Light/Dark: How much dose it affect the story?

[BionicRope]

Hello all

So I've been playing a couple of times never finished a class story. Now I want to finish the Jedi knight then start the expansions.

But Lightside and Darkside, I want to go for a mix of both. Jedi who wants to help people and do good but ignores the stupid bits of the code (No love or attachments to people, etc)

But in other Bioware games (like mass effect) you either go all good or all bad.

Is that the same for SWTOR?

I assume you don't need to have a certain amount of light side points to do certain dialogue options, but I'm interested in how it works.

 

Thanks

[OldVengeance]

You don't "need" to go all Paragon or Renegade in Mass Effect, it just sometimes opens a few extra dialogue options. But the Swtor does not work the same way. Alignment will occasionally affect some of the dialogue choices, but it's not on a scale. It will keep track of whether you are Light or Dark, or in rare cases Neutral. Sometimes being Light or Dark will give you a different option on the dialogue wheel but in that sense, Light I is the same as Light V.

 

A Jedi character like you describe should end up being pretty solidly Lightside according to Swtor's mechanics.

Edited October 13, 2017 by OldVengeance

[MadDutchman]

Generally you don't want to worry about it. Pick the option that makes the most sense at that moment for that character.

 

There are a couple legacy abilities for getting light/dark V but they aren't really useful, and you can use diplomacy missions to get that if you really want.

[IoNonSoEVero]

You can go back and forth between Dark and Light choices as much as you want. You will have to choose to ally with the dark or light side via that button at the bottom of your screen, but you're not forced to make choices that agree with it - and you can switch your dark/light button every hour if you want. You're not forced to stay with it. There's a range of alignments from Light V to Dark V and everything in between.

 

There are a few points in the story that characters will comment on it if you're aligned one way or the other, and if you choose to show Dark Side corruption your character will get red eyes and a pale, veiny face once they have a certain dark side alignment, but you can hide that. There are also some decos and gear that you have to be aligned one way or the other to use, but nothing you *need* in the story.

[DAWUSS]

For some characters it matters more than others. Most notable is Sith Inquisitor at the end of Act III.

[Dracofish]

You can go back and forth between Dark and Light choices as much as you want. You will have to choose to ally with the dark or light side via that button at the bottom of your screen, but you're not forced to make choices that agree with it - and you can switch your dark/light button every hour if you want. You're not forced to stay with it. There's a range of alignments from Light V to Dark V and everything in between.

 

There are a few points in the story that characters will comment on it if you're aligned one way or the other, and if you choose to show Dark Side corruption your character will get red eyes and a pale, veiny face once they have a certain dark side alignment, but you can hide that. There are also some decos and gear that you have to be aligned one way or the other to use, but nothing you *need* in the story.

 

I wonder if I'm the only one that kinda hates that button? It's like choices don't matter anymore. Too Light? Ooooh, hit the Dark button for a while! Hit Dark II and you don't want the schmutz on your face? Ooooh, hit the Light button for a while! I know in the past we could nudge alignment with Diplomacy missions, but the button makes it way too easy.

 

In terms of the OP, playing a Dark I Knight is fairly easy, and is very fun and creates a fair bit of drama in the story around the Order (Satele in particular) starting to distrust you. By the end, you can end up being a Knight who is pretty fed up with the concept of the Order in general. It's actually my 2nd favorite story to play, behind a pragmatic Inquisitor.

[SteveTheCynic]

For some characters it matters more than others. Most notable is Sith Inquisitor at the end of Act III.

Also the following:

* A conversation with Khem Val early in his story, where he says things that supposedly depend on your alignment.

* A bunch of stuff is different depending on your SW's alignment when you go to Augury Rock and fight the Doppleganger ... oops, wrong game(1) ... when you meet your doppleganger after you deal with the Sand Demon on Tatooine. Very interesting if you are playing LS.

* The Jedi Knight used to get different titles at the end of Chapter III (and some grumpy remarks from Satele Shan if the character was dark). But that's no longer the case after people with evil knights whined about not being able to be Master during the betas.

* The JK has the opportunity to save or kill various people along the way. These decisions are light or dark, respectively, and will come back to reward or haunt you late in Chapter III.

 

(1) Augury Rock is in GW1 (and makes a cameo appearance in GW2's new expansion), and you did indeed fight the Doppleganger. And it is in a desert. The parallels go further than just that, since the fight at Augury Rock was part of a voyage of self-discovery called Ascension, which in concept resembles what the SW goes through on Tatooine. The main conceptual difference is that the Augury Rock fight is the climax of that journey for the GW1 character, while the thing on Tatooine is an (important) step on the way.

[Shayddow]

It does affect the story for the SW in the sense that it sort of determines

 

whether you get LS Jaesa or DS Jaesa

 

 

For the JK you will get nods to the story on Corellia, but the story still proceeds the same.

 

For the SI, it will determine what "title" you get at the end : Darth Nox, Darth Occulus, or Darth Imperius - however, you don't actually get to USE these titles - something I wish they'd change.

(it could be appended to Darth title - i.e. Darth Nox PLAYERNAME.) You get referred to as whichever one you ended up being when you enter Darth Marr's ship in KOTFE.

[Dracofish]

 

* The Jedi Knight used to get different titles at the end of Chapter III (and some grumpy remarks from Satele Shan if the character was dark). But that's no longer the case after people with evil knights whined about not being able to be Master during the betas.

 

I just finished another Knight about a month ago and she was Dark 1 at the end of Ch III and most definitely didn't get the title of Master.

[Dracofish]

 

For the SI, it will determine what "title" you get at the end : Darth Nox, Darth Occulus, or Darth Imperius - however, you don't actually get to USE these titles - something I wish they'd change.

(it could be appended to Darth title - i.e. Darth Nox PLAYERNAME.) You get referred to as whichever one you ended up being when you enter Darth Marr's ship in KOTFE.

 

Marr does use the title quite often, but the span of time you talk to him between the end of Ch III and the start of Fallen Empire is pretty short.