Is Rise of the Emperor *really* necessary for KotFE?

[vitros]

I was told Shadow of Revan was really important to play story-wise before going into KotFE. It was fun and semi interesting story-wise, but also seemed like a lot of long flashpoints and only a little bit of story that could have easily been summed up in YouTube videos. Is Rise of the Emperor more of the same?

 

I am already 65 and resubbed specifically to play KotFE; however, I'm really exclusively interested in story and don't want to miss anything truly crucial.

 

I tried searching but no clear feedback on people who have played through everything so far. Any insight appreciated. Thanks.

[annabethchase]

If you like story, play all the story. Seems simple enough.

[vitros]

If you like story, play all the story. Seems simple enough.

 

That's probably what I'll end up doing. About how long did it take you to run through Rise of the Emperor?

[annabethchase]

That's probably what I'll end up doing. About how long did it take you to run through Rise of the Emperor?

 

That's just a regular monthly patch. 1-2 hours depending on your playstyle.

[KyaniteD]

It's not necessary. But if you haven't read the book "Revan", I'd still recommend to run through it once, to see why they're all so freaked by the Emperor. I think without having seen either, I'd make different choices here and there on certain characters.

[neoraFIVE]

You should do it for the Ziost storyline. Something BIG happens there. This big event is even alluded to in the beginning of KotFE.

 

As a previous poster said, Ziost shouldn't take you that long. Just go until you unlock the daily area, and then you'll be ready for KotFE.

 

Notes: There are side missions and Walkers (like on Yavin) that give achievements for completing/killing them. The big walker is a Champion mob not in the main area, but it's not a world boss.

 

Special Note: Once you've gone to the Ziost daily area after completing the storyline, you can NOT go back to the story area, meaning you should complete the achievements during the storyline or on other characters.

[Rabenschwinge]

I was told Shadow of Revan was really important to play story-wise before going into KotFE. It was fun and semi interesting story-wise, but also seemed like a lot of long flashpoints and only a little bit of story that could have easily been summed up in YouTube videos. Is Rise of the Emperor more of the same?

 

I am already 65 and resubbed specifically to play KotFE; however, I'm really exclusively interested in story and don't want to miss anything truly crucial.

 

I tried searching but no clear feedback on people who have played through everything so far. Any insight appreciated. Thanks.

 

The answer to that is difficult to formulate without spoilers, yet I tried my best.

 

I was under the impression that the story writers had nothing even remotely resembling Knights of the Fallen Empire in mind when the wrote the story for Shadow of Revan and then Ziost (which is a continuation from the point where Shadow of Revan leaves off. It's not long, I recommend playing it).

 

Knights of the Fallen Empire starts out with a kind of "And now something completely different". There is a strong connection in the story line, but it seems forced and leads to all kinds of logical contradictions and makes some characters seem implausible. Knights of the Fallen Empire also introduces a new planet called "Zakuul". Particularly when you hear it pronounced it sounds strikingly similar to "Yakul", the planet from the latest movie. I wouldn't be surprised if Disney had a say in the re-orientation of SW:TOR in version 4.0 (i.e. the release of Knights of the Fallen Empire).

 

The primary reason why there is such a connection to the previous story is that the last bit of story before Knights of the Fallen Empire, Ziost, ended with a kind of a cliffhanger and they just couldn't leave you hanging at that cliff. It also serves to induce a certain sense of being familiar with certain aspects of Knights of the Fallen Empire, even though you really aren't.

 

That said, I do like Knights of the Fallen Empire a lot, just the connection to the previous stuff is not ideal.

Edited June 12, 2016 by Rabenschwinge

[Mykra]

Rise of the Emperor is basically KOTFE Chapter 0. It's worth playing, and rather quick as well. Edited June 12, 2016 by Mykra

[BenduKundalini]

Knights of the Fallen Empire also introduces a new planet called "Zakuul". Particularly when you hear it pronounced it sounds strikingly similar to "Yakul", the planet from the latest movie.

 

Was Jakku called Yakul in Germany?

 

For the record, no Zakuul in French, but Zakel. They avoided "kul" at all costs, as "cul" means @ss!

[vitros]

OK, update: I'm playing it and liking it quite a bit.

 

Thanks to everyone who has replied. I have read the Revan novel and thoroughly enjoyed it, so it's interesting to see more of the emperor here. I'm also quickly becoming a fan of Theran (I haven't read any of the novels centered on him) so I'm enjoying the Ziost stuff.

 

Glad to hear it's short, hopefully I'll be on to KotFE in no time.

 

EDIT: Yep, it was quick. I'm done. ^_^ Crazy ending too. Enjoyed it.

Edited June 12, 2016 by vitros

[Hebruixe]

Rishi and Yavin 4 have a really lame story. Ziost in my opinion is significantly better. If you want to skip ahead, you probably would have been better off skipping Shadow of Revan and starting Rise of the Emperor.

 

That said, Rise of the Emperor is not mandatory lorewise to experience before KotFE.

Ziost is about how the Emperor (now called Vitiate) destroys a planet to empower himself with Godlike abilities. This however is almost completely forgotten in KotFE, where the Emperor is renamed Valkorian and becomes a force ghost inhabiting the Outlander's (aka your) brain. There's not a lot of continuity between these chapters.

 

Edited June 12, 2016 by Hebruixe

[Rolodome]

I enjoy it quite a bit. Hits a nice sweet spot of being interesting, without taking too long to get to the point.

 

Glad to hear you enjoyed it.

[BlazeTomahawk]

As a SW Ziost was bittersweet. My emperor has gone completely insane is now my enemy! It was one of the better stories they've done, as it kept the emperor in his expected role. The switch to "Valkorian" from "vitiate" is jarring. I really wish (and still hope) they aren't the same person

[darkov]

Actually, I think that any of the story before KOTFE is largely irrelevant, given how badly they jumped the shark with the Emperor.

 

The story makes much more sense if you go from the end of the Knight storyline to the beginning of KOTFE. Shadow of Revan and Rise of the Emperor take the story in a direction that just doesn't seem to fit in what we've ended up with in KOTFE.

[Hebruixe]

The story makes much more sense if you go from the end of the Knight storyline to the beginning of KOTFE. Shadow of Revan and Rise of the Emperor take the story in a direction that just doesn't seem to fit in what we've ended up with in KOTFE.

 

I agree with this.

[Mykra]

The story makes much more sense if you go from the end of the Knight storyline to the beginning of KOTFE. Shadow of Revan and Rise of the Emperor take the story in a direction that just doesn't seem to fit in what we've ended up with in KOTFE.

 

I wouldn't say so. Vitiate crosses over perfectly from Knight into SoR and Rise of the Emperor. Ok, so he's in SoR for about all of five seconds, but he's the same ***** in SoR as he was in the final quest for JK. Same for RotE, he acts in a way that fits with everything you have seen from him before, and he tells you he realizes it's time to finally take you seriously at the end of RotE, explaining why he'd be less stabby-stabby towards you the next time you meet, even though he had just been hunting down people in the streets for sport and laughing about how he was going to break you, then kill you.

 

It's in KOTFE that his character makes you stop and go 'Um, who are you?'. He went from Chaotic Evil to Lawful Evil on a dime, and it's kind of whiplash inducing. I really like the character of Valkorian a lot, but he doesn't remind me of Vitiate one bit.

Edited June 13, 2016 by Mykra

[Rolodome]

Regarding the emperor's name (some reviewing/speculating amid spoilers below):

 

 

To my understanding, the change in name is because Valkorion is the name of the flesh-and-blood persona that Vitiate took to build Zakuul. Which he was doing while all that war/treaty stuff was going on between the rebs and imps. It's not that his name actually changed, exactly... it's just him in a different form. The name appears to be irrelevant anyway; he's beyond human form.

 

The one part that is not totally clear to me (which could just be a writing goof) is the mixture of the Jedi Knight storyline, SoR/Ziost, and KOTFE. It actually makes more sense in some ways if you include the JK storyline, but in other ways it doesn't. For instance, we have to assume, it seems, that what the Jedi Knight destroyed was simply some kind of husk and what SoR Revan released was a part of the emperor, or some kind of distraction, but not all of him. It seems almost that the emperor can be in two different places at once, in more than one form at once. But as we go into KOTFE, most of him is gone and what remains is what's left in Valkorion.

 

Thus the comment about him having "changed."

 

Almost like horcruxes with voldy in harry potter.

 

It is unclear though, as far as I can tell, what exactly his goal is. Perhaps with the destruction of parts of himself, his goals have changed.

 

It's hard to tell with him what is a deception, what is truth, and what is the writers hanging on by a thread.

 

[Mykra]

Regarding the emperor's name (some reviewing/speculating amid spoilers below):

 

 

For instance, we have to assume, it seems, that what the Jedi Knight destroyed was simply some kind of husk and what SoR Revan released was a part of the emperor, or some kind of distraction, but not all of him. It seems almost that the emperor can be in two different places at once, in more than one form at once. But as we go into KOTFE, most of him is gone and what remains is what's left in Valkorion.

P

 

 

Well, that's answered in both the Jedi Knight and Sith Warrior stories. Basically there are people who he can inhabit at will. The JK took out one such Emperor 'clone' at the end of his story and interrupted him before he reached peak power forcing him out into the galaxy half-charged at the end of SoR. I'm also pretty sure that the JK ran into two different versions of the Emperor: The one in the space fortress and the one and the temple seemed to be two completely different bodies. The Sith Warrior actually kills one such 'clone' in his story that puts the Emperor into the body the JK takes out, and it's confirmed in the SW story that the Emperor the JK killed was just another 'clone' and the Emperor is doing fine. So the Emperor is on the fortress, then leaves the fortress for the Voss body, then leaves the Voss body for the DK body, then gets thrown out of that one by the JK and ends up on Yavin, leaves and settles into all the bodies on Ziost. Every now and then popping out to a different body to do work, like when he took over Kira.

 

The only thing that has made KOTFE seem to make any sense is that Valkorian is the man, and Vitiate would just take him over sometimes and check-in and run the show. However his dialogue seems to put this completely away, which makes this feel more like LOST and a 'We'll figure something out at the end.'

 

Edited June 13, 2016 by Mykra

[Rolodome]

Well, that's answered in both the Jedi Knight and Sith Warrior stories. Basically there are people who he can inhabit at will. The JK took out one such Emperor 'clone' at the end of his story and interrupted him before he reached peak power forcing him out into the galaxy half-charged at the end of SoR. I'm also pretty sure that the JK ran into two different versions of the Emperor: The one in the space fortress and the one and the temple seemed to be two completely different bodies. The Sith Warrior actually kills one such 'clone' in his story that puts the Emperor into the body the JK takes out, and it's confirmed in the SW story that the Emperor the JK killed was just another 'clone' and the Emperor is doing fine. So the Emperor is on the fortress, then leaves the fortress for the Voss body, then leaves the Voss body for the DK body, then gets thrown out of that one by the JK and ends up on Yavin, leaves and settles into all the bodies on Ziost. Every now and then popping out to a different body to do work, like when he took over Kira.

 

The only thing that has made KOTFE seem to make any sense is that Valkorian is the man, and Vitiate would just take him over sometimes and check-in and run the show. However his dialogue seems to put this completely away, which makes this feel more like LOST and a 'We'll figure something out at the end.'

 

I had missed the thing about the space fortress. I see your point. The thing about Valkorion definitely feels a bit funky, though I do remember a comment from someone (maybe Valkorion himself) indicating that Zakuul is where he had been spending his time.

 

The idea that Valkorion is the man and Vitiate just takes him over does seem plausible, though I think it'd almost have to be that Valkorion was never anyone other than the emperor; that Valkorion himself is just another emperor clone. But if that is the case, it seems Valkorion must be a very old clone.

 

I mean, the whole timeline of Zakuul is funky to me. From what we hear, Zakuul seems to go way back. Or at least parts of it do (like the Eternal Fleet). But how long exactly did Vitiate spend building? Was it only a matter of decades? Zakuul's history seems far older. But if it was much longer than that, it's one of those writing quirks to me that his kids and wife just happen to be not that old... though I suppose their ages are never mentioned in number, it's just indicated in appearance that they are fairly young.

 

Here's a crazy thought (on the level of LOST logic almost): Maybe Valkorion was a normal man and Vitiate was only inhabiting him at times, but he inhabited him for so long, to such a degree, that when Valkorion got destroyed, the essence of the real Valkorion was somehow merged with Vitiate in the force and that's why he talks about having "changed."

 

Latching onto the Outlander seems to have changed him as well, though he seems to have wanted to latch onto you, from the start of KOTFE.

 

[Eanelinea]

OK, update: I'm playing it and liking it quite a bit.

 

Thanks to everyone who has replied. I have read the Revan novel and thoroughly enjoyed it, so it's interesting to see more of the emperor here. I'm also quickly becoming a fan of Theran (I haven't read any of the novels centered on him) so I'm enjoying the Ziost stuff.

 

Glad to hear it's short, hopefully I'll be on to KotFE in no time.

 

EDIT: Yep, it was quick. I'm done. ^_^ Crazy ending too. Enjoyed it.

 

Definitely read Theron's book, Annihilation, it's pretty awesome. The best part is underwear, underwear everywhere! lol

[Eanelinea]

I wouldn't say so. Vitiate crosses over perfectly from Knight into SoR and Rise of the Emperor. Ok, so he's in SoR for about all of five seconds, but he's the same ***** in SoR as he was in the final quest for JK. Same for RotE, he acts in a way that fits with everything you have seen from him before, and he tells you he realizes it's time to finally take you seriously at the end of RotE, explaining why he'd be less stabby-stabby towards you the next time you meet, even though he had just been hunting down people in the streets for sport and laughing about how he was going to break you, then kill you.

 

It's in KOTFE that his character makes you stop and go 'Um, who are you?'. He went from Chaotic Evil to Lawful Evil on a dime, and it's kind of whiplash inducing. I really like the character of Valkorian a lot, but he doesn't remind me of Vitiate one bit.

 

I think Valkorian and Vitiate are one in the same. To me, it seemed like Vitiate/Valkorian didn't give two ***** in the wind about the Empire, so he went back to his own. Which as a Sith Warrior feels like you've been even more deceived and lied to. There ARE some parts of the entire game's story, from Vanilla to chapter 14, that completely and totally sucked and was boring and some that are/were awesome. I think they're trying to find a way to get rid of the old emperor to make room 3000 years later for that time line, which would make sense.

[Eanelinea]

 

I agree that all these bodies he inhabited are his form of Horucruxes like Voldemort in HP. He split up his 'soul' into different bodies and as those bodies were killed, he suffered for it and became just that tad bit weaker. Valkorian is dead and is a force ghost, but he could have a few dozen more bodies he inhabits out there.

 

Like his birth planet was plan A, then the Sith Empire was plan B, then Zakuul is his plan C. His plans D-Z could be many other hosts he's inhabited and worked up from primitive to 'oo shiny!' like he did with Zakuul. Maybe not Vitiate married and had kids with Senya, but Valkorian did. Though personalities, force abilities, and looks are genetic traits. So his children should be more like never touched Valkorian and Senya and less like Vitiate. That's where I think the Writers goofed a bit. Vaylin shouldn't be crazy as hell because Valkorian's GENETIC traits are in her, NOT Vitiate's. Vitiate himself is a ghost of some sort, possessing people. Not oh he had kids with Senya so now Arcann and Vaylin are nuts. I think the best that showed through for this was in Thexan. He was actually Valkorian (the host) and Senya's genetic child.

 

[grumpehcat]

Definitely read Theron's book, Annihilation, it's pretty awesome. The best part is underwear, underwear everywhere! lol

 

...my mind has gone to a terrible place. A wonderful, but terrible place.

 

Also gonna have to track that book down now.

[darkov]

So, my theory and why I think SOR doesn't fit.

 

 

We know that the Emperor can inhabit other bodies, whether they are clones (JK/SW stories) or normal people (JK/JC stories). And that he can multi task effectively like this is also a given from the JC story. It is therefore perfectly plausible that for as long as he has existed he could have been both the Sith Emperor and the Zakuul Emperor. We also know that he has lived for a long time, longer than any human should be able to exist. Keep in mind that he was the same Emperor from KOTOR.

 

The problem comes with his personality. His desire to shape the galaxy into his vision is fine, he tried it with the Sith it didn't work, he tried with Zakuul twice and got it right (he thinks), the second time. But, the ideals of the Sith are sufficiently far removed from anything we've seen or learned about Zakuul and him in KOTFE that it is difficult to accept that they are born from the same mind. In addition to this comes the knowledge, that we've known since KOTOR, that he seeks to destroy everything in his path. This person is the ultimate destructive force in the galaxy and cares for nothing other than himself, his greed and his lust for power.

 

Shadow of Revan introduced the premise that he wants to devour all life (we've seen this before in KOTOR2), which was fine. It also alluded to the fact that his spirit was now without a body, weakened and that it was recovering on Yavin IV. Ziost takes this all a step further by demonstrating his hunger through the destruction of a world.

 

Now we jump to Knights of the Fallen Empire, where the Emperor has inhabited the same body for as long as anyone there can remember, he is the Immortal Emperor. So, if that is the case, why was his spirit (or part of it) on Yavin IV? Why was that ritual needed? Why did he need to consume Ziost? None of these things make any sense given the story of KOTFE.

 

But, if you go back to the original stories, then when the JK kills him, he could've simply lost that host body, no spirit floating around, no ritual, no consumption of Ziost. He just lost one of his hosts, but he remained healthy and alive on Zakuul.

 

This obviously still doesn't explain how he goes from being a Sith with destructive tendencies to the passive, calm Immortal Emperor.

 

The way I see it, if you want some semblance of continuity to the story you either have:

 

KOTOR -> KOTOR 2 -> SWTOR -> ROTHC -> SOR

or

SWTOR -> ROTHC -> KOTFE

 

It isn't perfect, but that is the whole problem with KOTFE, it basically threw the Star Wars stories we had away and made up it's original story instead (which in itself isn't a bad thing), but then retrofitted a connection between the old and new that makes absolutely no sense!

 

 

If Valkorion wasn't Vitiate then everything would be perfectly fine.

[jgoldsack]

If Valkorion wasn't Vitiate then everything would be perfectly fine.

 

 

I felt that everything Valkorion says about the Outlander was vague enough to sound like he knew the Outlander because he is/was the Sith Emperor, or that he was a good bluffer and isn't the same guy at all.

 

My initial gut feeling when I first played KOTFE was that he was NOT the same person/entity as the Sith Emperor. I still think that, because it makes more sense.