Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order beginner's guide: Tips to know before heading to the galaxy far, far away

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is here, and it's significantly more complex than most other Star Wars games. Combat is methodical, worlds are plentiful in number and expansive in scope, and there are tons of puzzles to solve. This may sound daunting, but fear not, young Padawan, we're here to offer some advice. Here's a list of tips, tricks, and suggestions that will make your experience with Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order more enjoyable.

Fight like a Jedi: defensively

Arguably the most helpful piece of advice we can offer is to stick to a defensive playstyle. In Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, managing your health is very important, as safe opportunities to heal up aren't always available. Because of this, playing the game with prolonging your life in mind is more valuable than trying to kill everything on screen quickly.

While you can get through some engagements with button-mashing antics, this poses a significant risk to your life. More likely than not, you'll either die or finish the fight with critically low health. It's much better to block and parry while looking for opportunities for counter-attacks, as these do increased damage and are safer than going on the offensive.

Always stay moving

In lieu of the fact that the game is focused more on defensive play than offensive, it's important that you always stay on the move during combat. If you stay in one place, enemies will flank you and make it harder for you to defend yourself. However, if you're constantly shifting position, foes will be forced to attack you from a single angle, which is much easier to defend against. Good movement can also open up opportunities to knock foes into ennvironmental hazards, such as large pits.

Use the Force creatively, and as often as you can

While it's tempting to slice up stormtroopers with your lightsaber for the entirety of your playtime, the various Force abilities you can unlock in the game are extremely useful and should be used often.

For example, if you're having trouble dealing with a crowd of foes, you can use Force Push to on one or more of the enemies so that you can engage each individual opponent easier. On top of that, you can also use the Force to set up combos with your lightsaber. For instance, the Howling Pull ability can be used to forcibly jerk a group of enemies towards where you are, making them easy targets for some saber strikes. Keep your eye out for creative Force power uses like this.

Pay attention to BD-1

While initially it seems like BD-1 is just your little cute droid buddy, he's much more useful than he lets on. If you're stuck on a puzzle, you can prompt Cal, the game's protagonist, to discuss the puzzle with BD-1. This will lead to a hint being spoken, which you can then use to hopefully figure out the solution to the puzzle.

On top of this, BD-1 also can scan enemy corpses. This gives you a detailed dossier about that specific enemy type and what their weaknesses are, which can then make combat against them in the future much less painful.

Know when to use different lightsaber types

In Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order there are two different types of lightsabers you can use: single-bladed or double-bladed. The single-bladed lightsaber is the default one and is best suited to one-on-one duels with foes. This is because it's quicker and more precise. The double-bladed saber is preferrable whenever you're up against a group of enemies, as its dual blades and wide attack arc make it perfectly suited to fighting several opponents.

You can engage multiple enemies with the single-bladed saber or one single opponent with the double-bladed saber fine, but making sure you choose the right lightsaber for the situation may end up giving you the boost you need to get through a particularly challenging area.

To use the double-bladed lightsaber, you have to find the parts for it. The place that you can do this the earliest is on Dathomir, although it's a very challenging planet, so be prepared for a tough time.

Explore, explore, explore

When you aren't taking on the Imperial military, you're going to be traversing through the game's complex level layouts. While doing this, you should make exploring every nook and cranny of the area a priority, as there's a ton of good stuff hidden throughout levels. Things that you can find include chests that contain new cosmetics for you to wear, pieces of lore that flesh out the game's setting, and special pickups that will upgrade your maximum health and Force energy when you get enough of them.

Your thoughts

What are your thoughts on Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order? Was this guide helpful? Are there any tips that you can offer that we missed? Let us know down below.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is available now for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC for $60.