kalimeeri

No, that's not the triggering statement either. I called him 'pompous' at least once, and didn't get DS. I couldn't resist either. But Kreia's answer to that was no different than to the other choices I made.

Why do they have to fight? Can't we all just get along?

I've used Guardian/Weaponmaster once and Sentinel/Watchman twice. The first was a tank, but stats increase slower and are weighted toward one thing. He couldn't talk anyone into ANYTHING. I got a lot more conversation choices with the second due to higher INT and CHA, etc. I didn't think I'd use the extra stealth abilities at all, but they come in quite handy at Trayus; last time through I didn't use one grenade. Just cloak, open the door, count the Sith, Force Lightning or Wave the crowds and bash three or less. They killed my Weaponmaster dead; but the Watchman came out of most of those fights without a scratch. Has anyone tried the Sentinel/Jedi Master combination? I've been thinking about trying that just for an experiment. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Must have been a terrible weapon master. My current build is steamrolling through everything. Pah, bring on the endless waves of dark jedi! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Actually, it was 1st playthrough and I just accepted the game's choices for leveling up. He was most likely overconfident because he had mowed through everything else up to that point. :"> And it didn't help when some doors opened by themselves and let in more of the dudes. It was like 1st and goal at the Superbowl. Toast. He had roadrunner syndrome in the last fight with Kreia and her lighsabers, too ... kinda reminded me of Revan's fight with Malak... except Malak was a bit tougher to kill.

Like having another old friend back. Except now, even though he talks big, I don't think Canderous really believes he'll ever be able to bring the Mandalorians back to their former glory. He's older and tired enough to realize that the war was a death blow. He is gathering the Mandalorians to fight the new war with Revan, which will most likely be their final stand. A very strong and cool character, and I really like him. I was glad to find out how Revan made him Mandalore, but I wouldn't really expect anything else. He was and is very loyal. I love his line, "What the hell is she DOING up there? We've got to get off this SHIP!" on the Ravager. Great delivery on the part of the VA, and timed just right to remind you of the suspense factor. Never really thought about him vs. the droids, but he never did acknowledge them much. Guess he might think droids don't figure into the whole 'honor' equation, and as such aren't worth much to a Mandalorian.

I started out my Sentinel with the Z/Sha or Jal Shey armor that doesn't limit Force powers, and wore that thru half the game. I don't think early on in the game it's too inhibiting. But check your defense stats occasionally. I noticed that later on when I switched to Jedi Master robes the DEF shot way up.

That's what I did, too, and I got no darkside points. No way was I going to drop my conviction that the Council was wrong. That just seemed to invalidate all the deaths of the people who fought and died for the Republic.

I've used Guardian/Weaponmaster once and Sentinel/Watchman twice. The first was a tank, but stats increase slower and are weighted toward one thing. He couldn't talk anyone into ANYTHING. I got a lot more conversation choices with the second due to higher INT and CHA, etc. I didn't think I'd use the extra stealth abilities at all, but they come in quite handy at Trayus; last time through I didn't use one grenade. Just cloak, open the door, count the Sith, Force Lightning or Wave the crowds and bash three or less. They killed my Weaponmaster dead; but the Watchman came out of most of those fights without a scratch. Has anyone tried the Sentinel/Jedi Master combination? I've been thinking about trying that just for an experiment.

Hahaha that actually made me laugh. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> :"> Okay, so I WAS losing, but to have to be rescued by a droid? "Does that seem right to you?"*(-->Jubal Early, Objects in Space*). I'm a JEDI, and I'M the hero, y'hear? Visas so thinks I'm a wuss now.

Yes, the music ... that piece is Jeremy Soule. Gotta love that guy. I couldn't vote in this poll, because my answer was an unqualified 'yes and no.' So I'll just add a reply. :ph34r: The first time I finished the game, I just sat there thinking that I screwed up somewhere in my conversation choices or something, that I missed something incredibly important and should find and replay that critical part. Then I got mad when I found out most of the ending was cut out, and wasn't even accessible no matter how you did it. And then I got over it, and replayed K1, and K2 twice more, looking for the more positive things it did as a whole. It was a good game, all things considered. And of course, I love the larger story--Revan's story. 'Yes' the end sucked. The sense of completion is shortchanged, because fictional conventions dictate a certain sense of closure, even if this is part of a trilogy. Take it as a 'story within a story', and it doesn't work. That satisfaction in seeing your companions again didn't come, the story felt forced, and I felt cheated. I don't take that from novels or movies, and in a game it's worse, because you worked to get it. Knowing that Obsidian actually didn't plan it that way and had a good story ending vindicates them somewhat, but it still makes me sad. It could have been so much better. 'No', it didn't. The elements are there, if by fairly crude method. Once you are past the point of feeling that you were just hit between the eyes, it's adequate. It has its redeeming grace in the eventual realization that Kreia intended this event to happen this way, just like she manipulated everything else. And that she didn't do it just because she was evil. She did it for you, and for the galaxy. And it's at this point that she also 'saves' the game. Poetic, or ironic?.

That's funny. Did holo-Carth do any damage? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> None atall, but he had a good go at it. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> In one of my games, I was so shocked to see T3 jump into that fight that I stopped--and he kicked her butt for me... But I never saw a hologram go to war. Cool.

Truthfully, when you get about halfway through that game, the non-Jedi are baggage. You NEED the Jedi abilities, just to survive. After Bastila left for the dark side, my party invariably consisted of Revan, Juhani and Jolee, although Canderous deserves a runner-up honorable mention in both Kotor games if he has some dexterity and a heavy melee weapon in hand. Poor T3 never got out of the Ebon Hawk.

The cost may be higher than you think. This is simply a battle; gamers are all fighting a bigger war, one which we are losing. Ground can be easily lost by ill-timed, emotional campaigns. I do not disagree that the 'honorable' thing to do for K2 is to repair it. The story, above all, deserves it. But this may not be the place to expend everything in the arsenal. I WANT Kotor 3, and subsequent intelligent games that are worthy of 80 hours of my time. All we may be 'teaching' publishers is to that genre is not worth the effort. Just sayin'.

HK as a comic relief character is fun, and he provides an excellent link to Revan. He was much more effective as a character in K1, though, IMO. I was glad to see his character resurface in K2, although in the game as released he seemed to have little or no purpose (other than backstory if you have influence enough, and while it was interesting and even useful information, its effect on the total game was marginal). In K1 at least, he had to be in your party in order to complete Tattooine, because of his translation abilities. In K2, he can be safely ignored as a party member. That's where the cut content comes in. No story can abide the time spent on pointless characters. HK HAD a point, a crucial part of the resolution, like any fictional character has to have to exist. But that purpose fell by the wayside. That's why the ending fell somewhat flat; it did not even hint that he was involved.

Might've been one found in Trayus. But by that time I had so many I was sticking them in the 'alternate weapon' slots of my characters. And of course they never used them anyway after Telos.

I think you can still kill them as LS, you just have to pick your conversation options carefully...correct me if I'm wrong. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Pick the wrong conversation choice and they become the walking dead, LOL. One game I was LS and they ended all just standing there ... when I touched them they fell down. Three dead Jedi, without lifting a lightsaber. Kreia was MMMAAAAADDDD at me. Whoa. I tried to tell her that I didn't do anything, it wasn't my fault, but I don't think she heard me. But I don't think I got dark-sided, either.

I think silver is random, but more likely than bronze, although I did get two bronze and two silver on the last play-through. In the last game, I also got two of some kind of ore crystal, which is pretty powerful. Has anyone got the Ultima-Pearl early enough in the game to be able to use it? Both times I've seen it, it has been in Trayus Academy, after I've passed the workstation. I think a choice came up about pearl once too, when describing what my old saber looked like to Atton. I know I could cheat this in, but I'm stubborn that way. Actually I did think about bleach, because I got real sick of the color green turning up.

Without too much analogy... Exile turned away from the force unconsciously, out of overwhelming necessity. Because he was so sensitive to other people's suffering, he had to, or he would not have survived. The Force augmented this sensitivity a hundred-fold. This is much like shell shock, or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. He avoids anything to do with the Force, or with people really, for a long time. He would not completely forget how to use it, he just blocked himself from feeling it. He doesn't even know why, because that's connected with the trauma. Time, plus the slow manipulations of Kreia, bring(s) him back a little at a time, as he learns to understand and deal with the past. But I don't think he'll ever learn to completely trust in the Force again, as he did as Jedi. Too much pain attached. That's why when he feels the Force, it doesn't seem the same. The lightsaber, IMO, is a symbol again of that past. It isn't that he's forgotten how to build one; he resists and maybe even resents it. Bao-Dur and Atton kind of goad him into building one again. They don't actually SAY he's afraid of doing so, but that's what he thinks they might believe. So he does it to prove to his buds that he's not, out of pride.

I agree. The soft voice should send up warning flags. Ever meet a martial arts Sensei? The real ones don't threaten in a loud voice; their discipline has taken them way beyond that. They can still mop the floor with you. I think Bao-Dur has suppressed and controlled every bit of emotion, because he's ashamed of his feelings on Malachor. In a way, he's a mirror of Exile, a wounded survivor. That binds him to Exile, as does the fact that these two alone were responsible for completely destroying a planet and all the souls on it. IMO, too good a character to leave out of K3.

Malak, definitely, in the strict sense of Sith. He had a mind like a steel trap, and would never consider that he may have been wrong in his approach. And in that last battle with him in K1, he was using the 'consuming' technique of Nihilous to sustain himself. Most likely he learned it from Revan, who learned it from Kreia... With regard to Kreia, I think it depends on what stage of her life you're talking about. Certainly as a Sith Lord, she must have been awesome, perhaps better than Malak ever could be because of her cleverness and grasp of far-reaching tactics. But her failing (and her saving grace) was her search for knowledge. She turned away from strictly adhering to the teachings of the Sith, becoming a unique shade of gray before you meet her in K2. She has come full circle. She only became Darth Traya again because the situation demanded it, because Atris failed to pick up the role. As Kreia said to Exile, the identity of the betrayer was yet to be revealed. At that point, she didn't know how everything would pan out. (The follow-through was a plot cut, sadly. I'd have loved to give Atris what she deserved. She took my lightsaber and would not give it back!). Once Exile grew powerful enough, the only thing that remained was to sever the Master-Padawan Force bond between them. It was his vulnerability, and she needed to distance herself from him. Darth Traya in full regale once again was only another manipulation; she remained true to her beliefs, which were not Sith or Jedi.

Mira is a good character, vaguely reminiscent of Anna in PS:T, whom I liked a lot. I can't see her as a romantic interest, though. Mira's voice acting was extremely well-done, and while she argued with you, you could sometimes tell she just loved to argue. She knew things weren't right, but she was very good at rationalizing. Given her backstory and reasoning, her turning Jedi is believable. Unfortunately, as a Jedi she never seems to gain enough power to be effective, even when I chose Nar Shaddaa first and turned her at the next opportunity. Even Handmaiden was better, even tho' I did her last and get tired of her moralizing. That's the problem with the Sentinel class; it takes time to develop the goods. I tend not to take Mira along, except on lightly-infested areas. Her wrist rockets and darts had only a negligible effect on Hanhaar; she didn't have Force points enough to cast what few offensive spells she had; and no way could she stand and duke it out. End up taking away her lightsaber and giving her a rifle back, which kinda defeats the whole purpose.

(Sigh) Bao-Dur... He's an awesome Jedi .. I just sit back and watch him and Atton mow them down. He can repair just about everything. But what I love most about him is his soft-spoken loyalty, the fact that I know he would willingly go to the end of the galaxy for Exile, or die if need be. This is a guy who can do great things on his own, like building something to save a planet or destroy one ... and I can't imagine him anywhere else but standing by Exile's side saying, 'Yes, General?' And no way can I see him dead or left behind, sorry. His last speech to remote almost made me cry, because you could tell he felt so bad for codemning the little computer to death.

Great job in putting together many salient parts in the story. That comment by Revan makes me think that Revan would never have agreed to Exile becoming involved, had he been asked. But he wasn't--this was Kreia's deal all the way. And that could be a great point for K3 when/if the two meet. Not to mention the fact that Exile killed Revan's master at the end of K2. But the bonding is not so much a Force ability as it is a 'human' ability. Exile still does it without a strong connection to the force, whether he realizes it or not. Revan created an atmosphere for bonding artificially at Malachor, because people who fight together tend to become very close--far closer than loyalty to a Jedi Council sitting light-years away. That Council doesn't have a clue what those fighters are going through. Convert one, you've pretty much converted them all. And that's what Exile is doing. Converting people into 'his' type of Jedi. He had a gift for it, one so strong that the Council itself sent him away once and reinforced it a second time, for fear that they themselves would be swayed. As someone else said, I don't think Exile is consuming; rather, through his bonds, it's a two-way street. He's probably doing more giving than taking, except in one instance: Darth Nihilus ...is probably one of the Sith Lords that fled from Korriban after the Jedi Civil war, as is Sion. Kreia said that by the time the Republic got there, the place was deserted, and the Republic forces 'assumed' that the Sith had all killed each other. But Korriban and Malachor lie at the fringe of the Unknown galaxy, and the techniques they're using are from the 'true Sith'. It is left up to conjecture as to how they learned it; but she did say that Nihilous is the approaching the pinnacle of that power. What makes Nihilous such a wimp is the fact that he cannot feed off the Exile. He can't even feel him on the ship. And also ... I noticed an animation at the end of that battle which was EXACTLY the same as when Kreia drained the three Jedi Masters of the Force, leading right back to Exile. He used Nihilous's ability right back against him, and the dude went down. Probably if anyone else had fought Mr. N, they'd have been fodder, but all Exile really had to do was flip the switch. Yes, the Jedi Council had good reason to fear. First of all they could get no reading off Exile as to his intentions. Second, they felt that any Jedi who had this 'Sith' power could not be controlled. And they didn't trust Kreia to have taught him anything, only to make him more dangerous. Notice how they waited until we had gathered as many Jedi together as possible--they wanted the balance of power on their side when they took the Force away. In the end Kreia never says much about YOUR destiny, although she probably knows, and that's why she singled you out. All she really does is toughen Exile up so he can bear to feel the Force again, and have him work on controlling the give and take. She makes him think about concepts which are neither Jedi nor Sith, but a mix of both. That's what Revan learned, and the only tactic that will aid him.

Unless the last chapter is missing. Novels tend to have their own difficulties, and the downfall of this type of spin-off seems to be the expertise of the writers. The characters are often flat, the dialogue stilted, the descriptions lacking. Those offenses are every bit as annoying as game bugs; maybe more so, because you expect a book to go into more detail than a game, and most of them don't. The last novelization I bought was exactly that--the LAST one.

I think many folks are being very hard on Obsidian. There are always bugs that slip by, and many of the complaints I've read (and had myself, ATI Radeon here) are 'relatively' minor, when viewed from a distance. They will not stop me from playing it again. Truthfully, this game is very good in comparison with some of the stuff that the powers in the gaming industry seem to think we want. Obsidian was able to create compelling (for the most part) characters; provide a good level of intrigue; and uphold, even deepen, interest in this continuing story. I don't believe it's up to their Planescape:Torment standards--but that's a real hard act to follow. And if they were rushed, it makes sense. They wanted and fully intended to do a good job, and succeeded for the most part. The developers who make these types of games are rare. Just browse the 'games' section of the software stores, and you'll see what I mean. I for one appreciate the effort this game shows, and dread the thought that this type of adventure/rpg hybrid will become extinct, in favor of 'what-sold-last-year' hack-n-slashes. I'm sure they know, now that THEY have some distance, is that the game lacks a sense of completion at the end, in what we generally expect from any story in order to be satisfied. How could they not? They created PST. The butchery of their creative 'child' has to hurt their pride. If a game patch or add-on is released that provides a sense of closure for those 'lost' Jedi who traveled so far with me on the Ebon Hawk, I would be eternally grateful. If not, salvation can only come from Kotor3. I would be as glad to see Obsidian's name in the credits again as I would Bioware's; they've shown they can handle it, and they have even more reason now to do it justice.

I had the same experience. I remembered that even in K1 Dantooine ran choppy, so I wondered if the new ATI drivers had fixed this, went back and played. Nasty nasty. But dropping the 4.11 openGL in the game directory still worked. A problem in the game engine, no doubt, one which was not patched. Obsidian used and enhanced the same engine (which I have no problem with, I like it). But in so doing perhaps enhanced its faults as well. Before adding the line to the .ini file, Dantooine was nearly unplayable, and there were other places where Atton and Exile had polygon spikes sticking out of their heads!