Return guide
Returning to Star Wars: The Old Republic?
Coming back is a different decision than starting fresh — you want to know what you missed, whether your progress survived, and if the game deserves your comeback. Pick roughly when you left; we'll fill in the rest.
When did you drop off?
What you missed since the early era
KotFE – KotET (2015–2017)
- · Onslaught and Legacy of the Sith continued the story at a calmer pace
- · Combat styles arrived: your class story no longer locks your combat kit
- · The game moved to 64-bit with visual touch-ups
Onslaught – LotS (2019–2022)
- · Development moved to Broadsword (2023): smaller but steady story patches since
- · Date-night content cadence: story drops a few times a year, raids occasionally
- · Quality-of-life passes keep the old game surprisingly playable
Broadsword era (2023–now)
- · You're nearly current — catch up on the latest story chapter and seasonal objectives
7 major changes across 3 eras since you left Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Did your progress survive?
Characters and legacy unlocks persist. Free-to-play now includes every class story — the best content in the game — with mostly cosmetic and convenience restrictions.
Catching up
- ✓ Level scaling and story boosts get you to current content fast
- ✓ A one-time sub month permanently unlocks all past expansions
- ✓ Galactic Seasons passively showers returners with rewards
Your first week back
- Pick the class story you never finished — that's the real game
- Spend an evening in character/combat-style respec; your muscle memory kit may now live on a different story
- Queue a flashpoint; the community is small but weirdly friendly
Worth playing in 2026?
Yes — for the right playerStar Wars: The Old Republic in 2026 scores 71/100 on the overall lens — updates are slow, and reviews aggregate to 85/100. It's one of the genre's most casual-friendly games.
Worth it if
- ✓ Star Wars fans
- ✓ Story soloers
- ✓ Altoholics who want eight class stories
Skip it if
- ✗ years of slow content cadence (picking back up with the 8.0 expansion)
- ✗ dated engine and character models
- ✗ endgame is thin
Composed from this page's data — score, update cadence, monetization — not from a reviewer's mood. Same inputs as the tier list.
What it costs to start
Free to start- · Free to download and play — no purchase required
- · Optional subscription adds perks or removes limits
- · Free-to-play covers the class stories with convenience restrictions
- · Subscribing unlocks expansions and removes the limits
Prices and bundles change — verify on the official site ↗.
Guilds recruiting
No guilds recruiting for Star Wars: The Old Republic yet
Playing with a community? Yours could be the first listing here — an evergreen recruitment page beats weekly forum posts.
List your guildNot ready to come back yet?
The MMOlist Monthly includes a returning-player deep dive every issue — we'll tell you when Star Wars: The Old Republic is worth another look.
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