Darth Frog

The number of components that you get when breaking down items depends on the Repair skill of the Exile (if the Exile is in the party). With an effective Repair skill rank of 20 you achieve 'total efficiency', meaning items break down into the exact same number of components that is needed to create them. This is different from creating items, where the relevant skill rank is that of whoever uses the workbench/lab.

En route to Citadel Station, 6466 :ph34r: Boarded the Ebon Hawk with 2966 on the XP-o-meter and proceeded to shred Sith with the laser turret, which was a lot of fun and well aided by all the explosive cylinders that somebody had thoughtfully placed all over the hangar in the 10 seconds it took to enter the Ebon Hawk and man the turret. :D After the usual chat with the usual 1000 XP I checked the XP-o-meter and was completely aghast to find it at 6866 (expected 2966 + 1000 = 3966); which means there must have been a quiet XP penalty of 2900 somewhere. The logs did not show anything, but most likely it was the 'turretting' of the Sith. So I replayed from the hangar, but let the Sith board this time. Result: 25 Sith @ 100 XP apiece -> 2500 XP, for a total of 6466 which is actually 400 less than the turret result. So it seems the theory that you don't get XP for de-Sithifying the hangar with the laser turret is wrong; not only do you get XP, you actually get more XP. My guess is that you get the same XP for each kill and an extra 400 XP if the Ebon Hawk is not boarded, rather than 16% more for turret kills compared to 'boarder' kills which would be rather odd.

Right. As far as I can see: - T3 on Peragus - Atton in the bar - Mira in the Jekk'Jekk Tarr and later in the pit - T3 in the warehouse - start of Goto's Yacht, until Exile is freed - Dxun outing (tomb) Hehe, the most challenging part so far was getting the loot, like bashing locks while ten droids are gunning for your hide. Later the challenge is to keep your team members from killing assassins/droids, because it is not always possible to park them out of harm's way. For example, if you do the Harbinger at level 2 then Kreia/Atton (who are level 3) will slaughter the poor assassins in a hurry even if they don't have any weapons. So you have to be careful to herd the assassins away from your bloodthirsty companions if you want to loot the joint (stealth is not very effective at this point). Dito here. Made a female Sentinel with STR 8 and the rest 14, because skills, defense, stamina and Force powers will be important. Since this is a min-XP run I called her 'Mynx'. :D I had overestimated the amount of mandatory XP and thought that Mynx would reach level 3 before things got really interesting. She didn't, and in hindsight I should have given her the Repair cross-feat at creation which would have allowed to boost the skill at level 2 (for increased yield when scavenging components). As regards powers: only one power is available (level 2) and there are three nice candidates for the job. Speed increases defense and lets you lose enemies by outrunning them and it is also very useful for shepherding enemies to locations where they are out of harm's (i.e. Atton's/Kreia's) way. Energy Resistance is useful because many enemies use blasters, but Energy Shields are a good substitute. Stun Droids lets you disarm mines easily without incurring XP and without losing health. In hindsight I would prefer Stun Droid over Speed, but it is a close call. BTW, your defense increases if you don't have any weapon equipped which is probably due to unarmed combat feats. So it is easier to run gauntlets if you switch away that trusty plasma torch until there is something to bash. Harbinger Crew Quarters, 2146. :ph34r:

No, but you get to keep the items you collected if you do Skip Prologue when you are done looting. As a rule, any XP that your henchmen (or henchdroids) collect while the Exile is not in the party is effectively lost (T3 on Peragus, Dxun outing, Mira in Jekk'Jekk Tarr, T3 in warehouse, start of Goto's Yacht until Exile re-joins). Except for Dxun and the warehouse you get to visit the same areas later with the Exile in your party, so just take care not to damage any courtesy critters unnecessarily. 25. Just take care not do damage them with the laser turret; you get XP only if you kill them after they boarded the ship. Kreia has a 'mentor ability', meaning that you get a few extra percent for any XP earned while she is in the party. In the beginning it is about 3% and the factor increases as you level (on the order of 10% around level 30). If you want to really max your XP then you should be aware of three factoids: (1) XP for critters decreases if your XP crosses a level-up threshold when the critters exist already; mobs spawned later will give full XP (2) early courtesy critters are 'softer' than those spawned at later levels; e.g. Hssiss normally give 400 XP but during early levels (before lvl 15 or so) give only 375 XP or somesuch; some assassins spawned @ lvl 6 or earlier give 200 XP and starting with lvl 7 it is 225 XP (in other places it is 150 vs. 175). (3) XP for some skill-oriented actions scales with level, e.g. things like repairing some droids; XP for picking locks and disarming/recovering mines scales too, but there are different multipliers depending on whether the DC of the action is less than 20 + LEVEL or not Example: if you are playing on 'difficult' then minor mines have a DC of 30 to recover. Until level 10 (= 30 - 20) you get 15 * LEVEL for recovering them and for level 11 and later you get 10 * LEVEL. So it is 150 @ lvl 10, 110 @ lvl 11, 300 @ lvl 30. So it can be advantageous to let things lie until later, e.g. if you see that you'll level up before leaving the map or if you can come back later, or to have a lower-level NPC do the action (e.g. let lvl 10 Bao-Dur recover mines @ 150 XP a pop instead of having lvl 11 Exile do it for 110).

I have considered doing a min-XP run or a quick run, and I will try both at least with Peragus to see where it leads. Interestingly, there is actually some overlap with the tactics for a max-XP run. Examples: In a min-XP or quick run you jog through the dormitories without bothering the droids. In a max-XP run you jog through the dormitories without bothering the droids, but you come back later with Kreia in tow to have her watch you bothering each droid individually and personally. Quick runs and min-XP runs are fun because the different 'objective' function requires approaches that are different from normal and munchkin playthroughs. Also, there tend to be more difficult situations because your character has fewer abilities and less equipment; in some cases you may have to balance the time/XP penalty for obtaining a certain item/power/ability vs. the difficulty of progressing the main quest without said item/power/ability. P.S.: there is enough difference between quick runs (a la QdQ - Quake done quick) and min-XP runs to make them interesting in their own right. For example, in a min-XP run you would have T3 clear away the droids in the fuel depot, because any XP he gets at that point is 'free' and does not transfer to the main character, but if you don't do this then Atton and T3 will likely drop some of the droids when you pass the area coming from the Harbinger later. In a quick run you would have T3 roll straight to the console, open the fuel depot door and race him past the droids, because it does not matter if Atton and T3 have their fun with some of the droids when you come from the Harbinger later.

LOL, what are you smoking? If they used the game engine for rendering the cutscenes then we could view them in high resolution without any compression artifacts whatsoever. In fact the harshest contrast is in cutscenes like the Harbinger arrival, when the scene switches from Sion mediating on the Harbinger bridge (pre-rendered video looking like 320x240 with the most horrible compression/interlace artifacting) to the Harbinger docking, which is rendered by the game engine and thus shown in 1280x960 FAA or whatever. Pre-rendered video can make sense even if the game engine is used for pre-rendering it. This allows scenes to be much more complex than they could be if client boxes had to render them at real-time speed (especially weak outdated technology like Xbox) because so the scenes can be pre-rendered on the juiciest hardware the developer can lay hands on and rendering speed does not really matter - even one frame per minute would be perfectly acceptable. The problem with TSL vidoes isn't the technology that was used to generate the video frames, the problem is that the encoding of those frames is so atrocious that it would have been considered substandard even 10..15 years ago.

Good catch kalimeeri, thanks for sharing this.

Indeed, you don't have to watch any holovids at all nor do you have to kill any enemies except for the HK and the final detachment of Sith (for which you get to use a fine laser cannon unless you prefer close and personal work after boarding, for the XP). What you have to do is: - use computer to open morgue door, loot plasma burner and chat with Kreia - run to admin central, pull lever (don't forget to loot vibro blade and T3 parts) - controlling T3: open one door with security, use part/spike from Ebon Hawk on console to open fuel depot door (there are other sources but this is quickest) - still controlling T3: race past angry droids and use console to open admin escape hatch - run through mining tunnels, shut down containment fields, run to lift - run through HK level, destroy console, run to exit - go for a smoke while the Harbinger cutscene plays - run through dormitories, destroy console, take lift - pick up Kreia and Atton, flatten HK - jog to Harbinger nav comp, download stuff, exit Harbinger through fuel pipe - pick up 'secret' stash and T3 - jog past some droids, disable three mines (run through them or use spell) - use console to disable force field, jog past droids to the lift - jog past droids to the console that T3 used earlier, open Hangar 25 door - make your way to the decont console (6 mines), use or destroy decont console - board Ebon Hawk, shoot Sith That's all, takes but a few minutes. Quick and easy if you have Force Speed, Energy Resistance and perhaps Stun Droid (for disabling mines without losing VP). But not at all comparable to Taris. Note: you'll hit level 2 after pulling the lever on admin but level 3 will take a while (since you get XP only from destroying consoles etc.) and I don't think that you will get level 4 unless you consume some of the courtesy critters. But Atton and Kreia will do that anyway while you are busy.

It is indeed rather strange. After you beat Kreia for the first time she summons the three toothpicks and heals up completely. You flatten the three floaties and suddenly Kreia is again mortally wounded; and after a final chat she keels over and is dead. So one could probably win this by defeating either the floating lightsabres or Kreia herself (might be quicker), but doing both at the same time probably broke the script for your friend.

--- UPDATE --- I did some checking and it looks like you get upgrades every three levels at fixed level thresholds. You don't have to take the level, just having the XP is enough. My character found the crystal when she was lvl 13 and could immediately upgrade it to 'translucent', which is the 2nd crystal level. Lvl 15: 'glows very faintly' (3rd crystal level), lvl 18: 'glows dimly' (4th crystal level), lvl 21: 'glows moderately' (5th), lvl 24: 'glows brightly' (6th) and lvl 27: 'glows brilliantly'. Munchkin reached lvl 30 only after finalizing the last planet, so Kreia had already clammed up at that point and no further upgrades were possible. By rearranging the sequence of events and accepting some loss of XP it would just barely be possible for Munchkin to talk to Kreia while being lvl 30, to get the 8th crystal level. But lvl 33 for the 9th and final crystal level seems impossible without infinite XP exploits. Also, it seems likely that you will get whatever upgrade level corresponds to your character level, so that it is not necessary to get the crystal early in order to get the best possible upgrades. I cannot check this ATM, though.

That is interesting. I usually talk to her before removing the crystal from the sabre, to see if it is worth the hassle. I've never talked after putting it back in, but then I should have noticed the pending upgrade when quizzing her after the next level-up. Strange. In my last game I didn't take the prestige class until level 19 and at level 18 the crystal was already 'glowing dimly' (4th upgrade). I also did not notice increased update frequency after taking the prestige class.

If you use a double-bladed lightsabre instead then you automatically multiply your STR bonus by 1.5 for main hand attacks, in addition to the +2 higher base damage. That's an extra guaranteed 5 x (8+2) = 50 damage per round just for using the right sabre. So, unless you're into criticals the double-bladed sabre is a really attractive option. Compared to a two-sabre setup you'll lose the extra stat/deflection/defense boosts from your off-hand sabre but if you play a damage-dealing Guardian then you won't need them anyway (I mean even if you were not allowed to switch weapons during a fight). Just a thought. :D

Trayus Academy can also yield nice crystal drops, and at that point in time you are as high-level as can get. There is a workbench in the Proving Grounds, so it doesn't matter that you cannot summon T3 to your side. Sion tends to drop outlandish crystals/gems/pearls and a couple games ago one was actually useful: a Barab Ore Ingot with 2d6 dmg.

Doesn't look very useful except perhaps for the bit of CON, which can help survive mishaps in boss fights (like when <youknowwho> immobilizes you with Kill while the three lightsabres are slashing away at you ).

Does anybody know what the exact criteria are for upgrading the pet crystal (a.k.a. the $YOURNAME lightsabre crystal)? So far I have never managed to upgrade it fully. In my last game I made it a point to get the crystal as early as possible (lvl 13, first thing after Telos) and to talk to Kreia about it at each level-up. I did not make notes at which time the upgrades did happen but it was roughly every three levels or so. The last time I was able to talk to Kreia about it was at lvl 29 - before finalizing Dantooine/Vrook which was the last 'stone/starmap' in this run :D - and after that Kreia clammed up as usual. So now the crystal 'glows brilliantly', which would make this the seventh upgrade out of nine according to the sabre crystal guide.

Stats, please. Isn't Kaiburr the crystal you get for the dark side option with the open visa on Onderon?

Always withhold your crystals until you go to meet the Council on Dantooine before the end of the game...Those crystals will be among the most powerful in the game if you hold them The problem is that there are very few powerful non-DS crystals in the game. The best is probably Pontite with 1d10 dmg, +2 CHA and even the better among the rest have only 4 avg damage or less. And there is no guarantee that you'll find one of them in the cave even if you go there at level 30, which is about the highest possible level for that location unless you exploit glitches. But if you go there late then you'll get your pet crystal late and you probably won't be able to upgrade it more than once (if at all). And a nicely upgraded pet crystal is more useful than any other crystal. I never managed to upgrade it fully - the best I've gotten is 'glows brilliantly' - but even so it is nice: 4 dmg, +4 STR, +5 WIS. The STR bonus translates to an extra 3 damage on the main hand, so this is better than even the Pontite crystal (5.5 avg dmg) and any extra WIS/CHA is always welcome, for swatting flies. The real power for lightsabres comes from upgrades anyway, as Alaric has described. P.S.: I have never found out how the pet crystal upgrading works. If the upgrade is tied to your attributes/level and not to the number of upgrades done then Kreia can upgrade it 'fully' even if you go there as late as possible. This would be about lvl 29 since Kreia clams up once you have met all the masters and then you can't upgrade your pet crystal anymore. I'll make a new topic for this.

In my last run I didn't find any of the Jedi armour thingies (Jal Shey or Zeison Sha) in the loot until I hit level 28, so I used the miner's outfit with Biorestorative Underlay until I got the Ossus Robes on Onderon. On two occasions I used regular armour (Flex Heavy): sparring with the five Handmaidens, and the final duelling rounds in the Mandalorian camp. My character was a Soldier/Guardian but I had built her for soloing and beating skill checks, so she wasn't very strong without Force buffs (attributes 14/10/14/15/14/10, first level-up attribute point into INT and the rest into WIS).

It is tradition/culture only, I'm afraid; the decimal system has nothing to offer besides that. There are other bases that have lot more going for them - like base 12 or base 60 - and which have in fact been used and remain in use even to this day. Just look at the nearest non-digital clock. :D Sometimes it is suggested that the decimal system is 'natural' because we have ten fingers, ten toes and so on. This is silly; for one thing we have two arms, two legs, two eyes, two ears and so on, and by this token the binary system would be equally natural. Also, if you use your fingers to count in the traditional fashion then you can count from 0 to 10; if you use them to count in binary then you can count from 0 to 1023. In base-5 it would be 29, which is still a bit higher than 10. An easy algorithm for converting numbers with arbitrary bases is Horner's rule. If you have a binary number consisting of the digits abcd then you initialize the result with the leftmost digit and look whether there is a digit to the right of it. If so, then you multiply the current result with the base (2 for binary) and add that digit. Then you look if there's a digit to the right of that; if so ... You get the drift. In the above example the result would be (((a) * 2 + b) * 2 + c) * 2 + d For one-one-zero this becomes (one * 2 + one) * 2 + zero = 6 I think those things are called 'type writers' in English. The need for slowing down the typing speed arises because the type levers can jam or entangle each other if you type a new letter before the lever that printed the previous letter has returned near enough to its resting position to be out of the way.

Latest official word is that the patch was handed over to LucasArts, for QA. Yes, I did find it odd that LucasArts and QA were mentioned in the same sentence without an intervening negation. But that's what I heard.

You can actually trigger the Red Eclipse without also setting in motion the chain of events that starts with the invitation. But once you have gained enough rep with the Exchange (good or bad) the chain will trigger as soon as you set foot on the Refuge Landing Pad area, anywhere. So it is usually best to let things 'hang' on the Red Eclipse trigger because it is easier to avoid the one spot before the Refugee Sector entrance than the whole landing pad area. Which is why the Airspeeder is so useful, as you have described. Once the invitation is triggered you can't even board the Ebon Hawk or summon party members. If this happens immediately after the Red Eclipse fight (like if you've been busy in the landing pad area and/or docks before raising hell in the refugee sector) then you can still fly to a workbench on another planet, if you have a save from after the fight but before you left the ship.

There are some more portable XP dispensers in your party although the attending stat/ability boosts differ in nature. T3 gives you the most XP, Handmaiden arguably the most power (depending on your playstyle). The carpet isn't bad either, the rest hardly worth mentioning. Visas' power might have been really useful if the game were not so easy.

The cap was 20, not 18. So Bastila would have received the old Sentinel training up to the level we left her at (20 or whatever) but in the meantime she could have received the newer, more efficient training and perhaps even taken a prestige class. But the story<->game parallels break down in a hurry if you consider that you bring Visas from level 6 to level 29 in just a few hours/days. Let's be generous and say that Visas gained about one level per game day. How many levels would Bastila have gained then even at the much more sedate pace of, say, one level per month?

In the game world, training/education is expressed in the form of feat/power chains and things like BAB. Somebody who received Guardian training will be able to hit harder - all other things being equal - than somebody who received the old Sentinel training, for example. Sentinels and Consulars obviously concentrate more on mental training than Guardians and less on physical, which explains why they have more Force oomph (FP/level) but less physical stamina (VP/level), and so on. So the game world directly indicates that the new forms of training are more effective than the old ones under which Bastila was trained - the lightsabre forms were not even invented back then. Also, Darth Wuss completely messed up Bastila's abilities when he tortured her to turn her to the dark side. Visas would pwn her.

Bastila was born with a very high Createpointichlorian count (38) but Visas' wasn't bad either (at least 35) and at level 6 she actually has the exact same attributes as Bastila had at level 3. Both are Sentinels. So Bastila is one attribute point ahead but that won't buy her anything at all, because Visas as a TSL Sentinel has the same BAB progression as a Guardian and just one less feat (three more than Bastila by level 20). So Visas would easily wipe the floor with Bastila in straight physical combat - even without the new TSL powers like Energy Resistance, Force Barrier and Battle Meditation. Yep, Bastila cannot use Battle Meditation to boost herself but Visas can. Blasters: in addition to having higher BAB, Visas can also deflect Bastila's blaster bolts in a blaster duel but Bastila cannot deflect while wielding a blaster. Energy Resistance and Battle Meditation tip the scales even more in Visas' favour. Absolutely no contest here. With regard to Force powers things are less clear. Visas can lower Bastila's Will saves via Battle Meditation while Bastila has an extra attribute point that will give her at most one additional mod to her Force DC. Master Force Body might allow Visas to out-force Bastila.