Bacta vs. Kolto

[Cotlu-Hunlon]

Throughout StarWars games, medicine has always been a choice of bacta or kolto, usually seemng to do the same thing.

 

If you played KOTOR and got to Manaan, you learn about how they mine kolto and how great it is (it's the tanks people float in which cures about anything non-fatal I believe, Luke in ep5 is in one also for example).

 

But they never elaborate about bacta. In Battlefront 2 all the soldiers use bacta medpack things for healing which I guess have a more portable element to them. Scoundrel and Commando healing abilities use both bacta and kolto, the difference being that the Kolto abilities appear as green gas clouds.

 

Cany anyone explain to me the differences between the two? These points above are all I could think of.

[dazednconfuzed]

Kolto is grown and harvested on Manaan. Bacta is grown and harvested on Thyferra, and is much more potent than Kolto.

 

Technically, Bacta is made up of a couple of different things that grow on Thyferra, but you get the idea It may be that one of the ingrediants in Bacta could be Kolto, I'm not sure.

 

And Kolto tanks were only in use until Bacta became more widely available than Kolto. Luke was floating around in a Bacta tank.

 

If you want to read more about Bacta and how it is produced, check out the X-Wing novels #1-4 (all about Rogue Squadron and the taking of Coruscant from the Empire. Books 3 and 4 go into some detail about Bacta).

Edited March 26, 2012 by dazednconfuzed

[Mechavomit]

During the Old Republic time, bacta is rare and experimental.

As far as I know, kolto almost completely disappeared when bacta became more known.

[dazednconfuzed]

During the Old Republic time, bacta is rare and experimental.

As far as I know, kolto almost completely disappeared when bacta became more known.

 

I kind of imagine it like the way DVD took over from VHS. Slowly at first, with DVD/Bacta being very tempermental, experimental, and expensive, but gradually taking over the market and putting the fish people out of business.

[bmhale]

Wow déjà vu...

 

Back a couple years ago, my friends and I actually played a tabletop SW game with my character being a non-Force-sensitive Teltior who was a Trooper-turned-Mercenary Battlefield Medic. Of course this discussion came up and I found myself researching it quite a bit.

 

We installed a kolto tank on our ship (so by extension my Medic carried it as well), but little did I know the gamemaster's plan for that... Apparently he researched it as well and wanted to simulate the decline of kolto, which he reasoned would start cheap and become more expensive over time due to the combination of overharvesting on Manaan, an inability to synthesize it, and the gradual rise of bacta (which he was going to do the opposite with). It started to get expensive to be a non-Force healer rather quickly, but we finished the campaign before it really made an impact though.

 

Pretty much non-canon of course since it was basically a house variant based on Wookieepedia entries, but it was still fun and made things more interesting for me for sure.

Edited March 27, 2012 by bmhale

[Grubfist]

isn't kolto a natural fluid, while bacta is a synthesized one?

[dazednconfuzed]

isn't kolto a natural fluid, while bacta is a synthesized one?

 

I'm not sure about Kolto, but Bacta is produced by mixing two compounds together, so that is synthesised, yes. Both it's components are grown on Thyferra.

[Wolfninjajedi]

Bacta can pretty much heal/cure any injury or illness.

[enigmayshi]

Bacta originally was more expensive than Kolto but prices dropped allowing it to eventually replace it entirely.

 

I'm guessing the main reason is that Bacta can be produced in various qualities, so they can produce lower quality cheaper Bacta fast. While Kolto has always sounded like their is just 'Kolto' that their is no difference between one batch of Kolto and another both healing around the same rate. While Bacta comes in various prices and potencies.

[FierasElvandar]

Bacta only came into play because kolto supplies shorted out.

[Queen_Ultima]

IIRC, as said before, Kolto is just the less effective precursor to Bacta. According to Wookiepedia, Bacta is a combination of bacterial compounds while Kolto (IIRC from KotOR) is either found naturally in the waters of Manaan or is an excretion of the local wildlife.

 

Anyway, it's only natural for naturally occurring compounds being used for a task before synthetic substitutes are found (ie, wool in the middle ages being replaced by lighter synthetic textures, though not an entirely accurate example as some prefer the texture of wool)

 

Basically, in the time of TOR, kolto is the only known substance so it's used for it's healing ability. When Bacta came, it probably replaced Kolto, though I'd say Kolto would be cheaper though less effective to use.

[LeeC]

Hmm I always assumed Mannan went the way of alderaan and met with some unfortunate end at the hands of a sith lord. Thus ending the kolto trade and they came up with a synthesized version called bacta, then I played SW EaW and sure enough Mannan is still there. Then i though, hmm bacta is the new kolto.