The first nine chapters of Knights of the Fallen Empire are finally here, available to anyone subscribed to Bioware’s Star Wars MMO.
It’s been quite a while since the last expansion though, and given this one’s heavy, heavy focus on story, we thought you might need a quick refresher on the relevant plot points.
In an effort to avoid spoiling any surprises though, we won’t be covering any information that’s revealed during Knights of the Fallen Empire itself. Instead we’ll be contextualizing relevant events from the pre-4.0 storylines, as well as the opening cinematic of KotFE, which debuted at last year’s E3.
So where do we start?
The bulk of Knights of the Fallen Empire takes places approximately five years after the events of Shadow of Revan (which definitely should be played before beginning this new expansion). However, there’s a short prelude set soon after SoR that links it all up.
As a quick recap, the Sith Emperor Vitiate, in a bid to claim immortality and power, has been orchestrating a series of conflicts between the Sith and the Galactic Republic. He was eventually defeated on Dromund Kaas, although it later turns out that only his physical shell was destroyed, and his spirit survived.
In SoR, a mysterious cult leader claiming to be Revan tried to resurrect the dead Emperor, in an attempt to draw him into the physical world where he might be destroyed for good. This plan was foiled on Yavin 4 by a coalition of Imperial and Republic soldiers, but the conflict gave the Emperor enough energy to partially return.
The Emperor subsequently manifested his spirit on the planet of Ziost, where he began to take control of its population through mind control. Another joint operation between the Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic was mounted, but unfortunately it was not enough, and the Emperor was able to carry out a ritual that killed all life on the entire planet.
Feeding off of this lifeforce, the Emperor was renewed. Strangely though, he did not press his advantage, and instead disappeared immediately afterwards. He has not been seen or heard from since.
This is where Fallen Empire begins?
Almost. While your character is off having adventures post-SoR, a mysterious new threat to both the Empire and the Republic emerges.
An unknown force begins to raid Imperial outposts in Wild Space (the frontiers of the known galaxy, beyond the Outer Rim). The attackers could not be identified, but they proved to be extremely effective, cutting through Sith defenses with ease. These raids soon turned into major attacks on both Imperial and Republic planets, including a stunning defeat of the Sith on Korriban itself.
As the Empire and Republic reel from these attacks, Darth Marr leads a coalition fleet into Wild Space, hoping to discover the source of this invasion.
During his search, Marr senses the Emperor’s presence, and summons your character, who previously played a huge role in the fight against the Emperor on Yavin 4 and Ziost. This is where the introductory sections of KotFE picks up. We’re not going to get into any spoilery specifics, but basically, soon after this, your character disappears and is presumed dead, only to reemerge five years later.
What happens in those five years?
A lot, but much of that is essential to the story of KotFE, so we won’t spoil it here. Don’t worry though, we’ll dig into these events soon, once enough people have had a chance to play through the expansion’s initial nine chapters.
Fair enough, any other details from the previous storylines that I need a refresher on?
You’ll definitely want to remember Theron Shan and Lana Beniko, the SIS agent and Sith Intelligence officer who were behind the coalition’s efforts to foil the Revanite cult.
Alongside those two, if you have a good memory for characters, you’ll see plenty more familiar faces in KotFE. Most of them will have played a big role in your Class Stories prior, especially if you didn’t skip Makeb and Rise of the Hutt Cartel.
Interestingly, Nico Okarr also makes an appearance as a playable companion character after the main events of Chapter Nine. If you don’t recognize the name, you’ll probably remember the look. He’s the cowboy-looking guy who was featured prominently in the cinematic trailer for The Old Republic, but was never actually seen or mentioned in the game itself.
Okarr only appears for those who unlocked the subscriber reward leading up to the launch of KotFE, so I wouldn’t expect to see him play a huge role in the story to come. Still, here’s to hoping we find out a little bit more about what he’s been up to after helping Satele Shan all those years ago.
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