KOTOR Suggestions

[Stravo]

If I play as a darksider will Carth and other 'good' guys leave me? Seems that Carth is responding well to my making light side decisions so I wonder if playing it evil makes certain party members leave or unavailable to join.

[Dakarne]

I wonder if playing it evil makes certain party members leave or unavailable to join.

Only applies to one character: Juhani, the Jedi Guardian.

You can either kill her off (Dark) or save her from the dark side (Light)

I save her regardless... she comes in quite handy later on.

Now that's the extent of the spoilers I'm giving.

[brianeyci]

If I play as a darksider will Carth and other 'good' guys leave me? Seems that Carth is responding well to my making light side decisions so I wonder if playing it evil makes certain party members leave or unavailable to join.

Not until the very end of the game. In fact one of the complaints is that until the very end of the game, you can switch from Dark Side to Light Side instantaneously (literally). You can make light side choices for almost the entire game, and then at the very end right when you have to make the final decision, which will be clearly recognizable, you can save right there and see both endings if you're willing to reload and go through a few hours of gameplay. If you want a heads up, save before you enter "The Temple" (I trust that is spoiler free enough).

Light side and Dark Side mostly have to do with the NPC responses and your force powers.

Brian

[Civil War Man]

Skill-wise, I would recommend not wasting time investing in security. Any footlocker that can be unlocked via security can be bashed open, and KOTOR 1 does not have 2's mechanism that makes you risk breaking the contents of a box if you bash it open. I highly recommend that you invest in repair, though. HK-47 becomes a lot more fun to work with that way.

Persuade is also necessary, especially if you are playing Light Side. You may think it's redundant due to the Affect Mind power, but in my experience most uses of that power get you Dark Side Points.

When you are able to leave the planet you are on, visit Yavin a lot. You can sell most of your stuff for a higher price than you get elsewhere (like vouchers you pick up from a certain swoop racing track), and in return you can buy some extremely powerful weapons and armor (even some powerful blasters!).

A lot of powers cannot be used while wearing armor, but IMHO unless you have really high dexterity, the defensive advantage (as well as asthetic advantage, since the robes in KOTOR 1 are kinda ugly) armor has over the robes is worth not being able to use a few powers.

[GeneralTacticus]

A lot of powers cannot be used while wearing armor, but IMHO unless you have really high dexterity, the defensive advantage (as well as asthetic advantage, since the robes in KOTOR 1 are kinda ugly) armor has over the robes is worth not being able to use a few powers.

I have to disagree here (well, not about the aesthetics bit; KotOR 1's robes are ugly as shit). Armour, IIRC, prevents you from using Speed, Valour, and any of the Force Lightning powers, among others. Max out Speed and Valour, and the defensive bonuses will make up most of what you lose from not wearing armour, as well as giving you extra attacks and boosting your other attributes. And Force Lightning, of course, is the offensive Dark Side (Kill can be entertaining as well, but it only works on one enemy at a time).

[brianeyci]

I have to disagree here (well, not about the aesthetics bit; KotOR 1's robes are ugly as shit). Armour, IIRC, prevents you from using Speed, Valour, and any of the Force Lightning powers, among others. Max out Speed and Valour, and the defensive bonuses will make up most of what you lose from not wearing armour, as well as giving you extra attacks and boosting your other attributes. And Force Lightning, of course, is the offensive Dark Side (Kill can be entertaining as well, but it only works on one enemy at a time).

It depends on what kind of powers you use and what kind of character you build. If you don't like buffing (and who does, eventually it gets repetitive) you can get around that. I played a Dark Side character one time and used all my slots for powers that aren't affected by armor. I wore Mandalorian Heavy Armor, so I looked insanely cool. And, I ran around using critical strike. So rather than a flurry of blows, I hit once for sixty damage each time on most enemies. My character that time had 40 strength rather than 40 dexterity, and was doing insane amounts of damage.

Brian

[Civil War Man]

I wore Mandalorian Heavy Armor, so I looked insanely cool. And, I ran around using critical strike. So rather than a flurry of blows, I hit once for sixty damage each time on most enemies. My character that time had 40 strength rather than 40 dexterity, and was doing insane amounts of damage.

You should have tried a fully upgraded Heavy Exoskeleton (found at Yavin, after you complete your third planet, not including Taris, IIRC). Looks a little goofy, but comes with tasty strength and constitution boosts as well as real high armor boost and decent max dex bonus.

[Lancer]

I have to disagree here (well, not about the aesthetics bit; KotOR 1's robes are ugly as shit). Armour, IIRC, prevents you from using Speed, Valour, and any of the Force Lightning powers, among others. Max out Speed and Valour, and the defensive bonuses will make up most of what you lose from not wearing armour, as well as giving you extra attacks and boosting your other attributes. And Force Lightning, of course, is the offensive Dark Side (Kill can be entertaining as well, but it only works on one enemy at a time).

It depends on what kind of powers you use and what kind of character you build. If you don't like buffing (and who does, eventually it gets repetitive) you can get around that. I played a Dark Side character one time and used all my slots for powers that aren't affected by armor. I wore Mandalorian Heavy Armor, so I looked insanely cool. And, I ran around using critical strike. So rather than a flurry of blows, I hit once for sixty damage each time on most enemies. My character that time had 40 strength rather than 40 dexterity, and was doing insane amounts of damage.

Brian

I was doing lightside scout/sentinel and getting 40-60 damage per landed hit with master flurry against most opponents, with a total str rating of about 27 (achieved through strength-enhancer gloves, belts, armor inlays, and a wicked lightsaber).

Force buffs, heal, and lightning rounded out my build, and although my health and defense ratings were lower than most, I could pretty much kill everything before they killed me. However, a build like that is tough to play with up until late in the game, when you get the good stuff.