Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy - Multiplayer Duel Guide
Contents:
1. About this FAQ and the authors
2. General hints and tips
3. Different Saber Types
3.1 Single Saber
3.2 Dual Sabers
3.3 Saber Staves
4. Q&A
5. Credits, greetings etc
1.
About this FAQ and the authors
This FAQ was created and is being updated by FurryAngel@gamespyarcade.com
You can find me ingame as -=MH=-^Wolf^
Parts of this FAQ were created by =DJR=Raven who is no longer playing this game.
Right now, Jedi Academy has a few bugs and flaws and some special moves are
going to be nerfed with future patches, because they are being abused by lots
of players. Just like Jedi Outcast, Jedi Academy is going to change a lot with
every patch and so are the strategies. Be warned that this guide might be a
little out of date whenever a new patch comes up because I will have to check
on all the special moves again and update this FAQ afterwards.
This FAQ is not the ultimate way to victory. It doesn't tell you the "perfect
way" to defeat your opponents and it won't magically turn you into a better
player. My guide is simply supposed to help you find your own style, your
weapon of choice and useful strategies against all three weapon classes. The
FAQ contains all my knowledge and experience, but there are things that I don't
know myself and there are a few better players out there who aren't going to
need this kind of guide at all. But if you are new to Jedi Academy and if you
need a few hints and tips here and there and maybe some ideas which kind of
weapon could be best for you, feel free to print out this file and drop me a
line if there is something you don't understand ;)
2.
General hints and tips
Jedi Outcast veterans will already know this, but you might want to read the
following hints if you're totally new to the "Dark Forces" games:
- Unlike FFA matches, duels require you to be a little more "honorable". Bow to
your opponent at the beginning of a match and wait for him to ready his saber
before attacking. Also, if your opponent drops his saber, deactivate yours and
allow him to get it back. 90% of all duelists play like that and if you don't
want to be known as a major pain in the rear, you should behave just like that.
- Typekills (attacking players who type messages or browse their options menu)
is generally considered a bad thing, but it's even worse in a duel. Remember -
everyone on the server is watching the two players who are engaged in a duel
and it doesn't help your reputation if you are a typekiller. Sometimes this
will just happen by accident, so be nice and apologize ;)
- Jedi Academy isn't Counter-Strike. The community of active players is rather
small and sooner or later you *will* make a name for yourself if you play under
a persistent nickname. But whether people will love or hate you doesn't just
depend on your sabering skills, but also on the way you treat them. Flaming is
the way to the dark side... ;)
- The Jedi Academy ingame server browser is pretty useless. You will find like
10-15 servers and they're either laggy or full. Get yourself a 3rd party
browser if you want to have dozens of servers to choose from.
- Jedi Academy is all about style. You can keep running away and pull of the
same instant kill special move over and over again and annoy everyone else on
the server to death. But remember that everyone is watching you so you might
want to defeat your foes with some l33t gaming skillz rather than simply using
the same special move all the time.
- Waiting for your enemy to attack will always give you an advantage. Some
players out there only stand around and wait or even taunt others if they don't
attack first. This is pretty lame and if you don't want to be known as a
coward, you should be fair and attack first at least every now and then.
3. Different Saber Types
The main difference between Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy duels is the
weaponry. While you could only use single lightsabers in Jedi Outcast, Jedi
Academy allows you to use saber staves (like Darth Maul in Episode 1) and dual
lightsabers (like Anakin Skywalker in Episode 2) which brings a whole lot of
new moves and strategies into the game. Depending on which saber class you and
your opponent use, you will always have to use different means and ways in
order to win, which makes the game a whole lot more exciting, but also way
harder to learn. Besides, not everyone using a certain kind of sabers fights
alike - the best way to victory is to watch and adapt.
3.1
Single Saber
Most Jedi Knight 2 veterans like to use a single lightsaber now and then
because that's the way the previous JK title was played. The single lightsaber
is without a doubt the most difficult weapon to use in a duel. In the right
hands however, it can be a weapon more deadly and difficult to counter than any
other weapon in the game. You'll be having a hard time blocking dual saber and
staff attacks so you should try to dodge them instead. A red (or heavy) style
lightsaber is almost impossible to block and very likely to disarm your
opponent.
The basic strategy for this kind of weapon is to stay away from your enemy to
avoid getting hit and to charge and attack with red style attacks whenever you
get the chance. If you are close enough to hit your opponent, you will most
probably damage him. After two attacks with your red style saber (or three if
you manage to do the combo), get away as fast as you can because you will be
open to attacks until your next swing! The easiest way to get away fast is a
force jump which is enabled on pretty much every duel server.
If an enemy keeps charging you and leaves you no room to attack, use the single
saber Kata (primary fire+alt fire) to take him down. Most of the time your
opponent is too busy charging you to even realize that he is going to be torn
apart.
Also, remember to switch to yellow and blue style when using Katas because this
will make it more difficult for your enemy to counterattack you with a stab or
a butterfly.
Switching saber styles for short periods of time is also a good way to confuse
your opponent. Swinging your saber a bit on blue or yellow style can make your
enemy think that you are easy prey since you will hardly damage him with the
weaker styles and you can take him down by switching back to red style when he
expects it the least. Switching to faster styles is also a good thing when your
opponent has very low hit points and you want to hit him more easily.
Other important moves are the yellow style backstab (backwards+attack when an
opponent is behind you) and the uppercut (crouch, forward+attack), which can be
instant kills most of the time.
It doesn't make a huge difference whether your opponent is using a staff or
dual sabers since they will always try to attack you whenever you are finished
with your 2-3 swings or even charge after you to leave you no room for further
attacks. Opponents who use a single lightsaber as well are probably going to
keep their distance and attack you with well-timed red style swings or they
might even switch to a weaker style to gain some attack speed.
3.2
Dual Sabers
Extremely fast, very likely to hit and a fair amount of damage - those are dual
sabers. You won't do as much damage as you could do with a staff and you won't
be able to block attacks as easily, either, but if you love to dodge, roll and
jump like hell and to pull of some nasty moves and fast attacks, this is the
weapon for you.
The attack damage of dual sabers seems to be a bit random. I've had matches
where I could only do like 15-20 points of damage per hit while there were
other duels where I did up to 70 points of damage with a simple swing of my
sabers. So until the next patch there seems to be a fair bit of luck involved
in using dual sabers.
When using this weapon class, you will only want to press the attack button
whenever your enemy is close enough. You can of course just run around and
swing those sabers like crazy, but this will leave you open to attacks and make
it a lot more difficult to block. Like pretty much everything in a duel, it's
all about timing. If you wait for the right moment to strike an opponent, you
will most probably hit. However, if your opponent is using a saber staff, you
should not blindly charge and whack him, since he will probably take you apart
in direct combat. A better way would be running around him and try to attack
from behind if you get the chance. Also, a rolling stab (hit attack while
rolling) is much stronger with dual sabers than with any other weapon and can
be an instant kill (which might be a bug...). On the other hand, the most
effective way to use dual sabers isn't acting, but RE-acting. Dual sabers are a
great weapon class for counter attacks!
If your enemy is charging you and keeps attacking you like mad, an easy way to
get rid of them is using the saber twirl (crouch, forward, attack). He will
most probably run right into your whirling sabers and lose the match or at
least a considerable amount of hit points. Most players who survive such an
attack will try to get behind you while you are still doing the twirl, which
isn't necessarily a bad thing. Let them get behind you and then do a back stab
(backwards+attack) which does a whole LOT of damage.
Sooner or later you will notice a lot of opponents who attack you with a "flip
forward" attack (dual sabers) or a "butterfly" (staff). While it seems that the
only way to avoid getting yourself killed is evading, a nice way to counter
this move is to do a saber barrier (primary+alt fire) and rotate like mad to
increase the speed of your rotating sabers. Your enemies will always try to
jump right onto your head and if you manage to do the barrier the right way you
will instantly kill your opponent. This trick is extremely useful against staff
users because many of them do nothing but butterfly attacks and they will be
pretty screwed in a battle against you if you know how to counter their
strongest move!
Another possible instant kill is the "uppercut" - whenever your opponent is
immobile because he is pulling of a special move which doesn't allow him to get
away, deactivate one of your sabers and do the uppercut (crouch,
forward+atack). This works a lot faster than a rolling stab and there is no
risk to roll into an attack instead of stabbing your opponent.
When using a flip forward attack (jump, forward+attack) make sure you watch the
GROUND while attacking in order to do the most possible damage!
One more thing: NEVER EVER use the saber barrier (primary+alt fire) unless you
want to counter someone who cannot get away! You will just sit around with your
sabers circling around you and your opponent will roll-stab you as soon as the
move ends.
3.3
Saber Staves
Saber Staves are incredibly cool, but since they are the most easy to use
weapon and because of the many butterfly abusers, this kind of weapon is hated
by a lot of players and gets lovely names such as "n00b stabber". I played
using a staff for a long time myself, but the many complaints and the much too
strong butterfly attack made me pick a different one.
Anyways - Saber Staves do about as much damage as red style single lightsabers
with regular attacks, but unlike the single saber swings, regular staff attacks
aren't unblockable. On the other hand, saber staves are about as fast as yellow
style single sabers which is a great advantage. Also, you can block pretty much
every frontal attack with ease when using a staff. You can beat the average
dual saber user by simply charging and attacking them even without using any
moves at all. Single lightsaber users should only be attacked whenever they
have made their 2 or 3 swings because they will be open to your attacks. Duels
against experienced dual lightsaber users and staff users are where the moves
come in.
Opponents who keep charging you can easily be defeated with a twirl (crouch,
forward+attack). Another move to attack or to counter pretty much everything is
the butterfly attack (jump, forward+attack). During a butterfly attack you will
make two small jumps and swing your staff. You can change directions between
jumps, rotate the camera and anything you hit will lose anything from 50 to 100
hit points. It is incredibly hard to counter this attack and while it isn't too
difficult to simply dodge it when doing a butterfly from far away, you are very
likely to get an instant kill when pulling off a butterfly directly in front of
your enemy. It's the most dangerous move in the game and as mentioned above,
many players keep running away and attack you with nothing but butterflies. And
if you don't know how to counter them, it is pretty hard to defeat them at all.
Besides, it can be frustrating to be defeated by someone who does NOTHING but
run away and use exactly the same special move all the time. I heard people who
call this "strategy", but in my opinion, this is pretty damn poor and ruins a
good duel. Besides, if you always fight like that, regardless of the current
map, hit points, enemy weaponry etc - how much of a "strategy" can it be?
The saber staff is a great weapon and a lot of fun to use, but be warned -
sooner or later people WILL complain when you beat them and call you a newbie.
This is hopefully going to change with a patch, because it isn't fair to insult
every staff user because some of them abuse an overly powerful special attack.
4.
Q&A
Q: You talk a lot about special moves in your guide, but you hardly explain how
they are used. Is there no better explanation?
A: In the multiplayer section of Jedi Academy, all the moves are to be found
under "rules", including which keys you have to press and an animation of what
the move looks like.
Q: I'd like to challenge you. Is there any way to get in touch with you really
fast?
A: Fire up IRC and go to #Metalheart in Quakenet. I'll probably hang around in
there.
Q: You complain about people who use nothing but butterflies, but that move is
in the game and everyone can pick a staff and use the same kind of strategy, so
what's wrong with it?
A: The game has three different saber classes and each of them has lots of
moves. Wouldn't it be boring if everyone used exactly the same weapon and only
one special move? That's exactly the way some servers look like at the moment
and I don't think it's right. Besides, the butterfly users have ruined the
reputation of every staff user out there and many of us, including active
players of very successful league clans have decided to switch from staves to
something else because they were sick of the complaints.
Q: I'd like to challenge you to an ESL 1on1 saber ladder match. How can I
challenge you?
A: Look for "Wolf" (without the quotes) from Jamaica ;)
Q: Is there anything else that might increase my skills a little bit?
A: If you play Jedi Academy like 6 hours a day (and I do), you'll get tired of
the ingame music really soon. But it's a known fact that adrenaline boosts your
reflexes a bit so I fire up my MP3 player and listen to some kick@$$ music
while fighting to keep myself in an aggressive mood ;)
Q: I suspect player XYZ is cheating. How can I tell?
A: There are no real cheats or hacks for Jedi Academy (yet) since it is close
to impossible to cheat and to remain undetected in a duel with so many people
watching you. There is however a way to dramatically increase your turning
speed with key binds by editing your config file which is considered cheating
by many players. For instance, some folks use red style single lightsaber
attacks and rotate like crazy using tweaked turning speeds and they hit you
several times with one attack, almost ensuring an instant kill. Aside from the
very, very few players who like to use this trick, there are no real damage or
life cheats or whatever out there and wallhacks and aimbots aren't going to
help you either ;)
Q: Your strategies for weapon XYZ do not help me at all. This guide is totally
useless! Why did you even write all of this stuff?
A: Like I said, this FAQ is only supposed to push you into the right direction
if you seek help. The only thing that will make you a better player is practice.
Q: How come there are absolutely no hints about using force powers or saber
throws in a duel?
A: Most servers, including those prepared for ESL, disallow force powers and
saber throws. Running away, throwing your saber and healing yourself or
toasting enemies with force lighting makes using your saber in close combat
pretty useless and ruins a duel.
Q: Why are there no hints about acrobatics?
A: Because you won't need wall jumps and wall-walking in a duel. Besides, there
are already some pretty neat FAQs about that hosted on Gamefaqs :)
Q: What's this ESL thing you keep talking about?
A: It's the electronic sports league. They hold tourneys and ladder matches for
Jedi Academy as well as for many other games.
Q: I think I have found a mistake in your guide and I'd like to
comment/rant/rave contribute. Can I?
A: Send a mail to FurryAngel@gamespyarcade.com and Raven or my furry self will
get to you in no time :)
5.
Credits, greetings, etc
I'd like to say hi to a few folks who showed me lots of tricks and moves and
who were with me whenever I played and trained. Without them, this guide
wouldn't be nearly as big and I wouldn't be able to update it nearly as fast.
- Clan =DJR= which I belonged to for some time
- Clan [JA] which consists of a whole bunch of freaky Jawas who are always a
lot of fun to play with
- Tribun and =RvO=Infernales who showed me lots of l33t dual saber tricks and
tactics
- VirT who showed me how to counter a butterfly with a dual saber barrier
- Clan AO]|[TS which is always tons of fun to play in training sessions
- Clan 2Stoned which might be the worst clan in the universe, but those guys
are tons of fun
- All the regular gamers I know and love in the community ;)
Please don't copy this FAQ and upload it somewhere else, neither partially nor
completely without asking me first!
