KOTOR 2 - Notes from my 2025 playthrough

WARNING: the following contains heavy spoilers about KOTOR I and KOTOR II. Do not read it if you haven't played the game yet.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: these are loose notes from my 2025 playthrough. They are very poorly organized, as they were only ever intended for my own personal use.

ANOTHER WARNING: you saw that there were going to be spoilers, right? If you haven't played the games, stop reading now.


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This is a place to collect thoughts for my 2025 playthrough.

This will be a mirror to my 2024 Dark Side run. This Exile fell to the Dark Side under Revan's leadership in the Mandalorian Wars, then spent ten years in Wild Space coming to terms with her mistakes. Then Revan shows up to recruit her back into Revan's service, this time to fix all the things they messed up the first time. She's angry at Revan at first, and really gives Revan an earful. Then they work things out and realize they've both separately come to basically the same place. The Exile heads back to the Core to clean up the mess, while Revan heads to the Unknown Regions to learn more about the True Sith threat out there.

My Light Side Exiles tend to be pretty fussy at Revan, at least at first, and I've already done fanfic variations on that conversation, either in direct conversation or just describing that Exile's thoughts. So I'm not going to write another one of those. And I'm going to spare anyone who happens to read my fanfics another visit to the Blind Alley Cantina (no promises that I won't take you back there again in future fanfics, though!). I didn't write a fanfic set during/around KOTOR 2 this time. Instead, I did something different - a fanfic featuring an elderly Revan and Exile, called Echo's End. It includes more Revan than Exile, but there's some Exile in there.

So what is this Exile's personality like at the beginning of KOTOR 2? She's come around to being very pro-Jedi. But she believes that the people who actually abandoned the Order were those leading it. She recognizes her mistakes in that time period, and wants to atone for them, but places a lot of blame on the Jedi Council, who she believes weren't really acting like Jedi anymore. In particular, she doesn't believe that joining in the Mandalorian Wars was wrong, but she does believe that how they went about it was. And that if they'd had guidance from the Council, things might have gone better. Instead, though, the Council withheld their assistance from the Republic and their wisdom from those Jedi who did try to help, which she sees as an abdication of their duty. She therefore embraces the idea that she's the Last Jedi, and the opportunity to rebuild the Order as she believes it should be. She's also weary of conflict, and tries to act as peacemaker wherever possible. When conflict is inevitable, she tries to focus it on herself, to protect others from being hurt. She'll therefore avoid fights when possible, but will also sometimes actively take them on if it seems that good people would be hurt by her inaction. When it is inevitable that her companions are in danger and she can't deal with the enemies herself (which happen a LOT in the game), she considers it her duty to protect her friends.

If all this sounds a little arrogant ... yeah. She means well, but she's a little too sure of herself sometimes.

As in my 2024 Dark Side playthrough, my 2025 Exile will again be knowingly serving Revan, but this time a redeemed Light Side Revan and Exile.

The associated 2025 KOTOR 1 Playthrough includes a Light Side main character who knows very, very quickly exactly who she is, and sets out to clean up the mess she made. Circumstances dictate that she not reveal herself immediately, and her full abilities haven't immediately returned. So she is patient, first focusing on buffing her companions. Later, once she's had a chance to gain her companion's trust, (as KOTOR 1 doesn't have an influence system like KOTOR 2, I had to head canon that part), she picks up a variety of Dark Side offensive powers. But she maintains her committment to the Light Side. (Yes, I know that's tropey and not very Star Wars-ey, but the Optimal Consular is an endgame-focused build designed to lolfacestomp Malak in the final fight, and I wanted to try it.)

All this leads to a more tactical, initially less overpowering build that takes a little while to come into its own, and combines Dark and Light powers in an edgy way that my teenage self might have appreciated, but my middle-aged self questions. It makes for an interesting Revan, but by the time I get to the KOTOR 2 playthrough, I'll be ready to smack some bad guys with pure uncompromised Light Side goodness.

This Exile will be very Light Side, and on a personal mission from the redeemed Revan. Her goals are fourfold:
  1. Recruit Bao-Dur to Revan's cause by helping him deal with his past, so he's ready for the future. Revan has need of Bao-Dur's technical abilities, and needs Bao-Dur prepared to use them in her service again. She knows she took advantage of and manipulated Bao-Dur last time, but that Bao-Dur still admires the Exile. So the Exile is the ideal person to convince Bao-Dur that Revan is really sincere.
  2. Reconnect to the Force with Kreia's help. Revan knows that Kreia is capable of guiding the Exile through this, and putting the Exile and Kreia together is important because another goal is to...
  3. Kill the Triumverate. Revan knows Kreia is Traya, and that the Exile is the ideal person to face Nihilus. Sion is not as dangerous to Revan, but he's loyal to Kreia in his own twisted way, so he has to die too.
  4. Face the remaining Jedi Masters, to see if the old Jedi Order can be salvaged. Revan intends to save the Republic from the True Sith. The Jedi Masters' past behavior suggests that once the Triumverate is gone, they might try to interfere in Revan's plans, or at least discourage others from assisting. Revan doesn't want the Jedi Masters killed, but needs to know how they're going to react.
This Exile was Revan's primary strategic and tactical assistant during the Mandalorian Wars. This Exile helped plan and execute the Malachor V battle with full knowledge of what would happen, and that many loyal to the Republic over Revan would die. Nothing that is revealed in KOTOR II about Revan's past is a surprise to this Exile. This Exile has also come to terms with all that, and trusts the redeemed Revan.

However, this Exile is also very patient and capable of controlling her reactions and emotions. She'll avoid dishonesty, but also doesn't feel compeled to be forthcoming about what's really going on. She feels no need to defend Revan's actions or correct anyone's misconceptions. She's on a mission, and achieving that mission is of primary importance. She has nothing to prove to anyone except herself.

======== STARTING CLASS ==========

My first playthrough of KOTOR 2 was not long after the game released, long before TSLRCM was a thing. I played a Light Side caster, but all I really remember was spamming Force Wave over and over and over as I fought endless enemies in long hallways wondering if the game even had an ending.

Both the game and my understanding of it have improved dramatically since then. But I've never played a Light Side caster again. That's partially because, as I've learned more about the game, I've seen the advantages of the various other choices. I think it's time to come full circle now, and try a dedicated Light Side caster again.

Options and selected stats for starting class (assuming 15 levels) are:
Class Vitality/Level Force/Level Strong Saves Class Skills Initial Skills Skills/Level Feats Force Powers Special
Guardian 10 4 Fortitude, Reflex Awareness
Demolitions
Persuade
Treat Injury		 (1+INT) * 4 1+INT 9 14 Force Jump
Sentinel 8 6 Fortitude, Reflex Awareness
Computer Use
Persuade
Security
Stealth
Treat Injury		 (3+INT) * 4 3 + INT 8 14 Immunities
Consular 6 8 Fortitude, Will Awareness
Persuade
Repair
Treat Injury		 (2+INT) * 4 2 + INT 6 19 Force Focus
Note: The Strategywiki classes page says all three starting classes get two Force Powers at level 1, but the game doesn't actually let you select any. The above numbers reflect this.

Also, Guardians are the only starting class that can take Weapon Specialization: Lightsaber. However, all Prestige classes can, so all main characters can eventually get access to that feat (if they choose to take it). Guardians just have the option to get it sooner.

Guardians are also the only class that gets Force Jump. Prestige classes do not add this.

So Guardians get a lot of cool things, but not much that helps as a caster. Great starting class, just not for this playthrough.

Assuming an INT of 12 (+1 bonus), each class would get the following number of skill points (initial+levelups=total) at level 15:
More INT would mean more skill points, with Sentinel gaining the most and Guardian the least (because of the multiplier at level 1)

Consular gives up a significant number of feats and a significant amount of vitality to gain a significant amount of Force ability (points+powers). It also gets Force Focus, which adds to Force Power DC, making offensive Force Powers more reliable. Because this is a Force-oriented build, this seems like the best fit.

Sentinel is almost a great choice. Compared to Consular, it gains 2 feats, significant skill points, and vitality, which are all very useful. And the immunities would be nice. However, it has three big drawbacks:
  1. no Force Focus
  2. lower Force Power pool
  3. fewer Force Powers
And there's an even bigger drawback. The Light Side caster prestige class, Jedi Master, really isn't all that great. Consular is superior in almost all respects. So if I started as a Sentinel and prestiged into Jedi Master, I'd be skilled and fairly tough, but I'd be a mediocre caster. And I want to be a good caster for this playthrough.

So, I'm going to go with Consular, and either never prestige, or else prestige very late.

======== PRESTIGE CLASS ==========

I frequently figure out my KOTOR 2 build by having a pretty good idea what prestige class I want, and then picking which starting class works best for that particular playthrough.

This time, though, the class that makes the most sense is a little lame. Compared to the Consular starting class, the Jedi Master prestige class gets:
It is worth noting that Master Force Focus, a Consular class feat, is achieved at Consular level 12. After that the only class feats gained are Unarmed Combat improvements, which I don't care about.

Regarding the slower gain of Force Powers - that's absolutely true. Force Powers are gained at:
Clearly that's an advantage to Consular, right? Usually. But here's the trick: notice that the progression for Jedi Master levels 1-4 is identical to the Consular progression at later levels? That means you can finish off your build with 4 levels of Jedi Master and not lose any Force Powers. And really, it's a bit better, because you can take two more levels of Jedi Master before you start falling behind Consular - it isn't until Jedi Master level 7 that you'd get an extra Force Power if you'd stayed Consular. But it gets even better. If you start Jedi Master on a level that would have given you only one Force Power as a Consular, then you actually GAIN a Force Power (because you'll get 2 powers on your first Jedi Master level). So by switching to Jedi Master at a "one power" Consular level, you can either take 6 levels of Jedi Master and gain a power compared to staying Consular, or take 7 levels of Jedi Master and be even with Consular on Force Powers.

A similar logic applies to feats - Jedi Master gets a selected feat at level 1, and another at level 3 before falling into the same pattern as Consular. So by switching to Jedi Master at a "one force power and no selected feat" Consular level, you get an extra selected feat.

Of course, you still have slower defense and save progression vs Consular. But you pick up more Force Points and a few useful class feats. Most of them can be taken as a selected feat as a Consular (or at least, a close equivalent can be taken). And waiting to get them until you become a Jedi Master means you go most of the game without them. So maybe, you'd prefer to just stay Consular and take them as selected feats earlier, depending on your build and goals. But if not, you can get them "for free" as a Jedi Master, and use those selected feats for other things.

There's also the complication that prestiging in KOTOR can't be done just any time you feel like it. You must be at least level 15 (not a problem, you won't want to switch before then anyway), sufficiently invested in your alignment (Light Side for Jedi Master, shouldn't be a problem), and you must switch before the conversation with Kreia becomes unavailable (this part could be an issue).

That's a lot of analysis to conclude that prestiging to Jedi Master isn't necessarily a bad idea, regardless of what most folks on the internet say, if it is done at an opportune time and if the tradeoffs work for the build.

So what levels are opportune? The following are "one power, no feat" Consular levels at which prestiging is possible: 16, 17, 19, 20, 22, 23, 25, 26, 28, 30 (and so on, but past 30 the conversation with Kreia is almost certainly unavailable, unless you're using a cheat or infinite XP glitch).

Assuming I reach level 30 at the end of the game, and that I take Jedi Master as early as I can without losing any Force Powers, I should switch at level 23. That should be safely before the conversation to prestige becomes unavailable. If I were to reach level 23, see that I had plenty of time left, and decide I preferred to continue being a Consular, I could defer prestiging until 25 or even 26 and just adjust the remainder of the build accordingly.

======== ATTRIBUTES ========

This will be a female main character. I will not be using Party Swap or otherwise getting Battle Precognition, so my WIS bonus will not add to my Defense. Yes, I know what I'm giving up by making those choices.

This emphasises the attributes most important to me as a caster, plus some early game survivability:
STR 10 (+0)
DEX 12 (+1)
CON 14 (+2)
INT 10 (+0)
WIS 16 (+3)
CHA 14 (+2)

This is not a melee class, and I get very few class skills, so STR and INT can be low. I'll still need to do a little melee combat, especially in the early game, and I'd like a few skills for dialog purposes. So I'm not going to drop into negative modifiers.

I can get these attribute bonuses via dialog with HK-47. Presumably I'll go for minimum influence this time, to avoid Dark Side points. And because giving HK-47 a hard time is kinda fun.
Getting to CON 18 for the best implants would be nice, but doesn't look realistic for this build - I'd have to give up too many other things I care about. Getting to CON 16 still lets me use some really nice implants without giving up too much. I can put one point into CON at levelup. Combined with the +1 from HK-47, I'm there.

======== SKILLS ========

Consular and Jedi Master both have the same four class skills: Awareness, Persuade, Repair, Treat Injury.

That's not much. I'll just have to accept that this isn't a skill-heavy playthrough. Of course, companions can help sometimes, but other times I'll be solo. And only the main character's skills count for dialog.

I normally try to get Demolitions to 5 by level 2, to recover mines on Peragus. I'll only encounter Minor mines on Peragus, and I get +1 from the Safety Harness (a guaranteed drop in the Mining Tunnels). Force Valor gives another +1. That leaves me needing 3 points, and I don't see a good way to get them.

Disabling mines is a lot easier than recovering them (10 points easier, to be exact. see the table here). I can disable Minor and Average mines, assuming I'm out of combat and "taking 20", with an adjusted Demolitions score of zero. Zilch. Nada. Okay, that's a lie, because Demolitions can't be used untrained. So by dropping 1 point in Demolitions as a cross-class skill, I can disable all the mines I'll face solo (Minor on Peragus, Average on Korriban). If I manage to cobble together enough +INT buffs/gear and +Demolitions gear, I may even be able to recover some. But generally, I'll expect the main character to only disable, and to lean on companions for recovering.

Setting mines is even easier than disabling them, so with one point in Demolitions and some buffs/gear, I should be able to plant Strong or even Deadly mines recovered by my companions. Not bad for a one point investment. I should try to work that into the build at level 1, even though it will be cross-class. Alternatively, I could burn a selected feat to make Demolitions a class skill, but I don't get a lot of feats. Probably not worth it.

In my 2022 playthough, when I found a workbench, I crafted a Long Sword and an Ionite Edge (extra damage vs droids). This let me basically walk through most of Peragus. But I'd need Repair 1 (for the sword) and Security 6 (for the edge). I won't have any points in Repair, but my INT+2 bonus should be sufficient. Security looks impossible, though. Alternatively, I could craft a Devaronian Edge (crit bonus) with Stealth 4, but that also looks infeasible. I guess unless I get a lucky gear drop, Peragus will just be a bit tough.

Here are some relevant values for my four class skills:

Skill Awareness Persuade Repair Treat Injury
Attribute WIS +6 CHA +2 INT +0 WIS +6
Target Value 20 27 21 (for T3) ?
Assigned Points 14 25 21 ?

These attribute bonuses include all planned level-up bumps through level 28, plus the attribute values I'm expecting to get from HK-47. All that will, of course, take some time to get. They do not include bumps from Master Valor.

That would be a total of 60 assigned points, plus however many I put into Treat Injury. And I'm probably burning 2 points for my 1 point of Demolitions. By level 28, I'll get 62 points to assign, so that math works.

Fully repairing T3 would ALSO require 21 in Computer Use, which there's no good way to get in this build. Given that I'm not doing that, it seems to make sense to hit my targets for Awareness and Persuade, and split the remaining points between Repair and Treat Injury. I doubt I'll actually be repairing very much, but there are dialog checks that it'll be helpful for. Awareness (in addition to being useful in dialogs) will help keep me from stumbling into mines in solo portions of the game.

======== FEATS ========

Assuming a final level of 30 and switching to Jedi Master at character level 24, I'll get 11 selected feats. The main character gets the first rank of every active attack feat line (Power Attack, Flurry, etc.) for free at level 1. Here are some good selected feat candidates (in no particular order, level requirements, if any, is in parenthesis):
This really isn't a weapons-oriented build, but especially at first some weapons combat will be necessary. Even so, I can probably skip higher ranks of the active attack feats and just use normal attack for any opponent that the penalities for the first rank are too miserable for.

Light Armor Proficiency would let me wear the Jal Shey armor, but I'll likely prefer the Ossus Keeper Robe. Unless I do Onderon early, it'll be awhile before I get it. But I can probably skip Light Armor Proficiency and muddle through until then.

If I decide that I really, really can't live without one of the skills that I don't get as a class skill, I could use the Class Skill feat to get it. But I still won't have very many skill points to spend. I've never done a truly low-skilled KOTOR 2 run, so maybe now is the time, and I should just skip Class Skill.

Finesse: Melee Weapons is the one feat specific to weapon combat that it might make sense to take, if I take it early. (I don't consider Dueling specific to weapon combat, because the Defense bonus is useful regardless.) I expect to have a somewhat rough time in the early game, and making my decent DEX work for me would be nice. As noted everywhere, by everyone, this affects lightsabers too.

Conditioning gives a welcome bump to saves. Given that I'll have a relatively low Vitality pool, and that being stunned or otherwise incapacitated greatly increase my chances of dying, this seems worthwhile.

Toughness is similar - I'm pretty useless dead. It might make sense to prioritize the Toughness line in the early game, when my Force Powers haven't really kicked in yet.

Dueling is also similar, and maybe something to prioritize. The attack bonus would be welcome at lower levels, and the defense bonus for the entire game.

Regenerate Vitality Points: another keep-me-alive feat, that reduces downtime between fights. By not having to use the Force to heal as often, I can possibly also get by without Regenerate Force Points until I get it for free.

Regenerate Force Points: I'll get this for free as a Jedi Master, but not until character level 24. That's a long time to wait, and I may decide I need this sooner just for quality of life.

Stealth Run: LOL, just kidding. Pretty sure this would be the most useless feat I could possibly take for this playthrough.

That's 12 feats that might be useful, one of which I eventually get for free anyway. So I'll just plan to be patient on that one, and take the other 11.

======== FORCE POWERS ========

Assuming I end at level 30, I'll get 38 selected Force Powers.

This is all the selectable Force Powers in the game, with level requirement for any that aren't available at level 1:
That's a total of 68 powers, counting all ranks of all powers.

This is a Light Side build. I'll eventually have a high enough WIS, combined with a decent CHA, to use Dark Side powers. But I'll want to start heavy on Light Side powers.

I'll generally be the primary caster in the party, so I'll want a nice selection of buffs and other powers that support my party, make them more effective, and heal them. At first, that'll be more effective than casting attack powers against enemies myself. Eventually, stuns and direct damage will be very powerful, hopefully matching or outclassing what my weapons-oriented party members can do.

The only direct damage powers I get from Light/Universal are the Stun Droid line and the Force Push line. I could get by with that. but it feels insufficient. Shock/Lightning/Storm is excellent, and AoE. Wound/Choke/Kill are also great, but single target. Ideally, I'd take both. A comment thread with a lot of analysis about damaging powers is here. It is a little confusing because it mixes KOTOR 1 and KOTOR 2 details. But in summary, Storm inflicts more damage, but Wave stuns and is cheaper in terms of Force Points. One option is to stop the Force Push line at Whirlwind, which is single target but has a longer duration. However, Wave is a lot of fun, and makes me think of the awesome visual where Master Sol uses it in The Acolyte series. For single target, Wound/Choke/Kill is also a great choice.

An unusual choice would be the Force Scream line, which is Dark Side but might be a fit for this Exile expressing her trauma, while Force Storm feels out of character. This post has an analysis of Force Storm vs Force Scream. And it isn't as clear-cut as you'd think.

Death Field also fits the Exile's condition as a Wound in the Force. Almost like her mere presence, when fed by her aggression, turns the connections she forms with others into a direct attack. This fits with the speech the Jedi Masters give her near at the end of the game. (Yeah, in-game you have to click a button to activate the power, I know...)

Part of the fun of this playthrough should be rolling through Trayus Academy, absolutely dominating everything I face. I'm expecting the early game to be hard, and the midgame to just be mediocre. If the endgame doesn't make me feel overpowered, with a selection of ways to dispatch enemies en masse, then this will feel like a failure. That means I might take some powers that are a little out of character, just because this is a good chance to play around with them.

With that said, my challenge with Force Storm for this particular playthrough is that I just don't see this Exile using it. It is absolutely 100% Dark Side in every presentation we see in any Star Wars media. I justified Death Field and Force Scream above. We see Luke use Choke in RotJ, so there's a least a weak argument to be made that Wound/Choke/Kill it isn't purely Dark Side. But Shock/Lightning/Storm? As much fun as they are, I either have to compromise my character concept from a roleplaying standpoint, or not take them. I'm still going to take that line - it is just too good not to - but I don't think I'll click the button much.

Per the backstory, this Exile is Revan's secret agent, who knows much more about what she'll be facing than a typical Exile might. She'll therefore want some powers with some level of subtlety and others geared towards boss fights. And per her personality, this Exile tends to take things on herself (as overcompensation for her guilt about her past).

About the only powers that don't fit are Mind Trick, the Throw Lightsaber line, and some of the Dark Side powers

There are 21 Light Side powers (all of which make sense for this Exile), 23 Universal powers that make sense and 11 Dark Side powers I'm considering. That's a total of 55 powers, and I only get 38. So what do I leave out?

I can drop Affect and Dominate Mind, given that I'm investing heavily in Persuade (hooray, my meager skill points help me out with something!) But that still leaves me taking 38 of 53 powers, so I have more to cut.

I can drop the Force Body line - I should have plenty of Force points. Force Deflection/Redirection are convenient because they're always active. But Energy Resistance can cover that. There are only so many Force-wielding enemies, especially given that I'm not killing the Jedi Masters, so I can live without the Force Resistance and Force Suppression lines. It'd be fun to take every Light Side power, but I'm running out of things to cut. I never use the Revitalize line - I think I've taken it before, but never clicked the button. Force Armor is included in the powers activated by Force Enlightenment, so it is worth taking. Force Barrier is nice to have, but a Mandalorian Melee Shield can do the same thing, and is pretty cheap to craft. So Force Barrier is out.

All that leaves me with:
=========== GEAR ===========

This is clearly a robes playthough, although I may wear armor in the very early game when I don't have many options.

By the time I get a lightsaber, I should be moving away from weapons combat. But there are still instances, particularly solo sections, when I'll need it. When possible I should favor crystals that help with casting rather than actual lightsaber combat

Given that I'm taking Dueling, I'll be using a single saber. Holding two would provide more bonuses from crystals, but lose the benefits of the Dueling feat line. That may still sometimes be worth it mathematically, but I probably won't bother.

The best available robes (without cheats) are the Ossus Keeper Robes, available from Fassa on Nar Shaddaa as a level 29 quest reward, or as a guaranteed drop from the Onderon museum. I should be long done with Fassa by level 29, so I'll plan to get these on Onderon.

Some other good gear to consider:
There's no point in getting both the Nerve Enhancement System implant and the Nerve Amplifier Belt - they do basically the same thing. And the alternative implant is hard to get for this playthrough. Fassa has lots of great items as a quest reward, but I can only get one, and the best rewards require me to turn in the quest at levels where I'm probably already into the endgame. Even for the ones where the level isn't silly, getting to Fassa at exactly the right level might be awkward. I'll be siding with Geeda in the Nar Shaddaa Trade War, so I shouldn't count on anything from Oondar, who is the other other vendor source for some of these things. Putting that all together, I should try to get the following gear from the following sources (unless I get lucky random drops):
Maybe I get lucky with drops, or Fassa, but otherwise, I should buy:
This puts me buying the most expensive things later, when hopefully I have the credits.

NOTE: I was able to save scum Oondar for the Adrenaline Stimulator and still side with Geeda in the Trade War, which allowed me to get it a bit sooner than if I'd waited for Adum Larp.

Assuming I use a single-bladed lightsaber , here is a set of upgrades that would work well:
The "Name Crystal" stats listed above are max value at level 33 with Light Side Mastery. At lower levels the crystal has the same bonuses but at lower values (the extra damage to Dark Side requires Light Side Mastery). Crystals cannot be crafted and must instead be found. Cells, emitters, and lenses can be crafted, though. Bao-Dur needs to be useful for something, after all.

=========== COMPANIONS ===========

This Exile is very focused as a caster. She'll be decent in lightsaber combat when buffed, but not a melee powerhouse, and not built to have enemies in her face every battle. She is also very lacking in skills, notably Security (the entire game) and Demolitions (vs mid and late game mines).

Therefore, she need companions that can handle melee and skills. That could be one melee focused companion and one skills-oriented companion, or two that are decent at both and have complimentary skills to each other and the main character.

Early in the game, I'll use whoever I have. Until I leave Telos I'll only have Atton, Kreia, and Bao-Dur. It is hard to predict when I'll get Visas, but hopefully it isn't long after that.

I normally park Kreia on the ship as soon as I can, because I get annoyed at her constant criticism. However, this Exile would be pretty much immune to that: she has Kreia's number from the beginning, and is on an important mission that Kreia knows nothing about. She may sometimes engage in verbal sparring just to fine-tune her own thoughts and positions, but ultimately she can just let anything Kreia says roll right off her. So from a roleplaying perspective, I might not mind bringing Kreia along more this time. In the early game, she's a great buffer, and the XP boost is nice. Later on, though, she'll become redundant - the role she plays will be filled by the main character - so eventually she'll get permanently relegated to the ship.

The game requires me to take Kreia on my second trip to Onderon - the assault on the palace - even though she's not really an ideal companion for this Exile. In the early game, her Force Chain will help make up for the Exile not being a strong caster yet. But there's no way to do the second half of Onderon quickly - you have to finish the first trip, then go do another planet, then get called back. By that point, you're solidly into the midgame. So even if I do the first Duxn/Onderon trip early, I should probably defer the second trip until very late. By that time I'll also have Mira, who is very useful on the ramps leading into the palace on the second trip. Especially for an Exile without Demolitions. However Mira+Kreia leaves me without any melee companion at all.

Kreia will be unavailable on Korriban, which may argue for doing Korriban once I have preferred party members. If I did Korriban immediately after Telos (which I do sometimes, minus the cave), and assuming Visas doesn't immediately show up, then I'd have no choice but to take Atton and Bao-Dur. Well, T3, who is surprisingly sturdy once he's properly geared. But at that point he wouldn't be.

Atton will be unavailable on my first trip to Duxn/Onderon. Mira won't be available until well into Nar Shaddaa. GO-TO won't be available until the very end of Nar Shaddaa. Disciple won't be available until partway into Dantooine. HK-47 won't be available until around my second planet or so. I'm required to take Mandalore and Visas on the Ravager in the end game.

Advice from someone on reddit about getting HK-47 early (not 100% sure this works with TSLRCM):
Unclear if this works exactly in this way with TSCLRM. Also, Akkere on Dantooine may also sell HK-47 parts, as an alternative to Onderon. Finally, save before talking to any merchant, as some loot is randomized. So if you don't see what you want, reload and try again - maybe it'll show up.

Someone else said this works with TSLRCM:
If that indeed works, that means I can get HK-47 early in my first post-Telos planet, before missing any influence opportunities.

My available companions for this playthrough, and the primary role I'll build each for, will be:
Some companions can do other things, but the above is the thing they'll be best at for this playthrough.

Visas should prioritize the Stun/Disable/Destroy Droid line of Force Powers this playthrough, taking them earlier than shown on the build sheet. This is for GO-TO's yacht.

======== PLANET ORDER ========

Some considerations are:
There are three decent options for first planet, with advantages and disadvantages for each:
I think I need 6 influence losses with HK-47 to get my attribute bonus. I can get (I think) 4 via conversation. So I'll need to take him with me for a couple of losses. He has one unique loss opportunity on Onderon that doesn't take a gain opportunity from anyone else, but then I have to have him the entire first visit to the planet, and I'm not sure I want that.

I think I'll need 4 influence gains with Atton to make him a Jedi. I can get all 4 via conversation, but one of them takes awhile. So I'll realistically need one when he's with me.

Bao-Dur influence is, practically speaking, useless. I get nothing from it. If I switch him to a Jedi it'll be super late and I'll never use him in combat afterward. But for roleplaying purposes Revan wants this Exile to help Bao-Dur work through his trauma. And Revan likely knows that in so doing, the Exile will work through hers as well. So I'm going to gain influence anyway. I think I'll need 5 influence gains to make Bao-Dur a Jedi (for roleplaying purposes, I'll consider this as him resolving his trauma). I can't get any via dialog.

Good influence locations for this playthrough seem to be:
This ordering knocks out influence concerns very quickly, and can all be done without committing to using the target companion for anything other than that particular influence opportunity. So if I want to, I can get the gain/loss then switch that companion back out of the party. It also leaves some later opportunities in various places. That way, if I'm counting wrong and this doesn't get influence high/low enough, I can still make it up.

None of that requires me to do any particular planet first.

For getting a lightsaber fast on Nar Shaddaa, there are a few options (none of which require finishing the planet):
You can also get the remaining part on any of the other planets (Duxn, Dantooine, or Korriban), but not quite as fast.

To get the Kaiburr lightsaber upgrade crystal, I can just not tell Jorran in the Jedi Enclave that the area is clear until I'm at the appropriate level.

It isn't necessary to turn in the Fassa quest on Nar Shaddaa to finish the planet. So I can come back at the right level for whichever reward I want.

So the plan is:
Those companion combos, in many cases, were chosen with skills in mind. And likewise, the skills each companion takes were chosen based on which combos that companion was obligated to participate in. For example, Mandalore and Visas are mandatory on the Ravager, so I assigned them complimentary skills that fills gaps this Exile can't cover. Which means they're also a good combo for the first trip to Onderdon.

=========== SKILLS MATRIX ===========

Combos for various notable areas:
Mira should only take skills as class skills. She'll need to bank some skill points until she becomes a Sentinel, then she can catch up.

Numbers like 4/3 mean 4 points per level in the first class and 3 points per level in the second class

Party Member Awareness Computer Use Demolitions Persuade Repair Security Stealth Treat Injury
Meetra (2) 14 0 1 25 15 0 0 14
Atton (4/3) Max 0 Max 0 0 Max Some 0
Bao-Dur S e e B u i l d
Disciple (2) Max 0 Max 0 0 0 0 0
GO-TO (4) 0 Max 0 0 Max Max Max 0
Handmaiden (1/1) N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Hanharr N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
HK-47 (3) Max 0 0 0 Max Max 0 0
Kreia (4) Max Max 0 0 Max 0 0 Max
Mandalore (2) Max 0 Max 0 0 0 0 0
Mira (5) Max Max Max 0 Max Max 0 0
T3-M4 (4) Max Max 0 0 Max Max 0 0
Visas (3) Max Max 0 0 0 Max 0 0

This is what each party member should focus on for this playthrough, not what they're inherently best at. The matrix may show a party member taking Max of a cross-class skill. This just means they should take as much as they can. This is sometimes useful if, based on the expected combinations of party members, there would otherwise be nobody taking that skill at all.
I only noted the things that mattered. Fill in the rest however I feel like it.

I listed companions I won't get this playthrough, for easier copy/paste next year.

Maximum adjusted values needed for each skill follow. No sense in going over that, even if the table above says "Max". Well, unless you want it higher for crafting, but I mostly let Bao-Dur do that.

Awareness Computer Use Demolitions Persuade Repair Security Stealth Treat Injury
20 15 (for T3) 25 27 21 (for T3) Level+8 41 ?

The above is for Normal difficulty. Difficult mode adds 5 to the DC for many checks (notably Awareness, Demolitions, and Security). It also assumes that Demolitions and Security checks are out of combat (allowing you to "take 20").

Also, there's a -5 penalty to Awareness if you're running. Sure, you could stop every little bit to make sure you're not missing anything, but who wants to do that? So the table above accounts for the penalty. Run, run, run!

At least some Security checks scale by your character level, so it is difficult to give a max value needed. On Normal difficulty setting, the hardest DC is your character level plus 28. So if you do the Ravager at level 30, you'd need adjusted Security of 38 (because you'll presumably be "taking 20").

Stealth of 20 is sufficient for almost everything. But certain enemies, particular in the Trayus Academy, have fairly high Awareness and WIS values, requiring a lot more Stealth to overcome.

======== BUILD TABLE ========

Meetra's progression details per level (g = granted, s = selected)

Character Level Class Level Attributes Skills Feats Force Powers
1 Consular 1 STR: 10 (+0)
WIS: 16 (+3)
CHA: 14 (+2)
INT: 10 (+0)
CON: 14 (+2)
DEX: 12 (+1)		 8 points
Awareness +4 (4)
Persuade +0 (0)
Treat Injury +2 (2)
Demolitions +2 (1, cross-class)		 Jedi Sense (g)
Force Focus (g)
Jedi Defense (g)
Weapon Proficiency: Blaster Pistol (g)
Weapon Proficiency: Melee Weapons (g)
Weapon Proficiency: Lightsaber (g)
Critical Strike (g)
Flurry (g)
Power Attack (g)
Power Blast (g)
Rapid Shot (g)
Sniper Shot (g)
War Veteran (g)
Finesse: Melee Weapons (s)
2 Consular 2 2 points
Awareness +0 (4)
Persuade +2 (2)
Repair +0 (0)
Treat Injury +0 (2)		 Force Sensitive (g)
Unarmed Specialist I (g)		 Force Valor (s)
3 Consular 3 2 points
Awareness +0 (4)
Persuade +2 (4)
Repair +0 (0)
Treat Injury +0 (2)		 Dueling (s)
 Burst of Speed (s)
Energy Resistance (s)
4 Consular 4 CON +1, 15 (+2) 2 points
Awareness +0 (4)
Persuade +2 (6)
Repair +0 (0)
Treat Injury +0 (2)		 Force Aura (s)
5 Consular 5 2 points
Awareness +0 (4)
Persuade +2 (8)
Repair +0 (0)
Treat Injury +0 (2)		 Force Shield (s)
6 Consular 6 2 points
Awareness +1 (5)
Persuade +1 (9)
Repair +0 (0)
Treat Injury +0 (2)		 Unarmed Specialist II (g)
Improved Force Focus (g)
Improved Dueling (s)		 Heal (s)
Battle Meditation (s)
7 Consular 7 2 points
Awareness +1 (6)
Persuade +1 (10)
Repair +0 (0)
Treat Injury +0 (2)		 Force Push (s)
8 Consular 8 WIS +1, 17 (+3) 2 points
Awareness +1 (7)
Persuade +1 (11)
Repair +0 (0)
Treat Injury +0 (2)		 Stun Droid (s)
9 Consular 9 2 points
Awareness +1 (8)
Persuade +1 (12)
Repair +0 (0)
Treat Injury +0 (2)		 Toughness (s) Knight Valor (s)
Knight Speed (s)
10 Consular 10 2 points
Awareness +1 (9)
Persuade +1 (13)
Repair +0 (0)
Treat Injury +0 (2)		 Unarmed Specialist III (g) Improved Energy Resistance (s)
11 Consular 11 2 points
Awareness +1 (10)
Persuade +1 (14)
Repair +0 (0)
Treat Injury +0 (2)		 Determination (Shi-cho Form) (g)
Force Whirlwind (s)
12 Consular 12 WIS +1, 18 (+4) 2 points
Awareness +1 (11)
Persuade +1 (15)
Repair +0 (0)
Treat Injury +0 (2)		 Force Channel (g)
Master Force Focus (g)
Improved Toughness (s)		 Force Armor (s)
Improved Heal (s)
13 Consular 13 2 points
Awareness +1 (12)
Persuade +1 (16)
Repair +0 (0)
Treat Injury +0 (2)		 Contention (Makashi Form) (g)
Improved Battle Meditation (s)
14 Consular 14 2 points
Awareness +1 (13)
Persuade +1 (17)
Repair +0 (0)
Treat Injury +0 (2)		 Unarmed Specialist IV (g) Resilence (Soresu Form) (g)
Disable Droid (s)
15 Consular 15 2 points
Awareness +1 (14)
Persuade +1 (18)
Repair +0 (0)
Treat Injury +0 (2)		 Master Toughness (s) Master Valor (s)
Master Speed (s)
16 Consular 16 WIS +1, 19 (+4) 2 points
Awareness +0 (14)
Persuade +1 (19)
Repair +1 (1)
Treat Injury +0 (2)		 Destroy Droid (s)
17 Consular 17 2 points
Awareness +0 (14)
Persuade +1 (20)
Repair +1 (2)
Treat Injury +0 (2)		 Master Energy Resistance (s)
18 Consular 18 2 points
Awareness +0 (14)
Persuade +1 (21)
Repair +1 (3)
Treat Injury +0 (2)		 Unarmed Specialist V (g)
Master Dueling (s)		 Master Heal (s)
Master Battle Meditation (s)
19 Consular 19 2 points
Awareness +0 (14)
Persuade +1 (22)
Repair +0 (3)
Treat Injury +1 (3)		 Stun (s)
20 Consular 20 WIS +1, 20 (+5) 2 points
Awareness +0 (14)
Persuade +1 (23)
Repair +1 (4)
Treat Injury +0 (3)		 Stasis (s)
21 Consular 21 2 points
Awareness +0 (14)
Persuade +1 (24)
Repair +0 (4)
Treat Injury +1 (4)		 Regenerate Vitality Points (s) Stasis Field (s)
Wound (s)
22 Consular 22 2 points
Awareness +0 (14)
Persuade +1 (25)
Repair +1 (5)
Treat Injury +0 (4)		 Unarmed Specialist VI (g) Choke (s)
23 Consular 23 2 points
Awareness +0 (14)
Persuade +0 (25)
Repair +1 (6)
Treat Injury +1 (5)		 Kill (s)
24 Jedi Master 1 WIS +1, 21 (+5) 2 points
Awareness +0 (14)
Persuade +0 (25)
Repair +1 (7)
Treat Injury +1 (6)		 Weapon Focus: Lightsaber (g)
Prestige Sense (g)
Regenerate Force Points (g)
Light Side Enlightenment (g)
Conditioning (s)		 Inspire Followers I (g)
Force Wave (s)
Drain Life (s)
25 Jedi Master 2 2 points
Awareness +0 (14)
Persuade +0 (25)
Repair +1 (8)
Treat Injury +1 (7)		 Death Field (s)
26 Jedi Master 3 2 points
Awareness +0 (14)
Persuade +0 (25)
Repair +1 (9)
Treat Injury +1 (8)		 Improved Conditioning (s) Force Scream (s)
27 Jedi Master 4 2 points
Awareness +0 (14)
Persuade +0 (25)
Repair +1 (10)
Treat Injury +1 (9)		 Improved Force Scream (s)
Shock (s)
28 Jedi Master 5 WIS +1, 22 (+6) 2 points
Awareness +0 (14)
Persuade +0 (25)
Repair +1 (11)
Treat Injury +1 (10)		 Inspire Followers II (g)
Master Force Scream (s)
29 Jedi Master 6 2 points
Awareness +0 (14)
Persuade +0 (25)
Repair +1 (12)
Treat Injury +1 (11)		 Master Conditioning (s) Force Lightning (s)
30 Jedi Master 7 2 points
Awareness +0 (14)
Persuade +0 (25)
Repair +1 (13)
Treat Injury +1 (12)		 Force Storm (s)
31 Jedi Master 8 2 points
Awareness +0 (14)
Persuade +0 (25)
Repair +1 (14)
Treat Injury +1 (13)		 ? (s)
? (s)
32 Jedi Master 9 2 points
Awareness +0 (14)
Persuade +0 (25)
Repair +1 (15)
Treat Injury +1 (14)		 ? (s) ? (s)

Feats are 100% about survivability, and can be reshuffled on the fly in any way desired (subject to level requirements, of course)

Force Power selection starts with practical powers that help in the early game, where I expect to be using a weapon, and solo for most of Peragus. I then expand into things that help my party, and finally into the powers that make me actually feel like a Consular.

Regarding the old debate on Whirlwind vs Wave - I totally get why a lot of people stop at Whirlwind. I'm going to stop there for this build until I get Kill. At that point, I feel like I'm fine to handle tough single opponents without Whirlwind, and I can move on to Wave, which is fun for a Light Side Consular to spam.

I don't take any Dark Side powers until I've taken all my Light Side and Universal powers except Wave. That's mostly for roleplaying reasons, to emphasize that this is a Light Side playthrough. But it also makes a certain amount of sense for gameplay - Dark Side powes will cost more Force points, and later on I'll have a lot. Things could be reshuffled a bit if desired, though.

I didn't specify feats or powers for level 31+. One consequence of this Exile prefering to avoid fighting when possible is that I may get a little less XP. I'm therefore not sure what level I'll end on. By level 30, the build is complete, so anything I get past there can just be taken for fun.