swtor, knights of the eternal throne, 2

Invested in the story we continue to find people willing to help, and of course figure out their intents. But this stage as Commander you find people both wanting to take you down or use you to their ends.

My toon and I share the same side eye look a lot.

Chapter 2: Run For The Shadows

Oh my gosh! I have a level 65ish Sith Inquisitor and much of this story reminded me of parts of hers.

Darth Acina is a joy. I have completely become a fan of hers.

Dialogue in the upper corner perfectly encapsulates her dry humour, and being pretty real.

And again. This may count as flattery and my girl does not like flattery. So you can probably imagine what she thinks of all the lovely things Valkorion has to say about her suitability for the throne…

But this made me grin for real. The positive aspect of the Sith Code. The code itself doesn’t really say you have to destroy your enemies but it does imply it.

Peace is a lie there is only Passion (passion=/=anger necessarily!)

Through passion I gain strength (strength of resolve?)

Through strength I gain power (self determination?)

Through power I gain victories (personal victories?)

Through victories my chains are broken (ahhhh…. freedom. Of thought, of autonomy. The freedom to choose dark or light.)

Anyway. When I say I know the Sith Code well it’s this path of thinking 🙂

 

There isn’t much different in this chapter in terms of gameplay, it feels very nostalgic and so I think the gameplay may reflect that. We are talking Empire vs Republic here so yes, it feels very much like a tribute but also reminder of what the alliance really means.

We are asked by the new Empress of the Sith wanting to join the alliance. One of her Ministers insists of reminding everyone he is indeed a Minister and it can be fun to provoke him into repeating this.

 

The political intrigue was fun, pretty obvious what was happening if you pay attention. Soon after this meeting you and the Empress wind up stranded in a storm in the wilds of Dromund Kaas and assumed dead. AT least that’s what the reinstalled Republic Chanceller, Saresh, would have everyone believe.

Here we have the classic film foreshadowing (Saresh trying to convince the alliance to listen to her and suddenly your companions face troops from the opposite faction?)

I hear you Lana.

More dialogue where this nostalgia is front and center.

 

Speaking of probable foreshadowing….

 

The end is very satisfying. Just as Saresh is making her big speech and powerplay on Odessan, you walk through the crowds. …

 

Again, the facials and the timing make this scene a great payoff.

I don’t choose the light choices because they are easy. But this scene is all about how you will be seen by the alliance. You are in public, you can be seen as someone who uses fear or inspiration to lead.

 

I loved this chapter, it will definitely be on my replay list! There were puzzles and traps but I felt I had enough resources and options to make the gameplay work for my health issues.

 

 

swtor-knights of the eternal throne, 3

Chapter 3, Dark Reunions

Vaylin launches an attack on The Gravestone sending Koth into hiding and the ship guarded internally by Skytrooper Droids.

I have to admit I love that they are droids. As a kid I used to think TKs were droids. I mean they just got trashed and I didn’t understand that people could do that to so many other people. Innocence of youth yes? I still avoid mobs in games where I can. Stay on target, do no more harm than you need too. Sure it helps me avoid hand stress as well 🙂

The fact that they are droids I hope will be addressed in future chapters, as of writing I’m not yet finished, but I know enough story to have Ideas(tm) about what this should mean.

So the next step is for the Commander to get the Gravestone back, Vaylin and SCORPIO are on board.

One of the first missions cause me a lot of frustration hands wise. It’s another mission where you pilot a vehicle, well mini-vehicle, and so have restricted abilities/movement (the camera zoom changes when you change size be it larger or smaller- and it can automatically move in/out due to what the environment is like directly behind you.) This time you pilot a mouse droid.

A concept I adored. I loved loved loved the idea as the mouse droids in the OT do great focus pulling and I love their reactions.

Unfortunately I do not have any screencaps of this mission. However another blog does:

http://fibrojedi.me.uk/swtor-kotet/dark-reunions-chapter-3/

On the frustrating side I found the Skytroopers were not just triggered by the mouse droid in the area suggested, but behind them as well nor did it feel like the electric shock actually had a range of 3m. This may be in part down to my lag due to my wifi connection and the cast time (it’s 11 months until we get fibre- most of the suburb has it just not where I am!)

The video in the link above shows there is however a clear path where you can avoid the Skytroopers and I even managed to avoid needing the ability at all! So the only real issue for me to replay now  is how the camera zooms in and out, I found it a bit painful (physically) to manage my mousing and keyboard. But ultimately this is a case where there is the option to evade! Woot!

This is also the chapter where we see the full effects of Vaylin’s training, as seen in the trailer, as we confront her soon after.

It’s a difficult story, especially if you have experienced anything remotely close in reality-being manipulated at any age, but especially in formative years- I appreciate that later I can call Valkorion out on what is revealed. On a personal level I never wanted to use this against Vaylin, for everyone’s safety? That was tricky. It challenged my values and I do really appreciate that. I may not even like what I chose. But choose I did.

The next mission step was also physically trying.

In order to stop the Gravestone and the alliance ships outside, you have to destroy power Cells against a timer. Usually timers are quite long, enough to not only do the mission but to figure out how to do the mission. This time there was less wiggle room.

As per a previous post my tendons are all a bit borked. This mission pushed them to the point I had to quit. Well this and the mouse droid combined.

What made it hard was how dark the environment was and not being able to environmental hazards to trip on/get caught on. I did manage on my third try. I have recently reset my monitor (AoC) and I may have to adjust graphics again. But it’s not possible to do so during a countdown 😉

The blogger linked above also had the same physical pain, and difficulty on this mission. I’m glad to hear you can do this one grouped. That is an option that is not always available to me, but at least I know I can ask a friend to help on their account at some stage 🙂 The timer doesn’t start until you go into the corridor so this should mean being able to be AFK and go back to the area start.

The end of this story though? Chills! And vindication for my interest in SCORPIO’s story.

 

“The Gravestone wants to go home.” SCORPIO basically is very much not acting just out of self. She freed the GEMINI, gave them autonomy. They are ancient, and understanding how they came to be controlled should be something the Commander of the Alliance should want to understand too.

History repeats after all.