This is a great game for all Star Wars fans.
Worth of finishing each class's story (till lvl 50).

Don't forget to connect security key for additional cartel points.

+ following codes for special mounts (these are not ref codes):
NYCantina16
SWCELEBRATION17
SWCANTINA17
NYCANTINA19

If you've got any questions about this game - write me!!

P.S. Link for codes redemption: https://account.swtor.com/user/codes

+++

2023 Update //////
Still worth go through original stories up to 50 level

Greetings from Bulgaria! I am Vulkk (or Alex) and I have been playing SWTOR since one of its beta stages without breaks and time outs. I would like to encourage you to give the game a try with this quick review below, while still being honest about the flaws of the game in its "elderly age".

Star Wars: The Old Republic is now nine years old at the time of this publication. The game has an incredible amount of content to offer to a new player. The learning curve is not too steep and the stories are all free to enjoy them at your own pace.

All the way up to level 60 is currently available 100% free of charge. You can play all 8 origin class stories to level 50, and continue through the first digital expansions of the game up to level 60.

If you enjoy playing casually, you could only subscribe for a month to get all of the story content unlocked forever for your account. However, once you approach the EndGame, you start feeling the limitations of the F2P model very hard. Once you find out what it is like to play as a Subscriber, you may struggle to get back to Preferred status player (the middle limitation level) after your Sub expires.

SWTOR offers tons of solo content, but it shines in the group play, especially if you team up with guildies and have a voice chat available. Be it casual or hardcore, raiding, PvPing, exploration, Conquest - everything is more fun with friends in this game. Play the class stories alone to immerse yourself fully into them, then join a guild or play with friends once you find yourself in the EndGame grind.

Being a nine years old game, SWTOR struggles to offer continuously fresh and engaging content to some of the hard-core fans and veterans of the game. I myself have been playing it since beta and have witnessed every single update, change, bright moments and failures over the years. It's a thing to consider, but if you are reading this review, you are probably wondering if it's worth picking up the game. Yes, absolutely.

The game engine is a giant issue from the very beginning. Low FPS in group environment such as Operations and Warzones may be frequent and the graphics of the game in the old content really shows how long it's been since SWTOR's release. BioWare is dedicated to updating the old content slowly from time to time.

Enjoy your own Star Wars Saga with fully voiced over cinematic story experience and personal choices that some times lead to real consequences down the line.

I've been playing this game for years and I'm very happy to see it come to Steam! I don't know exactly how many hours I actually have, but I'm sure it's well over 3-4,000. Sometimes that is a mark of shame, and sometimes that is a mark of pride.

Is it still worth playing? Hell yes. I've been playing for many years and I still find stuff to do every single day. Will you enjoy your time? That's for you to find out. Everyone is different and what people look for in MMOs is no exception. IMO, this is one of the greatest MMOs ever made, but that does not mean it isn't without flaws. The content releases are few and far between (but there is so much already here that's not necessarily an issue), sometimes EA has been known to flex their cash shop muscle in annoying ways, and I won't lie, this community is one of the more toxic ones I've been apart of. There are some very good people who play and will give you the world, but there are also a ton who will put you down for breathing the wrong way. Turn chat off when you're not enjoying group content and you'll probably be much happier.

If you like Star Wars and a decent storyline, you will love this game and all of its branching paths. Even after finishing the 8 class stories, there are ways to play those stories differently on a second run. It's entirely possible to lose yourself while creating alternate characters, and imo, that's a great thing.

Also it should be mentioned this is probably the only MMO where you can bang several NPCs. Yes, that is an important feature. Bioware did not forget their hopeless romantics and perverts. Just saying.

First, a few bits of advice:

If you subscribe once, you get all current content permanently and that is a LOT of content. After you do so, if it's only the access to content you're after, you no longer need to keep subscribing.

The free to play version was improved recently and now you can have up to 1 million credits at a time. This will still get you decently far even in the game's current economy. Get a legacy bank and put your money inside of it. This bank is legacy-wide, meaning you can access it on multiple characters. You can do this by buying the Dromund Kaas or Coruscant stronghold (it's very cheap) and placing the one you get in the mail anywhere inside of your room. (Note, you may need to level your legacy a little bit.) When you're about to go over 1 million credits, store it there.

ADD THE SECURITY KEY APP TO YOUR PHONE AND CONNECT IT TO YOUR ACCOUNT! You get 100 free cartel coins (cash shop currency) every single month. That is a big deal. It adds up quickly. You will not regret it.

When you first make a new character, press Y. They don't tell you to do this. Make a legacy, give yourself a last name for all your characters. Do it ASAP, because you'll want to level that baby. It's important.

If you do subscribe, don't waste your time in the cash shop. Everything in the cash shop you can get in the game without spending real money by simply farming credits. There are many, many, many ways to farm quickly, but there is a guide by swtorista which explains it best. Go find her and watch a bunch of her videos, she's great.

The real value in this game are the 8 class stories and the DLC story content. This is not an MMO where the end game actually matters or will even go anywhere. If you find a friend group interested and they're fun to get involved with, fine, but if you're not enjoying the storylines there is very little point to playing. Don't skip the cutscenes the first time around. Give this one a fighting chance.

When you're leveling, even on free to play you can skip most of the side quests (there are a ton of them). Stick to the story and do all the heroics on every planet. You'll get the gear you need and likely be appropriate level.

Each class has a buff they can share with other people. When you finish a class story, you can use that buff on other classes. This is why some people can share all 4 buffs at once. If you're enjoying the game, leveling each class type (only 4--BH = Trooper, SW = JK, Agent = Smuggler, Inq = Consular) might be a decent goal to keep in mind.

And finally: Don't fall in love with Quinn. He's a jerk. (Kidding.)

If you ever want to know more, check out swtorista's guides, she's an old gem and has a whole series dedicated to the Steam players coming in. This game isn't terribly complicated to get into or even play (especially for people who are familiar to MMOs), but they might help should you need it.

I hope you enjoy your time! I know I have.

Please follow United Critics for quality reviews


The war has been raging for decades, and this time your story will take part in it. Decades before the classical star wars, we all know, and love existed.

This is the old republic, and you choose which side you want to take part in. And what may lie ahead is only up to you to tell.

Star Wars The Old Republic is a HUGE game with a large variety of content, a game that keeps getting updated with patch notes and new content.
The player gets the choice to choose which side, what class or specification, and even customize their character. Each class on either side has its own main story. Concluding to more stories and more gameplay for the player.

Game Mechanics
The battle mechanics can be toggled in settings for your comfort within the games possibility. The only missing mechanic the game does not support by default or as an option is “mouse-lock” The player currently needs to hold down the right mouse button to lock the mouse.

Some games have mouse lock on default, which lets the player press a button to free the mouse instead. Unfortunately, this game does not include that setting.

It is not as simple as point and shoot; the player's weapon has a certain shooting range that the enemy needs to be within to shoot/attack.

Further away, it will indicate the enemy is too far away and is unable to shoot.
By default, after eliminating an enemy, the lock-on will switch to the nearest enemy.

While lightsabers can deflect blaster bolts from far to close distances, they can only inflict damage on the enemy at close distances.

Character Qualifications
Like I briefly said in the gameplay, when the player starts with a new character, they will choose which side they want to play on. Since each side has its own story and missions.

There are four-character qualifications on both sides. Each qualification has a certain number of selectable styles or character specifications.

Missions & Stories
Each qualification contains its own story and missions, and each story takes place in different locations. All intros are different, and all missions are unalike, so there is plenty of content that the player can explore and try out.

In total, there are eight stories the player can try out and complete. And each time, they can replay the story, but with another type of playing style. (aka specification)

Character Tabs
Gear
The gear tab is where the player can see and select their gear from their inventory. They can see what damage the player does, what survivability they have, and how much support they have. Inventory can be upgraded with a bit of in-game currency.

Outfitter
The outfitter can rearrange the color of the players clothing if they are compatible with the system.
Here, the player can make and save outfits for their character.

Character Tabs
Gear
The gear tab is where the player can see and select their gear from their inventory. They can see what damage the player does, what survivability they have, and how much support they have. Inventory can be upgraded with a bit of in-game currency.

Companion
Some companions give the player the option of choosing their armor and weapons. If the player has a companion who allows gear arranging, the player can change their gear in the companion tab.

Galactic Starfighter
This tab can be opened when the (H) button is pressed.

Ships
The ship tab has four smaller tabs containing Strike Fighter, Scout, Bomber, and Gunship. Each small tab contains four ships, but the player can only buy three of them with game currency; the fourth ship is real money.
There, the player can both look at ships and buy new ones, as each ship has its own little description.

Components
The components tab contains of two categories with smaller tabs. Major Components and Minor Components. The components can be upgraded by the player with in-game money.

Major Components
Primary Weapons
Primary Weapons
Secondary Weapons
Shields
Engines

Minor Components
Capacitor
Magazine
Reactor
Thrusters

Visuals
For a game that was made in 2011, the graphic design, animation movements, and overall experience within the game are truly good.

Smooth structures, detailed character bodies and outfits, animations, decent effects on shooting, grandees, etc.

The game looks good, and depending on their progress and story, they will see a lot of different elements, including cities, frontlines, and space.

Audio
Voice Dialogs
Most of the main mission NPC interactions have voiced dialogue scenes, both for the NPC and the player, with three optional word choices. Some might sound more gory, while others are more passive.

Depending on the dialog choice, it can change the view of you by your companions or the NPC to whom you are talking.

Sound & Music
While in the game, the player will hear blasters shooting, hover bikes racing, and either NPCs chatting or footsteps from fellow players.

Pros
• Gameplay
  
• Character Class/Specification
  
• Visuals & Audio
  
• Story/ies
  
• Content
  
• Choices
  
• Cosmetics/Character Designing
  
  Cons
  
• No Mouse-Lock
  
• NPC Loading Error
  
• No Simple Crouching
  
• No background music (nothing big)

SWTOR is a very large game with hundreds of hours of content, and I did not want to rush the review but also not take too long with it.

My experience during the time I played this game was mixed, but like most games, after a few hours, it gets better. Some mechanics you’ll have to learn, and others you simply need to get used to.

There isn’t much to say about the gameplay since it all runs smoothly and is mostly story-based in the game.
But all in all, I highly recommend this game. It might look and be a bit old, but trust me, it's better than some new games in this era.

For full review check our curator

Rating: 9.5/10
Are We The God Guys?

SWTOR is a really good game IMO, it has a ton of customisation, story-lines and options for your play-style. I have played this game for god knows how long and when it came to steam as a free-to-play, I hopped back on!

Pros :

It has an incredible amount of content for each story-line. Even if you're not planning to subscribe, you still get access to 8 class stories, who take anywhere from 15 to 100 hours each depending on how fast you go through them . Then there's the usual MMORPG content, 4 man dungeons, 16 man raids and world bosses all with different difficulty levels (which IMO is kinda meh). It has good quality writing and storytelling throughout. The story in this game is amazing and stands far above most other MMOs I've played. Whoever you are, you'll find a story that suits your style. And despite its age, it has a REALLY immersive world with Amazing music and Great graphics!

Cons :

The problem with the game is with the payment model. It's free to play, which means, you guessed it! EA are trying there hardest for all they're worth to make you buy the most ridiculous things. It is like they made a list of every single way they could get money out of you, for example a bunch of customisation which look hideous and outright stupid.
ANYWAYS... the new major updates really confuse me with who they are trying to appeal to? The only things you really get is ONE hour of new content, a bunch of bugs, EA removing features just so they could ruin our days...

Is it still worth it too play? :

Definitely yes. Even with the weird, confusing and annoying cons, I've been playing this for many years and I have been enjoying my time. But deciding on YOUR play-style, you might like or dislike this game. Everyone is different, for example, some people really hate long repetitive tasks (which is me) while some like them! This is maybe one of the best MMOs out there, but that does not mean it is perfect in every way.

If you like Star Wars and a decent storyline, you will love this game (or maybe not)! Even after finishing the 8 class stories, there are ways to play those stories differently on a second run which IMO makes this a great game.

Tips & Tricks :

1. If you subscribe once, you get all current content permanently and that is a LOT of content. After you do so, if it's only the access to content you're after, you no longer need to keep subscribing.
2. ADD THE SECURITY KEY APP TO YOUR PHONE AND CONNECT IT TO YOUR ACCOUNT! You get 100 free cartel coins (cash shop currency) every single month. That is a big deal. It adds up quickly. You will not regret it.
3. When you first make a new character, press Y. Make a legacy, give yourself a last name for all your characters. Do it ASAP, because you'll want to level it up! It is really really important.
4. These are codes for special mounts that you should get as early as possible!
(They AREN'T ref codes!):

NYCantina16
SWCELEBRATION17
SWCANTINA17
NYCANTINA19

I have over 3,000 hours in the other version. I love this game and have completed almost all of the content available. You can definitely get the same amount of time or more out of this game. If you need help getting started, I am willing to help. Just leave your name and server in the comments.

Not subbing will slow progress a good bit but as a new player it might be of benefit. You will be able to experience every single quest and story in the game without overleveling. The biggest annoyance of ftp is the credit limit and group content restrictions. In all honesty you can live without subbing as a new player until you get to around level 60, then it is of benefit to sub for a single month. But without subscription as long as you complete the main class quest and the planetary quest line you will easily be on track for leveling. Also make sure to use your legacy bank for any money that you acquire while unsubbed as that is the only way you can transfer money to other characters on your account. The legacy bank is uncapped also. Subbing will also let you use artifact gear which is super important to the progression in the endgame. I would suggest subscribing then picking that up with the cartel coins you are granted so you can enjoy the endgame better.

Another note about the game that I want people to keep in mind is that this game is one of the worst for regular content updates. Expecting these devs to give the bare minimum of yearly content is a joke, its really sad how little effort is put into such an expensive game nowadays. I really am giving this a slightly positive review because the base game is so good. The future combat changes may turn this, time will tell

Having played this game for nearly 1000 hours now, here's what I can say.

The good :

- An incredible amount of content. Even if you're not planning to subscribe, you still get access to 8 class stories, who take anywhere from 15 to 100 hours each depending on how fast you go through them and if you do side missions. Then there's the usual MMORPG content, 4 man dungeons (called flashpoints), 16 man raids (operations) and world bosses all with different difficulty levels.
- Quality of writing / storytelling. The story in this game is amazing and stands far above any other MMO I've played. It's essentially high quality Bioware single player writing, but in an MMO. Some class stories stand out, like the Bond-esque Agent story, or the classic overpowered sith story of the warrior. Whoever you are, you'll find a story that suits your style.
- A combat system with suprising depth. A lot of classes that feel clunky at first get those clunky abilities replaced as you level up and when you reach max level "alacrity" (increase attack speed) makes everything fluid and fast. I was quite suprised, coming from WoW and having also played Tera a lot.
- An immersive world with incredible music and suprisingly good graphics, despite it's age.
- You can live your childhood (or adulthood!) fantasy of being a jedi or sith lord, with your own lightsaber and very cool armor set that you can customize.
- The companion system is quite fleshed out, even if it got simplified over the years from what I read. Your class story will give you access to 5 companions and you can gather more. By the time you reach where the SWtoR story is at now, you'll have a few dozens. Companions can all be geared up with the oufits of your choice and story companions all interact with you and have different personalities and preferences.
- The subscription system is fairly good. If you subscribe once (15$) you will be a preferred member once your sub runs out, still giving you access to more content and features, so that's definitely worth it. If you never sub, however, your adventure will end shortly after the class stories (which can easily give you up to 500 hours of fun if you do all 8..!), you will not be able to hit max level and will be capped at 1 million credits (which isn't that much once you start getting really into the game). <-- edit : Upon reflection, I moved the subscription system from "meh" to "good".

The meh :

- Fun and high skill cap pvp. Because of alacrity and the pacing at max level, pvp is quite engaging. Everyone gets a built in pvp trinket in their kit, and interrupt and a stun. It's not incredibly balanced, but most classes should have one spec that works. There is however a bad side to pvp in this game, people are toxic as ♥♥♥♥ in ranked (the most toxic community I've encountered so far), and I'm warning you as someone who reached the highest level of PvP in quite a few mmo's and played online games with a "PvP mindset" for the past 25 years (first by griefing people in diablo 1 as a 10 year old kid and getting Gladiator a few times in WoW during college. Yeah I'm a boomer.).
- The gearing system is quite linear. Once you hit max level, you'll want to get your item level to 306, and anything you do in the world will drop gear near your current average item level. This means that you could solo your way to a fully optimized set of gear. Of course, if you party up and run group content this process will go faster. Once you hit 306 (max item level currently) you can hoard those items and twink your fresh lvl 75 alts, putting them in best in slot gear instantly. This is either good or bad depending on the type of player you are. If you're hoping to be one in a million in BiS gear because it's locked behind hard raids, you'll be dissapointed.
- The tab target combat system is tied and true, but dated. I don't mind it, as long as the game is responsive when I use abilities, but for some people it can be boring. This game is no Tera / BDO as far as combat goes, that's for sure.

The bad :

- While there are cool looking sets that can drop for you from running content, the coolest armors (and boy are they dope) are all real money cosmetics. Unless you want to shell out the credits and buy them from people who used real money in the first place. Admittedly, the cash shop is probably what's keeping the lights on this game.
- Speaking of using real cash, while gearing is so easy it's impossible to call it pay to win, it's definitely pay to get rich. By spending 10$ you can buy a store item that you can then resell for somewhere around 150 million credits, which is quite a lot, but won't get you one of the best looking lightsabers that go for 500-600 million credits (or 50$ on the store!). Again, purely cosmetic. You could be using an ugly wooden lightsaber and it would do the exact same damage with proper mods.
- I just mentionned credits. This games economy is insanely inflated and it's not gonna get better. People who get rich in this game (billionnaires) either use real money and resell items or play the GTN (auction house) on a daily basis.

All in all, I'm happy I picked this game up. The last time I spent so much time on an mmo was in the better days of WoW. SWtoR has it's flaws, but it's definitely an epic game with an insane amount of high quality content. You should at the very least pick it up and run the class stories for free. I haven't even gotten through all of them yet either!

I have played this game off and on since release, I would guess 700 total hours or more. This game has had numerous updates over the years, but I will tailor this review to newer players.

First, this game in very welcome to newer players, but I would suggest ignoring the general chat on starter worlds.

Second, this game is fair to play. Whether you sub or not, most of the pay options are cosmetic only. If you subscribe for a single month, once you revert to free to play, you will be a preferred and keep a lot of the benefits.

Third, Being a subscriber is my preferred way to play. You can level using only the class story and never have to grind sidequests to stay within level requirements, most of the time you will end up being downleveled to the content as you will be over the max level for the region. The class stories are all fantastic, and if you don't have to grind to keep up, you will feel like you have 8 full KOTOR quality games.

The PVE Experience is great, to include raids (Operations) and dungeons (Flashpoints) with an easy to use groupfinder and difficulty that allows all ranges of capable and experiences of players.

PVP is good, multiple ways to get involved in PVP to include matches of Huttball, Spaceship combat, world PVP and ranked matches. The ranked stuff can get cutthroat and is best experienced with a group of players you know.

My very first recommendations for new players. 1. Get a security key (free 100 cartel coins monthly, used mostly for cosmetic purchases). 2. Sub for at least a month. 3. Get into a guild (most have already unlocked the 10% experience boost). I highly recommend my own guild of course, Imperial Army on Starforge Server, best group of players I have ever played with accross all my many years of many games www.imperialarmy.org. and 4. Experience all the classes to at least level 20 before choosing your main (eventually you are going to want to experience all the class stories, and being subscriber will allow you to do that without breaking up the continuity of lore too much).

I'm 55 years old this year. This one is good for Star Wars fans of all ages.

So I've played SWTOR on and off since it's release. I pre-ordered it and have my black-yellow crystal on all my characters, and have well over 1k hours total played before it migrated over to Steam as an additional download option. I've played WoW and FF14, but I could not get into Final Fantasy. During Warlords of Draenor for WoW, I came back to this game, took a break, and after Legion I started playing this game more often.

I'll start off with a pros/cons list as a simple outline and I will elaborate a little more on them as they are listed.

Class Story: I adore the class stories in this game. From being a Sith rising through the ranks, a Spec Force trooper taking out enemies of the Republic, or a simple man trying to make his way in the galaxy by taking bounties, the stories are really enjoyable and I find myself making new character almost all the time. Yea, there are some real stinkers in my opinion, I don't like Consular all that much, and Trooper is halfway decent, but the Empire is where it's at. Imperial Agent has the best story hands down.

Gameplay: It's a pretty standard MMO, WASD movement, keybinds, auto attacks, building/spending. To people migrating from a game like WoW, I'd say they'll be pretty comfortable. Some moves feel weighty and flashy and are fun to pull off. Nothing too complex, I'd say.

Expansions: Aside from maybe the Rise of the Hutt Cartel and maaaaybe Shadow of Revan, I'd say storywise these expansions are great additions and are a must to do at least once. If story isn't your thing, well, that's cool too.

Community: If you find yourself a nice, social guild to start, you'll have a good time. There are some really nice people I've met on here.

Transmog: I cannot understate how much I love the transmog this game has. Being able to mix and match armor pieces and then being able to unify the color of the chest piece is such a super handy tool to have that I wish most other games would try to emulate.


Community: Yea, I know, twice. While there are some nice people, there are some really nasty folk, but that's kind of what you expect sometimes. Mostly just chat trolls, or PvP tryhards, even guilds full of people who are just, well, not friendly at all. If you're running a flashpoint, which is this games form of dungeon, chances are if you aren't in a group with your friends, the people will plan on trying to speedrun it and expect you to keep up and skip cutscenes.

Content Droughts: There are just large bits of no content from the developers. They're good folk, don't get me wrong, but having to wait months on end for a couple missions for story or even just something new to do is very boring and leads to burnout.

Leveling: This one is kind of subjective and I like the leveling but I know it's kind of a big thing for some people; the leveling goes by pretty quick. You get XP boosts from class quests and if you're doing side quests on the first couple planets, you'll likely reach a level cap if you're unsubbed before you finish your class quests. I'd wager to say you'd also finish even as a sub. Granted, planets do scale you to a planetary cap, but that really takes away a sense of progression to some.

Inflation: Galactic Trade Network prices for some Cartel Market items is through the roof. A crate that gives you random Cartel Market items is, if I recall correctly, somewhere in the high millions, which to some is chump change. But then you have an item that sells 30 of those for upwards of billions of credits and cannot even be listed on the GTN, which is absurd.

Consider this extra section a "I couldn't decide where to put this, and some of these may or may not affect you in some way or another.

Cash Shop: While there is a cash shop, it is mostly for cosmetic purposes or boosts. There is no "buy endgame gear" from their store, which is good for some. The game is F2P, and there are ways to earn the premium currency (Cartel Coins) from playing. You could argue that selling the items you get onto the Auction House/Galactic Trade Network is some form of P2W, but I don't think it's a very good way of doing things.

Customer Support: Maybe back in the day when there was a highly active team working on this, this probably wouldn't even be mentioned. I have had so much trouble with customer support as of late despite being very concise with my information for certain issues, and nothing has been fixed. If they ask you to send screenshots through your email, I doubt they will ever see them. Also, do not get subs from the Steam store, there are a ton of issues with it that still haven't been worked out.

As I said at the start, I love SWTOR. But the game has its issues, some in control and others out of. I'm no designer, and I have no tried and true method of fixing the issues. If you're migrating over from another MMO, or would really like to get some great Star Wars story and fulfill some fantasies you've had about being a member of the Republic or Empire in an era before the OT, then I implore you to give this game a try. Even if you don't like playing with other people, there is still single player content for you to keep you busy, and if you enjoy interacting with others, there is plenty to do.

Cheers lads.