Which Skills are a "must have" for quests?

[Zenbe]

It's been ages since I played Kotor 2, so I don't really remember much of it.
I'm not trying to find out which skills are generally useful but rather which are needed for unique quests and dialogue options.

For example, while you can get by just fine with any build in Kotor 1, you really need to level Repair if you want to unlock all of HK-47's memories.
I think you need either repair or computer (or both?) for T3-M4 in Kotor 2. Are there any other skills (besides the obligatory Persuade) that are needed for unique quest lines or dialogue options?"

[Mandalore]

Ok. Lets go through them.

1) Computer use and repair -- need this for T3-M4
2) Demolitions isn't really necessary unless you want to pickup some mines in a few key places. If you do, put a few points into it early game, and then drag T3 on GO-TO's ship as well as Onderon palace, Dxun cache, and Dantooine outside of the Matale's estate after you meet up with Azkul.
3) Stealth is almost never necessary to get except for upgrades. Let Kreia take stealth, or if you dont want to do that, then let Visas get stealth.
4) Awareness is useful for conversations, particularly with Zez Kai Ell, but also in some other areas. I would say you should have a minimum of 15 points in it, but probably a bit more if you're looking to unlock content. There are other dialogue options which benefit with high awareness, but up to you.
5) Security is useful for some areas, particularly Onderon Palace and Visquis's lair on Nar Shaddaa. I would say really beef up on security IF you want to slice into those areas. Otherwise, just put a small amount of points into it and let T3/HK slice. Just be careful as you cant have those companions with you in Visquis's lair.
6) Treat injury is nice to have, but not necessary. Nice, so you dont have to spend as much time using Master heal/medpacs. I usually put a lot of points into it, but its really up to you.

I would recommend starting the game with 16 points in intelligence and constitution, and then 14 in either dexterity or wisdom. Get constitution up to 18 -- that way you can equip the best implants. There are a couple skills-D packages which give +6 points to all your skills, so you can use them without needing to worry too much computer/repair or elsewhere, so try to look for them as much as you can. Remember, once you get T3's dialogue finished, you dont need computer or repair, so if you can wing on by with equipping these packages, talking with T3, and then unequipping them, do so.

If you're playing a ranged/melee character, then take dexterity. If melee, get finesse, otherwise leave it alone. If you're playing a force character, then just wisdom and maybe some charisma. Hope this helps.

[Zenbe]

Originally posted by Mandalore:

. Hope this helps.

Yes, thank you very much.
Is persuade not important? I know there's force persuade, but that's not always an option.
I finesse required for lightsabers, since you can use them with Dex without a special feat in Kotor 1.

[Mandalore]

Im sorry, that was very dumb of me. I completely excluded probably the most important skill to have. Yes, persuade is very important and I would put a lot of points into it if you are able to.

[Mardoin69]

Originally posted by Enzbe:

Originally posted by Mandalore:

. Hope this helps.

Yes, thank you very much.
Is persuade not important? I know there's force persuade, but that's not always an option.
I finesse required for lightsabers, since you can use them with Dex without a special feat in Kotor 1.

In K1, they didn't have the feat for 'finesse' BUT, lightsabers would use Dex for some combat calculations. I 'think' in K2, they added the feat for it and so, it maybe necessary if you're going for a Dex build. I could be wrong... take with a grain of salt here. Maybe do some testing on a practice run where you could use KSE to boost one attrib versus the other to see what kind of damage results you get. In theory, the Devs wouldn't have added that feat and NOT changed it so ALL melee type wpns needed the feat for dex builds.

[Mandalore]

Hi, seems like I forgot to answer the finesse question. In K1, my personal opinion -- it is better to focus on strength, since lightsabers/melee are better than blasters, and you dont get too many levels or any lightsaber forms, and you have far less customizable weapons. You can focus on dex and it will help you to hit with lightsabers in K1, but you'll probably notice a sizable decrease in damage.

In K2, I believe that you only need to get finesse melee, and it'll apply to lightsabers as well. Someone else will have to confirm that, or maybe you can look around in the forums here if that's the case, but either way, it's a bit irrelevant since you get way more levels in K2.

The way that finesse works in K2, is that if strength is higher than dex, then strength will be used as your chance to hit. If dex is higher, than dex will be used as your chance to hit.

Now, this provides an advantage for dex builds, mostly because in K2, you have way more customizability. You can upgrade your lightsabers to do tons of damage (sometimes up to 12-50 per hit), and you can also use flurry, master speed, and juyo (if playing as a weapon master), you'll get 6 attacks per round (in combat, it only shows 5, but if you check the journal, you'll see 6, and the damage matches). So for the absolute vast majority of enemies (basically, all enemies minus maybe the greater storm beast, Nihilus, (I think) Tobin, and Kreia (and her lightsabers)), they will go down in one hit. The rest that I mentioned will probably take a few hits.

This also allows you to take less damage from enemy melee units, as dexterity provides you the ability to dodge your opponents attacks. Now how often that actually happens (especially against bosses) is minimal, but it does help prevent some damage, especially if you pair it with decent robes.

Finally, there are some people on the forum that believe a strength focused build + master power attack on a guardian/weapon master jedi does more damage -- I disagree. I found that more attacks tend to miss and the damage is less reliable.

Hope this helps.

[Zenbe]

Thanks for all the info, really appreciate it. While I'm not trying to build the perfect character, I just want to make sure i have all the skills I need for quests and companion dialogue, it's always good to have additional advice. I'll certainly focus on repair and computer for T3's upgrades, with extra points in persuade and awareness if I can spare them.

Since I'm currently playing through Kotor 1 as a STR focused character, I was planning to focus more on DEX anyways, so it's good to know about the finesse feat.
Here's what I found out about that:

Originally posted by Some guy on reddit:

I've just checked the unmodified game and according to both the Equip screen and the Combat section of the Journal's Messages Log, it seems Finesse: Melee Weapons affects lightsabers as well, which means Finesse: Lightsabers is redundant (and it only affects lightsabers, not melee weapons). If you have neither Finesse feat then Dexterity modifier isn't added to attack rolls for either melee weapons or lightsabers, so it's not a case of failing to make changes from the first game (where there are no Finesse feats, but Dexterity modifier > Strength modifier adds to lightsaber attack rolls instead automatically).

I also remember DEX being way more useful in two because the characters have additional weapon slots to quickly change without having to go into the menu.