Teräs Käsi Artist FAQ 1.2
11/27/2003 9:20 am EST
By Forgie (Intrepid Server)

NOTE: The goal of this FAQ is to provide a factual guide to the game of the TKA profession. This is not a guide on how to Role-Play a TKA. If you are a role-player, you may find that some of the information contained in this FAQ is not "what a real TKM would do." I know that quite a few role-players don't like the idea of using pets, armor, vibro-knucklers, bleed shots, macros, etc. This FAQ is intended to provide you with a list of everything you can do as a TKA. Additionally I know that many people are afraid of getting NERF'ed, so if I misstate any numbers, please let me know your experience and I will adjust the numbers. Also I'm totally open to other suggestions for what should be included. This doc has gotten big and I may have forgotten something. If someone would like to include a TKA role-playing guide that is faithful to the Star Wars universe, I'd be happy to include that too.

Index

1. Who is the Teräs Käsi Artist Correspondent?
2. What race should I choose?
3. What are the differences between the attribute points? Does having more Strength mean I do more damage?
4. How should I distribute my attribute points?
5. I just got Novice Brawler, what is the best way to get to Novice TKA?
6. Where are the Teräs Käsi Trainers?
7. Ok, I've made TKA Novice, now what should I hunt?
8. I'd like to solo, but I'm not a Creature Handler. What should I do?
9. How does Armor work? Does wearing armor increase the HAM costs of special moves?
10. Should I wear armor as a TKA?
11. What are the special moves for a TKA?
12. How does Power Boost work?
13. How does Force of Will work?
14. How does meditate work?
14.1 When I try to meditate I get the message "You cannot meditate while running."
15. My Vibro-knucklers have X-Y dmg and Z speed. How do they compare?
16. How does speed work? Should I choose a VK for speed, or for damage?
17. When do we get damage multipliers?
18. What is the most damage you have done as a TKM?
19. Are there any other weapons available besides the Vibro-knucklers or just using my fists?
20. Do TKAs have a bleed shot?
21. What are some popular templates with Teräs Käsi Master?
22. Is there some way to turn off the red ribbons that appear when doing my specials?
23. What is the list of current bugs with TKA?
24. How do I pronounce Teräs Käsi?
25. What's this I hear about Teräs Käsi being Jedi Hunters?
26. What consumables (food & spice) can I take to help out?

1. Who is the Teräs Käsi Artist Correspondent?

Mister_Heavy

2. What race should I choose?

This is one of the most frequently asked questions on the forums. The answer really comes down to personal choice (especially if you are a role-player). All of the races have positive and negative aspects, and you will find on these forums that there are TK Masters in every possible race. If you want to play as a Twi'lek, don't let the starting racial bonuses force you into playing a Trandoshan. Also keep in mind that if you plan on joining the Imperial side of the Galactic Civil War, that all non-human races suffer faction point penalties. Here are some details on the races (note that I only list bonuses that apply to TKA directly):

Trandoshan
+10 Unarmed Accuracy
+5 Unarmed Speed
+15 Unarmed Damage
+10 Melee Defense
+1 Regeneration
This is one of the most popular races for a Teräs Käsi Artist because of the easy to understand unarmed bonuses and the natural regeneration. Trandoshans cannot wear gloves or boots.

Wookiee
+10 Warcry
+1 Wookiee Roar
To make up for the fact that they cannot wear any armor, Wookiees have large bonuses in each of the possible attributes. However with some armor suits reaching >80% resistances, the inability to wear armor reduces a Wookiee's ability to be a tank (which is the how the Devs view the role of the TKA). The bonus to Warcry means that the delay has a greater chance or sticking/working on the target. Wookiee roar is a move unique to Wooks. It is a cone version of the Intimidate special move that also boosts Mind by 20 points. Wookiees can use this move every 5 minutes. For more on these moves see the special moves section below.

Human
As with most RPGs the human is the average joe of the group. No special bonuses, but the ability to be anything. If you plan on following the holocron trail, a human would be a good choice since it is the most balanced. Also humans are the only race that don't suffer faction penalties as a member of the Empire. Currently you can migrate all of a human's stats so that they have a max of 1100 on Mind/Focus/Willpower (although not at the same time). This can be a big advantage (however there is talk of a change for this in the works).

Zabrak
+10 Defense vs Dizzy (keeps you from falling again when you try to stand after being knocked down)
+10 Defense vs Stun (when you are stunned you do less damage)
+10 Defense vs Intimidate (when you are intimidated you do less damage)
+1 Equilibrium
+1 Vitalize
Lots of good stuff here. Equilibrium and Vitalize are both special moves that can be used once per hour. Equilibrium averages out damage to all your HAM bars (so if you have 300 damage to health, it adjusts it so you instead have 100 damage to each of the 3 stats). Vitalize is a power boost that gives you +50 to Health Action and Mind for a short period.

Rodian
+15 Defense vs Blind (when you are blind your accuracy is reduced)

Mon Calamari, Bothan, and Twi'lek

No special bonuses for TKA here, but they each have bonuses that my apply to whatever other profession you will be taking. Each race also has attribute bonuses that can help if used correctly. Bothans and Twi'lek have higher action pools, Mon Calamari have high mind pools. Check the FAQs for the companion professions you are considering to help you decide.

3. What are the differences between the attribute points? Does having more Strength mean I do more damage?

Attribute points are one of the most commonly misunderstood parts of the game. There are 9 attribute points: 3 primary vitality related stats, 3 move-cost related stats, and 3 regeneration related stats.

Health, Action and Mind (frequently abbreviated HAM)
These are the primary stats used to reflect your overall health. When one of these attributes is reduced to zero, you will become incapacitated. Whenever you perform a special move, each of these attributes is reduced based on a formula (see special moves discussion below). Therefore it is very important to keep these stats in a useable range.

Strength, Quickness and Focus
These are the move-cost stats. Contrary to any RPG training you may have had in other games, Strength does not affect the amount of damage you do. This is the #1 misconception by people playing Wookiee characters. These stats affect the HAM costs of your special moves. The general consensus is that for each 100 points available in one of these stats (in other words not used by armor or wounds) that the base HAM cost of a weapon is reduced by 1-2 points. This number is just based on perception (doing a stat migration and checking average damage) and is more likely to be a dynamic value. If anyone wants to point to some real data, I'd be happy to include it. Since wearing armor reduces these attributes (based on the encumbrance costs), most TKA quickly discover that wearing armor increases the costs of special moves (see the explanation of armor below).

Constitution, Stamina and Willpower
These are the regeneration stats. Having higher numbers here means that you will regenerate the primary Health, Action and Mind stats faster. Since wearing armor reduces these attributes (based on the encumbrance costs), you will notice that you do not regenerate as quickly while wearing armor (see the explanation of armor below).

4. How should I distribute my attribute points?

This is another common question. This really depends on your play style as well as what other profession you have besides TKA (specifically if you will have any medic). When using a base set of Vibro-knucklers, you will find that your HAM costs are roughly 1 health / 1.6 action / 1 mind. So if you didn't take healing into account, you would want more action than either mind or health.

If you plan on having any medic (definitely recommended) you must take healing into account. First of all you should know that you cannot heal the Mind attribute (aside from using the Zabrak equalize). The only way to increase Mind is to regenerate it. Additionally you can heal Health and Action using stimpacks, but doing so drains your Mind attribute.

Additionally you should take the powerboost special move into account. Powerboost is a meditate move you get at level 2 Mediate (Advanced Meditative Techniques). Basically it will allow you to boost your Health and Action by 50% of your Mind. For example if you had 1000/1000/1000 and you did powerboost, you eventually ramp-up to 1500/1500/1500.

Considering healing and powerboost, most TKMs migrate their stats over to the Mind column (Mind, Focus & Willpower). The exact amount of the migration would depend on your play style, so experiment with it. Migration is at the rate of 1 per 10 minutes (or 144 per day).

5. I just got Novice Brawler, what is the best way to get to Novice TKA?

The unarmed skill tree in Novice Brawler is known for being one of the worst grinds in the game. However there are some tricks to help you get through it.

First of all, go purchase the fastest Vibro-knuckler you can find. Next get it sliced for speed. If it slices for damage, hold on to it, but go purchase another one. Ideally you want to get a VK with a speed of around 1.6. Now I hear you saying, "but I won't be certified for the VK until I reach Novice TKA." True, but by using the VK, you will notice that the speed of your attacks doubles or triples. You won't hit for as much damage, but you'll hit a whole lot more.

Method 1
Do it the normal way. Go to the newbie mob spawns and kill everything you see. Run destroy missions from mission terminals. Run hunting missions for the newbie mobs (great way to make money when starting out). If you want to take on heavy duty mobs, find a medic that needs healing XP and get him to come along and heal you.

Method 2
Use a bleed shot. You can get a simple bleed shot by getting level 4 of any of the marksman branches. Create a macro like this:

/healthshot1;
/peace;

Now find a big mob that isn't social (meaning its friends wont help it out). Examples of this are Giant Worts out near Mos Taike on Tatooine. Target the mob and attack using that macro. Immediately begin running the other way, pressing your /peace key. The mob will eventually give up chasing you, but will charge again each time the bleed hits. Eventually the bleed will bring the mob's health down to 1 (with this new patch...currently it will kill it). You have to be careful not to let the mob die before you get at least 1 unarmed hit in. See bleeding XP doesn't count toward any specific weapon. So when you hit it unarmed, all of the XP gained from the bleed is converted into unarmed XP. Also note that you'll want to do this by yourself, or with friends that understand what you are doing...otherwise you wont get much if any XP. Wash, rinse repeat.

Method 3
Use a macro. Using the in game macros is not cheating and will not get you banned from the game, however many people still think it is lame. It is listed here as a full disclosure of what others are doing.

Put a CDEF weapon of your choice in slot F5
Put your speed-sliced VK in slot F6

Create 2 macros:

UnattendedAttack

/ui action targetSelf;
/ui action cycleTargetOutward;
/ui action toolbarSlot04;
/attack;
/pause 3;
/ui action toolbarSlot05;


UnattendedAttackParent

/ui action toolbarSlot06;
/pause 20;
/harvest meat;
/pause 1;
/ui action toolbarSlot07;

Put UnattendedAttack in F7 and UnattendedAttackParent in F8. Now find one of the newbie mob static spawn points. These are the places where the mobs just keep respawning over and over. There should not be a lair nearby. To get the most unarmed XP possible, you should not have a certification in the ranged weapon that you use. Basically you want your ranged attack to miss, since obviously if you kill the mob with your ranged weapon you get no unarmed xp. The mob will still charge you, even if you miss.

Now change your Field of View in your display settings to the maximum and zoom your camera all the way out. Press CTRL-SHIFT-S to make your camera go in a 360 degree spin. Go into your AFK options and make sure that auto-AFK is turned off. Press F8 and leave your computer running.

Here is an explanation of this macro if you are having trouble:

The UnattendedAttackParent macro is the outer loop. It calls the attack macro, waits 20 seconds (which should be enough time for you to kill the mob), harvests and calls itself again. The UnattendedMacro does the actual attacking. If you are having trouble getting the attack to work, just try hitting F7 instead of F8. You can also try typing each command manually one at a time to see what it does.

There are 2 important things to remember with the macros: 1. the slot numbers begin counting at zero (for example toolbarSlot00 corresponds to F1) and 2. macros are case sensitive, so if you type it wrong it won't work.

/ui action targetSelf; /ui action cycleTarget; These commands target you, then target the closest enemy.

/ui action toolbarSlot04; This is the same as hitting F5. If you have your CDEF weapon in F5, this command will equip it (or unequip it....which is why you need to start the macro while holding your VK).

/attack; This commands will cause you to attack the selected mob with the CDEF weapon.

/pause 3;/ui action toolbarSlot05; This command tells the computer to wait 3 seconds (to give you a chance to hit the mob with your CDEF), and then switch to your VK.

Here's what should happen.

1. You start the macro.
2. The macro targets the closest mob.
3. The macro equips the CDEF weapon.
4. The macro fires 1 or 2 shots with the CDEF (depending on the weapon's speed).
5. The mob charges at you.
6. The macro switches so that you are holding your VK
7. Since you are already in attack mode, you finish off the mob with your VK.
8. The macro harvests the corpse and begins again at #2.

Some other notes on this macro:

1. This macro is only intended to be used against the easiest newbie mobs (like Minor Worts and Lesser Womp Rats outside Mos Entha, Mos Eisley and Mos Espa on Tatooine). These mobs are not social, and will not aggro you, making it fairly easy for the macro to work. If you try to use this macro unattended against an aggro NPC spawn, it is likely that you will come back to find your character dead.

2. If you plan on leaving your PC totally unattended, it would be a good idea to have some fairly decent kinetic armor. Since you won't be using any specials, the armor will help protect you from most of the damage.

3. Some people recommend adding a /follow into the macro. This macro can work fine without this command. Additionally, you may find that your toon has run off to god knows where by the time you get back.

4. Use the /dump command to end the macro.

5. If you have problems with all the mobs running out of range, try adding a separate loop macro for your pet to attack your current target every 5 minutes or so. Create 2 macros:

MobCleanup (put in F9)

/ui action targetSelf;
/ui action cycleTargetOutward;
/tellpet attack;

MobCleanupParent (put in F10)

/ui action toolbarSlot10;
/pause 300;
/ui action targetSelf;
/tellpet follow;
/pause 5;
/ui action toolbarSlot11;

Since your toon is standing on top of the mob spawn, by having your pet kill any mobs out of range, you will cause them to respawn within range.

6. Where are the Teräs Käsi Trainers?

Tatooine: Mos Espa (-2812, 1973) Wayfar (-5054,-6632)
Corellia: Kor Vella (-3570, 3146)
Talus: Daeric (418, -2906)
Naboo: Theed (-5649, +4205)
Rori: Narmle (5287, -2508)

7. Ok, I've made TKA Novice, now what should I hunt?

Try out the Tusken Fort on Tatooine (-4000 +6250). The highest level Tuskens only have 15% kinetic armor, and the ability to knock them down for long periods of time using a dizzy makes them a piece of cake. Make sure you get a full set of buffs before going, and try not to fight them at long range (Warlords have a Surprise Shot that easily tops 2000 dmg). Catch them at close range and force them to change to melee to avoid this.

Another frequent suggestion is to run Huurton (Hurrton Stalker, Hurrton Huntress) missions on Dantooine or kamurith defiler missions on Dathomir, because they both have infrequent spawns, or randomly spawn babies instead of full grown adults. If you want to solo these creatures, read below.

8. I'd like to solo, but I'm not a Creature Handler. What should I do?

Make sure you get a doctor to buff you before going hunting. A master doctor can buff each of your primaries and secondaries 3000 points for around 5000 credits, so that you barely notice the HAM costs for your special attacks. You can also get entertainers to buff your mind-related attributes. Master Dancers can double your Mind pool and Master Musicians can double your Focus/Willpower pools if you watch them for 6-8 minutes. You should note that these buffs can stack with food/spice buffs, but double-buffing in this way can lead to attribute issues because of some current bugs. If you are affected by one of these stat bugs, simply log off the game for 20 minutes and it will fix itself.

The trick here is to use your non-CH pet to pull mobs one at a time. Obviously its much easier to kill any mob when you can take on just one at a time and use dizzy-knockdown-warcry. Works best if you have a cowardly gurreck (since they don't have a ranged attack). Find a group of mobs (this works best if there are only 2). Stand as far away as you can and tell your pet to attack one of the targets. Immediately tell your pet to come back (/ui action targetSelf;/follow). You will notice that the mob you attacked stayed still, but the other mob is now charging your pet. Take out the mob once it reaches you, then use your pet to pull the other mob. Experiment with different creature types to find out what you can easily kill. Note this is probably going to be fixed soon in the next patch when they fix social mobs.

9. How does Armor work? Does wearing armor increase the HAM costs of special moves?

I covered this above in some minor detail. When armor decreases the values of your Strength, Quickness and Focus attributes, the result is an increase in the costs of special moves. Additionally because of the decreases in Constitution, Stamina and Willpower, you will find that you do not regenerate your main stats as quickly.

Lets say you take a basic human brawler: 1100,600,500 / 900,450,450 / 600,400,400

If this person put on a composite armor chestplate with encumbrance costs of 250/100/100, the resulting attributes would be: 1100,350,250 / 800,350,350 / 500,300,300

Notice that the encumbrance cost of the armor is subtracted from each secondary. You can see how if you were to add a couple more pieces of armor, you could eventually end up with attributes of: 1100,0,0 / 800,0,0 / 500,0,0

Since you never actually take any damage to your secondaries (other than wounds) this setup would be perfectly acceptable. This human would be able to go out and fight. However, because all of the secondary attributes have been reduced, the human will find that they regenerate very slowly (if at all), and that the HAM costs for special moves would be higher.

Some common fallacies about armor:
Armor reduces your quickness, which makes you slower and easier to hit. (UNTRUE)
Armor reduces your strength, which makes you hit for less damage. (UNTRUE)
Armor makes you run slower. (UNTRUE)

10. Should I wear armor as a TKA?

There is a good bit of debate about this on the forums. Role-players tend to say no, simply because it goes against the idea of a martial artist. Personally, I say it depends on 2 things: 1. How good is your armor? and 2. What opponent are you facing?

As mentioned above, it is important to measure the costs to your regeneration and special-moves with the savings on damage. As a general rule, I'd say that if the protection is not at least 20% kinetic, then it is likely that the cost of the armor outweighs the benefit. Bad Armor usually has just as high encumbrance costs as good armor. Don't let an experience with some low quality armor ruin your opinion of it. Armor can be invaluable when facing red-con mobs.

When it comes to armor there are 3 types of armor that a TK Master might wear: High-End Chitin, Ubese and Composite. For the novice brawler, you can usually find a good suit of Chitin armor for around 3k per piece on the bazaar. If you can find cheap Mabri Armorweave with similarly high resistances, by all means purchase it. However once you get enough money, you will find that Ubese and composite offer the best resistances. On my server, you can easily find >75% kinetic ubese, and >80% kinetic composite.

Be sure to find a good Slicer or Master Smuggler to slice each piece of armor for you. Expect to pay between 1500 and 3000 credits per piece. The slicer will do their magic on each piece and the outcome will be a random improvement in either encumbrance (secondary costs) or effectiveness (% resistance). If you get an effectiveness slice, sell or donate the piece, buy another one and try again. On my human toon, I could easily wear a full suit of encumbrance-sliced 52% resist composite and have at least 100 points left in each of my secondary stats while wearing it. If you have a lot of credits, follow this advice: find a master armorsmith. If they don't sell sliced armor, offer to bring along a master smuggler to slice the armor. Have the master armorsmith create 3 full suits. Tell them that you will pay your master smuggler to slice all 3 suits, if you can purchase the encumbrance sliced pieces at the armorsmith's normal prices.

Aside from having good armor, the trick is knowing when to use it. You need to be able to judge your opponent's ability to damage you versus your ability to damage yourself (by using special moves). If you are facing a krayt dragon, then the best strategy is to put on your 80% kinetic composite and avoid spamming specials. On the other hand, if you are facing opponents that you can easily knockdown and kill, don't wear any armor, because the cost of your special attacks and the lack of regeneration will outweigh the defensive value of the armor.

Setup a macro to easily put on and take off your armor. This way if you find yourself unexpectedly outnumbered, you can put on the armor with just a press of 1 button. Likewise when the battle is over, you can take off the armor so your HAM will regenerate normally. Here's how to setup the macro:

Create 2 macros (note that capitalization is important):

PutOnArmor

/ui action toolbarPane01;/ui action toolbarSlot00;/ui action toolbarSlot01;/ui action toolbarSlot02;/ui action toolbarSlot03;/ui action toolbarSlot04;/ui action toolbarSlot05;/ui action toolbarSlot06;/ui action toolbarSlot07;/ui action toolbarSlot08;/ui action toolbarSlot09;/ui action toolbarSlot10;/ui action toolbarSlot11;/ui action toolbarPane00;

TakeOffArmor

/ui action toolbarPane01;/ui action toolbarSlot12;/ui action toolbarSlot13;/ui action toolbarSlot14;/ui action toolbarSlot15;/ui action toolbarSlot16;/ui action toolbarSlot17;/ui action toolbarSlot18;/ui action toolbarSlot19;/ui action toolbarSlot20;/ui action toolbarSlot21;/ui action toolbarSlot22;/ui action toolbarSlot23;/ui action toolbarPane00;

Resize your toolbar so that it shows 2 rows. Now press CTRL-TAB to switch to the pane labeled 2 (there are 6 panes). Put all of your armor pieces on the top row, and all of the matching clothing pieces on the bottom row. To do this, open your inventory and drag them up onto the toolbar into the correct slot. So for example, under F2 put your ubese armor gloves...in row 2 F2 put your non-armor gloves. If you don't have a matching non-armor piece, just put the same armor piece in both spots (however it works best if you have a matching piece of clothing for each piece of armor). I usually put the chestplate/jacket in twice under F1 and F12. If you are wounded the F1 will make sure that the chestplate goes on before a bicep, and the F12 is useful when you accidentally run PutOnArmor twice and end up with half your armor on and half your regular clothes on. The jacket will be sure to remove any biceps or bracers you may be wearing.

Now press CTRL-TAB again to return to the first pane. Drag PutOnArmor and TakeOffArmor onto your toolbar (I usually use F6 and F7). Press F6 to put on your armor. Press F7 to take off your armor. If you accidentally press F6 when you are wearing your armor, press it again to fix the mismatch.

11. What are the special moves for a TKA?

I've included some of the brawler skills here too since they also apply. First the stats (some of these numbers may be old let me know if they have been updated):

Special Move Name
Time
Damage
Health
Action
Mind
unarmedBlind
2
1.5
1.5
1.5
1.5
unarmedBodyHit1
2
2.5
1.75
1.75
1.75
unarmedCombo1
2
2
1.5
1.5
1.5
unarmedCombo2
4
3
2
2
2
unarmedDizzy1
2
1.5
1.5
1.5
1.5
unarmedHeadHit1
2
2.5
1.75
1.75
1.75
unarmedHit1
1.5
2
1
1
1
unarmedHit2
2.5
3
1.5
1.5
1.5
unarmedHit3
3
4
2
2
2
unarmedKnockdown1
1.5
1
1
1
1
unarmedKnockdown2
2
1.5
1.5
1.5
1.5
unarmedLegHit1
2
2.5
1.75
1.75
1.75
unarmedLunge1
1.5
1
1
1
1
unarmedLunge2
2
3
1.5
1.5
1.5
unarmedSpinAttack1
2
2
1.5
1.5
1.5
unarmedSpinAttack2
3
3
2
2
2
unarmedStun1
2
1.25
1.5
1.5
1.5


Warcry1 and Warcry2
Warcry is a special move you get as a Novice Brawler. When it sticks, your target's next action (i.e. attack, stand, etc.) will be delayed for 10 seconds. It is frequently combined with a knockdown move in order to keep the target on the ground for an extended period of time. If you decide to pick up Master Brawler, you will get Warcry2 which has a duration of 20 seconds. Warcry2 is a great way to get around the 30 second knockdown timer: Knockdown for 5 seconds, Warcry2 keeps the target down for another 20 seconds, the target stands up and gets 1 attack, meanwhile the 30 second timer is up, so you can knock them down again.


Intimidate1 and Intimidate 2
This move is an absolute must when facing any opponent that you can't knockdown. When it sticks, your target will only do 33% of their normal damage against you. So if they normally hit you for 300 points of damage, after you intimidate them, they will only hit you for 100 points of damage. Generally if my knockdown doesn't work, this will be the next attack in my queue. Intimidate is a novice brawler skill, Intimidate 2 is a master brawler skill. The only difference is the length of time that the target is intimidated. Note that intimidates stack timewise. Each time you intimidate the target, it will add on the the total length of time that the state lasts.

Berserk1 and Berserk2
Berserk will be your friend while you are grinding unarmed 1-4 in the brawler tree. While you are Berserk, you basically do +75 damage. The main problem with Berserk as a TKA is that you can't do any special moves while in the Berserk state. Watch for the icon next to your HAM bars. You get Berserk2 at master brawler, which lasts much much longer (which means you will be locked out of doing specials for minutes instead of just seconds).

Unarmed Lunge 1 and Unarmed Lunge 2
Unarmed Lunge 1 is a novice brawler skill that does little damage other than the fact that it has an extended range (15m?). It can force the target to kneeling. Some people use this in PvP to try to slow down someone that is kiting them (a ranged person that shoots at you while running away just out of your range). Unarmed Lunge 2 is a master brawler skill that has similar range but provides a knockdown. Note that the knockdown skill is on a timer so that it can only knock the target down every 30 seconds (at the most).

Unarmed Knockdown 1 and Knockdown 2
Unarmed Knockdown 1 is similar to Unarmed Lunge 2. Lunge 2 does more damage and has greater range (with a moderate increase in HAM costs), so if you have Master Brawler and can choose between these 2, choose Lunge 2. Unarmed Knockdown 2 provides a knockdown and dizzy state. While the knockdown lasts for 5 seconds, the dizzy state means that if the target tries to stand, they may fall down again. Very useful move. Note that you can also get this by separately doing unarmedknockdown1 and unarmeddizzy1, and in fact it is often useful in PvE to make sure that the target is dizzy before issuing the knockdown. Knockdown skills are on a 30 second time so that it can only knock down the target every 30 seconds (at the most). Knockdown2 also has a cool attack animation.

UnarmedSpinAttack1 and UnarmedSpinAttack2
These are area attacks. They are not very useful unless you are being attacked by multiple mobs, and they are all within our limited range. UnarmedHit2 does more damage for the same HAM cost.

UnarmedLegHit1, UnarmedBodyHit1, and UnarmedHeadHit1
Each of these allows you to target one specific HAM attribute. While damage from other special moves will be randomly selected from either Health, Action or Mind, these special moves allow you to pick which attribute to attack. These are really finishing moves due to the HAM costs, since you are better off using unarmedHit3 for twice the damage at .25 more HAM cost (This is a nice way of saying that these moves suck).

UnarmedDizzy1
When it sticks, this move will give the target the Dizzy state. When combined with a knockdown, a dizzy state will make sure that the target does not get up, even after the 5 second knockdown has worn off. Dizzy stacks with itself, so each time you can keep using /unarmeddizzy1 to add on to the total length of time that the target is dizzy. Note that the dizzy + knockdown only works on creatures with 2 legs. Animals with 4 legs will not fall down when trying to stand while dizzy.

UnarmedBlind1
When it sticks, this move will give the target a blind state that lasts for 50 seconds. During this time the target's accuracy is reduced. This move is fine, but you are pressed for time, you are better off going with Intimidate+unarmedStun1.

UnarmedStun1
When it sticks, this move will give the target a stunned state that lasts for 50 seconds. While stunned, the target makes fewer attacks per round. The end result of this is an overall reduced damage output. Usually UnarmedStun is a great first shot since in general it is much more successful than an Intimidate attack (although the damage reduction by Intimidate is more significant). Combining Stun + Intimidate is the key to surviving encounters with high HAM mobs.

UnarmedHit1, UnarmedHit2, and UnarmedHit3
These moves are the bread and butter of a TKA, and you will usually want to have both setup for use. UH2 is more efficient as far as HAM costs go, but UH3 does more damage in a shorter amount of time. UnarmedHit3 also has a chance to inflict the blind state on the target. A good TKA will know when they need to go for the heavy hit, and when they should conserve their HAM.

12. How does Power Boost work?

PowerBoost is a special action that Teräs Käsi can take once they get to Advanced Meditative Techniques (level 2). Basically the TKA while meditating will do the action. The Mind attribute will immediately be cut in half (although it will begin regenerating). The Health and Action will begin ramping up over the next 60 seconds, each getting a bonus equal to the amount that was cut from mind. After the first 60 seconds, the Mind attribute should return to normal and begin the ramp up itself to the boosted state. Meditation skill affects the length of time that the bonus lasts. Here is the exact formula used:

Duration: 5 min + (meditation skill mod/100 * 5min) give or take 5%

For example, if your stats are 1000/1000/1000 and you do Power Boost, your mind immediately drops to 500. After 60 seconds you will be at 1500/1500/1000. After another 60 seconds you will be at 1500/1500/1500. The bonus is stacked with spice, so if you take muon gold to boost your mind to 1500 before you power boost, the boost would be 750 instead of 500.

To get the biggest boost, you can stack spice and food.

Angerian Fishak Suprise: Action -35 Mind +500, 786 seconds (may vary depending on resources and skill of chef)
Muon Gold: Mind +500, Willpower +500, Focus +500, 600 seconds

So assuming the previous example of 1000/1000/1000, if you stack both of these, you will have 1000/1000/2000 to start, and 2000/2000/3000 after the ramp up. Just watch out for the Muon Downer (4 minutes of -500 modifier to all those stats).

Some people have seen bugs relating to the stats not returning to normal. Among these, your stats may appear to be 100% when in fact you have been damaged.

Here is a macro that you may find helpful when using PowerBoost. It will add alarms that will go off to indicate the various stages of the boost. Note that you will want to update the times based on your current meditation skill using the formula above.

/meditate;/pause 2;/powerBoost;
/alarmAddIn 0 2 \#ff9900Power Boost Ready\#;
/alarmAddin 0 6 \#ffff00Power Boost Two Minute Warning\#;
/alarmAddIn 0 7 \#ffff00Power Boost One Minute Warning\#;

13. How does Force of Will work?

Force of will is the skill that allows the TKA to recover from being incapacitated faster than they normally would. Currently it gives you a chance to get up instantly from being incapped. It seems to work half the time. When you do successfully use it, all 3 HAM pools are set at 6 points (dmg NOT wounds)

This skill will likely change soon (changes are on TC), so here is how it is working there:

1) Character must be incapacitated - Execute /forceOfWill - Roll d100
a) if the roll is less than 5, automatic failure
b) if the roll is greater than the character's meditation skill mod, failure
c) if roll less than or = character's meditation skill mod, success

note: standard meditation skill mod for a TKA with /forceOfWill is 75

2) If the character fails the skill roll, he/she will remain incapacitated per normal rules and will be unable to use the command for the duration of that incapacitation If the character succeeds, the roll delta (skill mod - original d100 roll) is passed to the function where the following occurs:
a) if delta is less than 10, the character will sustain 100 wounds to each pool and 100 battle fatigue
b) if delta greater than or = 10 & less than 40, temporary reductions of 200pts to all pools will be applied (5min) and 100 battle fatigue
c) if delta greater than or = 40 & less than 70, temporary reductions of 100pts to all pools will be applied (5min)
d) if delta greater than or = 70, no negative effects are applied to the character
e) an effect similar to the zabrak innate "equalize" is applied to the character
f) a 1 hour reuse timer is applied

Currently on TC, this skill is limited to 1 use per hour.

14. How does meditate work?

When you issue the /meditate command, your toon takes a meditation pose. Here's what mediation skill can do for each level of meditation. Note that each additional level increases the speed of the previous levels heals.

Teräs Käsi Novice: cure bleeding
Intermediate Meditative Techniques: cure bleeding + cure poison
Advanced Meditative Techniques: cure bleeding + cure poison + cure disease
Expert Meditative Techniques: cure bleeding + cure poison + cure disease (nothing new)
Master Meditative Techniques:= cure bleeding + cure poison + cure disease + cure wounds

In addition, Meditate will make your HAM regenerate faster than standing. I'm unsure if it is faster than sitting (although I think it is at least as fast). This is just from personal observation.

14.1 When I try to meditate I get the message "You cannot meditate while running."

You can get around this by creating a MyMeditate macro:

/sit;/pause 1;/meditate

15. My Vibro-knucklers have X-Y dmg and Z speed. How do they compare?

The average sliced master-made VKs that you will see on your server are in the range of minimum 20-40 damage to maximum 140-180 damage @ 2.2 speed. Uber sliced VK's have damages over 220. For speed slices, you should be able to get VKs sliced around 1.5-1.7 speed.

If you want to get an uber vibro-knuckler, you will need to loot the uber parts and give them to your favorite master weaponsmith. There are three components that weaponsmiths can put into VK's to increase their effectivess. These are:
1. High Power Motor Units (add to maximum damage)
2. High Frequency Motor Units (add to % wound chance)
3. Advanced Core (increase overall damage)

Parts #1 & 2 are dropped by Nym Elite NPC's on Lok. Krayt Tissues can NOT be added to Vibro weapons. Rancor teeth are a replacement for the Advanced core, but currently only work in Swords (and apparently the end result is worse than if the weaponsmith created it themselves).

16. How does speed work? Should I choose a VK for speed, or for damage?

As you have probably heard, there is a speed cap in the game of 1.0. I have heard rumors that this might be changed, but it hasn't been changed yet. If you have a pair of VKs with 1.0 speed, your base attack (no special move) will allow you to attack once every second. Here is the formula you can use to calculate your speed based on the VK speed and special move:

(WeaponSpeed * SpecialDelayMod) - (WeaponSpeed * SpecialDelayMod) * (UnarmedSpeed/100)

Here are some real-world examples of this. In each example, I'm using a 2.2 speed VK (which is an average master unsliced vk on my server).

If you have Unarmed IV, you have +25 unarmed speed:

No Special Move (time modifier 1.0)
Time = (2.2 * 1.0) - (2.2 * 1.0) * (25/100)
Time = 1.65 seconds

UnarmedHit1 (time modifier 1.5):
Time = (2.2 * 1.5) - (2.2 * 1.5) * (25/100)
Time = 2.47 seconds

Once you get to Intermediate Power Techniques (0/0/1/0), your speed goes up to +50:

No Special Move (time modifier 1.0)
Time = (2.2 * 1.0) - (2.2 * 1.0) * (50/100)
Time = 1.1 seconds

UnarmedHit1 (time modifier 1.5):
Time = (2.2 * 1.5) - (2.2 * 1.5) * (50/100)
Time = 1.65 seconds

UnarmedHit2 (time modifier 2.5):
Time = (2.2 * 2.5) - (2.2 * 2.5) * (50/100)
Time = 2.75 seconds

Note that once you get to Master Power Techniques (level IV), you will notice that you can strike just as quickly unarmed as with a VK. Most TKMs will begin doing special moves unarmed at this point to avoid the high HAM costs of the VK.

17. When do we get damage modifiers?

There are some damage modifiers in the game to reflect when your opponent has a difficult time defending themselves. These are the same modifiers that people will see when fighting against a creature. If you are facing an opponent that is in a knocked down state, you will notice that your damage is 1.5 times normal. In addition, melee damage against someone holding a pistol is 1.2x, carbineers is 1.5x, and rifles/heavy weapons have damage increased 2.5x.


18. What is the most damage you have done as a TKM?

Obviously this will occur against riflemen or heavy weapon users who are not using any kinetic armor and who are also penalized because they have been knocked down. When TKM's report the highest damage hit they've ever done it is usually between 3500-4500.

19. Are there any other weapons available besides the Vibro-knucklers or just using my fists?

No. Currently TKAs can only do kinetic damage. The TKA correspondent is working with the developers to try to get them to introduce VKs that do other types of damage.


20. Do TKAs have a bleed shot?

Teräs Käsi do not have a bleed (damage over time) shot. It is interesting to note that every other non-jedi combat class has some form of damage over time (DOT) shot.

21. What are some popular templates with Teräs Käsi Master?

A lot of other professions pick up some of our meditation line to help supplement their classes. Here are some popular templates for those that want to keep Teräs Käsi Master. Obviously I can't list all of the combinations, so here are some popular ones:

Teräs Käsi Master
Master Doctor
Scout 1/0/0/0

Template allows character to become super buffed by using Powerboost and Doctor Buffs whenever they want. Some Scout is kept for Terrain Negotiation (so you don't run slowly up hills).

Teräs Käsi Master
Master Brawler
Doctor 0/4/3/0

This is a similar build that incorporates Master Brawler for Intimidate 2, Warcry 2, and Unarmed Lunge 2 (15m knockdown). The Doctor skills let you buff yourself and revive other players.


Teräs Käsi Master
Doctor 0/4/4/0
Combat Medic 0/0/0/3

Another Doctor based template, this one lets you use a Combat Medic's poison C. Negatives: you have to buy all your Doctor and Combat Medic supplies.


Teräs Käsi Master
Master Smuggler
Pistoleer 0/2/4/0
Medic 2/0/0/0
Scout 1/0/0/0

Template gives you the best Pistol shots in the game, including Ranged Knockdown and Delay shots. Also gives you access to 2 stackable bleed shots in the Pistol tree. Some Scout is kept for Terrain Negotiation (so you don't run slowly up hills).


Teräs Käsi Master
Master Brawler
Fencer 4/4/0/0
Swordsman 4/0/4/0
Pikesman 0/0/4/0
Medic 2/0/1/0

This template was designed to make use of all the defensive bonuses from all the various melee classes. Get a friend to buff you and this template is probably the best PvE tank in the whole game.


Teräs Käsi Master
Master Rifleman
Marksman 4/0/0/4
Scout 1/0/0/0
Medic 2/0/4/0

This template gives you good ranged skills, mind bleeds, along with the ability to use Stim Cs and Stop bleeding with First Aid 2.

 

22. Is there some way to turn off the red ribbons that appear when doing my specials?

Currently no, but it is on our list with the DEVs.

23. What is the list of current bugs with TKA?

Here is the list from Mister_Heavy (or correspondent). If you have any issues with this list, please contact him.

If you KD an opponent, and then hit him with another KD, he will immediately get right up, even if dizzy.
Power Boost

PowerBoost can cause an incap when you use it or when it wears off. We recommend that a message be displayed when you try to use PB and don't have enough mind telling you that you don't have enough pool points to do that. We also recommend that the PB downer take you to a minimum of 1 pool point, rather than incapping you.

You can super-buff yourself by using PB and getting killed/cloning and then using PB again over and over again.

If PowerBoost wears off while you are incapped, you get stat bugs with a lowering of your stats that you can't fix unless you log off for a while.

If you apply buffs after you have Powerboosted when the Powerboost wears off, your Health and Action return to their pre-buffed values. They do regen back up to their maximum it's only the current value that drops.
Unarmed Combo 2 is registering 1 point of damage done to the target.

No accuracy bonus for being at Optimum range. At 1M we should have a bonus to hit, but it seems like we're still getting negative modifiers.

It seems that the scout "creature to hit bonuses" apply only to ranged attackers. Want to make sure they apply to melee as well.

Berserk Does not show up in the combat queue.

We have reports of people being stuck in the meditate state upon logging in if they logout while meditating

Dizzy only works on creatures with 2 legs. Need to know if this is as intended.

Dizzy, stun, intimidate prevent meditation. Need to know if this is as intended.

HAM bars do not display properly when using power boost. If you take damage, your HAM bar won't go down until you dip below your pre-boost levels. Wearing armor may exacerbate this problem.

Power Boost buffs (on TC) seem to decrease when you use Center of Being, and perhaps when you use other specials as well. In testing, each use of CoB knocked 104-235 points off the total PB buff. Unknown whether other specials reduce PB buffs in this way

24. How do I pronounce Teräs Käsi?

Teräs Käsi stands for "Steel Hands" in Finnish. In Finnish: The "ä" with two dots over it sounds like the a in "at". The "k" & "t" are not aspirated. Stress is always on the first syllable. So Teräs Käsi sounds something like TEHR-ass KASS-ee. To hear it for yourself, paste Teräs Käsi into this site (http://www.mikropuhe.com/demo.asp) and click on the button labeled "Kuuntele Puhe."

25. What's this I hear about the Teräs Käsi being Jedi Hunters?

Although not officially named in any of the Star Wars movies, the Teräs Käsi have appeared in several books, including the Star Wars Encyclopedia. Here's the quote from that book:

Both a martial art and an Order. The Teräs Käsi were formed from the remnant civilians of a long-ago battle which devestated their home world of Palawa, a war which involved the awsome powers of the Jedi Council. The few survivors of Palawa migrated to a nearby world called Bunduki, where they decided to master mind over body so they may keep the Jedi use of power in check. The Teräs Käsi are thought to be sensitive to changes in the Force, and Teräs Käsi Masters are feared by the Jedi. But Teräs Käsi are not generally Force users as Jedi are: Teräs Käsi draw internal, personal power, while Jedi draw from everything around them.

It is important to note that it does not appear that the Teräs Käsi are meant to be Jedi-hunters in Star Wars Galaxies, at least not in their current incarnation. Many people on the forum are pushing for something in an expansion that might bring some of these mythic abilities into the game. A common (and more realistic) request is that Teräs Käsi be given the ranger-like ability to track a Jedi.

26. What consumables (food & spice) can I take to help out?

As you may know, you can consume chef-made food and smuggler-made spice to give yourself temporary stat buffs. In addition, you can stack food buffs with spice buffs. Spice always has the same stats, no matter what materials are used, and no matter what the skill of the crafter. Food on the other hand, can vary depending on the quality of the resources and the skill of the chef. I usually think of these as a substitute for when I can't get both high-quality Doctor Buffs and a Musician Buff (Focus-Willpower).

The thing to watch out for when taking spice is that there is a 2-4 minute downer that takes place when the drug wears off. During this downer, your stats will suffer the exact opposite effect (so if your mind was buffed +500, during the downer it will be lowered -500). In addition, your character will do spatial animations of puking (once each minute), which can interrupt combat (if you are standing still) and trade transactions. The big benefit of spice over food is that spice is an instant full buff, where food has to ramp up over a couple seconds.

With food, there isn't a down-period. The only real negative with foods is that your character can get "full" where they can't eat anymore. To check out your "full" status, press CTRL-C. Note that food and drink are counted separately.

When taking consumables it is advisable to set an alarm macro to let you know before the buff will wear off. This is a good idea, so you don't find yourself fighting a kimogilla when losing your buffs. The easiest way to do this is to use the alarmaddin macro. For example, /alarmaddin 0 9 Buffs almost done! will popup an alarm in 9 minutes.

Now to the list of food/spice. Obviously there are a lot more available than what I'm listing. This list assumes that you have an unlimited budget and want the best buffs you can get your hands on. For a full list, contact your local master chef.

Name Effect Duration When to Use?
Angerian Fishak Surprise -35 Action
+500 Mind		 ~13 minutes Use before powerboost. If you have the cash, I recommend that you buy crates of this stuff. If you can't get this, Bespin Port is a similar, but less powerful version.
Muon Gold (spice) +500 Mind
+500 Willpower
+500 Focus		 10 minutes Use before powerboost, Use if you have Doctor Buffs, but no Musician buffs so you can spam specials. Muon is also the closest thing we have to a Mind-stimpack, since it instantly boosts your mind 500 points.
Neutron Pixie (spice) +1000 Health
+200 Strength
+200 Constitution
+500 Action
+50 Quickness
+50 Stamina		 ~13 minutes Good multi-stat buff. Just watch out for the -1000 health downer.
Tatooine Sunburn
 +1600 Strength
+1600 Stamina		 ~6 minutes If you can't get a doctor to buff your secondaries, this will allow you to spam specials more easily.
Breath of Heaven +500 Strength
+500 Quickness
+500 Focus		 ~9 minutes Great buff to help lower cost of special moves. Again, if you don't have access to Doctor buffs, you should carry crates of this stuff and use it regularly.
Ormachek +130 Mind
+130 Focus
+130 Willpower
 ~3 minutes A good general-use mind stat buff.

 

 

This is a list of Frequently Asked Questions about the Teräs Käsi Artist class in the Star Wars Galaxies game by Sony Online Entertainment. This is a fan site and is in no way related to Sony or Lucasarts. All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective owners.