Hammer

Could someone please explain to me what this April fools thing is and why everyone is so upset, etc? I REALLY don't get it..... As for the patch......where CAN I find it? I LOOKED EVERYWHERE!!!!!

yup SSD ISD <{POST_SNAPBACK}> This is correct. The SSD was the most powerful capital ship the Empire ever produced, second only to the Death Star, which was an orbital battle station/planetoid constuct. The SSD had about 500 Turblolasers, etc. The ISD came in several flavors: ISD 1 and ISD 2. ISD 1 was much much weaker, about half as powerful as the ISD 2. It carried about 100 turbolasers and 60 Ion cannons. The SSD was considered 5 times more powerful than an ISD and about twice as powerful as an ISD 2 all things being equal. What made the ISD 2 so much more powerful than the ISD 1 besides extra firepower, was its shield system....although all the ISDs had the shield generator weakness issue....(IE: the shield generators we exposed on the top of the bridge at the edge of the shield system), the ISD 2 also had a *much* stronger hull as well. The SSD was about 7 kilometers long while the ISD's were 1-2 kilometers long. The Death Star was 120 Kilometers at its equator and had over 1000 Turbolasers, 1 Million troops, hundreds of starfighters and of course, the dreaded Superlaser. The 2nd Death Star was slightly larger than the first one, had an even more powerful Superlaser (due to the extra focusing lenses) and carried even more troops. The Death Star was clearly a strategic weapon more than a tactical weapon, although it could serve both functions if neccesary, The Darksaber was essentially an extremely scaled down death star built around the Superlaser, which was probably THE most powerful laser ever developed by the Empire. More on the lines of a scabbard built to house a sword, if you will. What is most often missed in the discussions of these weapons is the tremendous amount of resources required to build them. A Victory Star Destoyer, which is about half as powerful as an ISD, required a year's worth of resources from a single planet to build, while Death Stars would require resources from several SECTORs! That's why they took so long to build and there were so few of them. We aren't even getting into maintenance yet, either, which was another headache. You may recall in ROJ, Darth Vader visiting the Second Death Star ostensibly to ahmm "motivate" the workforce to get "back on schedule?" Production was a big problem in the Empire.

Is it just me or does the Ravager in the cutscenes look very similar to a Star Destroyer? These ships are thousands of years of development apart..... I could've sworn those are shield generators on the top of the Ravager...... If so......How is this possible??? Any opinions? Hammer.

I have to disagree with the "share the blame" philosophy. LucasArts, as is their contractual right, demanded someone to develop Kotor 2 in a specific timeframe under certain conditions. OK...as the licensor, they can do this. Contract Requests for Proposal are let out for all kinds of products and services. If one doesn't feel one can't meet the conditions, then one negotiates to change them or walks away from the business. LucasArts would be forced to change their timeframe and expectations if no bidders came forward or felt they could meet the conditions. This decision was simply about money and status. To a startup, doing KOTOR 2 would be a flagship project. In other words, its too good to turn down. Obsidian Entertainment agreed to certain terms, so crying about a short timeframe is crapola. I think nearly everyone on the forums will agree that the FINISHED product falls short of the standard we had set coming from KOTOR 1, especially in the area of too many bugs. The FULL RESPONSIBILITY for this shortcoming rests ENTIRELY with Obsidian Entertainment. They grossly overestimated their abilities given the timeframe constraints and project requirements. As a consumer, who votes with his/her hard earned dollars, I have the right to expect a perfect game. This doesn't mean KOTOR 2 is horrible, just that it could have been better and any responsibility for it being less than that rests FULLY and SOLEY with Obsidian Entertainment. PERIOD. This is a simple case of what the market will bear. If one feels one can't meet the deadline or conditions....then one has an OBLIGATION to say no. Perhaps Bioware said no to KOTOR 2 for this reason, perhaps not. Either way Obsidian Entertainment certainly could have walked away from the opportunity. No one made them take on this project. I can understand why they didn't walk away, but THAT issue may be the core issue in this whole matter and why KOTOR 2 turned out the way it did. Let's all hope that KOTOR 3 is given more developmental and quality control time. With a new engine....there is some hope there. Hammer.

If you are looking for easy money with which to buy items, all you need to do is talk to the Handmaiden. Choose the dialogue option where she teaches you Enchani fighting. This is done without armor, etc. When finished, put your armor on, then talk to her. One of the options is to ask her to put clothes on. She argues about the necessity (geez--why can't I find someone with that attitude?) and chose the statement that clothes restrict movement, making one a better fighter, etc. She will then put on the Handmaiden's robe. Go to her inventory, take the robe off her so she is armorless again, then talk to her and repeat the dialogue to put clothes on. You can repeat this infinite times. The robes can be sold for about 2000 credits a piece or alternately broken down at the work station for about 200 parts depending on your repair skill rank (20). If you've already progressed with the Handmaiden in the story, just take off her armor in inventory and then when talking to her select the dialogue option that asks her to put clothes on. This is the EASIEST way to make money in KOTOR2 that I've found. Hammer.

Remeber the cutscene where Darth Nihilus is introduced on the Ravager? The one where he Force Chokes Visas and makes her beg like a dog???? What's he saying to her, because for the life of me....with the marbles in his mouth he could be telling her to do anything.....and I personally think he is. Geez....the guy needs speech therapy...his voice sure causes me pain! Sample: I crushed your insignificant planet with my Force Bad Breath...why can't I sense this broken Jedi? BOW to me you.....xxxxx! Don't fail me now.....etc etc.......insert Darkside threat here...... Hey Scotty...you got a hull patch.??? No Capten...the warp cores failin' & I don't think she gonna hold together!!!!! opps sorry, wrong sci--fi What's your take?????? Hammer.

Wrong sources. They're both from Zahn's Thrawn trilogy. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Correct---Jor'uus C'Both WAS from Thrawn's Triology (forget the name of it) but The Eye of Palpatine was the name of the automated SuperStar Destroyer built by the Resurrected Emperor...(Again, I'm not sure of the name of the Novel)

Yep. When you get the personal crystal from the cave on Dantooine, simply talk to Kreia. One of your dialogue options will be to ask her about your personal crystal. If the crystal doesn't properly reflect your level, Kreia will tell you to take it out of your lightsaber and bring it back to her. Do so and she'll focus on it and it will be upgraded to whatever properly reflects your Character's game level. The max level for the crystal is Level 10, which is equivalent to about Character Level ~28 or so. Pretty easy, eh? Hammer.

OK. The personal crystal's level is tied to your character's level and alignment. The max level for the crystal is level 10. It takes about Charater Level 28+ to get the personal crystal to level 10. I have the numbers for each level/alignment should there be interest. Post back and let me know and I'll make the info available. Here's a Lightside teaser-- Level 10 Personal Crystal: Attributes: Attack +3 Dex +6 Str +5 Wis +7 Specials: Lightside Only +5 Damage vs Dark Side Slow 25% Chance on Hit for 6 Seconds, DC 22 Notes: This white crystal radiates an immense amount of light, almost blinding anyone who looks at it. Hammer.

Darth Rad explained how the Hssiss trick works. In the PC version, you simply use the mouse to keep clicking on the Jedi's body. As to conserving Force Points...the tomb is a dead area that doesn't allow you to automatically regenerate force points. You can regenerate health points. The reason this is important is because you average between 300-450 xp per Hssiss killed. Spamming 3-4 Force Storms generally is enough to kill say 10-20, generating between 3000-5000 xp, but drains your force power. This means it won't take too long to level up your character. The problem is that without some form of Force point regeneration, you will not be able to use your force powers on a continual basis to kill Hssiss, but instead have to resort to melee or other tactics. This is a very slow option compared to spamming Force Storms. Using Drain Force or Regen Force Items allows you to recoup your Force Points quickly...allowing this to be continued until you reach Level 50 should you desire, upon which you run into the Level 50 character restriction. It works for both Lightside and Darkside characters. Its just that Force Storm and Drain Force are going to be more expensive for Lightside Characters....but that's really not a problem--you'll have more than enough force using this strategy and even nicer, it has no negative effect on your alignment. Its also important to have full force powers when finished with this....because Revan waits around the corner...and once you are in the Tomb, you can't leave until you've defeated him. Ok? Hope that helps explain things. Hammer

Osiris: Maybe it seems pointless to you. Ok---That's your opinion and you're entitled to it. If you're open to a counter-argument, here's another perspective: Reasons why one might want to level up this way: 1. Want to max skills for gameplay/item creation. 2. Desire the main character to be all purpose w/skills 3. Want to have more force powers 4. Want higher attribute points. For me, I wanted a few more to increase my INT for skills and my CON for the higher implants (takes 4 levels to earn a pt) 5. Higher Quality Item drops seem to be linked to Character Level. 6. Want to put some levels in their prestige classes so as to earn all bonuses. Hammer.

For those utilizing the Hssiss Unlimited XP exploit.....I have a trick that might assist you in recovering even more force points. Several Clever posters have pointed out that while NORMAL methods of Force Point recovery has been turned off in the Secret Tomb in the Shyrack Caves on Korriban, one can still recover Force Points by using the Force Power Drain Force. This is most effective of course at its 3rd Tier or Master Level and does work well. I've also noticed that if you have a force regeneration underlay or force regeneration lightsaber crystal that these too work well. With both in play.....force points aren't an issue at all. I went from Level 22 to Level 42 in about 25 minutes......so Force Storm AWAY!! Speed might lead to the Dark side....but ahhh, what sheer joy it is to be evil!!! Hammer. "NOW I AM THE MASTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jeremiah: That is correct. The bonuses do NOT overlap or complement each other. The highest of the two rule. Also, the max dex limit on the armors *seems* to affect the bonus rating....so the modifier that is applied for dex effects EVERYTHING that uses the dex modifier. In turn, this effects to hit ratios, dc checks, armor class, blaster defl. etc. Yikes! Might be yet another bug......Hmmm. Someone hand me some RAID! The Zeison Sha/Jal Shey Armors aren't really good for Jedi given this *flaw* unless you REALLY desire the extra underlay choices that come with using Light Armor and KNOW you won't have a Dex Modifier greater than +4. You can cost your AC quite a few points in the process over even the lowlyest Jedi Robe, not to mention the other negatives. IMHO, it isn't worth it. Hammer.

I had the same problem with Akkere not giving me the Thorium Charges, perhaps because I didn't do things in the correct order, etc., but I did notice that when I got the charges on Korriban and then used them on the cache on Dxun....that I still had them in inventory. Hmmm......yet another bug? Perhaps this is another example of the inventory bug.....where things show up in the inventory list that aren't really there.....? Hammer.

Thanks!!!! It worked for me. Very nice!!! Hammer.

I've gotten a few back channel emails about my earlier post....thanks to those who enjoyed the humor...for those that are confused and outraged, there is an explanation: In the Star Wars Universe..clones most always have an extra vowel added to their names.....Examples: Luuke Skywalker-Luke's Clone from the Eye of Palpatine Jor'uus C'Both-Jor'us Clone from the Champions of the Force Etc. You can generally tell you're dealing with a clone if it has an extra vowel and if that vowel is heavily stressed. So I took the liberty of turning Bastila into Baastila...by adding a second 'a.' With that name, I couldn't resist making a sheep reference....so I'm sorry if I offended any sheep lovers out there....but geez some of you need to lighten up! Now hopefully you'll understand and stop emailing me????? Hammer.

Sorry Everyone. I just posted the information I've & several friends of mine have collected since playing the game. I'm on my 8th game and they've played about the same more or less, so this data is compiled from about 50 games. Please remember that the game generates items randomly and yields will vary. I personally didn't see any special robes until my 5th game, whereas I suddenly found Darth Malak's Armor. My friends have shared similar stories. What I've reported is what they've claimed to have seen plus the Robe I've found. I did not include the Jedi Gray Robes because they have a Def of 1. I did include the Ossus Robe because of its "over the top" stat increases plus it can be upgraded as well, but it was the only Def 1 Robe that I included. So no Def 1 robes were included. The only restrictions on Darth Malak's armor is darkside, light armor feat and max dex +4. There are no level restrictions on any armor or robes, to my knowledge. Hope that clears things up, Hammer.

There's a simple explanation: Bastilla was killed...but you are now seeing a clone. How do I know this...because of the spelling of her name: "BAASTILLA?" Revan bleated sheepishly. Hammer.

Damar: There are a few better Jedi armors, but that question really requires me to ask one in turn......what kind of Jedi are you making? That is kind of a bs question though and one I hate to get so let me try to answer what I "think" your character might be and you tell me if I'm wrong. Jedi Some/Lots Melee with Light Sabers Uses Force Powers Looking at Dex or Str Strongly Light or Strongly Dark I'm guessing that you are probably Guardian/Sentinal (Weapon Master/Watch) over Coun/Master.....so you have at least the Light Armor Feat. Therefor, Robes and Light Armor will be your preference. Some Light Armors will allow you to cast Force Powers, but do restrict the wisdom modifier being added to Dex if you are building a Dex based Jedi... So I will suggest armor/robes for Dex based and Str based Jedi.....Ok? *All Robes/Armors listed are upgradable, which allows for overlays/underlays-this is highly recommended as this capability allows for flexibilty and greatly enhances the Robe/Armor far beyond those Robes/Armors that are not upgradeable IMHO* Dex Based Jedi: Robes....eschew Light armor due to loss of Wisdom Modifier Bonus, etc. plus Robes allow unlimited + Dex modifiers. (Stay away from Force Aura Power, the Def is bugged, so its only a +save modifier) 1. Nomi's Robe (3 Def, Wis +4, Regen Force +3) Lightside Only 2. Aleemea Keto's Robe (3 Def, +2 Str, +4 Wis, Regen Force +1) Darkside Only 2. Natth Cowling (3 Def, +3 Str) Darkside only 3. Jedi Master/Dark Jedi Master Robe (3 Def, Regen Force +1) 4. Arca Jeth's Robe (2 Def, +2 Wis, Regen Force +3) Lightside Only 4. Sylvar's Robe (2 Def, +2 Dex, Dmg Imm +15% Dkside & NRG) Lightside only 4. Baran Do Sage Robe (2 Def, Dmg Imm +20% Dkside/Lightside, +4 Wis) 4. Norris Robe (2 Def, +20% Dmg Imm NRG) 4. Crado's Robe (2 Def, +6 Str, -2 Con, No MaxDex Restrictions) Darkside Only 5. Jedi Knight/Dark Jedi Knight Robe (2 Def, Regen Force +1) 6. Ossus Keeper Robe (1 Def, +2 CHA, +4 INT, +4 Wis) Str Based Jedi Eschew Robes (with one exception maybe) for Light Armor's Extra Upgrade Capabilities (Light Armor allows some Underlays that Robes do not) and stronger item Def. Pretty much all Light Armor has a Max Dex Modifier Restriction of +4, in additon, the overlay that increases the Max Dex Modifier only works in Heavy Armor.....rats! All Armors Listed below allow Full Force use. Your NPCs also must have/obtain the Light Armor Feat in order to equip Light Armor...(Visas) 1. Darth Malak's Armor (7 Def, +1 Str, +2 Regen, MaxDexBon +4 ) Darkside Only 2. Zeison Sha Warrior Armor (5 Def, Saves Fort +1, MaxDexBon +4) 3. Crado's Robe (2 Def, +6 Str, -2 Con, No MaxDex Restrictions) Darkside Only 4. Jal Shey Mentor Armor (4 Def, Per+1, Cha+4, Wis+1, MXDexBon +4) 4. Zeison Sha Intitiate Armor (4 Def, Saves Fort +1, MaxDexBon +4) 5. Jal Shey Advisor Armor (3 Def, Per+1, Cha+2, Wis+1, MaxDexBon +4) 6. Jal Shey Neophyte Armor (3 Def, Per+1, Car+1, MaxDexBon +4) Hope this info helps, Hammer.

AlexRmF The hard cap on your character's level is 50. As others have mentioned, the game only gives xp to about 27-28 unless you find a respawn area, like the Hssiss/Dead Jedi in the Skyrack cave's secret tomb area of Korriban. Of course, you have to either be strongly dark or light aligned to get into the tomb area in the first place....no neutrals in other words. I won't waste time commenting on whether or not this is cheating....to each his own...but its there should you be interested in making a maxed character. I have carefully experimented with this....the xp you get for killing the Hssiss is 400-450 REGUARDLESS of your character's level. It does NOT decrease! The only exception to this is when your character levels up---if you do not level up your character when the yellow L shows up on your character screen, then the xp drops to 350-375 per kill until you do level up, at which point the xp goes back to 400-450 per kill. This is probably a glitch--heaven knows this game has plenty of them. You still have to kill lots of Hssis since each time you level, the amount of xp goes up between levels, but thats a LOT less than if the xp amount per kill drops. The other thing is that you can spawn mutliple Hssiss at a time-up to 20 in some cases by repeatedly clicking on the dead jedi, which allows you to then kill them all for faster killing speed. Since force regen is turned off in the tomb, this is only recommended for melee-strong characters. The force regen does not reset at level ups either...so that isn't an option if you've considered that. This is really nice if you are creating the max character for a number of purposes. I like having my main character to be maxed in all skills for the purposes of creating items, which pretty much requires a 32 in all skill levels. Why? Well so my primary character can use the workbench in the Ebon Hawk for one thing....plus its a pain to switch between characters when making items. For another thing, K2 often has separate parties running...so its helpful to have each NPC as self sufficient and maxed as possibe on the equipment, skills and feats area. Gone are the Halcion days of stripping all your NPC's and ignoring them for the entire game. I mentioned level 32 for skills because that is the level that allows you to make almost every item upgrade in the game. Its also a good idea if you are using the Hssiss respawn area to take a bunch of Life Support or Advanced Med Packs with you. You will take damage and its MUCH faster to use a couple of packs to replenish health than to wait quite some time for life reg to get your health back to full. Alternatively, you can equip +life regen items as well--this too speeds things up significantly. I would also caution you to have multiple save slots in the caves/tombs if you decide to use the Hssiss respawn area. Save in 1 slot before you enter the Skyrack caves, save in another separate slot before you enter the tomb and then have two additonal save slots running once you are killing Hssiss. This should get you through any problems. It really hurts to loose your entire game because a bug eats your first AND second slot.......... Hammer.

Folks....I think I can easy explain the problem here: IT IS ALL ABOUT $. Sometimes.....very rarely....we get a Kotor....where everything comes together. And we drool and enjoy. This time...it was a near miss. Is K2 a Good game? Yes. Great game? You decide. For my buck its close....but not perfect. 70% finished. Needed another 3 months or so of polish. In truth...Obsidian is a business and a business needs to make $ for their stockholders. I wouldn't turn down the opportunity to work on Kotor 2...which certainly makes one admire Bioware. Awesome decision on Bioware's part eh? Decided to stick with Jade Empire and other projects. We need to see more of that kind of attitude. Seriously though---what did we really expect from Obsidian in only 12 months? And should we really be suprised that LucasArts is only concerned about the Franchise???? The game itself is a very very tiny blip in that empire! Simple really.....and very sad. Hammer.

Yes, there are some issues with K2, no doubt. For just a second though, I'd like to reflect on the parts of K2 that we enjoyed: *Outstanding character development *Great Cutscenes--- Some favs: Kreia's Fall Madalore's walk through the flames Sion/Harbinger 1st Appearance Sion breaking out of Kolto Tank Carth/Bastilla Etc *Great Dialogue Gotta Love HK 47's one-liners. One of the Best NPCs ever! Love Triangles All the Kreia commentary Stark individuality---no two characters the same. *All the items and toys Kudos on the workbench/lab bench *Beautiful Scenery Spacewalk on the Peragus Asteriod Dantooine Hyperspace leaving Peragus Outside the Ebon Hawk on Peragus Etc. *Interplay between the characters---wonderful tension *Light vs Dark (Really cool being dark) Force Choking Disciple Influcing your companions (Great idea!) Etc. Etc. Feel free to add to what I've overlooked. Hammer.

Geez--What a GREAT Character!!! Soooo many good lines! HK-47 talking to GOTO the first time: "What do you want, FAT one?" (Heh Heh) The whole HK-47 incredulous/angry at being "upgraded" by HK-50, an inferior copy. "Surely you jest, master. I am unique." The whole pacifist module bit---absolutely hilarious. Talk about extremes!!! Etc. Etc. Hammer.

Yoda Speaking: "Truth you speak. K2 released too early and bugs cloud everything, they do. Hard to understand developers intent, it is. Meditate on this, I will." Hammer.

As to having every member except one, that can't be correct. You can't have both Hanharr and Mira in your party at the same time, either. If you are LS....odds are you have Mira. Hammer.