Knights of the Old Republic II – The Sith Lords

Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords

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        Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords PC
                     Gunslinger Exile Guide
                       By: Kerath Arcwind
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	Alrighty, this is my first try at writing an in-depth
game guide, so we'll see how it goes. First off, this guide is
written based on the PC version of KotOR2, product version 2.10.
If you notice anything wonky about the info included in here,
it's probably because you're playing a different version. On a
more personal note, I'm actually not that huge a Star Wars fan.
I mean, yeah, I like lightsabers as much as the next nerd, but
I'm not one of the huge fans. However, being an RPG enthusiast,
I fell in love with the KotOR game series. As a result, I
probably know a heck of a lot more about the Mandalorian War/
Jedi Civil War timeline than I do about the Skywalker one :P
I haven't even seen Episodes II and III yet. I have, however,
played and beaten every Final Fantasy game from I-VII as well
as a whole mess of other RPGs like Chrono Trigger,
Tales of Phantasia, Terranigma, Star Ocean, Bahamut Lagoon,
Front Mission, Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant,
Neverwinter Nights (including Shadows of Undrentide and
Hordes of the Underdark), just to name a few. So, I know a
thing or two about RPGs and their strategies.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

(I)    - Why the hell is a Jedi using blasters?!
(II)   - Upgrades!
(III)  - Starting class pros/cons
(IV)   - Which side of the duct tape are YOU on?
(V)    - Prestige class pros/cons
(VI)   - Ability score rundown
(VII)  - Skills rundown
(VIII) - Feat selection guide
(IX)   - Force power rundown
(X)    - Closing Remarks


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       SECTION I - WHY THE HELL IS A JEDI USING BLASTERS?!
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	It's not a bad question, really. I mean, if you watch the
movies, then at least as far as I remember there are no cases of
blaster-wielding jedi. Games in the Jedi Knight series sorta
changed this with characters like Kyle Katarn and Jaden Korr, but
even then you were still usually falling back to using a saber in
close combat. I mean, why not, right? You have a laser sword that
can cut through anything and deflects those wimpy blaster bolts. 
Pretty much trumps everything, other than maybe force lightning. 
And, even in terms of the first KotOR, I'd be inclined to lean 
toward lightsabers (though I have seen some interesting and 
surprisingly effective blaster builds for the first one; however,
they mostly bank on getting end-game weapons like Cassus Fett's 
blaster, leaving you kinda weak until that point).
	Sith Lords changes all that with a single factor:
upgrades, upgrades, upgrades. Now, I know what you're
thinking: so what? Melee weapons get upgrades too, and
lightsabers get upgrades PLUS crystals! Well, that -is- true.
However, you really have to look at what kind of upgrades
are available in each category. If you follow the suggestions
in this guide, you will be gunning down almost any single
enemy in the game, including saber-wielding foes, before they
even get a chance to hit you. Trust me, it's a ton of fun.
It's especially pleasing if you use a tank-like companion,
like Mandalore or Hanharr, to keep those irritating melee-
types busy while you pump them full of bullets.
	You might wonder why I continually mention that this
is not a build that really uses Force powers. Well, my reasoning
is that if you start throwing things like Force lightning into
the mix, you've basically just made a bad Force lightning build.
The guns just become secondary, since you won't really be using
them as your main attack force. And if you -do- use them as your
attack force, then what do you need Force attacks for? Not to
mention, you have to get a lot closer to an enemy to use Force
powers on them than you do to shoot them. If you want to fling
the Force around, use a saber-wielding Consular. It'll serve
you far better. You typically don't see saber-wielding Weapon
Masters trying to use lots of Force attacks in the midst of
battle, so why would you expect a pistol-wielding WM to be any
different?
	Anyway, this build basically revolves around upgrades, 
so I'll move onto that section first.


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                     SECTION II - UPGRADES!
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	Okay, I'll tell you the truth. For the first part of the
game, while everyone's skills are low and weapon selection is
slim, you will likely be weak compared to your STR-boosted
melee buddies. When you're going through Peragus, you may
actually be better off using a rifle for the boosted damage or
even a vibrosword to deal with all those pesky shielded droids.
However, once upgradable weapons start becoming available and
you or your companions get a diverse skillset, blasters will
begin to shine. First off, let's go through the upgrades of 
each type in each category to determine how to load out your 
guns.

SCOPES

Pinpoint Scope (I-IV) - The entire Pinpoint family yields the
Keen attribute, which can be very nice with certain pistols,
namely disruptor-types that tend to have a wide threat range.
Basically all that gets added as you head up the tree is a
chance to stun, topping out at DC18 50% for 3 rounds at IV.
The stun's neither here nor there; most enemies will make
their saves. When you've managed to score a pair of
Mandalorian Disintegrators, this scope tree is the way to go.
REQUIRED SKILL: Awareness (28 for Mk.IV)

Accuracy Scope (I-III) - Real simple. These scopes boost your 
attack value, topping out at +3. Nothing else. Not a terrible 
choice if you're hard up for components or having trouble 
hitting for some reason. There's better choices out there, 
though, and don't even consider this for end-game.
REQUIRED SKILL: Awareness (22 for Mk.III)

Targeting Scope (I-IV) - This scope family causes the slow
effect, as well as giving a small damage boost at the higher
complexity levels. A level IV scope will yield a DC22 25% slow 
that lasts 3 rounds, as well as +3 energy damage. Not a bad 
choice at all, especially if you're using a low threat weapon 
like a micro-pulse blaster.
REQUIRED SKILL: Stealth (32 for Mk.IV)

Crippling Scope (I-III) - This scope family causes stun effects, 
as well as giving a small damage boost at the higher complexity 
levels. Basically, it's sort of a toss-up between these and the 
Targeting Scope family. While I find stun to be more useful than 
slow, the top end stun of DC18 25% for 2 rounds is a little weak. 
However, the level III crippling scope yields +3 energy damage, 
the same as the level IV targeting scope, and costs way less in 
components. A solid choice for low-threat weapons.
REQUIRED SKILL: Stealth (26 for Mk.III)

POWER CELLS

Ion Charger (I-V) - The Ion Charger family specializes in anti-
droid capabilities. Early models do additional damage against 
droids as well as adding Massive Critical damage. Later in the 
family, non-droid ion damage appears. The level V charger 
offers +2-12 ion damage vs. droids, +2-16 Massive Critical 
damage, and +1-8 ion. I really don't recommend this cell, since 
most pistols don't critical very much, and droids just aren't 
that hard in general.
REQUIRED SKILL: Security (28 for Mk.V)

Power Pulsator (I-V) - The Power Pulsators initially offer only
boosted Massive Critical damage. Later, they start to add a small
amount of constant energy damage. The Mark V model features
+2-20 Massive Critical damage and +5 energy damage. Personally,
I've never liked to rely on Massive Critical damage, particularly
not as a gun user. I'm sure some people would beg to differ.
REQUIRED SKILL: Computer Use (30 for Mk.V)

Rylith Power Cells (Basic thru Pure) - Ah, now we're talking. No 
matter what kind of pistol you're using, the Rylith cell family
is my personal pick. It's pretty much unbeatable in sheer damage
output. The only thing that Rylith cells do is add energy damage,
but they do it very, very well. The top tier Pure cell adds a
monumental +2-20 energy damage. This is more than any other
single upgrade in the game, and is pivotal to the success of this
build.
REQUIRED SKILL: Security (32 for Pure)

CHAMBERS

Broadening Chamber (I-III) - Broadening Chambers are used to
boost critical hit damage, as well as adding small bonuses to
attack rolls at higher tiers. The Mark III chamber offers +1-12
Massive Critical damage, along with +1 attack. Definitely not
my first choice.
REQUIRED SKILL: Repair (24 for Mk.III)

Amplifying Chamber (I-III) - These chambers, like Rylith cells,
have the sole purpose of adding energy damage. They're great
for consistency, since they add a constant amount rather than
a range, which I think would make them good for attacks using
Power Blast and its increased critical multiplier. I've heard
that ranges don't get multiplied for calculating critical hits,
but constant values do. Anyway, this is definitely a viable
choice, since the Mark III yields a respectable +6 energy damage.
REQUIRED SKILL: Demolitions (26 for Mk.III)

Precision Chamber (I-III) - Precision Chambers are basically like
improved Broadening Chambers, offering the same things at boosted
values. The Mark III features +2-12 Massive Critical damage and
+2 attack. Still not terribly good, but better than BCs.
REQUIRED SKILL: Security (28 for Mk.III)

Beam Splitter (I-III) - Beam Splitters are basically the Rylith
cells of the chamber world, adding a range of energy damage to
a weapon. They tend to be good early on due to their lack of any
imposed penalties and their competitive damage rate. It is only
later that they are slightly eclipsed. The Mark III yields a
+2-12 energy damage increase to its weapon.
REQUIRED SKILL: Computer Use (30 for Mk.III)

Mandalorian Chamber (I-III) - This is probably my favourite
chamber, though I fully encourage you to experiment with both
Amplifying Chambers and Beam Splitters as well to find what suits
you best. The Mandalorian Chamber adds whopping amounts of energy
damage at the cost of defense (which, I've found, isn't all that
helpful in this game anyway). The Mark III's stats weigh in at
an impressive +2-16 energy damage, +1 attack, and -1 defense.
I think most people will agree that the -1 defense is a small
penalty to pay for such impressive damage; still, it is one
potential reason to use a Splitter or AC.
REQUIRED SKILL: Repair (32 for Mk.III)

SYNOPSIS:

	Well, that was a whole lot of upgrade info. Moral of the 
story? For the end game, I always go with a Pure Rylith Power 
Cell and a Mandalorian Chamber Mark III. These two alone yield:
+4-36 energy damage, +1 attack, -1 defense. Pretty damned good.
Scope depends on what weapon I'm using. For a weapon with a
20-20 threat range, I'd definitely go with either a Crippling
Scope or Targeting Scope, particularly earlier in the game
where every bit of damage counts. However, once you get access
to the better disruptor-type pistols, it can be quite beneficial
to swap to the Pinpoint scope tree. If you slap one of these onto
a Mandalorian Disintegrator, suddenly you have a threat range of
15-20, which means 30% of all your hits will be criticals. Pretty
nice, if you ask me. If you use that setup, you'll be dropping
Sith Assassins like flies without ever having a finger laid
on you. Even Master Vrook will fear your blasters.

	In terms of armour, I'd recommend either robes or armour
that allows for a sizeable dexterity bonus range. Robes are nice
because they do not restrict Force powers and have no restriction
on DEX bonuses. However, they tend to have crappy defense values
and are extremely limited in their upgrade selection (many cannot
be upgraded at all). It's too bad that all of the Force-using
light armour have their DEX bonuses capped at +4, since they
would've been ideal otherwise. What I actually used when I played
through with this build the first time was a Sith Battle Suit,
which is medium armour with 7 defense and a +7 DEX bonus cap.
With an Armorweave Underlay Mark V (30% energy immunity, stat
drain immunity) and Ballistic Shielding Mark III (20% immunity
to bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing), this armour yielded some
very nice defensive capabilities at the cost of force powers.
It's up to you, really.

	For weapon choice, you can do whatever the heck you want
in the early game. However, once your skills start rising and you
can throw together a Rylith cell and a Beam Splitter, the only
thing you ever have to look for in a weapon is two words: Fully
Upgradeable. The rest is history. I'd keep an eye out for
Mandalorian weapons, as they tend to fit this category. A few
others are the Republic blaster, the Onasi blaster, the
Scout/Watchman blasters, and Micro-pulse blasters.

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           SECTION III - STARTING CLASS PROS AND CONS
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JEDI GUARDIAN
10 VP/level
4 FP/level
1 skill point/level
Unique starting feats: Medium armour proficiency; Force Jump
Class Skills: Awareness, demolitions, treat injury, persuade
Feats by level 15: 9
Saves by level 15: Fortitude 9, Reflex 9, Will 7
Powers by level 15: 14 (for the Exile; 16 for others)
Light Side Mastery bonus: +3 STR
Dark Side Mastery bonus: +1-8 damage

	I believe that this class makes for the best starting
class in the Gunslinger build. One main reason for this is that
the Guardian gets more feats than any other base class. Ranged
weapon fighters are EXTREMELY feat-intensive, mainly because of
the lengthy Precise Shot feat tree. So even though Guardians
only get one more feat by level 15 than Sentinels, that one feat
makes a difference. Also, you can access weapon specialization
in pistols with this class regardless of what Prestige class you
end up selecting, and +2 damage on every hit is always welcome.
This build really isn't based on force powers, so the lower FP
won't really hurt you. Also, this class gets access to the Close
Combat feat tree, which is critical to this build.

JEDI SENTINEL
8 VP/level
6 FP/level
3 skill points/level
Unique starting feats: Force Immunity
Class Skills: Awareness, computer use, security, treat injury,
persuade, stealth
Feats by level 15: 8
Saves by level 15: Fortitude 9, Reflex 9, Will 7
Powers by level 15: 14 (for the Exile; 16 for others)
Light Side Mastery bonus: +3 CON
Dark Side Mastery bonus: +3 DEX

	While I have used the Jedi Sentinel on previous passes
through the game, I haven't really experimented with it using the
Gunslinger build. It seems outwardly like it would be a totally
viable choice. The loss of one feat hurts a little, but isn't a
deathblow to the build. Force immunity is quite nice, and being
able to use a wide variety of skills will help you in many ways
not to mention upgrading potential. Added FP at the cost of VP is
detrimental in my opinion, since this isn't designed to be a
Force-intensive build, but that's up to personal preference. I'm
not sure whether this class gets the Close Combat feats; if not,
then count Sentinels out and go with Guardians.

JEDI CONSULAR
6 VP/level
8 FP/level
2 skill points/level
Unique starting feats: Force Focus
Class Skills: Awareness, treat injury, repair, persuade
Feats by level 15: 6
Saves by level 15: Fortitude 9, Reflex 7, Will 9
Powers by level 15: 19 (for the Exile; 21 for others)
Light Side Mastery bonus: +3 WIS
Dark Side Master bonus: +50 FP

	I strongly advise against using a Consular as the base
for this build. There are several reasons for this. The first is
that the Gunslinger is essentially a fighter and does not really
rely on Force power use. The second is that Consulars simply do
not get enough feats to flesh the build out sufficiently. Third,
Consulars do not have access to the Close Combat feat tree.


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      SECTION IV - WHICH SIDE OF THE DUCT TAPE ARE YOU ON?
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	Yeah, we've all heard the bad joke, but it raises a valid
question in any Star Wars game. Light side or Dark side? Well, a
lot of it is personal preference. First and foremost, you'll
probably want to go with what you feel most comfortable playing,
particularly if it's your first time through the game. However,
if you examine it from a purely powergaming angle, I think that
there is actually a better choice for this build.
	First off, you get different characters in your group
depending on what side you follow. If you go Light, you'll get
Mira, a skill-heavy ranged-fighting scout that can later become
a Jedi. For the Dark side, you get Hanharr, a huge psychotic
Wookiee that, while not able to become a Jedi, fights nearly
as well as a Sith Marauder in spite of it.
	On the surface, that doesn't look like much of a reason
to lean either way. However, if you take Mira, you'll have to
divide up your guns unless you make her use a lightsaber, which
I think is spoiling her combat potential. With Hanharr however,
not only do you gain a great meat shield, you also get some
hefty stat boosts if you play your Influence cards right (which
isn't too hard to do; just treat him like crap and murder people
and you're all set).
	If you progress all the way with Hanharr, you'll get +2
STR (not that useful), +1 WIS (never hurts) and +2 CON (great for
helping you get to the better implants - mmm D-Packages). So, in
this regard, the Dark side is superior. Another way in which I
think DS weighs in is in Mastery bonuses. Guardians get +1-8
damage, which I've found works fabulously with this build, while
they get a crummy +3 STR on the Light side. I guess that'd be
good if you were throwing your pistols at people. With Sentinels,
the DSM bonus is +3 DEX, and you can never really have too much
DEX on a ranged build. The Light side gets +3 CON, which isn't
half bad, but it doesn't count toward what implants you can wear,
which decreases its usefulness in my view. If I'm already going
to get up to 18 natural CON, I don't really need an awful lot
more.
	On the flipside, the buffing powers gained on the Light
side are more useful than the damage powers on the Dark side,
since your DC won't exactly be too great with low WIS and CHA
and you'll have low FPs. So, in the end, it really has a lot to
do with personal choice. I personally lean toward Dark with
Gunslinger characters.


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            SECTION V - PRESTIGE CLASS PROS AND CONS
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	Okay, you're level 15, you've got Visas in your party,
and you're chatting with Kreia. What do you pick? Well, I'll see
if I can help you narrow it down. As a matter of fact, since I
really can't be bothered to write out all 6 prestige classes and
their details, I'll narrow it down for you right now. There are
only two ways to go with this build in my opinion, and that's
with the Jedi Weapon Master on the Light side or the Sith
Marauder on the Dark side. Arguments could be made for the
Jedi Watchman or Sith Assassin if a Sneak Attack build were
desired, but that's not the way the Gunslinger operates. So far,
my attempts at building a really good ranged sneak attacker have
met with only moderate success; the front-line, guns-blazing
brute force pistol user got better results in just about every 
scenario. If you -really- want to know about the other prestige
classes, there are plenty of other FAQs that contain
descriptions of their abilities. You can read them and decide
for yourself whether or not to try and use them for this build.
Although, I have to say that using a Jedi Master/Sith Lord as a
Gunslinger would have me questioning your sanity.

JEDI WEAPON MASTER
10 VP/level
6 FP/level
Abilities Gained: Greater Prestige Sense, Deflect, Increase Melee
Damage, Inner Strength, Superior Two Weapon Fighting, Superior
Weapon Focus: Lightsaber
Class Skills: Awareness, demolitions, treat injury, persuade
Feats by level 15: 9
Saves by level 15: Fortitude 9, Reflex 7, Will 7
Mastery Bonus: +3 STR

	In my view, this is the lesser of the two classes for
this build. There's a few reasons why I think this, but first
off, I'll go through the class itself. Greater Prestige Sense
is a nice little power, shared by the Weapon Master, Watchman,
Marauder and Assassin. It gives +2 to defense every 5 levels.
Deflect adds a +1 to blaster bolt deflection rolls on every odd
WM level, which is a nice defensive perk. Increase Melee Damage,
while nice in general, is worthless to this build since it does
not increase ranged damage at all. Inner Strength is a truly
awesome power, reducing all damage taken by a certain percentage,
which tops out at 15%. Superior Two Weapon Fighting is great if
you get to a high enough level to spare the feats, since it
further reduces the penalty of using two weapons. The lightsaber
abilities are obviously not a big factor in this build.
	Okay, here's why this class isn't as good in general.
Increase Melee Damage is a wipeout, first off. Secondly, the
Mastery bonus is STR again, which is pretty worthless. While
Deflect and the slightly higher saves are nice, I don't believe
they offset the gains the Marauder makes. I'd take this class
over Marauder only if you really want Light side Force buffs.

SITH MARAUDER
10 VP/level
6 FP/level
Abilities Gained: Greater Prestige Sense, Increase Combat Damage,
Ignore Pain, Superior Two Weapon Fighting, Superior Weapon Focus:
Lightsaber, Fury (counts as a Force power)
Class SKills: Awareness, demolitions, treat injury, persuade
Feats by level 15: 9
Saves by level 15: Fortitude 10, Reflex 7, Will 5
Mastery Bonus: +1-8 damage

	This is my personal pick for the Gunslinger prestige
class. It's pretty similar to the Weapon Master described above,
but there are some key differences that makes it better suited to
our purposes. First, Increase Combat Damage applies to ALL weapon
types, so your ranged attacks get to benefit too. At its top
level, you will get +6 damage, which is sweeeet. Ignore Pain is
exactly the same as Inner Strength, and is possibly the most
potent feat set in the game. Fury turned out to be a bit of a
disappointment. It gives some sizeable stat boosts, which is
nice, and can be used in armour, and drops your defense by
a small amount. It's basically like the Barbarian's rage from
Neverwinter Nights. This power was also supposed to grant
extra attacks, which would basically make it Force Speed in
armour, but it doesn't actually. Hopefully they'll fix this soon.
You lose Deflect, but you'll still do alright at dodging blaster
bolts, and Master Energy Resistance takes care of most
conventional energy weapon shots anyway. Upon reaching Mastery,
you'll get another +1-8 damage, stacking with the Guardian
DSM bonus to give you a whopping +2-16 damage. Kick ass! That's
like having a second Mandalorian Chamber in both your guns.

	You're welcome to disagree with me, but I really believe
that these two Prestige classes are the definitive choices for
use with this build.


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               SECTION VI - ABILITY SCORE RUNDOWN
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STRENGTH - Affects melee damage, including with lightsabers. It
also affects your attack bonus with those weapons. This stat is
basically pointless for this build, so I'd recommend taking
either an 8 or a 10 here. The only time you'd need more, really,
is in the Battle Circle fights on Dxun.

DEXTERITY - Here's where the money is. Dexterity affects your
armour class and your attack bonus with ranged weapons. It also
has a direct effect on your Reflex save value. You'll want to
have a pretty high value here. I'd recommend 14-16 to start.
Don't go any lower than 14, but boosting past 16 is just a
waste of stat points, really.

CONSTITUTION - This stat determines your VP amount, as well as 
having a direct impact on Fortitude saves and determining what 
level of implants your character can equip. This one's pretty 
important, since more VP is always a good thing. I always
try and get it up to 18, since D-Package implants kick ass.
I'd say start with 14.

INTELLIGENCE - This stat is the main skill use stat. When you
gain a level, the amount of skill points you get is augmented
by your INT bonus. I'd consider it to be moderately important,
since your character will be more independent if they have more
skills and not so reliant on other party members. Personally,
I usually go with 14, but you could go lower. I wouldn't put it
higher for this build, at least not initially.

WISDOM - The main Force-user stat. Your Wisdom bonus gets added
to your FP gained when you level up, and also has a direct
effect on both Force power DC and Willpower saves. I wouldn't
worry much about boosting this stat, as the Gunslinger is not
meant to be a heavy Force user. 10 or 12 is good enough.

CHARISMA - The secondary Force stat. Like Wisdom, your Charisma
bonus gets added to the FP gained when you level up, and affects
the DC on almost as many Force powers as Wisdom does. It reduces
the cost of using Force powers opposite to your alignment, and
also gives your allies improvements to their attack rolls. If
you want to go Dark side but still really want to use Light side
buffs, you might want to invest in this stat. Otherwise, I'd say
leave it at 10 or 12.

Recommended Stat Layout:

STR 8
DEX 16
CON 14
INT 14
WIS 12
CHA 12

	Obviously, you're welcome to play around with these
values to suit your own preferences and playing style. You should
keep in mind, however, that you can gain bonuses to these stats
through the characters in your party. These bonuses are as follows:

Hanharr - +2 STR, +1 WIS, +2 CON
T3-M4 - +1 WIS
HK-47 - +1 WIS, +1 CON

	These are permanent increases. Bear this in mind when you
allocate your stats.


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                  SECTION VII: SKILLS RUNDOWN
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COMPUTER USE - Modified by INT

	This skill can be pretty useful, as it is involved in
many of the better upgrades. It is also important for upgrading
T3-M4 and getting the +1 WIS stat boost. It's probably a good
choice for a skill to raise with the Exile, though you'll have
to take the feat to make it a class skill if you went Guardian.
For every 4 points you have in this skill, you need one less
computer spike to perform slicing functions.

DEMOLITIONS - Modified by INT

	This is a surprisingly useful skill, in contrast to
the first KotOR. This isn't because mines are particularly
dangerous. For the most part, you can go charging through
minefields like a moronic bantha and come out alright. However,
you get a very nice EXP bonus for disabling or recovering mines.
For each mine you recover, you get 10x your character level.
In some areas, like on G0-T0's yacht, this adds up very quickly.
It's also important for a lot of nice upgrades. If you went
Guardian, it's worthwhile to toss a few points in, but it could
just as easily be handled by a companion.

STEALTH - Modified by DEX

	This skill allows you to move around undetected when
you have a stealth belt equipped. It automatically puts you into
Solo mode. Stealth can be pretty useful, but not for this build,
so I wouldn't recommend having the Exile raise this skill even if
you used a Sentinel base class. However, since many of the scope
upgrades are based on stealth, you should have at least one party
member keep this skill maxed. Atton, Visas and Kreia work well.

AWARENESS - Modified by WIS

	Awareness, if you read its description, is pretty
useless. When those invisible Sith Assassins or Hssiss come after
you, you're gonna find them regardless of what your Awareness
skill is. However, Awareness has some fringe benefits. One is
that it adds dialogue choices, many of which can be beneficial.
The most notable of these is with Mira, where having a high
enough Awareness allows you to trigger an argument that results
in tons of Influence. You don't need more than 11 or 12 points
to get all the added dialogue options though. Awareness yields
some important upgrades, but you're probably better off having
a party member max this skill out and just toss a few points in
with the Exile.

PERSUADE - Modified by CHA

	This skill's usefulness varies. If you go with the Light
side, I'd highly advocate raising this skill up to a high level.
If you go Dark side, it's less important, since Dominate Mind
will often accomplish the same thing, as well as giving you tasty
Dark side points. Overall, investing in this skill is usually not
a waste.

REPAIR - Modified by INT

	This skill has a lot of different functions. One is that,
for droids, this has the same function as Treat Injury,
determining how much health they regain from using repair kits.
Secondly, this skill is used to repair various droids and
machines in the game, with every 4 skill points reducing the
number of parts needed for each task by one. This is one of the
best skills to take as the Exile in my opinion, for a few
reasons. One is that it is, like Computer Use, a necessary skill
to get the final +1 WIS bonus from T3. In addition, the Exile's
Repair value is the one used to determine the amount of
components gained from breaking down items at a workbench, which
is obviously critical when it comes to making upgrades. Repair is
also a common skill for making upgrades. It's a good idea to get
your Repair skill up to 18 or 20 at least.

SECURITY - Modified by INT

	Security is, basically, lockpicking. It allows you to
open locked doors and containers without damaging them. Unlike
in the first KotOR, bashing containers open actually breaks
items inside, making it a far less appealing prospect. Using
Security ensures that your treasure will always remain intact.
Also, each time you successfully use Security, you get EXP. I'd
recommend having at least one point in this skill on the Exile,
with at least one party member keeping it maxed. Security is
an important skill for upgrading.

TREAT INJURY - Modified by WIS
	
	Treat Injury affects how much health is regained when
a medpac is used. It's more important for Dark side than Light
side, since they can't heal as well, particularly out of combat.
Still, not really a critical skill for the Exile to have. It also
affects a few upgrades, but none of the crucial ones, as well as
affecting how many chemicals you get when you break down items at
a lab station. Not a bad idea to have one character in the party
max this out, like Kreia.

SUMMARY

	In the end, what skills the Exile has will largely not
affect the performance of the Gunslinger build. Just make sure
that, between all your characters, you have all skills other
than Persuade or Treat Injury maxed out, or at least high (25
or so) for upgrading purposes, since shops are unreliable. Also,
try to have the Exile keep a decent Repair score for breaking
items down.


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              SECTION VIII - FEAT SELECTION GUIDE
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	Here are my recommendations for feat choices:

Two-weapon Fighting - Yes! Get all of them! These feats should be
a high priority for grabbing early. If you decide to go Marauder
or Weapon Master, you should definitely grab the second tier of
these feats, but don't treat it like a priority. Get stuff like
Precise Shot and Close Combat out of the way first before going
for these, since their benefits are less noticeable than the
base tier's.

Armor Proficiency - I wouldn't take any more than what you're
already given. Guardians in particular get Medium, which is
plenty. Heck, even within Medium, the only armour you'll ever
want to equip is the Sith Battle Suit. Everything else has its
DEX bonus capped too low.

Caution, Empathy, Gearhead - Don't bother. Skill boost feats are
a luxury that can't be afforded in this build. Maybe take one of
these if you actually have the patience to get to level 50. I
know I never have.

Critical Strike, Flurry, Power Attack - It's melee. Avoid them 
like the plague.

Conditioning - Not a bad feat, per se, but you need other feats
way more than you need a saving throw boost. Good to grab if you
take the build to a very high level and have gotten all of the
blaster-related feats.

Power Blast - Gives you added damage with reduced attack rolls.
It also increases the critical multiplier on your weapon by 1,
and has a chance to knock back affected by DEX bonus. Not bad, 
but not my top choice for this build. The knockback and boosted
criticals are nice, but when your pistols are doing 50 damage or
more later in the game, an extra 13 damage per hit pales when 
compared to Rapid Shot's extra attack.

Rapid Shot - Gives an additional attack, at the cost of accuracy
and defense. I think this is a solid choice for this build, since
it stacks with Force Speed for robe users. Also, since your
pistols have such staggeringly high base damage, getting another
attack in really adds up. At Master Rapid Shot, there's no more
defense penalty and only a -1 to attack. I usually go with Rapid
Shot.

Sniper Shot - Increases the critical threat range of your weapon,
and gives a chance to stun on successful critical hits, affected
by INT modifier. This can be pretty good, particularly if you're
using disruptor-type pistols with a base 18-20 threat range.
However, having the stun chance based off of INT is a bummer,
and it doesn't appear to work with Force Speed. In addition,
you can't give it a boost the way you can with lightsaber
forms. Also, the -5 defense penalty persists even at Master
level. I usually take Rapid Shot.

Weapon Proficiency (various) - The only tree that matters here
is Pistols. Max it out and leave the others alone. Maxing this
one is of moderate priority; I'd grab Two-weapon Fighting and
Rapid Shot first, maybe even Toughness.

Jedi Defense - I'm still unsure as to whether the upper levels
of this feat tree also benefit unarmed deflection. If so, it's
a decent choice, though there are more critical feats for this
build. If it doesn't help unarmed deflection, then don't ever
take it, as it will literally do nothing for this build.

Toughness - You'll want to max this tree out, though it's not
ultra-urgent. A good choice once the core combat feats are out
of the way, or if you find yourself dying a lot for some reason.

Dueling - Not what we want for this build. A single pistol just
doesn't have enough damage output.

Close Combat - Very important. Max this tree out quickly.

Regenerate Force Points - I'd skip this one, unless you really
feel you need it.

Regenerate Vitality Points - If you went Dark side, it might be
worth considering, but only after you've gotten all of your
ranged feats.

Class Skill (various) - Mostly personal preference. Computer Use
and Repair are often a good idea (see above for details). Don't
grab too many of these; feats are too valuable.

Dual Strike - Probably more useful for this build than for
others, but your attack bonuses should be pretty good already.
I'd leave these alone.

Finesse (various) - Doesn't affect ranged combat. Leave them.

Stealth Run - I wouldn't bother. Even if you want to use Stealth,
walking will get you there eventually. There are more important
feats to take.

Precise Shot - Yes! Get this whole tree, though it can wait
until later in the game. It's critical to have this at a
decent level (2 or 3) by the end game to deal with all of
the sabre users.


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		SECTION IX: FORCE POWER RUNDOWN
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LIGHT SIDE POWERS

Force Aura - This tree isn't a bad one to grab. While its rather
short duration will keep you from using it frequently, it becomes
far more useful once you get Force Enlightenment toward the end
of the game.

Heal - Always a useful power tree. Master Heal is potent enough
that it can even be a lifesaver in combat, rather than using
medpacs.

Force Valor - Good power tree, though with annoyingly short
duration. Like with Force Aura, the usefulness goes up a lot once
you get Force Enlightenment. It's also good for using
workbenches, since the +5 given by Master Valor will give +2 or
+3 to many of your skills.

Force Barrier - This is a great power tree, although it isn't
all that useful before the Master level due to short duration.
If you combine this with Master Energy Resistance, the amount
of damage you take will be drastically reduced.

Revitalize - If your party members are dying an awful lot I guess
this one might be worthwhile, but it always struck me as sort of
pointless. Even at the Master level, they're only brought back
with 10% of their total VP. They'll probably just die again.

Stun - For this build, I'd skip this power tree. While it is
useful in general, your DC simply won't be high enough to make
it worthwhile.

Stun Droid - I'd skip this power tree. Your DC is probably gonna
be kinda low, and droids are easy to kill as it is.

Force Enlightenment - The ultimate buff power. It uses Force
Aura, Force Valor and Burst of Speed (at whatever level you've
gotten them to) simultaneously for a reduced FP cost. If you
went Light side with this build, this will probably be one of
your favourite powers. You get it automatically when you revisit
Dantooine if you're LS.


UNIVERSAL POWERS

Energy Resistance - Arguably the best Force power in the game.
Any time you think you're going into combat, you should have
this up. Not only does it massively reduce incoming energy
damage (yes, this includes lightsabers), it lasts for 2 minutes.
Grab this power set ASAP.

Throw Lightsaber - Not applicable, for obvious reasons. Skip it.

Burst of Speed - A great power set in general, giving you two
extra attacks at the Master level as well as a defense boost.
Unfortunately, the defense boost is working incorrectly in the
game, but the attacks work fine. If you don't use armour, get
this power tree.

Force Push - While I generally avoid attack powers in this build,
Force Push is still probably worth getting. If too many people
close in on you, you can use this to get them out of your face
and then go back to using your blasters. If you're lucky, a few
of them might even get stunned. Also, no matter how crappy your
DC is, you'll still do at least a bit of damage to them. I'd
grab this fairly early.

Force Resistance - I've never found this to be terribly useful.
Try it if you want, but Force powers just don't get used on
you very often in the game, and when they do, they tend not
to be that impressive.

Affect Mind - I almost always take these powers, particularly for
Dark side characters. Even Light side characters will find them
useful occasionally. I think Dark siders should grab them early,
while Light siders can probably wait a bit.

Force Suppression - I'd skip these. I've never noticed any enemy
where stripping Force buffs was actually helpful to any degree.

Battle Meditation - This can be a pretty useful power set if you
don't use armour. It basically boosts you and your party and
drops the abilities of the enemies around you. Personally, I find
it's better to give to one of my teammates, but it's still a
worthwhile grab. Note that it doesn't work on droids, either
friend or enemy.

Mind Trick - I'd skip these. Mind Trick is very useless, while
Confusion is only mildly more useful. Whatever this power does,
a surprise Rapid Shot volley does a hell of a lot better.

Force Body - I'd skip these. You won't even come close to using
up all your FP in general when you use this build. Pretty much
the only power you'll be casting regularly is Energy Resistance,
and by the time it runs out, you'll have regenerated all your FP
back anyway.

Force Deflect - Yes! Grab this ASAP. No sense getting shot up
if you don't have to.


DARK SIDE POWERS

Force Shock - Everyone's favourite Dark side power. Grab it if
you want to, but I wouldn't recommend actually using it. Your DC
will be low, as will your FP count, and chances are your blasters
will be doing more damage. If you're swarmed, use Force Wave.

Force Choke - Pretty useless, especially with this build's crappy
DC. I'd skip it unless you're bored.

Drain Life - Not a bad power per se, but I wouldn't rely on it
due to low DC. Still, not a bad way to quickly heal a few VP in
the heat of battle.

Slow - The first two powers in this tree are nothing special, and
I doubt you'll actually use them in this build. Plague, on the
other hand, with its drop of 12 in each ability and DC of 100,
can actually occasionally be useful if you don't wear armour.

Fear - I'd skip them. It's useful to stun people, but with your
low DC it'll hardly ever work. Stick with blasters and, if
necessary, Force Wave.

Drain Force - You really shouldn't need this power. Just about
the only use I can see is depleting Vrook, but chances are he'll
just kill you before you drain him. Better to just shoot his ass.

Force Scream - An alternative to Force Shock in the early levels
and for armour users. Not needed for this build.

Force Crush - A very nice power for single-target use. It
inflicts massive damage on its target, which cannot be prevented.
Also, it holds its target, making them unable to attack. Pretty
much overpowered. You get it automatically upon returning to
Dantooine if you're DS.


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   		  SECTION X - CLOSING REMARKS
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	So, if you've followed all this, you should have a pretty
mean blaster Jedi who can dish out the pain like nobody's
business. Is this the best combat build out there? I doubt it.
While it likely rivals any non-cheating sabre build for sheer
damage output, it lacks a lot of the flexibility afforded by
sabre crystals, like stat boosts, skill boosts, VP/FP regen,
blaster bolt deflection, etc. You also won't benefit at all from
the lightsaber combat forms, so if you're really in love with
critical hit-oriented fighting, you'll usually do better with
a sabre. However, it should be noted that any Force forms you
gain, like Force Channel, work just fine with blasters. Since I
advocate using non-Consulars for this build, Force Channel is
probably the only Force form you'll get. I'd recommend keeping
it on all the time. After all, Force regeneration and better
saves versus Force powers are never a bad thing. The main thing 
with this build is, it's a fun alternative to the typical dual 
sabre fighter, and can be as or more effective in most combat 
situations. Not to mention, gunning down an entire group of 
enemies before one even gets within swinging distance of you, 
and not using a single FP to do it, is immensely satisfying.
	In case you haven't actually perfected your Gunslinger,
let me give you an idea of what to look forward to. On my level
15 Guardian/17 Marauder, I was using two fully upgraded
Mandalorian Disintegrators with identical end stats. Here's some
numbers for you to chew on:

Total gun damage output (each pistol): 29-85
Primary weapon attack roll modifier: +42
Secondary weapon attack roll modifier: +40
Gun stats:
Unstoppable 7-17
Bonus Damage: +4-36 Energy
Critical Threat: 15-20 x2
On Hit: Slow 50% 9 sec. DC18
Attack +3
Defense -1

	If you factor in the critical hit rate of 30%, this makes
for an average shot damage of 74. That means every Rapid Shot
volley is doing about 220 damage. Add Master Speed into the mix,
and suddenly that number looks more like 375. Needless to say,
with the -10 to deflection rolls from Precise Shot V, any sabre
wielder that laughs at your pistols is going to regret it, fast.