Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords Preview
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As the original KotOR featured the three ordinary classes to begin with and three Jedi Classes to choose from later, The Sith Lords now includes six "prestige classes" that allow your character to further develop after he or she reaches a high enough level (level 20 in the Star Wars D20 system that this game is based on). For Light Side players, the prestige classes include:Jedi Master: (Consular-type) Regenerates force power more quickly, and can inspire companions and followers.
Jedi Watchman: (Sentinel-type) Generally super abilities with the force and control over the lightsaber.
Jedi Weapon Master: (Guardian-type) Lightsaber deflection and pain threshold increased, and does more saber damage.
Dark Side Prestige Classes include:
Sith Assassin: Mastery of stealth and camouflage.
Sith Lord: Mastery of corrupting the wills of others.
Sith Marauder: Mastery of weapons and increased pain threshold.
It is unknown what type of trial the Jedi will have to go through in order to achieve this ranking, but likely (-wishful thinking on my part) an involving quest.
The Sith Lords features 7 new fully explorable planets, one of which you've already visited in the last game but will likely not recognize in its current state: Dantooine. Another new planet is Telos, the one Carth in the original game hailed from. Expect to see cameos and back-story filler from Carth, T3-M4, HK-47 (of course) and a slew of others who survived the last story. So does that mean Revan will make an appearance? This has been confirmed, but his/her story kept secret. One thing I wonder is whether they will make two different Revans, one of each sex for continuity sake.
Since many of the old characters will be returning in some form or another (but not playable), what do we know about the new companions? At this time, only a few of their names. Krea is an older female Jedi (counterpoint to Jolee?) who offers aid in the beginning, and is apparently staying hidden from the Sith. T3-M4, the R2-D2-like robot from the first game will lead you through the tutorial sequence. Finally, Atton Rand is a roguish character, said to be similar to Han Solo from the movies. In all, you'll have 10 potential party members to pool from.
In the original, it was common for players everywhere to use the characters they became most efficient with, which meant that the Jedi Jolee, Juhani and Bastila were used more often than any other set of party members. Since they were Jedi, there was really no reason for keeping say, Mission or T3-M4 in your party when you could wield the power of these dominant companions unless you wanted the flavor or additional quests. In The Sith Lords, different companions may be off doing their own mission, thereby "allowing" you to utilize some of the other party members more often. It is said that each companion will have a uniquely helpful ability or trait and that missions will be designed to take advantage of these, encouraging diversification.
