Released on December 6, 2004, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords (KOTOR2) was the first game from the then newly formed Obsidian Entertainment. At that time, the new studio was a shoestring operation with just seven veteran developers who had made the move from the recently shuttered Black Isle Studios, all holed up in CEO Feargus Urquhart’s attic. But publisher LucasArts, wanting to capitalize on the success of the original KOTOR from the year before, reportedly gave that threadbare new team just 14 to 16 months to create a sequel.
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords Summary: This sequel to the blockbuster RPG features an all-new, more perilous storyline, new characters, classes, locations and force powers. Knights of the Old Republic III: The Jedi Masters Apr 9 2020 Released Apr 9, 2020 Role Playing Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 3 - The Jedi Masters is the unofficial successor of Knights of the Old Republic 2 - The Sith Lords. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords is the sequel to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, which was widely regarded as a major commercial and critical success. The original game, however, was developed by a different company, BioWare. According to the game's producers, the change of developers was primarily due to BioWare's occupation with other titles, such as Jade.
It’s no surprise that the finished product had some issues.
The most noticeable of these issues at launch might have been the conclusion to the HK-50 factory side quest. Specifically, that conclusion is just nowhere to be found in the final game.
That means players never get to discover the origins of KOTOR2’s most recurring threat. Several files buried in the game’s code reveal content Obsidian made for KOTOR2’s final planet—including dialogue and action set pieces—that the developers just couldn’t get working before launch.
And that’s where 15 years of collective modder obsession comes in..
Putting the pieces back together
When he first started modding KOTOR2 over ten years ago, Zbigniew 'zbyl2' Staniewicz had previously been working with the mod toolset for Neverwinter Nights. That meant he already had experience navigating KOTOR2’s engine.
His initial focus was finishing a mod to bring cut planet M4-78 back into the main game. That’s the droid planet where players were supposed to originally find Jedi Master Lonna Vash hiding from the Sith threat stalking Jedi across the galaxy.
Progress on restoring the M4-78 file was halted while Staniewicz was waiting for a writer to return scripts. So he moved on to begin work on what would become the Restored Content Mod.
“Another group that was making a restoration mod was taking years to release anything, and I knew I could have done what they were trying to do much faster,” he recalled. “I met this other guy in the modding community [DarthStoney] that shared my sentiments and we just went for it.”
Originally, Staniewicz and his team planned to fix one planet at a time and release them accordingly as they were completed. Once the team finished working on Nar Shaddaa, however, they decided to keep going and release their work as one large mod encompassing all the cut content.
As development went on, Staniewicz started looking for more people to help get the project across the finish line. A modder named Hassat Hunter was brought in to perform beta testing and eventually began assisting with development. And another modder named VarsityPuppet was brought in to troubleshoot issues with that incomplete HK-50 Factory, putting together the unfinished second half of the mission.
This kind of modding was far from a direct process. Even something as simple as changing the location of an NPC required going into the game, finding the character, writing down the coordinates, then leaving the game and inputting and modifying the coordinates in a modding tool, as Staniewicz described it. But that mod tool gives no indication if the process worked, so the modders had to start the game back up and find the NPC’s new location to see if they had succeeded.
“With what was left in the game files, the dialogue worked, but there was no ending,” Staniewicz explained. So they put the final sequences of the factory mission together to fit the available dialogue from the factory and Malachor V.
After releasing a few versions of the RCM, Staniewicz stepped away from the project while the team was fixing problems with the game’s random loot system, saying he believed he no longer had substantial feedback to offer during the process. The involvement of the other team members meant progress never ground to a halt, though. “If it was just me and Stoney… we probably would have stopped way sooner,” Staniewicz said.
The Restored Content Mod entered open beta in 2009. It has more than 400,000 subscribers on the Steam Workshop.
Putting on a disguise
Not all KOTOR2 mods are so intricate. Effix, who has posted more than 60 mods on Steam since 2010, focuses instead on more cosmetic changes. That can mean everything from changing a companion’s hair color to turning Hanharr, a darkside specific Wookiee companion, into a pink “Care Bear.”
“There was someone who suggested it, and a few others were also on board with the idea or daring me to [make the Care Bear mod],” Effix said. “I don't think they expected me to make work of it, but to me that was extra funny to turn that idea into an actual mod.”
Other work by Effix includes mods allowing the player to replace their standard human head with alien variants like the ancient Rakatan or dark Darth Malak. “The technical term [for these mods] is ‘disguise’ because that's the name of the [in-game] item property that lets you take on another appearance,” Effix said. “A lot of things from KOTOR [like disguises] were left in KOTOR2's files, even though they might not make an appearance in the game.”
The bulk of Effix’s work, he said, is done through Fred Tetra’s “KOTOR Tool,” a simple utility for editing modules, images, wire models, character appearances, dialogue, and items in the game. Focusing on these elements has helped Effix to retain his enthusiasm for modding the game, he said, as has concentrating on projects that are “fairly bite-sized” when compared to others. “I like doing retextures because I like giving something a new look, and for me it's pretty straightforward. I'm not that into more complex things like scripts, adding new areas, new 3D models and animations.”
“Making mods for a game that you really enjoy is great fun, so that's my motivation,” he added. “It's also satisfying to get positive feedback from people who use your mods and also are passionate about the same game. For me it's a fun and relaxing hobby. It's cool to create things and see your creation in a Star Wars game, and I get a lot of positive feedback from the community.”
Listing image by Effix
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2 comes with a new way to upgrade your lightsaber.
While the original Kotor only had two upgrade slots, Kotor 2 has five upgrade slots. Kotor 2 includes the same two crystal slots as the original but now comes with the option to add a cell, an emitter, and a lens.
These additional slots give you a lot more options when it comes to customizing your lightsaber for battle.
We’ve compiled a list of every crystal and addon for lightsabers and included some of the best lightsaber builds in Kotor 2 for you to use.
If you’re interested in more Kotor content, check out our article on the best planet order for Kotor 2!
Please note that most items in Kotor 2 are random. Crystals must be found by the player, but cells, emitters, and lenses can be crafted if you have the materials and skill level.
Here are all the different crystals and addons for lightsabers in the game. If you’re just interested in lightsaber builds, scroll to the bottom to see our favorite builds.
Adobe premiere pro free. There is a crystal called Hurrikaine that can only be gained through the Giveitem cheat or by installing the Restored Content Mod.
If you have that mod installed this crystal can be found on a corpse in the Trayus Academy on Malachor V. It gives your lightsaber +1-8 Unstoppable Damage and on hit will knockdown your opponent if they fail a DC18.
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All Cells
Diatium Energy Cell – +1 Damage
Improved Diatium Energy Cell – +2 Damage
Superior Diatium Energy Cell – +4 Damage
Ultimate Diatium Energy Cell – +5 Damage
Discharge Energy Cell – +1-3 Critical Damage
Improved Discharge Energy Cell – +1-6 Critical Damage
Superior Discharge Energy Cell – +1-8 Critical Damage
Telgorn Jolt Cell Mark I – +1-3 Electrical Damage
Telgorn Jolt Cell Mark II – +1-4 Electrical Damage
Telgorn Jolt Cell Mark III – +1-8 Electrical Damage
Ion Energy Cell – +1-4 Droid Damage, +1-4 Critical Damage
Improved Energy Cell – +1 Ion Damage, +1-8 Droid Damage, +1-3 Critical Damage
Superior Energy Cell – +2 Ion Damage, +1-12 Droid Damage, +1-6 Critical Damage
With 5 slots and a ton of different options, there are an insane amount of combinations you can make in Kotor 2.
Here are the best lightsabers for various situations you may face. Note that your personal lightsaber crystal may be better than one of either crystal offered in these builds.
Make sure you compare the stats of your personal crystal to the ones listed below and pick the one that’s best for your situation.
Best for Overall Damage
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Barab Ore Ingot
Upari
Ultimate Diatium Energy Cell
Expert Fencing Emitter
Ponite Lens
This combo gives your lightsaber a bunch of different bonuses to hit your foes hard. After installing all of these in your lightsaber of choice, you will have +2-12 Fire Damage, +11-28 Energy Damage, +4 Attack Bonus, +2 Defense!
That’s a possible +40 bonus damage if you’re lucky not including any crit damage or your base damage.
Best Lightsaber For Droid Damage
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Firkrann
Barab Ore Ingot
Superior Ion Energy Cell
Expert Fencing Emitter
Pontite Lens
If you’re facing a ton of droids, this should be the loadout you roll up with. You’ll melt through droids with your added +5-26 Ion Damage, +3 Attack Bonus, +2-12 Fire Damage, +1-6 Bonus Crit Damage, +2 Defense, and +5-15 Energy Damage.
Best Lightsaber For Blaster Bolt Deflection
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Jenruax
Lorrdian
Any Cell. None have Blaster Bolt Deflection or any sort of defense buff. We suggest Telgorn III or Ultimate Diatium.
Expert Deflection Emitter
Ossus Dueling Lens
Sometimes its fun to just knock blaster shots back at your enemies. With these mods, your lightsaber will have a whopping total of +15 bonus Blaster Bolt Deflection, +4 Attack Bonus, and +2 Energy Damage, and +3 Defense.
This does not include the bonuses the cell you pick will have.
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Best Lightsaber For Critical Hits/Chance
Opila
Ultima-Pearl
Superior Discharge Energy Cell
No Emitter has any increased crit chance or damage. We suggest using the Expert Fencing Emitter as it has some added energy damage (+3).
Beam Gem Lens
The above add-ons make your lightsaber a crit monster. Keen does not stack so it’s important to only take one Keen add-on.
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With these installed in your lightsaber, you’ll get +7(+10 with the Fencing Emitter) Energy Damage, +4-26 Bonus Crit Damage, +4 Attack Bonus, and Keen.
And those are the best lightsabers in Kotor 2! We hope you enjoyed our guide and theorycraft some of your own builds!