Taris Undercity elevator puzzle (early-game blocker). After descending to the Undercity, the Sith uniform requirement for the Lower City cantina’s back room stops progression cold. The uniform drops from Sith patrols in the Upper City — return topside and engage any patrol near the apartments. Equip the armor on your main character, then speak to the Sith guard at the cantina elevator. Skip this and the Vulkar base stays locked, the swoop race never triggers.
Leviathan prison break (mid-game party wipeout). The Leviathan capture forces you to play as a single companion with no access to your main character’s gear. Players who ignored secondary party members — especially Jedi companions — hit an unwinnable wall against the Sith interrogators and bridge officers. If you saved before boarding and can’t progress, reload an earlier save and level Mission, Carth, or Canderous with surplus equipment. The game autosaves on entry; maintain multiple manual saves throughout Taris and Dantooine to avoid this dead-end.
Kashyyyk Shadowlands navigation (getting lost in vertical zones). The lower Shadowlands use a multi-level map where the automap doesn’t distinguish elevation changes. Players circle the same Mandalorian camp or kinrath nest, missing the ritual beast arena or the Wookiee chieftain’s grove. The landmark: from the initial basket descent, head directly west to the force field, then follow the northern perimeter to the crashed Star Map guardian. The kinrath hive clusters are fixed spawn points — use them as navigation anchors.
Manaan court trial (instant dark-side conviction). After the Hrakert Rift mission, lying to the Selkath judges about Republic involvement or the kolto harvester sabotage triggers an automatic guilty verdict and permanent Manaan ban, locking you out of the Star Map. The correct path: admit you destroyed the harvester, explain the progenitor shark’s threat to the kolto supply, emphasize you acted to protect Manaan’s sovereignty. The judges prioritize ecological preservation over Republic politics — frame your actions as environmental defense, not military necessity.
