The Best Weapon for the Job

Another key to consistent victories against the legions of enemy droids and thugs is using the best weapon for the current situation. While it's tempting to frequently use the lightsaber when playing as your favorite Jedi knight, it's not always the best choice. Here are the major weapons in the game and a few strategies for each.

Lightsaber: Only Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi can use the weapon of a Jedi knight. Against battledroids, the lightsaber works pretty well - don't forget that the lightsaber can deflect laser shots (typically right back at the attacker). When approaching a collection of battledroids, hit the attack button just as the laser bolt reaches you to block the shot. Continue to move toward the enemy and finally strike with the lightsaber when at close range. Still, laser blasts can sneak in when using this technique and as the game progresses, you must depend on your lightsaber less and less. Finally, the lightsaber is the only weapon that can harm the evil Darth Maul (who you will confront on several different levels).

Blaster Rifle: The weakest blaster in the game fires slowly and only does moderate damage. If you have more powerful range weapons, you should forget you even have it (unless you run out of ammo with the other weapons). Still, if there's nothing else available, you'll find the weapon effective, especially when combined with good movement and sidestep maneuvers.

R-65 Heavy Blaster: The unique property of the heavy blaster is that the bolts bounce off walls, a useful characteristic in cramped rooms or corner situations. Against boss creatures (like the Coruscant guard on the Coruscant level), the heavy blaster will rip through their armor and finish them off very quickly. Its fire rate is about average, faster than the blaster but not nearly as fast as the light repeating blaster.

Next: More weapons