Kotor 2

[Blaine]

I made it to Malachor V yesterday. With TSLRC mod, this game is indeed excellent, with fantastically written branching dialogue, wonderfully realized characterizations (particularly of Kreia), and a fair bit of C&C and freedom of choice. It's also quite long and will satisfy any size queen (I'm definitely a size queen).

The best area in the game, by far, is the HK factory. I can't believe they cut that from the original, deadline or no.

I'm a bit bummed out, because it's only during the last 1/5th of the game that character builds really come into their own, and the last 1/6th is also when the game finally starts throwing lots of good loot at you, so that you can heavily customize cool gear for your dudes. Before that, you muddle along with whatever you happen to find and jam upgrades into. You'll get to enjoy your exceptionally strong, well-equipped companions for about half a planet before you're railroaded through the endgame with one or two of the shittiest and most boring companions, and then all on your own. Also, it's a shame you don't get Force Enlightenment and Force Mastery earlier. The good loot, Force Enlightenment, and Force Mastery should come no later than 2/3rds of the way through the game, so that you can enjoy them a little longer.

I'd forgotten how hideously overpowered the main character becomes near the end, especially if male/with the Handmaiden and high Wisdom. My Jedi Master's attributes right now at level 28 with no buffs are 14 STR, 22 DEX, 24 CON, 18 INT, 42 WIS, 16 CHA, 25 Fort/22 Reflex/49 Will, and 52 Defense. Also, there seems to be little or no mechanical reason to play through the game as anything other than a Jedi Consular + whatever with high Wisdom, because it doesn't die, never runs out of Force Points, buffs the living shit out of itself/the party, and completely locks down (or if Dark Side, flat-out demolishes) entire swathes of enemies. It also still dishes out very good melee damage, though probably only half as much as a Guardian heavily specialized for dual-wielding, extra attacks and high damage.

 

[Ninjerk]

Pretty much what a proper Jedi Master should be.

 

[Blaine]

Bit boring by the end, though. Force Mastery form -> Light Side Enlightenment -> Battle Meditation -> Stasis Field -> Switch to Force Potency form -> Force Wave, deals 55 damage a head, which is a lot less than Force Storm and takes longer, but meanwhile they can't do shit and you got fully buffed a lot faster.

Funny thing is, as a Jedi Master you can still use all the Dark Side powers you please in the late game (and vice versa), because even without any Charisma bonus at all you'd still never run out of Force Points. Seems like cheating, though. I only do that with Visas.

Ideally, a few uses of a LS or DS power while enjoying an opposite-aligned mastery bonus would knock you down a point so that you'd lose your mastery, but the game's a decade old now and really, who cares?

 

[Endemic]

The best area in the game, by far, is the HK factory. I can't believe they cut that from the original, deadline or no.

A bit too much combat (like Malachor) but still entertaining. Considering that the whole level is essentially Kristoffer Tabori talking to himself, that's an impressive feat.

 

[DwarvenFood]

I'm not reading the thread because of spoilers, but I just started playing the game (for the first time) - I don't know much about the universe or timeline, I've seen the movies, but that was a while back and I'm more of a Trekkie. So, should I do any reading-up before playing further, or does it not really matter ? Also, when does the game take place, somewhere between episode 3 and episode 4 ? (movie 6 and movie 1)

 

[Excidium II]

I'm not reading the thread because of spoilers, but I just started playing the game (for the first time) - I don't know much about the universe or timeline, I've seen the movies, but that was a while back and I'm more of a Trekkie. So, should I do any reading-up before playing further, or does it not really matter ? Also, when does the game take place, somewhere between episode 3 and episode 4 ? (movie 6 and movie 1)

KOTOR 2? It takes place ~3000-4000 years before the movies.

 

[DwarvenFood]

Uh k thnx.. so watching the movies would not be of any value..

 

[Infinitron]

Uh k thnx.. so watching the movies would not be of any value..

The KOTOR game take place in the "Old Republic era", a kind of sub-setting within the old Star Wars canon that's set millenia before the movies, as Excidium stated.

Relevant background material to the KOTOR games is comics and novels about the Mandalorian Wars and if you really want to go full nerd, the Exar Kun War that preceded them. But they're not mandatory. You might want to play KOTOR 1 first, though...

 

[Ninjerk]

I think its best qualities would be lost on you.

 

[Maculo]

I'd forgotten how hideously overpowered the main character becomes near the end, especially if male/with the Handmaiden and high Wisdom. My Jedi Master's attributes right now at level 28 with no buffs are 14 STR, 22 DEX, 24 CON, 18 INT, 42 WIS, 16 CHA, 25 Fort/22 Reflex/49 Will, and 52 Defense. Also, there seems to be little or no mechanical reason to play through the game as anything other than a Jedi Consular + whatever with high Wisdom, because it doesn't die, never runs out of Force Points, buffs the living shit out of itself/the party, and completely locks down (or if Dark Side, flat-out demolishes) entire swathes of enemies. It also still dishes out very good melee damage, though probably only half as much as a Guardian heavily specialized for dual-wielding, extra attacks and high damage.

I think Sith Lord ranks up there, if not better at times. The only reason I say that is Force Crush, which Jedi Consulars do not get if I remember correctly. It combines a stun and massive single target damage. You can chain stun bosses/enemies at a whim, and mostly 1 or 2 shot them in the process.

After reading your post, I am tempted to reinstall K2. I never played with Jedi Consular's much.

 

[DwarvenFood]

I think its best qualities would be lost on you.

What do you mean, Kotor 1's "best qualities", or Kotor 2's best qualities if not knowing about the "Old Republic era" ? I'm not going to play Kotor 1 either way, time is precious these days.

 

[Ninjerk]

KotOR 2. The era doesn't matter with these games because it's just a reskin.

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

The KotOR games do indeed stand alone. That said, they are semi-sequels to Dark Horse Comics' Tales of the Jedi series, which, imo, are some of the best Star Wars stories ever published in the EU, so if you enjoy the games you might want to check those out.

It's also worth pointing out that you might not get a ton out of KotOR2 if you're unfamiliar with SW as a whole, since KotOR2 is Avellone's deconstruction of the setting.

 

[Harold]

I'd forgotten how hideously overpowered the main character becomes near the end, especially if male/with the Handmaiden and high Wisdom. My Jedi Master's attributes right now at level 28 with no buffs are 14 STR, 22 DEX, 24 CON, 18 INT, 42 WIS, 16 CHA, 25 Fort/22 Reflex/49 Will, and 52 Defense. Also, there seems to be little or no mechanical reason to play through the game as anything other than a Jedi Consular + whatever with high Wisdom, because it doesn't die, never runs out of Force Points, buffs the living shit out of itself/the party, and completely locks down (or if Dark Side, flat-out demolishes) entire swathes of enemies. It also still dishes out very good melee damage, though probably only half as much as a Guardian heavily specialized for dual-wielding, extra attacks and high damage.

I think Sith Lord ranks up there, if not better at times. The only reason I say that is Force Crush, which Jedi Consulars do not get if I remember correctly. It combines a stun and massive single target damage. You can chain stun bosses/enemies at a whim, and mostly 1 or 2 shot them in the process.

After reading your post, I am tempted to reinstall K2. I never played with Jedi Consular's much.

Jedi Gunman with maxed out dual-wielding and master rapid shot, equipped with two high-end fully upgraded blasters shits on everything. It's also hilarious to play.

 

[Maculo]

Jedi Gunman with maxed out dual-wielding and master rapid shot, equipped with two high-end fully upgraded blasters shits on everything. It's also hilarious to play.

You guys keep giving me more reasons to install a game I don't have time to play.

 

[Jedi Exile]

I'm not reading the thread because of spoilers, but I just started playing the game (for the first time) - I don't know much about the universe or timeline, I've seen the movies, but that was a while back and I'm more of a Trekkie. So, should I do any reading-up before playing further, or does it not really matter ? Also, when does the game take place, somewhere between episode 3 and episode 4 ? (movie 6 and movie 1)

If you watched the movies and familiar with the Star Wars universe, you don't really need anything else. Even playing original KOTOR isn't mandatory, though it could be useful to understand the plot, especially the part about Revan.

 

[DwarvenFood]

Thanks Ninjerk , Jedi Exile and <3sRichardSimmons - I'll keep playing - maybe for a second play-through I'll do part 1 first. I did watch alle the movies, so I do know some about the setting as a whole, and I've read what Kotor1 was about, roughly.

I'm quite excited, first 3D RPG that actually has me hooked in a long while, didn't think it was possible.

 

[Endemic]

It does make references to other Old Republic events and lore, although knowing about them isn't mandatory to understand K2's plot\story.

 

[Theldaran]

I'm quite excited, first 3D RPG that actually has me hooked in a long while, didn't think it was possible.

Better not put too much enthusiasm into it, lest it disappoints you. With the removed content mod it could be a better game, I haven't checked it yet.

 

[darthaegis]

I'm quite excited, first 3D RPG that actually has me hooked in a long while, didn't think it was possible.

Better not put too much enthusiasm into it, lest it disappoints you. With the removed content mod it could be a better game, I haven't checked it yet.

It is. The ending still feels quite rushed but it wraps character arcs much better.

 

[Theldaran]

I'm quite excited, first 3D RPG that actually has me hooked in a long while, didn't think it was possible.

Better not put too much enthusiasm into it, lest it disappoints you. With the removed content mod it could be a better game, I haven't checked it yet.

It is. The ending still feels quite rushed but it wraps character arcs much better.

Funny, I have read otherwise, but what do we Spaniards know, after all? Supposedly the mod isn't official and it isn't the original Obsidian content, which seems strange.

 

[laclongquan]

Chime in to say that I finally, FINALLY play this game, after the last install, years ago, crapped out on me due to graphic card.
Jedi Sentinel for the skill, dual pistol because I heard it's not harder than KOTOR1, and full nekkid because I am going to need all the motivations to play an easy Star Wars game.

 

[DwarvenFood]

A question to anyone who played both the Restoration Mod and Vanilla. What content and what choices were added exactly?

Off the top of my head, the restoration mod brought back the HK droid factory, a special mission just for your killer android which if done right would have larger implications during the end game, it beefed up the ending and allowed some of your NPCs to have their subplots resolved instead of them just disappearing, and changed the final confrontations a bit. I really recommend it. It still didn't resolve all the proposed final bits of the game. For instance, there were found portions of voice files where Kreia tortured and warped the darker parts of Atton so that he would desire a female PC and try to kill off a male NPC rival in the party. That possibility was never restored as far as I know. KOTOR 2 might actually be one of my favorite Star Wars tales when it comes to the force. Too bad such an ambitious project never met its full expectations.

Do you recommend the first playthrough to be with the restored content mod ? And does it matter if it's a Jedi or Darkside playthrough ?

 

[Deuce Traveler]

I do recommend playing the game with the restored content mod, otherwise the end of the game would be quite jarringly abrupt. And it doesn't matter if you play light or dark side, as either way the person that screws up your day ends up in the same location waiting to be killed.

 

[KlauZ]

I do not recommend playing the game with restored content mod, because a lot of that content was cut because it wasn`t finished. Poorly made cutscenes, unfitting subplots, tedious and unbalanced combat segments.