Can you beat KotoR 2 without Leveling Up?
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- Опубликовано: 7 апр 2023
- I mean, if the title didn't give it away already, I don't know what to tell you. This video explores the question of whether or not it's possible to complete Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords without leveling up. That means I can't level up, my party members can't level up, and I've got to get through the whole damn game at level 1.
I started this challenge almost a year ago now, and this video has been a long time coming. I don't really have much else to say about the video before you watch it, so please finish the video before you continue reading.
I have a discord channel if you're interested, some people are:
/ discord
I imagine you might have a lot of questions. I tried to explain everything I could, but inevitably, I missed some things. As I stated in the video, the majority of the footage was staged. To be clear, I really did complete this challenge, but I didn't record the entire run. So if you're curious, here are some corrections:
- I have no idea what attributes I actually selected at the start of the run. I planned to have Hanharr play a central role in my strategy. Where he would give me a +1 bonus to my constitution. But I don't remember if that happened. Anyways 12 CON is all that I ended up needing because I never managed to get my hands on any of the higher tier implants, but I think I had like 15 CON at the end of the game.
- After crashing on Telos, I showed Atton sneaking past a mine field. Obviously, those are free mines just sitting there, so I had Bao-Dur use stealth to retrieve all of them.
- Shortly after, some text appears on the screen indicating that what I am saying is a lie. It is possible to disable the enemy AIs and still activate the cutscene with the terminal that allows you to access the base. This is true for all of the AIs except the turret AI which was always active.
- Technically, to escape the base on the imperial shuttle you have to complete 3 objectives: start the reactor, acquire shuttle codes, and open the hanger doors.
- To kill the tank droid, I accidentally caught myself in the droid's hitbox. This meant that I didn't need to revive myself as often, because the droid's AI struggled to get in range to attack me. I was unable to recreate this glitch, so the script regarding it was scrapped.
- Some interesting things did happen at the Secret Jedi Academy on Telos, I lied.
- I have no idea which items I bought at which shops, I just made it look plausible. It's also possible that some of my math was wrong given that some shopkeepers will sell items at different prices.
- I don't actually remember how I got through the mob on Onderon. It was something along the lines of what I said, but it truly was a difficult problem to solve. And I didn't mention it, but it's actually 3 different mobs all rolled up into one; they just kept stacking on top of each other every time I didn't kill them.
- When Bao-Dur says, "I don't need compliments from a murderer!". There was no practical reason for me to include it in the video; it just makes me laugh.
- During the "big reveal" I point out that if you fight Hanharr as Mira, than you unlock Mira as a character, yet Hanharr appears for the rest of the run. I say this isn't possible, but I'm not sure if that's true. I am convinced that during my playthrough I had to play as Mira and defeat Hanharr, even though I was aligned with the Dark side, AND that I still unlocked Hanharr as a character. I don't have any proof, and I was unable to replicate any sort of glitch that may have caused this to happen, but I still recreated this discrepancy in the video.
- During the script-writing process, I realized that it was probably possible to skip the branching paths section in Iziz's Palace. And indeed, it is very possible.
- When I say, "all of the footage after this point, IS actually from the run." Yea, I lied. Turns out I needed to go back and replay some sections to get enough footage. Also, some clips before that point weren't fake.
- The mines that Atris walked into didn't make enough noise, so I copied the sound of mines exploding from a different section of the run. You're welcome.
- I killed Darth Nihilus before planting the 4 proton cores, sue me.
- I realize now that I could have planted a bunch of mines at Kreia's feet and had the lightsabers walk into them. Whoops.
- And finally, if you didn't notice, I had the Restored Content Mod active the whole time, I don't think it made any meaningful differences. 
Игры
The plasma torch you get at the beginning of the game will break any door or locked container with a single hit. The only exceptions are the "broken" locks that have to be blown up.
Found that out randomly. I wish there was one for KOTOR 1
I have always believed that was a debug item they left in for the intro and didn’t have time to patch out.
@@blackchibisan8116 KOTOR 2 was the first new game I ever bought as a child. I had already beaten KOTOR 1 at that point, and immediately recognized how terrible of a weapon the plasma torch is. I didn't really read the popup telling me to equip it to break the door and got stuck in the beginning of the game for an embarrassingly long time. I finally decided the game must have glitched and made a new character, and actually read the popup that time.
Now THIS is content
Oh my God, the legend
@@chrisdiokno5600 I think it's pretty cool to see creators I watch posting comments... I forget they watch youtube too. haha
Love your content Micky!
Handmaiden's name is Brianna, locked behind an influence check
Kreia would be so mad at the Exile 'cause of staying incredibly weak and still be proud to step away from power. That Influence game of hers again be wildin' man.
She cannot kill what she cannot see, and weakness blinded her long ago. ;)
8:25 In an interesting twist on that whole debacle, in-universe it's basically pointed out that, if Czerka actually wins this, they can come up with an *economical* method of restoring Telos, whereas the Ithorians are going to go with the *expensive* method of restoring Telos...and in an institution as damaged as the Republic is in the aftermath of the previous game, the "Evil" option might actually be the better option, given that there's definitely more planets that need to be healed (cough cough Taris cough cough)
Why would they be more effective at restoring Telos? The Czerka failed improving life on Tatooine, and they actively made life on Kashyyk worse. They also tried colonizing CZ-198 and turned it into a huge mess, infested with mutants and crazed robots.
The fact that they're purely profit-driven will most definitely exacerbate things. The Czerka corporations has already, showed times and times again that they will not stop before nothing just to increase profit margins, from enslaving Wookies, to hiring assassins.
Also, who said that the Ithorians will use the more "Expensive way" to restore Telos? The player only heard that from Lorso, a very cunning and very manipulative Czerka employee, why would you trust her at all? All her sweet words about resorts and nice towns mean nothing. Her and her company's main goal is to plunder as much of the planet's surface as they could for resources and the remnants of the wartime technology. If we were to accept their proposal, the restoration project would probably be delayed for decades if not centuries more, and will require the Republic judicial forces intervening (because it was shown on many occasions that the leadership of Czerka is extremely corrupt and likes to do projects "their own way").
The Ithorians might be having problems, but they will definitely bring the project to fruition eventually, while Czerka will most definitely ruin it, and will somehow also find loopholes to embezzle funding from even more similar projects, which will also eventually fail (by the way, by the time of SWTOR, the Czerka corporation's secrets were revealed by hackers, there was a huge scandal, and it basically went bankrupt, as indicated in the quests on CZ-198).
7:53 Basically, for whatever reason, Handmaiden carjacks the Ebon Hawk and delivers it to the Academy.
Since T3 was also on the Hawk, it's also why we can't use him in the party at the time.
My favorite game of all time, was just replaying it for the umpteenth time
You did the research work dude, great stuff. I'll be checking the kotor 1 later
Not Leveling up is the path to the Darkside
Not Leveling leads to Anger
Anger leads to Hate
*Hate… leads to suffering…*
Leveling is a lie. There is only Mines.
Through Mines, I gain Strength.
Through Strength, I gain more Mines.
Through more Mines, I gain Victory.
Through Victory my chains are broken.
The Mines shall free me. ;)
@@vhoul Imperial Officer: The death star will intstll fear upon the galaxy.
Darth Vader: your machine weapons pale in comparison to the power of the mines...
I.Officer: *laughs*
Darth Vader: I find your lack of faith...disturbing.... *Shoves a deadly plasma mine into the officer's mouth and makes him explode*
Thought I'd watch 2 or 3 minutes of this, but loved the whole thing. Great job. Even learnt some stuff I didn't know about the game... I didn't think that was possible!
and the revelation at min 47th...
I'm glad you liked it. Hopefully everything I said was actually true.
this is one of the best kotor videos ever made. i appreciate you going through the effort of playing the game this way. you're a madman
Thanks! If all goes well, it's soon to be the second. ;)
So turns out beating the game without leveling is just like playing Jedi Consular normally. You have to spam mines because you can't hurt bosses and they 2-hit kill you.
Yea, gotta use your brain to defeat your opponents for both, but they are very different challenges; consular is much harder.
Huh? I just ran through the game again as a LS Consular and I was basically a force nuke. It's incredibly easy
I can't speak for the comment above me, but I was definitely making a joke.@@Phrate
Force insanity and statis say what
DS Consular is too easy though. Once you get Master Lightning you can 2-hit entire rooms of enemies.
Even LS Consular with high Charisma can do it
By Malachor, I had 34 Wisdom and 24 Charisma with all my levels and equipment, unlimited FP and insanely low FP cost, plus basically instant regeneration.
Only time this failed was Korriban Cave, LS characters don't regen FP in the vision cave except a few times after the dialogues.
What an amazing video! I'm so excited to watch your KotOR 1 video now. I can't believe it's possible. Also, it's refreshing to hear somebody point out a lot of the strange and vague mechanics regarding how certain quests and areas are blocked off. I've played the game many times and still get confused on how to activate certain things, like the Nar Shaddaa main quest and prestige classes.
This video does not have enough views, you did a great job. Kudos this was a pleasure to watch
Thank you, I agree.
Wow, that was super impressive, I loved it
Little tip though, you might want to increase the game audio, it's very quiet as compared to the voice over
Thanks, the audio balancing is actually quite deliberate though; the in-game sounds often drown out my voice. I'll see what I can do about it in the prequel though... probably not much.
@@vhoul I think they mean when you stop talking on purpose to let the game audio play, and it's still barely audible
It's a multi-faceted problem... difficult to speak on now when I worked on this project so many months ago. I believe my recent work has improved significantly, but it's hard to say when we don't share the same audio setup. I'd be very interested on your opinion, if you ever take the time.@@Phrate
Love learning about the mechanics. I’ve played this game since it released and always wondered about in-depth breakdowns but never put the time in to learn. Plus great video in general, cheers
Cheers!
Kotor 2 is been my favourite game after mass effect 2 so its really interesting to see some hacks I never needed to learn
Great video. Very well done. Funny and entertaining
In Narshaddaa bar you can hide behind the barista's spot and shoot the twilleks. They sometimes glitch and don't chase you there
You were not joking. You took my demo spam to the next level and helped me develop new techniques for next time.
Incredible video thank you
idk why this is just now getting recommended to me but omg this was awesome and hilarious
You and me both...
The revives when interacting with dialog boxes is probably just the game considering the box to be out of combat. Since your companions revive when out of combat, these dialogs make the game the game think combat has ended and your companions should be revived.
Love the effort into this video, I can tell you’ll definitely end up being a huge channel if you keep at it
Great video. To answer your question from 1:03:43 (Spoilers I guess) Bao Dur was supposed to die before the exile travels to Malachor, but the game had to be rushed to be finished at the deadline and so it was cut. I assume in the full script of the game it is there to finish up Bao Durs story.
Btw Handmaiden has a name. She is called Brianna.
Just to be clear, my criticism was not with the story aspect. I was pointing out that there is no reason to force me to take control of Remote--its bad gameplay. They could have just played a cutscene.
As for Brianna, I know she has a name, but the game doesn't use it. Even after she tells you her name, you will still get dialogue options that say, "Handmaiden can be trusted with this task." It doesn't feel right to call her Brianna when she herself refuses to use her name. And so all of that nuance got compressed down into, "Handmaiden needs to get a better name than Handmaiden. I feel so stupid calling her that."
I appreciate you trying to explain all this to me, but I think it was just a simple miscommunication. Hope this clears things up.
@vhoul Thank you for the clarification. I know what you mean. Although it has been a while since I finished the game it is nothing I enjoyed doing. To be fair I was not fan of the Malachor arc gameplay wise at all, at least the surface part. I think I remember someone calling the malachor arc "a confusing mess". I think that's the best way to sum it up
And many parts of the game are like the Handmaiden/Brianna problem. I am currently doing a dark side playthrough and I got all my companions to maximum influence. Still, I had to do good actions at the end to convince Bao-Dur to become a Sith, even though he says that rage is the main thing in his life and he is 90% towards darkness
@@hotepra2661 Yea, the game ain't perfect. But it's still pretty good. Thanks for taking the time to watch my little video. I enjoy discussing all the little nuances of good games.
Men, you cool. Never thought about beat kotor without lvl up))
I loved this video ! Great work
Been a fan of Kotor since I was a kid. Good video. What made me laugh was you tried to finish off the Drexl Larva @ 46:05 and the first solution didn't seem to work. Cheers
Onderon could have been easier if you did Nar Shaddaa first, because G0-T0 can call off the bounty hunters if he's in your party
6:45 I feel like I've been lied to for years-I only find out about this NOW?!
I was suprised too. This is one of the first things I tested, and it made routing this run an absolute nightmare.
Fantastic video!
More videos like this please
Without watching I'm gonna say yes just because the enemies scale with your level, so theoretically they shouldn't get much harder
But you're missing a lot of good feats and powers
Hmmmm..
Ok Mind blown already hahaha
I guess I always just assumed they leveled with you based on what level you currently are, not what you should be lmfao CRAZY
Leave it to KOTOR to still be revealing new things even after almost two decades haha
Lmao, yea. I might have been the first person to discover this.
In my game I could just ask Bao-dur for infinite shields, and sell them for infinite money. I've no idea how I triggered it, and I don't know if you can route it into this run though. Anyways, imma keep watching :)
When I was routing this, I considered a lot of possibilities, including all of the items that your party makes for you. The most promising of these options to me was Mira and her grenades. However this method caps you at 11 grenades per trip which seemed incredibly slow.
As for your Bao-Dur suggestion, I could not find any mention that Bao-Dur even makes you shields on the wiki, and my own testing has failed to get him to cough up a single shield. I have however found a few mentions of Bao-Dur giving out infinite shields on the internet, but nobody seems to know why or how this happens.
So to answer your implied question, "Probably could have done it, didn't know how or that it was even an option, so I didn't." Maybe some day I will revisit this game and figure it out.
Well done! You played this game like I thought I would have to after KOTOR 1 Low Level (using party revive exploits and explosives to kill everything), so that game should be no challenge for you if you're willing to sit through that again. You'll definitely want to use more grenades there, though.
KOTOR 2 @ Level 1 is actually a bit easier because the game will scale *down* to your effective level as well. As I finished the game at level 13, that means that you only need to equip enough gear to pretend like you're level 13, which is only a difference of +12 attack bonus on offense, easily achievable through items (and defense is dealt with through shields and the +25VP starting feat that makes you survive enemy grenades - such a blessing after KOTOR 1!).
What you really needed was a glitch I *definitely* exploited: Hanharr breaking. If you influence Hanharr enough, you engage a dialog option that gives him +2 STR and -2 INT. What's interesting is that you can repeat this dialog enough times until Hanharr's Intelligence underflows into 200+ INT, allowing you to craft everything you could ever want or need. That meant I only needed enough Demolitions to set mines instead of crafting them with the Exile, so I could afford to play a Sentinel to be immune to Kreia's fear. Then Adhesive Grenade (enemies don't get a save) and blast away just outside of Drain Life range.
Side note: You don't need to get LS points or even XP on Nar Shaddaa (Lvl 1 OGs will understand the appeal): Just pay off Kaalah Nah, talk to and then betray Nadaa, convince the pit jumping duo to sell the man they're accosting into slavery, and tell Oondar to give the Exchange your description after buying his stuff.
As it happens, I had planned to use the Hanharr glitch, but I already had everything I needed to beat the game by the time I unlocked Hanharr. So I just kept the strategy in my back pocket for a rainy day.
Also, I'm very interested in this KotoR 1 Low Level thing you mentioned. You didn't explicitly say it, but did you complete a KotoR 1 Low Level challenge? If so, I would be very interested to know some details. If I were to attempt a no leveling challenge for KotoR 1, I'd like to know more about how leveling and difficulty are treated in KotoR 1. I assumed that both games used the same effective level system.
@@vhoul I did complete a Low Level Challenge (level 3) in KOTOR 1. That game has fixed enemy levels and loot, so, on the plus side, you don't need to save XP and can play through the game normally, which is more fun (imo) than skipping as much content as possible in KOTOR 2 Level 1! You can also just look up all the stats and item drops straight up on the wiki rather than looking up base stats and scaling factors like in 2. Everything else is a bit more hostile, though:
-You don't get a free +25VP feat at Level 1 like in KOTOR 2. This evens out a bit by Level 3, though, again, you're fighting Level 20 enemies by endgame instead of Level 13. Still, I found grenades way more dangerous in 1 than 2, probably because more enemies throw them, particularly on the Leviathan, easily the hardest section of the game for me.
-You must gather your party before venturing forth - this makes stealth a WAY bigger pain in 1 than in 2. This can be used to revive allies, though, much like you did in 2.
-No crafting means items are effectively useless (unlike KOTOR 2 for me, not that you played with them anyway) as your attack stat is too low. Also no infinite mines. However, every major grenade type (except Thermal Detonators) has an infinite store if you can manage enough money (you don't really need expensive gear, and there are infinite pazaak enemies if you're sick), and Zaalbar will craft a bunch for you, including the vital adhesive grenades (which can't be resisted). The knockdown from Thermal Detonators also can't be resisted - these are the aces up your sleeve and completing Yavin IV gives you a bunch.
-No crafting also means top quality stims and shields are rarer. Duration glitch is a nice KOTOR 1 exclusive, though.
-Blasters receive a +10 to hit in melee. This is awesome early on, but as levels progress, a +10 to you is equivalent to fighting at Level 13, which is still underleveled for a good portion of the game. This does make blaster-wielding enemies (especially droids) absolute nightmares, though.
-Don't kill Juhani! She's one of your few level 6 characters, she starts with a modified 14 Stealth thanks to a unique feat, and she gets Improved Force Jump which adds +2 to attack bonus (in addition to catching enemies flat footed if she's attacking out of Stealth). Force Speed is also great for just running past stuff. The only thing she's missing is Light Armor Proficiency to wear the Baragwin Shadow Armor. Still, if you're going to revive-cheese enemies instead of grenading them to death, she's the one to use.
-You can't mine open chests like in KOTOR 2, so you'll need Security if you want to loot stealthily. Or just kill everything and bash without penalty.
@@grapefruitsc5478 Well that's good to know. I'll have to look into this further.
I think you can because the enemies level up with you. I think there are differences though, like the Rodian on Telos Station I think is at a set level, and I think other NPCs are as well, so if you are at 1st level, there will be monsters that you are not going to be able to beat.
very well made video and fun idea
Very cool vid. Your use of mines was quite ingenious.
Like my grandfather used to say: if a problem can't be solved with mines, then you're not using enough mines.
@@vhoulLOL
really fun watch. U should do this with kotor 1
Thanks, I might have to look into that.
@@vhoul good luck with that tutorial door then
44:30 - I know the mine solution works, but why not just use the plasma torch to instantly bash open any locked door/container?
Either way I needed a solution to bashing down the door, mines allow you to do this without breaking stealth which is much easier. And on top of that, I just didn't think of it.
It's nice to be reminded though. I had forgotten since I never really needed to use it since the tutorial.
Very impressive
splendid video
I haven’t finished the video yet so you may have covered it but have you heard of the handmaiden robes glitch? It’s a much easier way of getting components (and money) then the method you used . If you breakdown her robes into components and leave her naked you can ask her to put her clothes on when she’s on the on ebon hawk and she’ll just create new robes out of thin air. Rinse and repeat and you can get infinite components/resources.
I've heard of it, but that would have been over 10 years ago. I just searched up infinite credits glitches, and this was the only one that came up. It's fine, my method only took like 2 days.
@@vhoul fair enough but it still works. I did it on iPad like within the last year when I played through the game again. However idk if they patched it on pc which is what it looks like you were using.
Are you weird al’s relative? Because you look like him without his mustache.
Unfortunately we are just both incredibly good looking dudes, no relation.
So you essentially beat the game as bomberman?
If by "as bomberman" you mean, approached every problem with a keen tactical mind, and it just so happens that the best strategy in every situation was a keen tactical mine, then yes--I essentially beat the game as bomberman.
1 thing about breaking doors I learned from DanQ8000 was to save the plasma torch as it bashes doors super fast/1 hit often
I recently finished my first run and don't know how I managed to skip the ghosts tomb that was doing the level check. I was level 29 when I tried to get in and I couldn't. Kept travelling around and ended up keep making progress on the story, never had to get into that cave.
As I found out, the tomb is not a mandatory quest, but I think you have to complete the main story on the planet before the game will even perform the level check. Given what happened to me though, anything's possible.
I am lvl 34 and it is dificult as fuck... Malak fuck me like 5 times, then the fucking bats (there where like 20 of them atcking at the same time) then the fucking bridge with the Mandalorian Ghost... But the worst part, and the oart where i got stick was against Darth Traya and ALL OF YOUR FUCKING COMPANIONS, imposible... I also looked to a guide and after this You Have to fight yourself and fucking Darth Revan
I really like the content and the way your present it. However, I would advise you to get yourself a better microphone when recording gameplay aspect. The transistion from a clear and a nice soothing sound to a muffled microphone feels uncomfortable. Otherwise, it was a great video and wish you luck with your channel!
Ya, it's on the list. I feel I can get a good result with the mic I have, but it takes a lot of work. Appreciate the feedback.
Just need one more like…
The handmaidens name is actually Brianna.
Yea, I already addressed this in another comment. Something about having to condense a whole lot of nuance down into a video that is already far too long... If you're interested in that, please go find that comment.
cool
😊
Is that me in the thumbnail damn my alternate self looks like a mess
Yea, he really should see a doctor about that floating, yellow text. Although to be honest, I'm pretty familiar with the procedure required to remove it, and I think it might be against the rules.
TBF, not every player will have a breathing mask or the like
True, but that wasn't really the point I was making. The game could easily prompt you to buy a breathing mask before entering, or have Kreia say something like, "there's no time, you must enter the Jekk'Jekk Tar now, do not worry, the force will protect you." But the narrative the game chose doesn't make any sense.
I don't recall exactly how I said things in the video, but I hope this addresses your point.
@@vhoul You make a good point
Was heavy armor worth it over Stealth run? 😂
To be honest, I don't remember. I think the real decision was between mines and stealth. Since I chose mines, I could afford heavy armour.
funny vid
But this is modded Vhoul. Make another video withouts mods
Y'know, you're the first person to say something about that. And all I can say is, "I installed the mod, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out what it did."
What about KOTOR 1?
Yes.
Its impossible unless you’re doin glitch. Plain n simple.
Damn Right Whoooooooooo
Kreia is the final boss??🥺
I mean she’s clearly evil
Worst 4 minute intro I’ve ever seen
Clearly you haven't seen my other videos. ;)
@@vhoul I loved the intro!!! :)
I'll never play this garbage trash game again. They've made this game so hard its not worth your time and I love kotor 1. Barely got past the first level on this one and can't pass the second level period. This game ruined kotor forever. Why wud I play a game that was purposely made impossible. Fuk Star wars after this bullshit
Actually, the more you play, the easier it gets. Also, it is the best Star Wars game.
If you suck at games just say that
this game is incredibly easy idk what you are on about
It's only hard if you never touch a workbench for the whole game.
@@carpediem5316 even if you don't this game is easy, just get a good lightsaber and use force lightning on everything
Ah yes a game so bad you have to cheese it or mod it to hell if you want to have any fun in it even back then i didint get y people loved this yes its starwars and i love starwars but the game is so bad people need to talk about the dark forces series and jedi knight if they want good starwars games what is it people lobe about this game i really dont get it o love other bad games but this one is to much
I'm not certain you even watched the video... I mean, if you don't like KotOR 1 & 2, that's fine. But to suggest that this playthrough is the result of me cheesing a bad game to make it playable..? Well that's just not correct. I love this game, and I don't have to cheese it or mod it for that to be true.
Bro just wants to shoot and chop at things without having to think about a deep, complex story and talk to people
If you don't want to have to think about the bigger issues in life, this game isn't for you. If you don't care about the way your actions affect the world and people around you, this game isn't for you.
If you like an amazing story and don't mind or even enjoy listening to good dialogue, this game is for you. If you like a setting that's as interesting as the music that comes with it, this game for you.
Just go back to Call of Duty if you just want to kill things and not think about what it means.
You couldn't figure out nar shaddaa huh?
@@TheAverageGamer1adding a mod that makes the refugee district and docks fast travel locations