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Star Wars : Knights of the Old Republic (PC)
Single Sabre Guardian Guide
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By DarthMuffin aka Coffee_Addict and many muffin/coffee names |
E-Mail : See Contact Info Section |
Created on : April 5, 2004 |
Posted on : August 17, 2004 |
Last Update : N/A |
Version : V1.0 |
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| NOTES |
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- Warning : this guide was written by a Star Wars purist (!). I do make a
lot of role playing decisions here, since I can't stand playing a character
who is too far from the movies.

- This guide is based on the patched PC version of the game.

- To fully understand the guide, you better have some basic knowledge of the
game itself and the DnD rules. If you're reading this, however, I suppose
you're a Star Wars purist (or a veteran who wants to try something new) and
that you know what you're doing.

- This guide may contain some SPOILERS. I'll try to avoid huge spoilers, but
if it's your first time through the game, be careful when you see the word
SPOILERS before a paragraph. Again, it shouldn't be such a big deal because
it's probably not your first time through the game.

- Also, please note that English is not my primary language, so there are
probably some mistakes here and there. I try to be careful though.

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| INTRODUCTION |
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Ok, so what the hell is this?

I wrote this because the general feeling on the forums is that Single Sabre
should be used only by consulars. Since it does less damage than the dual
sabres or the sith sabre (aka staff), most people think that guardians +
single sabre = crap. And I'm here to tell you that it's not true.

You see, the first time I went through the game, it was with a Strength-based
Scout/Guardian wielding a single sabre. Guess what? I've actually beaten
the game! It's quite cool isn't it? Seriously, some people think that it's
impossible to go through the game with a single sabre guardian. Also...

-=SPOILERS=-

I didn't know the first time that you could just destroy the cells containing
the imprisoned Jedi to stop Malak from healing. So yes, I did beat him quite
a few times because he was healing over and over again. That's just another
proof that Single Sabre is not an sucky weapon, and a fine alternative to the
other styles.

-=END SPOILERS=-

This guide will cover the character creation process, what levels to take and
all the feats, skills and force powers. Finally, I'll (of course) cover the
freaking sabre itself.

Just a small note before we begin : I want you to understand that, no matter
how hard you try, duelling will never do as much damage as two-weapon
fighting (i.e., duelling will never be as efficient as two-weapon fighting).
However, I can assure you that it's possible to beat the game without any
problem with a single blade. Also, duelling is the most safe fighting style.
The problem is all in the feats themselves, since duelling doesn't offer
enough compared to two-weapon fighting (which neglects almost all penalties).
In any way, if you're a powergamer, this might not be for you. Of only
interest could be the Dexterity build for a crazy AC. So I'll say it again,
just to be sure everyone gets it : the Single Sabre Guardian is more of a
role-playing / movie purist build.

For those who read my Ranger guide (NWN:HotU), you probably know that I like
effective characters. So even though these are role playing builds, I can
assure you that they're playable.

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| TABLE OF CONTENT |
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Section A : General Information
1 - The Lightsabre
2 - The Builds

Section B : Character Creation Process
1 - Starting Classes
2 - Attributes
3 - Skills
4 - Feats

Section C : Jedi Stuff
1 - When to Switch
2 - Skills and Feats
3 - Force Powers
4 - Creating your Lightsabre

Section D : General Strategy
1 - Killing Stuff (including equipment)
2 - Using Force Powers
3 - Party Selection

Section E : Conclusion
1 - Contact Info
2 - Copyright Stuff
3 - Versions
4 - Self Promotion
5 - Thanks

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| SECTION A : GENERAL INFORMATION |
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Just the general stuff you need to know about this character build.

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1 - The Lightsabre ----------------------------------------------------------
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Ok, so do you know what a lightsabre is?

You put some crystals in a hilt, and the energy generated by the energy cells
will go through the crystals and create a long blade of about one meter. We
could get into details, but let's keep that simple.

Knights of the Old Republic did a _superb_ job with sabres. Each sabre has 3
crystal slots : one for the colour, two for bonus properties. The colour
crystal is usually just for the look of the sabre, but...

-=SPOILERS=-

The Yavin IV base sells two special colour crystals (blue and orange/red)
which also give special bonuses. I don't remember the names, and I'm too
lazy to check them out. They're only available once you've recovered the
last Star Map (but before you go to the Star Forge system).

-=END SPOILERS=-

There are many different types of crystals to put in the other two slots, and
I'm sure that you can find all the useful info about this in another guide
(yes, I'm really lazy).

In general, there are three types of crystals : Damage, Defence and Special
bonuses. The choice comes down to your character build. Strength based?
You might want to add some blaster deflection power in your sabre. Dexterity
based? More damage could be a good idea. For the special bonuses (stun,
etc.), just use them if you want (most enemies will resist later on, if I
remember correctly).

For more information, please refer to Section 3.5 - Creating your Lightsabre.

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2 - The Builds --------------------------------------------------------------
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As far as I can tell, there are two builds for Single Sabre guardians :
Strength based and Dexterity based (not really complicated, isn't it?)

Strength Based Guardian

You will focus on strength, and will do generally more damage. Your Armour
Class will be lower, and that can become a problem if you don't have enough
Dex. You could wear an armour, but I generally keep robes for Jedi (and
armours limit force powers). You can help this by adding blaster deflection
crystals in your sabre, though it won't help you against Sith. This is a
build for those who like to do more damage. This is the first build I
played, and the game wasn't really hard.

Dexterity Based Guardian

This one will focus on Dexterity and Armour Class. You will do less damage,
but your AC can become crazy. With appropriate force powers and items, I
heard that you can even get it to the high 40s, which is a LOT. In fact,
most enemies won't be able to hit you. Because of the lower damage, you
might want to get those damage crystals in your sabre. This is a build for
more conservative players, and those who like to be safe most of the time.
I'm currently working my way through the game with this build.

For your first Single Sabre Guardian, I'd suggest the Dex based. It's the
most safe way, since your AC can become crazy with items and force powers.
Also, it breaks the monotony of Str based melee fighters.

Personally, I think that a Jedi should be Dex based. They don't need huge
strength since a lightsabre is not heavy (a simple hilt...) and they don't
need to hit hard either to kill. Of course as a CRPG, KotOR doesn't make it
so lightsabres kill in one hit. Like I said at the beginning, I try to stay
close to the movies, so if you're a powergamer, you can entirely ignore this
paragraph.

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| SECTION B : CHARACTER CREATON PROCESS |
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1 - Starting Classes --------------------------------------------------------
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I'll be honest : the only starting class I tried is the Scout. Here are the
reasons why :

The scout is nearly equal to the soldier. You get less Attack Bonuses and
hit points, but MUCH better saving throws, more skills and free implants
levels. Since I usually take up to level 4 with my starting class, the
differences of attack bonuses and hit points are not really critical. The
saving throws, however, are really nice. The extra skill points also let you
pump skills such as repair (if you want to use HK-47, that is), and the
implants are more useful than Heavy Armour proficiencies since you will most
likely wear robes later on. You might want to start as a Fighter only if you
want to use that special Dark Side only Sith Mask, which requires heavy
armour. I don't think the bonus are worth the lower saves and the loss of 2
implants levels though.

As for the scoundrel, I just don't know. I've never really liked rogue types
of characters, and for a guardian, I prefer having more hit points anyway.
However, I read on the forums that the sneak attack + guardian levels can
become really nasty. I just don't know, and frankly, I probably won't try
it.

I'm also a huge Ranger fan, and a scout is the closest thing I have to a
Ranger in the Star Wars universe (if that counts for anything).

So I'd go with a scout, though you can just choose which class you prefer.

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2 - Attributes --------------------------------------------------------------
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At character creation, you have 30 points to spend in 6 different attributes.
However, the more points there is in an attribute, the higher the cost is.
You don't have to know how the system works, since you can just try your
builds in the game itself. Since I'm really lazy, I'll just copy and paste
the explanation from my awesome NeverWinter Nights Ranger guide (propaganda
O_o) :

---

Now, we were saying that you had to spend your 30 points. Since the coming
of the really crappy (personal opinion here) 3rd edition rules, you can't
just pump a crazy amount of points in one attribute. As you add more points,
the cost for each point goes up. For example, a human who wants to raise his
strength from 13 to 14 will cost him 1 point. If he wants to raise it again
from 14 to 15, it will cost two. Here's how it works :