With reports that Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic will be getting a remake developed by Aspyr Media, RPG fans are once again looking back to one of BioWare's most beloved games. Like all BioWare RPGs, the player's companions are at the heart of the story, accompanying the protagonist as they choose between the dark side and the light.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic has some great companions, but some far outmatch others in terms of usefulness in gameplay. While some fans are bound to disagree, here's a complete tier list of KOTOR's companions, an explanation of what makes some special, and why others miss the mark.
Updated September 15, 2022, by Ritwik Mitra: It's a shame that the remake of Knights of the Old Republic has been delayed indefinitely. Fans were looking forward to experiencing one of BioWare's finest RPGs, but it's not the biggest loss around. After all, the original game is still pretty playable to this day and is quite enjoyable in its own right. Players might have to make some visual compromises, but the tactical gameplay is solid and the story of this title still holds up well. One of the best parts of Knights of the Old Republic was its wide cast of amazing companions, most of which fans still remember to this day. This was BioWare's character writing at its very peak, with each and every party member having believable motivations and compelling character arcs of their own. Of course, some characters are simply more memorable than others, with this Knights of the Old Republic companion tier list establishing their overall impact in the game.
S-Tier Companions
Carth Onasi
Carth Onasi is the very first full-time companion players get in Knights of the Old Republic, and his availability throughout the game is one of his greatest strengths. Carth first joins the player on Taris. The early section of the game takes place before the player can rediscover their force powers, making Carth's use as a tank with high accuracy particularly useful at stopping new players from getting killed by Sith, gangsters, or Rakghouls. Even after the player begins to come into their own, Carth's dual-wielding bonus and high Dex make him a great battle buddy.
Carth's tragic backstory and the length of time he's with the player make the arc of his relationship with the protagonist particularly satisfying across the game. It's a shame that a planned segment where a dark side player who romanced Carth could rejoin him at the last minute was cut from the retail release. Overall, however, Carth is one of KOTOR's most useful companions and most compelling characters.
Jolee Bindo
Jolee Bindo strikes a lot of contrasts with Carth but still manages to be one of the game's best companions. Unlike Carth, Jolee isn't available until later in the game. However, it is his role as a Gray Jedi that makes him one of KOTOR's best fighters and most interesting characters. As a Gray Jedi, Jolee doesn't follow the light or dark side of the force.
It's a great idea that breaks out of Star Wars' binary morality and makes Jolee a far less familiar character type than some of the others met in the game. In terms of in-game stats, this means he doesn't lose as many force points using certain powers as the player's light-side Jedi companions. Not only that, but Jolee has access to more powers than any other companion - Jedi or otherwise - in the game.
A-Tier Companions
Mission Vao
Mission Vao, like Carth, is one of the companions the player gets earliest in the game. It isn't until she's at a higher level, however, that her rightful place in the A-Tier makes itself known. As a scoundrel, players can make her sneak attacks particularly powerful, which is great in combination with a character like Jolee who has powerful crowd control.
Her low damage at lower levels makes her less useful early in the game, but Mission's late-game utility and her interesting role as an optimistic take on the usually cynical Han Solo archetype make her one of KOTOR's best companions.
Bastila Shan
Bastila Shan is in the A-Tier largely for story reasons. In fact, there's a strong argument to be made that Bastila is the deuteragonist of Knights of the Old Republic. She's vital to the main story from start to finish and is the most affected by the player's force alignment of any character in the story.
Unlike the S-Tier characters, however, she's harder to optimize for combat, with mismatched stats making her less than ideal as either a damage-dealer or tank. However, the sheer importance of her character negates most of these complaints.
HK-47
HK-47 is a Hunter-Killer assassin droid that Revan used to take out Jedi across the galaxy, but one of his many memory wipes may have gone a little too far. As a result, this amnesiac droid gets stuck in the same boat as his master for quite some time.
He has an interesting connection to the protagonist's past and a bunch of great lines for the "meat bags" on the other end of the screen to enjoy. While he may not have the sheer versatility of some companions, the game would be all the lesser without HK-45 and his boisterous personality.
Juhani
When it comes to tanks, there's no KOTOR companion better than Juhani. She has Force Aura from the get-go, giving her a bonus to Defense and saving throws that, added to her high base Con and Dex, make her a great damage sponge.
As one of the first queer Star Wars characters, she also had an important role in broadening the horizons of the Star Wars universe and the stories it was willing to tell. It was a step in the right direction that the franchise has maintained, for the most part.
B-Tier Companions
Canderous Ordo
Unlike Juhani, Mandalorian Canderous Ordo is particularly unfortunate when it comes to starting abilities. With decent main stats he's a good fighter, but far less useful than similarly built characters like Carth. This turns him into a slightly redundant character, which is a shame.
His connection to Mandalorian lore, his biting wit, and his loyalty add some interesting elements to his character, but ultimately Canderous isn't as impressive in combat or characterization as those in the A-Tier. As a result, he does take a hit in terms of overall usability in the game.
Zaalbar
Zaalbar is an interesting character, but only really in conjunction with Mission. Without her, it's hard to see him as much more than a Chewbacca expy. Of course, that's not to say that he doesn't have his fair share of memorable moments in the game, but they do lack a fair bit of impact given his limited vocabulary.
In combat, the Wookie cannot wear armor, which makes his impressive 20 in Str and Con less and less useful as the game goes on. This is especially problematic since he's designed as a melee fighter and will often take a lot of damage in even the most carefully planned attacks.
C-Tier Companions
Trask Ulgo
It's a shame that Trask ranks so among the best KOTOR companions. After all, he's the entire reason why the player even manages to embark on this adventure of a lifetime, piecing together fragments of their life to try and understand their role in the main story. Without Trask, it's possible that Darth Revan would've just died onboard a spaceship with little to no fanfare.
Unfortunately, players just don't get to spend enough time with Trask to warrant him having a higher placement. He essentially serves as a guide during the tutorial section of the game, helping players to learn the ropes when it comes to the combat system before letting loose in the main game. However, near the end of the first level, the duo encounter a Sith Lord named Darth Brandon. Trask realizes that this enemy is impossible to defeat and valiantly sacrifices his life, giving the player enough time to escape from the ship.
T3-M4
Knights of the Old Republic's droid companion, T3-M4, is undoubtedly the weakest in the game. T3-M4 may not be the game's most useless follower, but with weapons restricted to blasters and a lack of useful combat abilities, he's one of the weakest fighters in the game.
His high Int can make him an occasionally handy passive party member, but that's about it. That being said, his charm more than makes up for his status as the worst party member in the game from a gameplay standpoint.
Star Wars: Knight of the Old Republic is currently available on Mobile, PC, Switch, and Xbox One.