A build guide meant for players looking to optimise their player character.
Introduction
Classes
A classic tank, this is most suited to beginners or those unfamiliar with this style of combat.
Basic Information:
- High vitality progression: 10 per level
- Low saving throw progression: Fast Fortitude, Slow Reflex and Will
- Low skill point progression: 1 point at 8 Int, 2 points at 14 Int
Why you would choose soldier:
- Starting Power Attack Feat
- Native Heavy Armor Proficiency
- Full BAB progression
- Feat every level
- The only class to have access to Weapon specialisations other than Lightsaber (except for when granted by certain items, e.g. Advanced Combat Implant)
Good Breakpoints:
- Level 4: Gives access to the Weapon Specialisation Feats
- Beyond 4: High Vitality, BAB, and Feat progression mean other breakpoints can be adopted to taste. 5/15 and 8/12 are also desirable splits, having the highest number of choosable feats in any combination of class and Jedi class.
Overall Rating: ★
An average rating for an average class. Despite a good recommendation for beginners, there are very few builds that will not be served better by choosing one of the other starting classes.
A balanced class that provides a solid basis for a wide variety of characters.
Basic Information:
- Medium vitality progression: 8 per level
- High saving throw progression: Fast Fortitude, Reflex, and Will
- Medium skill point progression: 2 points at 8 Int, 4 points at 14 Int
Why you would choose scout:
- Starting Flurry Feat
- Implant Feats as part of class progression
- Uncanny Dodge class Feat
- Repair as a class skill
Good Breakpoints:
- Level 2: The best candidate for a 2/18 split, the scout gives you the most advantage for the required levels prior to becoming a jedi.
- Level 4: At level 4, the scout gains the Uncanny Dodge and Implant 2 Feats. This is the best point to stop if you are trying to save levels. Compared to a level 4 soldier taking flurry and the implant feats, a scout will have an effective two extra feats at this level.
- Level 8: Scout is also a good candidate for not saving levels at all, gaining the third level of implant feats and the second level of uncanny dodge at level 8 and 7 respectively. If intending on taking the implant feats, level 8 puts the scout at par with the soldier. If also intending on taking the flurry line, the scout is even still one feat ahead.
Overall Rating: ★★★
An extremely well-rounded class. Good as a basis for practically every build, only losing out in specific situations where the other classes perform better.
Your classic rogue, the scoundrel provides unique benefit to those willing to capitalise on its unique talents.
Basic Information:
- Low vitality progression: 6 per level
- Low saving throw progression: Fast Reflex, Slow Fortitude and Will
- High skill point progression: 3 points at 8 Int, 5 points at 14 Int
Why you would choose scoundrel:
- Sneak Attack class Feat
- Scoundrel’s Luck class feat
- Persuade as a class skill
Good Breakpoints:
- Level 7: Really the only level you should consider for scoundrel, though an argument can be made for 8/12 into sentinel or consular for the extra feat. The reason for this is that the main benefit of the scoundrel class is Sneak Attack, which should be prioritised for the most damage possible. As it improves every odd level, 7 is the last you can gain before transitioning into your Jedi class.
Overall Rating: ★★
A class with an extremely high damage ceiling, but one that can be difficult to use early-game. Persuade on Taris is also a nice benefit for those that want to hit the Hard checks. Despite being the skill-focused class in a game where skills beyond persuade matter very little, its advantage comes with being able to dump Int and still have a respectable number of skill points.
Attributes
Useful for: Attack and Damage with melee weapons and lightsabers
Desirable starting score: 14, or 8 if using a Dex build
Useful for: Attack with ranged weapons and lightsabers, Defence, Reflex save
Desirable starting score: 14 if a Dex build, or 10 if a Str build
Special Note: Dexterity is somewhat of a trap in the KOTOR games. Most of the time you will be better off focusing on strength instead.
Useful for: Vitality, Fortitude save
Desirable starting score: 12, or 14 with spare points
Useful for: Skill Points
Desirable starting score: 8 or 14: refer to the class sections to determine how many skill points you desire per level. The only exception is a Scout or Scoundrel going into Sentinel, where 10 Int may instead be a desirable score, gaining an additional skill point per level over 8 Int.
Useful for: Force DC, Force Points, Will save
Desirable starting score: 14, though 12 or even 10 may be preferred if playing a character that does not use offensive force powers.
Useful for: Force DC, Force Points, Persuade bonus
Desirable starting score: 14, though 12 or even 10 may be preferred.
Special Note: Apart from the Persuade bonus, Charisma is generally not as good of an investment as Wisdom in KOTOR I.
When you gain ASIs every 4 levels, it is best to invest them into your primary statistic. That should be Wisdom for a character focused on Force Powers, Strength for a character focused on Lightsaber Combat, or alternatively Dexterity for a character choosing to focus on that attribute.
These are meant as a resource to see how you can combine the various scores, not as a definitive list of all combinations.
Strength Focus: 14/10/12/14/14/14
Dexterity Focus: 8/14/14/14/14/14
Intelligence Dump: 14/14/14/8/14/14
Strength Specialisation: 18/10/14/8/10/12
Skills
Desirable Total: multiples of 4, 7
Computer Use reduces computer spike usage by 1 for every 4 points. This can generally be left to party members, but Light Side Characters may want to have at least 7 in this skill for a check on Korriban.
Desirable Total: 1, 5, 10, 15, 20
Demolitions is used for interacting with placed explosives, and you must invest at least 1 point to interact at all. The DC increases in multiples of 5 up to 20. It is a useful skill to have, but can be left to a party member. It is best used in concert with Awareness.
Desirable Total: none, or 1
Stealth is a skill which is largely useless in the context of the game. Even on the hardest difficulty, you are much better off using some other means of starting a fight than using stealth. If you still want to invest into it, 1 point will often be enough, as gear can give large bonuses to the skill.
Desirable Total: 10, 20
Useful for detecting mines, but can easily be relegated to a party member. The important DCs for detecting mines require 10 and 20 points.
Desirable Total: 13, or character level + 6
Likely the most useful skill for the PC, in part because it is the only skill exclusive to them. It can in part be substituted for with Affect and Dominate Mind, but that often carries Dark Side points. It is worth investing as many points as you can in it, but it will probably be worth saving those until it becomes a class skill as a Jedi, unless you are a Scoundrel and already have it as such. 13 points will give you the ability to pass any checks in the game with saving and reloading, while an eventual 26 will allow you to always pass any check.
Desirable Total: multiples of 4, 17
Repair is possibly the second most useful skill available to the PC, as it is used to repair HK-47. It also reduces the number of parts needed to repair droids by 1 for every 4 points, in the same vein as Computer Use, so multiples of 4 is recommended. Apart from that, reaching a total of 17 is what you need for HK-47, and so that is a good goal for your Player Character.
Desirable Total: none, or 1
Security is useless in KOTOR I. Everything it requires can just be bashed open instead, with no chance of damaging the items and with no loss of XP. Even for the early game, where it may take some time to bash, most containers can be opened with the few points Carth comes trained with.
Desirable Total: 10
Treat Injury is a good skill to put a few spare points into on Taris as a Scout or Soldier, especially if you are saving levels. Once you get force powers, it becomes redundant with cure or drain life, so it is not worth investing too much in. If you decide to invest points, 10 is a good stopping point.
Feats
It is generally only recommended to take one of these lines. Unless you are building a blaster Jedi, it is not recommended to spend feats on their ranged counterparts.
The most generally useful of the three feats. Adds an extra attack each round. Highly recommended for almost every character.
Grants a damage bonus to each attack. The more attacks you make, the more useful this feat is. Recommended if you plan to take Master Speed and Two-Weapon Fighting.
The least generally useful of the three, it is best when combined with weapons that have high critical ranges, such as the Baragwin Assault Blade.
It is only recommended to pick up one of these feats. Of the two of them, Two-Weapon Fighting is generally better because of the additional attack it provides. The bonus Dueling provides is often too small for it to be considered a serious contender.
All three levels of the Implant feat provide good bonuses, though of course the best come with the third level. However, while some provide special effects, Implants generally increase Constitution or Dexterity. This means that on particularly feat-starved builds, it may be better to take another feat instead.
Toughness is a good feat overall, with the added Vitality giving Scouts and Scoundrels a little bit of survivability that they appreciate. The largest benefit comes with the damage reduction of the second level, so much that it is often not worth taking the third over another feat.
Conditioning is a good place to put any spare feats, but is not worth prioritising over more useful feats. This means that more often than not, Conditioning will simply be passed over for a lack of priority.
Picking up these feats increase your general combat prowess, though should only be chosen for the main weapon used in your build and if you have access to them (in the case of Specialisations). They are not top priority like the attack feats or a fighting feat, but are worth your spare feats more than another feat like Conditioning.
As a Jedi, you should be wearing robes. If you want to use a piece of headgear that requires armour proficiency, it is best to start in a class that already provides it.
For the same reason that skills are mostly useless on your PC, spending your limited feats on small improvements to those skills is a bad idea. The one exception would be picking up Empathy as your third level feat as a Soldier or Scout, to more easily pass Persuade checks on Taris.
Jedi Classes
A combat menace, the guardian will serve you well if you wish to hone your lightsaber combat.
Basic Information:
- High Vitality progression: 10 per level
- Low Force progression: 4 per level
- High saving throw progression: Fast Fortitude, Reflex, and Average Will
- Low skill point progression: 1 point at 8 Int, 2 points at 14 Int
Why you would choose guardian:
- Force Jump
- Full BAB progression
- The only class to have access to Lightsaber specialisation (except for when granted by items)
Overall Rating: ★★
Despite lack of focus on Force Powers, the guardian makes up for it by being the best with lightsabers. The Force Jump is its unique ability, and combines well with the Scoundrel’s Sneak Attack. Overall, the guardian is meant to be a battering ram, and it does that job with precision.
A class that lies in the unfortunate middle-ground between the lightsaber focused Guardian and the Power focused Consular.
Basic Information:
- Medium Vitality progression: 8 per level
- Medium Force progression: 6 per level
- High saving throw progression: Fast Fortitude, Reflex, and Average Will
- Medium skill point progression: 1 point at 8 Int, 3 points at 14 Int
Why you would choose sentinel:
- Force Immunity Feats
Overall Rating: ★
Without the Lightsaber benefits of the Guardian, or the Power benefits of the Consular, the Sentinel does not act as a good balance between them, but can do neither path well. The Force Immunity feats are also of debatable quality, especially when they are achieved so late into the game. Its one concrete benefit, Skill Points, is doused by the fact that skills are largely undesirable. What makes this focus even more suspect is that they gain no additional class skills over the Guardian.
The closest class to a traditional mage, the Consular controls the battlefield with its myriad of powers.
Basic Information:
- Low Vitality progression: 6 per level
- High Force progression: 8 per level
- High saving throw progression: Fast Fortitude, Will, and Average Reflex
- Low skill point progression: 1 point at 8 Int, 2 points at 14 Int
Why you would choose scoundrel:
- Force Focus Feats: effectively equivalent to 8 points in Wisdom at max level
- Additional Force Powers
- Repair as a class skill
Overall Rating: ★★★
A class tailor-made for those wanting to focus on force powers. The high FP progression, extra powers, and increased DC all come together to make the Consular the premier choice of the Jedi classes. Consular has the benefit of combining well with each starting class, even Scoundrel, as the Sneak Attack feat applies to enemies disabled by a Consular’s powers.
Force Powers
A strong contender for the best power in the game. If you are not planning on doing most of your damage with lightsabers, and even in some cases if you are, this is an all but default choice for a force power. It is effective on Droids, Dark Jedi, and normal enemies alike. It is more useful to look for a reason you do not want this power than one you do. Guardians may not want a purely damaging offensive power, Scoundrels want a Stun power instead, and Consulars may prefer Wave to get both stun and damage in one power.
The Stun powers. Many builds will prefer picking one of these as your main offensive power instead of Storm. It is only worth choosing one, and though each have reasons to use them, it is best to stick with the one that matches your alignment. The one exception is Force Whirlwind, which may be worth considering in addition to Stasis Field or Insanity due to its unparalleled single-target lockdown. Any build with scoundrel should choose one of these to enable Sneak Attack.
The best buff in the game. The defence is nice, but the real value comes in the extra attacks this provides. A side benefit is that it makes map traversal much easier.
The second best buff in the game, it is always worth having it active in the party. Notably though, you can delay picking it up for your PC if you have another Jedi cast it for you. Even in that case, it is still worth picking up eventually.
A great defensive power, and another one that someone in your party should have at all times. One you should eventually pick up too.
Persuasion, but as a force power. Just take the Persuasion skill, it’s more generally applicable and does not carry the dark side points this power does. Alternatively, it can be a good flavour choice for a dark side character.
A power notable for a few reasons, which may make you consider taking it. The damage scales with your level — eventually catching up to storm, though only hitting three targets — which makes it a good damaging power for builds that do not want to take storm. Generally, these are Light Side builds with low FP (not able to afford the increase in Storm cost) or with low DC (out-damaging storm earlier). In addition, it is not restricted by armour, so it can be a good power to choose if playing an armoured Jedi. If none of the reasons appeal to you, pick another power instead.
An extremely strong single-target power, doing a significant amount of damage at its final level. Most enemies will be better dealt with by storm, but it can find use against those high Vitality opponents like bosses. Choke can also be a useful stopping point, as it has a debuff effect not shared by Kill that can stack with other debuffs.
A single target debuff, with its effects getting stronger the longer it is applied to the target. Most enemies are too weak to see any real use out of this power, so it is mostly relegated to bosses. For those cases, it can be most useful for a PC focused on force powers to get an extra little edge by degrading their saving throws.
The premiere Droid killer. Useful for those without Storm, as a limited number of powers affect droids. Worth picking up for party members, but is completely optional for the PC. If you are having trouble with them, it can be worth picking up on someone.
Breach’s utility is based on how many offensive force powers you already have. If you have several offensive powers, especially single target powers, then it can be very useful for using those powers in boss fights.
Doing both damage and healing at the same time, this is the better healing option for the PC. Downsides come with how late you get the second power, and with how the damage can be saved against. It may be preferable for characters with a low save DC to pick up cure instead.
The worse healing power. Drain Life is much preferred on your PC, and can be supplemented by cure on a party member. Heal is an especially dubious upgrade, since it only adds 5 points of healing. The poison neutralisation should be moot in most circumstances, as several other powers and pieces of equipment already deal with it.
A handy power, but one with a relatively limited usage. For most characters, this is not worth taking over something else, but it can be useful for a self-buff focused Guardian.
The worse buff power. Armor loses out to valour in usefulness for several reasons, from a limited usefulness to only applying to one character. Due to a limited number of powers, you are much better off just picking up Valor.
Example Builds
This is a powerful and well-rounded force user, able to use powers and lightsabers with equal ease.
- Level Distribution: 8 levels of Scout, then 12 levels of Consular. This could also be run using either of 4/16 or 2/18, but the character is easily powerful enough without saving levels. Consular also has the advantage of providing the most powers and Force Points for its levels, so with Wisdom-boosting gear you should not feel lacking.
- Attributes: 14/10/12/14/14/14, though you could easily dump Intelligence for more Dexterity and Constitution if you are willing to have fewer skill points.
- Feats: Master Flurry, Two-Weapon Fighting, Toughness, Weapon Focus: Lightsaber
- Powers: Force Wave, Stasis Field, Master Speed, Master Valour, Improved Energy Resistance
- Important Items: Circlet of Saresh[strategywiki.org], Qel-Droma Robes[strategywiki.org], Star Forge Robes[strategywiki.org]
This build is focused on doing the most single-target damage possible through sneak-attack.
- Level Distribution: 7 levels of Scoundrel, then 13 levels of Guardian.
- Attributes: 18/10/14/8/10/12
- Feats: Master Flurry, Two-Weapon Fighting, Implant, Toughness
- Powers: Insanity, Force Whirlwind, Kill, Master Speed, Dominate Mind
- Important Items: Dominator Gauntlets[strategywiki.org], CNS Strength Enhancer[strategywiki.org], Darth Revan’s Robes[strategywiki.org]
And that wraps up our share on STAR WARS™ Knights of the Old Republic™: Player Character Advanced Build Guide. If you have any additional insights or tips to contribute, don’t hesitate to drop a comment below. For a more in-depth read, you can refer to the original article here by DarthTi, who deserves all the credit. Happy gaming!