You're a new (or newly-returning) player: welcome! This guide is here to help you get yourself set up by going through some of the most common and useful recommendations for playing KOTOR, including some spoiler-free information about general things to watch out for and bugs to avoid, and, for PC players, important bugfix mods and recommendations about how to best play KOTOR on modern systems.

What System Should I Buy KOTOR For?

Unlike KOTOR 2, for KOTOR the system doesn't matter too much. Xbox, Mobile, PC and Switch are all (mostly) equal--you can even mod KOTOR on mobile, so long as you're on a system with file access. It is always better to play the games on a system where you have file and savegame access, so you can utilize bugfix mods and can savegame edit past obstacles if you encounter issues anyway, but in KOTOR's case it's far from critical.

If you're playing on the original Xbox or on a later console via disk installation you won't have access to the Yavin Station DLC, but this is just a new merchant who buys goods for high prices, and has unique equipment; it's not a story expansion.

See here for a list of retailers that sell KOTOR.

Help, I have X Issue!

If you're on the Xbox, there's not much you can ever do. You have three options: load an earlier save, uninstall and reinstall the game, and uninstall and reinstall the game on a different drive. If none of those work and the issue you're having is clearly a bug, there's not anything anyone can do to help you.

For mobile users, it's somewhere in the middle. You have less options than PC users, but generally also less issues to begin with. Loading a save is still the easiest method to try fixing problems, but if that doesn't work feel free to ask for help in the KOTOR Discord's #tech_support channel.

If you're on PC, you should avail yourself of our expanded wiki's bugs section for some common issues and fixes. If you don't see your problem on there, or the fix for it doesn't work, drop by the Discord for a hand.

Spoiler-Free First Playthrough Advice

If you meet someone wielding a lightsaber in a grove, just know you don't have to kill them.

There are companion quests which have a certain semi-required planet order to them. If you'd like to complete all of them, you'll need to play your game in a certain way; see here for more info, though be aware this guide does contain more significant spoilers!

If you do something special with Bastila on the Ebon Hawk that seems important (like it won't happen again, maybe, until the end of the game), don't speak to her AT ALL after that point, to avoid an unfortunate basegame bug. This is fixed in some mods, especially the KOTOR Community Patch (recommended below), but if you're not using it or not on a moddable system, it's best to not speak with her again until a point which will become obvious.

In order to make a particular mechanic easier, by your fourth Star Map it's recommended to have either Drain Life (or Death Field), Destroy Droid, or Force Lightning/Storm.

How do I Build a Character?

If you're familiar with D&D, KOTOR's combat system is built off of a variant of D&D 3.5, and it's quite similar to it in most of the important respects. If you're not familiar or want a refresher, you can take a look at the main wiki's mechanics section.

For specific help on building characters of various types, see the character build section of the wiki.

Should I Use Mods?

If you're on a system that you can install them on, YES--the KOTOR Community Patch is a pure bugfix compilation focused on resolving all the game's various bugs, some of them quite significant even if not gamebreaking. It adds no restored content (KOTOR has very little to restore), so even if you would typically like to avoid any sort of content alterations in a first playthrough, this mod is still something you should use as a pure bugfix patch.

Okay, What if I Want More Mods?

Generally speaking, mods on your first playthrough can ruin the intended progression or aesthetic of the basegame. Worse still, it can do this before you can even learn what the intended design is like, which can result in redesigning a game you may have liked in its basic form--a fraught prospect at best. It's also all-too-easy to spoil yourself on major plot points while searching for mods. Therefore, unless you're specifically only using mods which restore content or fix bugs (such as the K1CP as recommended above), we usually recommend not using any mods on your first playthrough.

There is an exception to this in the form of the KOTOR Mod Builds, however. We're a little biased given that this site hosts them, but we also truly believe that the Spoiler-Free Mod Build, which is a subset of the base mod build specifically geared towards new players, includes tasteful improvements across the game without modifying its original atmosphere, progression, or story. It's designed to enhance the base game rather than modify it, and its use will, in our opinion, not detract from the experience of KOTOR in the slightest. Most importantly, as the name suggests, installs of that build are censored to prevent you from being spoiled during the download or install process for the mods, allowing you to install the content safely without risking your experience being compromised.