Everything you need to know if you’re considering buying the Kaas City Apartment Stronghold on Dromund Kaas in SWTOR!
Table of contents
Dromund Kaas Stronghold at a Glance
Fully unlocking most strongholds typically costs tens of millions of credits. We don’t list specific prices for each stronghold because the amount you’ll spend unlocking all the rooms is nothing compared to the money you’ll have to spend on decorations. Unfortunately, this is a case where if you have to ask, you can’t afford it.
| Expansion Count | 9 |
| Max Deco Count | 350 |
| Centerpiece and Starship Hook Count | 1 |
| Maximum Number of Occupants | 50 |
| Layout | Two-Story Apartment |
| Style | Imperial |
| Source | Fleet SH Listings, Dromund Kaas |
| Release Date | Game Update 2.9, 2014 |
| Usable by Guild? | Yes |
It’s worth noting that during SWTOR’s Anniversary celebration each December, both the Dromund Kaas and Coruscant strongholds go on sale and cost only 5,000 credits.
Floorplan and Appearance
The Dromund Kaas stronghold is a two-story penthouse apartment located in the capital of the Sith Empire. The bottom floor has 4 rooms connected by a hallway with double staircases leading upstairs to a balcony and a great room that connects to 4 smaller rooms.
Aside from Coruscant, the overall size of the Dromund Kaas stronghold is most like the Mek-Sha Safehouse, making it one of the smallest strongholds in the game.
Hooks and Room Alignment
Hook and room alignment in the Dromund Kaas stronghold are top-notch. Very few hooks require any sort of adjustment, and the rooms, walls and windows are all aligned properly with each other.
I particularly love how the Centerpiece Hook outside lines up so perfectly with those in the greatroom. I’ve set mine up to be my Dark Councilor’s office with a Statue of the Emperor behind the desk and a Grand Statue of the Emperor outside.
The perfect alignment of the windows and balcony hook allow you to create this overwhelming imposition that does wonders for motivating your inferiors.
Unfortunately, the magic mostly ends there as that’s the only Centerpiece + Starship Hook in the entire Stronghold, despite both the greatroom and especially the garage downstairs being large enough to support them.
The garage in particular is the greatest missed opportunity. It’s way too big for speeders and just a touch too small to fit a starship. Players have managed to make the space work for them, but it’s still tragic.
The only ship decos that fit in there (and through the shield door) are the ones from GSF, but they sit on these weird little repulsorstands rather than using the landing gear that exists elsewhere in the game.
Keep in mind that as scandalous as those GSF decos are, my gripes are minor. The Kaas City Apartment has exemplary hook placement and room alignment.
Matching Decorations and Bundles
Most decorations match the Dromund Kaas stronghold, though grays, blacks, whites, reds, and a dash of purple or blue tend to look the best along with synthetic materials.
If you’re looking for decorations that match particularly well, the following search terms will get you 95% of the relevant decos in the game:
- Imperial
- Sith
- Dark
- Senat (don’t type the “e” so you get both Senate and Senator)
- Empire
The few decos that clash tend to feature natural, earthy tones and have materials like stone, ceramic, and gold. Those decos typically look great in the Coruscant stronghold.
There are also a few deco bundles on the CM that are tailor-made for Imperial strongholds:
- Dromund Kaas Utility Decoration Bundle
- Security Bureau Decoration Bundle
- Imperial Console Decoration Bundle
- Sith Lord’s Artifacts Decoration Bundle
- Imperial Personnel Bundle
- Imperial Fleet Penthouse Wallset
- Mandalorian Clan Personnel Bundle
- Force-User Personnel Bundle
- Imperial Essentials Bundle
Ease of Decorating
Any stronghold can be decorated easily by just plopping down a thousand Basic Beds, but that’s not what I mean. When I say “ease of decorating”, I am referring to how easy or hard it is to make the stronghold look good.
Some strongholds have well thought-out Hook layouts, reasonably sized-rooms, and a variety of Hook sizes. These sorts of things make it easier to decorate because you don’t have to think as much about where to put things and it’s more about what you want to put in each room.
Other strongholds, particularly the more recent ones, are more difficult to decorate. It’s harder to decorate a stronghold when you aren’t given a lot of space to put decorations, or the room size doesn’t match the hooks, or you can’t line anything up because the devs slapped the thing together in half a day.
Since you need to hit 100% decorated for the Conquest Bonus and get all of your Prestige for Public Listings, the maximum number of decos you can place in a given stronghold also affects how easy it is to decorate.
If the deco count is too high, you’ll be forced to hide a bunch of small decos inside walls and larger decos or end up with a super cluttered stronghold. If the max deco count is too low, your stronghold will likely feel barren or you’ll be forced to leave some rooms undecorated.
| Easy to Decorate | Hard to Decorate |
|---|---|
| Thoughtful hook layouts | Floors and walls are covered with hooks |
| More variety of hook sizes | Less variety of hook sizes |
| Hook sizes match room sizes and shapes | Huge open spaces and tight quarters |
| Appropriate deco maximum | Excessive or insufficient deco maximum |
| Close attention to geometric alignment of architecture | Misaligned architecture and pointless asymmetry |
The Dromund Kaas Stronghold is one of the easiest to decorate in the whole game. Each room has a thoughtful layout and suggested purpose, so it’s hard to get stuck. Hook placement is also solid, so you don’t have to make a lot of tiny adjustments to get things to line up.
The maximum number of decos you can place is tightly calibrated, so you can’t end up with cluttered mess like you can with newer strongholds.
The deco cap can be a bit restrictive if you’re trying to create more complex scenes and increasing the maximum by 25 (350 ▶ 375) would offer more flexibility while still preventing clutter. If the garage could fit a Starship Hook, the current deco limit would feel more reasonable.
Dromund Kaas Stronghold Secrets
The Kaas City Apartment does not have any proper secrets. However, there are a couple of Dromund Kaas landmarks you can spot from the windows and balcony.
Dark Temple
Visible from west-facing windows on both the first and second floor, you can see the Dark Temple being bombarded with lightning.
Nexus Room Cantina
Visible from east-facing windows and the second floor balcony, you can spot the Nexus Room Cantina.
Contrary to its purchase listing description, the Kaas City Apartment does not have “a commanding view of the Imperial Citadel”. Unfortunately, you can’t see the SH from within Kaas City, and the only place its views could work is the unfinished Expansion District.
Dromund Kaas Stronghold Ideas and Inspiration
The Dromund Kaas Stronghold works best when used for Imperial (or covert Republic) purposes. Aside from Vaiken Spacedock, there’s nothing that can give you a more cohesive Imperial vibe.
- Imperial Legacy Headquarters
- Imperial Research Facility
- Sith Academy
- Sith Primary Residence
- Mandalorian Base
- Republic SIS Safehouse
Don’t forget to check out the Public Listings for more ideas!
Review and Recommendation
The Kaas City Apartment is a joy to decorate, has exemplary hook and room alignment, and looks pretty stellar. Honestly, the only reason I can’t give it 5 stars for Visual Appeal is that there’s such steep competition from the likes of Copero, Rishi, and Alderaan.
Category
Score
Ease of Decorating
Hook and Room Alignment
Visual Appeal
If you want to get into the bottomless money pit that is decorating, I strongly recommend the Dromund Kaas (or Coruscant) stronghold as your first home in a galaxy far, far away.
