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The Unofficial Jedi Knight Force FAQ v1.5
by Dan Thompson (edge@chipware.net)

Table of Contents:

- What's new in this version
- Introduction
- General Force Information
- Character Rank
- Sound Effects
- Force "Cheaters"
- The Force Powers
- Neutral Force Powers
- Force Jump
- Force Speed
- Force Pull
- Force Seeing
- Light Force Powers
- Force Healing
- Force Persuasion
- Force Blinding
- Force Absorb
- Force Protection
- Dark Force Powers
- Force Throw
- Force Grip
- Force Lightning
- Force Destruction
- Force Deadly Sight
- What's still missing
- Special Thanks

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WHAT'S NEW IN THIS VERSION (1.5, 7.26.98)

- New strategies for Speed, Absorb, and Blind
- New Star Effects for Blind and Speed
- New rankings for Absorb and Persuasion
- New counters for Grip

(1.0, 12.10.97)

Everything!

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INTRODUCTION

Unlike many 3D first-person shooters out there, Jedi Knight has an aspect
that drastically alters the gameplay, and keeps it from being yet another
Quake clone: Force Powers. These powers can easily help you best anyone
who tries to play you in a traditional 3D "run to the rocket launcher" way.
This FAQ is intended to help you use the Force in the most effective ways
possible. Note that most of the information in this guide is useful in
multiplayer play, and may not be applicable to a single player game.

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GENERAL FORCE INFORMATION

-=Character Rank=-

When you create a new multiplayer character, the rank you choose impacts you
in three ways: First, what Force powers are available to you; second, how
many stars you have to assign to those Force powers; and finally, your
maximum mana limit in battle. I have found that for the most part, only two
ranks are really useful. Those ranks are 8 - Jedi Lord and 6 - Disciple.

The advantages of being a Jedi Lord are that you have access to any Force
power (including Protection and Deadly Sight), you have the most stars
possible to assign to force powers (32), and that you have the maximum mana
limit in battle. The only drawback is that you must choose either light or
dark side; you cannot have any mix of both.

The advantage of being a Disciple is that you can pick both light and dark
side powers. The drawbacks are that you cannot use Force Absorb or Force
Destruction (or, by matter of elimination, Protection or Deadly Sight), you
only have 24 stars to assign to Force powers, and you have a lower maximum
mana limit.

Personally, I consider the ranks about equal; each has it's advantages in a
given situation. However, I usually use Disciple about 85% of the time.

Note that your rank has nothing to do with how effective your Force is;
that is completely dependent on the number of stars you have assigned to that
Force.

-=Sound Effects=-

Knowing the sound effects of the different forces is a really important
part of playing Jedi Knight. For example, when you hear the Persuasion
sound (a low-pitched hum), that should clue you in to use Seeing. If you
hear the high-pitched scream of Blinding a lot, you should be using Seeing
to avoid a possible Blinding.

-=Force "Cheaters"=-

There are ways to edit certain files so that you may use combinations of
forces not normally allowed, such as Grip with Absorb or Seeing with
Protection. Basically, I watch for these things:

If they use Absorb or Destruction, they should not be using any opposite side
powers.

If they use Protection or Deadly Sight, they should not be using any opposite
side powers or any neutral powers.

Please do not become one of the many (ignorant) people who think Disciple is
cheating. I have played quite a few people who scream, "Cheater!" simply
because I used Grip and Persuasion together. I can tell you from experience;
telling people over and over again about the Disciple exception gets really
old, really fast.

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THE FORCE POWERS

Here's the format for the Force power descriptions:

Force Name
Cost*
Overall Effectiveness (on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the most effective)
Star Effect (what having more stars assigned to this power does)
How to implement it
How to defend against it

*Note: The value for Cost is out of the .cog file. To put it somewhat in
perspective, a Force Boost is equivalent to about 100 mana.

-=Neutral Force Powers=-

-Force Jump-
Cost: 20 mana
Overall Effectiveness: 2
Star Effect: More stars = Higher jump

How to implement it: You can use it as a way to access otherwise
inaccessible areas, as a shortcut, or as a way to help escape Grip. I
wouldn't be caught without at least 1 star on this. Force Jump is also
variable. If you only tap the button or hold it down until the sound is
at it's highest pitch, you will get the maximum height out of your jump.
If you let go somewhere in between, you'll get a slightly lower jump.

How to defend against it: You can't stop it in any practical way, but all
it is is a high jump.

-Force Speed-
Cost: 20 mana
Overall Effectiveness: 3
Star Effect: Duration- 1 star = 8 seconds, 2 stars = 11 seconds, 3 stars =
13 seconds, 4 stars = 16 seconds; More stars = faster speed

How to implement it: You can use it to run over mines without taking damage,
for more maneuverability in battle, or to help you escape or chase someone
down. Also, you can use it for a faster firing rate.

How to defend against it: Again, not really applicable.

-Force Pull-
Cost: 20 mana
Overall Effectiveness: 4
Star Effect: More stars = Longer targeting range

How to implement it: This is the bane of the Quaker. Any time you see a
person, and they do not have a lightsaber in their hand, use this on them.
They will lose their weapon, at which time you move in for the kill. This
power is extremely effective vs weapon-users, as the only weapon that can't
be pulled is a lightsaber. Also, you can use this to pull items toward you,
which can be useful if you and an opponent are racing towards, say, an armor
vest, or a force surge. You can also use this to pick up an item that you
cannot get, such as a armor vest if you have full shield, or a light
surge if you are dark. This has the effect of getting the item (even though
you actually don't), making sure that no one else can get it until it
respawns.

How to defend against it: An opponent cannot use this if they are Blinded.
Also, if you have Persuasion active, and they do not have Seeing activated,
they cannot target you. Finally (and most importantly), Pull will not work
if the target has Absorb active.

-Force Seeing-
Cost: 30 mana
Overall Effectiveness: 3
Star Effect: Duration- 1 star = 10 seconds, 2 stars = 15 seconds, 3 stars =
20 seconds, 4 stars = 25 seconds; also, on the map, 1 or 2 stars lets you see
all players, 3 stars lets you see players and items, and 4 stars lets you see
players, items, and projectiles, while activated.

How to implement it: Use it whenever you hear the Persuasion sound, so that
you can see them. You can also use it to avoid being Blinded (note that this
will not un-Blind you; you must use it *before* you get Blinded). It can also
help in low light situations. Beware, though, you lose all form of stealth
when you use this; the sound it makes while active is quite loud.

How to defend against it: If you hear that they don't already have it active,
go ahead and Blind them. After they are Blinded, it will be too late for
them to use Seeing. Other than that, there isn't much you can do.

-=Light Force Powers=-

-Force Healing-
Cost: 200 mana
Overall Effectiveness: 2
Star Effect: 20 HP healed for each star

How to implement it: It heals you. That's it. There is about a 1 second
delay between the moment you activate it and the moment you actually
receive the HP, though.

How to defend against it: Try to take off HP faster than they can heal it.
This isn't too hard, especially given the healing delay.

-Force Persuasion-
Cost: 250 mana
Overall Effectiveness: 3.5
Star Effect: Duration- 1 star = 10 seconds, 2 stars = 20 seconds, 3 stars =
30 seconds, 4 stars = 40 seconds

How to implement it: Use it to snipe, or to use weapons in general. Use
it to gain the element of surprise in an attack. I use this particular
Force a LOT. In fact, I usually Never Leave Home Without It. It is
extremely helpful in multiplayer DM games. However, it's damn near useless
in a 1 on 1 DM, which is why I ranked it 3.5 instead of 5. This Force can be
very nasty when combined with Grip or Pull, or for best results, all three.
I'll suffice it to say that 90-95% of the time, if I Grip someone while I have
Persuasion active, and they don't already have Seeing activated, I kill them
in that encounter. If they have a weapon armed and I Pull that too, kick
that percentage up to about 98%. Additionally, this will prevent you from
taking damage from Deadly Sight.

How to defend against it: Persuasion is probably the third most whined about
Force in Jedi Knight. However, Seeing stops it in its tracks. I have found
that there are two methods of using Seeing to beat Persuasion. The first
is to continually have Seeing activated. This is good in 1 on 1, but can
be hard to implement in a multiplayer DM, especially if there is only one
other opponent using Persuasion and you have other things to worry about.
The second method (the one I prefer) is to TURN UP THE SOUND ON YOUR
SPEAKERS and ACTUALLY LISTEN for the Persuasion sound, and then activate
Seeing. This second method seems to be difficult for several people, because
I constantly hear whining about "Persuasion is cheap," "Let's see how good
you are without Persuasion," etc; yet Persuasion seems fairly simple to stop
for me. I have never yet to this day been repeatedly victimized by anyone
using Persuasion against me. I used to rank this a 4, but I bumped it down
to 3.5 because I played a lot of people who nullifed the advantage very well.

-Force Blinding-
Cost: 100 mana
Overall Effectiveness: 2.5