Free to Play (F2P), Preferred, and Subscriber / Premium Info

Last Updated: 5/14/2018

SWTOR Free to Play

The Star Wars: The Old Republic’s option to play free-to-play was released in November 2012. Anyone can now play all of the story content from levels 1-50 completely free, with minor convenience restrictions. This includes:

  • 8 distinct class stories, each with three chapters across 12 planets
  • Each planet has optional unique side Planetary Quests and Exploratory Quests, which are different on the Imperial and Republic faction
  • Repeatable Heroics (2+ player content that can be completed solo), which are different on the Imperial and Republic faction
  • Level 1-50 Flashpoints (aka “dungeons”, 4-man group content with a solo version available)
  • Warzones (player-vs-player content)
  • Galactic Starfighter (space player-vs-player)
  • Galactic Strongholds (player housing)
  • Space Missions (solo space content)

Unlocking Expansions and Level 51-70

For new players, access to levels 51-70 is obtained by subscribing for one month. All expansions and levels 51-70 will be unlocked for all characters and all new characters for the life of the account. This includes access to the 3 Flashpoints that are a part of the expansions.

You only need to subscribe for one month to unlock the current expansions forever. If you unsubscribe after one month, you will lose your subscriber perks and status, but will keep your expansions and ability to reach level 70. Once you unsubscribe, you will be a “preferred” player – you will have access to more perks than a free to play player, but less than a subscriber.

Expansions

Previous players may find that they already have access to some or all of levels 51-65:

  • Rise of the Hutt Cartel (aka “Makeb”): Access to Level 51-55 was obtained by purchasing the Rise of the Hutt Cartel expansion, the Shadow of Revanexpansion, or by subscribing for 1 month after September 2013. This expansion is unlocked for the duration of the account even if you unsubscribed.
  • Shadow of Revan: Access to Level 56-60 was obtained by purchasing the Shadow of Revan expansion. If you subscribed 1 month after October 2015, you have this expansion for free. This expansion is unlocked for the duration of the account even if you unsubscribed. This expansion includes 2 Flashpoints: “Blood Hunt” and “Battle of Rishi.”
  • Knights of the Fallen Empire: Access to levels 61-65 can only be obtained by subscribing for at least one month after October 2015. You will receive all chapters for Knights of the Fallen Empire released until you unsubscribe; these chapters will be unlocked for the duration of the account. (Example: You unsubscribe after chapter 10 is released. You will keep access to chapter 10 and levels 61-65 for the life of the account, but will not have access to chapter 11 onwards.) This expansion includes the “Star Fortress” Flashpoint.
  • Knights of the Eternal Throne: Access to levels 66-70 can only be obtained by subscribing for at least one month after December 2016. You will receive all chapters for Knights of the Eternal Throne. Note that the Galactic Command system, Dark vs. Light Rewards, and Uprisings are only available to subs.

 

Free to Play, Preferred and Subscriber Differences

All restrictions are on a per character basis. For example, you can have 200k credits on 2 separate characters as a F2P player.

Please note that all unlocks are available on the Cartel Market for Cartel Coins (real money) and a rotating supply are available on the Global Trade Network (GTN) for in-game credits.

Item F2P Preferred Subscriber/Premium
Artifact Gear (Certain items are unrestricted for all) Conflicting Reports4 Conflicting Reports4 Unrestricted
Augment Slots Cost – Improving endgame gear Higher Higher Lower
Bank (Cargo Hold) Access must be unlocked (See “Legacy Bank”) Access granted, must use Unlocks to unlock Access granted, can use Unlocks to unlock or purchase directly from Cargo Hold
Cartel Coin Grant None None 500 or more / Month
Cartel Coin Grant – Security Key 100 / Month 100 / Month 100 / Month
Chat Restricted tells and General Chat on a 1 minute timer after level 25 for some characters; No access for others5 Full General Chat and /who, but on a few seconds timer after level 25; Unlimited other chat Unrestricted
Credit Cap (Without Escrow Transfers) 200k 350k Unlimited
Credit Gain Normal Normal 20% Faster after level 20
Crew Skills (Unlocks available) 1 2 3
Character Slots (Unlocks available) 4 12 (13 – 146 for some previous subs) 24 – 266
Dark vs. Light: Participation Unrestricted Unrestricted Unrestricted
Dark vs. Light: Rewards No No Unrestricted
Digital Expansion: Galactic Starfighter Free Free Free
Digital Expansion: Galactic Strongholds Free Free Free
Digital Expansion: Rise of the Hutt Cartel Must Subscribe for 1 Month Must Subscribe for 1 Month Free
Digital Expansion: Shadow of Revan Must Subscribe for 1 Month Must Subscribe for 1 Month Free
Digital Expansion: Knights of the Fallen Empire Must Subscribe for 1 Month Must Subscribe for 1 Month Free
Digital Expansion: Knights of the Eternal Throne: Solo chapters and level increase Must Subscribe for 1 Month Must Subscribe for 1 Month Free
Digital Expansion: Knights of the Eternal Throne: Other features None None Free
Endgame Gear Cannot acquire Cannot acquire Unrestricted
Flashpoints below maximum level (If done with a group) 3 of certain rewards1 from the last boss per week 3 of certain rewards1 from the last boss per week Unlimited
Galactic Command No No Unrestricted
GTN Slots 2 5 50
Guilds Join Any, Lead F2P Guilds only Join Any, Lead F2P Guilds only Unrestricted
Guild Bank (Unlocks available) Access must be unlocked, no ability with withdraw or deposit credits Access must be unlocked, no ability with withdraw or deposit credits Unrestricted depending on guild’s settings
Inventory Unlocks with Unlocks only Unlock with Unlocks only Unlock with Unlocks or directly from Inventory
Legacy Bank (Legacy Stronghold Storage) Yes, 1 bay only without Unlocks or Credit Escrow Yes, 2 bays only without Unlocks or Credit Escrow Yes, up to 5 bays
Mail Receive Only Can Send with 1 attachment but cannot send credits Unrestricted
Mod Removal Cost Higher Higher Lower
Mounts (free without low cost Unlock) Normal Normal 5-10 levels earlier
Operations No access No access Unlimited
Quickbars (Unlocks available and only really need 2-3 to play) 2 4 6
Quick Travel Normal 26 minutes 20 min reduction 20 min reduction
Fleet Quick Travel Normal 3 hours 1.5 hour reduction 1.5 hour reduction
Respecialization Very Low Cost Very Low Cost No Cost
Rest XP No No Yes
Revive 5 medical probes per character 5 medical probes per character Unlimited
Security Key Setup – Mobile or Physical Available Available Available
Space Missions 3 per week 3 per week Unlimited
Species for Character Creation3 (Unlocks available) Human, Cyborg or Zabrak unless already unlocked Human, Cyborg or Zabrak unless already unlocked All species that are available for a class besides Cathar and Togruta unless already unlocked
Sprint Level 10 Level 1 Level 1
Story Content Full Class Story Levels 1-50; 51-60 with Expansions Full Class Story Levels 1-50; 51-60 with Expansions Full Class Story Levels 1-55; 56-60 with Expansion
Support Email, Phone, and Forum only Email, Phone, and Forum only Email, Phone, Forum, and In-game Ticket
Trade No After Level 10 Unrestricted
Uprisings No No Unlimited
Valor Rate Normal Normal Faster after level 20
Vendors Regular price Regular price Discounted price
Warzones – Regular, Solo 5 per week 5 per week Unlimited
Warzones – Regular, Group Unlimited2 Unlimited2 Unlimited
Warzones – Ranked None None Unlimited
XP Rate Normal Normal 20% faster after level 20

1 “Rewards” does not include credits, some reputation tokens, and XP gained from defeating the last boss. All players, even F2P, have unlimited access to these. “Rewards” only include gear, decorations, mounts, pets, some reputation tokens, non-reputation tokens, and crafting materials. Note that you only get these rewards if you win the loot roll against other players. You can also get an unlimited number of these if you do it solo.

2 Unlimited when grouped with, and queued by a subscriber. Otherwise subject to Solo Warzone limits.

3 If you already have a character with that species, you can still play with them as a Preferred player. You can unlock any species for any class with Cartel Coins, credits, or getting a character of that species to level 50. Some customization options are locked for certain classes until you unlock the class using the previous methods. Subs can only make the following species for the following classes unless unlocked:

  • Humans and Cyborgs: Any class
  • Zabraks: Any Republic class can be a brown Zabrak; Any Empire class can be a red Zabrak.
  • Chiss: Bounty Hunters and Imperial Agents
  • Miraluka: Jedi Knights and Consulars
  • Mirialan: All Republic classes
  • Rattataki: Bounty Hunters, Imperial Agents, and Sith Inquisitors
  • Sith Pureblood: Sith Warriors and Inquisitors
  • Twi’lek: Jedi Knight, Jedi Consular, Smuggler, and Sith Inquisitor
  • Cathar): Must be unlocked
  • Togruta: Must be unlocked

4 We have had conflicting reports about Artifact Authorization after 4.0: some F2P players mentioned that are able to use them, others mentioned they could not.

5 The 5.1.2 Patch Notes mention “Free-to-Play chat restrictions have been adjusted in order to help address third-party service advertisement spam.” We currently do not know that that means yet: we’ve seen multiple players around level 20 mention that they cannot access chat still.

6 Those that subscribed between November 2015 and December 2016 get 1 extra character slot. Those that subscribed between December 2016 and now get another character slot. Those that were subscribed at anytime during both time periods get 2 extra character slots: 1 for each time period. Note that many promotions give out free character slots too.

Free to Play

  • 200,000 Credit Cap (anything above this amount is saved in an Escrow account)
    • Escrow Account Credits can now be transferred out with a Cartel Market Consumable
    • These only transfer credits from the Escrow Account to existing credit balance.
    • Escrow Transfer items ignore the credit cap when used, but do not make permanent changes to the credit cap.
      • Small Package – 50k – 40 Cartel Coins
      • Medium Package – 150k – 80 Cartel Coins
      • Large Package – 600k – 240 Cartel Coins
  • Access to 1 Crew Skill
  • Access to 2 Character Slots
  • Access to 2 Galactic Trade Network slots
  • Access to 2 Quickbars
  • Access to 3 Species for Character Creation
  • Access to 5 Medical Probes (In Field Revive) per Character
  • Bank (Cargo Hold) Access must be unlocked (However, Legacy Bank is available to all that have 1 character at level 15+.)
  • Can only receive Mail
  • Cannot Trade items
  • No Access to Priority In-Game Support – Only has access to email, phone, and forum support
  • No Access to Rest XP
  • No Login Priority – Only an issue right after a patch
  • Restricted Chat functions
  • Below maximum level: restricted to 3 Flashpoints Rewards from the final boss per week
  • Restricted to 3 Space Missions per week
  • Restricted to 5 Warzones per week
  • Unlock must be purchased to use most Artifact (Purple) gear. Some Artifact gear may be used without an unlock.
  • No access to any Operations
  • No access to the Galactic Command system, thus no access to endgame gear.
  • No access to Dark vs. Light rewards

Preferred

Preferred accounts offer a bit less restrictions than a Free to Play account.

To qualify for a preferred account, the account has to have met any of the following conditions:

  • Previously subscribed to SWTOR using any method, including subscribing once or re-occuring on swtor.com, buying a subscribtion package from swtor.com that includes bonus items, 60 day time cards and subscription time codes from buying the physical copy of the game, purchasing the origins pack, or purchasing game time from Amazon
  • Purchased anything through the the SWTOR Official Store
    • WARNING: For some reason the 250 Cartel Coin pack ($2.99 USD) is not qualifying users for preferred status. We are hoping it will grant status or an official warning be added to the purchase in the future. (January 2018, more info)
    • This method includes buying a Cartel Coin Card from a different website or store and applying it to your account.
    • This mainly includes buying Cartel Coins, Subscription Time, or Subscription Time Packs with bonus items – anything you buy with real money, not in-game
  • Have purchased the Shadow of Revan expansion (there is no longer a need to purchase it – simply subscribe to unlock all expansions)
  • Purchased the Rise of the Hutt Cartel expansion (there is no longer a need to purchase it – simply subscribe to unlock all expansions)

Preferred accounts have more benefits over a F2P account:

  • 150,000 more credits in the Credit Cap: 350,000 Credit cap total (anything above this amount is saved in an Escrow account)
    • Escrow Account Credits can now be transferred out with a Cartel Market Consumable
    • These only transfer credits from the Escrow Account to existing credit balance.
    • Escrow Transfer items ignore the credit cap when used, but do not make permanent changes to the credit cap.
      • Small Package – 50k – 40 Cartel Coins
      • Medium Package – 150k – 80 Cartel Coins
      • Large Package – 600k – 240 Cartel Coins
  • Access to 1 additional Crew Skill
  • Access to 2 additional Quickbars
  • Access to 8 additional Character Slots
  • Access to Bank (Cargo Hold)
  • Access to Sprint at Level 1
  • Access to Trading Items after Level 10
  • Mail Restricted (only 1 attachment & cannot send credits)
  • Medium Login Priority – Only an issue right after a patch
  • Still no Access to Priority In-Game Support – Only has access to email, phone, and forum support
  • Almost unrestricted Chat: Only restriction is a timer between General Chat uses
  • Reduced cooldown on quick travel options

Note that some previous subscribers that are now Preferred get the following benefits:

  • Access to all Artifact Quality Gear you have worn
  • Access to Rise of the Hutt Cartel expansion content if you subscribed after September 2013.
  • Access to Shadow of Revan and Knights of the Fallen Empire expansion content (Free for Subscribers) if you subscribed after October 2015.
  • Access to Knights of the Eternal Throne chapters if you subscribed after December 2016.
  • Characters that exceed the Preferred number of characters cap will remain “Inactive” until Character Slots are bought or the player resubscribes. The player chooses which ones are “Inactive.”

Subscriber / Premium

A subscriber or premium member pays a monthly fee of around $15 to access and play the game.

Subscribers / Premium members have none of the restrictions that the other account types have.

Here is a short list of the Subscriber and Premium benefits over pure F2P players:

  • Access to 12 additional Character Slots + 1 – 2 additional Character Slots for the life of the account (depending on when you were a subscriber)
  • Access to 48 additional Galactic Trade Network Slots
  • Access to 4 additional Quickbars
  • Access to all Artifact Quality Gear
  • Access to Priority In-Game Support
  • Access to Rest XP
  • Access to Two additional Crew Skills
  • Access to Rise of the Hutt Cartel expansion content (Free for Subscribers)
  • Starting October 27, 2015: Access to Shadow of Revan and Knights of the Fallen Empire expansion content (Free for Subscribers)
  • Free Unlimited Re-specializations
  • Higher Experience Point Rate over Level 20
  • Higher Login Priority
  • Monthly Cartel Coin grant
    • 500 base subscriber grant (or more based on number of months bought)
    • 100 for any account with an authenticator
  • No Chat Restrictions
  • No Credit Cap
  • Reduced cooldown on quick travel options
  • Unlimited Flashpoints End Boss Rewards
  • Unlimited Medical Probes
  • Unlimited Mail
  • Unlimited Operations
  • Unlimited Space Missions
  • Unlimited Warzones
  • Unlimited Uprisings
  • Access to the Galactic Command system (at max level)
  • Access to Dark vs. Light rewards

 

How to Upgrade My Account?

Preferred

Your account can be upgraded to a Preferred status by making any purchase from the SWTOR Official Store

Subscription / Premium

Your account can be upgraded to a Subscriber or Premium status by purchasing a subscription from the SWTOR Official Store

Subscriptions are currently available in the following plans:

  • Game CD key for 30 days – Various – One Time Purchase (Note: you now do not get anything else for using a game CD key.)
  • 60 Days – $29.99 USD – One Time Purchase
  • 30 Days – $14.99 USD (Billed Every 30 Days) – Recurring Purchase
  • 90 Days – $13.99 USD Per Month (Billed $41.97 USD Every 90 Days) – Recurring Purchase
  • 180 Days – $12.99 USD Per Month (Billed $77.94 USD Every 180 Days)- Recurring Purchase

After your subscription has ended, you become a Preferred player.

Tip

Here is a tip for any F2P or Preferred status players that do not have the Rise of the Hutt Cartel expansion. You have three options to get this expansion:

  • For $5 less than normal, you can add one month of a subscription to your account and get the expansion and 500 CC for free. (Total cost: $15.)
  • For the same cost as the Rise of the Hutt Cartel expansion, you can purchase the Shadow of Revan expansion and get the Rise of the Hutt Cartel expansion for free. (Total cost: $20 for both expansions.)
  • For those that want to not save money, you can buy the Rise of the Hutt Cartel expansion for $20 without getting anything else.

F2P Updates

5.5.1 – 11/8/2017

  • F2P players will have a default of 4 characters per server (up from 2)
  • Preferred players will have a default of 12 characters per server(up from 6)
  • Subscribers will have a default of 24 characters per server (up from 12)

5.2 – 4/18/2017

  • Free-to-Play now can open all lockboxes

5.1.2 – 2/28/2017

  • Free-to-Play chat restrictions have been adjusted in order to help address third-party service advertisement spam.

5.0 – 11/30/16

  • Weekly passes removed from the game
  • Added Uprisings as subscriber-only content
  • Removed loot drops at maximum level for all players. All loot at max level now comes from the Galactic Command system, which is subscriber only.
  • Added Dark vs. Light “hourly” event. Rewards for this event are restricted to subscribers.
  • Additional 2 character slots if you subscribe after Nov 30, 2016 (Cumulative 4 extra slots with the 2 extra slots from 4.0.)

4.0 – 10/20/15

  • Additional 2 character slots if you subscribe after Oct 20, 2015

October 2015

June 2015

  • Security Key app is now available for all users to setup.

3.2.0 – 4/28/15

  • The cooldown on the Quick Travel ability has been reduced. For Subscribers and Preferred players the cooldown is now 6 minutes, and for Free-To-Play players the cooldown is now 26 minutes.
  • The Legacy Travel I, II, and III unlocks now reduce the cooldown of the Quick Travel ability by 2 additional minutes each.
  • The cooldown on the Emergency Fleet Pass ability has been reduced. For Subscribers and Preferred players the cooldown is now 90 minutes, and for Free-To-Play players the cooldown is now 180 minutes.
  • The Legacy Fleet Pass I, II, and III unlocks now reduce the cooldown of the Emergency Fleet Pass ability by 30 additional minutes each.

3.0.0 – 12/2/14

  • Reduced costs for respecialization for F2P and Preferred (Not mentioned in Patch Notes.)

2.3.2 – 9/4/13

  • Experience and Valor penalties for Free to Play players now apply beginning at level 20 instead of level 10.

2.3.1 – 8/21/13

  • Free-To-Play players can now train Sprint at level 10.
  • Free-To-Play players are now granted the Emergency Fleet Pass ability at level 10.
  • All players now have access to all event rewards.

2.1.0 – 5/14/13

  • Escrow Credit Transfers are now available for Free–to–Play and Preferred Status Players. Package denominations are available for 50K, 150K, and 600K . Each Package is a consumable that will immediately transfer the Package’s set amount of credits from the existing Escrow Balance as listed in the Currency tab of the Inventory Window to the Inventory credit balance. This transfer does not affect Inventory Credit Caps. Therefore, newly acquired credits will go into the Escrow Balance as normal. For example, if the player has a Credit Cap is 250,000 / The player has 100,000 in their Inventory. The player purchases a 600K escrow package bringing their Inventory credit total to 700,000. Until the credits in the player’s Inventory drop below 250,000 (the Credit Cap), the newly acquired credits will be funneled into Escrow. Cost:
    • Small Package – 40 Cartel Coins
    • Medium Package – 80 Cartel Coins
    • Large Package – 240 Cartel Coins

Cartel Market

The Cartel Market is SWTOR’s in-game cash shop.

The market offers a variety of items:

  • Authorizations
  • Cartel Packs
  • Convenience Items
  • Consumables
  • Cosmetic Items
  • Equipment
  • Unlocks

It can be access ingame by clicking on the Cartel Coin symbol.

Cartel Coins

The virtual currency used to make purchased from the market is called Cartel Coins.

Cartel Coins can be purchased through the SWTOR Official Store.

Cartel Coins are currently available in the following packs:

  • 450 Coins – $4.99 USD
  • 1050 Coins – $9.99 USD
  • 2400 Coins – $19.99 USD
  • 5500 Coins – $39.99 USD

Subscribers and premium members get a free monthly grant of Cartel Coins:

  • 500 Coins or more
  • 100 Coins (if you have an Authenticator; Available to Preferred players that set one up as a sub)

Cartel Packs

Cartel Pack gives players a chance to receive unique items that are not found anywhere else in the game.

Cartel Packs are broken up into Shipments. Each Shipment contains about 4-5 packs.

Here are examples of the contents of the packs:

FAQ

  • Q: I have been away from the game for awhile, what has changed?
  • A: Please review the Major Changes wiki page.
  • Q: Should I give this game a try?
  • A: Absolutely, anyone can now play the game for free from Level 1-50. If you feel the F2P restrictions are too much, buy a pack of Cartel Coins for $5. This will convert your account to a Preferred account and ease some of the restrictions. If you find that you are spending a lot of time playing and enjoy it, consider subscribing to the game to remove all of the restrictions.

Sharing is caring!

Be the first to comment

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published.


*


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Secured By miniOrange