GameBanshee Forums

newbie power gamer- please help

I apologize in advance for asking what must have been asked a billion times, but does dexterity affect lightsaber use? I got so frustrated trying to figure out the first game that I gave up on it early on, but now I'm trying out the second one, and still don't understand how this works. If my strength is high then does my dexterity matter at all? I'm thinking I want to be a Guardian with high strength and constitution. I'm a power gamer, so I want to get this right the first time (yeah right...).

Also, how much charisma would you recommend having? I'm going to focus on using lightsabers so I don't care about force powers, but I don't want to miss out on quests from low charisma. Also, does intelligence or wisdom affect whether or not you get quests and if so, how much do I need?

Whoops, one more random thing. Does each character have to have high awareness or is it enough for just one to and everyone magically does by being in the same party?

Yet another to edit in. Is anything immune to critical strike? And if so, what happens when it activates? Regular damage, no damage, or does it just not activate at all?

Are Flurry and Power Attack good late game? How many feats will I have at the maximum level? I don't want to miss out on the good ones by picking weak ones before I know what I'm doing.

Thanks

[QUOTE=BallOfFire]If my strength is high then does my dexterity matter at all? I'm thinking I want to be a Guardian with high strength and constitution.[/QUOTE]
In K1, dexterity bonuses improve your ability to hit with melee and ranged weapons and strength bonuses improve your ability to do damge with melee weapons. In k2, ranged weapons rely upon dexterity just the same, but for melee weapons strength bonuses count towards both ability to hit and to do damage.

Dexterity cannot be overlooked, however, as dexterity bonuses improve your defense (your ability to avoid damage) in both games.

Although this probably won't interest you, it is possible to make dexterity bonuses for melee weapons work as in K1 using the melee finesse and lightsaber finesse feats. This is very good for a high dexterity NPC character, such as Atton.

Also discussed [url="http://www.gamebanshee.com/forums/showthread.php?t=63536"]here[/url].

[QUOTE=BallOfFire]Also, how much charisma would you recommend having? I'm going to focus on using lightsabers so I don't care about force powers, but I don't want to miss out on quests from low charisma. Also, does intelligence or wisdom affect whether or not you get quests and if so, how much do I need?[/QUOTE]
Charisma doesn't affect the quests you get, but will affect your ability to persuade, so don't set it too low.

Generally I don't put ability points into charisma after the initial character build, as the quantity of force points you get later in the game more than compensates for penaltiies in using force powers against your alignment. Also, there isn't much point in using the more powerful (mostly DS) feats early on, as you don't have enough force points to use them effectively whatever your alignment/ charisma.

Wisdom and intelligence opens up some additional dialogue options, rather than quests. An intelligence of 15 is required to get a particular piece of back story from T3-M4 about the period between the two games - but this is not required to complete the game. There is also an intelligence/ wisdom related line with Kreia that will reward you with Force /XP points if you can take it (and probably others, too, but that one I remember clearly).

Generally, however, wisdom and intelligence are interchangeable in conversation. If there is a wsidom line, there will be an intelligence line, too.

For a male PC, wisdom bonuses can count towards defence later in the game, whereas intelligence bonuses help with repair, security and computers.

[QUOTE=BallOfFire]Does each character have to have high awareness or is it enough for just one to and everyone magically does by being in the same party?[/QUOTE]
I believe the awareness of the currently controlled character is used for detecting stealthed NPCs, mines and the like. Generally I give the PC a high awareness for my convenience.

Note that most skills in K2 are important at the workbench (with the exception of persuasion, I think).

[QUOTE=BallOfFire]Is anything immune to critical strike? And if so, what happens when it activates?[/QUOTE]
Quite a bit. Some of the more powerful enemies and quite a few animals. If so, you just get regular damage. In addition, there is a critical strike immunity implant your characters can use.

[QUOTE=BallOfFire]Are Flurry and Power Attack good late game?[/QUOTE]
Power Attack is good early on, as it has no penalty to your ability to hit. Flurry and Critical Strike are very good later on (particularly when you have the Master versions of these feats which have much reduced penalties for their use). Many players prefer Master Flurry to Master Critical Strike (I'm one of them), but the statistics show that there isn't that much to choose between them.

In addition to Master Flurry/ Critical Strike, the Master Speed feat is good, and it is also a good idea to upgrade your melee weapons or lightsabers with keen upgrades.

If you haven't looked at the [url="http://www.gamebanshee.com/forums/showthread.php?t=63536&highlight=Master+Flurry"]thread[/url]I linked to above, have a look now. It has some info on Master Flurry/ Speed/ Keen, etc.

In K2, the level cap is 50 (as opposed to the 20 of K1). Although you will most probably not get beyond 30 without using exploits, it makes the maximum number of feats less important in K2 that it was in K1. Guardians get more feats than the other classes, as you probably know.

[url="http://forums.obsidianent.com/index.php?showtopic=28086"]This thread[/url] from the Obsidian forums gives details upon how and when feats are given.

[QUOTE=w666tvr]Power Attack is good early on, as it has no penalty to your ability to hit.'[/QUOTE]

It doesn't reduce your DEFENCE, but reduces your chance to hit - flurry and critical strike reduce defence.

I've never been a fan of power attack... Master flurry/critical strike rock. I usually dont use critical strike early on - but master CS with a keen lighsaber with all the trimmings... fun...

I usually pay into dexterity - you get high defence and you can enhance strength with items more...

* pause to check *

Ooops. You are right. It is the Critical Strike feat that adds a penalty to defence but none to attack. Allowed myself to get lulled into a silly assumption by the in-game tip about the usefullness of Power Attacks

Thanks a lot guys. I've finally got started and this is pretty fun. Though of course, I do have another question =P. Is there a maximum number of lightside or dark side points you can have? I'm having fun being a good guy with an attitude, but I'm afraid I'll get stuck with an alignment I don't like.

Oh and another question. Is it possible to have a party of three jedis? I'm giving my main guy persuation, awareness, and treat injury, and wanted to give the other members of my party treat injury plus two skills like demolitions or whatever so I will have three high skills on every character instead of having all my guys have low everything. So I'm trying to figure out who to have in my party early on so they don't all end up with the same skills.

By the way is it just me or is the redeeming aspect of this game the lightsaber battles? ^_^

[QUOTE=BallOfFire]Oh and another question. Is it possible to have a party of three jedis?[/QUOTE]

Yes.

[SPOILERS]

You can have 7 jedi in the Ebon Hawk (depending on several factors)... only 3 start as jedi and one of those is you...

[QUOTE=BallOfFire]Is there a maximum number of lightside or dark side points you can have? I'm having fun being a good guy with an attitude, but I'm afraid I'll get stuck with an alignment I don't like.[/QUOTE]
Once you reach lightside or darkside mastery getting further points won't make any difference to your alignment.

However, the closer you are to mastery the less effect points towards mastery have and the more effect points away have. Confused? At LS mastery you can get a DS point and then have to get more than one LS point to cancel it out. At the neutral point (as you start the game) all LS/DS points have the same (magnitude of) effect.

Mastery gives you bonuses. What bonus you get depends upon your class and alignment.

Bear in mind that you can get two bonuses if you are able to achieve mastery in both your initial class and your prestige class, but only if the prestige class offers a different bonus. Example: a Sentinel gets a constitution bonus as does the Watchman. A Consular gets a force points bonus. If you start as a Sentinel and become a Watchman you get the constitution bonus. If you start as a Consular and become a Watchmen you get the force point and constituion bonuses. So it can be a definite advantage to switch class.

But you can be good and then be bad (for example) and still achieve DS mastery. This is how many people play DS, in order to gain influence with LS NPCs, turn them to the dark side and train them as Sith.

[QUOTE=BallOfFire]Is it possible to have a party of three jedis?[/QUOTE]
Another Jedi will join your party later on. In addition five other NPCs can be trained as Jedis (note that not all of these NPCs will be available in the same playthrough; depending upon your alignment and gender you will get different NPCs)

For Jedification tips have a look at [url="http://www.gamebanshee.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67282"]this thread[/url].

[QUOTE=BallOfFire]I'm giving my main guy persuation, awareness, and treat injury, and wanted to give the other members of my party treat injury plus two skills like demolitions or whatever[/QUOTE]
Characters skills depend upon their class. Each class will have class skills and cross class skills. Cross class skills are more expensive to invest in than class skills, but can be made class skills by investing in the appropriate feat. (I usually start with a Sentinel for whom repair is a cross class skill. Part way through I take the repair class feat and start to build up my repair skill).

A Guardian character has fewer skills and skill points (1 point per level) than a Consular character (2), who has fewer than a Sentinel (3). Intelligence bonuses also boost the number of skill points a character gets.

[QUOTE=BallOfFire]So I'm trying to figure out who to have in my party early on so they don't all end up with the same skills.[/QUOTE]
Also some NPCs are naturally gifted in certain areas if you use the recommended skill point allocation. Bao-Dur is good with repair, Mira with demolitions, and so on. So the game has a natural tendancy to do this for you. Training characters as Jedi can upset this balance, however. Bao-Dur becomes a Guardian and looses many of his skill points and class skills (although not those he has already invested in).

Because of the way the workbench breakdown works, it is necessary that the PC builds up his/her repair skill as the game progresses.

[QUOTE=BallOfFire]By the way is it just me or is the redeeming aspect of this game the lightsaber battles? ^_^[/QUOTE]
They redeemed the first two prequels, didn't they?

[QUOTE=w666tvr]They redeemed the first two prequels, didn't they? [/QUOTE]

TWO prequels? Did I miss something?

[QUOTE=BallOfFire]TWO prequels? Did I miss something?[/QUOTE]
Nope, but I did. Haven't seen the third yet, and Santa won't deliver for another two days.

But I thought that number three was supposed to be much better?

[QUOTE=w666tvr]Nope, but I did. Haven't seen the third yet, and Santa won't deliver for another two days.

But I thought that number three was supposed to be much better?[/QUOTE]

Whoa there is a third? Hey I'm like 10 hours into the second one now, and for once I'm resisting the urge to powergame and its really fun! Now I'm tempted to buy 1 and give it another shot...

By prequels I meant the movies, just in case we are really cross-purposes here.

This is definitely a game that grows with replay. It is certainly the first RPG where I have played both male and female PCs - and the first Kotor where I have been motivated to playthrough darkside.

Merry Christmas.

[QUOTE=w666tvr]Training characters as Jedi can upset this balance, however. Bao-Dur becomes a Guardian and looses many of his skill points and class skills (although not those he has already invested in).[/QUOTE]

Class skills stack - my consular/watchman had all except demolitions and maybe one other as class skills...

To be fair - would you rather have a Bao-dur with a saber, or with more skills? I know which one I would rather have...

Mira and Handmaiden certainly improve...