"Master Kao was the most principled Jedi I have ever met, staunchly opposed to the dark side of the Force in all its forms."

―Satele Shan

Note: This is best viewed inblog format.

Power

Being a notable Jedi Knight, Kao Cen Darach is formidable even without his lightsaber thanks to his mastery of the Force:

Even Knights who lose their lightsabers remain significant threats on the battlefield thanks to their mastery of the Force.

The Old Republic Encyclopedia

As a notable Jedi Knight, Kao Cen Darach spent his entire life mastering his use of the Force:

These brave champions of the light spend their entire lives mastering the Force and testing themselves against all manner of challenges and opponents.

The Old Republic Encyclopedia

The bond between a Jedi Knight and the Force is ever-strengthening:

All Knights train to excel in combat, but each discovers a personal path to victory through deep meditation and an ever-strengthening bond to the Force.

The Old Republic Encyclopedia

Precognition/Farsight

Kao Cen Darach manages to easily deflect blaster bolts without looking at them, likely predicting where and when they'll hit:

Satele Shan believes that Kao Cen Darach had forseen that the remote outpost over Korriban would be of significance:

"Perhaps that was why he was assigned to the remote security outpost over Korriban, or perhaps he had forseen what was to come and asked for the responsibility."

The Journal of Gnost Dural

Strength

Kao Cen Darach simultaneously keeps Lord Vindican and Malgus at bay in a bladelock:

Force Jump/Leap

Kao Cen Darach uses a Force Jump to land in the middle of Lord Vindican and Malgus:

Speed

Kao Cen Darach dodges and deflects blaster fire(partly due to precognition):

Kao Cen Darach ducks under one of Vindican's attacks, then proceeds to dodge another one:

Kao Cen Darach successfully deflects Lord Vindican's Force Lightning, then scores a hit on the Sith Inquisitor before the latter could stop him:

Telekinesis

Kao Cen Darach saves Satele Shan from getting bisected by Malgus via saber-throws:

Kao Cen Darach hurls several large objects, machinery and a ship's engine at the juggernaut Malgus:

Kao Cen Darach successfully hurls Lord Vindican, a notable Sith Inquisitor:

Kao Cen Darach staggers Lord Vindican and hurls Malgus with a Force Repluse. A behind-the-scenes look at the fight shows that Malgus was hurled a considerable distance:

Combat Skill

Kao Cen Darach is the Battlemaster of the Jedi Order and the man who personally instructed Satele Shan in the art of combat with the double-bladed lightsaber:

As an adolescent, Satele Shan trained with the Battlemaster Kao Cen Darach. It was he who taught Satele to fight with the double-bladed lightsaber and guided her through the final trials to become a full-fledged Jedi Knight.

The Old Republic Encyclopedia

As the Battlemaster and lightsaber instructor, Kao Cen Darach is a vital player in the Jedi Order and trains every Jedi in the use of Forms I, II, III, IV, V and VI:

Kao Cen Darach is a notable Jedi Knight alongside Ven Zallow and the Order's champion Revan:

As a notable Jedi Knight, few enemies can match Kao Cen Darach:

Few enemies can match the raw power of a trained Jedi Knight in combat.

The Old Republic Encyclopedia

As a notable Jedi Knight, by the time he was ready to pass the trials Kao was more experienced in battle than veteran soldiers:

By the time they are ready to pass their final trials to become Jedi Knights, young Jedi Padawans have already spent more time in battle than the average veteran soldier.

The Old Republic Encyclopedia

All Jedi Knights train to excel in combat:

All Knights train to excel in combat, but each discovers a personal path to victory through deep meditation and an ever-strengthening bond to the Force.

The Old Republic Encyclopedia

As a Battlemaster, on top of being a notable Jedi Knight, Kao Cen Darach was likely well learned in both the ways of the Sentinel and the Guardian.

Sentinels seeks flaws in the enemy's defense then proceeds to strike swiftly in order to cripple them:

Sentinels seek flaws in enemy defenses and quickly deliver crippling strikes to send their foes reeling.

The Old Republic Encyclopedia

Sentinels unleash a vortex of strikes that most opponents are powerless to escape:

These Knights often wield two lightsabers at once, creating a vortex of destruction most opponents are powerless to escape.

The Old Republic Encyclopedia

Guardians follow the method of being the "immovable objects" on the battlefield and they strike down their foes decisively:

Guardians adopt the stance of "immovable object" on the battlefield, drawing enemies to them and decisively striking foes to end their lives quickly and without suffering.

The Old Republic Encyclopedia

Kao Cen Darach and Satele Shan fight off an entire hangar bay worth of Imperial Troopers. Most of the fight is off-panel, but we do get a brief cut to the middle of their fight and then later the end of the fight where we see massive carnage:

Kao Cen Darach and Satele Shan face off against Lord Vindican, a notable Sith Inquisitor, and Malgus, a notable Sith Warrior. Darach manages to save Shan's life twice, displays considerable skill in Jar'Kai and shows off his abilities as both a Guardian and a Sentinel. During his initial 1v1 with Vindican, Kao clearly adopts to fighting like a Guardian. However, when he is forced in a 2v1 he fights very much like a Sentinel.
Most impressively, Kao Cen Darach successfully manages to hold off/defeat Malgus and Vindican simultaneously with his impressive display of skill:

https://youtu.be/mm4JEZudf0c?t=155

As fate would have it, Satele and Darach faced the returning Sith Empire at the Battle of Korriban.

The Old Republic Encyclopedia

"Malgus and his Master must've sensed our presence. They landed their interceptor in the hangar entrance, blocking our escape, and the two Sith wished to confront us. I had engaged in hundreds of practice duels with my fellow Padawans, but nothing prepared me for the sheer ferocity of the Sith. Darth Malgus would've killed me then and there were it not for my master, Kao."

Journal of Gnost Dural

@shootingnova@sirfizzwhizz@i_like_swords Thoughts on this would be lovely.

Wish we had seen more of him.

@i_like_swords: Agreed.

HE WOULD SO BEAT DOOKU AND MAYBE YODA CAUSE HE HAS SO MANY FEATS!!!

Seriously though, he is summed up her nicely.

@sirfizzwhizz: It is a shame he never appears anywhere else. But he's cool for one Trailer.

Interesting.

Nice. Loved this trailer and thought this guy was a bad@$$. It was criminal that we didn't get to see more of him.

@soldierofel: Thanks and I agree, we really need for info on Darach.

He's obviously skilled, has tactics akin to that of Obi-Wan and the magnitude of his TK was impressive, however it's clear he was out of his comfort zone with Jar'kai and while the employment of it was radically unorthodox, he was still basically making it up as he wen't along.

@wollfmyth209 Overall, this thread needs some improvements analytically, you could go in to what style you think Master Kao uses, and a more detailed analysis of the fight with Malgus & Vindican.

@luckystrike: The thing is, it would be too speculative of me to just guess what style he uses. Him being capable of using Jar'Kai and adding in Force attacks in mid-combat might suggest Form VI Niman, but like I said- it's too speculative of me to guess. And people can just watch the fight itself, an analysis would be redundant after that honestly.

@wollfmyth209 said:

It's a bit like drawing blood from a stone with Master Kao due to the lack of info, however these are my thoughts on his style and the fight in general.

As you said before traces of Niman are evident, chaining in force based attacks into saber sequences being a core element of. Also, If you slow the video down it you can see some of the Su Ma rotations of Ataru including the general eccentric strikes that make up the form. It's clear that he doesn't use Ataru as a base form as he was on a defensive position for portions of the fight, indicating Soresu application. Judging on this performance alone, I can come to two conclusions : Either Darach uses Ataru attacks to compliment his main form, being Soresu much like Obi-Wan or he rests solely on Niman, considering it has aspects of all the styles mentioned above. The latter option is the most likely conculsion for me.

Jar'kai is complimentary to all forms, so it doesn't cement Niman being his style anymore than other evidence does. Quite frankly, Darach was out of his comfort zone using it. When he engaged Malgus and Vindican with duel blades the style he used was heavily improvised and not akin to any of the classic forms used in standard combat. This does however make the style he used extremely unorthodox, similar to the radical styles of Exar kun and classic General Grevious. Generally using a Saberstaff in one hand and a single blade in the other is an unconventional method of dueling as Vindican, who was contending with Darach using a single blade, was dumbstruck at defending against such a style and only lasted a couple of seconds against it when Malgus was temporarily disabled.

Once Vindican was down and out, a strained Darrach was left to fight Malgus alone, and he only strained himself more my hurling large pieces of ship at his enemy. in the end Malgus got a lucky strike due to overpowering him not by being more skillful. an even fight between Malgus and Master Kao would be a sight to see, but we'll never see anything more from him.

OP, tell me what you think about this analysis though and you three @shootingnova@i_like_swords@jkbart

@luckystrike: Well done on the analysis of both the fight and Darach's combat style/form.

May not be that useful, but while reading through Nova's Naga Sadow respect thread, found there's a scan which lists Vindican as one of the most notable Sith Inquisitors and seeming places him as a peer with Sadow, Baras, and Jadus. So it would make Kao ragdolling him more impressive, probably.

@brightsteel:

Darach only threw Vindican once. He never ragdolled him.

Thanks for this, tho.

@wollfmyth209:

Meh, I always use ragdolling to describe throwing someone a significant distance, which is what Kao did. It's probably not the best definition for the word tho. XD

No problem.

Just noticed, Kao has a great strength feat:

He engages in a blade-lock with both Vindican, and Malgus at the same time, and then staggers Malgus by hitting his saber.

Just found this in the behind the scenes

https://youtu.be/JzU68DEPw1w?t=2m12s

Darach's repulse sends Malgus flying, knocking him out long enough for him to take Vindican.

@greysentinel365: Interesting :mmm: I like it.

@wollfmyth209: What's worth noting is that, as seen earlier in the video, Malgus is barely phased by Vindican's lightning and re-engages immediately. While Kao's blast was enough to wipe him out for a relatively substantial period of time

Nice work! I was wondering why I didn't get the notification, until I looked at the post's date.

W.O.A.T. respect thread my dear.

No sh!t. It's one of my ancient shames, much like a lot of your old arguments. :3

@WollfMyth209: None of my arguments from 2 years ago was anywhere near this shit.

If only the game was as good as the cutscenes.

@dadivineking: Make a better one then, instead of bumping an ancient thread to state the obvious.

@WollfMyth209:

You seem a bit salty. :P

And no, I don't make respect thread - much less for a character like Darach, lmao. How about I just make you revamp this one?

@dadivineking: You seem a bit salty. :P

You make it hard to be sweet around you, sweetie. :3

And no, I don't make respect thread - much less for a character like Darach, lmao. How about I just make you revamp this one?

Eh, sure, why not? :Shrugs: I'll edit this blog in a few days and tag you when I'm done.

@WollfMyth209: I know, it's one of my most charming qualities. <3

Okay, get to it now, chop-chop. I needs it for may Malgus push.

@dadivineking: Rly? Isn't it counterproductive to then wank the guy who was beating him and his master? :3

@WollfMyth209: Enraged Malgus wrecked him in the end, and Zallow is > Darach anyway, lmao.

@dadivineking: But Kao was exhausted. Also, rage-amp and all that jazz.

Zallow is > Darach only by Malgus' admission as him being his most "worthy kill"; which you can interpret as him putting up more of a fight than Kao did, but we already know why that is. ;)

@WollfMyth209:

The fatigue thing is more fanon than actual canon fact. Force sensitive reserves usually don't waste away after fighting for a minute or two lal. Yeah, and no way is an enraged Return Malgus more powerful than he was in Deceived, or even Hope for that matter, lmao.

Nah, that's just sounds like straight reaching on your end, tbh. Zallow was more "worthy" because he was the superior combatant.

i had to deal with enough of your cancer on KMC today, pls no more. but u seem to be purposesly trying to troll me, tbh.

@dadivineking: You could see Darach was tired given his breathing became visibly deep and hard. And his reserves should've been worn out from fighting one of the most skilled Sith Warriors and powerful Sith Inquisitors of the time, simultaneously. :/ Also, based on what is Hope Malgus superior to an enraged Return Malgus?

Zallow being the superior combatant comes from Malgus' own commentary and he could only judge Zallow's performance against him to Darach's. It's not like he has an in-depth knowledge on their other feats or anything. He can only compare them based on how they faired against him and Kao faired poorly due to circumstances surrounding his defeat.

Anyways, I started work on this Kao thread. I'll tag you when it's done.

@WollfMyth209:

Tsk, tsk, tsk.

Yes, rigorous physical activity will cause one to breath hard obviously - but as I said, Force sensitive are trained to fight for extended periods of time without rest, and unless they lack a degree of stamina for reason noted [E.I Qui Gon Jinn], it shouldn't be too big a problem. Nothing you posted definitively, proves he vitiated greatly when fought enraged Malgus, and some hard breathing isn't enough, and since the burden of proof is one you - tough luck.

It's a possibility - given Malgus',

- potential

- 14 years to grow on the battlefield

- the fact his placement/rank within the Empire factually increased during that period

I mean, most characters we've seen would grow in power by a decent degree with the context and circumstances above. His less powerful and skilled counterpart Satele Shan certainly did in that time span - so it's logical Malgus would too.

Nah, it wasn't, lal. The TOR timeline featuring Malgus wasn't even created by the Sith Lord, so it wasn't via his admission. Besides, Zallow's death caused a disturbance in the Force that signified the Republic had been betrayed - Cao failed to have a similar effect, despite the events being as significant. That alone proves a degree of inferiority.

But yeah, this thread really isn't the place to discuss this, and you should be working on the respect thread so let's leave it at that. :)

@dadivineking: Done, darling. Also tagging some other people:

@darthant66@shootingnova@emperor339@azronger@amethystgravity@greysentinel365

Awesome.

It's almost as sexy as me now.

I didn't even know he had a respect thread.

Every time I look it up it's the one he shares with Ven Zallow.

Noice.

@dadivineking: Danke.

Groundbreaking!

I always quite liked Darach.

@azronger: Thank you. ^_^

Fantastic work! The behind the scenes things was pretty cool, too!

@amethystgravity: Danke.

You know, I did my own RT for Kao Cen Darach once. This one's better than mine.

@shroudofsorrow: Heh, thanks. ^_^

Darach is not a bad character at all. Too bad he was killed off in one trailer. Nice RT.

@thesithmaster: Danke.

Take a look:

https://comicvine.gamespot.com/forums/jedi-2830/kao-cen-darach-and-ven-zallow-respect-thread-1645348/

@shroudofsorrow: Oh yeah, I saw that a while ago.