Fins

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content Count

    18

  • Joined

  • Last visited

Blog Entries posted by Fins

  1. Fins
    Yep, i lost interest in it, here's why.
     
    To my surprise, Bao-Dur went Dark Jedi right after i went out of the Academy on Telos. Granted, i did take LS point hit in the military base (escorting out the NPC there to impress Bao-Dur, without Kreia in party at the moment), and i was as nice as i could be to him within the Academy, which probably gave three more influence bumps, but still i didn't expect him to get enough influence at this point. Perhaps dark siders get it a bit easier to convert Bao-Dur via gaining (not losing, as "expected") influence? Anyhows, i kept him at level 6 until we became Dark Jedi, then of course i levelled him up and equipped him best i could.
     
    That made Korriban complete joke - yep, even despite no weapons and no force powers. Fully levelled party, plus Bao-Dur's extra unarmed damage perk, plus medium armors on both him and me (two sith combat suits, both bought on Telos) modified for extra defense vs melee and damage mitigation, - the party was pretty much untouchable, and no foes could stand against it for more than very few rounds.
     
    Reached just few hundreds experience over level 15 after completing Korriban academy, with no corpses on the 1st map touched (more experience from Hsiss) and cave not entered. At this point, i knew i was able to go to Ebon Hawk, get level 16 and become Marauder, - with corresponding bonuses. With fully trained Bao-Dur, nothing could stop me all the way till very high levels (40+) anymore.
     
    The initial plan to go M4-78 industrial zone and level via repeatable droid part donations is the only way i know to get to those very high (40+) levels for end-game. However, few days ago, it was confirmed as a bug by Hassat, and so i don't feel like i should anyhow promote its usage; and anyways, it's fixed now and should not be possible starting in very next M4-78 mod's release, i believe.
     
    And without those droid part donations, ending the game being something like level 36...38, it still would be easy (if boring during boss fights). I've tested some armor setups vs lightsaber damage in my previous walkthrough and i know that with heavy % energy damage mitigation, it'd be definitely not hard to get through the end-game, if to do so without getting even level 40. Some 45+ or 49-50 for which i hoped could be a challenge, perhaps, but 36...38 wouldn't (much) be. Yep, even without force powers and weapons.
     
    The only real choke point would be unavoidable going through HK-50 factory, at which point HK-47 would be very unable to win there with unarmed combat - he's miserable with it, - but my plan was to make tons of (quite cheap) ion grenades for him, some 800+, which should be enough to get through - they do substantial damage per turn vs 3+ targets. And few hundreds construction kits to keep him operational, of course.
     
    Last but definitely not least is that i am not as bored as i was few weeks before, due to my decision to try out SW:tOR. So for now, i decided to at least postpone, if not abandon, this walkthrough. To myself, the point of "one can beat KOTOR2 unarmed and without any active force use" is definitely made, and in the process, i discovered that such a way to play the game can in fact be more interesting - at least in some many parts, - than normal going through the game. I definitely recommend to try it, perhaps adapted somewhat to the reader's desires if nesessary.
     
    So if any of you gentlemen will decide to save the Galaxy by a force-hating face-puncing Exile - be smart about it and it will definitely work. Good luck!
  2. Fins
    Two significant fights since the last update. Other than that, still going easy. Experience-wise, i'm ~4k to level 14 right after flying away from Telos Academy, which is a bit worse than i hoped it'd be at this point.
     
    1st significant fight, was three last mercenaries attacking Czerka office. Surprisingly tough, those three - they are deadlier than the group of some ~6 mercs right before them. They dropped my whole party during my 1st (lazy) take on them. But nothing three stims on Benny and few pauses couldn't solve during 2nd try.
     
    The other, of course, is Handmaiden's sisters - the last 5th fight against five of them. During normal gameplay, the player is allowed to use Force Powers and melee weapon(s) during this fight, neither of which was available to me. Plus, this fight must be done without using armor, and there is that annoying feature which removes all buffs every time a sister is defeated. It's one of game's toughest fights even normally, and you may wonder how on Earth i've done it unarmed and with no Force use. Here's how.
     
    1. 14 str and 14 str from the start, plus Sentinel class - helps;
    2. 16 base constitution (by the time of the fight) helps more;
    3. used as much +dex bonuses from equipment as possible (even low miss chance by sisters - helps here), advanced dueling (applies to unarmed combat), and master Flurry for damage;
    4. at the start of the fight, used pause _before_ game pauses the game autimatically - this gives, i feel, up to ~2 seconds at the start of the fight;
    5. ran to nearby corner of the mat, ASAP. Precision required - literally, centimeters matter;
    6. two sisters went out of the mat right away. Their fault. They could wait in line, eh? Using mat's space tactically to reduce number of simultaneously attacking enemies - is completely fair move, in my book;
    7. 1st turn, used Mandalorian melee shield, and used it every other or every 3rd turn further on, as nesessary - the total of two shield units were used for the fight (2x5x50=total 500 damage absorbed);
    8. used advanced medpacs between shields whenever needed;
    9. Flurry out whenever not doing any of the above.
     
    Also used few stims, but i feel it wasn't really needed. Perhaps exept hyper-adrenal alacrity right at the start. Still, didn't hurt (much) to use them. Both hyper-adrenal stims and advanced medpacs were made in significant amount by Kreia - her wisdom bonus and maxed Treat Injury was useful for that. And, of course, maxed Treat Injury skill of Benny made those advanced medpacs quite efficient when used.
     
    Now, i should achieve level 14 from all the Ebon Hawk talks, and then it's Korriban. Not sure how to go there in order to be able to talk with Kreia the moment i get to level 15. Might be tricky, and i definitely want to keep the cave unentered for later (much later) in the game. Well, i'll see what i can do...
     
    P.S. By the way, while some of Ebon Hawk talks can only be done while actually being inside Ebon Hawk - in the same time quite some other talks can also be done outside, such as most T3-M4's player-made upgrades and some other ones. Why this matters? Because you don't get Kreia's experience bonus while inside Ebon Hawk, since she's not technically in the party. But outside, you do. So, for example, 6 T3-M4 upgrades which in total give 3000 EXP points, if done outside with Kreia in party - give 3210 EXP. Nothing too shabby!
  3. Fins
    So far, things went easier than i thought they would be. In fact, way too easy, allowing me to keep Atton at level 3 (saving his levels for when he'll become a Jedi, thus getting unarmed combat feats). Here's some notes about Peragus, early Telos and about some plans for the future.
     
    During the 1st time i was controlling T3-M4, when he was going solo, i didn't let him destroy any single droid, despite the fact that it'd be easy with his shock arm (which is a side weapon and thus is possible to use in this walkthrough). He just rolled past them all droids, which is not that hard at all. Thing is, experience gains from T3's actions when he's alone - are not applied to the main charactrer. For the same reason, T3 did not open any locked footlocker. Later, once Benny &Co entered the area, those droids and footlockers gave Benny several hundreds extra experience points.
     
    The lab station on Hanbinger can and should be used to make few retinal combat implants, which are excellent early cheap items to provide critical hits immunity. Early in the game, few lucky crits by enemies can ruin your day, but not if everyone has those implants equipped. Without powerful implants available at this point (and quite much further) in the game, using Retinal Combat implants is obvious, but often "forgotten" thing to do.
     
    Once T3-M4 joins your party, you can ask him to make more Computer Spikes. When opening decontamination chamber, it's thus best to use spikes (and not Parts) - and right afterwards, ask T3 for some more. It is even possible to return with him to a workbench on Harbinger, but interestingly, breaking Computer Spikes for components there - all Computer Spikes, - doesn't make T3 to give more Spikes.
     
    After boarding Ebon Hawk, there is a choice: either use turret to kill Sith troopers, or let them board and kick their ass inside. Experience-wise, it seems to me that most possible experience here - is via killing ~5 troopers with the turret, allowing the rest to board the ship. This is because there is not enough space inside to have all ~29 troopers inside - only 25 max would fit in. Obviously, getting what little loot they drop is only possible inside the Ebon Hawk, too.
     
    I had some doubts whether to do upgrades to T3-M4 now, or wait with it until Telos Academy. On one hand, making those upgrades early means some more experience later, via "higher levels a bit sooner" - this scales skill-based experience and, if it would allow to enter some map being 1 level higher, possibly also scales that map's enemies a bit. On the other hand, making those upgrades now, while there is no Kreia in party, means losing 7% extra experience from doing them, which is (250+250+500+500+750)*0.07=157 EXP loss in absolute numbers. Still, i decided to 'em now. Still too low Repair skill to make 3rd Repair upgrade, though.
     
    In terms of loot, i finally got two pieces of light armor - the best of them being 5 defense +4 dex bonus suit. Used Harbinger workbench to upgrade it with 15% vs physical + attributes damage immunity overlay, and +10% vs energy underlay. Early in the game, extra defense from armor is quite helpful, and since i don't use active Force powers at all, there is no drawback in it. Later in the game, extra defense from armor won't be that useful as enemies attack scales up, but damage resistances from armor upgrades - will be.
     
    One of early Telos fights - two thugs pressing a Sullustan outside the cantina - i picked, despite doing Dark Side (doing this fight gives LS point). For experience. With all equipment at this point confiscated by TSF, and no active powers' usage, this is slightly challenging fight, - but not so much, if one visits Telos merchants right before it and buys one Retinal Combat implant for the main character. Which is cheap (75 creds). Which is what i did. Poor Sullustan, of course, was the next to suffer... %)
     
    Achieved level 10 after completing 1st Czerka's mission and enslaving Ramana in the Cantina. 900 creds for her 1st pay - at this point in the game, this is sure profitable. Dark Side has its uses, for sure. Thinking about future aligment, though, i am wondering if i'll decide to switch to Light Side after becoming a Sith class. In terms of aligment points, this is certainly possible per se, but what i would like to do - is to kill Jedi Masters on Onderon, Nar Shaddaa and Dantoine, and still have mastery. Which would be a bit trickier if it's Light Side mastery, of course.
     
    As for the reason to switch to Light Side - it is because of Aligment bonuses. Sentinel + Marauder main character gets +3 Dex and 1-8 extra damage with Dark Side mastery, but +3 Con +3 Str with Light Side mastery - and the latter seems slightly better for unarmed combat late-game, to me. Plus, "redeemed sith" is simply interesting to play to me (never tried), and i like being Light Side in general.
     
    It is my impression that i, somehow, am getting experience a bit faster than during my previous (LS, "normal") TSLRCM play. Which was also on hard. No idea why, the only difference is that i went Dark Side in this one, from the start. And i noticed experience difference as soon as level 4: in the LS walkthrough, i barely made level 4 in Peragus Tunnels, but this time, i made level 4 with most mines in tunnels still available for recovery and broken droid still not repaired. And these things gave more experience while being done with level 4, of course (skill-based experience scales with level).
     
    Such is the subtle "scaling" at work: bit by tiny bit, extra bits of experience allow to get to higher level slightly earlier, but that in turn allows to get more "tiny extra bits" of experience, and the thing subtly snowballs. Which is why it's so important, in terms of experience, to take most experience possible at the start of the game - if one aims to achieve highest level possible. And i do, this walkthrough.
     
    In fact, it is my intention to try to reach level 50 by the end boss. Which will only be possible if unlimited droid parts donation on M4-78 still works. Previous walkthrough, it was working, but i was playing 1.82 TSLRCM, while now i am playing current 1.83b. It should still work, though. Which is why i am planning to do Korriban ASAP, - to get to M4-78 as early as possible and donate droid parts en masse. That, plus vastly cheap health supplies in the Industrial Zone, which is credits-to-chemicals conversion (and if nesessary, components-to-chemicals conversion - make things with components, sell them, buy health supplies on M4-78, break 'em down). This means large supply of devastating plasma (damage) and poison (DC 100) mines, if i'll find them nesessary.
     
    Being very high level (40...50) would complicate things end-game, since there is no unarmed combat progression past level 32 (no more levels of that perk, last one being stage 8, iirc), plus massive scaling of enemies' Vitality, Attack and abilities past level ~35. These things will make end-game much harder for Benny, - without extra attacks from Speed/Fury and without extra damage/stats from lightsabers' upgrades, she'll lag behind enemies in terms of damage output, and very much so. And it would make fights much longer, too. Still, it wouldn't be an "ultimate" walkthrough if i'd back off from this challenge, eh.
  4. Fins

    Level 6

    By Fins,

    Plans changed, and i started this walkthrough yesterday, kicking droids' butts to level 6 without any major problem. Worst fight, so far, was against three droids next to the main dormitories' door, where Benny was reduced to 1 or 2 vitality points in the end of the fight. HK-50, on the other hand, was defeated easily. Some details:
     
    I've recorded HK-50 fight, but for some reason my MSI Afterburner software did not capture any sound. I tried to force software sound in game's settings, - same result. I have no idea how to capture videos from KOTOR2 with sound present, and in all other games MSI afterburner video capture works just fine... Any advice?
     
    I took some effort to ensure maximum possible experience gains. For example, at very start of the game, i did not open the medical storage door right away. This door can be opened from nearby terminal, or by using Security skill "directly". The latter gives more experience than the former. And i could use Security right away, being a Sentinel. However, experience gain from Security scales with level (as well as experience gains from Demolitions, Repair and Computer Use skills). Which is why i kept that door closed - and all Secutiry-locked containers on the 1st map - until after i'm done with Dormitories, by which time i was level 5 and therefore, got much more experience from using Security to open starting map "locked" things.
     
    Similarly, i left mines present in Tunnels map to be until i (almost) reached level 4, together with broken droid at the start of the map, taking out all droids on the map 1st. Etc etc. End result being, i arrived to the HK-50 fight just ~200 experience points short from being level 6.
     
    With the experience gain (500 points) from the dialog with HK-50, i reached level 6 exactly in time to take passive force power which reflects blaster fire, as well as stage 2 of unarmed combat perk (granted at level 6 automatically), and both helped to deal with HK-50. I had some doubts whether to take the reflect thing, but decided it doesn't make sense to avoid this passive power while being forced, by the game, to use other passive power - Precognition. Besides, i couldn't resist the fought of being able to reflect blaster bolts with bare hands. Bulletproof monks and all, yep.
     
    And i used 4 grenades at the start of HK-50 fight to take out his mines from afar (using Stationary behaviour for the whole party). By the middle of round two, mines were no more. Then Benny-chan left Kreia and Atton behind, still on Stationarry, went to HK-50 and kicked his butt with imrpoved flurry. His self-destruct explosion didn't hurt anyone - i took Benny-chan away in time, while Kreia and Atton were still safely afar.
    In terms of loot, no +strength items so far; Benny-chan got her some gloves with +2 Dex and two skill bonuses; two pieces of heavy body armor are wasting space in the inventory (and no light nor medium armor, sadly); two head items with some skill bonuses; the rest is not worth mentioning.
     
    I have found that Kreia does not use force powers at all while under AI control, if she's put to "stationary" behaviour. Useful. This means i won't have to keep Kreia under my direct control at all times - she starts with three force powers which are not restricted by armor, plus she can't wear armor at all, this all means she'll be able to use force-related powers (such as Fear and Energy Resistance, which she has from the start) if put to behaviour which allows to cast force powers. Which in this walkthrough is strictly forbidden. And i do want her experience bonus, which is why i'll keep her around.
     
    Starting stats, as planned, were 14 14 15 16 8 8, and by level 4 i took 17th point into Intelligence. What can i say, i like 'em skills. Hopefully this -1attack -1damage for the whole game (two extra points into Intelligence) won't bite me in the butt too much. %)
     
    P.S. The best way to complete sonic sensor quest in terms of experience - is to get all 3 pieces of the officer's speech, and only after that get HK-50 to speak the code using officer's voice. I guess, Benny-chan likes to have plan B whenever possible, hehe.
     
    P.P.S. Benny-chan without capital "C" has its own meaning. And i like it.
  5. Fins

    Introduction

    By Fins,

    Hi!
     
    This blog is made specifically for one unusual walkthrough of KOTOR 2: Restored Content Mod (plus M4-78 mod), which i plan to start soon. In it, no party member nor main character will be using any main-hand / off-hand weapon (i.e., no melee weapons, nor any blasters of any sort, nor any lightsabers), and on top of that, no active Force Powers. Yet, i aim to beat the game on Hard.
     
    Droid side weapons (flamethrowers, stunrays, etc), grenades, mines and, of course, unarmed combat - will be my only offensive options. Defensively, i'll still take advantage from passive Force Powers granted automatically, obviously. Still, i'll remain as true to the Exile's "cut off from Force" as technically possible, for the entire game. As for other party members - it'll be Exile's command not to use Force Powers, and they will comply.
     
     
    About the name of this blog.
     
    This here is "unarmed combat mainly" walkthrough. Now, Benny Urquidez and Jackie Chan are two
    . I respect both men immensely. Benny is depicted in movies quite dark side'ish (in real life, he's not, though), while Jackie is definitely light side'ish movie character, as usual. As i am still unsure which aligment i'll take for the walkthrough, and as i respect both men equally much, i combined their names to name this blog. 
     
    Starting the game.
     
    Starting stats for this walkthrough would be:
    - female Sentinel (with Weapon Master or Sith Marauder in mind)
    - str 14, dex 14, int 16, end 15, wis 8, cha 8
    And i decided planet order, too: Korriban; M4-78; Onderon; Dantooine; Onderon; Nar Shaddaa.
    Unusual, eh? My reasons, if i'll decide to play this through, will be explained later.
     
     
    But i am still unsure which aligment it'll be - Light or Dark side. Is there any significant difference in terms of unarmed combat between Dark and Light sides (keeping no-active-force-powers thing in mind, that is - means, for example, that Fury won't be in use)? None i could detect... If so, then it's likely i'll do Dark side this time. Mostly, anyways.
     
     
    P.S. It's unlikely i'll start the walkthrough before July 20th. In the meantime, feel free to place your bets, gentlemen. Would i be able to beat the game (pun intended, hehe) on Hard, this style? I bet i would, but what do you think?