Shroud of Memory

HK bonus chapter day, hooray!
 

First off I have to say: While I think that this a really neat subscriber reward, it would be a real waste if an hour of such solid content was forever restricted to everyone who happened to be subbed at a certain time. Maybe they'll make it available as a cash shop purchase later on or something.

As it happened, the chapter and I weren't off to the greatest start (and from what I heard many people experienced the same problem): The initial dozen combat encounters or so were laggy as hell. So you're thrown into your first fight with a hotbar full of abilities you don't know, they don't seem to fire when you press them, and mobs are teleporting all over the place...  suckage! It's not as if you're about to die with an OP companion healing you, but you're just sort of waving your arms around ineffectively and it's not very satisfying. Fortunately things seemed to improve somewhat (at least for me) as the chapter progressed.

Also, I wasn't too enamoured with Z0-0M at first. It seemed like both her writer and her voice actor were trying way too hard to make her funny, to the point that she came across as just plain annoying. (I get that she's meant to be a nuisance to HK... but it's way too easy to sympathise with him.)

However, things got better. Some interesting bits of lore were revealed, and you progress through a couple of very fascinating environments, walking along the bottom of the ocean just to be shot up into space shortly afterwards. The things you can do when you're a droid...

Speaking of which, I found the general concept of playing as HK interesting, because I expect that this will open up more opportunities to play as a different character in the future. It seemed like HK was basically applied as a "skin" on top of your regular character. In the target of target window I was still labelled as Shintar, I always had combat support cell on, and various healing buffs procced during the fights. Also, I seemed to hit about as hard as a sponge - very inappropriate for an assassin droid - so I'm guessing that HK's combat abilities were somehow scaled off your usual damage numbers.

I was also delighted to find that your choices in the "Arma Rasa" recruitment mission seemed to be taken into consideration, as there was a moment where I selected the option to kill someone, but instead HK's hand only hovered above the button and he bemoaned his master's programming forbidding him to kill unarmed non-combatants.

And then of course there was the ending... this is where it could get a bit spoilery (though I'll still avoid being explicit)! I had somewhat mixed feelings about it. On the one hand it was quite an interesting twist... on the other hand it felt kind of disappointing to see an excellent villain whose portrayal had been 100% serious up until then be disposed of via such a slapstick move. I'm still kind of hoping that it was all just another trick by the real Shroud, though Z0-0M's description in the companion panel doesn't leave much hope.

Overall I quite enjoyed this chapter. The lag was my biggest annoyance, but presumably that will be fixed soon. It wasn't quite as funny as I had hoped after seeing some of the comments by the writers - I don't think there was a single lough-out-loud moment for me personally - but there were plenty of things to make you smile, and I realised that I've been missing that. Humour has always been an important part of Star Wars, and chapters ten to sixteen have mostly been pretty damn serious, with the exception of chapter thirteen's big heist. So yeah, it was good to poke a bit of fun at things again - I particularly liked what they did with the exarch in that regard.

Did you qualify for the bonus chapter? If so, what did you think of it? Or has the lag kept you away?

KotFE Chapter by Chapter - Chapter 16: The Battle of Odessen

Let's cut to the chase. How does it all end? Not as amazingly as I had hoped, but it was still a fun ride. Time to spoil it all!

Click here to go back to Chapter 15.

After the brief reprieve in the last chapter, we're back to starting with an outside view of the Alliance base. You and your companions are discussing the questions raised by the end of the last chapter. How much of a threat is Arcann still? What's Scorpio's endgame? Fortunately you don't have to wonder about the latter very long, as she actually interrupts your meeting by calling. She just wanted to let you know that Arcann is on his way to level Odessen. How does he know its location? Because Scorpio gave it to him... nothing personal, you understand. She just wanted to see whether he'd rather go after you or after her if given the choice.

Indeed, Arcann's remnant of the Eternal Fleet drops out of hyperspace even as you're talking about it. Theron opines that you can face it down, but you need to leave someone on the planet's surface to defend the base. Aric and/or Kaliyo volunteer (depending on who's still around) and you're asked to pick another one of your companions acquired in chapters thirteen and fourteen to stay with them. The remaining two plus your usual crew will board the Gravestone with you. If you are in a romance with anyone, they will share a brief moment with you before boarding (thanks again, YouTube - I haven't actually seen any of these for myself), otherwise Lana will just give you a brief generic pep talk.

The Gravestone flies up to face Arcann's remnant of the Eternal Fleet (which still consists of hundreds of ships)... and they shoot her a bit, but not that much. Do these ships actually ever do anything other than fly around in perfect formation? We see Arcann still obsessing about finally taking down the Outlander/his father on the bridge of his flagship.

Apparently the Gravestone will be just fine as long as she doesn't get too close (because it seems the Eternal Fleet ships really do hate leaving their formation) so you'll want to board the flagship with a shuttle. Theron volunteers to stay behind and man the omnicannon. Lana explains that Arcann's ship needs to be annihilated in case he has some kind of failsafe that could still instruct the fleet to attack Odessen after his death. She plans to go for the bridge with you while the two companions you didn't pick to stay on Odessen will sabotage the ship's guns and shields respectively. Oh, and Senya is coming along of course because it's her children we're about to kill. If Koth is still around, he also thanks you for being allowed to be part of something greater than him.

The whole part with assigning Gault, Vette and Torian to different roles is strangely reminiscent of the Sith warrior's final mission on Taris, where you have to assign different companions to different roles during an attack. Sadly, after playing through this chapter with three different configurations, it doesn't seem to make any difference whom you assign to which task. Unlike in the Sith warrior story, all your companions are competent in every role.

Theron clears a hole for you to land the shuttle, and unlike in the last chapter, the place where you landed does indeed immediately get swarmed by skytroopers! After a fun little melee with four companions at your side (whee!), the two companions you picked to take care of the ship's weapons and shields go off to do their jobs.

Meanwhile on the Gravestone, Theron is having way too much fun with the omnicannon... and promptly breaks it somehow, which prompts Tora to some laugh-out-loud meme quoting: "You had one job!" She goes off to help him fix it, and in her absence from the bridge Scorpio appears to make another attempt to take over the Gravestone remotely. Fortunately Koth is there to shut her out with the press of one button. I guess this scene is supposed to show how much of a tech wiz he is, but it comes across as a bit odd. Also, he is there to do this even if he ran off at the end of chapter ten! Apparently he managed to sneak back on board before the battle, much to T7's delight.

On the flagship, Vaylin watches you through the security cameras and makes unusually chipper conversation - she's looking forward to finally facing her mother. She also says outright that she doesn't care about the Outlander herself and won't get in the way, but hopes that facing you will cheer Arcann up since he's been so moody lately. Senya agrees to do things Vaylin's way and splits off to keep her distracted and away from you.

At a "combat terminal" you get the option to pick up either some weapons or shields, or some turrets. Based on your choice you gain different temporary abilities, and these are actually fun! I generally haven't been too impressed by these in previous chapters, usually because they were too weak for me to bother, but these abilities are actually some good stuff.

If you choose weapons and shields, you gain a knight's tower shield which slows you down and disables all your regular abilities but allows you to reflect enemy attacks, an anti-personnel rocket that does huge damage (it one-shots silver mobs) and a thermal grenade that does generic AoE. All of these can run out and need constant replenishing as you run through the ship, but they can be a lot of fun to use if you apply them correctly, for example to reflect a major attack by a mini boss.

Choosing the turrets on the other hand provides you with some portable turrets which you can plop down at the beginning of each fight to do extra damage to your enemies and which do a bit of "tanking" for you. Also, all the small turrets that pop out at various points during your journey through the ship will be friendly to you instead of hostile and shoot your enemies. I would say that the turrets are a more straightforward damage boost (and it sure is nice not to have to kill all those pop-up turrets), but the weapons and shields are more fun if you actually care about being engaged by the combat. Also, there are lots of exploding barrels to blow up on the way!

Just one small bug: a certain weapons locker can kill you instantly when you try to open it.

Thusly armed, you make your way through the ship's corridors, taking out bunches of droids and various mini bosses in the process. At one point Koth tries to shoot one for you from outside but fails to kill it - either way you know about his presence after that if you didn't before. After fighting a skytrooper with a big assault cannon, your other companions radio you that they've succeeded at disabling the weapons and shields. You can tell them to return to safety or encourage them to do more damage.

While Theron and Tora work on the omnicannon, Theron notices that the fleet has stopped shooting but appears to be lining up to fire at the flagship instead, which doesn't change your plan but means that you have to hurry up. As you approach the bridge, you notice that you've got a whole bunch of knights on your tail. Lana offers to hold them off, since she sees it as her destiny to enable you to defeat Arcann.

When you meet Arcann, he claims that his grudge isn't actually aimed at you, but only at his father. You can try to tell him that Valkorion is no longer in your head, but he doesn't believe you. When he tries to strike you, you instinctively raise a mental shield that blocks his saber the way Valkorion blocked him in chapter one if you chose not to kneel. This is a kinda cool scene if you're not a Force user but feels a bit contrived if you are. So you are using the Force to defend yourself... big deal?

Arcann is convinced that Valkorion is still tied to you and wants to fight. If you remembered to equip your super special weapon from chapter twelve, you will have some support abilities such as a damage absorption shield or a speed buff at your disposal (depending on your choices), but they are not in any way necessary to win the fight. I actually forgot to equip my special weapon two times out of three.

There is however another special ability that you'll need to pick up. At one point Arcann will become immune to damage, at which point a friendly green arrow will direct you towards picking up a shield similar to the one you might have used earlier. You need to use it to knock Arcann about some by reflecting his attacks, and also use the reflection power to destroy the Force manifestations that he summons. Reflecting attacks also builds up power, which you can eventually unleash against Arcann in the form of a mighty shield slam. This fight was so confusing to me the first time around because I couldn't figure out what to do with the manifestations and why I couldn't reflect a lot of Arcann's attacks (you're meant to get most of your stacks from the manifestations instead). However, eventually you get him down, which is about when the Eternal Fleet ships outside start nuking the flagship. Arcann refuses to surrender if you give him that option, and you strike him hard... then he appears to get buried under some rubble. While chapter eight should have shown us that this isn't a reliable way of getting rid of him, there is no time to worry about whether you really got him... you've got to run.

The omnicannon is back online and all of your companions except Senya are at the shuttle. You're told that you will have to find another way to escape the burning ship. Gee, thanks! Fortunately there are some small patrol ships nearby which you can hijack. As you make your way there, stuff explodes all around you. Fun fact: After dying repeatedly from falling to my death in the previous chapter, I was super careful not to fall into the first hole that opened up in front of me here... but of course that one actually required jumping down!

As soon as you're away, my favourite cut scene of the chapter takes place. Senya digs her way onto the bridge, tearing at the rubble in a way that's quite reminiscent of Vaylin in chapter three, and finds her son's limp body. She is heartbroken and moans about being too late... which is when Vaylin shows up and accuses her of always being too late. Senya pleads with her but Vaylin is inconsolable... and in a perfect mirror of the KotFE cinematic trailer, she makes a running jump to slice her parent in half - which is when it turns out that Arcann isn't quite dead after all, and he pushes Vaylin back. Her outraged "Why?!" at being betrayed once again is chilling. As the ship continues to collapse, she gets away, and Senya focuses on rescuing her remaining son.

You grab one of the scout ships and make your escape. Senya contacts you to let you know that she's alive but won't be joining you because she wants to take Arcann away to redeem him. Koth is outraged by the notion (as usual) but you have the option of letting them get away... or try to shoot down their shuttle. They'll escape either way.

The omnicannon has been repaired and gets used to blow up the flagship... which explodes into a huge ball of glowing... blueish... whiteness? It briefly looks like it might consume you before you can escape, but you do get away. Hurrah, victory! Except if you pissed off Koth in chapter ten, because it turns out that his renewed goodwill towards you was only temporary. He's captured your remaining crew on the Gravestone, ejects them in the escape pods and makes off with what's apparently your only ship. Jerk.

When you return to the base on Odessen, there are a bunch of NPCs cheering for you at the entrance... Bioware's attempt at phasing? Everyone is happy with your achievements (except Koth if he's still around, because he likes to rain on your parade no matter what). Lana emphasises that Scorpio is still a threat, but the battle has brought renewed support from both Republic and Empire. Valkorion's ghost appears briefly and declares that you're ready. (For what?)

Back on the Eternal Throne, we see Scorpio finally taking over command of the entire fleet and then... setting the captains free, causing some of them to shoot off into the galaxy to explore. Vaylin fights her way into the throne room, but Scorpio tells her skytroopers to stand down. Scorpio is surprisingly sympathetic to her situation and offers her the throne. Her own interest was supposedly only in freeing the Gemini droids, whom she refers to as her children. She also offers to stay and teach Vaylin how to destroy her enemies. Vaylin grins and takes her seat as the new Empress.

I know I'm not the only one who was quite confused by this scene. I can sort of buy Scorpio caring about the Gemini droids, though it's weird to see her referring to them as her children when she previously constantly derided them as inferior knock-offs. Was that all pretense? Likewise, while I can sort of believe that she has some sympathy for Vaylin, I don't really get why she would want to stay on as her adviser and offer her the services of her "children" after just making a point of freeing them from servitude. Maybe it will all make sense later.

Then... really, really, really long credits roll! So much for the frequent claims that there's only a "skeleton crew" working on this stuff...

Conclusion

I'm not usually one for hype, but I have to admit that after the brilliance of chapter fifteen, I was pretty excited to see how Bioware would wrap it all up and couldn't wait to come home after work on Tuesday to play the final chapter. When I came in and my pet tank told me that he had found it somewhat disappointing, my heart sank. And sadly, after playing through it myself, I found myself in agreement with him. The Battle of Odessen is by no means a bad chapter, but I didn't feel that it provided a satisfying conclusion to Fallen Empire.

I didn't expect to get closure on every single story thread that had been brought into play over the course of the storyline, because honestly there were a lot of them. However, it actually felt as if nothing was wrapped up at all - really, the only thing that was accomplished was Arcann getting dethroned. However, the Eternal Empire remains as much of a threat as before, Valkorion is still on the loose and we still don't have a clue what he is up to.

I found myself wondering if I had misunderstood KotFE all along. Was it really supposed to be Arcann's story and nothing else? He was absolutely central to the cinematic trailer, that much is true, but I certainly didn't get the impression that he was all that important while playing through the various chapters. We always had those "meanwhile, at the Eternal Throne" cuts to him brooding about something or other, but the only times he actually interacted with the Outlander before this chapter was the very first one, and during the confrontation on Asylum. Yet somehow, the game seemed to expect me to have a deep hatred for him... I found that in this chapter - for the first time in a while for me - my character kept saying things that didn't sound quite right to me. Why am I supposed to dislike him so much? My beef has always been with Valkorion, and then with Zakuul. That Arcann kept making a mess of things as its ruler certainly didn't endear him to me, but it was still never personal. I was oddly reminded of chapter three of the Sith inquisitor class story and how its villain is hell-bent on killing you even though you've never done anything to him. I thought that was pretty annoying. So me realising that Arcann had a similar thing going on with the Outlander was not a good thing.

I suppose the other explanation for the lack of any real resolution is that Bioware really meant to take the whole "we're treating this like a TV show" thing to the next level and therefore decided that they needed to cram enough story hooks into this first season to provide material for the next six years. I can't say I'd be particularly thrilled by this, but I can kind of understand it.

The other thing that bugged me big time was this: Where was our Alliance? I'm not talking about the mechanics of grinding out influence with the Alliance specialists - I never expected that to make a difference because it would be very unlike Bioware to gate story content behind a grind. But even if we completely ignore that, the narrative of the chapters has us recruiting allies and building up our forces. So why then, when Arcann attacks, it's all down to a single ship, plus the very same crew that has been with me since chapter three (give or take a few I guess)? I get that Scorpio's betrayal caught us on the back foot, but I can't believe that the Alliance had literally nothing but the Gravestone to defend itself. No fighter ships to help with distracting the fleet? Even the poor rebels in the movies managed to muster that!

Also, for all the talk about choices mattering, it was quite a blunder to have Arcann survive no matter what. I'm not one of those who expects every choice to split the game into two entirely different experiences, but this was a choice that could have been implemented very easily, based on similar examples that already exist in the game: If you spare Arcann, he and Senya disappear into the far reaches of the galaxy, never to be seen again. If you kill him... well, then both he and Senya are dead. Either way, you don't have to deal with them again and can focus on something else going forward. It really feels like the writers' love of their own characters got the better of them here, wanting to keep their creations alive and available for a future comback at all costs, even if it comes at the expense of the players' agency. Also, we didn't see a pay-off for any of the choices that were presented with so much gravitas in the early chapters, such as whether to kneel to Valkorion and accept his help at various points. It's kind of funny that the one thing that did end up making a significant difference (the whole Koth drama) was based on a choice that didn't feel particularly consequential at the time.

Interestingly, the one area in which this chapter did really well were the mechanics. It's interesting because this is also the one area where many previous chapters floundered, getting clogged up with boring trash or tedious boss fights. Chapter sixteen actually manages to keep things reasonably interesting with a variety of mini bosses and the extra abilities it lets you pick up. I wasn't a huge fan of those in the previous chapters because they were honestly pretty weak most of the time, but in this chapter they are really good and fun. Nothing like taking nearly half a champion mob's health off with that anti-personnel rocket, or reflecting a mini boss' big attack right back at him and killing him in the process. I can see why the final fight against Arcann might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I'll be honest: When I slowly walked up those stairs, preparing for that final shield slam, it felt pretty epic.

All in all, I have mixed feelings about this chapter. It was certainly fun to play through (or I wouldn't have been able to do so three times in four days), and I actually found that it became more enjoyable the second and third time, once my expectations were adjusted. Still, I don't feel that Bioware really delivered what they promised with this storyline. At least Knights of the Eternal Throne isn't too far off, so we won't have to mull over those unanswered questions for too long before things pick up again.

KotFE Chapter by Chapter - Chapter 15: The Gemini Deception

For some reason I had got it into my head that chapter 16 wouldn't release until next week - and was suitably annoyed because I'll be away on holiday during that week. With that in mind, my recent realisation that it's actually coming out this week was quite a pleasant one... except that it also made me realise that I'm out of time to complete my write-up of chapter 15. Oh well, three playthroughs will have to do. If I've missed anything important, feel free to let me know in the comments! Do I even have to mention anymore that there will be spoilers?

Click here to go back to Chapter 14.

For once we don't start with an outside view of the base on Odessen - no, instead we get a great shot of the Gravestone flying through hyperspace. As discussed at the end of the previous chapter, we are now en route to intercepting a lone Eternal Fleet ship, in hopes of being able to hijack it with the help of Gemini Prime.

Senya lectures you about what sort of resistance you should expect upon boarding: skytroopers in the triple figures, which once again leads to some amusing bits of conversation on the subject of just how sick everyone is of skytroopers. Scorpio has figured out a trick to sufficiently confuse the enemy ship's targeting systems to allow a shuttle to approach and board. The Gravestone itself meanwhile remains either in Koth's hands (if he's still around) or Tora's. I have to admit that Tora is funnier to have around, and that's coming from someone who generally likes Koth! You are to take control of the ship with Lana, Senya, Theron and Scorpio while the Prime remains aboard the Gravestone for now since you don't want to risk her getting damaged in the fighting.

The shuttle takes some damage but you manage to successfully land inside the Eternal Fleet ship's hangar. Now the only problem is that it's eerily quiet there, and contrary to Senya's predictions not a single skytrooper shows up. Scorpio suggests that the Captain is acting intelligently and improvising. You can't really do anything but proceed into the lair of the beast.

You get the feeling that shit's about to get real as you finally get to venture forth with no less than four of your main companions... just to have a giant blast door slam down about five steps in, separating you from everyone except Scorpio. Meanwhile the Captain eyes you through a camera and comments on the foolishness of your endeavour, which is somewhat reminiscent of the Imperial agent's first encounter with Scorpio on Belsavis. She is however fascinated by Scorpio, and they once again start arguing about who's superior, which seems to be a thing with droids. The Captain finally sics some skytroopers at each team on both sides of the blast door, which you dispose of without too much difficulty.

Before you can work on getting the door open, the side with most of your companions gets flooded with some kind of gas, forcing them to move away. You and Scorpio continue to explore the ship on your own, with the Captain continuing to test your abilities with more skytroopers, poisonous gas traps, lasers you need to dodge and similar shenanigans. There is also a  bonus mission to explore as much of the ship as possible and gather supplies, which I still haven't fully figured out. Where is that damned skytrooper control device?! (EDIT: You can now find the answer here.)

Eventually you make it towards some sort of control terminal which Scorpio declares "will do". She's had enough of the Captain's games and has decided to take over. She plugs herself into the ship, shuts down the skytroopers, opens the blast doors and announces her intent to erase the Captain. At first it seems to work, but suddenly power starts to surge the other way, the Captain declares herself superior, and Scorpio is fried in her chassis, collapsing to the floor dead (as far as you can say that about a droid).

We cut to a view of the Eternal Throne where Vaylin is clearly getting ready to punish a knight for failing to miraculously prevent the events of chapter 14 - which is funny, considering that she and Arcann were very much aware of the attack on Darvannis and simply couldn't be bothered with it! The knight seems more openly fearful and defiant than we've seen previously, claiming that she doesn't deserve such punishment. Suddenly Arcann becomes aware of the attack on the Eternal Fleet ship and urges Vaylin to accompany him to finally capture the Outlander and their mother. Delighted, she pushes the knight to her death anyway. Arcann is certain that they'll succeed this time.

Returning to the Eternal Fleet ship, Koth/Tora relays that the Gravestone has suffered a power outage, meaning that she's been briefly unable to jam the ship's communication systems, which leads to the Gemini Captain happily announcing that she called for help and that Arcann is on his way. You contact Lana via holo, and she's remarkably unconcerned by Scorpio's death and even refers to it as "one less problem". However, she also claims to have found the ship's cargo from the core worlds and that it will change the plan, asking you to meet up with them again to see it for yourself.

Senya meets you halfway and together you dodge more of the captain's obstacles, including lava streams connected to the ship's sun generator, an elevator getting stopped between floors, a giant skytrooper with sword and shield, and another gas trap, this time with a bunch of droids that continuously try to repair it! I'm not ashamed to confess that I've died to that thing.

Finally you reach Lana and Theron, who reveal the ship's precious cargo - a bunch of valuable prisoners with their entourage: Admiral Zasha Ranken, whom Imperials may remember from the Kuat Drive Yards intro quest; Tai Cordan of the Galactic Senate, former president of Balmorra and friend of the Jedi consular, and finally, an aging Zakuulan starlet called Malita Tal, who encourages her people to defy Arcann. All three have been wanting to join your Alliance.

Okay, that's nice and all, but how was this important and how does it change anything? Our mission is to capture the whole ship, so even if we never got them out of their cells, we would basically be freeing them by default by taking the whole ship along with us, right? Whatever... back to the important stuff, like capturing the bridge!

With Senya in tow you get rid of the last couple of skytroopers and droids in your way and finally face the Gemini Captain herself. She speaks somewhat oddly, as if she's developed a personality she's not supposed to have. This leads to one of the more interesting boss encounters in KotFE so far, as the Captain does decent damage and splits into four parts at several points, forcing you to find the right target to attack.

Once you've subdued her she actually seems delighted, rambling on about how she's kept up her end of the bargain and is free to make her own choices now. You can opine that the battle with Scorpio changed her somehow, which she confirms but doesn't elaborate on. Her final choice is to upload her consciousness into the "hive mind" of the Eternal Fleet and activate the ship's self-destruct mechanism. There is no time to get the Prime on board and try to stop it, so you can only abandon ship.

The escaped prisoners contact you to say that they've made it to the escape pods but can't launch them. Theron explains that he can launch them remotely, but only one at a time and there isn't much of that. You get to decide in which order they get ejected and whichever one you leave until last will get destroyed. It's obvious that this is one of those slightly artificial moral dilemmas (just press the buttons, Theron, don't waste time waiting for me to make a decision) that may not necessarily have any grand consequences on the overall outcome of the story, but it's a great character-building moment and I've seen people make interesting arguments for pretty much every order. Some say that "obviously" Malita Tal should be left to die since she's only a celebrity and can offer no military or political power. Others will leave the members of their former enemy faction to die because... duh! Or they'll abandon those of their own, arguing that the Outlander already has plenty of pull in their old home, making any additional allies there the most expendable.

Anyway, what with all the moral dilemmas to ponder, you mustn't forget to make your escape yourself. The ship is already partially on fire and there are holes in the floor... on my first playthrough I actually died twice to those, not watching my step in my frantic attempts to flee the ship before it explodes. (I know it's not timed, but I got really into it!) This made me tweet that this was the "deadliest chapter yet", which actually got a like from the official SWTOR account itself, hah! You escape just in time, and Arcann and Vaylin also arrive in time to watch you get away... again. Ha-ha!

On the Gravestone the companion from the faction whose prisoners you allowed to die will grouse at you some (Lana for the Imperials, Theron for the Pubs and Senya for the Zakuulans), but for once they are easily appeased.

Vaylin notes an "interesting development" in that the ships outside their sector aren't responding to Arcann's orders anymore, but he doesn't care because he just wants to hunt down the Outlander and his father above everything else now.

Koth/Tora explains how the Gemini Prime broke after an incoming transmission from the Eternal Fleet ship just before Scorpio died.

Finally, we cut to the Eternal Throne, where skytroopers and turrets enter the room and kill all the knights standing guard. Then Scorpio materialises on the throne... somewhat weirdly - at first she looks like a hologram, but then her body suddenly becomes solid? Nice tech there...

She contacts you and tells you that she needed you to believe that she was deactivated. Her real plan was to install herself on the throne as she was apparently after command of the Eternal Fleet all along.

Conclusion

I thought that chapter fifteen was easily the best chapter to be released this year, though I'll be happy if chapter sixteen tops it tomorrow. Chapter thirteen was fun, but this was the first time since chapters one to nine that I was truly immersed in what was happening, gasping or yelling at my screen based on the newest events and forgetting about everything else. My pet tank was quite amused at my loud yelp when I got caught in the first gas trap - it gave me instant flashbacks to suffocating in that dark room on the Theoretika.

There are simply a lot of things that this chapter gets right. A return to the story's "core companions" means that we don't have to waste any time with introductions. A small strike team infiltrating an enemy base against overwhelming odds is very "Star Warsy" and brings to mind events like Princess Leia's rescue from the Death Star in Episode IV. After how thoroughly sick we've all become of skytroopers over the course of the story, their almost complete absence at the start of this chapter is genuinely unsettling, but when they do show up later, they are used sparingly and interspersed with some fun little puzzles to spice things up. The fight against the Gemini Captain is actually moderately challenging and finally moves away from the by now pretty tired pattern of each boss becoming immune to damage for a fixed amount of time while you kill its adds.

And then there is the twist at the end of course. It's not just a surprise but also raises a lot of questions. While Scorpio has obviously betrayed the Alliance, it isn't clear to what extent. Seeing how she's only ever shown an interest in self-improvement, what does she want to rule Zakuul for? Does she harbour ambitions similar to Mentor from Directive 7? Or is it more about generic accumulation of knowledge and power, which might not be totally at odds with the Alliance? Are Arcann and Vaylin even still a threat, having been stripped of much of their power just like that? I'm excited to find out tomorrow!

Onwards to Chapter 16!

KotFE Chapter by Chapter - Chapter 14: Mandalore's Revenge

Apparently this chapter was originally going to be called "Mandalore the Avenger" but then Bioware decided that a mere mention of there being a new Mandalore was too much of a spoiler? Seems a bit odd to me. Either way, time to get into some real spoilers.

Click here to go back to Chapter 13.

Another outside view of Odessen base (sorry) transitions to yet another strategy meeting of the Alliance leadership, except that this time only Lana, Senya, Scorpio and Theron (via holocall) are present. Everyone else is "out patrolling", which is a nice way of not having to worry about which characters can be included and which ones may have been driven off or killed due to player decisions in previous chapters.

Scorpio has new information about the Gemini network that controls the Eternal Fleet - it can't be subverted from outside because every ship is captained by a droid based on her design, something the player has already sort of known or at least suspected since the cut scene that finished off chapter seven. She doesn't like this and wants to get to the bottom of it. She's also found out that all captains are moulded after a physical template called the Prime, which is stored in a factory on the planet Darvannis.

The name Darvannis will make the ears of old-school raiders perk up - while newer players might think it just another new planet, the desert planet Darvannis has actually been in game since Rise of the Hutt Cartel, as it's where the operation Scum and Villainy takes place. In my guild at least, this led to some humorous moments when this chapter was launched, such as an ops leader logging in on patch day and being absolutely bewildered to find everyone already (seemingly) in an operation, and in three different instances of it to boot. This is the first time that a location from inside an operation or flashpoint has successfully transitioned to the "outside world".

Senya and Lana inform you that the factory is too large to be taken by a mere strike team, and Lana cautions that you don't have the forces for a large scale assault. However, Theron claims to have called in some favours in the Outer Rim that should get you enough allies to go through with the operation, though he doesn't want to give any more details over the holo.

As you land on Darvannis, the nature of your allies becomes apparent very quickly (and not just because of Vode An playing in the background) - it's the Mandalorians, now led by Shae Vizla aka "Mandalore the Avenger". Apparently the Mandalorians haven't got along with the Eternal Empire either and are eager for an opportunity to actually hurt it, plus raiding the giant factory should result in lots of armour and weapons for them. They already have teams deployed hammering away it, trying to get its shield generator down. Shae (I can still call her Shae, right? Mandalore is so formal...) suggests that you could help by capturing the nearby perimeter guns and aiming them at the factory as well. As support she assigns you a certain, totally random Mandalorian called Torian Cadera... whom bounty hunter players will of course be happy to see, especially if they romanced him, though there isn't enough time for an extended reunion at this point.

You get a bonus mission to pick up some Mandalorian gear, which then leads to you killing three Zakuulan walkers and gives you three extra buttons to press for the rest of the chapter if you like that sort of thing. Otherwise you just fight your way to the three perimeter guns and reprogram them to fire at the factory. There are a lot of skytroopers in the way, but since this is an open world area, you can benefit from other people clearing them out or at least distracting them for you occasionally. While making your way around, you hear various Mandalorians giving status updates about their own progress and generally expressing their bloodlust, as Mandalorians are wont to do. Even Jos and Valk from Blood Hunt are here!

Once you've reprogrammed all the guns, you get to fire them... except a whole bunch of Mandalorians have been trapped inside the perimeter. The dark side and Torian are in favour of blowing them to smithereens along with everything else because apparently there is no honour in dying to droids, but you can order him to change the guns' targets to create an opening so the Mandos can escape instead.

We cut to a view of the Eternal Throne where Arcann and Vaylin watch the Mandalorians' suicidal attacks with a mix of bewilderment and amusement. Vaylin shows just how disturbed she is once again by going on about how the Fleet should burn them all to glass so they can be turned into a pretty window, however Arcann is convinced that they will eventually exhaust themselves on the defenses anyway, without the need for intervention.

You return to camp to find Shae's second in command, Khomo Fett, holding a speech about the honourable deaths of the Mandalorians who died fighting mindless droids... I wonder if I'm the only one who initially found this scene a bit confusing, as he does sound quite sincere in that boasty way that Mandalorians have... but Shae frowns at him and Torian tells him to not mock the dead. You can ask about why they are acting so weird when it comes to the subject of fighting droids and Shae explains that they've been fighting them in such huge numbers since the rise of the Eternal Empire that killing them has pretty much lost all meaning. Khomo likens dying to a droid to "falling off a cliff".

Before the next assault it's time for a little catch-up with Torian and for a Mandalorian "party", which means people shoving and punching each other at random and shooting holes into the ceiling. (Sadly it's just a brief cut scene and you don't get to participate actively.) The next morning an attack on the factory's power stations is planned, while you and Torian are supposed to distract Zakuulan forces at a nearby tactical outpost. Time to kill more droids while Mandalorians shout things over the comm!

Once you've finished up, Lana calls you on the holo to let you know that Theron has procured schematics for the factory, which should help with assaulting it. She also warns you not to trust the Mandalorians too much, likening them to wild animals.

Up next, it's time for the main assault. Khomo already dreams of all the glory that will follow once you win. You explain that your own target is the Gemini Prime droid, which the Mandalorians are all too happy to let you have while they get the rest of the spoils. Shae expresses worry about the factory being a bit of a death trap, at which point you can offer to share the schematics or withhold that information. Finally, she steps on a crate outside to hold a rousing speech for the assembled Mandalorians, explaining that while today's fight isn't that honourable by their standards, it will ultimately lead to much greater things.

You and Torian set out to recover the Prime. Time for yet more droid killing while Mandalorians transmit their death cries! There's another boss fight featuring the tiresome "immune to damage until you kill all the slowly spawning adds" mechanic. Then you get notified that hundreds of droid reinforcements are on the way, and Torian offers to hold them off on his own while you get the Prime. Um, sure, buddy! Before that he just wants you to know that he overheard your conversation with Lana and that Mandalorians are not animals.

We briefly cut to the Eternal Throne again, where Vaylin in particular is displeased that Arcann's not following her advice seems to once again not have worked out so well. Arcann realises that it must be the Outlander who's to blame for the Mandalorians' renewed fervour, but Vaylin points out that it's too late now to send the fleet to stop them. Nonetheless Arcann feels that he's been sitting on the throne for too long (no kidding, he doesn't seem to spend time anywhere else) and asks for his flagship to be readied.

You find Gemini Prime floating in a sort of stasis tube. She is not pleased by your interference but maintains a sort of detached curiosity. She identifies Scorpio as familiar but claims that instead of her being a copy, they both come from the same source, the so-called Luminous Engine. Scorpio doesn't want to hear any of it and just urges you to remove the Prime quickly. You can allow her to disconnect herself or remove her forcefully.

As you load the frozen Prime into your shuttle, you observe the Mandalorian wounded and the counting of casualties. Torian has survived somehow, what a shock. If you withheld the factory schematics, both Khomo and Shae are pretty angry about the casualties and kind of questioning whether it was all worth it. Otherwise they are super happy about their victory, with Khomo already dreaming of the next big battle, and you sort of suggest that they should redirect their energy elsewhere, whether it be helping Zakuul rebuild or attacking your former enemy faction. Torian joins you as a companion as he is assigned to you as your new Mandalorian liason.

Back on Zakuul, Scorpio is analysing the Prime's brain and says that she will soon be able to locate all Gemini units. She still can't control them remotely, but she thinks that she could gain control of the fleet via the Prime if they could plug her into the command console of one of the Eternal Fleet ships. She's also already located a suitable target: a lone Eternal Fleet ship making a transport run in a nearby system. There isn't much time to intercept it, and you may not get such a good chance again. It's time to go on the offensive.

Conclusion

I just mentioned in my last Flashpoint Friday that I'm not overly fond of the Mandalorians, so what did I think of a chapter entirely dedicated to them? Well, actually I liked it well enough, even if it couldn't match the greatness of chapter thirteen, but that doesn't really have anything to do with the subject matter. In fact, I did like the way the Mandalorians were handled in this context. It was interesting to see the introduction of another major faction that still wields some fighting power and also opposes the Eternal Fleet. On my trooper I also got a nice line in about how the Mandalorians are pretty much just another type of soldier and are at least easier to understand than all that Force stuff.

On Twitter I joked that the chapter had a certain kind of meta humour to it, considering that we, the players, have been complaining about the overabundance of skytroopers for months and here are the Mandalorians, having pretty much the same issue. The fact that Darvannis is actually an open planet that you can revisit outside of the chapter feels like another small favour to the player base's clamouring for more planets, though the actually accessible area is quite small. Also, there isn't really any reason to go there outside of the chapter's story, unless you really enjoy gathering grade nine crafting materials out in the world.

What I found the most striking about this chapter however was how "old school" it feels. There aren't many fancy cut scenes, and the pacing is more akin to something you might find in the original levelling game: lots of conversation, then you run around and kill things, then another conversation, then you go to the other end of the map and kill things again. I'm actually kind of unsure how I feel about this - on the one hand I really like how immersive the newer format introduced by KotFE feels, but on the other hand it can almost be exhausting to play through an hour-long chapter that doesn't offer many good opportunities to have a break. Chapter fourteen is less exciting than many previous chapters, but I'm finding it fairly chill to replay since it's very clearly segmented, and the skytrooper fighting bits can be as long or as short as you want to make them.

Looking at the wider community, the reaction to this chapter seemed to be fairly calm if you weren't a big fan of the Mandalorians already. Those that liked it thought that it was nice and those that didn't thought it was kind of boring, but it didn't seem to excite people very much either way. It's easy to see why: Chapter fourteen doesn't have any great moments that make you gasp or laugh (though I liked Torian's letter afterwards where he comments that members of the Alliance like his hair...) but it continues the story in a solid way and one can only wonder what's coming up next now that the Alliance actually has a plan of attack... we'll find out in the next chapter!

Onwards to Chapter 15!

KotFE Chapter by Chapter - Chapter 13: Profit and Plunder

Finally! Preparing for the write-up of this chapter took some time as I really wanted to be able to comment on it from a bounty hunter's point of view as well, which meant dragging another alt through KotFE. I do think it was worth it though. Without further ado, let's jump right in! As usual, there will be spoilers.

Click here to go back to Chapter 12.

For the third time in a row, the intro screen is an outside view of Odessen base, because clearly Bioware is worried that a month between chapters might be enough time for us to forget where we are.

Chapter 12 ended with a massive cliffhanger, with both Kaliyo and Havoc Squad having gone MIA while on a mission on Zakuul that could make all the difference in the fight against Arcann. Chapter 13 decides to not immediately resolve this, as you are told that everything within a kilometre of the Spire has been locked down and there is absolutely nothing you can do about this. Never mind that you've been traipsing around Zakuul right under Arcann's nose in no less than three previous chapters... this time, it's suddenly completely impossible to do anything at all to help your companions. Sorry!

And now for something completely different: Hylo Visz wants to speak to you. She awaits you in the military hangar - come on, guys, you're not allowed to leave your respective "zones"; it's confusing! Hylo tells you that the Alliance is strapped for cash and that she wants you to meet a contact who might be able to help with that. You find him at the sabacc table, where he's just beaten Lana at the game, apparently by managing to cheat even the former minister of Sith Intelligence. It's Gault, the infamous former bounty hunter companion. As a bounty hunter, this reunion is filled with some great and hilarious lines of deadpan humour. Otherwise, Hylo just introduces him as an "untrustworthy scoundrel".

Gault outlines his plan to fund the Alliance: It involves raiding the Gilded Star, the Eternal Empire's top secret flying treasury, which is supposed to contain the largest collection of wealth "since the Hutt Empire was a thing". He's come to you because he can't execute his plan alone, and all he wants is his fair share of the loot. You agree that this sounds like a good deal, which soon has Gault taking you and a few select companions to the gas giant Vandin, where the Gilded Star is hiding and some last preparations need to be made.

First you need to hunt down the last member of Gault's "crew", an Anomid identity forger called Dretcher, who previously created the body double that allowed Gault to join the bounty hunter's crew. Dretcher has been living the life of a hermit inside a shipping container ever since a falling-out with Gault ruined his reputation and got him in trouble, but Gault has relocated his "home" to Vandin and wants him to come back out to work with you. Initially Dretcher is very hostile, siccing some droids on you, but after you dispatch them with ease he is forced to listen to what you have to say. You can either convince him in a peaceful manner or threaten to kill him inside his container while making Wookiee noises.

After successfully recruiting Dretcher, your next stop is a gang of Nikto pirates from whom Gault wants to buy a giant missile. Except he actually needs only the missile's warhead and wants to haggle about the price because of this. When the Nikto pull their guns on him, he activates the missile's launch sequence. As it starts its countdown to destruction in a high-pitched female voice that many players will find familiar, the pirates make a run for it. Gault tries to abort the launch sequence right afterwards, but it doesn't seem to be working. After a few seconds of panic, a hatch on top of the missile pops open and out comes Vette, laughing about her brilliant joke and carrying the warhead. Gault introduces her as his partner in crime. If you're a Sith Warrior, there is a brief moment of mutual surprised recognition before she walks off - unless you romanced her, in which case she will tell Gault to beat it and be by your side for the next bit instead of Gault.

The fleeing pirates triggered a security lockdown which you have to lift again by stealing security spikes from droids. As a bonus mission you can also take out various members of the Nikto's "Brekken Gang" while doing so. Once that's all done, you reunite with Vette/Gault and your other companions, as Gault explains the actual details of his plan.

The Gilded Star usually hides in the lower atmosphere of Vandin but has to come up for resupply once a year, which is when you intend to strike. Senya opines that it's too heavily guarded to infiltrate and reveals that overseeing its security was once among her own duties. Gault has a special plan for infiltration though: As a close genetic match, Senya is supposed to pose as Vaylin with the help of Dretcher and help Scorpio get to the bridge so she can take control of the ship. (One has to wonder how Gault knows about Senya and Vaylin's special relationship as it isn't generally treated as common knowledge.) Once that's done, the Outlander is supposed to follow with Vette and Gault, with Vette climbing into the guts of the ship to manually disable the vault's locks. Gault will then deposit the warhead inside the vault and use it to vaporise the contents (since the vault is designed to withstand huge explosions from the outside, it also works from the inside), so they can then easily be hoovered up by a tanker that Lana is supposed to connect to the ship. Then you "just" have to make a run for it before anyone has time to really react to the explosion.

After this talk, Sith warriors get a chance for a brief heart-to-heart with Vette (romantic if applicable) and bounty hunters get a chance to talk to Gault. On my female Sith warrior I found Vette to be strangely apologetic about the joke with the missile as well as for not trying harder to find me. You can reassure her that it's OK or be mean about it all. I couldn't find any footage of it, but apparently this bit of conversation even considers if you took the shock collar off during the class story, and if you didn't, she'll basically hate you.

On a bounty hunter, Gault tells you how your companions spent quite some time searching for you after your disappearance (even that "tumor" Skadge, as he refers to him), but eventually it just seemed pointless. Personally I liked how there was acknowledgement here of how Mako and Torian had become a couple in my bounty hunter's class story.

The next day, you watch the Gilded Star emerge from the clouds with Gault and Vette. You can have a fun little side conversation here, quizzing Gault about how he beat Lana at sabacc (which I missed the first couple of times since I never chose that particular conversation option). Scorpio and Senya (disguised as Vaylin) start the infiltration process as planned. As soon as they hold the bridge, you follow with Gault and Vette, both of whom will fight by your side at once for most of the rest of the chapter. Having two companions out at the same time is pretty neat. Scorpio promises to keep reinforcements off your back but you do have to dispose of some skytroopers and ship personnel on the way.

You find a panel that allows Vette to climb into the ship's insides to disable the vault mechanism while you continue clearing a path for Gault. Once you reach the vault, Vette manages to open the door for you and it does indeed contain incredible riches, mostly in bar form. You plant and detonate the warhead as planned and Lana shows up with the tanker to hoover up the vaporised goods.

As the explosion hasn't gone unnoticed and Scorpio and Senya need to vacate the bridge, it's time for you to make a run for it. Vette rejoins you with a giant assault cannon that she picked up on the way and which she has fondly named "Spewy". You repeatedly have to take detours to get around closing blast doors, and when you finally reach the sky hook, you can't take it because the lift's already busy... with Vaylin in it. What is it with this woman and always showing up in the wrong place at the wrong time? Gault declares that it's time for "Plan B": run and hope for a Plan C. Specifically he's hoping to scale the sky hook's exterior. So you run back into the ship, looking to exit it at another point.

After fighting off a skytrooper mini boss who has that annoying mechanic of repeatedly becoming immune to all damage until you've killed off half a zillion weak adds, you get cornered and Gault declares Plan C to be "jump". You take a leap of faith off the ship and land on top of a shuttle piloted by Hylo, who has come to your rescue. Hylo and Gault kiss afterwards, finally revealing to non-bounty hunter characters that they are an item. Vaylin is shown arriving on the Gilded Star, infuriated to have been too late once again, though at least you surely weren't able to achieve much in the time you were there... the moment when she opens the vault and finds it destroyed and empty is priceless.

Back on Odessen, it's time to divide the spoils. Hylo confirms that it's way more than the Alliance needs, so you can opt to use it expand, be charitable with it or give some to Gault for an "investment". Both Gault and Vette state that they would like to hang around and everyone gets ready to party when Theron receives a call that Aric Jorgan and Kaliyo have returned. You meet them in the hangar... along with a bunch of coffins draped in Republic flags. Kaliyo and Aric are arguing about whose fault it was that the mission failed and that four people died (as new Havoc had five members next to Jorgan, one has to wonder who's the one person that got away). The best they managed to do was grab a datacore with more information about the droids before they escaped.

This can go a bunch of different ways. You can act calm, say that you're glad that at least the two of them are alive or you can rage at them for making a mess of things. If whoever went in second did so against your direct orders, Theron points out that they need to be punished for disobedience. You can dish out a variety of punishments ranging from putting both of them on clean-up duty, to exile, to actually killing one of them personally. I watched some videos of this, as one of the few characters on which I could actually imagine killing Kaliyo hadn't ordered her to stand down (and the killing is only an option if she disobeyed a direct order). It's extra harsh if the one you kill was a love interest before!

We close with another view of the Eternal Throne, where Vaylin is fantasizing about torturing Senya before killing her, angry about how weak the loss of the treasury must make them look. For once Arcann seems more pensive, remembering their mother as she used to be and not too bothered by the theft, as he is convinced that he's still fearsome enough as it is.

Conclusion

This chapter was easily the most well-received so far on release, to the point that even the commenters on Dulfy had good things to say about it. It's easy to see why though - after all it features the return of one of the game's most popular companions: Vette. Gault isn't quite as popular, among other reasons because of the flaws in his "acquisition story", but once you got over that I always considered him to be very fun to have around. More than anything though, the two characters make a great team, making for a chapter sprinkled with clever and amusing dialogue and one that's just plain fun to play through. On top of that, both warriors and bounty hunters will encounter some satisfying references to their class stories here.

The ending also has the potential to deliver quite an emotional punch, based on your previous dialogue choices. You haven't seen heart-breaking until you've seen a female trooper execute her husband!

If I had to criticise anything it would be that the first half can make your character feel a bit passive, as you mostly listen to Gault explaining his plan and follow him around as he puts things in motion. If you don't like him very much, it can feel a bit tedious to have him talk your head off, and very straight-laced light side characters might also dislike some of his methods. The overall placement of this chapter is also a bit odd, and it seems weird that everyone is so happy to just completely forget about Kaliyo and Jorgan the moment they become inconvenient to reach. Finally, I was also a bit disappointed that Vette can't continue to use assault cannons after this chapter...

However, in the end none of those things detract from the chapter in a major way, and it's undoubtedly one of the more solid pieces of content we've seen added to the game since KotFE.

Onwards to Chapter 14!

KotFE Chapter by Chapter - Chapter 12: Visions in the Dark

Nearly there, only two chapters behind now! At this point, the Outlander has a steadily growing Alliance at her disposal but not much else. Will this chapter finally bring some actual progress? Spoilers say yes.

Click here to go back to Chapter 11.

After he stayed completely quiet during the previous chapter, we already knew from the preview images that this chapter would feature the return of Valkorion in some manner. But in what way?

The chapter starts with another meeting of your crew in the war room. Using the data you stole in the previous two chapters, Scorpio was able to pinpoint a relay station under the Spire from which all the commands to the Eternal Fleet originate. It's easy to see why this is a powerful piece of intel: If you could get in there, you could disrupt Arcann's control over the fleet or bring it under your own command! However, everyone disagrees about what exactly should be done to make the best use out of this. Kaliyo is in favour of the "taking over" approach (with her doing all the infiltrating), while Jorgan sees blowing up the relay and thereby robbing Arcann of control as a perfect mission for Havoc Squad. You have to put your faith in one or the other.

After that, Lana suddenly advises you to consult with Valkorion because he knows the Spire better than anyone else. Okay, first off: Since when do we want to take advice from Valkorion? Secondly: So far he's only ever come out to talk whenever it suited him, not me, what makes us think that he'll suddenly be up for a chat? Sadly, neither of those questions are an option, instead you get told to "travel to a secluded area" to speak with Valkorion. This just adds another level of weirdness, because why is seclusion necessary? I get that my character might not want to start talking to herself like a madwoman in front of everyone else, but getting a little bit of privacy hardly requires you to travel out into the middle of the forest.

The cherry on top is that you then have to pick up a backpack of survival gear. Just what do you expect to happen while having a little chat with Valkorion? This is oddly prescient to say the least. Njessi humorously likened the survival gear to Dora the Explorer's talking backpack, and it's clearly designed to replace your healer companion while you're all alone with Valkorion. What, not everyone runs with a healer companion? Perish the thought! As a tank or healer, get ready for some tediously long fights while you have minimal dps at your disposal.

That said, the Odessen Wilds are pretty damn beautiful. Ever since I first set foot on Odessen I wanted to see more of the planet, and while what you see in this chapter is pretty limited and somewhat "spoiled" by it being night-time, it's better than nothing. By a little pool you manage to call forth Valkorion to chat, however he is not pleased to be bossed around like that and knocks you out with a blast of Force power. When you wake up, you are elsewhere in the forest and unable to reach your companions via comms. Valkorion whispers in your ear that he needs to teach you a lesson.

You make your way around the forest slaughtering aggressive wildlife while Valkorion keeps lecturing you about how you're only alive because of his intervention, how weak you are, how you're not living up to your destiny etc.. If you're dark side and have accepted his help pretty much every step of the way, this is a bit confusing. There are neat little stone cairns around the environment which you can jump to, however as far as I an tell they neither help you with avoiding the stalkers nor do they really speed you up in most places - they are just a little bit of fun.

Valkorion keeps going on about how you need to become something greater than you are right now and that your only alternative to certain death is to claim the Eternal Throne for yourself and reshape the galaxy. You duke it out for a bit, until he suddenly says that he can't stay to "protect you" any longer because he has other matters to attend to... and with that, he leaves. He claims to leave you with a final token of his favour, which shows you being gripped by Force energy until you pass out.

Meanwhile, at the Eternal Throne... Arcann is sulking because his father won't face him, and he and Vaylin think of Thexan once again. Vaylin comments that "he was a good brother", in a tone that seems to imply that Arcann isn't. He points out that it was him who freed her from their father's control, and she assures him that her support lies "here". (But is that really with him or just with the throne?)

You awake inside a grounded spaceship quite similar to those that Jedi characters travel in. Surveying the area for details reveals that it seems to belong to a Jedi as well, and one that has been staying here for a while. As a non-Force user, you'll also find yourself imbued with a sudden power to tame an animal to be your temporary companion - Force users achieve the same effect by briefly meditating at a nearby stone circle. Making friends with baby sleens is pretty fun!

Eventually you find the owner of the camp, and it turns out to be Satele Shan. So her and Darth Marr's Force ghost really are on Odessen as seen at the end of chapter nine! Sadly there is no "why have you been hiding in the woods all this time" conversation option. Satele sounds older and more tired - she admits that she failed at defending the Republic against Zakuul and has been hanging out on Odessen pretty much ever since. However, she feels that she has learned a lot in the meantime and asks you to follow her along a path lined with beacons that you are told to light, which is very reminiscent of a quest that young Jedi can do on Tython.

Once you've done so, she reveals that Odessen is a nexus in the Force where light and dark are perfectly balanced - and that Zakuul is another such world. She says that the Knights of Zakuul have mastered the use of the Force in a different way and that you too must overcome your old teachings to defeat them. You can point out that this sounds suspiciously like what Valkorion has been going on about, which causes Darth Marr's ghost to appear with a thundering: "We are nothing like that man!" He explains how he and Satele met up, argued and came to an understanding about the Force that they now want to pass on to you. Victory over Arcann will require both new perspectives and new weapons... so you're tasked with picking up various bits and bobs that they left lying around the wilderness for you before meeting them in a cave. While doing so, you hear their voices in your head some more, comparing the Force to a river and giving similar advice to Valkorion: that you need to find a new way of interacting with the Force and that your destiny lies with the Eternal Throne.

You make it to the cave and... Vaylin is there! Fortunately it turns out that instead of this being the lamest plot twist ever, she's just a vision - though you have to fight and defeat her anyway. Satele and Marr see it is a warning from the Force and say that you need to forge a new weapon to channel the Force against Arcann. Both offer to add some of their own power into it as well, but you can reject the help of one of them if you want. If you are a Force user, you get a cool cut scene of you forging a new lightsaber at the forge in the cave. If you're not a Force user, you awkwardly hammer away at it and then step away with a look of slight confusion at your new and magical assault cannon/blaster pistol/rifle.

Satele and Marr finish off with some words about leadership and where they've gone wrong. Your final lesson is supposed to wait in a nearby oasis. Just outside of it, you kill two young cave Jorgans Jurgorans, just to run into their mother inside. You can kill her, try to calm her or simply stare her down - both of the latter will result in her leaving peacefully.

Satele and Marr appear for one last goodbye, saying that the Force now wants them to go elsewhere and that it's their duty to follow its path. You can try to convince them otherwise, but they will ignore you. If you're evil you can even try to kill Satele, though she'll hold you off seemingly without effort.

You manage to escape the wilds and return to the Alliance base, just in time to see Kaliyo and Jorgan finish up their missions related to the hyperwave relay. Lana asks where you've been but the matter at hand is more important. Whoever you sent in to strike the main blow gets surprised by a bunch of Knights of Zakuul and loses contact. The other party will then insist on following up and completing the mission. You can order them to stand down but they'll ignore you either way and cut the comm. The mission ends on a cliffhanger, with you being unsure of what's happening at the Spire.

Conclusion

After the lukewarm reception the previous chapters received for feeling a bit like slightly more elaborate Alliance alerts, this chapter was a welcome breath of fresh air. People praised it for bringing back that Star Wars or even KOTOR feeling, and the story finally seemed to be going somewhere. I saw only very few complaints about the nonsensical setup at the start, but I think we were all just glad to get back to the Force, the subject of Valkorion and the fate of the Outlander.

The strong Force focus also elicited some criticism though - tech users felt more out of place than ever, being lectured about the Force while forging a magical gun. And while some welcomed the more "grey" approach to the Force that Satele and Marr preach in this chapter as a different take on the subject, others were wary of the conflict between light and dark being too much of a core tenet of Star Wars to be treated like this.

Gameplay-wise the chapter wasn't particularly exciting but not bad either. The map felt at least a little more open than in previous chapters (even if it's still very linear) as well as being just plain beautiful, and small touches like the cairns and animal companions added a bit of fun. The stealthy stalkers could get a bit annoying after a while, but at least they were not skytroopers. The lack of a companion sadly made the "boss fights" kind of tedious for people playing non-dps characters.

Story-wise we saw more hints of dissent among Arcann and Vaylin and the Outlander's role is thrown into sharp focus by both Valkorion as well as the Shan-Marr duo obsessing over what you should and shouldn't do. It's worrying how similar their advice is, even if they claim to be nothing alike! The biggest surprise was without a doubt Vakorion deciding to leave your head, as it was previously implied that he was kind of "stuck" with you and that this was the only reason he cared about your fate. Him being able to leave certainly casts his actions in a new light, even if his motivations remain a mystery.

Onwards to Chapter 13!

KotFE Chapter by Chapter - Chapter 11: Disavowed

Yes, I'm back with yet another chapter discussion - I feel like I'm on a roll here. As usual, beware of spoilers.

Click here to go back to Chapter 10. 

If Koth left you in the last chapter, this one starts with an awkward little chat with Tora in which she assures you that both she and the rest of Koth's crew are still loyal to you - not out of any sort of sense of sentimentality mind you, but simply because you're the one who pays the bills.

Soon afterwards (and this is where the chapter starts if Koth hasn't left you), Theron Shan summons you to talk to you about some new potential allies. Hm, when have we heard that before? Apparently sharing some of the data you secured from the Overwatch with an SIS contact of his (Jonas Balkar from the trooper class story, if you must know) has inclined the infamous Havoc Squad favourably towards you. (I commented on how as a trooper, you seem curiously disinterested in this.) Theron wants you to be the one to recruit them, as he can't openly be seen to "poach" Republic troops. Once again, he's set up a meeting on Zakuul - where else?

You meet Havoc Squad in the swamp there, now under the leadership of former trooper companion Aric Jorgan, but otherwise consisting of a whole new bunch of people. If you're a trooper, he's happy to see you and the whole squad salutes you, otherwise his reaction ranges from grudging admiration for you to healthy skepticism about your motives. Either way he admits that they are on an operation with which they could use your help. At that moment, skytroopers crash the meeting and you have to fight them off.

Aric orders his squad to split up and make their way back to camp, while he will do the same in your company. On the way you run into a new type of skytrooper - they have little flashlights on their heads! Totally different experience, man! While Jorgan scouts the area through the scope of his sniper rifle, you get to watch his backside (quite literally!) while he quizzes you about Arcann and complains about how disenchanted he feels with the Republic's leadership since Saresh seems to have abandoned all principles in her quest for absolute victory.

Suddenly you spot some civilians being chased by skytroopers and of course you have to help them out. You can protest, but Aric will insist on helping them anyway. They tell you that skytroopers showed up out of nowhere to drive them out of their homes in the swamp and beg for you to go and rescue their friends as well. Again, you can protest that this is a waste of time, but Jorgan wants to do it and since you're there to get on his good side you kind of have to go along with his wishes for now.

You clear the nearby village of skytroopers and evacuate its inhabitants, but they are not actually that pleased to be rescued by you because they blame you for the fact that the attack even happened, as the skytroopers were out searching for you. Previously they were "just" exiles, cast out from Zakuul for daring to doubt the Emperor and his policies. Jorgan offers to take them to Havoc's camp to help them to the best of your ability (again, you get no option to veto this), so you have to clear a bit of a path through the swamp. Once you arrive at camp, Jorgan has a bit of a personal conversation with you if you are a trooper about what both of you have been up to, otherwise he just reiterates that he's in charge of Havoc Squad, not you, and tells you to go to bed.

The next morning you have a war council with Theron, Havoc Squad and one of the exiles, who is a lot more grateful and appreciative after a good night's sleep. The data Theron leaked to the SIS has given Havoc a target in the form of a planetary transmitter that they want to wiretap. You are supposed to come along to this, and your Alliance is needed to provide a major distraction. You agree to provide this.

You and Aric assault the Outpost together while Havoc Squad covers you. Thanks to the distraction there are relatively few enemies in the base, however you have to solve a little puzzle to get past a forcefield. Eventually you successfully bug the transmitter, however the enemy is alerted to your presence and you have to fight your way back out through reinforcements, which includes an (in my opinion) reasonably interesting fight against a battle droid.

You reunite with Havoc Squad but get cornered by a bunch of skytroopers... which isn't as convincing a threat as it's supposed to be, considering the ease with which you've been offing these guys even while all on your own. Luckily however, a bunch of exiles show up with stolen weaponry and open a breach for you. They explain that after having been protected all of their lives, they finally want to fight for themselves.

You all agree that the mission was a success, and Aric is excited by the idea of Arcann involuntarily breeding his own resistance in the swamp, to the point where he offers to stay there with Havoc to train the exiles as proper fighters. You can approve this or note that it's a waste of talent as Havoc's abilities are needed elsewhere. Note that Koth (if he's still with you) won't really be entirely happy with either option! There's just no pleasing that man.

The chapter ends on Odessen with your companions doing their usual bickering. You go to "relax" in the cantina, but all that happens is that Nico (or Hylo, if you haven't recruited Nico) comes to sit across from you, nods, and then you get called back to the war room because Scorpio made an important new discovery. In one of the transmissions you've been able to monitor thanks to the wiretap, she's found something called the Gemini frequency, which is used to communicate with the Eternal Fleet. You instruct your companions to work out a plan of attack that makes use of this new information.

Conclusion

Chapter eleven's launch was marred by some annoying bugs, such as Aric showing up in nothing but his undies, however otherwise it felt like a step up from chapter ten, if not by much.

People criticised it for feeling too short, as well as being yet another recruitment mission that didn't really seem to advance the story very much (though the discovery of the Gemini frequency at the end seemed to at least hint at larger things). Some people also seemed to get quite annoyed with the door puzzle, though personally I thought that was a nice change of pace. I also didn't mind the shortness too much - it was certainly preferable to the chapter being stuffed with unnecessary skytrooper padding like chapter ten. The only point where it felt like something was maybe cut out was the little cantina scene near the end, which didn't seem to actually do anything other than mark that some time had passed since you last spoke to Scorpio.

I admit that I'm biased here since my main is a trooper and I found the trooper-exclusive bits of dialogue to be very satisfying, but I also thought that Jorgan was a less offensive choice of mandatory story companion than Kaliyo. Sure, he's not exactly universally beloved either, but at least wanting to recruit a bunch of elite soldiers onto your team makes some sense regardless of your character's alignment. Personally I would have appreciated an opportunity to learn a bit more about the new Havoc Squad, especially as a trooper, but I can understand that resources for that kind of thing are limited.

We also learn a bit more about Zakuulan dissenters, though to be honest I didn't feel that they got a lot of characterisation. There's also a bit of a lack of interesting choices in this chapter, as you get shot down every time you disagree with Aric and then grudgingly go along with his opinion anyway. Overall, a fun chapter for troopers but probably a bit boring for everyone else.

Onwards to Chapter 12!