Beyond the main storyline, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is rich with optional side quests and missions that offer valuable experience, credits, unique items, and deeper insights into the game's lore and characters. Engaging with these optional objectives can sificantly enhance your playthrough.
Discovering Side Quests
Side quests are often initiated through dialogue with NPCs, finding specific items, or exploring optional areas. Pay attention to conversations and examine your surroundings carefully.
- Dialogue Options: Many NPCs will offer additional tasks if you engage them in conversation and choose the right dialogue options.
- Item Discovery: Picking up certain datapads, journals, or unique items can trigger a new quest objective.
- Environmental Clues: Sometimes, a strange object or a hidden passage can lead to an entirely new questline.
Notable Side Quests and Their Locations
- The Missing Droid (Taris): In the Lower City Cantina, speak to the bartender about a missing droid. This leads to a quest involving retrieving the droid from a local gang.
- The Czerka Corporation Quests (Taris/Tatooine): Interact with Czerka Corporation representatives on Taris and later on Tatooine to undertake missions that often involve morally ambiguous choices.
- The Rakatan Artifacts (Kashyyyk): Explore the Shadowlands of Kashyyyk to find ancient Rakatan artifacts. This quest often involves dealing with hostile creatures and uncovering lore about the ancient civilization.
- The Bounty Hunter (Manaan): On Manaan, a bounty hunter may approach you, initiating a quest to track down a target.
- Companion Quests: Each of your companions has personal quests that reveal their backstory and motivations. These are often triggered by specific dialogue choices or reaching certain points in the game. For example, Canderous might have quests related to his Mandalorian past, while Bastila may have missions tied to her Jedi training.
Rewards and Benefits
Completing side quests provides several rewards:
- Experience Points (XP): Essential for leveling up your character and improving their stats and abilities.
- Credits: The in-game currency used to purchase items, upgrades, and services.
- Unique Items: You can often acquire powerful weapons, armor, or useful gadgets that are not available elsewhere.
- Reputation and Alment: Some quests offer choices that can affect your alment (Light Side or Dark Side) and how certain factions perceive you.
- Lore and Story Expansion: Side quests often flesh out the world, providing context and depth to the main narrative and its characters.
Don't hesitate to explore every nook and cranny and speak to every character you encounter. Many of the most rewarding experiences in Knights of the Old Republic lie off the beaten path.