Star Wars: The Old Republic is still online in 2024. Once touted as a WoW killer, the MMORPG never lived up to the high expectations. This is the status of SW:TOR in 2024.
What kind of game is this? Star Wars: The Old Republic, or SWTOR, is an MMORPG from EA and Bioware that recently changed developers about six months ago. In this classic theme park MMO, you play on either the good or evil side of the galaxy as a Jedi, Sith, Soldier, Bounty Hunter, Smuggler, or Agent.
You have access to a variety of classes and specializations that allow you to create your character in the Star Wars universe.
SW:TOR has a unique feature: the game’s story. Through various dialogue options, each class experiences its own unique narrative, which also changes based on the decisions you make. For example, you can spare an enemy and gain them as an ally in the next boss fight.
Here you can watch the cinematic trailer for Star Wars: The Old Republic.
The Major Chapter of Broadsword Online Games
Since the pandemic time, very little has happened with SW:TOR, and players have started to worry about the game. Instead of shutting down, the game was handed over to developer Broadsword Online Games. The founder and president of Broadsword, Rob Denton, led the Bioware team during the development and launch of SW:TOR in 2011.
Some of the Bioware developers also transitioned with the game to the new studio. Now, about six months after the transition, we want to look at what has changed in Star Wars: The Old Republic in 2024 and how the MMORPG stands.
What has happened since the takeover? Since the takeover, there have been some updates to SW:TOR, starting with minor improvements to the game’s graphics. The game underwent a small facelift, and the visuals have been slightly enhanced. Some things simply look clearer now – even though not everyone liked it. In addition to the overall appearance and shader effects, individual items were also polished.
A new stronghold, or base, where players can engage in housing, is also available. The fortress is located on the planet Copero and resembles the romantic scenes with Anakin and Padme that were filmed on Lake Como.
Is there anything new to play? Yes, there are new activities as well. For example, the Date-Night events, where you can further develop your romance with your companions, are new.
There is also a new area in SW:TOR that takes you back to Ord Mantell, the starting area for bounty hunters and Republic soldiers. There, you will find the new island “Kessan’s Landing,” with daily missions, achievements, and reputation missions.
Additionally, a new world boss has made its way into the game, which you must defeat together with many players.
What to Expect from SW:TOR in 2024
In Star Wars: The Old Republic, you control a customizable character from a third-person perspective. For some time, you can also choose which story you want to experience, regardless of your class.
The combat system is based on tab-targeting. You activate your abilities and actions by dragging them to a skill bar and triggering them with a keystroke or mouse click. In your missions, you have a companion who supports you as a tank, healer, or damage dealer.
The game is a theme park MMORPG in the Star Wars universe, where you belong to one of two factions: the Galactic Republic or the Sith Empire. The game offers content for all types of players. There is housing, PvE dungeons and raids, PvP modes, and interesting things like space battles.
The MMORPG can be tested quite well without a subscription. However, if you really want to experience everything, especially at endgame, you need to subscribe to the game or at least make a one-time payment to be considered a “preferred player” and have some advantages.
How does character creation work? Character creation in SW:TOR is quite extensive and offers various races and classes to choose from. Each race is available in male and female and can be designed quite individually. However, the MMORPG veteran cannot keep up with character creation systems from modern MMORPGs like Throne and Liberty or Black Desert.
Each class has two subclasses that cannot be changed anymore. Each subclass has three specializations that can be switched. It’s important to think ahead if you want to play as a healer or tank, as you will need to choose your class and subclass accordingly.
The class system in SW:TOR is complex. If you want to know in advance how the individual classes play, you should visit the fan site of swtorista.com. There you will also find useful guides for each small collectible. But as long as you just want to have fun, just choose what you like. There’s really no wrong or too weak class.
What content do you engage with your character? Your main task at the beginning of the game is to play through the story. This starts on different planets depending on your choice and continues until you reach the maximum level.
On your journey through the many planets, you will learn a lot about the world and the history, and you can even display more missions if needed. In the story, you will also get to know the first flashpoints. These are the dungeons from SW:TOR.
You can play these flashpoints with your NPC companion or in a group. Here’s an overview of all PvE content:
- Hero missions for 2 or 4 players
- Uprisings (short dungeons)
- Flashpoints (dungeons with up to 4 players)
- Operations (raids for 8 or 16 players) in various difficulty levels
- World bosses in the open world (for guilds)
- Space missions
- Guild missions to participate in guild competitions
In addition to combat content, you can also engage in many peaceful activities:
- Collecting datacrons that give you attributes
- Collecting resources and crafting
- Weekly events on various planets
- Countless achievements and secrets with rewards
- Housing on various planets
- Friendships and relationships, including missions with the characters
The game is now being expanded more frequently and offers a lot of content that is sometimes quite hidden. A complete enumeration of all possible content is therefore difficult.
How much does SW:TOR cost? The MMORPG has a 3-tier payment model. Firstly, everyone can play the game as a free-to-play user for as long and as extensively as they want. However, there are upper limits regarding credits and participation in certain activities.
Furthermore, one cannot experience the entire story at its current state. Those who have paid once, whether for the subscription or a microtransaction from the shop, will be designated as preferred players and gain access to more content. Anyone who wants to experience everything must subscribe to the game. The game is also playable on Steam.
The game also features an in-game shop where you can buy many cosmetic items. You can also trade the items, effectively exchanging real money for in-game currency, but that doesn’t bring you much.
Most players are already fully equipped, and the equipment itself is also easy to earn. So, there’s no pay-to-win in Star Wars: The Old Republic 2024, as there simply aren’t options to buy any form of victory with money.
Star Wars: The Old Republic in 2024 – Is it Worth Starting Now, and If So, For Whom?
SW:TOR is now twelve years old. In that time, there has been a lot of content, so much that some side quests are hidden from new players to avoid overwhelming them.
So, is it still worth facing the mountain of content in 2024? Here we answer the most important questions in detail.
Is the content of SW:TOR still relevant? SW:TOR is a game that primarily excites Star Wars fans. To reach current content, you go through a story that, if you really turn over every stone, can take hundreds of hours.
All raids and flashpoints, as well as world bosses and activities, are now at the highest level. Therefore, all raids are about equally challenging, even though some may showcase more mechanics.
Veterans also run their flashpoints daily and raid weekly, often looking forward to showing new players how to play the game in 2024. One advantage for newcomers is the absence of a DPS meter, which can only be replaced by external parsing tools. In-game, no one knows if you have mastered your rotation.
So, anyone starting now will play through parts of the story that still tell an ongoing narrative until they reach the point where everyone else is.
Can you still play the entire story? Yes, the story can not only be played entirely, but it is also intended to be. The story of SW:TOR is what distinguishes the game, a crucial part of it.
From the beginning until you reach the end of the story, you can follow the narrative chronologically. Once you’ve completed the main part, however, you don’t necessarily have to finish all addons chronologically, but you should, to understand everything.
However, newcomers will not see all side quests, which have been somewhat hidden and can be reactivated if needed. This is to ensure that new players do not take too long to see the new content of the game. But anyone who wants can catch up on everything.
How to Start New in Star Wars: The Old Republic in 2024?
You have several options for playing SW:TOR. First, choose whether you want to play via Steam or the own launcher.
On which platforms can the game be played? The MMORPG in the Star Wars universe can only be played on PC. Either via Steam or the own launcher, which you can obtain from the website of SW:TOR.
Both launchers play on the same servers.
It’s also important to note that SW:TOR is an online game. An active internet connection is required not just for updates but also for playing.
What subscription models are available? You can initially play the game for free and mainly experience the story. However, as you progress, you will need at least the preferred player status. This grants you access to many new contents. You get it as soon as you have spent money on the game once, even if you subscribed to Star Wars: The Old Republic before 2024.
Anyone who wants to see all the content of SW:TOR must subscribe to the game. A monthly fee between €12.99 and €10.99 is required, depending on how many months you pay in advance. Packages with in-game currency and playtime are also available.
What if I don’t want to deal with the main story? If you want to play Star Wars really without a story, you will quickly hit your limits. Though there are character boosts, you will still encounter story sequences repeatedly. The game is built around a living story.
Nevertheless, you can spend a lot of time in the countless flashpoints, uprisings, operations, and PvP.
My Conclusion: Why You Should Play SW:TOR
I check in on SW:TOR every few years because I really love the story and the game. I usually stop again after I’ve run everything multiple times, as I believe the game’s biggest weakness is the speed at which new content is introduced.
Sure, over the years a lot of content has built up in SW:TOR that offers hundreds of hours of gameplay, especially for new players. But for players like me, who like to master a new raid every month, SW:TOR is quite slow in terms of updates.
However, the game is a treasure trove of fun and exciting stories for anyone who likes stories, and especially Star Wars. For returning players like me, there may not be as much new content as one would hope.
The transition to Broadsword just happened a short time ago, but I’m hopeful. Should SW:TOR pick up the pace with updates and receive new content more frequently, the game will likely be around for a long time.
Currently, it looks like the numbers for SW:TOR are not too bad either. Otherwise, there would have been a shutdown instead of a studio transition.
So, it is currently a good time to jump into SW:TOR and enjoy all content at leisure until the new big update comes, where everyone can open the next chapter of SW:TOR together. You can learn more about the latest update from SW:TOR here: SWTOR lets you face a plasma-shooting droid and farm unique loot in the new update
