Banter.
Anyways.
Personally Kotor 2 Meetra should be her prime, due to the considerable power boost she receives from her five apprentices and of course the power she should still be able use the Bond even on Malachor Five, but that's my personal opinion. Still, if we disregard that KoTOR Meetra's own potential obviously outstrips that of her apprentices(something that's implied numerous times in-game) So it's not a boost that I think completely powers her up, but rather, it acts as a reservoir of energy that she can fall back on should she exhaust her own.(That's how I've always seen it, at least.) That's not even delving into the fact that the death she causes(as a DS or LS Jedi) continuously empowers her and such.
In my opinion, the knowledge she gained from the Wound did stay with her(forms and such, thus why she wasn't completely owned by Nyriss), but the constant power boosts of death were more akin to a temporary amplification that she obviously stopped from consuming her by healing the Wound.(Healing the wound would explain why she is able to resist Nathema's weird planet life sucky thing)
With her own personal power being(theoretically)returned to normal/cut in half. I think her potential in the Revan novelization was superior to that of MandoWars Meetra, but because of the serious lack of Death Amps and her biggest pool of power being effectively eliminated(Kreia) she's lost a portion of her old natural ability that while not significant enough to make her a scrub, was significant enough to essentially make her a nerfed character.
In closing, KotOR 2 Meetra has always been above the rest, mainly because her feats in that timeline, plus her Wound abilities, her own natural talent, the power of her allies, and the (Once again, in my opinion) temporary Death boosts she received really helped her in battle. Where as Novel Meetra had the knowledge and bonds with her allies, she lacked Wound to help her out in several instances.
Thoughts?
There has never been any evidence supporting the bond-amped Meetra, that was invented to lower her feats, she learnt techniques from them and they learned from her in turn. They could more easily support each other with passive support but that doesn't amount to nearly the same as a genuine boost in power.
The death amp boost is also purely theory invented by those same people, her connection to the Force was restored by those deaths feeding and closing her wound, reestablishing her power and restoring her to her full potential. It wasn't some constant regenerative boost present in all battles.
Originally posted by AncientPower
There has never been any evidence supporting the bond-amped Meetra, that was invented to lower her feats, she learnt techniques from them and they learned from her in turn. They could more easily support each other with passive support but that doesn't amount to nearly the same as a genuine boost in power.
Doesn't Kreia outright say that she actively draws from her allies 😬
Don't get all defensive, it's how I see things tbh, and makes sense from how force bonds generally work.
One Bond allows Revan and Bastila to support one another, according to Bastila. A Bond between six people? You cannot seriously look at me and say that wouldn't give her a considerable power boost.
Originally posted by AncientPower
No she does not, the bond has limits, Kreia advises she can draw strength from her allies and then leave them when used... if she's dark side, which isn't at all the case with Meetra Surik who rejects the idea completely in a light side conversation.
Yeah, because she obviously has a choice in drawing on their power right? Just like she chose to deny Kreia's pain when the Lady of Betrayal lost her hand, right?
Oh wait! She didn't.
.....What?
Meetra and Traya both learn to defend their minds from such mistakes after Sion take Kreia's first hand off.
Kreia numerous times tells Meetra she should use her allies to gain their strength but Meetra rejects her advice and tells her they are friends and allies, not expendables.
Without that all the bond does is give Meetra influence over her party and allows for easier mutual passive applications of generic Force amplifications such as Valor or Battle Meditation.
Meetra is stated by Revan to be far more powerful than he thought she had the potential to be in the Mando Wars, so clearly her power isn't reliant on her party members.
Originally posted by AncientPower
.....What?Meetra and Traya both learn to defend their minds from such mistakes after Sion take Kreia's first hand off.
Kreia numerous times tells Meetra she should use her allies to gain their strength but Meetra rejects her advice and tells her they are friends and allies, not expendables.
Without that all the bond does is give Meetra influence over her party and allows for easier mutual passive applications of generic Force amplifications such as Valor or Battle Meditation.
Meetra is stated by Revan to be far more powerful than he thought she had the potential to be in the Mando Wars, so clearly her power isn't reliant on her party members.
So two ability that help in battle, are passive now?
You do know that Valor is Force Augmentation right? and Battle Meditation... well it has battle in it's name, could I be any clearer?
Have you forgotten that Meetra formed a Bond with everyone regardless of whether or not she wanted to? lol. She can, if she likes or not, draw on their power. That's not something that can be controlled.
"You are a sipher, forming bonds, leeching the life of others. Siphoning their wills and dominating them. It is the teachings of these new sith, to feed on others, on other force sensitives."
-Vrook
"I fear that they have learned the lesson of malachor too well,it is what allows to prey on force users, to become stronger when Force Sensitives are near."
Kavar
"Somehow, they have learned their hunger from you."
Vrook.
Evidently, drawing on others and dominating them are two separate things. Given that the writers felt the need to mention that she leeches on their life force and dominates their wills.
Is there any evidence that points towards Meetra's drain only increasing her strength temporarily? Granted, it makes sense given Nihilus' situation, but it also doesn't make sense given that throughout the entire game she's become progressively stronger because of it. The fact that it's continuously built upon itself points toward it being a permanent change in power.
The Exile is stated to be a powerhouse of destruction on Malachor V, her, not just her + party:
[The Exile] should be a powerhouse of destruction.
- Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords Prima Guide
The Exile chooses whether or not to use her party in that matter. The greatest example, perhaps, being this conversation:
Meetra Surik only learns how to draw strength from her allies in such drastic measures, if she takes the dark path. However Meetra is canonically light aligned, that is the differentiation you are failing to account for with your theory.
The technique the Sith use is the Force drain that the dark side Exile can use to kill the Masters themselves. All of the bond and wound abilities simply restored her connection to the Force normally in the light side path, as Zez-Kai Ell states, something you conveniently left out:
"You have almost completely restored your connection to the Force, but there are dark places, places that echo within you still."
- Zez-Kai Ell, Knights if the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
It fulfilled her potential, as Sion states that the Exile will surpass Traya's power in time:
"I do not see as she does, but I know, that in time, you will surpass her power."
- Darth Sion, Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
She doesn't lose her power all of a sudden after KotOR II, given that she rebuilds the Jedi Order, training her apprentices to Mastery in the following years:
Meanwhile, the Exile trained new Jedi recruits, forming a council of her companions who achieved mastery and welcoming others who came out of hiding. After years of slow but steady growth, the reborn Jedi Order made a triumphant return to its long-abandoned temple on Coruscant. But the Jedi Exile could not forget Darth Traya’s final warning, suggesting that evil remained in the Unknown Regions. With the Jedi Order flourishing, the Exile left the known galaxy to follow her former commander Revan into darkness.
- Star Wars The Old Republic Galactic History 83 The Republic Rebuilds
Then finally Revan calls her greater than he'd ever thought she could be when he'd known her during the Mandalorian Wars, even stating she was the only person who could have done so:
"Do not understimate all you have done. Nobody else could have found me across an entire galaxy; nobody else could have saved me from my imprisonment." He studied her for a moment. "I was told you had lost your connection to the Force, but I sense its power in you. I always knew you had great potential, but you have become far greater than I could ever have imagined."
- Revan, The Old Republic Revan
Originally posted by Emperordmb.
Quite frankly I don't see the big deal about Nyriss beating Meetra tbh, there weren't all that many great duelists that Meetra actually encountered in KOTOR II
I'd only just explain why i believe my position isn't entirely baseless.