Table of Contents
A Fake Level Up (or FLU) is a glitch that allows a character to level up indefinitely. This allows a character to accumulate skill points and get Feats and Force Powers earlier than normally possible. In the most broad sense, a Fake Level Up allows you to replace a lower level up with a higher one.
The FLU is a versatile glitch with many applications. This guide will focus on the aspects relevant to speedrunning, and merely mention other applications at the end.
In order to perform a FLU, you need the following:
When starting a FLU, there is an important difference between starting on an attribute level vs. a non-attribute level. A FLU that begins on an attribute level must end on an attribute level, whereas a FLU that begins on a non-attribute level cannot end on an attribute level.
All FLUs in speedruns begin with an Anywhere Menu Glitch (AMG), usually performed with a Quick Save. After the AMG, open the Character Screen. You should see the following:
If you have the Quit Game pop-up overlaid on top of the Character Screen with a Level Up ready, you are now ready to Fake Level Up.
Every FLU will go through one or more Intermediate Levels before reaching the Final Level, which ends the FLU. The most important thing to remember about FLUs is the following:
Feats, Force Powers, attribute points and skill points assigned during Intermediate Levels will not be permanent.
Feats and Force Powers assigned during Intermediate Levels will be usable until you reload the game or leave the current module, and will then disappear. In contrast, Feats, Force Powers, attribute points and skill points assigned during the Final Level are permanent. Thus, any selections made during Intermediate Levels are only to get prerequisites for the Feats and Powers you want in the Final Level.
In every FLU, the Final Level is done normally, without any menu glitch. When you finish the Final Level, your TC will revert to the level they were supposed to be, but retain everything gained during the Final Level. Make sure to Quick Save after a FLU, so that you don’t have to redo it. You’ll have to unpause the game in order to move again, and may need to close several menus depending on how you did your FLU.
The bulk of a FLU is moving through the Intermediate Levels as quickly as possible while still obtaining the necessary prerequisites. There are three ways to progress through Intermediate Levels while performing a FLU; the first two are commonly used, while the third is mostly obsolete.
This method aborts a level up as soon as it begins, which avoids having to select attributes, skills, Feats, and Powers that will not persist in Intermediate Levels. Starting from the above screenshot, to perform a Skele FLU:
These steps will put you back at the Character Screen with a Level Up available and the Quit dialog up, just where you started. The FLUs currently used in speedruns are mostly done with Skele FLU levels.
Skele FLU benefits:
This method uses the menu glitch to swap to a party member during the Level Up process, thereby causing the game to think the TC has not leveled up. Starting from the above screenshot, to perform a Slow FLU:
This will put you back on the Character screen with your SC active and no menu glitch. To continue a FLU, swap back to the TC and exit the menu to AMG again. If this is your Final Level, you can swap to the TC and perform the Final Level.
Note that step 4 can be skipped, but you then must do the entire level up with only the mouse, which is slower.
Slow FLU benefits:
Several speedrun FLUs do at least one or two Slow FLU levels to gain required prerequisites for the Final Level.
This method allows for Intermediate Levels to be done in the same way as leveling up normally, without the use of an AMG. However, this can only be used under the following conditions:
The Fast FLU is the only FLU method to accumulate skill points for every Intermediate Level done this way. This once made it invaluable for the Security FLU in Kotor 1 Any%, as well as gaining sufficient skills in Kotor 1 All Quests; however, the current Kotor II Unrestricted routes have the Dev Character and thus skill points are not required. In NDT runs, FLUs are still useful
Fast FLU benefits:
Unlike other methods, finishing a Fast FLU is controlled by the attributes you select while leveling. The attribute you select during the first level up should not be the one you want to keep. Then for every other attribute level:
As an example, if you want your Fast FLU to give you a Strength point, you can select Dexterity for the first level up, and then select Dexterity to continue the FLU, and Strength when you want to stop.
When designing a FLU, first decide what the end goal of the FLU is. What Feat or Powers do you want? Do you need to accumulate skill points?
Once your goal is in mind, it is important to select your starting and ending levels carefully:
Next, you’ll want to decide what kind of FLU levels you’re using:
Finally, map out which Feats and Powers you’re selecting at each Intermediate Level (if not Skele FLUing) so that you have all the prerequisites you need for your end goal by the time you reach the Final Level.
The speedrun applications of Fake Level Ups really just scratch the surface of what FLUs can do. Other applications of FLU that are not speedrun relevant include:
FLUs can also be used with party members as the Target Character, which is not currently used in a speedrun. There are likely other applications of FLU that have not been fully explored. If you’re interested in these more esoteric FLU variants, see the glitch-hunting channel in the Discord.
With a FLU, it is possible to get the third tier of a Feat or Power without getting the second tier, e.g. getting Master Speed without getting Knight Speed. For some Feats and Powers, this creates no issues; Master Speed is strictly better than Knight Speed, so it doesn’t matter that we never get it. For other Feats and Powers however, it does matter.
As an example, consider Armor Proficiency. It is possible to get Heavy Armor Proficiency without getting Medium Armor Proficiency using a FLU. However, our character would then be able to wear Heavy Armor, but not Medium Armor. The effects of this set of Feats are cumulative, rather than the higher tier replacing the lower tier.
No Force Powers are cumulative in their effects. Feats that are cumulative in their effects include:
Feats and Powers that are granted automatically at a given level can be gained through a FLU by ending the FLU at the level at which those feats are granted. This includes things like Force Jump or Sneak Attack. However, these Feats and Powers may not show up in the menu. They still exist and have an effect; if you check the Feedback logs, you will see your granted feats taking effect.