Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic’s long-awaited remake is fast approaching, and it may be time to re-familiarize yourself with some of the most useful Force Powers to learn on your journey across the galaxy. KOTOR and KOTOR 2’s stories take a deep dive into the philosophy of the Force, its will, its dangers, and how powerful Force users, like Revan, harnessed its power.
Light Side and Dark Side players each have excellent options to consider as you carefully select the Force Powers that best fit your alignment and play style. Whether you plan on preserving the galaxy from the tyranny of Darth Malak, or want to take his place as Lord of the Sith, you will need the right blend of powers to keep you and your party alive.
10 Force Armor - A Force User's Best Defense
As veterans of the series will recall, armor — not including robes — restricts the usage of Force Powers. Robes will offer you little in the way of protection, so you will want to buff up your Defense to help your otherwise exposed character gain some extra survivability and a bonus to all saving throws.
This is a life-saver if you plan on jumping directly into the fray of battle. If you choose to forego this power, you will need to keep an exceptionally close eye on your health, as one or two strong hits can bring you from full health to the cusp of death.
9 Kill - Simple And Effective
Sometimes, Force Powers can beat around the bush, offering somewhat convoluted ways to take down your enemies, but this one gets right to the point. As Force Choke's final version, Kill will offer you a great source of single-target damage against non-droids and immobilization, stunning for 6 seconds. Damage is inflicted over time and leaves most targets in range of being one-shot, but requires a second use to actually kill.
While Kill is a bit of a misnomer considering it will never actually kill with one use, it still offers a nice blend of damage and crowd control. While the target cannot move, you have a valuable chance to attack unopposed, easily finishing off your weakened opponent. Despite Kill's versatility, Dark Side users will find it is often overshadowed by Area-of-Effect (AoE) powers.
8 Stasis Field - Stop Them In Their Tracks
Unlike Kill, this power does exactly what it says it will in only one use, and does it exceptionally well. All opponents within 10 meters of your target will be rendered entirely frozen for twelve seconds — double the amount of time as Kill and without the single-target restriction. While this power does not deal damage nor affect droids, it creates a window of opportunity to completely change the course of battle.
12 seconds should give you enough time to inflict two or perhaps even three turns of attacks if you are quick on the trigger. Being able to inflict multiple turns of damage without being attacked is incredibly valuable for vulnerable Force users, and luckily your low Defenses will not limit how quickly you cut through large groups of glorified statues.
7 Master Speed - A Multi-Purpose Modifier
At first glance, the Burst of Speed tree may appear to be little more than a convenience to traverse the map more quickly. However, upon upgrading to Master Speed, not only is your movement speed doubled, but you also gain +4 Defense and two additional attacks per turn. Combine this with a dual-weapon-wielding party member who knows the Flurry feat for a staggering five attacks per turn.
The effects of Master Speed will last for 36 seconds (triple the duration of Stasis Field), giving you more than enough time to protect yourself with additional powers while you slice through targets before they can launch a second attack. The long duration gives Master Speed an edge over other powers like Kill or Stasis Field, which require careful timing.
6 Dominate Mind - The Old Jedi Mind Trick
Force users are more than just masters of combat, as Dominate Mind gives you the sway of a silver-tongued Jedi. This power (only available for the main character) opens up new speech options for you throughout the game, presenting alternate dialogue choices that are otherwise hidden.
If you are interested in progressing through the diverse array of worthwhile side quests, then Dominate Mind will allow you to access quicker paths to new stories and loot. Your skills with a lightsaber offer little help when dealing with quest-givers and merchants, who will often need bribes or persuasion checks to proceed quests. Sometimes, you just need your enemy to believe that credits will do fine.
5 Destroy Droid - A Solution To Non-Organics
Destroy Droid is one of the few options for Force users to deal with turrets and droids, especially in areas like the Star Forge where droids are concentrated in greater numbers. Organic enemies can be stunned in several ways, but droids can only be stunned by this power.
Droids within six meters of your target will be stunned for 12 seconds and damaged. A 12-second stun is good enough to warrant its own power (like Stasis Field), but the added damage ices the cake and solidifies Destroy Droid as a necessary choice for both Jedi and Sith, outshining powers like Master Flurry that prefer certain builds.
4 Death Field - Drain Their Health To Sustain Yours
Death Field is a near-necessity for Dark Side players, as it offers the most efficient healing for your Force Points (FP), instead of paying the high cost to use its Light-Side equivalent. Death Field saps health in an AoE radius of 10 meters from the target, feeding it directly into the user's health.
In longer, more difficult battles, healing becomes essential to ensuring that you and your party can endure every blaster shot and grenade that's lobbed your way. Despite its exceptional blend of offense and healing, Death Field is a bit niche as its high FP cost restricts it to Dark Side users with a high investment in Wisdom.
3 Heal - Support For The Whole Party
Unlike its Dark Side counterpart, Heal offers a more balanced form of recovery — returning health to your entire party instead of just its user. This AoE healing can be efficiently utilized by neutral party members, like Jolee, to keep you safe, even if your created character leans more toward the Dark Side.
As a direct comparison, you would need three Death Field users to maintain a self-sufficient, decently healthy party; however, three Heal users are nearly unstoppable, picking up the slack for one another by rotating healing for immense survivability.
2 Force Storm - Unlimited Power
As one of the most iconic Force Powers in the Star Wars universe, Force Storm is an automatic selection for Dark Side users in search of the ultimate Sith power fantasy. The 10-meter AoE range gives you plenty of room to attack from afar, keeping valuable space between you and other Force users.
Force Storm's power is immense, scaling to area-clearing heights with Wisdom and Charisma investment. Lightning rains down on all nearby enemies from your fingers, damaging them and draining their FP equally. Powerful enemies, especially Sith, frequently try to counter your usage of Heal or Death Field, so draining their ability to retaliate with the force can be essential to victory.
1 Force Wave - Everybody Down!
The Light Side alternative to Force Storm proves that the Dark Side is not necessarily more powerful. Force Wave breaks the 10-meter standard for AoE moves, instead offering fifteen meters of range to knock your enemies back, cause massive damage, stun, and create space to escape corners or reposition.
The expanded range of this ability ensures that you will almost always stun all enemies that pose an immediate threat to you and your companions. The damage alone can one-shot common enemies — including droids — and any organic stragglers will be stunned, if they survive. Force Wave is a must-have for endgame fights in particular, as you will be significantly outnumbered in most cases. Prepare to end fights as quickly as they begin with this immensely potent room-clearing power.