” feats, which you should obviously take
as soon as possible.
Caution, Gear Head, Empathy :
In all my other awesome guides, I have always stated that the bonuses are not
worth it. I still maintain that idea, unless your character is a sentinel
with a huge emphasis on skills. Anyway, you should first focus on getting
the crucial stuff in, and even those “class skill X” feats if you are a
sentinel.
-=Proficiencies feats=-
Armour Proficiencies :
Do not pick these. There are in fact a number of very potent robes in the
game. Additionally, the robes look cool this time, and it is a waste not to
use them. And I will say it again : a Jedi in armour is just not right. If
you bothered going the duelling route to look like a Jedi from the movies,
why would you wear an armour anyway? The Jedi in the movies have robes!
Melee Weapon Proficiencies :
Three levels here : Proficient, Focus, Specialisation. The first level lets
you use the weapon, the second gives a +1 attack bonus with it and
specialisation, which is only available to the guardian and prestige classes,
give a +2 bonus to damage. As a melee character, you want the three levels
in lightsabre. However, since you get your sabre so late in this game, it
can wait. Just be sure to eventually pick them.
Blaster and Blaster Rifle Proficiencies :
For the Jedi we are, ranged weapon are not the main focus. There are more
important feats to get if you plan on using a sabre more than anything else.
However, a blaster-wielding Jedi would surely be an interesting build.
Experiment yourself.
Lightsabre Proficiencies :
You should get this tree when you have time. The specialisation is only
available to guardians and prestige classes (as far as I know). The final
bonuses (+1 to attack, +2 to damage) are useful, but I would max duelling and
your special attack first.
Duelling :
Yippy! Duelling! Max this one as soon as possible! In case you have not read
anything before this point, duelling adds +1 to attack and defence for each
level. So when you have the three, you get +3 to attack and defence. This
is as good is at will get for us duellers.
Two-Weapon Fighting :
Stay away! Feats for the weak, these are. So sayeth Yoda the Green.
-=Special Attacks=-
Flurry :
This is probably the most used special attack. It grants an additional
attack per round, at the expanse of a small defence penalty (which is easily
absorbed by duelling). For a conventional fighting machine, this is the one.
The new animations help to make it more visually impressive (with a single
sabre, at least). This should be the special attack of choice for most
players.
Critical Strike :
Interesting feats. This one is more for the connaisseur player. Basically,
it increases your chances to land a critical hit, and will stun the enemy if
they fail their save. With the right crystals and parts, these feats can be
really powerful, especially with Forms IV, V or VII. Keep in mind that, in
order to get the most out of these feats, you need to craft an appropriate
sabre first.
Power Attack :
Gives a fixed bonus to damage at the expanse of attack bonus. Not terrific,
in my opinion. I would rather have an additional attack (flurry) or risk a
critical strike. I guess it is more of a personal choice, however. At least
it is way better than the DnD version.
Rapid Shot :
Same as for flurry, but applies to ranged weapons. Your main character
should focus on being a sabre master first. You can use blasters when you
see fit, but you will not use them often enough to justify taking such feats.
Unless, of course, you build a blaster Jedi (which is a very interesting
choice).
Sniper Shot :
The Critical Strike version of blasters. See info in the flurry section.
Power Blast :
The Power Attack version of blasters. I used this one with HK-47, and I
found that it’s actually very potent, possibly better than rapid shot (since
blasters generally do less damage). You might want to consider this one if
you want a blaster-Jedi. Kyle Katarn, anyone?
-=Miscellaneous bonuses=-
Conditioning :
Gives a bonus to saving throws. Useful to have, but you should max other
feats first. In the later parts of the game, when you have everything you
want, this is a decent pick.
Toughness :
Gives additional vitality points and damage reduction. If you do not see the
use of these feats, you really should shut down your computer, go to your
room and meditate on this a little.
Stealth Run :
For a sentinel who plans to go Watchman/Assassin, then this is a great feat.
Sneak attacks come in as very useful when you can start a battle by launching
one. The most civilised way of doing this is to enter stealth mode and
backstab someone. Without this feat, you will have to walk.
Force Points Regeneration :
In the earlier parts of the game, you might be tempted to take it, especially
for a guardian. To tell the truth, I had more force points than I could
spend at the end of the game. Therefore, I do not recommend getting it.
Standing still a minute or two to regenerate your force points never hurt
anyone. And you can also use the first force form (which everyone gets).
Vitality Points Regenerate :
This one might actually be decent for Dark Side characters, since they cannot
heal themselves outside of combat. For Light Side, its use is greatly
diminished because of the force heal tree. Not crucial, but it is certainly
a better pick than force points regeneration.
Finesse : Melee Weapons
For the exile, this one is just useless. When you fight in melee, it should
be with a sabre. Of course you get it quite late, but wasting a feat that
will only be useful for the early parts of the game (which are not really
hard anyway) is quite bad.
Finesse : Lightsabre
This feat is obviously crucial for those who maximise dexterity. You can
afford delaying it until you’re done with Telos.
Close Combat :
If you want to play a blaster-wielding Jedi, then picking these feats is
mandatory. Giving a bonus to the enemies is as dumb as it will ever get.
Dual Strike :
Gaining a bonus against enemies that are being attacked sounds cool? Well,
it is not. As a melee character, you are the one who is supposed to be on
the front. Might be useful for sneak attacks though...
Precise Shot :
These great feats add damage to your ranged attacks and reduce the deflection
abilities of the Jedi/Sith you are shooting at. For a character focusing on
blasters, this feats are excellent. So if you want a ranged Jedi, you should
pick these as soon as possible. Otherwise, skip them.
Unarmed Specialist :
These feats improve as you gain levels. No need to bother.
Jedi Defence :
These selectable feats give a bonus to your deflecting power. Since
deflecting is actually useful (it does kill enemies), investing in these is a
good choice, in my opinion.
Conclusion on feats :
You should master one special attack and one weapon proficiency. I suggest
the following :
-Duelling (3 feats)
-Either Flurry or Critical Strike (3 feats each)
-Toughness (3 feats)
-Lightsabre specialisation (3 feats)
-Finesse : Lightsabre (if you go dexterity)
-Jedi defence or others, according to what you want
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 – Force Powers -----------------------------------------------------:SBCC5:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Force powers are nifty little “spells” that you can use to transform your
character in a fighting machine (such as Yoda in Episode II) or wreck some
havoc on the mobs (Palpy!). I will discuss each force power separately, and
list the ones I recommend taking at the end.
Since my guide is focused more or less on roleplaying, I thought it would be
a good idea to list the powers that we actually see in the movies, should an
extremely purist player decides to do a movie build.
Force Speed (TPM)
Force Jump (TPM, AotC, RotS, ESB, RotJ)
Force Persuade (TPM, AotC, ANH, ESB, RotJ)
Force Push (TPM, AotC, RotS)
Sabre Throw (AotC, RotJ)
Battle Meditation? (RotJ)
Force Lightning (AotC, RotS, RotJ)
Force Choke (RotS, ANH, ESB, RotJ)
Mind Trick (ANH)
Beast Trick (AotC)
Breath Control (TPM)
Force Deflection (ESB) ***From GunSlinger***
That the ones I can think about right now. If you remember others, please
tell me!
I will list the 2 or 3 powers of each tree, and put the “general name” of the
tree in parenthesis.
Throw Lightsabre, Advanced Throw Lightsabre (Sabre Throw) :
Sounds cool, looks cool, but is not that useful. Most people will want to
stay clear from this one for the single fact that it does not do enough
damage. However, sabre throw is still one of the “powers” we see in the
movies. I decent pick for a roleplayer.
Burst of Speed, Knight Speed, Master Speed (Force Speed) :
Force speed will probably be the power you will cast the most. It makes you
run (and walk) faster, gives a defence bonus and an extra attack. It is
worth having just for the faster run speed, actually. I would pick these as
soon as possible.
***Note : As of now, it seems that the Speed powers are broken; they do not
give the proper defence bonus. Since a patch is supposed to be coming soon,
we can expect a fix on this. Why they did not fix it for the PC version is
beyond my understanding. ***
Force Push, Force Whirlwind, Force Wave (Force Push) :
Every single Jedi (to start with an Episode 3 quote (!)) should have these
powers. Sure most strong enemies will save to our guardian, but push’s real
use is to distract the mobs, and it does it nicely. Pick these when you have
time.
Force Resistance, Force Immunity (Force Resistance) :
Gives you a chance to negate force attacks. I guess it could be useful. I
do think there are more important powers out there, and if you want to take
this tree, you should postpone it until the later parts of the game. You
will not fight many Sith/Jedi early.
Energy Resistance, Improved Energy Resistance, Master Energy Resistance
(Energy Resistance) :
Really great powers. Basically, they absorb energy damage. And energy
damage is done by lightsabres and many blasters. These are the two most
common attacks you will encounter. It is great to take these early on; quite
useful on Peragus against the weak lasers of the mining droid.
Affect Mind, Dominate Mind (Force Persuade) :
Allows the use of Force Persuade dialogue options. Truly a Jedi trademark
power, these are also very useful. You will not need them on Peragus, but it
is good to have at least the first one for Telos.
Force Suppression, Force Breach (Force Breach) :
Strips an enemy from his force buffs. Not terribly useful. During my two
times through the game, I never really felt out-manoeuvred by enemy buffs.
Might be useful for the Dark Side character against the Council Members.
Battle Meditation :
Nice powers. They basically act like the Prayer spell from DnD : they add
various bonuses to your allies and penalties to the enemies. It is generally
a good idea to develop these with a supporting character, but near the end of
the game, you will have so many powers that you will not know which to take.
In that case, Battle Meditation is a fine choice.
Mind Trick, Force Confuse (Force Confuse) Prestige Class only :
Do not confuse these with the “affect mind” powers. Basically, this one will
let you distract enemies, just like Obi-Wan did on the Death Star after
shutting down the tractor beam. A great concept (more movie stuff = good),
but you do not *have* to sneak around in order to complete the game.
Sentinels do not need this one either, since they can just enter stealth
mode. Force Confuse, however, makes the targeted enemy attack other enemies.
Not bad, but you still need to beat his saves. Not a really great pick, in
my opinion. Only take it for role-playing reasons.
Beast Trick :
It is the same as Mind Trick, except it works on beasts and your character
automatically get it on Dxun. I tried it a couple of time, and it never
worked... I guess my DC was just bad. Anyway, you get it for free. I would
not bother using it though.
Breath Control :
You get it automatically on Nar Shaddaa. It makes your character immune to
poison for a limited period of time. Whether it is useful after the specific
scene of Nar Shaddaa is debatable.
Force Body, Improved Force Body, Master Force Body (Force Body) :
These powers divide the cost of your force powers between your force points
and your vitality points. The first gives a 50/50 ration, while the others
actually reduce the cost. I personally think that these powers are bad,
since wasting your vitality when you have plenty force points is pointless.
Force points can always regenerate, but if you run out of hit points, you are
no longer there.
Force Deflect, Force Redirection (Force Deflect) :
Force Deflect lets you deflect blaster bolts even without having a sabre. So
the bolts just “bounce” on your body. Redirection sends the bolts back at
the enemies. But this power is pointless since you are a Jedi with a
lightsabre, right? Well, you get your sabre pretty late... You still have to
get through Peragus and Telos without one. However, once you have a sabre,
it is useless. I do not recommend it for the Exile, but if you turn Mira or
Atton in Jedi, and want them to wield blasters, then this power is good for
them.
Light Side Powers -----------------------------------------------------------
Cure, Heal, Master Heal (Force Heal) :
Probably the power you will use the most often with a Light Side character.
It heals a great amount of damage, even with a low wisdom. It also cures
diseases starting at level 2. Really great to use both in and outside combat.
Pick these powers as soon as possible.
Force Aura, Force Shield, Force Armour (Armour) :
Great powers that give a bonus to saving throws and defence. What is really
great is that it can be activated at once along with speed and valour with
Force Enlightenment. Being such a useful power, it is crucial to develop it.
***I heard that these powers are currently broken; they only give the saving
throw bonus. It will probably be fixed in the upcoming patch (see Speed for
info). ***
Force Valour, Knight Valour, Master Valour (Force Valour) :
Gives a great bonus to your attributes. Like Armour, it can be activated
with the other most powerful buffs using Force Enlightenment. Truly useful
powers, and they affect your whole party to!
Stun, Stasis, Stasis Field (Stasis) :
These powers require your to have a powerful difficulty class for your
powers. In other words, you need a high wisdom and the force focus feats of
a consular. Therefore, I do not think it is a good pick for the template we
are trying to create.
Stun Droid, Disable Droid, Destroy Droid (Disable Droid) :
These powers are just like Stasis, except they are aimed toward droids. Not
a good pick, in my opinion. Read the Stasis description for more
information.
Force Barrier, Improved Force Barrier, Master Force Barrier (Force Barrier) :
Force Barrier gives you resistance to slashing, bludgeoning and piercing
damage. I would rather get Energy resistance, since blasters are more
commonly encountered. Not a bad pick, since some enemies (like the Sith
Assassins) use non-powered weapons.
Revitalise, Improved Revitalise, Master Revitalise (Force Revitalise) :
This one is basically “Raise Dead” or “Resurrection” from DnD. It lets you
raise an incapacitated ally. The higher levels also heals them more. For
our melee characters, there are more important powers out there.
Force Enlightenment :
You get this special power near the end of the game. For an obscenely small
force points cost, it activates speed, armour and valour, i.e. three of the
most powerful buffs in the game. When you get it, there is no reason not to
use it anytime you want.
Dark Side Powers ------------------------------------------------------------
Force Shock, Force Lightning, Force Storm (Lighting) :
So you want to look like old bad Palpy? This is it. These powers are
ridiculously overpowered : generally, storm will clear a room full of enemies
in one or two shots. Since Dark Side does not get any impressive buffs, you
should get these one as soon as possible.
Force Choke, Force Wound, Force Kill (Choke) :
Probably the only power Anakin/Vader can use. In the game, it is not that
powerful and useful. Great for incapacitating a single enemy while you work
on the others. Other than that, there is no point in taking them apart from
roleplaying choice. Do not forget that you get Force Crush later on...
Force Drain, Death Field (Drain) :
The Dark Side version of heal, it damages enemies for a small amount of
damage and transfers the life to you. Death Field works on everyone around
you, so it heals even faster. Pick as soon as possible.
Slow, Affliction, Plague (Force Plague) :
These powers lower the attributes of your enemies. They basically act like
force valour, since it makes your attributes greater than the enemies’.
Apparently, force plague has a DC of 100, so it does not matter if you have
high wisdom and charisma. A great debuff overall.
Fear, Horror, Insanity (Force Fear) :
The enemies will panic and run away from you. Not terribly useful, if you
ask me. First, the game is so easy that you will hardly need to make enemies
flee anyway. Second, if you are Dark Side, a Force Lightning will just do
the same by cleaning the entire room. And a low-wisdom guardian will not
have a DC powerful enough to bypass the saves...
Drain Force, Improved Drain Force, Master Drain Force (Drain Force) :
Drain Force lets you (surprise!) suck force points out of enemies. Quite
useful in boss battles, but that’s about it. Apart from these bosses, the
only force wielders you will encounter are at the end of the game. Certainly
not a bad pick, but I would get Lightning and (Life) Drain first.
Force Scream :
Simply put, these are like a toned down version of Force Lightning, except
you can get the powers earlier. I have not really tried them, but people
told me that it is actually pretty good.
Taking Valour and Armour for a Light Side character is crucial. Your Force
Enlightenment power, which you will automatically get near the end of the
game, will activate the two of them along with speed in a single cast. When
it is done, you can really go tear some arms and legs. Force Heal is always
great to have, for use in both in and out of combat.
Dark Side
-Force Lightning (3 levels)
-Force Scream (3 levels)
-Force Drain (2 levels)
I do not have a lot of experience with Dark Side melee characters, but I
think this should be it. Force Lighting is just a trademark Dark Side
powers, and it is ludicrously overpowered in this game. Even if the enemies
save against your low DC, they will still take plenty of damage. Scream is
supposed to be a potent power, especially since you can get it earlier than
Lightning. Finally, Force Drain should help you stay alive.
But do you know what is missing? A good Force Throw power just like in Jedi
Knight. I mean, it is definitely another trademark power (Maul (TPM), Dooku
(AotC), Palpy (RotS) and Vader (ESB)), and it would make the game much more
interactive. Anyway...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
| SECTION C : Character Development :SCCD0:|
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TSL brings prestige classes to the world of KotOR. What is a prestige class?
Basically, it’s a special class that you can’t pick as your starting class.
You generally have to meet a specific requirement to choose the class. It
brings special abilities to help your character in a specific way.
The Light Side prestige classes are the following :
Jedi Weapon Master – Combat Jedi
Jedi Watchman – Skilled Jedi
Jedi Master – Spellcasting Jedi
The Dark Side prestige classes are :
Sith Marauder – Combat Sith
Sith Assassin – Skilled Sith
Sith Lord – Spellcasting Sith
The Light and Dark classes are basically the same, except for some special
abilities.
The requirements for any of those prestige classes are :
-Achieving level 15 in your starting class
-Having Visas Marr in your party (i.e. being significantly Light or Dark)
-Speaking to Kreia once the above is done
Additionally, Light Side characters can only pick LS prestige classes (the
same goes for Dark Side, of course).
Since we want a combat focused Jedi, then Sith Marauder or Jedi Weapon Master
makes the most sense. Mixes with other prestige classes can be quite
profitable, and you really should try what you want. However, the goal of my
guide is to make people play as a duelling fighting machine. Therefore, for
the purpose of the guide, I recommend WM or Marauder.
Movie characters seem to like the spellcasting prestige classes, however. Of
special note, both Darth Vader and Count Dooku have a Jedi Guardian/Sith Lord
class mix (according to the SW D20 rules). Dooku is, for example, Guardian
15 / Sith Lord 3 at the beginning of Episode II. Mace Windu is Guardian 15 /
Jedi Master 2. So if you want to create a movie character, keep that in
mind.
Class skills : Awareness, Treat Injury, Persuade, Demolition
Strong Saves : Fort
Weak Saves : Will and Reflex
Feat progression : 1 at every odd level, plus another at level 2
Force Power Progression : 1 every level, 2 at level 1
Bonus Feats : Deflect, Greater Prestige Sense, Increase Melee Damage I
Bonus Powers : None
The name “Weapon Master” is absolutely ridiculous. For a DnD game, it is
fine. But for a Star Wars game, ouch. Anyway. The Weapon Master is
basically a Guardian with more force points each level and a couple of new
feats. When I picked this class for the first time, I was just mad to see
that they had added new dual-wielding feats and no new duelling feats. In my
opinion, the designers *really* got messed up (to use a polite term) on this
one. In any event, the Weapon Master only makes your character stronger in
melee, and there are no reasons whatsoever to continue as a Guardian once
this class is available to you (in other words, as soon as you hit level 15,
go have a little chat with Kreia).
Class skills : Persuade, Treat Injury, Awareness, Computer Use, Security,
Stealth
Strong Saves : Fort, Reflex and Will (!)
Weak Saves : None (!)
Feat progression : No clear progression; slower than Weapon Master
Force Power Progression : 1 every level, 2 at level 1
Bonus Feats : Sneak Attack I, Greater Prestige Sense
Bonus Powers : Force Camouflage
The Watchman is basically a Sentinel with more force points and the ability
to land sneak attacks. Should a Jedi be able to do such “backstabs”, to take
an old DnD term, is debatable. It should also be noted that the Watchman has
excellent saving throws; the best of any class, actually. Going Watchman is
the natural progression for the Sentinel who wants to keep his high skills,
or a Guardian who wants better saves and skill progressions.
Class skills : Persuade, Treat Injury, Awareness, Repair
Strong Saves : Will
Weak Saves : Fort and Reflex
Feat progression : 1 every level that is a multiple of 3, 1 at level 1
Force Power Progression : 2 every level that is a multiple of 3, 2 at level 1
and 1 every other level
Bonus Feats : Regenerate Force Points, Prestige Sense, Light Side
Enlightenment
Bonus Powers : Inspire Followers I
More force points and a handful of bonus feats and powers, at the expanse of
a huge hit on saving throws. With all your force points however, you should
be able to keep a armour up to boost those saves. Inspire followers turns
your party members’ alignment to match yours, if you have a high disposition
with them. If not, it tends to push them to the opposite.
Class skills : Awareness, Treat Injury, Persuade, Demolition
Strong Saves : Fort
Weak Saves : Reflex and Will (the later being especially weak)
Feat progression : 1 at every odd level, plus another at level 2
Force Power Progression : 1 every level
Bonus Feats : Weapon Focus : Lightsabre, Greater Prestige Sense, Increased
Damage
Bonus Powers : Fury
The Sith Marauder is just like the Weapon Master, except it has more damage-
oriented abilities (feats and the fury power). Also, it has quite terrible
will saves. I personally think that the Weapon Master is superior, but
people have pointed out that Fury is more useful than the Deflect line.
Class skills : Persuade, Treat Injury, Awareness, Computer Use, Security,
Stealth
Strong Saves : Reflex
Weak Saves : Fort and Will (the later being especially weak)
Feat progression : 1 every 3 levels, 1 at level 1
Force Power Progression : 1 every level
Bonus Feats : Sneak Attack I, Greater Prestige Sense, Weapon Focus :
Lightsabre
Bonus Powers : Force Camouflage
Dark Side does not go far, heh? The Assassin is a Watchman with terrible
saving throws and crappy feat progression, but they gain better sneak attacks
sooner. Not really worth the trade, if you ask me.
Sith Lord -------------------------------------------------------------------
Class skills : Persuade, Treat Injury, Awareness, Repair
Strong Saves : Will
Weak Saves : Fort and Reflex
Feat progression : 1 every level that is a multiple of 3, 1 at level 1
Force Power Progression : 2 every level that is a multiple of 3, 2 at level 1
and 1 every other level
Bonus Feats : Regenerate Force Points, Prestige Sense, Weapon Focus :
Lightsabre, Dark Side Corruption
Bonus Powers : Crush Opposition I
The Sith Lord is much like the Jedi Master, except that his abilities are
more oriented toward harming the enemy. Corruption is a dark side version of
the Jedi Master’s Inspire followers.
Conclusion :
So, from my experience, the Light Side prestige classes are better. Like I
said, however, I admit being somewhat biased on this. I had a lot of fun
playing with a DS Consular/Sith Lord, but for a melee fighting class, I would
really go Light Side.
For our build, I would go for Weapon Master, though Watchman is a quite
interesting class for a Sentinel.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 – Forms of Lightsabre Combat ---------------------------------------:SCCD2:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally, someone developed the Seven Forms of Lightsabre combat. I have
no idea if this is official or not, but the first time I heard about them is
in the Episode II Visual Guide by LucasBooks (so I guess it does have some
viability). They are back in the Episode III Guide, and they even have the
same names as in TSL. For instance, Obi-Wan is said to use Ataru (IV) and
Soresu (III). Even the Ep3 novel uses the TSL names... Anyway.
In TSL, you can learn a total of seven forms out of eleven. There are (of
course) the seven lightsabre forms, and four force forms. Guardians learn
Forms I-V, VII and Force Focus; Sentinels learn Forms I-VI and Force Focus;
Consulars learn Forms I-III and the four force forms.
Note : When I say a form is available to, say guardians, it is actually
available to guardians, weapon masters and marauders.
Form I – Determination (Shii-Cho)
Attack : +1
Defence : +3
Defence vs Current Target : -3
(Guardian, Sentinel, Consular)
The Clone Wars book “The Cestus Deception” states that Kit Fisto is using
this form. This is supposed to be the Form that every Jedi learns first. As
a matter of fact, it is the first form you learn, at level 11. In the game,
it’s a basic style which helps your attack a bit, and offers some defence
against enemies that are not your target. A decent form, but you will want
to switch to better forms when they become available. If you do not like to
have penalties, and not a Sentinel, then stay with this one.
Form II – Contention (Makashi)
Attack vs Lightsabre wielding enemies : +3
Damage : +3
Blaster Bolt Deflection : -5
Saves vs Force Powers : +2
(Guardian, Sentinel, Consular)
The amazing form used by Dooku. It’s a great style for sure. The attack
bonus, coupled with the duelling bonus, will make sure you hit (almost) every
time. The damage is always nice to have, so is the bonus to force saving
throws (which you need as a melee class). Of course the blaster deflection
is a problem, but that’s what Form III is for...
Form III – Resilience (Soresu)
Defence vs Current Target : +2
Blaster Bolt Deflection : +4
Weapon Threat Range : -1
(Guardian, Sentinel, Consular)
Used by everyone’s favourite (light side) Jedi, Obi-Wan. With the +3 bonus
from duelling, you will be very hard to hit, especially against blaster-
wielding enemies. A great form to use anytime (except in duels; in that case
you switch to Form II). The game tells you that it’s not good when
outnumbered... I do not understand why, since the penalty is only for
critical strikes.
Form IV – Aggression (Ataru)
Defence : -2
Defence vs Current Target : +5
Blaster Bold Deflection : -4
Weapon Threat Range : +1
(Guardian, Sentinel)
Form used by Yoda, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan before Qui-Gon’s death. The penalties
are hard, but the +1 to threat range helps if you use Critical Strike. Not
one of my favourite, but I guess it’s a great form for critical strike users
when they face a boss.
Form V – Perseverance (Shien)
Attack : +2
Defence vs Current Target : -5
Blaster Bolt Deflection : +2
Critical Multiplier : +1
(Guardian, Sentinel)
Used by Anakin. One thing to know is that the +2 attack bonus is added to
Blaster Bolt Deflection, so the bonus is actually +4. The defence penalty
hurts (though it can be lowered by duelling), but the Critical Multiplier is
great for those who use Critical Strike.
Form VI – Moderation (Niman)
Attack : +1
Defence : +1
Blaster Bolt Deflection : +1
Saves vs Force Powers : +1
(Sentinel)
Form VI is known as the Diplomat’s form. Most of the Jedi in the prequel era
were trained to use this one, as it is a “jack of all trade” form. However,
it does not excel in any domain, and is thus considered the weakest. In TSL,
it gives some small bonuses, but no penalties. Therefore, it can be quite a
great form to keep “on” most of the time.
Form VII – Ferocity (Juyo)
Defence : -4
Defence vs Current Target : +2
Saves vs Force Powers : -4
Attacks per Round : +1
Critical Hit attack bonus : +4
(Guardian)
The Form used by Mace Windu. The defence penalty is almost completely
negated by duelling, so the only real downside is the –4 to saves. The
additional attack helps us a lot. I still haven’t figured if the last bonus
is actually a threat range bonus. If it is, then it’s the dream form for
critical strike users.
Force Channel (Force Form)
Force points regeneration : +50% (out of combat only)
Force power damage : +3
Saves vs Force powers : +2
(Guardian, Sentinel, Consular)
A basic form that everyone learns, use this only out of combat when you need
to quickly get more force points in order to buff or heal. Otherwise, keep a
lightsabre style.
Force Potency (Force Form)
Force power damage : +30%
Force power cost : +20%
(Consular)
For a Dark Side consular, this is the one. But since you should not be a
consular, I leave it there.
Force Affinity (Force Form)
Force points regeneration during combat
(Consular)
Again, consular only. During my play as a DS one, I found that Potency was
superior.
Force Mastery (Force Form)
Force powers duration : +50%
Opponents’ saves vs Force powers : -2
Saves vs Force Powers : -4
Force Powers cost : +20%
(Consular)
The penalties are hard, but the duration bonus is great for buffs and
especially speed. As the others, however, this is consular only.
So what are the best forms?
It’s more a matter of liking the bonuses/penalties spread or not. So I guess
everyone can have their own “best” from. Just choose the forms that work
well with your fighting style and your selected feats. For example, it makes
sense for a critical strike user to pick Form IV or VII.
What are my personal favourites?
I favour Form II when duelling and Form III against blaster-wielding enemies.
Form VII also helps us duellers a lot, giving an extra attack per round
(though you get it late). You have to be careful if the enemy is a heavy
force-user though; in that case, switch to Form II. For most of the game, I
keep Form III on, since blaster wielding enemies are common, and the defence
bonus is never wasted anyway.
About Force Forms, you should only get the first one if you followed my
advises and stayed away from consular. Use it after a battle to quickly heal
up.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 – Creating Your Lightsabre -----------------------------------------:SCCD3:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Before going in crystal/sabre parts frenzy, you must first create the actual
thing. Basically, you will find all the parts on the first planet you do
after Telos. Which planet is the fastest to get your sabre? I cannot really
say. I would say Dantooine, since it is so small. You can also get the
“charname” crystal there, so it is a plus compared to the other planets. I
think that Nar Shaadaa is also a fast one (dance for the Hutt and give juma
juice to the hounds). Anyway, once you have built the thing, you can upgrade
it with 2 crystals, 1 emitter, 1 energy cell and 1 lens.
One of the crystal slot should obviously go for the “charname” crystal. The
other should generally give the best bonus you can find. For a dueller, I
would recommend a damage bonus, since you do not really need more attack or
defence.
For the other parts, you will not find many of them during the game. The
best way to get some is to build them (if you have the skills) or just use a
party member (Bao-Dur seems especially talented at creating those). During
my first time through, I used parts like fencing emitter and anything that
gave more damage.
I will add more in this section once I am more experienced with the game.
I will not go into details and list the properties of items. Generally, you
should just equip the best stuff you find. But there are still some things
that you should consider, and I will try to cover them in this section.
Headgear : The full helms and masks are quite ugly, from what I have seen.
Therefore, I recommend something that does not cover your face, for pure
aesthetic reasons. Anyway. Just look for properties that you like. I
favour bonuses to saves and resistance to force powers. I spent most of the
game with a Rakatan Meditation Band that gives a bonus to wisdom and
resistances.
Implants : I figured that an implant that protects against critical strikes
would be useful, but it does not seem to matter much. Early on, a +1 to
constitution would be welcome, since it would stack with the Exile’s armband.
Later on, just look for what you need. Strength and dexterity seems the
best.
Gloves : Bonuses to skills are great if you are a Sentinel. Otherwise,
something that adds strength would probably be your best bet. I also ran
into some gloves that give a damage bonus. Might be a good idea.
Armour : Robes, robes and robes. You bothered going the duelling route to
look a little like the Jedi in the movies, and you would put on a smelly
armour? No way. Robes come with nice bonuses, especially to attributes like
wisdom or charisma. I found a robe that also gives resistance to energy;
great since lightsabre and blaster damage is energy. Sith robes also seem to
be upgradable. And finally, the robes ***actually look like robes from the
movies!!***. And that’s probably the best aspect... Thanks to the
developers for this!
Shields : What I generally do is keep one energy shield (blocks lasers and
lightsabres) and one melee shield (blocks physical). However, I don’t
remember using them a single time with my main character. I would say keep
your armband and mix it with another +1 constitution for more hit points
early on.
Belt : I never really bothered looking for great belts. I just equip what I
find the best. If I remember correctly, I used one with bonus to saves for
most of the game.
Weapons : Your first slot will obviously be your lightsabre (which is covered
in the appropriate section). I used the second slot for a plasma torch until
I got my sabre (sabres tend to be good at bashing stuff open...). After
that, I just equipped a rifle that bypasses damage reduction (forgot the
name). I must have used it once through the game, but hey, you are an exile
who lived many years without a sabre... it makes sense to carry a trusty
blaster with you at all times.
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| SECTION D : GENERAL STRATEGY :SDGS0:|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you are Light Side, you will also use some buffing powers once in a while.
If you are Dark Side, you might want to occasionally choke or fry someone.
And remember that both sides have access to force speed, which makes “city
crawling” quests a lot easier.
It might be worthwhile to carry a blaster as your secondary weapon. A normal
blaster will not go far, but one of those disrupter rifle (or something
similar) that does unblockable damage can potentially be useful in some
situations. It is not like you have anything better to do with your second
slot anyway. Of course you can carry a second sabre specialised in killing
droids, but this is extremely crappy as far as role-playing is concerned.
Most of the time, you should use your special attacks (probably flurry or
critical strike). Don’t forget that force jump is a nice way to get to the
enemies faster.
For the lightsabre fighting forms, I recommend keeping Form III active most
of the time. It gives a bonus to defence (which is never wasted) and the
deflection bonus is useful since the only enemies that can attack you before
you can attack them have blasters. When you face a single lightsabre
wielding enemy (a “boss”), switch to Form VII. When facing multiple sabre
wielding enemies, or an enemy “spellcaster” (Consular/Master/Lord), switch to
Form II. A critical strike user should stay with Forms IV, V and VII, though
I do not have enough experience with critical strike to comment on this.
Probably in a future update (and do not be afraid to send me stuff you
know!).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 – Using Force Powers -----------------------------------------------:SDGS2:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are basically to types of powers : buffs and damage.
Core powers include some buffs (speed) and some damage powers (push, sabre
throw). Light Side powers are generally buffs, though disable droid and
stasis can be considered as harming powers. Dark Side is entirely damaging.
The power that you should cast the most often is speed. Dark or Light Side,
everyone benefits from this one. The speed aspect is alone a good reason to
cast it whenever you feel like it.
The other buffing powers, like armour and valour, should only be cast when
you enter huge or boss battles. It is kind of pointless to spend 10 seconds
casting buffs when you can kill most enemies in one or two strikes. If you
are Light Side, you can just cast Enlightenment whenever you want.
As far as damaging powers are concerned, push is a great power to use when
there are many enemies. Even though most of them will save, it helps if you
can knock a few down. The use of stasis and disable droid (if you have them)
is up to the situation.
For Dark Side powers, well, once you get lightning level 2 or 3, you can
clear whole rooms in a shot or two. For bosses, you can get them in “crush
lock” (when you get Force Crush). Quite cheap, but very effective.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 – Party Selection --------------------------------------------------:SDGS3:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I huge part of the fun in TSL is to interact with the different
members, and also see how they interact with each others. Therefore, I
strongly encourage you to create your own party combinations.
In any event, I will list here the members and briefly discuss them. Do not
expect number crunching here; it’s only my opinion concerning the character
in general : his/her personality, in-combat and outside combat effectiveness.
I will also say how I like to develop them.
Kreia is the first party member that you will meet. Besides being blind (and
seeing through the force), she has a quite nice ability that works in
conjunction with your character : force chain. Whenever you cast a buffing
power, she will also be affected by it, and vice-versa. Quite nice, since
you can buff two people for the price of one. Other than that, she is just
like any other consular : weak in melee, but powerful in the force. Her
neutrality also makes her an effective dual-side force user, and her clearly
overpowered attributes should keep her alive most of the time. Another
useful ability she has is to make the party gain more experience for each
kills. Therefore, if gaining levels is your top priority, having her
whenever it is possible is a good choice. As far as her personality is
concerned, I hate her. I just don’t like the way she acts with the other
members, and I don’t like the idea of having someone telling me what I should
do. But I guess this is a personal choice. Kreia is also one of the main
characters (kind of like Bastila in KotOR I).
The few times I use Kreia, I put her in Jedi support mode with a single
lightsabre/vibroblade (it is not like you can give her anything else...).
Have her cast buffs (which will also buff your character because of Force
Chain) and offensive powers like Wave and Storm.
You will meet Atton early on, and he’s one of the main characters (much like
Carth was back in KotOR I). On the good side, he has a nice personality (in
my opinion), is funny sometimes, and actually has an interesting story. As a
scoundrel, his main ability is to backstab. With the items you get, you can
raise his dexterity really high, making him an effective sniper (and
backstabber with a lightsabre, if you train him and give him the finesse in
lightsabres). He also has nice skills, so he is quite useful to have around.
Atton can be trained to become a Sentinel, and is a romance option for
females.
While the most common way of developing him would be the traditional dual
wield, I actually prefer to keep him with a single blaster (and a single
lightsabre if I turn him). It just does not make sense to me to have a
scoundrel with two pistols (picture yourself Han Solo). Anyway, this is more
of a personal choice.
The little droid is back, with an actual personality this time. In my
opinion, the designers really succeeded in making him more like R2-D2, his
(yes, I make him a living being) movie counterpart. T3 is the guy to use
when you want to crack, repair or open something. He is also “alright” in
combat, due to its shock arm upgrade (which has unlimited uses). T3 might
not be the one you will use to accompany you every time, but he is very
useful for his outside combat abilities.
The way I develop T3 is quite straight forward. Basically, I maximise all
the skills I can with equipment (and keep the other utilities with bonuses to
various combat bonuses for HK). It would also be a good idea to equip him
with good plating and shields, since it will make your job easier when you
play him solo.
This faithful Zabrak who served under the Exile during the Mandalorian Wars
is the master of skills in the game. Even though he has a low defence (he
cannot equip most of the armours), he is a very valuable party member outside
combat due to his high skills. His shield-breaker special attack may be
useful sometimes, but your character will generally do enough damage to break
any shield quite fast. Of course if he is in the party and you run in a
group of shielded enemies, then use it; but it is not crucial to your
success. You may be let down by his combat capabilities, but once he becomes
a Jedi, he is much more powerful. He remains a very useful companion if your
character does not know many skills. As far as personality is concerned, he
is a great companion, and obviously has a lot of respect for your character.
Bao-Dur can be trained to become a Jedi Guardian.
Because of his really bad defence, I generally have him shoot people from
afar, beside his low dexterity. Turning him to a Jedi will greatly improve
his defence, and so he will be able to go melee with a sabre. Bao-Dur is
also the guy I use to create most upgrade parts for lightsabres and rifles.
Therefore, equipment to maximise his skills are never wasted.
Handmaiden (Soldier) Male Characters Only------------------------------------
One of the Echani sisters, she is part of Atris’ crew. She has some good
attributes, and a unique feat that improves her unarmed damage. She also
comes equipped with a good robe. She gets more interesting if you train her
(and give her the lightsabre finesse), since a plain soldier with a low
strength and high charisma does not go far. She is a Light Side character,
and will react accordingly to what you do (though she often looks a little
over-zealous). She also has great voice acting (by the same voice-actress
who does the voice of Padmé in most LucasArts game), but she has *extremely*
short hair, which I do not like (I know, this is not a very constructive
comment but hey, I am allowed to drop my opinion once in a while, am I?).
Handmaiden can be trained to become a Jedi Guardian, and is a romance option
for males.
The only advice I can give about her development is to give her weapon
finesse and focus on dexterity. I generally have her wield her staff and a
sith sabre later on.
Visas Marr (Jedi Sentinel)---------------------------------------------------
Sent to kill/capture you once your character has stewed enough crap to
attract the attention of the freaky-guy-with-a-mask-who-cannot-speak, also
known as Darth Nihilus. As a sentinel with high dexterity, she reminds me of
Bastila. Of course she starts evil, but can be converted completely to the
Light Side in one single conversation. Picking lightsabre finesse for her is
a must. As far as the rest is concerned, she is just another jack of all
trade character, bringing melee power, skills and force powers. For her
personality, I cannot really say since I did not use her much. I will pick
her the next time I go Light Side, and add more comments. I did use her to
lead my second group on Dxun, and I was satisfied by her performance. Visas
Marr is a romance option for males.
Once again, weapon finesse in lightsabres is a must, as well as the toughness
line of feats. I generally give her a sith sabre or a two-bladed vibroblade.
You can focus on her dexterity for more attack bonus, or constitution if you
think she dies too easily (and she does, trust me).
Mira (Scout) Good and Neutral Characters Only--------------------------------
Mira is the wannabe Fett bounty hunter of the game. Besides being really
good with pistols (scouts get free feats for them), she has a wrist launcher
that can shoot grenades, darts and rockets. When she is in lead, the party
cannot set off mines. Under normal circumstances, this may not sound
crucial. But in a certain part of the game (at the end of Nar Shaadaa), it
can save you a load of time. Mira is a great character as a scout, but can
be trained to give your party more force hoomph. Finally, she’s a great
character for skills, and is therefore quite useful outside combat. Mira can
be trained to become a Jedi Sentinel, but is not (as far as I know) a romance
option (though a male character can hit on her in some conversations).
I always have Mira dual wield pistols à la Jango Fett. Give her the two-
weapon fighting feats and the rapid shot line, and keep her skills high. If
you turn her, I suggest giving a sabre as an alternate weapon and set her AI
to Ranged.
Hanharr is just an evil wookiee. I haven’t used him much, so I can’t really
comment on him. What I really liked, however, was to literally break him as
a Dark Sider. In my opinion, this is just the best Dark Side option in the
game, as it involves manipulations with words an all. If only the other
options were similar, instead of the usual “bully” approach. As a character,
Hanharr is, quite literally, a beast of melee combat. The most obvious way to
develop him would be to have him dual-wield blades. His lack of armour can
become problematic, but the use of shields can fix this up.
According to a few mails I have received, there is apparently a bug during
the conversation mentioned above that allows you to raise his strength up to
255 while lowering his intelligence to 0. However, this obviously remains a
pretty big glitch, and if you intent to stay legit (and you should) you
should not even consider doing this. (Thanks to Tyrael)
Correct me if I am wrong, but I personally think that this is the most
insignificant character who joins you. As an evil droid, I’d pick HK over
G0-T0 any day. As a skill expert, I would sooner take T3 or Bao-Dur. I did
not even bother bringing him out of the Ebon Hawk. The only good part of
having him is to hear HK “fat one” line.
Everyone’s favourite psychotic assassin droid. HK is just like he was in
KotOR I, except this time he (yes, I make him a living being) has a special
line of feats that gives him more damage. You have to repair him first
(though it doesn’t require any skill) and find the four missing parts. To
get him as soon as possible, you need to go through Nar Shaadaa first. This
is my favourite character in the game, simply because of his lines and his
personality in general. You need to be Dark Side to really enjoy having him,
but he is a nice member to have with a Light Side too.
Always maximise his dexterity and combat abilities. Give him the power blast
or rapid shot feats (I prefer power blast) and possibly the close combat
feats. When they are in, concentrate on the precise shot tree. I have him
wield a fully upgradable rifle, which I have customised with the most damage-
adding parts (constructed by Bao-Dur). When I get Mandalore, I generally
take his repeating rifle, swap the upgrades on and give it to HK.
Disciple can only be recruited by female characters – male getting Handmaiden
instead. Disciple starts out as a soldier with rather good physical
attributes. Because of his higher dexterity, it might be better to have him
use pistol(s) instead of melee weapons. If you turn him into a Jedi, he
becomes a consular. The big problem here is that he has an abysmal wisdom
score, which does not help him in his new profession. Just like T3 can be
used as a workbench, Disciple can be used as a medical lab.
Tyrael points out that despite all of this, Disciple has a great personality
and is easily converted. Powergamers will probably not want to use him
instead of Kreia, but he remains an alternative if you want to use a new
character.
I would have expected a more bad-ass look for the great Mandalore, but he
does a fine job anyway. His armour is much like Fett’s, but the jet-pack is
missing, and he has two weird tubes going from under his mask to his back.
Idea for the developers of a possible sequel : give the next Mandalore a jet-
pack that could do something similar to force jump; it would be kind of cool.
Mandalore has nice attributes, and is very powerful in melee. I would leave
ranged combat to Atton, Mira or HK though. He also has 4 types of implants
to boost his attributes even higher, or to regenerate his vitality points.
I have received a countless number of mails telling me that Mandalore is
Canderous from KotOR I. Guess what? I knew it before even playing the game.
I did not explicitly say it since I did not want to spoil it for people who
did not know it yet. I am just tired of receiving mails about this one, so
to hell the spoilers.
I have him dual wield blades or a two-bladed vibroblade. Be sure to drop a
point both in strength and constitution to increase the modifiers.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
| SECTION E : STUFF FROM READERS :SFSR0:|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE: Looking back at what I did here, I now realise that the whole thing
is a big mess. I ended up not updating/correcting some parts of my guide
because I had posted it here instead. So to put it bluntly, I am fully aware
that I got seriously messed up with my “new system”. Needless to say, I will
never use such a thing in future guides. If I find the courage to do it, I
might clean it up. Again, sorry for the mess...
I have decided to adopt a somewhat different approach than in my other
guides.
Instead of just copying the whole (or so) message below the name of the
contributor, I have decided to break down the section in several general
topics, and include what each contributor has to say about the said topic.
Before going in, I need to specify some things :
1. I did not include every single mail I received. Some were questions,
which I answered personally, and I did not think it was relevant to include
(most of) these mails in my guide.
2. Sometimes, I receive similar strategies from different people. There is
no real point in saying twice the same thing, so I did not include 4 mails
about force power X.
3. I have read *every* mail I received, and replied (at least once) to
*everyone*. If you sent me something and never got a reply from me, then
your mail never reached me, plain and simple. Re-send it, and I will be
happy to answer any question and discuss anything.
4. There are some mails that I haven’t included yet, but will do so as soon
as possible. I keep receiving more and more mails, but at some point I
decided to go on and publish what I had received up to a certain date.
That being said, I received quite a lot of mails. It *is* possible that I
forgot about a great tip that someone sent me (I can’t say my inbox is well
organised, nor that my readers are very disciplined as far as subject is
concerned...). I will go through my box again in the near future to make
sure the nice stuff is in the guide.
You will notice that some names appear quite often. Some people had very
interesting stuff to say, and explained it very well. Of course my personal
laziness also played a part here.
If you desperately want your name and tip/strategy in my guide, and that I
have not included it, do not panic! Follow these simple steps :
-Take a deep breath, like Obi-Wan would say
-Check this section again, just to make sure that your contribution is indeed
missing
-Before harbouring a vicious hatred directed at my humble person, consider
that it is possible that I just forgot to add your tip; I make mistakes too.
Also, you must realise that someone else might have expressed a strategy
similar to yours in a better, more structured way, and that I have decided to
add his instead of yours. No offence intended.
-Send me an e-mail, asking –politely- to put your tip/trick in. I will
immediately do so (I keep every mail I receive).
That being said, let’s get going.
Please note that the mails are not organised in any particular order.
My comments will be preceded by ***.
========
Watchman
========
From N P
--------
Anyhow, I wanted to throw out that I find the Jedi Guardian/Jedi Watchman to
be more effective than the Jedi Guardian/Jedi Weapon Master combination. I
personally love to make use of skills and didn't really like the Guardian
until I figured out a way that I could gain the needed skills in Repair and
Computer Use to fully repair T3-M4, so I tried this combination and found
that it is also highly effective for a master duellist.
Although the Weapon Master has a few nifty abilities over the Watchman, such
as increased damage and a bonus for deflecting blaster shots, sneak attack
makes for a great edge in combat. It's a great way to start a fight,
attacking from stealth for extra damage, but also gets a lot of use from
using stunning attacks, such as critical strike, various force powers and
lightsaber modifications, or having one of your teammates running
interference and either distracting your enemy or stunning them with one of
their own attacks. And, as you say in your description, the Watchman is
excellent for giving a Guardian extra skill points and better saves.
***This is actually a superb idea, in my opinion. N P’s mail made me realise
***that the Weapon Master’s main bonus was the improved dual-wielding feats,
***something that we duellers do not need. Giving additional force points
***only at the expanse of some hit points, I now maintain that Watchman is
***quite probably the best prestige class for a dueller. Note that if you
***intend to use critical strike, then going Weapon Master is a better idea
***since you want or have Form VII.
========
Form VII
========
From N P
--------
I also wanted to let you know that in Form VII, it's critical hit attack
bonus isn't added to threat range, but to the confirmation roll to score a
critical hit. So if you roll a 20 on your attack while using the Juyo style,
you get a +4 bonus on the second roll to see if you actually score a critical
hit or just a normal attack.
At least I think it is. If they use the pen and paper rules for critical
attacks, then that's most likely what it's adding the bonus to.
From Adam Celli
---------------
I was looking through your guide and i know what the phrase "Critical Hit
attack bonus : +4" means that a character gets a +4 bonus on the check to see
if their critical hit is actually a critical. It was explained in an errata
for a DnD book i have. Just thaught i'd point it out to you.
***The mystery of Form VII lies unresolved.
==========================
Dexterity Based Characters
==========================
From N P
--------
Anyhow, I was reading through your guide and you made mention of strength as
opposed to dexterity as being your primary attribute. I have played through
as a more dexterity based character, and here's my feelings on the issue.
From a certain angle, dexterity does have some more value than strength for a
lightsaber duelist. Such a character is more defensive, and, with all the
dueling and lightsaber finesse feats, can very difficult for enemies to hit
while landing more attacks.
Now, both strength and dexterity are easily increased with some special
equipment, such as infiltrator gloves or a power implant, or with an armor
underlay. A Guardian/Weapon Master with lightside mastery gains a +6 bonus
to his strength, whereas only having darkside mastery as a Sith Assassin
grants a bonus to dexterity (+3).
However, a high dexterity can increase your defense to levels that make you
very difficult to hit. With the finesse feat, you can add that same bonus to
your attack rolls, making you hit just as often, if not more frequently, than
a character with a high strength.
The only other variable that strength influences is your damage, and strength
is easily upgraded to provide a bonus by achieving lightside mastery. My
last character was a Consular/Weapon Master, and when he achieved lightside
mastery, his strength was at 20, while his dexterity was at 23. At that
time, he could inflict 13 to 45 damage with a normal attack, using the
character crystal from Dantooine and a Barab Ore Ingot crystal without any
lightsaber upgrades that increase damage, and he was at level 17. That five
extra damage he deals because of his strength is almost insignificant, as the
lightsaber does most of the work.
Besides, I prefer to play a character I enjoy roleplaying, and in every RPG
I've been a part of I always played a character that was more agile than
strong, more precise than brutal. It's simply the way I like to play my
characters. Hell, I even prefer to give my character flaws, such as only
raising his combat feats to improved and using all three rather than focusing
completely on power attack, flurry, or critical strike. I like to vary my
combat and use the one that works the best. I might take the master level
feat in one or more of these later on, but I am one of those that likes to
actually play a role in an RPG rather than cutting through it as fast as
possible.
***Once again, N P has convinced me to try a dexterity based fighter.
***Judging from what he says, it is probable that dexterity is as good, or
***even better than strength. I’ll have to refine my strategies.
From Sean Holland
-----------------
I also wished to mention that under your stat suggestions, Having a higher
Dex and getting Weapon Finesse as a Guardian is not a bad choice. The higher
dexterity allows you to have a higher defense and both your dexterity and
strength can both go up with alignment boosts and items, with them close, you
hit easier, your harder to hit and you do a decent bit of damage.
***Confirms N P’s analysis.
From Jadon
----------
I started as a Jedi Guardian, female, with the following ability scores;
Str: 14
Con:14
Dex:14
Int:12
Wis:12
Cha:12
After leveling up to level twenty two as a Jedi weapon master, my scores now
look like this.
Str:25
Dex:25
Con:15
Wis:18
In:12
Cha:17
My armor class is by default, 27, and I am wearing the Advisor armor witht he
Armorply overlay mark III and strength underlay mark II enhancements, I am
wearing the Automation gloves (dex +3) I am also weaing the Imitator belt
(dex +3)
I maxed out power attack, two weapon fighting, both normal and supiror,
flurry and standard weapon focus and also took finesse lightsabers.
In powers I maxed out Force speed for relivent power info.
So in essence, when I use all my powers and my hefty Sith saber as you called
it, I have a defense of 27 +4 (force armor)+4 (master speed) plus two or
three depending on my Saber load out,a defense of 38. and I can hit an enemy
around six times in one attack for an average damage blow of 45 HP a hit and
my attack bonus stands at 32/30 for primary/off hand attacks.
six times 45 my friend, on ONE ATTACK.
I can wade into the highest level eneimes by myself and get hit once at this
point if my luck is bad.
Dex characters preform excellent, I have never died int he entirity of
playing, and they look damn impressive if I do say so myself.
***More arguments and a build this time. Nice info.
===============
Guardian Master
===============
From Sean Holland
-----------------
I also wanted to toss a character type you may wish to try when you get some
time. The alignment doesn’t matter really, but a Jedi Guardian/Jedi Master
(Sith Lord) is really a great class combination. If you wait till Level 20
with the Guardian, you get and get a decent amount of Lightsaber feats, you
will hold your own in melee combat, and the JM/SL class will provide with a
ridiculous amount of force powers.
***For such a template, it is better, in my opinion, to go Consular/WM.
***Consular levels will make your powers harder to resist (force focus),
***while Weapon Master will make you a fighting machine. Of course, every
***build is good as long as you enjoy it.
====================
Dark Side Corruption
====================
From Grand Commander13
----------------------
What I did was this: I got to level fifteen, and made a saved game just
outside the ship with Bao-dur and Kreia in the party. I used the
addlightside or adddarkside cheat to put me to light or dark mastery. I then
noted where Bao-dur's alignment was, using a piece of paper to compare the
bottom of the little bar it used to indicate position to the word on the
right of the character sheet. Then I chose Sith Lord or Jedi Master, and
noted where the alignment fell after I leveled up. My character had 10
charisma, and Bao-dur had some influence level I could look up, but is
probably about 70.
DARK SIDE MASTERY:
With no prestige class (or Sith Maruader, which I used as an extra "control"
just to be sure), Bao-dur's alignment was at the level where it would cut the
word "Fortitude" in half. With Sith Lord, it was just above the word
"Reflex" on his character sheet. A noticable movement downwards.
LIGHT SIDE MASTERY:
With no prestige class (or Weapon Master, which was light side's extra
"control" class), his alignment was cutting the word "Wisdom" in half. With
Jedi Master, his alignment was just above "Wisdon" on the sheet. Smaller
than the change Sith Lord gave, but still, a change I measured a few times.
CONCLUSION:
Sith Lord and Jedi Master do indeed move allies in the direction of your
chosen alignment. I'll probably later test what they do in the case of
opposite alignments (like DS Mastery on a Jedi Master), but since I doubt
people would be have alignment opposite their prestige class, it may be a
while before I check that.
***Great information for sure. I guess I was kind of wrong when I wrote that
***these abilities were broken.
======================
Duelling and “Casters”
======================
From Handy Owen Alexander
-------------------------
My reason for e-mailing is to impart another reason for duelling. If you
choose a jedi consular to jedi master, or (especially) sith lord as the path
to follow in the game duelling is just about the smartest move you could
make. In early levels where your powers are pitiful compared the mass
enemies you are going to face it is a necessity to be able to hit your
opponents and keep them from either hitting you or keep the damage to a
minimum when they do. Many times I have found myself running out of force
power while beset by enemies and had to make do with a lightsaber. Plus if
you happen to go unarmed the bonuses carry over (mind you one of my
characters went unarmed for much of the game because, between duelling and
the unarmed combat feats which are learned for free, there was no lightsaber
that hit for more damage than my fists and ignored shields like fists).
Being of the consular persuasion I also did not truly require the
extra hit on most enemies toward the end of the game due to the fact that if
they could reach me they were well on their way to becoming one with the
force anyhow.
***Nice arguments. Now that Consulars get the same BAB than Guardians,
***people started using duals with casters too. They haven’t learned
***anything...
A little addition for your FAQ, the wisdom bonus of the "char name" crystal
and a second crystal (ie. Kasha) doesn't stack. Don't know weather this is a
bug, but I think it should be noted as it is my only complaint when creating
a dueling Jedi.
***That’s quite odd, and I think it could be a bug. Nice warning.
========
Sentinel
========
From Steven Scougall
--------------------
Guardian vs Sentinel: It must be noted that the Guardian's class features
are tied into using a lightsaber, and so are useless until you get one.
Whereas the Sentinel's features (immunities) are immediately active. Though,
I'm playing through with a Sentinel, and I haven't noticed my immunities
coming into play at all...
***Force jump only works with lightsabres, so yeah, a sentinel is advantaged
***early on. I still think that one should decide according to skills and
***hit points differences though.
======
Skills
======
From Steven Scougall
--------------------
Awareness skill: I noticed the my character could spot the Sith Assassins on
the Harbinger while they were stealthed. This could have been because of my
maxed-out Awareness skill, which is supposed to let you see stealthed
opponents.
***I do not think this is true. From what I understand, the assassins are
***spawned when you enter a specific area, and I could detect them with all
***of my characters.
From CJ Williams
----------------
Sorry for bugging you, but in the skills area, you said that Repair and
Computer Skill are useless for the main character, as there are no HK47-like
abilities to fix things. This is false. You can actually perform repairs on
T3 (I think that's the small droids name, I forget...) using these
abilities. Simply start talking to him, and a little while in, it will give
you the option. I do not know what it does yet, but might as well find out...
***Huge mistake on my part. Thanks for the clarification!
From Tempest Stormwind
----------------------
Repair/Computer Use can be used to upgrade T3, and if he's fully upgraded
(three stages with each of Repair/Computer Use, requires T3 Influence to have
successful options, but not much) you gain the option to practice moving
meditation on him (you may have noticed he tells you that you blanked out for
a minute when working on him... this is what it leads to). Talk to him if
he's hurt -- you'll fully repair him and restore your force points instantly.
During the repairs, you'll also not only boost his Intelligence [Computer
Use] and Constitution [Repair] to some truly impressive levels (I couldn't
spend the skill points fast enough!), but you'll also get a minor boost to
your maximum Force Points (rare events). Could prove useful for a few
guardians I know.
***Very interesting, considering that T3 can eventually become a fighting
***machine.
========
Disciple
========
From Steven Scougall
--------------------
He starts as a level 6 Soldier, and comes with at least two of the two-weapon
fighting feats. He starts with a strength of 14 and a dexterity of 16, so he
can go either ranged or melee with few problems. Despite the way he's
presented in the game, his wisdom and charisma are 10, so he doesn't seem
like good Consular material.
***Great information from Steven Scougall, and it just encourages me to keep
***playing with a male.
***I will add more of the info I received via e-mail about disciple. I do
***not intend to go through the game as a female (cuz I’m a man =P), and the
***only information about Disciple in this guide will most likely come from
***here.
=====
T3-M4
=====
From Anonymousplayer0
---------------------
Firstly, T3 is the only droid to be able to have (as far as I know) special
droid features and shields. The shield is gained on Nar Shadaa via the quest
given by the utilities droid in the repair shop(I have forgot the name of the
lil' blind alien who works there as it is his shop). This shop is used in
the main quest when you need the ??pass card??? to gain access to Goto's
yacht. The special droid attachment comes with T3.
These give huge advantages in combat: T3 now has a weapon that will hit
every time and cannot be worn out and T3 has a shield that cannot be worn
out. As I don't have a copy of the game in front of me, I do not know the
amount of damage the shield can endure before being deactivated, however
chances are that it includes energy. This infinite energy shield makes T3 a
powerhouse against most lightsabres (I am not sure if the opponent's sabres
have attachments that may do other types of damage... ie electric) and gives
him a weapon that will always do some damage regardless of the opponent's DEX
rating.
If a player goes with the "skills T3" (where all attributes and feats go
to something that will benefit a skill) this becomes invaluable. However, I
would recommend the vitality regeneration feat so that if T3 fights a
character wielding a melee weapon, another with a lightsabre and another with
blasters, he can kill the melee with the shield on so as not to take damage
from the lightsabre and blasters, then "hide" under the shield and recover
vitality while disposing of the lightsabre and blasters. T3 will take
minimum damage and recover it quickly while taking out 3 tough opponents for
a non-force, non-exile.
The shield can be accessed every turn from the start menu. Press start,
then to the items menu, then to the current character inventory screen, and
select T3's shield. This can only be done once a turn.
T3 now has become a skillful powerhouse. This is a good additive to a
consular or guardian who does not have good skills as now T3 rarely ever dies
and kills almost everything and then can do almost all of the skill inserts
in the game. Such as repairing a droid or slicing a computer.
As a test for this I had T3 go on the mission with Visas/Handmaiden on
Duxn. I then went into solo mode and did about 95% of the mission with just
T3.(The final battle I admit I needed handmaiden because 3 dark jedi at once
got through the shield every turn and did damage. However as T3 is not a
combat droid, getting through 1 and 1/2 dark jedi is pretty good.
Also when you add some decent pistols and the duel-wielding feats, T3 can
become even more versatile.
***I am a huge R2-D2 fan (the little guy is probably my second or third
***favourite character in the whole saga), and I was really interested in
***reading about a guy who turned R2’s game counterpart as a fighting
***machine. Extremely great information in this one, and I will definitely
***check this out in game. All the better if you can repair him to the max
***beforehand (to do so, you can use a Guardian/Watchman (personal fav.)
***or Sentinel/something).
=====
Kreia
=====
From Anonymousplayer0
---------------------
Also...Keria is most effectively used (in my opinion) by giving her all of
the force powers of the opposite side (aka if your DS give her powers like
Barrier) because this evens out the exile's offense with Kreia's buffing.
And the most effective party configuration that I have used is -Exile (Male
DS Sentinel-Assassin with lightning, scream, etc.) ... a ranged character
such as Atton( who, if you stick with ranged weapons and change into a jedi,
can become very effective) or Mandalore(ranged configuration) or any other
character that you make ranged ... and either Kreia (for dialog and storyline
reasons), Handmaiden ( who is a fricken powerhouse if you hold levels and
then convert to a jedi .... She is in my opinion very underrated as she is
generally melee and with a lightsaber/force ...very friggen powerful) or a
droid. Bao-Dur I never really used because I had skillz and he sux at
combat.
==========
Handmaiden
==========
From Tempest Stormwind
----------------------
Battle Precognition. The ability Handmaiden teaches the Exile. Two points,
one a nitpick, the other an observation -- it's a power, not a feat, and you
don't note that it only works with robe-level equipment (i.e. it's a force
power that's restricted by armor). [For the record, handmaiden's Jedi levels
don't stack with her Soldier levels for determining Unarmed Specialist, which
came as a shock to me since I used her unarmed. In the end, I did something
interesting with her -- gave her upgraded Mandalorian Assault Armor and an
assortment of powers that weren't restricted by armor (such as Energy
Resistance, Disable Droid, Force Whirlwind, and so forth). As a secondary
Jedi, it's startlingly effective.]
***Important to know, since you can’t use it with an armour. Also great info
***on Handmaiden.
================
Dark Side Powers
================
From Anonymousplayer0
---------------------
Lightning is probably the mast potent power in the game, especially at higher
levels. If someone is going DS...this power is a must have. As a Male DS
Sentinel-Assassin, the best way, in my experience to fight is to unload with
force lightning once or twice and then rush in with my exile and flurry
anything that's left. Also if one chooses the DS path, towards the end one
receives force crush... this power will not only deal a s**tload of damage
but will knockdown opponents. Therefore you can force crush Scion forever.
( As a Male Sentinel-Assassin at level 25 or so, I had about 500 force
points... no cheats, no joke) Another very handy power to have at low levels
as a DS character, force scream. This is like lightning but is available at
low levels. ( force shock and the tier2 or this don't his a very large damage
radius) The next best thing to this was Kill.
***Great info, and a proof that Crush and Lightning are a little...
***overpowered. To crush a boss forever is what I call “Crush lock”;
***the boss will never be able to attack you, and you will deal massive
***damage. Perhaps a cool-down system like in Diablo 2 or Guild Wars
***should be implemented in a possible sequel.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
| SECTION F : FAVOURITE CHARACTER :SGFC0:|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The character depicted in this section represents the sum of everything I
said in this guide. I do not claim this is the best character, but I can
assure you that it is powerful. I also have valuable arguments to support my
theories. Note that this character should just serve as an example. If you
want to play through the game with a carbon copy, I would be honoured.
However, a huge part of the fun (for me, at least) in TSL comes from creating
your own character, and watching him/her become more powerful as you choose
feats and skills that fit your needs.
Starting Class : Jedi Guardian
Like I have stated before, two of the three possible starting classes can
qualify for the template we are trying to create (in my opinion). These two
classes are of course the Guardian and the Sentinel. While we could start a
deep analysis to choose which class is the best, I think we can just make the
following assumption :
A Guardian is a better fighter
A Sentinel is more skilled
Of course this statement can be attacked in many ways. The Guardian’s
physical prowess is barely better than the Sentinel’s (hit points and feats
being the only differences). But to keep things to a decently simple level,
let’s say that the above theory is true.
I chose the Guardian for three reasons. First, I wanted my character to have
the most hit points available, because of the prestige class I will choose
later on. Second, I wanted the additional feats in order to take Class Skill
X feats in Repair and Computer Use (this will be discussed later, when I
describe which skills I take). Finally, I wanted my character to be a
warrior more than anything else, for role-playing reasons.
Gender : Male
Of course this is a purely aesthetic reason. Being a man myself, I find it
hard to play as a female character. I am stating this however since that
means that this character will get Handmaiden’s power that adds his wisdom
modifier to AC. This is not crucial to the build though, since it only adds
+1.
These attributes are for a balanced, all-around Jedi. However, I cannot hide
the fact that there are some role-playing reasons behind this point spread.
First off, I wanted my character to have some good physical abilities. Thus,
I went for a 14 in strength, dexterity and constitution. A 16 is also an
interesting option, but costs a lot of points. Like I already said, I
strongly believe that it is a better idea to spread your points at the
beginning. The score of 14 in intelligence is for two reasons. First, It
gives my Guardian two more skill points per level, which is crucial since I
intend to develop multiple skills. Second, from the point of view of both a
Star Wars fan and a movie purist, a Jedi should not be stupid. Then there’s
wisdom and charisma. I chose to put more points in wisdom since it would
give my character a +1 to AC from Handmaiden’s power. Also, a Jedi should be
wise.
The extra points I receive go in dexterity. With lightsabre finesse,
dexterity adds both to your attack bonus defence. I think this is great for
duellers, since you can make your defence really high with the duelling feats
and force powers.
Skills :
As a Guardian with 14 intelligence, I ended up with 3 skill points per level,
and (3*4)=12 at creation. I spent my initial points in persuade, demolition
and awareness. Like I said before, persuade should be developed whenever you
get the chance. Demolitions is quite useful early on; first off, there are
many mines on Peragus, and disabling them not only makes your job easier, but
also gives you some much needed experience points. Finally, a constant focus
on this skill is not required to make it useful even later in the game, and
it just makes sense to me to toss some points there right away. Awareness
spawns some interesting dialogues options, and is crucial to turning Mira in
a Jedi. Since I had planned to use her (good ranged support and skills),
development of this skill was needed.
As I advanced in levels, I took the Class Skill : Repair and Class Skill :
Computer Use feats. I then tossed some points in both, developing them at
the same rate. Of course I did not neglect persuade either. I did this for
two reasons. First, I intend to use T3 as a party member. I am a huge R2-D2
fan, and I wanted to see what his game counterpart was made off. Those two
skills are needed to improve T3’s attributes. Second, skills are, in a
whole, extremely important in this game, providing extra dialogue options and
thus additional experience points. Role-playing wise, it is also nice to be
skilled with computers and mechanics. I occasionally come back to awareness
and demolitions. The goal is to cover as many skills as possible. One can
argue that a Sentinel is a better choice for such a character. Perhaps it
is. I just wanted my character to be a Guardian. It is going very well
though.
I did not develop security and treat injury (stealth is coming in a sec).
Security is, in my opinion, not that important. Of course it prevents items
from breaking, but you can easily assign a party member to this task (T3 and
Mira are two good contenders). For the item creation, well, just drop to Nar
Shaddaa or any other planet of your liking, and have T3 work on a workbench.
Treat injury is really less useful than in KotOR I, the reason being that you
have access to heal earlier. Of course you don’t have much force points at
the beginning, and you will most likely use a couple of medical kits at some
point during Peragus and Telos. However, with a long term point of view,
it’s not that useful. From my experience, even as a Guardian/Weapon Master
with low wisdom and charisma, you will have more force points than you can
spend later on. Treat injury is used to create medical items and implants.
You can safely leave this job to another member. And as far as healing is
concerned, you can always switch to a member with high treat injury and use a
medical kit on the wounded character.
For stealth, I start dropping points once I take my prestige class, Jedi
Watchman. It is also crucial to take the stealth run feat, since walking
gets boring really fast. More on stealth later.
Feats :
The first priority is to get the class skill feats. Why? To allow the
development of those skills as soon as possible. Like I said earlier, I
chose class skill : repair and class skill : computer use.
The next step is to take the duelling feats, which will give you your combat
bonuses, and picking your special attacks feats. I chose flurry. The other
contender would be critical strike, but since I won’t get Form VII, I decided
that flurry would be better for my character. Also, I don’t have the
headache of crafting an appropriate sabre for use with critical strike.
As the character matures, you can choose feats such as toughness. However,
priority should be put on upgrading duelling and your special attack. It is
also important to remember that you have to take lightsabre finesse if you
focus on dexterity. Don’t take the finesse on melee weapons though, since it
would be a huge waste. You don’t have to take it right away though; just
make sure to have it once you leave Telos.
When I get near level 15, I pick up stealth run.
Force Powers :
When creating a character that focus on combat, I always go for Light Side.
Even though this is quite strange from a role-player’s point of view (a Jedi
not being supposed to focus on brawling and all), this is really the way to
go. The reasons being that the light side powers have the best buffs, and
the dark side powers require more force points to use, as well as a higher
wisdom to improve the difficulty class.
The powers I focus on are all buffs :
Armour
Valour
Speed
When you get Force Enlightenment, you will be able to activate all three at
once.
I also get the heal powers, for obvious reasons.
As minor attack spells, I pick the force push line.
It is also great to have the force persuade powers (Affect and Dominate
Mind). Don’t be afraid of using it; as long as you don’t make people do evil
things, you should not get Dark Side points. For example, it is perfectly
fine to force persuade people for more information.
Prestige Class :
The prestige class I choose is the Jedi Watchman.
The Weapon Master of course brings some excellent feats and abilities for a
melee character. However, the greatest asset is the improved dual wielding
feats, something that my character has no need for. Improved weapon focus is
not that great, and you should be able to hit stuff with the duelling feats
anyway.
The Watchman, however, brings some interesting abilities. First off, you get
more skill points and more force points, for a (very) small penalty to hit
points. The 15 Guardian levels I took helps to compensate for this. The
Watchman also has the best saves in the game. Finally, it also brings sneak
attacks, which is a great boon for dexterity based characters.
I maintain that multiclassing with a “different” type of class (i.e. a
warrior going skilled, for example) is a good idea, especially when going
with the warrior class first. The reason being that, early on, you need hit
points and better BAB (though the latter is meaningless in TSL, all classes
having the same BAB). The only exception I can think of is the
Guardian/Master versus Consular/Guardian. Both builds work out well, but the
consular class is superior because you get the force focus feats, which allow
you to use offensive powers successfully.
Therefore, I think that the Watchman makes an excellent prestige class for
the duelling character I want to create.
Lightsabre Forms :
As a Guardian/Watchman, I get the first 6 lightsabre forms and the first
force form. My favourite is Form III : it provides a decent defence bonus
and some great blaster deflection power. This is the form I keep “on” most
of the time. Against lightsabre-wielding enemies (which only happens later
in the game), I generally switch to Form II. The other forms are mostly
geared toward improving the use of critical strike, something I don’t really
care about for my build. Form VI is also decent, though I prefer Form III as
a resting form.
Equipment :
You probably know it by now, but I will say it again. I’m not the kind of
guy who likes to list what piece of equipment is useful for each situation.
My philosophy is to use the best stuff I can find. There are some key points
however :
-I always wear robes, mostly for role-playing reasons. I do think however
that robes are great, especially those who reduce energy damage.
-Headgears or gloves that improve skills such as computer use and repair are
great.
-Always have energy shields equipped. Ideally, you would have one that
protects against energy, and one against melee damage. Protection to
elemental damage is nice, but not crucial.
-Talking about energy shields, don’t be afraid of using them (especially
early on, when you can’t protect yourself with your sabre). The most basic
version are plentiful and cheap, and you can activate them 10 times before
they collapse.
-Implants are generally nice to boost your attributes, or to improve your
character with some sweet immunities.
-Don’t bother with stealth belts on your main character. There’s absolutely
no point in going stealth in this game if you can’t backstab; and once you
gain this ability, you can go in stealth mode without a belt.
-Early on, an implant that gives +1 to constitution can be used in
conjunction with the charname’s armband to give your character a +1
constitution modifier, which results in one additional hit point per level.
-Since you can now have two sets of weapon, use them. Before you get your
sabre, the first slot should generally be a vibrosword of some sort. The
second slot should be occupied by a plasma torch, until you have Atton to
open doors and chests. When you get your sabre, it will most likely sit in
the first slot. Since you can now open doors easily, I recommend a blaster
of some sorts for long range damage. Disrupter rifles are especially
interesting since they inflict “unblockable” damage.
For the lightsabre :
Once again, I’m not the kind of guy who likes to study every single possible
configuration of crystals, emitters, cells and lenses. I generally aim for
the best I can afford (well, the best Bao-Dur can create). I favour damage
bonuses, since I can already hit and defend well with duelling, and I don’t
use critical strike. Of course, charname’s crystal is always in there.
There you have it. That’s currently my favourite character to play with.
Like I said at the beginning, this should be mostly used as an example. Mix
feats and skills with different attributes to find a character of your
liking. After all, this is all that matters.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
| SECTION G : CONCLUSION :SECO0:|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, I guess that’s it. My real goal with this guide is to make people
understand that a character in TSL, even with the new dual wielding feats,
does not need to be a dual wielder. Without the Star Wars movies, this game
would not even exist. And in the Star Wars movies, all the Jedi use a single
blade. It makes sense for your character to do so. In any event, I hope to
have persuaded you to see the duelling route as viable, or at least make you
consider it. Thanks for reading, and I hope to receive comments from you
soon.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 – Contact Info -----------------------------------------------------:SECO1:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Let’s get something clear right at the start:
I don’t mind criticism. I actually received quite a few mails about people
who did not agree with my (unusual) role-playing theories and the like, but
still acknowledged certain sections of my guide. If you hated the whole
thing, please do not bother telling me to stop writing “mediocre” guides like
this. Yes, I received a mail that basically said that. And I did not like it
that much. Remember: it’s your right to disagree, but it’s mine to like and
encourage role-playing.
My E-Mail address is : dark_coffee@msn.com
Please use “TSL V1.2” as the subject. It might sound stupid, but it
really does make my job easier.
Since I seldom receive mails about this guide anymore, I probably won’t add
any reader-submitted builds/info in the guide (unless I made a big mistake or
something like that). It actually takes time to add things, and I do think
that what had to be said is already in the guide anyway.
However, I am still happy to read and reply to mails sent to me.
This document is copyright (c) 2007 to DarthMuffin.
This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal,
private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed
publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other
web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a
violation of copyright.
All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by
their respective trademark and copyright holders.
The Knights of the Old Republic II : This Sith Lords Duelling Guide by
DarthMuffin is available for free on the following websites :
GameFAQs (www.gamefaqs.com)
GameSpot (www.gamespot.com)
The last version of this guide can always be found at GameFAQs.
V1.4 – Thanks to Tyrael, I patched up some areas and corrected a few
mistakes, especially in the skills section.
V1.3 – Minor edits.
V1.2 – Extremely minor edits.
V1.1 – Added tips, tricks and strategies I received via e-mail, as well as a
complete Favourite Character section, which sums up everything I described in
this guide. Some minor fixing/editing throughout the guide.
V1.0 – First complete version. Everything is in there, except the stuff I
received from readers.
V0.6 – The guide lacks some important sections (Character Creation (parts of
it), Development and General Strategy. They are all coming soon.
-Thanks to me for writing this (!)
-Thanks to Obsidian for giving us a decent sequel to KotOR (please do no rush
it next time!)
-Thanks to you for reading this
-Thanks to George Lucas for creating Star Wars
Semi-Useless Trivia : Did you know that the Telos cantina music was featured
in the underrated “The Phantom Menace” game by LucasArts? It is the cantina
music in the Mos Espa Arena level, after you meet with Jabba.
