Zek's Guide to the Light Powers(Preliminary)

[Zek]

Lately I've been seeing a lot of people using the Light Side because of the Dark nerfs, but none of them really seem to be using it very efficiently at all. I decided I'd write up a little guide on suggested ways to make proper use of your abilities as a Light Jedi: I might make this more of a full Light Jedi guide if I get good feedback.

 

Disclaimer: This guide, at the moment, is primarily intended for force duels in 1.03; maybe if I add more to it I'll put in FFA strategies and such, but right now it's just for duel mode games or 1v1 fights without force limitations

 

Here's how it works; I'll list the various powers available, suggestions for how high to take it, and then strategies for using it against Light Jedi, Dark Jedi, and countering other people's use of it.

 

***Neutral Powers***

 

Jump - Pretty much non-combat related except for kick. Level 2 is required for kick and acrobatics, but 3's primary benefit is making the shorter jumps cheaper.

Recommended Level: At least 2 for kick. 3 if you jump a lot and don't want to waste too much force doing it.

Uses vs. Anyone: The kick is only useful in a select few situations, but it does about 20 damage and goes right through shields when you can pull it off. It's especially useful for interrupting heavy swings; if you can kick them fast enough it'll knock them back, and they'll be left open after missing the swing. Also occasionally useful for making space for yourself if you just got up from being knocked down. If you really don't like the doubletap for kicking people, you can kick them sideways and you'll only have to tap once.

Counters: Don't run straight at them very often and they'll rarely be able to kick you. Simple as that.

 

Push - Useful for knocking people down to get a free hit in, and pushing them away if they use long swings.

Recommended Level: Take to 3 if you want to knock people down reliably; otherwise, 2 will do.

Uses vs. Anyone: To knock them down, watch for an opening of any kind(them swinging being the largest one), get as close as possible, and push them. You should be able to hit them once or twice when they're on the ground, though they can still sometimes block you. It can also be used to push them away if they try to do a slower move like the heavy/medium backslash, DFA, or a heavy swing.

Counters: Avoid swinging if you're not almost close enough to actually hit them; otherwise they'll be able to knock you down, and that's not a situation you want to be in. Absorb will prevent it, but it's very difficult to predict when someone is going to try to push you, so it often isn't worth the effort.

 

Pull - Can knock someone down like Push, except putting them at your feet instead. Can also stop someone from running.

Recommended Level: 3 if you want any decent chance of knocking them down. Otherwise, 1 would be enough to stop them in their tracks when they're running, while 2 will pull them further towards you.

Uses vs. Anyone: Knocking someone down with this can be difficult. If they're in mid-swing, you run the risk of pulling them right into you and damaging yourself; unfortunately, that's the only way you can really knock them down with it. Pretty much the same as Push in this regard. If someone insists on running, you can use Pull to stop them momentarily so you can gain some ground, but it's still hard to catch up to them this way.

Counters: See Push.

 

Speed - Virtually useless, IMHO. Only vaguely useful for trying to confuse someone, swinging at them so fast that they miss some blocks.

Recommended Level: None. More is better, but it's never really worth it.

Uses vs. Anyone: Turn it on and use your extra speed to try and get around them. It costs a lot just to turn it on, and regen is stopped while it's on, so it's not usually a good investment.

Counters: You can push or pull someone down if they're using Speed to stop them for a bit, though they also seem to get up faster than normal. Otherwise, just be careful never to let them get behind you.

 

Seeing - Also of very little use. Good for seeing someone using Mind Trick, and can be used to see and surprise annoying hiders.

Recommended Level: No more than 1.

Uses vs. Anyone: Turn it on if they use Mind Trick, then turn it back off again(they'll stay visible). You can use it to see through walls if you want to try to get a jump on someone trying to hide from you; just remember the sound is very distinctive, so they're likely to hear you.

Counters: None.

 

***Light Powers***

 

Absorb - The bread and butter of the Light Jedi. Will stop any offensive force power.

Recommended Level: 3. Anything else is much too expensive to start, and if you don't have this you might as well play Dark.

Uses vs. Dark Jedi: The key to Absorb is to learn your opponent's strategies, and try to predict when they're going to Drain or Lightning you(Push and Pull are unpredictable, and less problematic anyway). As soon as you hit them once or twice, turn on Absorb for a couple seconds to stop the Drain that they almost always try to pull. Remember that turning Absorb on uses 1.5 units of force, while keeping it on is about 1 unit per 5 seconds. Due to this, I'd recommend leaving it on for at least a unit or two, since it's so cheap to maintain after you've used it anyway, and they might wait a little bit before Draining. Also turn it on if you see them backing away from the battle, since they may be getting ready to use Drain or Lightning. Always be ready to turn Absorb on immediately in case they catch you by surprise. Lightning does a lot of damage if they have a large force bar to spend, so watch out for it. Try to keep track of their health. If you've hit them a couple times and they haven't tried to Drain yet, be constantly on the lookout for it, because they might be delaying it trying to be less predictable. Some people will only Drain when they're low, while others will always want to cap off their health; try to figure out how your opponent usually uses Drain.

Uses vs. Light Jedi: Minimal. Only stops Push and Pull, which is difficult enough to predict that you should just not bother turning Absorb on unless they spam one or the other a lot.

Counters: As a Light Jedi, Absorb on the enemy won't effect you much. The sound is rather quiet, but you can hear it if you listen. Don't Push or Pull them if you hear it, or heard it recently.

 

Heal - Much griped about since the drop in effectiveness, but still very useful in long duels.

Recommended Level: 3 or nothing. Anything inbetween is a waste of points.

Uses vs. Anyone: Heal heals 25 health at the cost of half of a force bar. If you're going to use it much, it's very important that you use your Force sparingly. Only turn on Absorb or Protct for short periods of time, and minimize unnecessary Jumping or Push/Pulling. If possible, you want to keep yourself above half at all times for emergencies, but at least try to stay close to there. It's no longer capable of totally healing you if you're badly damaged; it's only really useful for bringing you back to optimal health when you're a little low. More of a supplement than a lifesaver, so whether or not you use it is up to you.

Counters: None.

 

Protect - Useful for virtually nullifying hits you know you won't be able to avoid.

Recommended Level: 3 or nothing. It's expensive in points for the rare occasions you use it, but otherwise it just costs way too much force. Not recommended unless on Jedi Master force level.

Uses vs. Anyone: If you get knocked down and you can't get up before they hit you, turn it on, then turn it off again when you're up. If you're quick-witted, use it any other time you know you won't be able to avoid a hit. Protect makes a huge difference in damage received; unfortunately, the green aura is a huge giveaway. This is a problem because everyone will know for certain that you don't have Absorb on. Dark Siders will use Drain or Lightning on you, and anyone can Push/Pull you down. It also uses power a little faster than Absorb does. It's not totally devastating because you can immediately go into Absorb from Protection, but then you have to use even more force to start Absorb.

Counters: Take advantage of their non-Absorb status by Pushing/Pulling them down. Other than that, just fight them like normal until they turn it off.

 

Mind Trick - Of minimal use. MIGHT get a surprise hit on them if they're not very attentive.

Recommended Level: 1 or nothing. Even level 1 is sort of expensive, so don't get it if you aren't using it.

Uses vs. Anyone: Mind Trick them, and try to hit them in the back with a heavy swing. Unfortunately, all it takes is 2 points for them to completely negate this power, and even without Seeing most people will run around randomly when you're invisible, making it impossible to hit them without blowing your cover too early.

Counters: Level 1 Seeing.

 

 

Whew... That was longer than I thought it would be. A lot of that may seem sort of obvious, but a surprising amount of people have gone Light now and just rarely take advantage of the abilities open to them(Dark Jedi seem to own most of them due to their poor use of Absorb) and I figured I'd share some suggestions. Feedback is appreciated.

[Silent Victor]

Few little tid-bits I felt were worth adding:

 

As far as Force Jump, side-kicks don't require a double-tap. Side kicks work just as they did in v1.02, and have exactly the same effect as the forward kick.

 

As far as Force Pull, a very useful strategy for it's use is to wait for someone to begin a big hit, pull them to you and kick them as they arrive. Pulling doesn't prevent kicking, so it's a good way to put an overly offensive jedi on his rump.

 

As far as Force Speed, remember it not only increases your movement speed but also your attack speed. Which means, if you go into heavy style with a force speed of 3, you'll be swinging at essentially medium style speeds but doing a hell of a lot of damage.

 

For countering Force Absorb, people can be fairly easily baited into wasting the necessary startup force power for this. If you give them a quick zap of lightning, they'll turn it on, and the moment the sound ends ( a la them turning off the power ) drain them again until they turn it back on. Careful baiting tactics such as this will eventually put you ahead of the game on force power ( or at least break even ) and will likely anger them, and they'll mess up.

 

As far as countering Force Protect, the one thing worth mentioning is that the power is expensive enough that people using it will most likely feel the need to go offensive right away, making pushing them over humorously easy. If you don't follow them to the ground, they'll likely turn off the power, and you'll have a considerable advantage on amount of force power.

 

Keep this thread going with random tid-bits, and I think someone should start a dark force power thread as well ( if there isn't already one ).

[NewBJedi]

I guess you can't do one for the dark powers because most of them have been nerfed and made useless since 1.03.

[Zek]

Originally posted by Silent Victor

For countering Force Absorb, people can be fairly easily baited into wasting the necessary startup force power for this. If you give them a quick zap of lightning, they'll turn it on, and the moment the sound ends ( a la them turning off the power ) drain them again until they turn it back on. Careful baiting tactics such as this will eventually put you ahead of the game on force power ( or at least break even ) and will likely anger them, and they'll mess up.

 

If I remember correctly, the cost of using drain or lightning for a second is higher than the 1.5 units required to turn on Absorb, especially if you accidentally fill them up. Waiting until the sound goes off is not as easy as it sounds; it's very quiet, and a saberfight usually drowns it out. It's the starting sound that's more distinguishable, but it's almost impossible to tell when they turn it off.

[Nill the Mean]

Great stuff! Wish more people would make an effort to help other people like you just did Zek.

 

My two cents:

 

I found that with the sabers clashing now, the best way to score a hit is to swing your saber in the direction of his incoming saber, then when you see the sparks, move forward slightly and attack again quickly. Swiping in the opppostite direction seems to work best. This way you can sort of stop his saber and then counterattack quickly.

[DigitalGangsta]

With Sabers, one tactic I've found to be quite effective is to crouch and attack/block (note: This is in 1.02 - I havent played 1.03 yet but I expect it to be the same).

 

When crouched I find that it is harder for your opponent to block your slashes as your swing is under their line of defense (usually around the chest level). Also a good upward-slash is an awesome health-killer. I think blocking may be more effective as well when you are crouched and the opponent is standing.

A lot of people are not used to fighting crouched adversaries either, so there is that advantage. They usually seem a little surprised and that gives me time to get in a couple of nice hits.

 

Don't get me wrong standing has plenty of advantages too (jumping out of the way, running etc.) so you will need to use this tactic like all tactics - with balance.

[DarkAgent]

Great post Zek

 

You gave me a few "new" ideas there.

 

DA