So first of all, this was one hell of an expansion... What started a bit mediocre in KOTFE ended on a high note in KOTET, connecting all the dots, with some outstanding gameplay diversity (Walker fights, mouse droid, Valkorion...), adding more life and some much needed backstory to its characters, not to mention making chapters repeatable on different levels of difficulties.

By the end of the expansion I had a wide smile on my face, (especially when I saw Jace Malcom looking at Satele Shan while rebuilding Coruscant...)

But there is something about the ending that I hope we could discuss:

How did Valkorion's latest catchphrase "Kneel before the Dragon of Zakuul" backfire against him? Why didn't the Outlander use it sooner? On my first playthrough, my character justified this, by being in control of his own mind...

The plot of Knights of the Eternal throne was smart with the occasional twists from here and there, but this felt a bit odd, (comparing it to the expansion's 8 previous story-based chapters, its only logical that something more was at hand)

Could it have anything to do with the destruction of the Nathema Datacron? With Vaylin? Arcann?

Feel free to share your thoughts! May the Force serve you well

It worked on Valkorion in Chapter 9, not on Vaylin...

However, Valkorion was able to command his daughter's spirit because he consumed her soul right after she died. I think he may have imprisoned her in the Nathema datacube, like he did to his father lord Dramath => Vaylin would join you in the fight against the Immortal emperor only if you set her free, you do so by releasing something from the datacron, which I guess is her imprisoned soul.

It worked on Valkorion in Chapter 9, not on Vaylin...

However, Valkorion was able to command his daughter's spirit because he consumed her soul right after she died. I think he may have imprisoned her in the Nathema datacube, like he did to his father lord Dramath => Vaylin would join you in the fight against the Immortal emperor only if you set her free, you do so by releasing something from the datacron, which I guess is her emprisoned soul.

Sorry I cut that last comment short. My question to him was 'Why does it work on Valkorian if she's removed the conditioning from the previous chapter?' Assuming the spirit is from the same Vaylin that we defeated on Odessen who had cured the conditioning then why would it spread to Valkorian if it doesn't exist anymore?

As for the Holocron, we only zap Vaylin with it ( I think), Valkorian destroys it when he crushes it. (we don't zap him with it ... or atleast I do't recall doing so.)

As for the Holocron, we only zap Vaylin with it ( I think), Valkorian destroys it when he crushes it. (we don't zap him with it ... or atleast I do't recall doing so.)

You use the Holocron in the boss fight; IIRC it stuns him and slowly drains his health. Valkorion breaks the Holocron in the cutscene after you get him to 50%.

Side note, but does anyone know if the Dark/Light Transformations are tied to your alignment? On my Gunslinger I only needed to use Light Transformation.

You use the Holocron in the boss fight; IIRC it stuns him and slowly drains his health. Valkorion breaks the Holocron in the cutscene after you get him to 50%.

 

Side note, but does anyone know if the Dark/Light Transformations are tied to your alignment? On my Gunslinger I only needed to use Light Transformation.

Not completely sure, but seemed random to me, my character had pure light side alignment and got to use both during the last fight.

However the effects of the light and dark abilities, am uncertain if they are the same for all the classes, for me (Jedi Knight/ Sentinnel):

*Light abilities: a Satele Shan like double-bladed saber, with force powers associated to the Grandmaster

*Dark Abilities: double sabers, with red and purple crystals, and hilts similar to the ones held by Darth Revan, the abilities themselves I recall Foundry Revan using something similar

I like to think of this as a nod, to Revan and Satele, on how these 2 iconic figures influenced the Outlander for this specific final showdown!

Valkie's a fickle little bastard isn't he?

According to his memories, he really did intend to hand over his Empire to a worthy successor (the player character), then apparently changed his mind and just said "hell with it, I'mma just be Emperor again"?

Not completely sure, but seemed random to me, my character had pure light side alignment and got to use both during the last fight.

However the effects of the light and dark abilities, am uncertain if they are the same for all the classes, for me (Jedi Knight/ Sentinnel):

*Light abilities: a Satele Shan like double-bladed saber, with force powers associated to the Grandmaster

*Dark Abilities: double sabers, with red and purple crystals, and hilts similar to the ones held by Darth Revan, the abilities themselves I recall Foundry Revan using something similar

I like to think of this as a nod, to Revan and Satele, on how these 2 iconic figures influenced the Outlander for this specific final showdown!

You still get the lightsaber and the abilities on Force-blind classes like Gunslinger. And I didn't catch that the saber I was using was Satele's! Thanks for that tidbit. Also, the Light Transformation abilities are actual abilities used by Telekinesis Sages and function the exact same (except a lot more powerful). I wouldn't be surprised if Dark Transformation granted abilities used by Juggernauts, Marauders, Sorcerers, and/or Assassins.

I hated KotFE, for all it's plotholes in the very first and second chapter. I predicted a ME3 BS-ending. BW had me facepalming when I learned that they actually wanted to stretch the story over a whole other expansion, potentially ruining not just one, but two expansions.

Having watched the "Betrayed"-trailer and absolutely loved every single second of it, I kinda got my hopes up a little for the expansion. The pacing, music, motives, character development, face expression, scenery, and even link into the last expansion's trailer, I was REALLY impressed. It was a perfect example of "Show, don't tell". It's one of the best gaming trailers I've ever seen. You could really feel Senya's struggle, and how she was powerless versus Valkorion. How he made Vaylin a psycopath and basically made the entire family fall apart. There's even a metaphor in every single scene, for what is going on - It's brilliant!

Coming into KotET, I think they did alright-ish with what the last expansion left it with. However, the plot was very non-surprising, and Vaylin (Unlike in the trailer) was just like she was in KotFE: Annoying, impossible to feel sorry for, and just 1-dimensional. She literally had zero personality. Her only personality trait seems to be: "I'm evil, so I like to kill people. It makes me happy.". As soon as she opens her mouth, I just hear a little annoying kid speak. And she only seems to have one facial expression. You know which one, I'm talking about:

She talks like a deranged Sith, she looks like one, and feels like one. Why was an entire new faction made up for this story again? The Eternal Empire is effectively just "The Sith Empire 2.0"...

The relationship between Senya and Vaylin as shown in the trailer, is never properly shown in the ingame story. In fact, hardly any relationship is explain properly, and it really hurts the story. Why was Thexan even in the story? He was ultimately completely pointless.

On top of this, I felt annoyed that every single character always had their own agendas. Their own edge or profit, they wanted to get out of a situation. I found this unbelievable, since these things could easily, everything considered, costs the future for the galaxy. Everything is suppose to be on the line here, and you want to kill the Alliance Leader so you can take the leadership yourself? **** off! Now is not the time for power-struggles. Unnecessary and forced conflicts to prolong the expansion - No thanks.

Also, why were I never allowed to kill who I wanted to, when I wanted to? I hate Koth. I want to kill him. Can I do it? NOPE. He talks himself out of any situation, because the plot says so. Scorpio? Senya? Anyone? Nope. Because they have plot-armor on, apparently.

The ending was a bit better than what I feared, I'll admit. But in the grand scheme of things, did Valkorion's plan really make any sense? I mean, if he wanted a better empire, why not just merge the new and old Empire? Why even start the invasion with the Sith Empire if it was pointless anyway (You know... The original reason that this game even exist!)? The Eternal Fleet was unstoppable, nonetheless. If he really wanted "The Outlander's" body, then why did he have to let the player go through so much **** for basically nothing? Why didn't he just get the body right away, at the start of KotFE? Why not on Ziost? Why all this **** about his family? Why get them killed, when they really posed no threat? Why get killed himself? There's still so much bs that is unexplained. And it's all because of one little detail: Valkorion is ALL-POWERFUL: He can do ANYTHING. Why make over-convoluted schemes for no reason? You don't need to! Just take what you want - The End!

Long story short: Valkorion and the two expansions can just be boiled down to an over-complicated and over-dramatized version of the Darth Zash's story, for the Sith Inquisitor. Only this one doesn't make much sense, and you were forced to pay BW/EA, in order to play it.

I hope you think it was worth it, because I ultimately don't feel that way.

In terms of an original story, we got screwed hard. The story brought nothing new to the table, so if you want to experience a story about a power-hungry Sith, who wants to live forever, I suggest you just play the Sith Inquisitor's Chapter 1, instead.

This looks familiar?

Also, why were I never allowed to kill who I wanted to, when I wanted to? I hate Koth. I want to kill him. Can I do it? NOPE. He talks himself out of any situation, because the plot says so. Scorpio? Senya? Anyone? Nope. Because they have plot-armor on, apparently.

Literally everyone you listed here actually CAN be killed.

valkorian just wanna be a god and try everything to get stronger and stronger

valkorian body was geting old so he needed a new host that was you

he made vaylin very strong but he mind control her to so he stile have control over her

in the mean time that he was in your body he plan things out step by step

and he knows that you can beat vaylin because your the most power man/female atm and valkorian needed that

body to get his plans going and valkorian already know that vaylin will break free from the mind controle

and with his power and your power you can beat vaylin

and so he can take her soul into him to get more powerful

valkorian just wanna kill every powerful force user to get him stronger and stronger he even kill his parents

for that and consume everything on ziost

thats what i think off the story

sorry for my english

Literally everyone you listed here actually CAN be killed.

Yeah.... After they talk themselves out of it like 10 times first. I'd killed Koth the moment I met him, If I had any control over it. But I had at least hoped I could kill him by the end of the last expansion. But nope. Then how about the first time I see him in this expansion? Nope - Gotta save the Gravestone etc etc.

valkorian just wanna be a god and try everything to get stronger and stronger

Except he doesn't try anything. He just takes the most illogical route, to a pretty simple goal: Get a new, strong and young body. How hard is that? Do you need to make entire new empires, and impregnate a women, and get 3 kids etc etc? No, obviously not. Zash didn't. Is Zash smarter than Valkorion?

valkorian body was geting old so he needed a new host that was you

I got that part. His plan is still pretty damn stupid, if that was his goal all along.

he made vaylin very strong but he mind control her to so he stile have control over her

Yeah, kinda funny how she was stronger than The Outlander at one point, and then suddenly later, she wasn't.

in the mean time that he was in your body he plan things out step by step

and he knows that you can beat vaylin because your the most power man/female atm

Actually, he said multiple times that "you" were NOT strong enough to defeat Vaylin after she was unleashed from his bounds.

valkorian needed that body to get his plans going and valkorian already know that vaylin will break free from the mind control and with his power and your power you can beat vaylin

BS - Why didn't he just take Vaylin's body then? Vaylin was stronger - aka better body. But somehow, going through all of this was necessary. Or maybe, just maybe, it was bad writing.

and so he can take her soul into him to get more powerful

Or he could just take the soul of every living thing (like on Ziost) and get 10 times more powerful - But nah, that would make too much sense.

valkorian just wanna kill every powerful force user to get him stronger and stronger he even kill his parents for that and consume everything on ziost

Then why didn't he? Or put in another way: How do you beat that which cannot be beated? The answer? Bad writing.

You use the Holocron in the boss fight; IIRC it stuns him and slowly drains his health. Valkorion breaks the Holocron in the cutscene after you get him to 50%.

 

Side note, but does anyone know if the Dark/Light Transformations are tied to your alignment? On my Gunslinger I only needed to use Light Transformation.

My smuggler is Light 5 but was able to use both.

Yeah.... After they talk themselves out of it like 10 times first. I'd killed Koth the moment I met him, If I had any control over it. But I had at least hoped I could kill him by the end of the last expansion. But nope. Then how about the first time I see him in this expansion? Nope - Gotta save the Gravestone etc etc.

You can still kill him after saving the gravestone. It makes sense since he planted the bombs in the gravestone. You needed his help to shut them down or it could have destroyed the alliance fleet that came with you. My sorcerer killed him at the end so it didn't matter whether it was the first time she saw him again or at the end. He still died.

Did Valkorion's plan really make any sense? I mean, if he wanted a better empire, why not just merge the new and old Empire? Why even start the invasion with the Sith Empire if it was pointless anyway (You know... The original reason that this game even exist!)? The Eternal Fleet was unstoppable, nonetheless. If he really wanted "The Outlander's" body, then why did he have to let the player go through so much **** for basically nothing? Why didn't he just get the body right away, at the start of KotFE? Why not on Ziost? Why all this **** about his family? Why get them killed, when they really posed no threat? Why get killed himself? There's still so much bs that is unexplained.

Here is the FULL EXPLAINED story behind Valkorion's motives and rise to power [gathered from story elements and CODEX] although I agree that some plot-points were poorly executed or shown in the game:

1-Valkorion was originally a sith pureblood named Vitiate, born as a Tenebrae, abandoned by his father Lord Dramath at birth. When Vitiate reached ten years old, his dark power grew immensely, he designed a special holocron, one that was able to trap his father's spirit within it.

2-After his father gone, Vitiate ruled over Nathema, dedicating his time to expand his powers and learn the darkest secrets of the Force. In the Aftermath of the defeat of Naga Sadow and the original sith by the republic, Vitiate invited all neighboring sith lords into a council on Nathema where he drained all their life essence including the planet's. Shortly after the ritual was enacted he gathered the remaining sith as a colony and went into uncharted space.

3-Vitiate thought that the ritual on Nathema made him immortal, but it only left him hungry for more, he plotted to repeat the ritual on a galactic scale (for that he needed a war, and an army). He forged a new empire on Dromund Kaas, created the children of the emperor, and even changed body hosts over the centuries just to keep his spirit going... He even trapped Darth Revan, preserved his body with sith Alchemy (Maelstorm Prison) for a potential future body host. But the republic was too strong to face yet, for that he convinced Mandalorians (Mandalore the Ultimate I think) to declare War on the Republic draining Republic resources, while the newly forged sith empire was shaping up...

4-Sith empire or Republic, both were merely pawns in Vitiate master plan of enacting the Nathema ritual on a galactic scale, but as Satele Shan once wondered, if he would drain all life from the galaxy just for immortality, who would he rule? an emperor of nothing? an emperor of the Void? Not quite... Vitiate always knew, that the sith civilization was flawed, his rule will always be contested, every sith in time will try to stab his master in the back, no true loyalty, just a constant thirst for power (Looking at Darth Baras when he tried to imprison the sith emperor body host...) But Vitiate knew the force was neither light of dark... On his Odyssey in uncharted space he found a planet named Zakuul, and a champion named Valkorion who seems to be connected to defeating the eternal fleet with the gravestone in someway... The sith emperor, transmitted his main spirit into Valkorion, and this explains why he went silent afterwards. The remaining body, in the sith temple was a doppelganger, in someway his voice, eyes and ears, in the galaxy far far away that we know...

5-When the Hero of Tython, killed the emperor on Dromund Kaas, as the emperor's cult stated in an email sent to the sith warrior class story, the emperor went silent, however his soul lingers... After this defeat the emperor (Valkorion here) was weakened, this defeat of his orginal host made his spirit fractured and vulnerable, not only did he lose his eyes, ears, and voice in the galaxy, but he also lost part of his soul, maybe half (This deserves a nod to Voldemort and his horcruxes from Harry potter )

6-Revan freed, Revan reborn, seeked vengeance on the emperor for imprisoning him for all these years, the emperor seemed to have shared a bond with revan, just like he did with the outlander (since Revan was able to peak in the emperor's mind many times...) He knew that somehow the emperor still lives, even if weakened, he felt his presence in his mind, that is why he went to Yavin 4, for a ritual that would allow him to conjure the emperor and defeat him once and for all... But before Revan was able to summon vitiate, that fracture of the emperor's soul that the jedi knight had defeated long ago, fed on all the lives that were lost during the revanite's war, and gained enough strength to escape... The soul fracture then went to neighbor planet Ziost and fed on all life on that planet, gaining back it's full stength, the fracture of vitiate soul went back to its main body host Valkorion. Valkorion at this period of time regained full power.

7-After regaining full power from his latest feast, Valkorion, now immortal emperor to a perfect empire (Zakuul), and father to powerful force-sensitive children (Arcann, Thexan, and Vaylin), ordered his two sons to launch a full scale war with the eternal fleet on the republic and the empire. If he wasn't going to reenact Nathema ritual on galactic scale that would be because after Ziost , Valkorion realised that he already is immortal and a god... His full stength is regained, his immortality achieved, his new empire already already too powerful and his eternal fleet unstoppable, he decided to destroy the republic and the empire once and for all, to become the sole immortal uncontested ruler of the galaxy, forever...

8-But there is a flaw in the Plan, his current body host Valkorion was aging and dying, and while I believe that his children were potential hosts, since he obviously didn't father them out of love or raise them out of kindness "A god has no family". Arcann's betrayal however, came unexpected and the emperor's immortal soul seemed forced to merge with the outlander's body. He couldn't take control completely, for that to happen the outlander needed to accept Valkorion; plus Valkorion wanted the outlander to take his throne back, and eliminate his unruly off springs, starting a new legacy with the outlander on the eternal throne. And ofc he needed to see if the outlander is a worthy host, after defeating Arcann, Valkorion appears out of nowhere at the ending cinematic of chapter 16 KOTFE and tells you "You are ready" (a nod to revenge of the sith, where palpatine was testing Anakin to see if he could outbest his old apprentice count dooku in a duel, in this case most likely Arcann his first choice of his next body host)

So this is the full Immortal emperor story in a nutshell, complicated sure, but this is it... it's not poorly wriiten, I think its pretty original but sometimes poorly executed or shown in the game...

Except my original question still stands: How did the phrase "Bow before the Dragon of zakuul" work on the emperor in the dreamworld? I know there is a smart twist somewhere, obviously related to Vaylin :

"Outlander: what's good for Vaylin, is good for you/ Valkorion: hehehe Smart"

You can still kill him after saving the gravestone. It makes sense since he planted the bombs in the gravestone. You needed his help to shut them down or it could have destroyed the alliance fleet that came with you. My sorcerer killed him at the end so it didn't matter whether it was the first time she saw him again or at the end. He still died.

It does matter - Because he was annoying and my character thought he deserved to die. He was a traitor.

stuff

Thanks for retelling the story I just experienced. I didn't miss the story, if that's what you are implying - It just doesn't add up. And last I checked, Vitiate wasn't a Sith Pureblood, but human. He is at least in JK Chapter 2 and 3.

Thanks for retelling the story I just experienced. I didn't miss the story, if that's what you are implying - It just doesn't add up. And last I checked, Vitiate wasn't a Sith Pureblood, but human. He is at least in JK Chapter 2 and 3.

Vitiate was always a Pureblood at birth. The Human fought in JK Chapter 3 was a Voice of the Emperor (aka not his real body). The Voice in JK Chapter 2 is the Voss voice that Warriors free on Voss (you don't see this Voice's face as it would be very confusing as to why he's a Voss in Chapter 2 and a human in Chapter 3, and knowledge of the Voice of the Emperor was Warrior-exclusive at the time)

I hated KotFE, for all it's plotholes in the very first and second chapter. I predicted a ME3 BS-ending. BW had me facepalming when I learned that they actually wanted to stretch the story over a whole other expansion, potentially ruining not just one, but two expansions.

 

Having watched the "Betrayed"-trailer and absolutely loved every single second of it, I kinda got my hopes up a little for the expansion. The pacing, music, motives, character development, face expression, scenery, and even link into the last expansion's trailer, I was REALLY impressed. It was a perfect example of "Show, don't tell". It's one of the best gaming trailers I've ever seen. You could really feel Senya's struggle, and how she was powerless versus Valkorion. How he made Vaylin a psycopath and basically made the entire family fall apart. There's even a metaphor in every single scene, for what is going on - It's brilliant!

 

Coming into KotET, I think they did alright-ish with what the last expansion left it with. However, the plot was very non-surprising, and Vaylin (Unlike in the trailer) was just like she was in KotFE: Annoying, impossible to feel sorry for, and just 1-dimensional. She literally had zero personality. Her only personality trait seems to be: "I'm evil, so I like to kill people. It makes me happy.". As soon as she opens her mouth, I just hear a little annoying kid speak. And she only seems to have one facial expression. You know which one, I'm talking about:

She talks like a deranged Sith, she looks like one, and feels like one. Why was an entire new faction made up for this story again? The Eternal Empire is effectively just "The Sith Empire 2.0"...

 

The relationship between Senya and Vaylin as shown in the trailer, is never properly shown in the ingame story. In fact, hardly any relationship is explain properly, and it really hurts the story. Why was Thexan even in the story? He was ultimately completely pointless.

 

On top of this, I felt annoyed that every single character always had their own agendas. Their own edge or profit, they wanted to get out of a situation. I found this unbelievable, since these things could easily, everything considered, costs the future for the galaxy. Everything is suppose to be on the line here, and you want to kill the Alliance Leader so you can take the leadership yourself? **** off! Now is not the time for power-struggles. Unnecessary and forced conflicts to prolong the expansion - No thanks.

 

Also, why were I never allowed to kill who I wanted to, when I wanted to? I hate Koth. I want to kill him. Can I do it? NOPE. He talks himself out of any situation, because the plot says so. Scorpio? Senya? Anyone? Nope. Because they have plot-armor on, apparently.

 

The ending was a bit better than what I feared, I'll admit. But in the grand scheme of things, did Valkorion's plan really make any sense? I mean, if he wanted a better empire, why not just merge the new and old Empire? Why even start the invasion with the Sith Empire if it was pointless anyway (You know... The original reason that this game even exist!)? The Eternal Fleet was unstoppable, nonetheless. If he really wanted "The Outlander's" body, then why did he have to let the player go through so much **** for basically nothing? Why didn't he just get the body right away, at the start of KotFE? Why not on Ziost? Why all this **** about his family? Why get them killed, when they really posed no threat? Why get killed himself? There's still so much bs that is unexplained. And it's all because of one little detail: Valkorion is ALL-POWERFUL: He can do ANYTHING. Why make over-convoluted schemes for no reason? You don't need to! Just take what you want - The End!

 

Long story short: Valkorion and the two expansions can just be boiled down to an over-complicated and over-dramatized version of the Darth Zash's story, for the Sith Inquisitor. Only this one doesn't make much sense, and you were forced to pay BW/EA, in order to play it.

I hope you think it was worth it, because I ultimately don't feel that way.

 

In terms of an original story, we got screwed hard. The story brought nothing new to the table, so if you want to experience a story about a power-hungry Sith, who wants to live forever, I suggest you just play the Sith Inquisitor's Chapter 1, instead.

 

This looks familiar?

Much of "Valkorion's" motivation is revealed at his end when he snarls "pondscum" equivalent at his family when they all turn on him. He thinks he is God and this is all his privilege to do and ours to be graced with his presence. He's playing with toys and seeing what happens.

It's also revealed that he is flexible. His original plan was to just hijack you in Chapter One of Fallen Empire but you proved too powerful. Everything since then from him has been heavy BS.

Two little things that had me scratching my head.

Not a true story element, but after the big battle inside the war room of the Alliance base, it's all completely cleaned up and repaired immediately afterward.

Furthermore... if you pick "rule the galaxy as emperor/empress." Obviously the Republic and the Sith Empire aren't going to recognize you as THEIR emperor/empress? So exactly how much of the galaxy you truly rule isn't entirely clear. Finally, if you take the throne as ruler, exactly how and why are you supposed to personally go out and fight in these uprisings and any other group content released in 2017? This has been discussed before-- the EMPEROR/EMPRESS doesn't personally go and squash every little threat. They tell someone, who tells someone, who tells someone, who tells someone. Just because the Emperor/Empress might be super-mighty doesn't mean they have to run around squashing all challenges themselves. Even Darth Vader and Darth Sidious knew when to send rank and file, and then if necessary, officers, to do the dirty work.

Two little things that had me scratching my head.

 

Not a true story element, but after the big battle inside the war room of the Alliance base, it's all completely cleaned up and repaired immediately afterward.

 

Furthermore... if you pick "rule the galaxy as emperor/empress." Obviously the Republic and the Sith Empire aren't going to recognize you as THEIR emperor/empress? So exactly how much of the galaxy you truly rule isn't entirely clear. Finally, if you take the throne as ruler, exactly how and why are you supposed to personally go out and fight in these uprisings and any other group content released in 2017? This has been discussed before-- the EMPEROR/EMPRESS doesn't personally go and squash every little threat. They tell someone, who tells someone, who tells someone, who tells someone. Just because the Emperor/Empress might be super-mighty doesn't mean they have to run around squashing all challenges themselves. Even Darth Vader and Darth Sidious knew when to send rank and file, and then if necessary, officers, to do the dirty work.

I've never been clear on whether Zakuul had conquered other planets out in Wild Space prior to attacking the Empire and Republic, so yeah, no idea what my Wrath is now the Emperor of, exactly. Or why Lana would let him run off to personally snuff out any sparks of rebellion, because it doesn't seem like a good idea to leave the Eternal Throne empty.

That was another head-scratcher moment for me, actually, when we leave Zakuul and the Eternal Throne to return to Odessen. And suddenly - hello surprise time skip? - there's a throne room in the base. Like okay...we don't have SCORPIO around and our Hutt hasn't mastered Iokath tech or he'd've roused GEMINI Prime by now, so how the hell can that dinky little chair in Odessen possibly control the Eternal Fleet?

I hated KotFE, for all it's plotholes in the very first and second chapter. I predicted a ME3 BS-ending. BW had me facepalming when I learned that they actually wanted to stretch the story over a whole other expansion, potentially ruining not just one, but two expansions.

 

Having watched the "Betrayed"-trailer and absolutely loved every single second of it, I kinda got my hopes up a little for the expansion. The pacing, music, motives, character development, face expression, scenery, and even link into the last expansion's trailer, I was REALLY impressed. It was a perfect example of "Show, don't tell". It's one of the best gaming trailers I've ever seen. You could really feel Senya's struggle, and how she was powerless versus Valkorion. How he made Vaylin a psycopath and basically made the entire family fall apart. There's even a metaphor in every single scene, for what is going on - It's brilliant!

 

Coming into KotET, I think they did alright-ish with what the last expansion left it with. However, the plot was very non-surprising, and Vaylin (Unlike in the trailer) was just like she was in KotFE: Annoying, impossible to feel sorry for, and just 1-dimensional. She literally had zero personality. Her only personality trait seems to be: "I'm evil, so I like to kill people. It makes me happy.". As soon as she opens her mouth, I just hear a little annoying kid speak. And she only seems to have one facial expression. You know which one, I'm talking about:

She talks like a deranged Sith, she looks like one, and feels like one. Why was an entire new faction made up for this story again? The Eternal Empire is effectively just "The Sith Empire 2.0"...

 

The relationship between Senya and Vaylin as shown in the trailer, is never properly shown in the ingame story. In fact, hardly any relationship is explain properly, and it really hurts the story. Why was Thexan even in the story? He was ultimately completely pointless.

 

On top of this, I felt annoyed that every single character always had their own agendas. Their own edge or profit, they wanted to get out of a situation. I found this unbelievable, since these things could easily, everything considered, costs the future for the galaxy. Everything is suppose to be on the line here, and you want to kill the Alliance Leader so you can take the leadership yourself? **** off! Now is not the time for power-struggles. Unnecessary and forced conflicts to prolong the expansion - No thanks.

 

Also, why were I never allowed to kill who I wanted to, when I wanted to? I hate Koth. I want to kill him. Can I do it? NOPE. He talks himself out of any situation, because the plot says so. Scorpio? Senya? Anyone? Nope. Because they have plot-armor on, apparently.

 

The ending was a bit better than what I feared, I'll admit. But in the grand scheme of things, did Valkorion's plan really make any sense? I mean, if he wanted a better empire, why not just merge the new and old Empire? Why even start the invasion with the Sith Empire if it was pointless anyway (You know... The original reason that this game even exist!)? The Eternal Fleet was unstoppable, nonetheless. If he really wanted "The Outlander's" body, then why did he have to let the player go through so much **** for basically nothing? Why didn't he just get the body right away, at the start of KotFE? Why not on Ziost? Why all this **** about his family? Why get them killed, when they really posed no threat? Why get killed himself? There's still so much bs that is unexplained. And it's all because of one little detail: Valkorion is ALL-POWERFUL: He can do ANYTHING. Why make over-convoluted schemes for no reason? You don't need to! Just take what you want - The End!

 

Long story short: Valkorion and the two expansions can just be boiled down to an over-complicated and over-dramatized version of the Darth Zash's story, for the Sith Inquisitor. Only this one doesn't make much sense, and you were forced to pay BW/EA, in order to play it.

I hope you think it was worth it, because I ultimately don't feel that way.

 

In terms of an original story, we got screwed hard. The story brought nothing new to the table, so if you want to experience a story about a power-hungry Sith, who wants to live forever, I suggest you just play the Sith Inquisitor's Chapter 1, instead.

 

This looks familiar?

I killed Koth quite easily on my Sith Sorcerer. The line he had as I impaled him was quite hilarious. Also killed Senya, Scorpio, and I am going to take out Arcann, then Vaylin, then Valkorion.

When it's over, long rid of that damn family. And all betrayers.

I think the thing about the Dragon of Zakuul is that it was Vaylin's *spirit* that Valkorian ate. That mental conditioning and her railing against it were what made her the murderous sadistic drunk-on-evil nutcase she was for her entire not-really-adult life. Though she was no longer bound by the conditioning, by its prior effects, it was still very much at the core of who she was- i.e. the core of Valkorian's lunch in Chapter 8. I doubt, had Vaylin lived, she would ever have been able to hear the words "Kneel before the Dragon of Zakuul" without feeling a moment of fear and revulsion, deep ingrained, *before* remembering "No, hang on, I'm free now."

Then, too, Valkorian had had untold lifetimes of putting people in cages- as the incoming Empress of the Alliance points out, in one choice- that sort of thing, those mental chains- are, in another sense, at the core of who *he* is too- it's how he expects the universe to work that way, just not against him. As his successor points out too, her mind; her rules. Vaylin's torture, which he caused, and his own twisted mindset combined, made him someone who could be caged by that phrase by someone with the confidence to make it work.

Here is the FULL EXPLAINED story behind Valkorion's motives and rise to power [gathered from story elements and CODEX] although I agree that some plot-points were poorly executed or shown in the game:

 

1-Valkorion was originally a sith pureblood named Vitiate, born as a Tenebrae, abandoned by his father Lord Dramath at birth. When Vitiate reached ten years old, his dark power grew immensely, he designed a special holocron, one that was able to trap his father's spirit within it.

 

2-After his father gone, Vitiate ruled over Nathema, dedicating his time to expand his powers and learn the darkest secrets of the Force. In the Aftermath of the defeat of Naga Sadow and the original sith by the republic, Vitiate invited all neighboring sith lords into a council on Nathema where he drained all their life essence including the planet's. Shortly after the ritual was enacted he gathered the remaining sith as a colony and went into uncharted space.

 

3-Vitiate thought that the ritual on Nathema made him immortal, but it only left him hungry for more, he plotted to repeat the ritual on a galactic scale (for that he needed a war, and an army). He forged a new empire on Dromund Kaas, created the children of the emperor, and even changed body hosts over the centuries just to keep his spirit going... He even trapped Darth Revan, preserved his body with sith Alchemy (Maelstorm Prison) for a potential future body host. But the republic was too strong to face yet, for that he convinced Mandalorians (Mandalore the Ultimate I think) to declare War on the Republic draining Republic resources, while the newly forged sith empire was shaping up...

 

4-Sith empire or Republic, both were merely pawns in Vitiate master plan of enacting the Nathema ritual on a galactic scale, but as Satele Shan once wondered, if he would drain all life from the galaxy just for immortality, who would he rule? an emperor of nothing? an emperor of the Void? Not quite... Vitiate always knew, that the sith civilization was flawed, his rule will always be contested, every sith in time will try to stab his master in the back, no true loyalty, just a constant thirst for power (Looking at Darth Baras when he tried to imprison the sith emperor body host...) But Vitiate knew the force was neither light of dark... On his Odyssey in uncharted space he found a planet named Zakuul, and a champion named Valkorion who seems to be connected to defeating the eternal fleet with the gravestone in someway... The sith emperor, transmitted his main spirit into Valkorion, and this explains why he went silent afterwards. The remaining body, in the sith temple was a doppelganger, in someway his voice, eyes and ears, in the galaxy far far away that we know...

 

5-When the Hero of Tython, killed the emperor on Dromund Kaas, as the emperor's cult stated in an email sent to the sith warrior class story, the emperor went silent, however his soul lingers... After this defeat the emperor (Valkorion here) was weakened, this defeat of his orginal host made his spirit fractured and vulnerable, not only did he lose his eyes, ears, and voice in the galaxy, but he also lost part of his soul, maybe half (This deserves a nod to Voldemort and his horcruxes from Harry potter )

 

6-Revan freed, Revan reborn, seeked vengeance on the emperor for imprisoning him for all these years, the emperor seemed to have shared a bond with revan, just like he did with the outlander (since Revan was able to peak in the emperor's mind many times...) He knew that somehow the emperor still lives, even if weakened, he felt his presence in his mind, that is why he went to Yavin 4, for a ritual that would allow him to conjure the emperor and defeat him once and for all... But before Revan was able to summon vitiate, that fracture of the emperor's soul that the jedi knight had defeated long ago, fed on all the lives that were lost during the revanite's war, and gained enough strength to escape... The soul fracture then went to neighbor planet Ziost and fed on all life on that planet, gaining back it's full stength, the fracture of vitiate soul went back to its main body host Valkorion. Valkorion at this period of time regained full power.

 

7-After regaining full power from his latest feast, Valkorion, now immortal emperor to a perfect empire (Zakuul), and father to powerful force-sensitive children (Arcann, Thexan, and Vaylin), ordered his two sons to launch a full scale war with the eternal fleet on the republic and the empire. If he wasn't going to reenact Nathema ritual on galactic scale that would be because after Ziost , Valkorion realised that he already is immortal and a god... His full stength is regained, his immortality achieved, his new empire already already too powerful and his eternal fleet unstoppable, he decided to destroy the republic and the empire once and for all, to become the sole immortal uncontested ruler of the galaxy, forever...

 

8-But there is a flaw in the Plan, his current body host Valkorion was aging and dying, and while I believe that his children were potential hosts, since he obviously didn't father them out of love or raise them out of kindness "A god has no family". Arcann's betrayal however, came unexpected and the emperor's immortal soul seemed forced to merge with the outlander's body. He couldn't take control completely, for that to happen the outlander needed to accept Valkorion; plus Valkorion wanted the outlander to take his throne back, and eliminate his unruly off springs, starting a new legacy with the outlander on the eternal throne. And ofc he needed to see if the outlander is a worthy host, after defeating Arcann, Valkorion appears out of nowhere at the ending cinematic of chapter 16 KOTFE and tells you "You are ready" (a nod to revenge of the sith, where palpatine was testing Anakin to see if he could outbest his old apprentice count dooku in a duel, in this case most likely Arcann his first choice of his next body host)

 

So this is the full Immortal emperor story in a nutshell, complicated sure, but this is it... it's not poorly wriiten, I think its pretty original but sometimes poorly executed or shown in the game...

 

Except my original question still stands: How did the phrase "Bow before the Dragon of zakuul" work on the emperor in the dreamworld? I know there is a smart twist somewhere, obviously related to Vaylin :

"Outlander: what's good for Vaylin, is good for you/ Valkorion: hehehe Smart"

Explained very well. Thank you for summing it all up.