Builds that you use

[Jango32 23]

I am sure that everyone here has their own, special character build that they love to use in the games.

 

While I don't have a set one for TSL, there is a build that I always go for in KotOR 1, namely Scoundrel->Guardian, because of how ridiculously broken it is. Towards the mid and late game, you become a Rogue, Warrior and Mage all in one pack...

NOTE: this is for a max Light Side (from the stats) playthrough, because BioWare loves all LS players...

 

Starting attributes are: 

 

16 STR, 14 DEX, 14 CON, 14 INT, 10 WIS and 8 CHA.

 

"Hang on a minute, why are you picking 16 STR for a -Scoundrel-?!" Pick either DEX or STR at 16 for your base build, I generally tend to go for STR to make my life easier. You want to get the other to 16 anyway as the first thing. Afterwards, feel free to invest into WIS.

 

There are two reasons why Scoundrel is ridiculous: 

 

1) Sneak attack. This sucker turns the combat into a joke. The sneak attack modifier (to your chance to hit and damage inflicted, depending on the feat level) is automatically activated by the game (when doing the dice roll and such) when one of these two situations occurs: the hostile NPC you're targeting is either stunned, isn't in combat with you yet or it's attacking someone else (not the party member you are controlling at the moment). You don't need stealth at all in either games.

 

2) Speaking of skills! Scoundrel is great because it's the only starting class that has "Persuade" as a class skill. The unfortunate reality in KotOR 1 is that half the skills in the game are worthless. Demolitions? Walk over them (or use a worthless party member to defuse 'em) then Force Heal/Return to Hideout or the Ebon Hawk and transit back. Stealth? Worthless, sneak attack is triggered without being in stealth mode. Awareness? No conversation check and is used only for detecting mines. Security? No point, no conversation check nor situations when you need security to do something, you don't even get EXP for using Security (unlike KotOR 2). Computer Use? Debatable, you don't really need to bother with the (admittedly neat) electrical overload ability. Which means that the only skills worth getting are Persuade (and you need to invest in it per level so you don't get screwed by how it's calculated), Treat Injury and Repair (for HK-47's genie in a bottle stories before the Leviathan hits). What this means is that every time you find yourself at the level up screen with extra skill points to invest, hold on to them until the next level up screen.

 

Now it's time to talk about some feat selection... Flurry is going to be your best friend in the entire game. Don't bother with Crit. Strike or Power Attack. Also, always go for the feats that help you out with defensive modifiers (Conditioning tree, two feats into Toughness and the Lightsaber Proficiency->Finesse->Specialization tree). While implants are nifty, they aren't required. 

 

Force powers... there's the obligatory Force Cure->Heal. However, what you also want is the entirety of the Speed and Valor trees for buffs. The best Force Powers in KotOR 1 and 2 are the ones that give you (or the party) buffs, IMO. Another Force Power tree that you need to have is either Stun (not Stun Droid) or Push, up to the individual. The remaining two points, feel free to invest in whatever (get Resistance->Immunity, that would be good).

 

Item selection... I typically build my Lightsaber with the Opila+Solari+Heart of the Guardian crystals, and switch out the Solari with the Upari in the Rakatan Temple. Karakan Gauntlets, Adrenaline Stimulator, Qel Droma (and later Star Forge) robes and the Circlet of Saresh.

 

And now to go into combat. Because you are a glass cannon (sort of) early on, you may want Carth to aggro the enemies while you come in from behind and let Sneak Attack do its job. Don't forget to always return to hideout/Ebon Hawk and then transit back to save on your healing items! (I end up with like 200 medpacs in total out of the three types by the last fight with Malak) But, anyway, here's why this is OP: your max Light Side points (100) alignment bonus for a Guardian is a flat +3 STR. With Master Valor, you get another +5 STR. And your base STR should be 16, which means you get a +7 STR modifier by mid to late game. Karakan Gauntlets offer a +1 DEX and the Adrenaline Stimulator a +2, another +5 from Master Valor and you are at +24 DEX (another +7 modifier). So far we are a certified Rogue and Warrior. The Qel Droma robes give you a +2 WIS, which you add to your +10 (Circlet+Master Valor). That's a +12 so far. When we add that to your eventual +12 WIS, you get +24 WIS. +27 WIS when you get the Star Forge robes.

 

Because of the way sneak attack works, and your triple-class (essentially), you are going to make all the NPCs drop like flies, either because you use the Guardian special ability (the Force jump) that does extra damage (aside from the Sneak Attack modifier kicking in, because that NPC should still not be in combat by the time you can jump) or you stun the entire area and Sneak Attack kicks in once more. With Master Speed + Master Flurry, you get 4 attacks per round. Combine that with your STR modifier and your lightsaber's stats... 

 

One last thing: you should focus Bastila, Juhani and Jolee on buff powers (you can give Jolee the Force Storm tree, though, as you will run out of useful buff powers to choose from eventually). From a gameplay/stat perspective, there is no reason to make a non-Jedi party, because the buffs provided are ridiculous. 

 

So, what are the builds that you use? 

[milestails 264]

This is awesome Jango! Great for players looking to be more directed in their character builds. Never knew this stuff myself.

 

I found this really comprehensive guide by Reaper511 on the Bioware forums. He has the Scoundrel -> Guardian build like this:

 

5/15 SCOUNDREL/GUARDIAN:
Vitality gained: 180
Force gained: 60
Skill Points: 47
Feats: 11
Powers: 16

Pros: This setup gains more skill points than it would with a Soldier, as well as the specialty feats like Sneak Attack 3 and Scoundrel's luck.

Cons: The Scoundrel will gimp this setup by 20 VP and 2 feats... and that's about it. Oh wait! No Repair, I almost forgot (of course, the Soldier/Guardian never had Repair either).

Well this setup redeemed the Scoundrel class for me right as I was about to denounce it forever. Honestly, a hit of 20 VP and 2 feats is okay, especially considering that you get Critical Strike instead of the less versatile Power Attack, and Sneak Attack will add considerably to the Guardian's Combat effectiveness. I would, however, suggest making this character a STR-based character, more than a DEX based character (like my previous suggested setups), that way you get an improved chance of stunning when you use Critical Strike, which would allow you to use the Sneak Attack. Additionally, the lowered Defense (thanks to reduced DEX) is offset by Scoundrel's luck. All in all, I really like the way this character falls into place, although I wish it had Repair...

Suggested build:
STR 16
DEX 15
CON 10
INT 10
WIS 12
CHA 12
+1 DEX, then 4 STR

 

Thoughts on how he sees it?

[Eauxps I. Fourgott 81]

My "classic" main character (as in, the first one I used and the one I keep going back to) in both games doesn't have any real specific build. I keep all the attributes at decent levels, go for Comp. Use/Demo/Repair/little bit of Persuade/some Treat Injury as my skills, make sure that I'm a dedicated dual-wielder, and go Consular -> Master in K2 and Scout -> whatever Dorak advises me (I've done all three) in K1, though my preferred Jedi class for the latter is Consular.

 

I've done a number of other specific builds, focused on maximizing different aspects of the game, and used them in both games successfully (roleplaying is essential for these builds for me as well). The three I really remember are:

 

1) Super dark side Soldier -> Guardian/Guardian -> Marauder. Start with STR 18, CON 17, CHA 9, everything else 8. At some point put an extra point into CHA just because, put one point into CON, and then STR and things that enhance it all the way. Powers aren't very important except for Master Speed. Basically, this character is a damage machine. He deals obscene amounts of damage using a double-bladed saber, Power Attack, and Speed/Fury (his total strength was at least in the upper 30s by the end of K2) and with high CON and Toughness, is fairly durable as well. His personality is also quite simple: attack everything and be as cruel as possible. This character is for having fun by just smashing everything that gets in his way. He also defeated Malak in about 3 combat rounds.

 

2) Neutral Scout -> Consular/Consular only. I start with 16 WIS and CHA, 12 DEX, and 10 everything else. Basically, this character is a master Force attacker: neutral allows me to pick and choose which powers I want from which side, while the high (and constantly increasing) WIS and CHA, combined with Force Focus, makes it very hard to resist my attacks. It was not until playing this character that I really learned how powerful Force Kill can be. I make this character a single-wielder and go for a different feel than the rest of my games by denying myself the Speed powers, using only Adrenal Alacrity to speed up and not getting extra attacks except from Flurry, making most of my strength in Force Powers. Skills are Treat Injury and Awareness if I have extra points (Force Persuade is used without exception). Force powers are limited as much as possible to only aggressive powers, not using any to buff myself. Playing this character is quite interesting, as I'm denied my Force crutches of Speed and Heal/Drain Life, but am also a weak straight-up fighter. Roleplaying is also a very unique experience with this character, as the mentality I've given it is to always go for my own gain, but don't be evil if there's no good reason, and hate those who betray or target me (mainly Sith and, for the second game, Exchange) unabatedly. My first build might have defeated Malak quickly, but with this one, Darth Sion is an absolute joke -- I can just use Force Kill on him, over and over, until the fight finishes.

 

3) Somewhat (but not exclusively) Dark Side Scoundrel -> Sentinel/Scoundrel -> Assassin (I in fact used the KSE to make myself a Scoundrel at the beginning of K2). Similar attribute set to the previous character, except with the focus on DEX and INT, and the extra points in CON. Dual wielder, but uses the Scoundrel's abilities to full advantage, maxing out in all class skills and leaving the other three to basically rot. This gave me a really different experience from normal, but still a fun one, as I spent lots of time sneaking around, figuring out the underhanded way to do things and, again, using the Scoundrel abilities to the fullest. This includes walking around in Stealth mode A LOT, picking off isolated targets with Sneak Attack, getting around guards and Security-ing doors open, and setting mines all around enemies to trap them, including putting them in the path of patrolling enemies. Basically, I continued to kill as many enemies as possible, but with minimal combat, which I feel is the Scoundrel's intended playstyle. Biggest problem with this build in K1 was that there are not nearly enough mines in that game. This was also a unique experience in that I often tried to maximize defense, and got to feel what it was like to play with high levels of that. After I became a Jedi, this character's combat inferiority was offset and then some by the massive power of Sneak Attack -- I would usually use Insanity on enemies and then use the bunch of extra damage I got to take them out really quickly. This build caused me to, for the first time, realize the usefulness of Sneak Attack and stop underestimating the Scoundrel as a capable class.

 

That's what I've got.

[Haveayap 127]

My classic character build for K1 is Scout - Gaurdian...

 

I tend to keep all my attributes even at first:

STR 14
DEX 14
CON 12
INT 12
WIS 12
CHA 12

Than I focus mainly on Dexterity and Wisdom/charisma (for jedi class) I also work my strength up to 16 while on Taris

 

As for skills, I just focus on persuade while on Taris, than I focus on computer skill and repair afterwards (Because once your wisdom/charisma (It almost never fails once its at 16-18) is high enough, force persuade is alot better than persuade)

 

As for feats, I mainly focus on my dueling, Flurry and critical strike/power attack (If I focus on critical strike, I make sure my saber is customized with a high critical ratio), I work other things such as strength up after I have the feats I want. If I want a more Blaster pistol/rifle using character, I focus on two handed weapons (I normally use dual pistols) and the power blast and rapid shot trees (and the tree of the blaster weapon I want to primarily use). I ussually like to go down the increased saving throw tree aswell.

 

As for force powers, I use dark side powers whether or not I choose the dark side or light side (a high charisma usually balances out the cost of dark side powers with a light sided character)... My favorite force powers include the force kill tree, I usually do force lightning to the second tier (I never add force storm as I dislike the animation for it), The insanity tree (My favorite force power as it can come in handy) and the burst of speed tree (which makes your lightsaber attacks ridiculously OP at the end)... I sometimes add heal if I have force powers left over too. If I use a gun class, I tend to use more light sided force powers for protection and the insanity tree.

[coolphoton1234 3]

In KotOR1 I'm a fan of scout->guardian with sniper-shot/critical, depending on if I'm playing ranged or 1 weapon melee at a 8/12 split for both.

 

For TSL I tend toward Sentinel for everything but a dedicated force spammer (Consular for that). Then i chose my prestige class mainly on combat style/ alignment. So a DS gunner will be Marauder for stupefying damage and a LS single saber will be a Watchman for paladin grade defenses. I feel I should point out that I never use force lightning and I'm of the opinion that critical is better than flurry, DPS should sacrifice defense, and that wizards should not hit things, so my builds are not very newbie friendly.

[Guest R2-X2]

KotOR:

 

I find myself going back to Scout/Consular again and again.

 

I especially like 4/16 or 7/13.

 

Attributes:

Strength 10

Dexterity 14

Constitution 10 (or 12)

Intelligence 14

Wisdom 15 (or 14)

Charisma 14

 

Upon leveling up I either put all 5 into wisdom or 4 into wisdom and 1 into charisma.

 

Feats:

Flurry, critical strike, dueling, implant 3.

 

Force powers:

Force Wave

Force Storm

Heal

Drain Life

Master Valor

Master Speed

Dominate Mind

If taking 4/16, also add kill and break force.

 

Skills:

Always maxing out persuade and getting the repair treshold for HK, then dumping the rest into treat injury. My consular is wise as **** but runs into mines like a blind. I actually managed to lose to this once, when running into a mine (on hard) in Naga Sadow's tomb while injured.

 

I usually play rather light side, because most dark side actions are just stupidly dickish, but don't pick all the good options either - yet I always manage to get LS mastery in the end.