7 things I wish I'd known before starting Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is here and it is a massive game packed full of things to do. For new players, it might be overwhelming stepping into the game and not knowing what you should do. Will you save your skill points or spend them? Explore now or later? Or perhaps you’re not sure about best combat practices. Well, I’ve got you covered. Below are some tips to keep in mind before you start digging into Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

Spend ‘em if you got ‘em

Spend your skill points! While you might be tempted to hold onto them, you’ll get enough skill points as you play that you can easily unlock everything you want. Better yet, you can reset your skills one time for free and spend the points again. Every time after that it will cost you one point.

While you will be getting new stances and abilities as the campaign progresses, it is absolutely worth upgrading your current gear to make life a bit easier for yourself. This is especially true if you improve Cal’s health, Force meter, and how fast he uses BD-1’s stims.

Explore for cosmetics

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order saw players changing Cal’s appearance by equipping different ponchos. In Survivor, you have far more customization options available. As I wrote in my review, it’s possible to equip Cal with a mullet and handlebar mustache, but only if you take time to explore. It’s for this reason you should explore at every opportunity you get.

These cosmetics can be found in chests, often tucked away in some hard to reach location. Whenever you climb up to a new location, remember to turn around to see if there is a route behind you. Similarly, if a path splits in two directions, take a walk down both!

You’ll wind up finding plenty of cosmetics for Cal’s appearance and also some for your lightsaber. Visit your closest workbench to tweak your lightsaber’s blade, components, and material.

Explore Koboh

Koboh acts as the hub world in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. You’ll be returning here after basically every mission to head to some new location that has become available. While you primary goal for returning will be to follow the campaign, you should take these moments to explore the non-mission locations.

Every time you return, it’s highly likely you’ll do so with some new ability for Cal or BD-1. These new abilities will allow you to access locations that were previously locked off. Most of the time, they will lead to health or Force upgrades, or even dungeons with a puzzle, boss, or some movement challenge.

Don’t be afraid to run past enemies

Stars Wars Jedi: Survivor can be quite a tough game, especially if you’re playing on higher difficulty levels. Even though there are plenty of meditation points and shortcuts, you might find yourself having to run through areas countless times after dying to an enemy in one or two hits. While you might feel the need to fight everything repeatedly, that’s not the case. It’s totally okay to do the ol’ Run Souls and run past everything.

This will get you back to where you died faster and will help you avoid getting frustrated. Additionally, if you make it back to the enemy that killed you and hit them, you’ll receive any XP you might have lost. Once you get your XP back, then you can kill the enemies, as the more XP you get, the more skills you can unlock.

Use Confusion

Speaking of skills, one of the best ones to use is Confusion. This move makes a foe fight for you, attacking their allies, but only for a brief moment. It’s a classic Jedi Mind Trick and one you should employ in battle any chance you get.

For those playing on tougher difficulties, using Confusion will greatly help your chances of surviving a fight. Even though you might be joined by a real ally (remember to use their ability!), sometimes your best ally is your enemy. Tricking a foe in the back will help split the aggro, giving you fewer enemies to fight head-on.

Change the difficulty

As mentioned, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a tough game. There are some boss fights with escalating phase that become quite challenging. In the event you’re dying too often, bump that difficulty down. Better to see the story through to the end than get frustrated at the “Press A to respawn” screen.

With several difficulty levels to choose from, there’s going to be one that’s right for you. There’s no shame in knocking the difficulty down. In fact, your first playthrough might be more enjoyable at a lower level.

At the same time, some optional bosses will become easier if you return to them later. This is especially true of the foes you’ll find in Koboh. The reason is that you’ll be returning with upgraded gear, new abilities, and more practice.

Learn to dodge and parry

Finally, you absolutely need to learn how to dodge and parry. Most enemy attacks can be parried by tapping the block button right before their attack connects. Doing so at the right time will damage their stamina. Do this enough and you’ll break their poise and leave them open to a devastating blow. This is often the only way to deal damage to tough foes and bosses, which is why practicing parrying often is a great idea.

However, not every attack can be parried. Whenever an enemy flashes red, they’re about to unleash an attack you cannot block or even parry. Your only option is to dodge, run away, or use a Force ability to stagger them.

With these early game tips under your belt, you should have no trouble getting started in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and eventually finding your own way. Got a tip you want to share? Drop it in the Chatty thread below!

Sam Chandler

Head of Guides

Hailing from the land down under, Sam Chandler brings a bit of the southern hemisphere flair to his work. After bouncing round a few universities, securing a bachelor degree, and entering the video game industry, he's found his new family here at Shacknews as Head of Guides. There's nothing he loves more than crafting a guide that will help someone. If you need help with a guide, or notice something not quite right, you can message him on X: @SamuelChandler