This guide has but one purpose: create a character and party that can get to and beat the final boss in KOTOR II; the boss is difficult and doesn't fight fair. This guide will tell you which characters, weapons, armor, and accesories are the best to accomplish this.

Everything that I suggest to you in this guide I have tested myself. If you follow my instructions, you will be able to hack your way through all your enemies and make the final boss beg for mercy. Everything I suggest goes towards the end result of beating the final boss... not necessarily how you get through the game.

Just a note, I will really try hard not to give out spoilers. If you want plot spoilers, there are plenty of free walkthrough guides posted that you can look at. If I do need to give a semi-spoiler out, Ill try to keep the details to a minimum and warn you first.

A writer loves to know his work is appreciated. If this guide has been helpful to you, or if you have any suggestions for how to improve it, please email me at sircerberus@hotmail.com

Seriously though, knowing that people actually read this thing and appreciate it is a lot of the motivation for writing Game FAQs. And that doesnt just go for me, most other authors feel the same way. So do us a favor, if you were at all helped by a FAQ Guide, drop the author an email
and just say you read it and enjoyed it. It doesnt have to be a long email and you dont even have to put your name. But knowing that these things actually get read encourages us to write more of them.

... ok, sorry about that. I think you can tell by now that I am needy and an attention seeker. My bad... enjoy the FAQ.




If you have taken a look at some of the other Game FAQs for KOTOR II... I feel your pain. Most of the other ones I have seen posted so far are either walkthroughs or very specific little side-guides. I have seen nothing that gives details on how to build up your characters.

This guide is simple to follow and easy to understand, I promise.

I just took a look at some of the other guides at GAME FAQS and they went on and on about roll saves and statistics and such. Those are so hard to read and understand. And by the off chance you are the kind of person who does understand them, its probably very boring anyway.

I personally get very annoyed trying to figure out all that DC 20 or whatever its called stuff anyway. It just looks like a bunch of numbers to me.

None of that here. THis stuff is easy to understand. It doesnt just tell what stuff is, it tells what you should do and why.

Believe it or not, but how you played through in KOTOR I has some small effect on the events of KOTOR II.

Throughout the course of conversations in this game, you will be asked to describe what you know about Darth Revan. Boy or girl, Light or Dark, etc.

I thought this made a difference, but apparantly I was told it does not make quite as big a difference as I thought it did. I originally thought that who Darth Revan was impacted what kinds of cameos you get from KOTOR I but apparantly, your actions throughout the story really determine that.

I'll have to write another section about cameos when i figure it out.

Well that depends, have you played KOTOR I?

If you have KOTOR I, than no, the training mission at the very beginning is not worth your time.

All the beginning is is you as T3-M4. You run around the Ebon Hawk and have one silly little mission that does nothing more than teach you what the controls are. So like I said, if you played KOTOR I like you should have, you will already know the controls.

If you have not played KOTOR I, then you may want to run through this to get familiar with the controls. However, if you are playing this game and have not played KOTOR I, then you probably wont understand a good chunk of the story anyway, so it doesnt really matter. Play KOTOR I first.

An interesting change from KOTOR is that now your skills are good for more than just their inherent abilities. KOTOR II enhances the usefulness of the workbench by allowing characters to create items and upgrades from scratch, or to break down existing items. *NOTE that the Persuade skill does not apply to breaking down or creating items.

The good thing, though, is that each of your characters is able to use his or her individual skills to do this. This means that you can use one character to specialize in each skill, so that you will always have the greatest ability to create or break down the best items. And don’t worry about who you are going to have at your party – you are able to switch out party members at most spots where there are work benches to use.

For your player character, the Persuade skill is probably the singularly most important. For KOTOR, I was a huge advocate for the Computer Skill, but that one really isn’t as important for your player character to have in this game. Persuade is the one you want to put most of your points into, regardless of your class. When spending your other points, its probably a good idea to pick one or two other skills (depending on how many skill points you get per round) and specialize in those. Probably go with the skills that you only have to invest 1 point in to level up.

For creating and breaking down items, here is what each skill is good for…

Awareness:

• Ranged weapons: targeting scopes
  
• Melee weapons: none
  
• Lightsabers: lenses
  
• Armor: underlays

Computer Use

• Ranged weapons: power packs and firing chambers
  
• Melee weapons: energy cells
  
• Lightsabers: energy cells and lenses
  
• Armor:. none

Demolitions

• Ranged weapons: power packs and firing chambers
  
• Melee weapons: none
  
• Lightsabers: emitters and energy cells
  
• Armor: underlays and overlays

Repair

• Ranged weapons: firing chambers
  
• Melee weapons: grips and edges
  
• Lightsabers: emitters
  
• Armor: overlays

Security

• Ranged weapons: power packs and firing chambers
  
• Melee weapons: edges and energy cells
  
• Lightsabers: emitters
  
• Armor: underlays

Stealth

• Ranged weapons: targeting scopes
  
• Melee weapons: grips and energy cells
  
• Lightsabers: emitters
  
• Armor: underlays and overlays

Treat Injury

• Ranged weapons: none
  
• Melee weapons: none
  
• Lightsabers: lenses
  
• Armor: underlays

First let me explain what this means. "During Combat" are those areas of the game that are so unfriendly that you are not able to switch out party characters whenever you like. This is usually in most overly hostile areas.

Ok, so on to the two most important skills to have.

1. Security:
This is a little different than KOTOR I. In KOTOR I, you could just
use your weapon to "Blast" open a door or a storage container that was
locked to obtain an item. You can still do that in KOTOR II, but for
some items in storage bins or lockers or whatever, the item is fragile
so bashing the container open actually breaks the item and renders it
useless. So having a character who has the security skill will save
some good items for you.

2. Persuade
Important for obvious reasons but not anythign to worry about. This
is the only thing your player character has to worry about specializing
in.

Like KOTOR I, whether you are male or female affects some aspects of the story. No, there is no predetermined love destiny, meaning you dont automatically get to hook up with one of your crew like you did in KOTOR I.

However, your character is free to try to fall in love with any of your crew. Depending on your relationships with them, you may succeed or fail. If you play as a male, there will be at least 2 (possibly 3) characters you can try to fall in love with. If you play as a female, there are 2 characters you can try to fall in love with. This is a fairly small aspect of the game, so don't base your decision on this.

Also, if you are male or female determines who your company will be. If you are female, you get the Disciple from Dantooine (he is a soldier). If you are a male, you get the Handmaiden from Telos (she is a soldier). They are both more or less equal in terms of capabilities and skills and feats.

I decided to write this section ahead of the "Which Class?" section, because in my opinion, which side of the Force you want to play on should determine which class of character you pick.

There is no secret that everything you say and do in KOTOR II leads you either down the path of the light side or the dark side. The side you choose to follow will affect the ending sequence of the game (somewhat), as well as some of the side quests you are able to do. It also affects
which characters you get to use and, to some respect, which Force Powers you will have.

Dark Jedi get discounts for using Dark Side force powers, just as Light Jedi get discounts for using Light side force powers. The reverse is also true. If a Dark Jedi tries to use a light side power, he has to pay significantly more force points to use it than would a Jedi.

Most people dont think about this, but the side you choose will determine which characters you get to take in your party. I will get into that during the Party Selection section. Note though, you get a better character with Dark Side

This is different from KOTOR I, but in my opinion, your adventure will be more or less the same in terms of difficulty no matter if you choose light or dark (assuming you have picked the appropriate class).

If you choose to play through as the Dark Side, you will have more money than if you play through as the Light Side. However, for KOTOR II, money is not as important as it was in KOTOR I. What I mean by this is that you will probably either find or make most of the best items you are going to use yourself. So the fact that Dark Side will give you more money throughout the game is not a good enough reason to pick Dark Side.

One suggestion though....... decide which side you want to play as before you begin the game, and then play through the entire game only selecting options that add to that side. Here is the reason... Let's say you choose the Dark Side and want to use some Force Lightning. The more evil you have been during the game, the greater discount you get when using force Lightning. If you have only been a little evil, you only get a little discount.

(If you only read one section of this FAQ the whole way through, this is the most important one. This alone will determine how easy it is for you to get through the game. If you choose poorly, you will have a lot harder of a time).

There are 3. If you played KOTOR I, then these will look familiar to you.
The classes are:

• Jedi Guardian
  
• Jedi Sentinal
  
• Jedi Consular

Once you hit level 15, you can speak to Kreia and choose to take on an advanced Jedi Form. Technically you can pick whatever you want, but the 3 advanced forms match up with the 3 original forms. Do yourself a favor and stick with the suggested matchup. They are:

Now remember, I put the section on whether you should go Light Side or Dark Side first because I said that this should influence which class you want to pick. Now I am sure that many people out there have beat the game with any of the combination options. HOWEVER, I have tested it a few times, and there are 3 of the 6 options that will absolutely allow you to hack all of your enemies to shreds with ease. They are:

Light Side: Jedi Weaponsmaster
Dark Side: Sith Maurader or Sith Lord

Now let me explain. In my opinion, all derivatives of the Jedi Sentinal are worthless in KOTOR II. If any of you read my FAQ for KOTOR I, I said that the Sentinal was the best. Well he was. But for KOTOR II he is the worst. Funny how that works out. The reason is that the Jedi Sentinal
gets the best skills, and in KOTOR II, skills are less importnat for your main character to have.

If you absolutely want to play through the game as the LIGHT SIDE, you will have the easiest (and most fun) time leading off with the Jedi Guardian and then picking the Jedi Weaponsmaster as your presteige class. With this class, you will use your impressive lightsaber skills to hack
your enemies to bits. Its really fun and satisfying in an odd sort of way.

If you absolutely want to play through the game as the DARK SIDE, you have a little more of a choice. If you are really looking forward to using your lightsaber and bringing on the hurt in a physical way, you want to pick the Jedi Guardian to start off with and then choose the Sith Maurader at level 15.

If you want to decimate your enemies with force powers (believe me, this is fun), then you want to lead off with the Jedi Consular and then pick the Sith Lord. Basically this boils down to whether or not you want your main character to focus on Lightsaber or Force Powers. There are advantages and disadvantages to each.

In my opinion, all 3 choices are poised to be equally easy to get through the game with, but the different forms are best at different times. This means that no matter which class you pick, part of the game will be very easy for you and part of the game will be a little harder.

If you pick the Jedi Weaponsmaster or the Sith Maurader, then the first part of the game (until you get to level 18 or so) will be easier than if you picked the Sith Lord. This is because some of the earlier items you pick up will give you some good bonuses to hit, AND because the Jedi
Guardian has a lot better hit points and defense than does the Jedi Consular, so you will be more durable while you are building up your character.

HOWEVER, once you hit level 18, the Sith Lord becomes a golden-god. What happens at level 18? You can learn the Force Storm force power. Now combine this with the huge amount of force points you get for being a Sith Lord, and you are unstoppable. If you have enough Wisdom-increasing items, you should be able to take out an entire roomful of enemies with
2 attacks.

The drawback to the Jedi Consular - Sith Lord? It takes a little while for his/her power to grow enough to be really devestating. So the first half of the game may be a little harder for you, but once you get Super Lightning (as I like to call it) you are a god.


Now, a note on the other 3 classes. As I said, skills are less important for your main character in KOTOR II, so you really dont need to be the Jedi Sentinal. As for the Jedi Master, light side force powers are just a lot less effective and less fun at killing enemies than are Dark Side powers.

And as Ive said before, the point of this guide is to provide you with the EASIEST means to beat the game.

Go with the Sith Lord. I know you are looking at the Guardian and dreaming of hacking your way through the game, but you and your spiffy force powers will be able to destroy your enemies a lot easier towards the end of the game (when the enemies get tougher) than you would have as the
Weaponsmaster or Maurader.

The reason behind this is simple numbers ratios. As a Jedi Weaponsmaster or Sith Maurader, you will still be uber-powerful with your lightsaber. This means that once you get all of the necessary feats and powers, your character will be able to kill any enemy in 2 rounds or less.

This is the same with the Sith Lord. Lots of Wisdom-modifying items and armor will allow your Super Lightning to kill any enemy in 2 rounds or less.

Whats the difference? The Sith Lord can kill a WHOLE ROOMFUL OF ENEMIES in 2 rounds or less, while the Guardian can only kill a single enemy in 2 rounds or less. As the Sith Lord, I have literally walked with just my main character into a room full of really strong and angry enemies on the last map, cast Super Lightning twice, and killed the whole room.


The Sith Lord makes this easier too. The last boss fight has 2 stages -- you fight the boss and then you have to fight a bunch of objects the last boss uses the force to throw at you (4 angry lightsabers that attack for like 80 HP per round).

For attacking the last boss, the special power you get for being a Sith Lord, FORCE CRUSH (not to be confused with the other special power, crush opposition), can single handedly destroy the boss if you cast it enough times. It really works (if your Wisdom is up high enough)

For the second phase, attacking the lightsabers, Force Wave and Super Lightning work really well because they attack all the lightsabers at once. Force Wave even paralyzes them for a time (if your wisdom is high enough).

When you see the attributes screen while creating your character, you may be a bit overwhelmed at first -- as you should be. Your gaming experience will not be fun if you mess up and pick the wrong things.

All of the attributes are equally important in their own ways.

What I am going to do here is just tell you what would be good to start off with (this is just a suggestion, by all means, do your own thing if you feel so inclined) and then Ill explain it point by point below



STRENGTH: Strength is the most important to you as a Jedi Guardian. After you create your character, every other attribute you get during the game (1 every 4 levels) should be put into strength. Strength affects the chance of your lightsaber hitting your opponent. As a rule, your strength can never be too high. This ensures that all of your attacks will hit your opponent. Your base strength will start out as 14, but by the end of the game, your base strength will be around 20 or so. And that is really awesome.

DEXTERITY: This makes it harder for enemies to hit you. 14 gives you a +2 bonus, which is good enough. Plus, some of your items you will equip will beef this up too.

WISDOM: Whatever affiliation with the force you have, any Jedi Character will at least want to be +1 or +2 for Wisdom. As a Jedi, you are going to get a lot of force powers, and whether you are Light or Dark you will still probably get some offensive ones. A +2 to Wisdom will make a good number of them hit. You may have trouble using offensive force powers against boss character sthough.

INTELLIGENCE: For your main character, this is worthless. Some of you out there will disagree with me, but the only skill your main character absolutely needs to learn is Persuade. You dont need a high Intelligence attribute to do this, 8 will do.

CONSTITUTION: The Jedi Guardian gets the most Hit Points during level ups, so you really don't need a high constitution. Why did I tell you to put 16 points into it then?... Because some of the better implants (and there are some good ones) you need to have a constitution of 16. The best implant for the Guardian gives your character +3 to strength... but you need a minimum constitution of 16 to use it. This is helpful. Also, a high constitution combined with the high number of Hit Points you get at level up will make you a tank.

CHARISMA: is better now than in KOTOR I. Your bonus to charisma helps out the rest of your party by adding to their roles for saves. However, there are more important things to spend your attribute points on, so just get it out of negative numbers.



After creation, you will get an attribute point to use at level up. For the Consular, put ever single point (after creation) into WISDOM.


STRENGTH: Probably dont need too much in the way of strength since you are going to be relying on your Force Powers. The more points you put into Wisdom, the better. If you just get Strength out of negative numbers, you will be fine. The feats you will be getting and some of the early items you can wear will do a lot to help you increase your chance to hit.

DEXTERITY: +2 to Dexterity should be enough. Some of your items will add to this.

CONSTITUTION: is a big one if you are a Jedi Consular. You dont get as much HP as the other classes,so you will need as much of a boost as you can get. The best implant for the Consular doesn't need a base of 16, but still, the 16 will be helpful since you dont get as many Hit Points at level up.

INTELLIGENCE: Dont worry about it. You will still get 1 or 2 skill points per level regardless of what your intelligence is. This will be enough to do what needs to be done.

WISDOM: Wisdom is as important to the Jedi Consular as Strength is to the Jedi Guardian. You will want to spend the most points on this ability. As I said above, during level ups, put every single point into wisdom.

CHARISMA: Being able to persuade others is central to the Jedi Consular. However, you dont need to go crazy with Charisma points to make it effective.

To Keep this section short, I'll just tell you the best skills to invest and why the others aren't as good.

For your main character, only bother investing HEAVILY in Persuade. You are the only one who will be doing persuading, so every level (if you only get 1 skill point to use) use it on Persuade. This goes for Guardians or Consulars.

Security is an important one in this game, but your other characters will handle it. However, there will be some parts where your main guy/girl is alone and should use the security skill instead of smashing the door down. You will pick up a lot of "Security Tunnler" items in the game, and to use them you need to have at least one skill point invested in Security.

Now, Security is not a natural skill for either the Consular or the Guardian. But when you first create your character, you should still get a minimum of 4 skill points to spend. Go ahead and spend your first 2 points to get 1 skill point of Security. After that, dont worry about it. 1 is enough to use the items.

If you did not take my advice above and put more points in Intelligence, you will get more skill points. If so, invest most heavily in Persuade. Use your other points for whatver else you want. Persuade
is only the truly vital one.

Guardians get the most feats.

There are lots of feats for lots of purposes. Only bother investing in the ones that will aid you in combat. There are really only 4 feats that are essential for your main character. You will be able to invest in others,but make sure you invest in the following 4 as fully as you can. These feats will make you more deadly in combat by ensuring that you will almost always hit your enemy. Without them, you will miss like crazy.


Flurry:(Levels 1, 2, 3) Lets you kill enemies faster. The other essential feats will compensate for the penalty to hit you incur when using flurry.

Critical Strike:(Levels 1, 2, 3) Good against the tougher bosses in the game that need to be paralyzed. Get Flurry first, though.

Two-Handed Fighting:(Levels 1, 2, 3) You are going to want a double-saber, trust me. This feat can go up to level 6 if you want to take it that far, but levels 4 5 6 aren't available until later in the game. They are good to invest in, so do it if you have the points to spare.

Lightsaber Proficiency:Take them all. However, you won't get your lightsaber right off the bat, sorry, so you can hold off on these for a bit. This feat can go up to level 6 if you want to take it that far, but levels 4 5 6 aren't available until later in the game. They are good to invest in, so do it if you have the points to spare.

Above are the main ones that you need. After you have gotten those (or while you are getting them), go ahead and experiment with whatever sounds good to you. Just make sure you get the ones I suggested as soon as you can.




The Jedi Consular gets a lot less feats than the Guardian. And since the Consular is focused more on Force Powers, they need different feats than Guardians. This should have been obvious. Anyway, here are the big ones:

Critical Strike:(Levels 1,2,3): There are times when you will be up against a single tough enemy and you will need to use your lightsaber. Using this feat will knock them unconscious and let you maximize your force powers against them.

Weapon Proficiency: Lightsaber: (Levels 1,2,3): See above description. Getting all 3 of these will make up for the fact that you only have a base 10 of strength.

Toughness: (Levels 1,2,3): Take these to make up for the fact that you get less vitality
points than Guardians.

Dueling (1 2 3): you're probably going to want to stick with the single saber with a Consular since your strength is so low. This will help make most of your attacks hit.

Regenerate Force Points: (Level 1) Just because you are a Force User and you can use all the force points as fast as they come to you. This should help you out some.

These should be most of your feats. You may have some left over, and invest them in whatever you want to.

Obviously the side of the Force you choose to follow during the game will determine which Force powers you should select. And whether you are a Guardian or a Consular will make a difference too.

You will get to choose a lot of force powers. So, I am just going to tell you the ones you absolutely want to get for each class. Feel free to invest in whatever else after that.


(Take these whether you play a Weaponsmaster or Maurader)

FORCE SPEED (Levels 1,2,3)
Always overlooked, but truly the best power in the game. Here is why... there is the obvious bonus of being able to navigate areas quickly. But the true beauty of Mastery of Speed is the effect it generates for you in combat.
If you cast Mastery of Speed on yourself during combat, you gain 2 attacks per round. That means if you are using a single lightsaber (which you should not do) and you do an ordinary attack swing, you will damage your opponent three times instead of one.

Here is the ultimate combo. Mastery of Speed and Master Flurry. This attacks your enemy 6 times in 1 swing (if you use a double saber)!! I have tested this over and over again. Very rarely do you not kill your opponent in 1 round when you use this combo. Bosses like some of the Dark Jedi Masters or maybe the wild rancors will take 2 rounds to beat using this.

FORCE PUSH (Levels 1,2,3)
Probably one of the most effective offensive force power in the game. What it does is attack anything in front of you (like the lightning) but it also paralyzes anything it hits for 6 seconds. If you cast this 4 times or so in a roomful of enemies, you can kill them all yourself. Only the
Mastery version of this is good.

If you are Light Side, this is your best offensive power. And even a Weaponsmaster needs an offensive power.

FORCE IMMUNITY (Levels 1 and 2)
Extremely useful later in the game when you are going up against lots and lots of Dark Jedi. It nullifies offensive force powers cast against you. There are only two levels of this, but you could invest in some other powers first if you prefer. Just make sure you have it after you have gotten the 4th star map.

HEAL (Levels 1,2,3)
You are going to get the snot kicked out of you. Even if you are dark side, suck it up and invest in Heal. Its better than having to keep using medpacks.


DESTROY DROID (Levels 1,2,3)
Ok another light side power. Here is why even dark siders can use this too. In KOTOR II, this power can be used to destroy most mines in the field. So, having this power negates the need to worry about the Demolitions skill. There are also some pretty nasty turrets that this is good against too. Dark Siders can just suck it up.




FORCE ARMOR
Most Jedi can't wear armor without sacrificing their force powers. Casting this on yourself before combat will give you the armor you need. In fact, this in combination with a good personal energy shield makes you nearly invulnerable.
*If you are Light Side, one of your Special Powers is "Force Enlightenment". When you cast this, it automatically casts Force Speed and Force Armor and Force Valor (which i dont really care about) all at once.

STASIS FIELD
Um, if you have invested in the other Force Powers I have recommended and have some left over, you should probably get this one. It paralyzes all the enemies in your path making them really easy to kill with your saber. However, it usually only works on the easy enemies you would have no problem killing anyway. Try this on a boss, and you will not like the results. However, its useful on big groups.




FORCE STORM (LIGHTNING!)
Oh yeah!! This is probably the whole reason you are playing the game as the Dark Side. It pretty much decimates any enemy you can see. It usually takes about 4 or 5 castings to wipe out a group of enemies though. However, for knocking out a room of enemies I still prefer Force Wave.

KILL
This one is fun. Picture Darth Vader doing the force grip in Episode IV... thats what this is. 1 casting of this paralyzes any enemy while inflicting damage on them. To kill them faster, cast this multiple times.

As a Sith Lord, you are pretty much going to be able to get whatever powers you want, so I'm not going to waste a lot of time telling you which ones are best. I will give some suggestions though.


FORCE STORM (LIGHTNING!) (Levels 1,2,3)
Once you get the final level of this, you are unstoppable!

FORCE CRUSH (FREE!)
You get this one for free. It is the best power against a single enemy.

HEAL (Levels 1,2,3)
It helps to be able to heal yourself. Dont worry about being Dark Side, you have a lot of force points.

FORCE IMMUNITY (Levels 1 and 2)
You really only need this for the final battle and most of the boss battles. You can get this later on.

FORCE SPEED (at least level 1)
Just to help navigate areas. Unfortunately, there is no cool combo like there is with the Guardian.

FORCE SCREAM (Levels 1,2,3)
Good against large groups until you get level 3 lightning. Good for early on.

DESTROY DROID (Levels 1,2,3)
Good against mines and turrets

BATTLE MEDITATION (Levels 1,2,3)
Not necessary for your main character to have (other party people will get it for you. But you have a lot of powers to spare, so you may want to pick it up.

DOMINATE MIND (Levels 1 and 2)
lets you get a few more Dark Side points through conversation.


You get a lot more powers than this. Feel free to invest in whatever
else you want.

Since you are a Jedi, you only really get one choice. Lightsaber. I can't imagine anyone who buys this game and doens't want to use a lightsaber for their main character.

For GUARDIANS, use a double saber, or a 2 handed weapons until you get your saber.
Do not use 2 sabers. I will explain in a sec. Having a high strength lessens the disadvantage for using a weapon in your off hand.

For Sith Lords, go with a single saber. You dont have the strength modifiers to make a double-saber effective. Dont worry, your single will be just fine.

Now I know what you're thinking. "If I use two separate lightsabers, then I get to use twice as many modifying parts. That's better, right?"

Wrong.
Wrong.

There are a few really really great parts in the game. The rest aren't worth the effort. If you use a double-saber, both of your hands get the benefits of your best parts. With the other option, you have to portion out your parts so you end up with either one really stacked lightsaber in one hand and a really weak lightsaber in the other hand. Or, if you try to balance it out, you end up with two mediocere sabers. Go with a double and use your best partsfor your main character. You will have other good parts left over, use them in sabers for your other Jedi, or scrap them.

So this begs the question, which parts should I use? Well, this depends on your class:

The lightsabers in this game are much more complicated than in KOTOR. For one, instead of 3 modifiers per lightsaber, there are now 6.

In KOTOR II, you are a Jedi from the beginning. However, you aren’t going to get your lightsaber until about the 4th level. You have to build the stupid thing yourself from parts that people give you for performing tasks for them. It is completely random which tasks you are given a lightsaber
part for completing – so don’t worry about it.

Note… In the very back of the Crystal Cave on Dantooine, each character can obtain a “PERSONAL CRYSTAL” that is supposed to reflect their own individual character. The benefits for these crystals vary based on your character, and it is probably recommended that this crystal be used as one of your power crystals. However, in case you don’t get a very good personal crystal for whatever reason, I have suggested 2 other crystals in case you don’t like your personal one.

Below are my suggestions on how to construct your lightsaber based on what kind of Jedi or Sith you are. For the lightsaber parts (noncrystals), in parenthesis is how many component parts it takes to construct the piece. The skill number is how high of a skill you will need to construct your piece.

NOTE: any character in your party can construct any piece. If the piece you need needs a high computer skill, have someone who has a high computer skill construct it for you and not your main character.


Lightsaber: Jedi Weapons Master

• Color Crystal - Your call…go nuts
  
• Power Crystal 1 - Ankarres Sapphire: STR +2; DEX +1; Reg +2
  
• Power Crystal 2 - Solari Crystal: DAM +3 (+1-8 extra vs Dark side); ATT +3 (Light)
  
• Lens - Enhanced Byrothsis Lens: ATT +3; Damage +4 (blaster -4); Awareness 29 (450)
  
• Emitter - Expert Fencing Emitter: Damage +3; Defense +2 (blaster -2); Repair 27 (407)
  
• Cell - Ultimate Diatium Energy Cell: Damage +5; Computer 29 (495)

Lightsaber: Sith Mauarder

• Color Crystal - Your call… go nuts
  
• Power Crystal 1 - Ankarres Sapphire: STR +2; DEX +1; Reg +2
  
• Power Crystal 2 - Qixoni Crystal: Damage +5; Force Regen +1 (Dark)
  
• Lens - Enhanced Byrothsis Lens: ATT +3; Damage +4 (blaster -4); Awareness 29 (450)
  
• Emitter - Expert Fencing Emitter: Damage +3; Defense +2 (blaster -2); Repair 27 (407)
  
• Cell - Ultimate Diatium Energy Cell: Damage +5; Computer 29 (495)

Lightsaber: Sith Lord

• Color Crystal - Your call… go nuts
  
• Power Crystal 1 - Kaiburr Crystal: WIS +3; CON +3; REG +3
  
• Power Crystal 2 - Upari Crystal: ATT +3; Dam +1-8
  
• Lens - Enhanced Byrothsis Lens: ATT +3; Damage +4 (blaster -4); Awareness 29 (450)
  
• Emitter - Expert Fencing Emitter: Damage +3; Defense +2 (blaster -2); Repair 27 (407)
  
• Cell - Ultimate Diatium Energy Cell: Damage +5; Computer 29 (495)

I'm going to make this section really easy for you and just tell you what the best armor and accessories are for your main character instead of discussing it. Please trust me. If you stock your character with this you will be able to kill anything. I promise. I have tested all of this.

Note: I'm not entirely sure where all of this is found. But most of it is either found or made, not bought. There is very little cool stuff that you will have to actually buy for yourself. Now supposedly, there is a lot of better armor in the game. I've never found it and I dont know anyone who has. This is the best of the stuff I have found. Also, this is only the best stuff that will not restrict Force Powers. If you dont care about restricting Force Powers and want to wear real armor, go ahead.

Most of the coolest stuff you find will be found in the last 3 maps of the game. So, after you have completed the main quest of the game and located all of the Jedi Masters on various worlds, you will be summoned back to an old planet to begin the last quests. It is here, after you are called back to an old planet for a second time (I dont want to spoil it and tell you which one) that you start to find the really cool items.

• Armor - Ossus Keeper Robe: CHA+2; INT+4; WIS+4
  
• Underlay - Biorestorative Underlay Mark V: REG 3; CON +3 (Treat 27)
  
• Implant - Insight Implant: Will+1; Wisdom +2
  
• Headgear - Matukai Meditation Band: Will+2; Wisdom+2
  
• Gloves - Jal Shey Meditation Gloves: DEX +2; WIS +2
  
• Armband 1 - Verpine Prototype Shield
  
• Armband 2 - Ludo Kressh's Armband: Defense +1; Strength +1
  
• Belt - Jal Shey Mentor Belt: Force Resist +20; WIS +2

• Armor - Matukai Adept Robe: Con +2; Dex +2; STR +2
  
• Underlay - Biorestorative Underlay Mark V: REG +3; CON +3 (Treat 27)
  
• Implant - Bavakar Strength System: Strength +3
  
• Headgear - Target Assessor: ATTACK +2; DEX +2
  
• Gloves - Dominator Gauntlets: STR +5
  
• Armband 1 - Verpine Prototype Shield
  
• Belt - GNS Strength Enhancer: STR +4

• Armor - Matukai Adept Robe: Con +2; Dex +2; STR +2
  
• Underlay - Biorestorative Underlay Mark V: REG 3; CON +3 (Treat 27)
  
• Implant - Bavakar Strength System: (Strength +3)
  
• Headgear - Target Assessor: ATTACK +2; DEX +2
  
• Gloves - Dominator Gauntlets: STR +5
  
• Armband 1 - Verpine Prototype Shield
  
• Armband 2 - Ludo Kressh’s Armband: STR+1
  
• Belt - GNS Strength Enhancer: STR +4

Everyone else is going to feed you the same lines about how every playable character you encounter is useful in his/her own special way. While this is true, its also a bit of an overstatement. The sad truth is that only about half of the characters you get to have in your party are worth anything. The rest you might as well just leave behind at headquarters. The game is designed so that each of the worthless characters is useful in one part. But other than that, you'll never need them.

Balance is good. That is the first general tip. What this means is to try and pick a party full of people who are all awesome in different areas. The theory behind this is that if you combine all of these different advantages together, your party as a whole will be awesome with almost everything.

Therefore, try to maximize your party potential by using different types of characters. KOTOR II, in their character descriptions, offers lots of different character classes. But these are just for show I think. I will list the real character classes below.

MELEE CHARACTERS
These are characters who fight their enemy close range with a lightsaber or a sword or something. They are tough and get close and personal.

RANGED CHARACTERS
These are characters who fight from a distance. KOTOR II describes these characters as people/aliens/droids who use guns and blasters and therefore attack from a distance.
For all intents and purposes, Jedi Consulars who are awesome with the force but not so good with lightsabers fit into this category since they too mainly attack from a distance, but with force powers.

SKILL CHARACTERS
These are characters who gain an insane amount of skill points per level up but who do not get many feats. This produces a character who is awesome with skills but not as well suited for combat. Now, there are some characters who get a lot of skill points and who also are good in combat situations too. Since KOTOR II has the ability to use your skills to create and break down items, you want to be sure that at least one character maximizes each of the skills. This isnt hard, though. Two of your pure skill characters can accomplish this.

Well, this is kind of a relative question. Obviously, characters who would be good for some things are bad at some other things. But for the purposes of this section, I am going to put the question of who is good and who is worthless in the context of actual fighting ability and usefulness to have
in your party. I'll begin by giving a brief description of the abilities of each character. I'll list it out first, and try to put it in order of who is best to who is least useful in combat.

• Your main player character (if you're a Jedi Guardian)
  
• Hanharr (dark side only)
  
• Disciple / Handmaiden
  
• Visas (force user)
  

• Your main player character (if you're a Jedi Consular)
  
• Kreia (heavy force user)
  
• Mandalore
  
• HK-47
  
• Mira

• G0T0
  
• Atton
  
• T3-M4
  
• Bao Dur

"You" will be in your party at almost all times. But take into account what strengths your character has. This should play some role in determining who else you use to balance out your party.


The first character you meet. She is a Jedi Consular with a permanently neuteral affiliation to the Force. As a consular, she is awesome with Force powers and gets a lot of them. Since she can have so many different force powers, she is really awesome at standing in the back and using the force to destroy enemies and enhance your party.
SEMI SPOILER (read it anyway)
In the game, Kreia and your player character are said to share a special bond through the Force. This has many implications for the story, but what it means for combat is that whenever either you or Kriea casts a force power on yourself (like valor or Force shield, etc.) it automatically casts it on the other as well. Example... if in combat Kreia casts Force Speed on herself, your main character gets the benefit of it too.


A scoundrel. You remember scoundrels from KOTOR I, right? Well they haven't changed much here. For Atton, imagine the abilities of Mission with the attitude of Carth. Basically, Atton is really great on the skills but gets so few feats he isnt as good in combat as some of your other characters. He is best suited for ranged combat.


This is one of the pure skill guys I was talking about. He gets so many skills in so many things, but almost no feats. He can't wear most armor either. My advice for Bao is to just leave him on the ship as much as possible. In safe areas where there is a workbench, you can temporarily import him into your party to make an item for you.


These two are pretty much the same, so Ill describe them together. These two are both best as melee characters, although you could certainly make ranged characters out of them if you wanted to (some of their feats will indicate this). These two are both soldiers and get a lot of feats making them both really good frontliners for your party.


Ok, think Episode IV: A New Hope. Remember when Leia is in prison and that funky little round black droid with the needle floats up to her? Well, G0T0 is that funky little black floating droid. Being a droid, he gets a lot of skills. He actually isnt bad in combat either (he can sport 2 pistols pretty well). He could be best used for his skills and as ranged support if you already have a really strong party.


The wookie. You only get him if you are going Dark Side. Like the wookie from the last game, this guy is a powerhouse. Because he is a Scout, a lot of the free feats you will automatically get for him would indicate that he is good at Ranged combat. And he is. But he is a lot stronger as a melee fighter. Him with a 2-handed sword is nearly unstoppable. He can't wear armor, which sucks, but his unique feat (Wookie Frenzy) does a lot to protect him from damage. In my opinion, he has potential to be the best melee character next to your Jedi Guardian. He also gets a good number of skill points, enough to at least maximize one or two of the skills.

This is who you get instead of Hanharr if you go Light Side. Mira is a scout and not a wookie, so she is best suited for ranged combat. A lot of the free feats enhance her ranged abilities. She also gets a good number of skill points, enough to maximize one or two of the skills while still being useful in combat.


Pure skill character. Awesome at skills but not so great at combat (although, he is pretty good against other droids). Treat him like Bao Dur. Leave him on the ship and only use him to create items for you.


A Jedi Sentinal. Being a sentinal, she gets a good balance of Feats, Powers, and Skills, but this balance means that she is just ok at all of them and not awesome at any one of them. Nevertheless, she can still be an important member of your party. She is pretty good with a double lightsaber in melee combat. Her force powers can be used to help out your party and she gets enough skill points to maximize a few of the skills.


He plays like Canderous from KOTOR I. He is a soldier, so he gets a lot of feats. Some people say to treat Mandalore as a melee character. But honestly, he is really great as a ranged chracter with a 2 handed gun. And, you really have enough good melee characters anyway. Take advantage of this opportunity and put him as a ranged character.


Ah, I love this guy. To all of you wondering, yes, he is the same droid from KOTOR I, and he is still just as funny. He is pretty good at ranged combat and the number of skills he gets ensures that he could maximize one or two of the skills for you. HK-47 is the only truly optional character in KOTOR II. You dont have to buy him like you did in KOTOR I, but you do have to build him. You will find parts for him all over the galaxy (I think 3 you find, 1 you have to buy) so ultimately it is your choice whether or not you want him. In my opinion, you should spend the credits and buy the last part to rebuild him. He has good potential as a ranged character and he's a a lot of fun.

Ok, now to do this we must first understand a few things about party building. For most of the game, you will have complete freedom in the two characters you bring along with your player character. However, at other points in the game, this will be decided for you (either partially
or fully). Sometimes, there will be areas where one or more of your party characters will not be able to go for one reason or another. If you liked using them regularly, you will have to find a replacement for them. Obviously, whether you are a Jedi Guardian or a Jedi Consular will have an impact on who is needed to balance out your party. So Ill give alternate suggestions.

Now before I get into picking parties, I want to say a quick note about skills. While all the skills are useful in their own right, there are only a few that are good to have with you under heavy combat situations in the field.

• First - Security
  
• Second - Computer
  
• Third - Demolitions

In picking a balanced party, its not a bad idea to pick characters who at least take care of the first two. Lets start with a normal sort of situation where you have complete control over everyone who you might want in your party and all characters at your disposal.

• Your Player Character - Great melee ability (but lets face it, you dont have a choice)
  
  
• Kreia - Great ranged force user. Also, the ability for Kriea to cast powers on herself and you simultaniously is a real advantage.However, you will not be able to use Kreia when you go to Korriban or after you visit Dantooine for the second time. So you'll want some alternates.
  
  
• HK-47 or Mandalore - For the most balanced party, you should probably grab HK-47. THere are probably more powerful characters you could grab, but for the most balanced and efficient party, you will probably want HK-47. He is one of the best ranged weapons users (I put him just behind Mandalore in my lineup) but I would pick him instead of Mandalore because he can rock out that all important security skill. He may even be able to take computer for you. However, if you aren't worried about skills, go with Mandalore. He is the strongest ranged character in my opinion.

I was thinking about suggesting G0-T0 here for the same reasons, but HK-47 can take punishment a lot better than can GOT0. If you really want a more heavy front line, go with Hanhaar for the Dark Side or Disciple/Handmaiden for the Light Side.

**Alternates**
For this party with your Jedi Guardian, power is the name of the game. But when you can't use Kreia and if you havent gotten HK-47 built yet, good substitutes would be characters who complete the balance. If you dont like HK-47, Mandalore provides the best ranged capabilities I have found.

Visas could take Kreia's place. She gets good force powers, good melee attacks and some good skills. If you wanted more raw power on the front line, put in Hanharr if you have him. Or even Disciple / Handmaiden would work well too.


The point of the game here is to have characters who take pressure off of your main character to allow him/her time and space to cast force powers like crazy.

• Yourself (obviously)
  
  
• Hanharr - If you are going as a Sith Lord, Hanharr is the best melee fighter in your group. He will make short work of people on the front line and give you space to work your Force Mojo. He is also good at taking care of the Computer Skill.
  
  
• HK-47 or Mandalore - I'm picking him here for the same reason I picked him above. He is not the best ranged user, but using him really lets you have the most balanced mix. Since Hanharr will take care of the Computer skill for you, HK-47 could work on Security and maybe even Repair if you felt you had to have that in the field. What I said about Mandalore above still holds here too.

**Alternates**
Handmaiden / Disciple would be a good sub for Hanharr. For alternates as a Sith Lord, you really want one powerful melee guy on the front line. In fact, you could really have two if you really wanted to, but I like the added balance of throwing in a ranged guy.

Ok, this is going to be a little bit of a spoiler, but in terms of picking parties, this is the most important moment in the game, so it's necessary. I'll try not to give too much away.

After you have completed the main game quest and found all of what you were supposed to be looking for, you are called back to the worlds of Dxun and Onderon. (Dxun is a moon of Onderon). You will have been here before and seen the sites.

What makes this scenario so unique is that there are two sieges going on at the same time, which means that you have to split up your party. Two characters will go with your main character to Onderon, and three others will form a separate party to Dxun. In the scenario, Dxun goes first, and then Onderon.

Important to Note
The Dxun siege happens first. When your team has beaten it, you must speak to Kelborne to end the scenario.

BEFORE you speak to him to end the scneario (he will ask you if you are ready to leave), go into the party equipping screen and strip all of your characters of all weapons armor and items.

WHY? If you used some of your good weapons and army for the Dxun siege, your characters on Onderon won't get to use it unless it is up for grabs. If it is still attached to your Dxun characters after the mission is over, it wont be available for your other characters.

For the ONDERON SIEGE, your main character must lead that one. Kreia must be your #2. The first decision you get is to pick the leader of the Dxun team.

You get a choice of three (I would have picked a different group of choices entirely,but what are you going to do?)

Dxun Leader Choices

• Atton
  
• Visas
  
• Disciple / Handmaiden

I would avoid Atton at all costs. Without your buffed up main character, the Dxun assault is probably the hardest part in the game. You dont want a weak scoundrel slowing you down.

Visas is a good choice to have in your party, whether she is the leader or not. You will want at least one Jedi to cast protective powers and heal the party. Ideally, you will want your strongest melee characters and your best ranged character to be in the Dxun assault. Why? Because by now your main character is about as strong as he is going to get. The Onderon assault will be a cakewalk for him/her.

Visas would be my top pick because she is a Jedi. But if you really hate Visas, Disciple / Handmaiden is a good second choice. If you have any other Jedi, they would probably work well here too.

Your next choice is to pick the rest of your party for the Dxun mission. Your leader is set, so keep that in mind. We'll assume for now that you saw the benefit to having a Jedi and went with Visas as your leader.

• 1. Visas
  
• 2. Hanharr (if dark side) He is strong and scary. You will want him.
  or
• Disciple / Handmaiden if you are going Light Side, as your second front line melee character.
  
• Mandalore. My favorite ranged character. You want him here instead of HK-47 here for four reasons:
  1. He is a little better with ranged weapons
  2. He is more resilient than HK-47
  3. You dont really need to bother with too much security
  during this mission.
  4. He can be healed by Visas healing powers where as HK-47
  can not.

If you are playing as a Jedi Guardian you will want a ranged character to support your scariness on the front line. Go with HK-47 since Mandalore will be on Dxun.


If you are playing as a Sith Lord....

Honestly, it doesnt really matter who you pick. You could go with just you and Kreia if you really wanted to. By the Onderon Siege, your Sith Lord is so freaking powerful that he can literally take out entire rooms of enemies with two lightning strikes. So pick whoever you want. You will probably have put your best melee characters on Dxun, so you might have to settle for another ranged user. In that case, HK-47 is fine. If you wanted to give G0T0 a try, now would not be a bad time. Honestly, your Sith Lord is just that good by this point.

This is sort of another semi-spoiler, but its not that revealing I promise. During your first visit to Nar Shadda, your main character will be incapacitated and captured by the Exchange boss Goto. You will be taken aboard his yacht and held there. Two of your other characters will have to come to rescue you. So who do you pick? There is a lot of fighting.

Ok, this is the first and only time I have ever said this in either my KOTOR I or II FAQs, but your first and best choice is T3-M4.

Yeah, I'll say that again just to make sure there is no misunderstanding. The best choice for this mission is T3-M4. And yes, I am aware I just said there is a lot of combat. Here is the reason:

Before you rescue your player character, you will be fighting exclusively droids. And T3-M4 with his shock arm does really really good against droids. Also, his computer skill and ability to produce spikes will be extremely useful.

For your other character, I would suggest a Jedi first because of the Destroy Droid power, which will be needed. Because of this, Visas would be my second choice.

A lot of players pick Nar Shadda as the first planet they visit, so I am aware if you do this your selection of characters will be more limited than the full party you will get later. If Nar Shadda is your first planet, Visas is probably your best bet. She has the destroy droid power and her melee skill is better than Kreia.

So to summarize --

• 1. T3-M4
  
• 2. Visas

COMING SOON!