The best KOTOR build: start as a Soldier, become a Jedi Guardian, and put the rest into Strength

That build is the safest pick in the game and the one the community has pointed new players at for twenty years. It is not the only good one. KOTOR is easy enough on Normal that almost any sensible character finishes it; the build choice decides how much fun the fights are and how often you reload.

How leveling actually works

Two decisions, made at two different times.

1. Character creation. You pick one of three starting classes: Soldier, Scout or Scoundrel. Every level you earn on the Endar Spire and Taris goes into that class.
2. Dantooine. Taris is always the first real planet, and Dantooine is always the second. There you train at the Jedi Enclave and choose a Jedi class: Guardian, Sentinel or Consular. Every level from then on is a Jedi level, and you cannot go back.

The total cap is level 20. A thorough Taris run, every side quest and every fight, puts most players around level 8 when they reach Dantooine. Community guides describe that as roughly the ceiling the game allows before Jedi training, which leaves about 12 Jedi levels. So the typical finished character is something like Soldier 8 / Guardian 12.

The starting class still matters after you become a Jedi. You keep its hit points, feats and skill points forever. What you give up with each starting level is a Jedi level, and Jedi levels are where Force points and Force powers come from.

Why Soldier, then Guardian

Soldier is the best starting class for a fighter, for two reasons.

• Hit points. Soldiers get 10 vitality per level, the most of the three starting classes (Scouts get 8, Scoundrels 6). Guardians also get 10, so a Soldier-Guardian has the highest health of any combination.
• Feats. Soldiers earn a feat every single level. Feats are the scarcest resource in the game, and eight Soldier levels bank eight of them before you touch a lightsaber. That is enough to have your two-weapon line and Toughness done by the time you pick up your first saber.

The trade is skill points. Soldiers get very few, so this build leaves computers and locks to companions who are already good at them.

Guardian is the best Jedi class for that Soldier because it keeps the pattern going: 10 vitality per level, the Force Jump opener that closes distance at the start of a fight, and the fewest Force points of the three Jedi (4 per level, against 6 for Sentinels and 8 for Consulars). A build that swings a lightsaber does not need a deep Force pool; it needs a few buffs and one crowd control power.

Sentinel is the close second. It trades 2 vitality per level for 2 extra Force points, and it starts immune to fear, picking up more immunities as it levels. If you like talking your way through quests and want Persuade a little higher, Soldier into Sentinel is the same build with a slightly softer body.

The attribute spread

KOTOR's creator gives you 30 points with every attribute starting at 8. Raising an attribute costs 1 point per step up to 14, 2 per step for 15 and 16, and 3 per step above that.

Attribute	Start	Why
Strength	16	To-hit and damage with a lightsaber
Dexterity	14	Defense, and to-hit if it ever passes Strength
Constitution	14	+2 vitality every level, on top of the class's 10
Wisdom	12	Force points and your powers' resistance checks
Intelligence	10	Enough for a few skill points; Soldiers get few anyway
Charisma	10	Force points and Persuade; raise it if you want to talk more

Every fourth level (4, 8, 12, 16, 20) gives one attribute point. Put all five into Strength.

Strength or Dexterity? In the first KOTOR, a lightsaber uses whichever is higher of your Strength or Dexterity for the chance to hit, but only Strength adds damage. There is no Finesse feat to buy; that arrived in KOTOR II. So a Dexterity build works (it hits as often and has better defense) but hits for less on every swing. For a first run, Strength is the simpler answer.

Feats

With eight Soldier levels and the Guardian feats on top, you get more feats than you need. The order matters more than the list.

1. Two-Weapon Fighting, climbed through Improved to Master Two-Weapon Fighting. Two lightsabers are the strongest melee setup in the game, and the line works with vibroblades on Taris too, so it pays before you are a Jedi. If you prefer a double-bladed saber, the same feat line covers it. Do not fight with two weapons until you have at least the second tier; the to-hit penalty before that is harsh.
2. Toughness and its higher tiers. More vitality, no downside.
3. Power Attack or Flurry, up to Master. One widely cited community breakdown (Slash 'n Blast's damage math) found Power Attack out-damages Flurry, which out-damages Critical Strike, in most setups. Pick one line and finish it rather than spreading points across all three.
4. Weapon Focus and Weapon Specialization: Lightsaber once you have the saber. Specialization is only open to Soldiers and Guardians, which is one more point in this build's favor.

Skip extra armor feats. Once you are a Jedi, armor locks you out of Force powers, including the one that makes this build work.

Force powers worth taking

Guardians get fewer powers than the other Jedi, so every pick counts.

• Force Speed line (Burst of Speed, Knight Speed, Master Speed). Take it first and take it to Master. Beyond moving faster, the higher tiers add extra attacks per round, which is the single biggest damage boost a melee Jedi has. It does not work in armor, so wear robes.
• Force Wave (through Force Push and Force Whirlwind). An area knockdown that does damage. It turns a room of five enemies into five enemies lying on the floor while you cut through them.
• Force Valor line. A light side buff to your attributes and saves. Cheap and strong, and cheaper still if you walk the light path.
• Destroy Droid (through Stun Droid and Disable Droid). Droids are common enough in the back half that this saves real time.
• Heal (through Cure). A party-wide heal that saves medpacs; worth it on a light side run, where it costs less.
• Stasis Field (through Stun and Stasis). Area paralysis. Excellent, but it competes with Force Wave for the crowd control slot. Guardians usually take one, not both.

Light and dark side costs. Every Force power is light side, dark side or universal, and your alignment changes the price. Powers that match your alignment get cheaper as you move toward it, and powers from the other side get more expensive; community wikis put the swing at up to half price for matching powers at full alignment. Universal powers (Speed, Wave, Destroy Droid) cost the same for everyone. That is why this build leans on universal powers: it works on either path.

Skills

Soldiers and Guardians do not get many skill points, so spend them where nobody else can help you.

• Persuade. Only your main character can use it, and it opens cheaper prices, quest shortcuts and a lot of light side points. This is where most of your points go.
• Repair and Computer Use. Useful, but T3-M4 is built for both, and community guides point to Repair checks as the way to unlock more of HK-47's past. Put a few ranks into Repair if you want that, and leave Computer Use to the droid.
• Security, Stealth, Demolitions. Leave them to Mission Vao.

If you want something else

If you want	Start as	Jedi class	Core attributes	Key picks
The easiest run	Soldier	Guardian	Strength, Constitution	Master Two-Weapon Fighting, Master Speed, Force Wave
A Force caster	Scout	Consular	Wisdom, Charisma	Stasis Field, Heal, Force Wave, Destroy Droid
Stealth and skills	Scoundrel	Sentinel	Dexterity, Intelligence	Stealth, Critical Strike, Persuade, Security
A dark side run	Soldier or Scout	Guardian or Consular	As above	Force Storm, Death Field, Force Choke, Master Speed

Force caster. Consulars get 8 Force points a level and the Force Focus feat, which makes enemies worse at resisting your powers. Scout is the better start for them than Soldier because it gives more skill points and a free implant feat at level 1. You will be fragile (6 vitality a level), so let Bastila or Juhani do the front-line work and stay in robes.

Stealth. Scoundrels get Sneak Attack, bonus damage against enemies who are stunned or otherwise caught off guard, and the most skill points of anyone. The same damage breakdown found that Critical Strike, the weakest of the three attack lines for everyone else, pulls ahead for a Scoundrel with two sabers because its stun sets up the Sneak Attack. It is the most interesting build in the game and the most fragile.

Dark side. Any of these works on the dark path. The powers that pay off there are Force Lightning into Force Storm and Drain Life into Death Field, which damages a crowd and feeds some of it back to you as health. At full dark alignment they get cheap, and the light side powers above get expensive, so drop Heal and Stasis Field from the plan.

Your first run, in order

Make a Soldier, pick Guardian on Dantooine, and follow the planet order in our KOTOR route guide, which gets the tricky part right: leave Korriban for last. If you have not picked up the game yet, our KOTOR buying guide covers the version to buy and the two fixes to install first. When you finish, the sequel is waiting, and it is a better game with the Restored Content Mod installed. Both games top our ranking of the best Star Wars RPGs.

The details

• Class vitality and Force point figures, the class perks and the attribute point costs are the game's own rules, cross-checked against Almar's KOTOR beginner's guide and the KotOR Optimal Builds guide.
• The Power Attack, Flurry and Critical Strike comparison is community math from Slash 'n Blast, not an official figure.
• "Soldier into Guardian for a first run" is long-standing community consensus, for example in this Steam Community thread. Min-maxers argue for a Scout 2 start (holding your Taris levels so almost every level is a Jedi level); it squeezes out more Force powers at the cost of a much harder Taris, and we do not recommend it for a first run.
• The level 8 figure before Jedi training is community-reported and depends on how much of Taris you clear.