The Ultimate SWTOR Gameplay Guide for 2023 - Which Class Should I Play?

If you are a new player to the Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG in 2023, you might feel a bit overwhelmed when it comes time to pick your origin story, class, and style. Welcome to the ultimate SWTOR gameplay guide where I help you figure out which class you should play in SWTOR.
Classes in SWTOR in 2023 are separated out into origin stories now, and you can pick a much wider array of playstyles than you used to be able to, meaning you can play your class in variety of ways. It might seem confusing at first, but this complete walkthrough tutorial will guide you through the steps to help you decide which class is going to be the best for your particular playstyle in Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Really the most important thing to remember is this: there are four classes on the Republic side, and four classes on the Empire side, giving you eight classes in total to choose from. Each class (or origin story) has around 25 hours of story to play through, which means there are roughly 200 hours of gameplay for Star Wars: The Old Republic before you even get into the grouping or raiding in the game, or any of the world quests or space combat or Galatic Starfighter and beyond.
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[@BubbleoniaRising]

My first toon was the Knight (Guardian), and I still think that's a great choice. Alternatively, the smuggler is fantastic if you like the Han Solo thing. On the Empire side, Agent is a favorite, and Sith Inquisitor is also quite good. Frankly, if you love Star Wars, all eight stories are really good, and as you said - easily worth the time.

[@Renfail]

SOOOO good and so worth the time. Especially considering it's entirely free to play through the base game.

[@charliefox1000]

Jedi Consular is my favourite. It shows what a real jedi is, not just one that looks for battle. I love it.

[@Renfail]

I haven't done this one since launch; I should totally do a replay of it!

[@ThePeanut999]

That's so funny. So far it's my least favorite. I've only done chapter 1 so my opinion isn't set in stone but the going around doing the same healing gig was boring. Commando is my favorite so far and I have finished that one. It had it's highs and lows and twists and turns. Really a good star wars tale in my opinion.

[@HelplessTeno]

I just started as a new player to not only SWTOR but MMOs in general, and I went with Jedi Knight Guardian because it seemed like the most straight forward selection. But seeing comments like this makes me wish I did a Consular.

[@Renfail]

@@HelplessTeno They are both equally fun and have very similar storylines. Jedi Knight Guardian is what I started with and it's one of the best storylines/classes to give you that classic Jedi Knight/Obi Wan style.

[@Soluscide]

@@HelplessTeno The great thing is that you can just make another character and play both

[@Voiddrake836]

Thank you for the clarity. Ever since I was a kid I imagined myself in star wars and living my own story and this game allows for me to live out that fantasy. Thank you so much.

[@Renfail]

It's ABSOLUTELY a game to lose yourself in if you love Star Wars!

[@Iamblack23]

Inquisitor is my absolute favorite. Love it so much I’ve played the inquisitor storyline about 7 or 8 times while no other story line have I played to completion more than 4

[@Renfail]

Nice!

[@kgaydos7]

Inquisitor is really fun. Once you learn how the abilities tie in together it gets even better!! Madness and spread them DOTs

[@Renfail]

@@kgaydos7 epic

[@strikesaviour15]

I started playing again this year and chose to be a bounty hunter. I've tried the mercenary, pyrotech and scoundrel style, Personally liked the mercenary style as it has many ranged and AOE skills.

[@Renfail]

Yeah I LOVED the mercenary style with the Bounty Hunter. So much so that I chose the same style when I went and did my Trooper playthrough!

[@Mystra]

Sith Warrior and Jedi Knight to me are the ones that should be played first. Why is for story purposes (although they make very strong tanks and dps as well) because those 2 stories give the most insight into The Empire and The Republic imo

[@Renfail]

That's a pretty valid POV.

[@Kravenrogue]

I started as a Bounty Hunter, because I always prefered them, they are Free Agents, and can Go anywhere and see everything, and can go toe to toe with Force Users, and I always wanted to be a Bounty Hunter on Star Wars Universe, I Created a Zabrakk Bounty Hunter, with a more "Tribal" look, because I always liked Darth Maul too, but I wanted a Zabrakk who was Just a Warrior Hunter and no Force User

[@Mystra]

@@Kravenrogue That's a good choice too

[@Renfail]

@@Kravenrogue nice :)

[@mustafaozturk2542]

@@Mystra I recommend to start with Jedi Knight storyline first because there are some spoiler referrence in Sith Warrior storyline for the Jedi Knight character.

[@kgaydos7]

ALL the classes!!!! Oh sorry, Combat Styles Also, recommend for the 1st time player, to enable Exploration Missions on the map and DO ALL THE MISSIONS you can. Really gets you into each planet, lore items, and great XP to boot!!!! As for opening up Dark side class for Jedi/Consular, you have to take any empire character to Dark 5 to gain the Dark5 legacy achievement and I believe finish the class story and level 50

[@Renfail]

Interesting! I didn't know how to do it with the Dark Side stuff.

[@oldman1973]

You only have to unlock the legacy achievement of Dark V to be able to have the dark side combat styles available to jedi characters. It does not have to be an empire character you only have to reach dark v one a single character to unlock the legacy achievement. As far as finishing origin stories that only applies to legendary status and unlocking account wide buffs and certain species for certain origin stories. It is not required for the Dark V or Light V achievements.

[@RyCryst]

To unlock darkside classes on Jedi you need dark side points to lvl 5 or you need a lvl 50 Dark side class. And vice versa with light side classes.

[@Renfail]

There ya go!

[@Snip3rwolf22]

@@Renfail its been updated you can now buy them on legacy for both sides now

[@leeruleman]

A buddy of mine has been bugging me to play the game and introduced me to your channel. After watching, I am going to be subscribing tomorrow after work. I have a 4 day break. :)

[@Renfail]

Welcome aboard!

[@paul022887]

I havent played in 3 or 4 years and was thinking about coming back. It looks like they changed a bunch. Looks fun

[@Renfail]

have fun!

[@Nordic_Eric]

I'm currently running a Sith Warrior who has developed feelings for Vette (Twi'lek companion) and through that connection is actually starting to rebel against the Empire and turn more towards the Light. So much fun to play honestly.

[@Renfail]

100% legit

[@creatureTHEcritter]

Man I've beat all the class storys some multiple times but the agent has one the best storys in my opinion and the sith inquisitor comes a close second. Only problem I have deciding which to main as. My jedi shadow is my oldest and most leveled up but I don't realy like the way its combat works now. Great video by the way. Swtor rules!

[@Renfail]

I loved how the Agent was basically James Bond in space =P I still think the Smuggler is the better storyline but that's just personal preference! And yeah, my main from the old days is a Jedi Guardian but I'm not actively playing him atm because I'm having more fun with the old storylines, but at some point I'll get back to the new content! Thanks for the kind words :)

[@Girardn95]

Just started playing this game yesterday man have I been living under a rock never heard of it before lmao, but glad I have. Subscription coming with all expansions is worth every penny, great video!

[@Renfail]

Enjoy!

[@MoodyBlag]

Speccing my Trooper To be a healer is the most fun I think I've had as I used to just play Sith melee but the trooper really is fun

[@Renfail]

Awesome!

[@Kannayya104]

My main mc is grey jedi knight and absolutely love the story even in endgame,everyone knows you and what u did in the past,basically we take after revan and leave a mark on the galaxy whenever we do something

[@Renfail]

may the force be with you

[@Kannayya104]

@@Renfail may the force be with u too my friend

[@AlexStarOfStarWars]

The Jedi Knight, Imperial Agent and Republic Trooper are my favorite classes at the moment.

[@Renfail]

cool!

[@etholus1000]

Never played the imperial agent but I’ve been interested in seeing how that is. Jedi knight and Sith warrior are two of my favorites so far

[@baronvonzollo5297]

Recently rejoined the game, so I'm trying relearn everything. Having said that, my favorite is the mercs and operatives.

[@Renfail]

Great choices!

[@DoctorTurdmidget]

Smuggler is my favorite, but you should play every class. Get that Legendary status.

[@Renfail]

Worth it :)

[@badstonewall]

It's a Win win if you go for Sith warrior or Sith inquisitor as a light or gray Sith lord I loved every chapter You can still Kill people if you really want to but i only kill as a sith lord if said killing is called for or a Justified murder but Seriously any force user character empire or republic is The way to go So enjoy and may the force be with you

[@Renfail]

grewvy

[@bigl161985]

i love being a bounty hunter...takes me back to the days of starwars galaxies

[@Renfail]

Nice!

[@maxcolp87]

Want to comeback to the game and see a lot of changes on it ! The best choice is to restart a char no !? What do you think ? Want to be (again) a smuggler sharpshoter ! Love your videos man !

[@Renfail]

Cheers

[@derrickbonsell]

Sith Inquisitor with Sorcerer is the first and currently only storyline I've finished. I read a post about using the boost from subbing and doing the story so I used my boost to create a rip-off Darth Maul. I realized later that it doesn't work that way with that one.

[@Renfail]

sorcerer is fun :)

[@1999driftwood]

Thanks for the class overview :)

[@Renfail]

Enjoy!

[@herobrans9822]

I like the zero to hero aspect of the sith inquisitor.

[@Renfail]

kewl!

[@cruick32]

I have been playing for a week & if I play republican I am choosing evil options & Empire I am choosing light side options. It makes for a fun gaming experience,

[@Renfail]

cheers :)

[@Vhale.]

My favourite is sith gunslinger because it shows a bounty hunter working from the slumps up to the big leagues

[@Renfail]

nice :)

[@jamesspencer9472]

If you start as a level 70 you CANNOT do any of the romance. Also you cut your play time drastically as you would have skipped most of the content. Finally if you are new you will get slaughtered as the gear you have will not be up to par. Best thing to do is just start at level one and use the many free XP boost you get to level fast. You really need to know your class at end game and especially if you plan to do any raiding. Other players will expect you to know what you are doing

[@Renfail]

Lots to explore for sure

[@FanBoy12345]

I enjoyed all classes. Sith Inquisitor & Warrior were my least favorite. Bounty Hunter & Jedi Knight were my most fav.

[@Renfail]

love love love the Agent and Smuggler as my two favorites so far!

[@benduffy2782]

I find when it comes to combat they are all simple enough to pick up so for me it is all about what fantasy/role you want to play in the galaxy. I prefer a freedom based gunweilder so smuggler and bounty hunter are my choice.

[@Renfail]

there ya go

[@tlotpwist3417]

Im planning cross styles for the tech Classes. So far the bounty hunter is my dilemma choice, sniper? Sharpshooter? Its original specializations? I have a harder time seeing what to give to smuggler, agents, soldier and BH styles feels too far off for him. I got suggestions to give operator to soldier but im also tempted to go republican mando or sniper. Whats operator's fun skills?

[@Renfail]

Enjoy :)

[@hikarihitomi7706]

Sith inquisitor works for light side or even neutral quite well.

[@Renfail]

It can, yep!

[@thebatman7347]

Ive joined recently and they now added to you can play any sith or jedi character and the only thing that changes is the story

[@Renfail]

Story FTW

[@brianmoyachiuz905]

I love playing tanks on any game

[@Renfail]

boom! Worth it

[@BunnyMaus]

Hi super Videoguide thanks so much. Great i can translate for german. 💋

[@Renfail]

Cheers!

[@BeingADik_Jacob]

Story wise Agent Inquisitor Warrior Knight Trooper Bounty Hunter Smuggler Counselor Combat Wise Warrior Inquisitor Knight Bounty Hunter Smuggler Counselor Agent

[@Renfail]

They're all worth playing for sure!

[@H-D-D]

@8:35 From my point of view, the Jedi are evil!!

[@Renfail]

From a certain point of view :)

[@demonic_myst4503]

Tge fall to darkside thing makes lore sense , sith can use light side abilities in lore and do do do ghey dong limig their force use. So a sith knowing jedi techniques is not uncommon while jedi are paranoid against any dark side use

[@Renfail]

k

[@QenaitheCustodianGuard]

I wanted to start playing again, but can't retrieve my old account, guess it has someone to do with origin. So I had to start all over again, which is fine but I lost a tonne of credits and a few max level chars, I did the bounty hunter this time, pretty slick. Imo sith inquisitor and warrior should be "evil" the agent and bounty hunter does not have to because they are not wielding the force.

[@Renfail]

a great game!

[@QenaitheCustodianGuard]

@@Renfail yeah it's pretty good, the UI is a bit wonky but yeah it's a fun game!

[@SHADOWWOLF3546]

smuggler is 5/10 compared to the other 7 which are 7/10 - 10/10, story is flat screw farm boy out an airlock and where it sends you is by far the worse pathing of any story. then for me it's Jedi con, bounty hunter, trooper, jedi knight, and then sith warrioir, inquis and agent are tied for me.

[@Renfail]

Just goes to show you that different strokes for different folks :)

[@BlaXtylE]

why did they change that origin/style idea? i havent played back then, but i think the older version was cooler. and when did you choose your specialization? am i right that i started for example as sith warrior and and certain level had option to choose between marauder and juggernaut?

[@Renfail]

Legacy of the Sith expansion in.....early 2022?

[@demonic_myst4503]

Yes u unlock races reach level 50 i ghink with a race unlocks them

[@Renfail]

yep

[@edponpon]

Anything but the sissy Republic side! j/k - it should be whatever you want to play. They're all honestly fun in their own right.

[@Renfail]

They are all fun :)

[@PhillipLemmon]

Hey the games looks great! Can you tell me what are your pc specs? (if you don't mind me asking)

[@Renfail]

Parts

[@kazido1]

My first character was the anni murader.plusilke the sith warrior ending.

[@Renfail]

Nice!

[@Kravenrogue]

25 hours? 25 hours I still creating my Character lol

[@Renfail]

hah!

[@christianbotello8537]

I use to play this game 10 years ago but I never got into it like WoW.

[@Renfail]

it's a damn good game

[@christianbotello8537]

@@Renfail I started playing when I was 19, I bought a new gaming PC, but I couldn’t focus on it. I just stopped playing games until I turned 27, then played Dragon Quest now I’m dibbling with WoW like my child self

[@kcwacw1]

My main question is are the skills based off the origin or the style? I'm installing right now to try and play with a group of friends who picked it up, i'm trying to blitz through character creation.

[@Renfail]

The skills are based off the style these days. The origin is only the story. It used to be that the origin was your "class" and then you had a couple of specializations from there (Jedi Knight versus Jedi Sentinel, as an example), but these days you can take ANY of the "styles".

[@mustafaozturk2542]

I really miss the Hutt Cartel expansion era because in those times, your character specilization for jedi sentinel and jedi guardian was happening when you reached at a certain level in the story line. I recommend you to stick with the original intended style to be honest. Because Jedi Consular storyline won't fit with lightsaber dual focused characters that much but double lightsaber wield build fit into both storylines perfectly in my opinion.

[@Lockout_live]

Probaably a silly question but how much can galactic republic interact with sith empire? can they quest/do instances together? I want to play with a friend but he doesn't want to be on empire.

[@Renfail]

Nope, you cannot quest or group with each other.

[@Lockout_live]

@@Renfail thanks, what about communicate?

[@Kravenrogue]

A easier way to explain would be that the "Origin Story" is similar to Races on other MMO, like WoW And the Combat Style is the actual Class

[@Renfail]

They've changed it a bit since launch :)

[@mustafaozturk2542]

Spiecies are the races in this game, origin story is the story you will play in the base game. Technically this mmorpg game provides you 8 different storylines to play (Expansions are not included.) I would say 8 different single game story squeezed into 1 mmorpg game

[@Kravenrogue]

@@mustafaozturk2542 not exactly, Species dont change nothing besides 1 Emote and The Appearence In The Begining of The Game yeah, Species were The "Races", but now The "Race" would be the Origin Story, think, in Origin Story you get a Starting Área, and quests to that specific "Story", so its similar to WoW for example, where If you Created a Human you get a Starting Área, and a Questline to Humans, and Another for Orcs, and so on And with The Human you can choose classes, like Warrior, Rogue, etc in SWTOR now, after choosing your "Race/Origin" you choose your Combat Style, or "Class", so now its similar to what I stated Originally was not

[@mustafaozturk2542]

@@Kravenrogue Your logic is flawed to the core. Species are the race and period. It may change the starting area or not, for example in Elder Scrolls Online your race doesn't affect your starting area but it effects your class. In Star Trek Online, your race doesn't affect your starting area or the storyline. Storyline is affected from if you are a Starfleet officer or a member of the Klingon Empire. So basically, origin story is just deciding your storyline and nothing more than that.

[@mustafaozturk2542]

@@Kravenrogue Also in SWTOR character creation you choose your origin/class first then your species(race)

[@ThePeanut999]

My favorite class is commando or bounty hunter. The consulars story was meh and i havent liked operative that much mostly the play style honestly. Just started jedi knight and its pretty similar to consular at least right now.

[@Renfail]

Bounty hunter is fun for sure.

[@solar-arcana]

Sorcererrrrrr Madnessssss

[@Renfail]

a bit

[@FungiGamer]

I know you can only play with people in your faction, but can you have characters of both factions on the same server? Ie both having a Jedi Knight and a Sith Inquisitor on the same server?

[@Renfail]

You can ABSOLUTELY have toons from both sides on the same server. AND you can join guilds on both sides on the same server, though they are obvs faction-locked :)

[@FungiGamer]

@@Renfail Thank you very much for the confirmation! Looking very forward to checking the game out with friends after a long hiatus from SW MMOs since Galaxies shut down; the Agent sounds incredibly fun

[@Renfail]

@@FungiGamer It's totally James Bond in space (the Agent); enjoy!

[@mustafaozturk2542]

@@FungiGamer Agent storyline is totally top 3 storylines in the list of the most players of this game. This is a Bioware made game, if you played Mass Effect, Dragon age games, you are in hell of a story bombardment. Also your character has a voice actor too, so you will feel like playing a single player game instead of a mmorpg. This game totally nailed the mmorpg genre to its bones

[@tunasub2398]

Older Nikka gaming 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@Renfail]

wut?

[@ninjalp4618]

Hi i have one question left. If you are playing as a jedi you are able to fall to the dark side and get access to light side abilities in the charackter creator. But does that also apply if you are playing as a sith and fall to the light side?

[@Renfail]

Yes; you have to have a character on the other side to max level light or dark, but you can totally then have the light abilities on a dark and dark abilities on a light.

[@Jaycee0105]

What does hybrid damage mean in the spec specialization of some classes?

[@Renfail]

The description text will tell you

[@1992zorro]

This is KOTOR 1 music. Is that also the music for this MMO Game?!

[@Renfail]

They do indeed have music from the KOTOR games in SWTOR

[@1992zorro]

@@Renfail Thanks

[@00badcompany90]

So the legacy gives you a max character and can pvp with that character.. i plaued when came out many years ago on pc dont want to lvl again did it all on Xbox now

[@shizocks]

@8:51 im just now getting into swotr with a friend. how come in this video the sith have sentinel shadow, sage and other but in mine i have like 4 sub class options

[@Renfail]

Some of those are unlocks

[@937Stig]

How can I tell what origin story I chose on an old character?

[@Renfail]

Based on class. Smuggler, Jedi Knight, Consular, etc.

[@rizogamers4915]

Hello sir. I'm new here. I have some questions. Can i start as jedi guardian then turn darkside and then turn into jedi back through story?

[@Renfail]

No; storylines are locked. You can make darkside decisions as you go through the Jedi origin story, though.

[@rizogamers4915]

@@Renfail Thank you so much sir. Deserve a sub.

[@rizogamers4915]

How about make darkside character change to lightside. Which character to start with?

[@Deezdaus05]

sith sorcerer unlimited powerrrrrrr

[@Renfail]

One way to roll!

[@Vell1981]

Jedi Knight Sorcerer even a possibility by now when you have a subscription. xD

[@Renfail]

@@Vell1981 indeed

[@Kravenrogue]

Trooper story line os basicly Mass Effect

[@Renfail]

Hmmmm, that's one take on it!

[@mariobroselli3642]

Ever tried elex Game?

[@Renfail]

nope

[@mariobroselli3642]

@@Renfail IT IS sci fi too, single player rpg

[@tracyboyall2631]

Agent story is definitely NOT James Bond in space. It's my main and the darkest character I have.

[@Renfail]

You played yours differently than mine, apparently.

[@futairimasu]

why does his character has hair growing on his forehead?

[@Renfail]

genetics

[@yamilesgaib9018]

Graphic STYLE looks way too cartoonish

[@Renfail]

That's the point.

[@AlexStarOfStarWars]

There's nothing wrong with cartoonish graphics. It looks just fine.

[@Lockfreak123]

They did a disservice to the game when they made everyone be able to be anything. Leave the healing and stuff to consular, leave the other stuff to the knight; for example. Now it feels like there is no diversity, and my pick doesn't matter. It's one of a few things that turn me off from the game.

[@Renfail]

So take your negativity and shove off :) Some of us still quite enjoy the game.

[@Daygard1]

None, this game is terrible. 👎

[@Renfail]

Go cry somewhere else. We're too busy having fun to care.

[@CJ-te2mu]

Yeah nerfing is reducing the effectiveness of something. In the case of this game , the actual difficulty was reduce to bring more players in. They took away the need to group with other players and to do that it was nerfed.

[@Renfail]

Nerfing is a figment of player's imaginations. Balance passes are all that was done.

[@CJ-te2mu]

I loved this game when it first came out. I don't enjoy the nerfing and the op companion. You never in danger of dying

[@Renfail]

That's not nerfing. That's balancing over the years. And you can still die if you don't pay attention. But this isn't Dark Souls; it's not meant to be "hardcore" and challenging. It's here to be a fun romp in Star Wars.

[@rednekcrazzy938]

I don’t get to choose light side subclass from dark side. That’s what I meant from my other comment. So I only get 4 option dark side not 8. Whys mine different?

[@Renfail]

Answered in other comment.

[@CJ-te2mu]

It's called nerfing. And I'm saying it was better when it first released.

[@Renfail]

There's no such thing as nerfing. There are simply balance passes over the years. And yes it's way better now than when it was first released.

[@rednekcrazzy938]

On the sixth side I only have 4 things to choose from instead of 8. Why is that?

[@Renfail]

You have to first earn 5 star light side to get light side abilities for your sith characters, and also vice versa; if you want the dark side abilities for your light side character you need to first play a 5 star dark side character.

[@rednekcrazzy938]

@@Renfail thank you