Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Beginner's Guide - Tips To Get You Started
All the tips you need to know before starting Fallen Order's campaign.
Respawn's latest game, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, is finally here. Available for Xbox One, PS4, and PC, Fallen Order is the first solely single-player Star Wars game released by EA since the publisher bought the rights to make games based on the franchise. If you're ready to jump into Fallen Order, read our spoiler-free tips below before you start.
Fallen Order takes place several years after the Jedi Purge that concluded the Clone Wars--putting it sometime after the final moments of Revenge of the Sith. You play as Cal Kestis, a Jedi padawan that managed to escape the purge, but whose PTSD has cut him off from most of the Force. Living as a scavenger, Cal's life takes a turn when he uses the Force to save a friend and ousts himself as a former Jedi. Now hunted by the Imperial Inquisitors--Force users turned to the Dark Side by Darth Vader--Cal joins up with a former Jedi Knight, Cere, to search for a way to restore the Jedi Order.
Gameplay-wise, Fallen Order utilizes a similar parry system to Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. To overcome the Imperial forces hunting you, you'll have to carefully time your attacks, blocks, parries, and dodges. Throughout Cal's journey, he'll work through his PTSD and rediscover his connection to the Force--unlocking abilities he's long since forgotten how to use.
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Talk To BD-1 When You're Stuck
Fallen Order has more than a few The Legend of Zelda-like puzzles in the many tombs you'll explore. Though several of these puzzles are rather straightforward, many more are complex. You don't need to solve every single one to complete Fallen Order, but some are tied to the main campaign. You'll also need to complete all of them to learn every bit of lore and find every collectible.
To help out, you can request a hint by holding down on your controller's d-pad. This input causes Cal and BD-1 to discuss the puzzle they're trying to solve, and their conversation yields hints as to what you're supposed to do or what Force power you need to use. The hints are vague enough as to not give away the solution outright after hearing just one, but they're worded in a way that will usually point you in the right direction or have you look at Fallen Order's perplexing problems in a new way. And sometimes, to solve a riddle, that's all you need.
Change The Difficulty A Lot In The First Hour
There are no Achievements/Trophies tied to difficulty in Fallen Order and you're not penalized for switching the difficulty, which you can do at any time. So try the game on all four difficulties when you first boot up the game. You have nothing to lose, and it may help you figure out which difficulty is right for you.
Difficulty doesn't work quite the same in Fallen Order as it does in most games. Instead of influencing how much health enemies have, the difficulty in Fallen Order affects your parry window and enemy aggression. On Story, enemies aren't aggressive and you have a large window to press the parry button to deflect an attack. Jedi Knight, Jedi Master, and Jedi Grandmaster each shrink the parry window and increase enemy aggression with each subsequent difficulty setting.
It's A Medroidvania, So Explore
The layouts of every planet in Fallen Order take inspiration from Metroid, with each map featuring twists and turns that interconnect its locations. You'll regularly unlock shortcuts between multiple areas, and learn new abilities that allow you to further explore planets you've already visited.
With this in mind, it's in your best interest to regularly go back to old planets whenever you unlock a new ability. The story will force you to return to several planets a few times, but that doesn't mean you can't take the initiative and explore on your own. Hidden on each planet are BD-1 stim upgrades that allow you to heal more times as well as cool tidbits of lore.
Go To Dathomir As Soon As You Can
Anyone who has watched the Clone Wars animated series can tell you that Dathomir is one of the most dangerous planets in the Star Wars universe. It is the home planet of Darth Maul, Asajj Ventress, and the two tribes they hail from: the Zabraks and the Nightsisters. Fallen Order gives you the option to travel to this planet early in the campaign--and you should. Just be prepared for a fight.
Though Dathomir is not the most difficult location you'll visit in Fallen Order, it's high on the list. Most of the planet's challenges stem from how enemies on Dathomir fight. Rather than charge you, the creatures, inhabitants, and zombies of Dathomir work together to surround and overwhelm you. Early on, all of Cal's skills are ideal for fighting a few enemies at a time or engaging in duels.
That said, if you go to Dathomir early on, you can find an upgrade to your lightsaber that transforms into a double-bladed lightsaber--like the one that Darth Maul uses in The Phantom Menace--which is designed to help you deal with large crowds of enemies. Most of the planet will still be locked off to you until you obtain certain Force abilities, but you can at least travel far enough to find the upgrade. This upgrade can be found in one of two other places: about an hour later on Bogano or several hours later on Kashyyyk. If you want it as soon as possible, go to Dathomir.
Let BD-1 Scan Enemies
Your droid companion, BD-1, loves to gather information and will regularly jump off Cal's shoulder and scurry off to scan something he finds interesting. Whenever he does, you should follow and let him do his thing, especially if the object that BD-1 wants to scan is a corpse.
BD-1 will only need to scan an enemy corpse once to build an in-depth profile on the assailant. After BD-1 is done with a scan, pause and look at the enemy's entry in your tactical guide. BD-1 will have outlined the enemy's combat strategy and listed out the foe's weaknesses. This is extraordinarily helpful for standard and miniboss-like enemies you encounter multiple times, such as Stormtroopers and Purge Troopers. It's less beneficial for bosses, as you'll usually only fight them once.
Get Creative With Your Force Powers
Early on, you'll only have access to Force Slow, but Cal will gradually learn additional abilities as the campaign goes on, such as Force Push and Force Pull. Though many of these abilities are powerful, they can also be combined for devastating effect. Don't stop at just pushing and slashing at enemies. Get creative!
For example, you can use Force Slow on a blaster bolt and then Force Pull the Stormtrooper who shot it to pull him in front of you--causing the bolt to speed into his backside once Force Slow's effect wears off. Later on in the campaign, you can leap into the middle of a bunch of unaware enemies and activate Repulse to stun the lot, following up with Howling Pull to yank the dazed group towards you, and then use Whirlwind Throw to fling your Lightsaber Throw in a circular path all around you, cutting everyone's throat in a devastating blur.
Use The Cliff, Cal
That said, pushing enemies is a viable strategy on its own. It may not be very Jedi-like, but one of the easiest ways to defeat Stormtroopers and Scout Troopers is by flinging their screaming bodies over the side of a cliff. Upgrade Force Push to Mass Push as soon as you can and then unlock Howling Push when you have the chance. That way, you can send whole groups flying through the air.
Don't Waste Skill Points
As Cal rekindles his connection to the Force, he'll relearn abilities. As he learns new abilities, more skills will be unlocked in all three trees. Early on, every ability only costs one point, but mid- and late-game skills typically cost two or three. Unless you're willing to grind, you should save some of your points.
Many of the early game skills are very useful, but not all of them. So invest your points in the skills you want, and don't feel pressured to spend points on ones that seem like they would only be useful in certain situations. If a skill seems niche, it probably is. It's better to save your points if nothing speaks to you because you'll need a bunch to unlock Cal's highest level skills later on.
Only Heal When You Have To
Cal can take a surprising amount of punishment, even on Jedi Knight and Jedi Master difficulty. Just because his health bar is blinking red, it doesn't necessarily mean he's close to death. You'll probably be able to take two or three more hits before you actually die. So only use that last stim pack when you really need to.
Though not at first, Fallen Order eventually introduces combat scenarios where you must battle waves of enemies. These range from a gladiator pit that keeps spawning murderous animals to a long, narrow hallway that has a swarm of Stormtroopers and Purge Troopers at the other end coming at you three at a time. Managing your stim packs is an important skill to develop early on. You never know when defeating the last enemy is going to cause half a dozen more to show up or when almost killing a boss is just going to transition the fight into its next phase.
Use Force Slow Often
Force Slow is the only Force power available to Cal at the start, though you quickly learn a few more in the campaign's early hours. Of all Cal's abilities, Force Slow might be his most useful one--especially for taking on miniboss-like enemies and bosses.
When taking on a miniboss-like enemy, such as a Purge Trooper, you'll typically have to deal with a group of accompanying enemies as well. Use Force Slow on the Purge Trooper to keep them out of the fight, giving you an easier time to deal with the weaker fodder. Once you start taking on multiple Purge Troopers at once, Force Slow can help you manage that duel so you're not overwhelmed.
All boss fights will be one-on-one, but Force Slow is still incredibly useful in these scenarios. Several bosses, like Second Sister, are significantly faster than you are. This can make it a bit tricky to keep track of what their combos actually are. Force Slow makes it easier to see a boss' combo, which in turn makes it easier to parry and counter. Slowing down the enemy also just makes it easier for you to put some room between the two of you so that you can heal.
Don't Rush Around Blind Corners
Though Fallen Order doesn't have the same tone as a Dark Souls game, it takes several inspirations from From Software's franchise. The piece of Dark Souls gameplay that Fallen Order seems to take the most delight in is putting an animal enemy behind blind corners, ready to pounce on you the second you sprint by.
So if you're going to sprint around a corner, you better be ready to do a last-second block. Fallen Order won't surprise you with an enemy every time, but it happens enough--especially on Zeffo and Kashyyyk--that it's something to be on the lookout for. Thankfully, most enemies that ambush are more surprising than dangerous. That is not always true, however. Be aware of the environment as well. A hole in the ground most likely suggests an upcoming attack from a mole-like bog rat while spider webs typically signal spots where you really shouldn't walk unless you want to be pinned down by a venomous wyyyschokk.
Use The XP Loss Mechanic To Your Advantage
When you die in Fallen Order, all enemies respawn and you lose your experience. The enemy that killed you will appear with a golden glow whenever you reach them again. Damaging said enemy allows you to reclaim your lost experience. But doing so also has a very useful secondary effect, one that you can use to your advantage.
Damaging the enemy that has your experience automatically completely fills your Force meter and replenishes all of your health. With that being the case, it's in your best interest to hold off on healing prior to fighting the enemy that killed you--because attacking them once is just going to do that for you. If facing off against a boss, you can afford to be a little bit more aggressive right out of the gate and use the experience loss mechanic as a free heal early in the fight. Just aggressively keep attacking them without stopping to block or dodge. When you finally deplete their block meter and lower their guard--opening them to your attack--you're just going to get all your health back again anyway. You can go crazy with your Force powers too, knowing that your meter will be refilled.