Swtor Kotfe

That Fallen Empire places such a heavy emphasis on story isn't much of a surprise in itself. After all, good yarns have always been what set SWTOR (and its legendary predecessor, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic) apart from its competition, but this expansion takes it to a whole new level. The nine available story chapters (short though they are) show BioWare in top form, and its emphasis on bringing factions together strongly suggests some good inspiration from Dragon Age: Inquisition. Knights of the Fallen Empire kicks off as the hero follows the missing  former Sith emperor to where he's apparently been moonlighting as the emperor of another empire far, far away. Five years pass in which that so-called "Eternal Empire" takes over the old Republic and Empire. Naturally it's your job to save them all after a carbonite-enhanced vacation, but not without meaningful plot twists, surprising deaths, Sith and Jedi romancing together — mass hysteria!

he characterization involved has never been finer, and the ensuing hours are filled with companion NPCs who don't fit into the cozy delineations of light and dark sides — they're more like regular people. The only two exceptions are the two children of Emperor Valkorian, who come off as sadistic and petulant brats, but it rarely matters since the main plot wisely keeps them at a distance. It's good stuff, and BioWare smartly lets new or returning players create a brand-new level 60 character so they can enjoy the story immediately.

The approach isn't without some sacrifices, and some of them would have had us screaming that BioWare had changed the fundamental nature of SWTOR just three years ago. Pushed off the stage, for instance, are the lovingly crafted stories for each individual class; nowadays, everyone experiences the same story past 60 regardless of whether they wield a blaster or a lightsaber. Sometimes the new direction clashes violently with the old one, particularly in the way the beautiful, semi-realistic models for Knights of the Fallen Empire's NPC cast make the elongated models of player characters look as though they stepped out of a poorly rendered El Greco painting. They clash further with the lovely new planets the heroes venture through, and they're light years from the technical fireworks BioWare shows off in the expansion's introductory trailer, which looks at least as good as anything I've seen from the footage for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

It's all well and good that story is king here, but the problem with Knights of the Fallen Empire is that BioWare pushes it toward despotism. It's so focused on attracting new players to a legitimately good new Star Wars story (conveniently ahead of the upcoming movie) that it makes combat so easy that it's insulting. I'm normally the kind of guy who reads forum threads in search of the merits of this or that build, but I never bothered in Knights of the Fallen Empire. I barely bothered with the layout of my hotkeys. Mash some buttons, any buttons, and you should get through fine. Ability rotations? Ha! I understand the reasoning behind the new focus on single-player gameplay. Star Wars: The Old Republic's MMORPG elements were never as good as they could have been, and the way the new story anchors you to what's essentially one long story instance for five levels precludes any need to play with friends. But I still fondly remember learning to play well in order to defeat some tough single-player bosses back in 2011 and 2012; here, there's none of that.

If BioWare wanted to minimize the challenge so completely, perhaps it would have been better off teaming up with Telltale. As it is, I can't imagine anyone truly finds the new combat fun; for me, it's exasperating after a mere hour. I kept wanting to feel some kind of excitement over seeing yet another group of troopers ready to feel the wrath of my lightsaber, but the ease with which they fell over made them mere speed bumps on my way to the next the next cutscene. It doesn't help that many of Star Wars: The Old Republic's old bugbears still remain, such as linear corridors that discourage exploration and the way most enemies stand around patiently in hallways waiting for you to beat them up. (Somehow, mysteriously, performance on my PC is awful relative to other MMORPGs all these years later, too.)

Much of this ease springs from the changes to companions. KotFE's great shift is that they no longer have their own gear or specialized combat roles; instead, you can switch them between combat, healing, and damage dealing roles with a simple right click over their portrait. Playing as a Jedi Knight, that meant that all eight companions I met throughout the story focused on keeping me healed, which they did absurdly well.

And so it goes for the roughly eight to 10 hours it takes to level from 60 to 65, until at last Knights of the Fallen Empire settles into what passes for its current endgame (until BioWare releases the tenth of the 16 chapters, scheduled for February 11). On the new hub world waiting at the end, the sight of other players came as a bit of a shock after so many hours of watching SWTOR try to masquerade as a single-player Knights of the Old Republic sequel. Even for someone like me, who regrets the loss of so many of SWTOR's cooperative elements, these other players can feel somewhat intrusive.

In some ways, they are. Unless you actually choose to bring along friends, the current SWTOR endgame is every bit as single-player focused as the main story content if you don't choose to jump in old raids (which have been upscaled for level 65 players). It's centered on building alliances with various NPCs by undertaking flashpoints (SWTOR's fancy word for dungeons) and heroic missions ostensibly designed for two or more people, but all that rarely matters since the companions you can bring along remain as powerful as they did during the leveling content. There are some nice touches, such as a cinematic view for conversation that recalls Knights of the Old Republic and allows for more dialogue options beyond the usual three.

Unfortunately, it smacks of missed potential. The heroic missions send you off to beloved planets from the original launch like Hoth and Tatooine, and BioWare's decision to make the entire world sync to your level — Guild Wars 2-style — adds a touch of vitality these spots have long needed. Unless you're fresh off the starship, though, this is all stuff that feels overly familiar by now. Greater potential awaits in the Star Fortress flashpoints which can be tough solo after a recent companion nerf, but the six fortresses themselves look a tad too similar too each other and the experience devolves into the same "fighting bad guys down metal corridors" that pervades so much of SWTOR. Repeat these a bunch of times and turn in some crates, and the denizens of the galaxy will start to love you. It gets tiresome quickly, and that's bad news for an expansion that hinges on hoping players hold on to their subscriptions for each new episode.

If you're just in it for the story, there are far worse ways to spend $15 (and it's included in the $15 subscription fee if you're already subscribed). BioWare wants to show us it can still tell a good Star Wars tale, and to its credit, it pulls it off. After all Star Wars: The Old Republic has been through after four years, though, it's more than a little tragic to see just how completely BioWare has shrugged off the non-story parts.

With the release of the Knights of the Eternal Throne fast approaching, I figured it was worth recapping the Knights of the Fallen Empire story in ‘dot point’ form with a touch of humour.

Knights of the Fallen Empire Summary

Chapter 1 – The Hunt

• Darth Marr summons you to his ship, he’s searching for the Sith Emperor.
• A mysterious probe shows up.
• A massive fleet of ships, the Eternal Fleet, follows shortly after decimating the fleet of Republic and Imperial ships.
• Marr’s ship is destroyed you and Marr survive but are captured.
• You are lead to a Throne Room, you immediately sense the Sith Emperor’s presence but he’s wearing a different face.
• You are offered some of his power if you kneel, Darth Marr refuses get’s killed.
• The Room is cleared out, you make a decision then Valkorion dies either by your hand then Arcann’s.
• Arcann imprisons you in Carbonite and seeks revenge on Galaxy.

Chapter 2 – A Dream of Empire

• You’re in a dream, Valkorion is there.
• You find out you’re dying of Carbonite poisoning.
• He talks to you about your companions and your faction (about how bad they are) and makes you kill a class relevant leader.
• He takes you down memory lane to Ziost where you kill a giant beast thing.
• He reveals that the Republic and Empire have fallen to the Zakuul Empire and tells you to deal with his bad children Arcann and Vaylin.

Chapter 3 – The Outlander

• You wake up from Carbonite feeling like shit and find Lana and T7 rescuing you.
• You then escape with Lana through Zakuul killing lots of Sky Troopers and Zakuul Knights.
• You’re trying to rendezvous with Koth who is flying the escape ship.
• Just when you’re finally close, Vaylin shows up.
• You manage to get onto the ship and you meet HK-55, but Vaylin damages the ship.
• T7 saves you from complete destruction and Koth flies through the city trying not to crash.
• Arcann is mad you escaped.

Chapter 4 – The Gravestone

• You crash land into the Zakuul swamps.
• You take HK-55 and scout for a way out.
• You miraculously find the Gravestone, an ancient mysterious ship with power to destroy Eternal Fleet.
• You go out and scavenge supplies to repair the Gravestone and find some food and water and chat to Lana and Koth.
• You then have a fiesta repairing the ship and HK shoots lots of things.
• While exploring the ship, you hear whispers.
• You follow the whispers and find Valkorion, in ghost form.

Chapter 5 – From the Grave

• You have a chat with Valkorion and discover that he is inside your head.
• Zakuul Empire forces find you so you have to go outside with Lana to defend the ship.
• Senya, a ‘defecting’ Zakuul Knight, shows up to lend a hand killing waves bad guys.
• The Gravestone is ready to go so you use the force to give it a push.
• You then magically get on board and fly off.
• The Gravestone gets into space but you’re faced with the entire Eternal Fleet.
• You decide to try out the big gun and destroy a heap of ships.
• You then jump into hyperspace when the hyperdrive is ready.
• Arcann is mad again.
• Your fall out of hyperspace when the hyperdrive fails so everyone gets mad.
• You help repair the ship and talk to everyone.
• We cut to a scene where Satele Shan is talking to Darth Marr, who is now a force ghost, about Valkorion.

Chapter 6 – Asylum

• You have managed to limp your way to Asylum, a hideout for Zakuulan outcasts.
• You land at Asylum and meet Koth’s motley crew.
• You’re sent to find one of Koth’s crew, Tora.
• You then go with Senya to meet her allies.
• Her allies are Scions, force users who see visions, who were massacred by Arcann. They are all who remain.
• You go through some trials to find out your fate.
• You find out your fate is to defeat Arcann and they find out Valkorion is living on in your head.
• Senya also reveals that she is the mother of Arcann and Vaylin.

Chapter 7 – The Lady of Sorrows

• You go back to the ship and have a chat then T7 contacts you and tells you the Lady of Sorrows wants to meet you.
• You land on Zakuul on the outskirts of the Old World District with Senya.
• She tells you about Valkorion and her children then T7 shows up.
• You then travel through Old World in search of clues as to the whereabouts of the Lady of Sorrows.
• Valkorion has chat with you about Senya.
• Arcann finds out you’re back on Zakuul and makes a public announcement but doesn’t send anyone to attack.
• In your search, you run into the Heralds of Zildrog a cult who rules the Old World.
• They end up leading you to the Lady of Sorrows who turns out to be SCORPIO.
• It turns out she’s very interested in the Gravestone and has a grudge with Arcann so she joins you.

Chapter 8 – Taking Flight

• You take SCORPIO to the Gravestone.
• You get a call from the Scions who want to have a chat.
• You go to their hideout only to find Scions dead and Arcann waiting for you.
• In the meantime, the Eternal Fleet shows up and Zakuul troops land on Asylum.
• You fight Arcann then a ship crashes into the Scion hideout. You get separated from Arcann.
• You go back to help your allies repel attacks on the Gravestone.
• Vaylin shows up, Senya engages her. You go help release the Gravestone from docking clamps.
• Eventually, you release the ship then Arcann reappears.
• You have another fight. HK-55 shows up to help you and sacrifices himself.
• Then Valkorion gives the choice of whether to use his power to defeat Arcann or you continue to fight him. Either way, you end up injured and Arcann goes tumbling down to the depths of Asylum below.
• You make your way back to the Gravestone. Everyone gets on board and you all fly off and escape from the Eternal Fleet.
• Everyone ignores you practically dying in the corner, then you collapse.
• It turns out Arcann survived his fall. Surprise, surprise.
• You wake up in a med bay, everyone’s concerned.
• You head to Odessen a planet Lana picked out for an Alliance to form against the Eternal Empire.

Chapter 9 – The Alliance

• You arrive on Odessen and chat to all the Republic and Imperial forces gathered to help.
• There’s a time lapse of the Alliance base getting built.
• Theron FINALLY shows up.
• You go talk to a bunch of people and do stuff.
• Satele Shan and Darth Marr chat about the Alliance.

Chapter 10 – Anarchy in Paradise

• Arcann is mad so he decides to bombard some planets to try to get someone to tell him where the Alliance base is.
• You get called up by Theron to recruit someone called Firebrand whose been causing a ruckus on Zakuul.
• You go with Theron to meet Firebrand and it turns out its Kaliyo.
• You have a chat and agree to help her blow up power junctions.
• You run around with Kaliyo planting bombs and killing Skytroopers.
• You then end up in her apartment to plan your attack on the Overwatch.
• You then blow up the power junctions to cause a black out and proceed with your attack the Overwatch to get schematics of Zakuul.
• It turns out Kaliyo also planned to blow up other parts of the city to inflict maximum damage. You decide whether she goes ahead with her full plan or if only droids get disabled.
• You escape the Overwatch and go back to Odessen with Kaliyo and recruit her into the Alliance.
• You find out Arcann bombarded five planets to dust.
• Koth may or may not leave the Alliance depending on your decision with Kaliyo to damage Zakuul.
• Arcann is mad still.

Chapter 11 – Disavowed

• Theron summons you again to recruit someone else. This time Havoc Squad, who are already on Odessen laying down the groundwork for an attack on the Spire.
• You go to Zakuul Swamps and meet Aric Jorgan and Havoc Squad.
• You get discovered so you have to run away.
• You run into Zakuulan outcasts and you help them whether you like it or not.
• You get to Havoc Squads camp and plan your attack to wiretap a Zakuul Planetary Transmitter.
• You go with Aric to the Zakuul Outpost and you manage to tap the Zakuul Planetary Transmitter.
• Lot’s and lot’s of Skytroopers show up to attack you.
• The Zakuulan outcasts save the day.
• You go back to Odessen with Aric and Theron and Aric joins the Alliance by training the Zakuul Rebels.
• SCORPIO analyses the Zakuul signal and finds the signal Arcann uses to control the Eternal Fleet.

Chapter 12 – Visions in the Dark

• Further analyses of the GEMINI Frequency and the Spire schematics reveal a Hyperwave relay station used to transmit the frequency.
• A plan of attack on the Spire is devised with the help of Kaliyo and Aric.
• You go consult Valkorion about what he thinks of the plan to attack the Spire.
• He gets mad at you for asking for help.
• You’re magicked away from the Alliance Base and Valkorion decides to teach you a lesson.
• He wants you to further your training, become better so you can defeat Arcann.
• He leaves you saying he has other matters to attend to.
• You wake up in a ship and find Satele Shan.
• She talks to you then sends you on a Trial.
• Darth Marr then appears before you as a force ghost and he and Satele converse with you further.
• You complete further trials including confronting Vaylin in a vision and you build a new weapon.
• Satele Shan and Darth Marr send you on one final trial.
• You complete it and learn your lessons and become a better, more powerful person.
• You go back to the Alliance and find that the attack on the Spire is underway.
• Everyone is mad and the attack runs into complications when you lose contact with Aric and Kaliyo.

Chapter 13 – Profit and Plunder

• Aric and Kaliyo are still missing.
• You go see Hylo Visz who knows someone with a way to get the Alliance much needed credits.
• Gault Rennow it turns out has a plan to raid the Zakuul Empire’s Treasury which is on a ship called the Gilded Star.
• You partner up with Gault and go to the planet Vandin where the Gilded Star is in low orbit.
• You recruit an identity forger called Dretcher to assist in getting onto the ship.
• You run into Gault’s partner, Vette who has a Warhead.
• To get on the ship, Senya is disguised as Vaylin and takes SCORPIO to the bridge.
• They take control of ship allowing the Outlander, Gault and Vette to get on the ship.
• You place the Warhead in the Treasury-chamber and it disintegrates all the treasure which is sucked into a tanker by Lana and Koth or Theron.
• You have trouble escaping but Hylo Visz comes and gets you.
• Vaylin is mad.
• Hylo Visz divvy’s the loot.
• Aric and Kaliyo show up on Odessen and you find out what happened. You may get to kill one of them.
• Arcann and Vaylin chat.

Chapter 14 – Mandalore’s Revenge

• SCORPIO finds out the droids that control the Eternal Fleet ships are copied from an original template, GEMINI Prime.
• A mission is devised to capture GEMINI Prime, who is housed in a Factory on Darvannis, in order to gain control of the Eternal Fleet.
• Theron calls in Mandalorians to help take in the Factory.
• You meet with Shae Vizla (Mandalore the Avenger) and chat.
• You capture outer factory guns with Torian and destroy shields.
• You and Mandalorians rest and celebrate the initial victory.
• You and Torian attack a tactical outpost as part of the next stage of the attack.
• Lana gives you schematics for the interior of the factory which you choose whether to share them with the Mandalorians.
• You and the Mandalorians attack the factory in coordinated assault.
• Arcann is mad.
• Torian holds off swarms of skytroopers while you capture GEMINI Prime.
• You talk to Shae one last time and get Torian as clan representative to the Alliance.
• On Odessen SCORPIO examines the GEMINI Primes’ mind and is able to find all the Captains.
• A plan is devised to target a single Eternal Fleet vessel to override the Captain’s protocols using GEMINI Prime.

Chapter 15 – The GEMINI Deception

• You go with Theron, Lana, Senya, SCORPIO and either Koth or Tora on the Gravestone to capture the ship.
• The GEMINI Captain talks to you then separates you from Theron, Lana and Senya. You proceed on with SCORPIO.
• While infiltrating the ship, SCORPIO finds a terminal to engage directly with the GEMINI Captain and gets killed.
• Arcann and Vaylin make their way to the Outlander.
• Lana and Theron find captives from the core-worlds who want to join the Alliance.
• You meet the captives and free them.
• You and Senya make your way to the bridge while Theron and Lana protect the freed captives.
• You and Senya attack the GEMINI Captain and defeat her but…
• The GEMINI Captain turns on the self-destruct protocols.
• Turns out SCORPIO faked her death and overtook mind of the GEMINI Captain. She transfers her consciousness into the GEMINI frequency.
• The captives are launched into the escape pods but unfortunately one of them does not survive.
• You and your allies barely make it off the ship before it self-destructs.
• Arcann and the Eternal Fleet show up and attack, but you escape into hyperspace.
• SCORPIO takes the Eternal Throne.
• She contacts the Outlander and tells them she now controls the Eternal Throne and most of the Fleet.

Chapter 16 – The Battle of Odessen

• Back on Odessen, you discuss recent developments with your allies.
• SCORPIO slices into the Alliance Base communications and contacts you from the Eternal Throne.
• She tells you Arcann is on his way to Odessen and that she told him where it was.
• You leave some allies to prepare for the Alliance Bases’ ground defences while you and the rest of your allies go to the Gravestone.
• Arcann sulks.
• The Gravestone ploughs head on towards Arcann’s flagship.
• Lana comes up with a plan to destroy the ship after Arcann and Vaylin are dealt with.
• You land on Arcann’s flagship with a handful of allies with the help from the Gravestone.
• SCORPIO messes with the Gravestone’s systems and the Omni-canon stops working
• Vaylin contacts you and wants you to cheer Arcann up.
• Senya goes to deal with Vaylin so she doesn’t interfere.
• You and Lana make your way to the Bridge and your allies succeed in sabotaging the ship.
• SCORPIO takes control of more Eternal Fleet ships and points them at Arcann’s Flagship.
• Lana holds back waves of Zakuul Knights while you go to the Bridge and deal with Arcann.
• You fight Arcann who is still mad at his father and you for being more powerful.
• You defeat Arcann while the ship is bombarded by SCORPIO controlled Eternal Fleet vessels.
• Arcann is injured and you get separated from him by falling debris which traps Arcann.
• You make your way off the ship while Senya goes to the bridge and finds Arcann injured then Vaylin shows up.
• Arcann regaining consciousness stops Vaylin from engaging with their mother and they get separated from Vaylin by debris.
• Vaylin is very mad.
• They all get off the ship.
• Senya contacts you and tells you she’s with Arcann and feels justice has been served.
• You choose whether to fire on her shuttle or not, either way, she escapes.
• You then destroy Arcann’s flagship and most of the Eternal Fleet.
• You go back to base and talk with your allies. More Republic and Imperials forces come and join the Alliance.
• Back on Zakuul, SCORPIO gives the GEMINI captains free will. Then Vaylin shows up.
• SCORPIO and Vaylin bond. She allows Vaylin to take the Eternal Throne as she has no desire to rule.