FREE COMPLETE SWTOR LEVELING GUIDE
SWTOR LEVELING GUIDE
Almar’s Swtor Leveling Guide
There is still much work that needs to be done on this leveling guide but for now it provides the perfect outline for everyone looking to level up. I just reached level 50 so expect much more detail to go into the guide over the next week, I’m making it my mission to provide the best and most accurate guides to all players!
Swtor Levels 1 - 10
Levels 1 - 10 are easy as can be in Swtor. This entire level bracket will be spent on your noobie zone planet (check my list of planets below) questing. Unlike how it was in early beta, quests are not that difficult to find anymore, in fact they are quite hard to miss. The only quests that are even possible to miss are the Bonus Quests, which as I have mentioned before are not a requirement but do help out a ton when it comes to leveling up. If you follow the simple directions each quest gives you, complete them all and also use my previous
Many people are probably wondering about the group quest for this level range, wondering that if they skip it how badly behind in level will they be. Well to answer your question the first time I skipped it and I was level 9 when leaving my noobie world, the other times I was level 10. So, I recommend doing this quest even if you do it at level 9 solo once you've completed all other class quests. There is actually no logical reason to skip this quest, since it doesn't even require a real healer or tank there is no reason to skip it.
After you complete all of your class quests on the noobie planet you will be able to take the shuttle to your faction's main fleet station. This is the first major town/area for your faction and one giant gathering place for a lot of players. There are many subzones off of your Fleet Station, including shuttles to both of the noobie planets, a bay specifically forFlashpoints and more shuttles leading to each of the classes of your faction's spaceships (required you unlock it first, however).
Swtor Levels 10 - 16
After you finish off the noobie planets you will be taking a shuttle a space station that has additional shuttles to your main factions planet, which will be either Coruscant or Dromund Kass depending on what your faction is. Republic will go to Coruscant and Empire will go to Dromund Kass. Once you arrive at either of these planets you will have a few things that you need to get done before you can run out and just start questing again. The first thing you will want to do is choose your Advanced Class. Running around without an Advanced Class will just severly gimp your playing ability. If you've played WoW it is like not spending any Talent Points, ever.
Once you've selected your Advanced Class you will want to speak to all of the Tradeskill trainers in the same area not only for the Codex entries but also to choose all three of your Tradeskills. Depending on what you're looking to do in the game, you will want to choose your Tradeskills wisely. I recommend checking out my Professions guide in order to figure out exactly what Tradeskill would best work with your playstyle. If you are just looking to level as fast as possible right now and you don't give a $%^& what Tradeskill your characters have, then just grab three gathering Tradeskills so you can still at least make decent money. I recommend:
Bioanalysis
Bioanalysis allows players to collect genetic materials from plants and certain creatures. The genetic materials you can collect include cell fibers, bacterial strains, toxic extracts and medicinal fluids. The items gathered with Bioanalysis are used in Biochem to craft medpacs, stimulants, and biological implants.
Slicing
Slicing allows players to hack into secured lockboxes or computer systems and acquire valuable items, information and data. Some of the things players can find through Slicing include rare recipes that can be used by other professions to craft weapons or armor. As of now, Slicing is currently one of the biggest money makers in swtor as the resources gathered through use of this tradeskill can be put to use with all other professions. The tech schematics gained through Slicing are used for the Cybertech crafting skill.
Archaeology
Archaeology allows players to find imbued items like lightsaber crystals and ancient artifacts. As archaeology is mainly used to mine crystal nodes, you could compare it to Mining in other games. The crystals obtained from the crystal formation can be used by a player with the Artifice tradeskill to construct lightsaber modifications and armor for Force users. The items found using Archaeology can be used in the Artifice and Synthweaving Tradeskills.
Once you have choosen your tradeskills it is time to get on back to leveling! From here you will want to follow the main quest you have available to you, at this point you may still be required to talk to your master or you may be off doing a chore for him, whatever it is do it. On both Coruscant and Dromund Kass you will be constantly taking speeders (Flightpaths) to different levels of the planet depending on where you need to go. The quests are always fairly specific in where you need to go and even if you're slightly confused when you mouse over a flightpath location it will be lit up green and tell you what quests you have available in that area. It's pretty much a quest helper for dummies.
Levels 10 - 16 will take another few hours to accomplish, no more than 5 depending on how crowded the areas are and how much time you are spending waiting for spawns. During this time you will get some pretty heafty bonus quests, quests that require you to kill up to 45 enemies in the general area. For these quests I highly recommend trying to complete them but if there aren't enough spawns as there are too many people in the area (and no one wants to group up) just skip these quests and move on to the next area. When it comes to leveling fast you want effective and quick not standing around waiting for spawns.
For the sake of argument, I have decided to answer a few main questions here that I am seeing in general chat all the time through this level range. I'll space these questions out to make them easier to see, hopefully they help someone!
Where can I talk to my Companion? - He wants to talk to me in private, but no where is private to him...
You must go to an inn(cantina) or your starship in order for him to feel comfortable talking to you.
Will I be under level for the next planet if I skip the group quests?
Yes and no depending on what else you do. If you skip every single group quest and don't run a single Warzone, yes you're going to be hurting. However right when you get your star ship you can kind of make up for this by running the different space battles available to you.
Once you have completed all of your class quests on your faction's main planet you will be given a ship. In fact, technically the final class quest is the one that will lead you to your ship, but either way, once you get your ship you will be able to leave this planet and go anywhere you want in the entire galaxy. If you're looking for the very next planet for leveling up you will want to pick Taris. You will have a class quest that will take you to a different planet than Taris (most likely), but let's stick to leveling since this is a leveling guide after all.
Where Do I Turn in Coruscant Commendations? - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveli...mendations.cfm
Where Do I Turn in Dromund Kaas Commendations? - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveli...mendations.cfm
Intermission Space Battle - Fondor Escort - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/spacebattles/
Intermission Space Battle - Balosar Outpost - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/spacebattles/
Swtor Leveling Guide 16 - 20
The first planet you will be going to after level 16 is Taris. Taris is a plague infested swamp world (code for really cool). Finding the quests here isn't that difficult, once you exit your ship keep an eye out for the triangular thingy that indicates there is a mission available. Accept the first mission and follow it through till you run into the second and then the third and... you get the point. For the first level and a half or so on Taris you will be running around all over the place killing all different kinds of mobs, but mostly Rakghouls.
The Rakghouls are pretty much everywhere on Taris and they usually come in packs of four or five. Luckily they are extremely easy to kill and the pose very little threat to you. There isn't really much for me to say or add about Taris, besides keep an eye out for groups running any of the many group quests. Participating in one will reward you with good xp and loot.
Additional Important Note: Apparently there is a certain class quest on Taris that is tied to a memory leak, ask around in general chat if you're here to get a heads up to avoid that quest. Upon completing it your FPS skydives to almost nil and the game crashes, forcing you to submit a ticket and have your character moved off of Taris.
Taris 16 – 20 - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/gettin...nets/taris.cfm
How To Get To Taris: In case you weren't paying attention, once you reach level 16 and complete all of your class quests in Coruscant or Dromund Kass, you will be given a ship which you can use to fly around anywhere you want in the entire galaxy. With this ship you will want to head on over to Taris, which is the next planet in line.
One of the more annoying quests on Taris that you will be encountering is Catalyst, or at least that is what it is called for the Republic. What you need to do for this quest is fight Rahkghouls until one infects you. If this quest is taking awhile for you, don't worry it did for me too. In fact I killed the Rakghouls for about 45 minutes before I just gave up. This quest is later important to do, so I recommend trying your darnest to get it done. People said the red Rahkghouls are the ones you need to kill for the quest, or rather be hit by. Try to fight them for as long as possible without killing them to give yourself the best chance of being infected.
At level 20 you are given two options for leveling up, one you can stick to Taris for awhile longer (depending on if you have completed the quest I mentioned before that requires you to get infected. Without completing that quest you will not be able to do any of the quests at the final outpost... Or at least that is the assumption I am working on.)
Once you reach level 20 you have two options, you can switch planets to Nar Shaddaa or you can stay on Taris until level 24.
Note: If you decide to stay on Taris, you class quests are the quests that will unlock the towns far out in the world. By completing your class quest and unlocking the towns far out there you will make it so you are able to stay on Taris until level 24 if you so please.
Where Do I Turn In My Taris Commendations? (Republic) - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveli...mendations.cfm
Where Do I Turn In My Taris Commendations? (Empire) - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveli...mendations.cfm
Intermission Space Battle - Archenar Interception - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/spacebattles/
Warzone Leveling Guide - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/warzones.cfm
SWTOR Leveling Guide 20 - 24
These levels will be spent on Nar Shaddaa, which is the first "neutral planet" you will come across. If you're unsure what I mean by neutral and you've played WoW, think Dalaran. I am not sure how this planet works since I personally have never been here, however I have heard that much like Coruscant or Dromund Kass the planet is "layered". This means you will be taking the speeder around to different levels depending on which quests you have available to you.
Nar Shaddaa 20 – 24 - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/gettin...narshaddaa.cfm
Nar Shaddaa is a giant terrible planet with many subzones. This is by far my least favorite planet in the game just because there is entirely way too much confusion going on here since it is a city (cities confuse me). Luckily you won't be on this planet very long, the four levels you will be spending here are very short and not only that but there aren't even many quests here. Without completing a single one of the group quests I was able to reach level 24 and get half way through before leaving the planet and heading over to Tatooine.
There isn't much for me to say about this planet besides, if you have any of the gathering professions at least you will make a good profit off of this rock. There are nodes for you to gather EVERYWHERE.
As aformentioned, once you're done with Nar Shaddaa you will want to head over to Tatooine. If you're having trouble finding the spaceport, it is the flightpath just above the promenade locations in the center of the map. Be warned that if you're playing on a PvP server Tatooine will be the first planet you will encounter enemy players to fight... And a lot of them at that. Be warned and be ready to be killed.
Where Do I Turn In My Nar Shaddaa Commendations? - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveli...mmendation.cfm
Intermission Space Battle - Makem Te Assault - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/spacebattles/
Intermission Space Battle - Javaal Fleet Action - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/spacebattles/
Warzone Leveling Guide - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/warzones.cfm
SWTOR Leveling Guide 24 - 28
The very next planet you will be visiting is Tatooine, which is by far my favorite planet in all of Star Wars. Now, there are a few things I have heard about this place but I am unable to confirm. I have heard that Tatooine is an open pvp planet (which fits its lore quite well since it is home to smugglers, bandits and the like). What this means by open PvP though is anyone is able to attack anyone regardless of faction as long as that player is not in your group.
While this may sound super fun to some, it sounds like we will be dealing with a lot of kids on this planet. Since I am playing on a PvE server I am unable to elaborate more on the ganking situation. Even if I was on a PvP serverthere aren't even many people on Tatooine at the minute. Me and 6 others are here. Anyway, one important bit of information that I would like to give you about Tatooine which could have saved my life countless times... ALWAYS HEAL UP BEFORE ENTERING A CONVERSATION. It is amazing at how many conversations on this planet end with three silver mobs or a gold one punching your face in...
Tatooine 24 – 28 - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/gettin...s/tatooine.cfm
Once you reach level 25 it will be time for you to buy your Speeder. First you will need your Speeder training, which can be purchased from your trainer and costs 40k if I recall correctly. After you get Speeder training it is time for you to buy a Speeder, which can be bought at either your faction's fleet stations or by the flightmasters on Tatooine. The speeder costs 8k no matter where you buy it. Buying the Speeder is extremely important for leveling up, the amount it decreases time spent traveling is well worth the 48k you need to spend for it.
Note: Something I felt neccessary to add here is if you're having difficulty leveling up at this point, you should consider buying your companion and yourself new gear. I wasn't paying attention and did not understand how much gear helped my companion and he still had the same pieces of gear since level 11. Needless to say when I bought him new gear he started kicking butt again. Learn from my mistakes!!
Just when you finish your last class quest on Tatooine and you think you're done on the planet, on your way back to the hangar you will encounter a new NPC with a quest previously unavailable to you. Talk to him and accept the Bonus quest for Tatooine. You may remember a bonus series of quests on Taris, if you decided to stick around there after completing your class quests.
The bonus quest is a single quest that requires you to kill a few mobs but once you complete it opens up an entire new settlement for you to get and do quests for. These bonus quests will take you far past when you would normally leave Tatooine for Alderaan, so now whatever level you feel comfortable leaving at is totally up to you. I recommend waiting until 29 or 30 that way the mobs and quests on Alderaan are a lot easier but also give you as much XP as they would have two levels earlier.
After Tatooine, your next stop will be Alderaan.
Where Do I Turn In My Tatooine Commendations? - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveli...mendations.cfm
Intermission Space Battle - Llanic Station Strike - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/spacebattles/
Intermission Space Battle - Syvris Evacuation - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/spacebattles/
Also a quest called Operation Searing Light (Requires you to do Balosar Outpost and Javaal Fleet Action)
WAIT!!!
If you are thinking of leaving Tatooine and you have not yet completed the Tatooine Bonus Series of quests I strongly recommend you do so. If you are leveling solo and not participating in any Warzones, Flashpoints or Group quests, without doing these bonus quests you will find yourself very far behind in level.
Warzone Leveling Guide - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/warzones.cfm
WAIT!!!
SWTOR Leveling Guide 28 - 32
By now you should probably know a little bit about Alderaan, assuming you participated in The Civil War Warzone. Alderaan is primarily a snowy continent and from what I have seen of it on the maps, quite large as well.
Alderaan 28 – 32 - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/gettin...s/alderaan.cfm
Alderaan is a snowy-forest like planet with snow capped mountains and lush plains. Much like Tatooine, you will need a speeder to navigate Alderaan without it taking so long that you just want to rip your hair out. Depending on your class and what level you come to Alderaan certain quests here can be extremely difficult to do. Most of the quest chains on Alderaan end in you having to take out a gold mob (Elite) and his two lackeys. This may be easy as cake for some but other classes will really struggle.
Unlike the planets before it, Alderaan does not have many quests. In fact, if you come here at level 28 as many people recommend you do, you will be lucky to get to level 31 completely running out of quests. See, the thing is Alderaan does not have a Bonus Series of quests until much later (Level 37) and as I mentioned before, it doesn't have that many quests in the first place. If you skipped the Tatooine bonus quests I seriously recommend going back to do them at this point, if not you're going to need to find a group for the heroic quests on Alderaan and also run some Warzones to cover the XP you would need.
After you finish the Usurpur(sp?) quest on Alderaan, you've completed all of the quests currently available for this planet. It flew by didn't it? And the last item you got from the final quest so totally wasn't worth it, huh? Anyway, in order to get the Bonus Series for Alderaan you will need to come back here at level 37, if you want to do that it is totally up to you.
Without further ado, the very next planet on your list to level up on should be Balmorra, so off we go!
Where Do I Turn In My Alderaan Commendations? - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveli...mendations.cfm
Warzone Leveling Guide - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/warzones.cfm
SWTOR Leveling Guide 32 - 36
Balmorra is a pretty lame planet and is mostly under control by Imperials. As a Republic player 99.99% of your quests on this planet will be spent dealing with the Imperials in some way. Luckily Balmorra is a fairly straight forward planet and getting off of this rock is just as easy as getting on. Just about the only thing I can say with a straight face that Balmorra is good for is if you have gathering tradeskills. Other than that, I think if you're like me you'll find this planet a complete nightmare that you just can't wait to get off of.
As I mentioned before, if you have any gathering crew skills then your entire stay at Balmorra will probably be a good one since all of the credits you will be making surely out weigh the suck of the planet. Anyway, Balmorra (Unlike Alderaan) will get you from 32 - 36 with ease, depending on how you play here. Doing the bonus missions and all non heroic quests will get you the exact amount of XP you're looking for. Also don't forget the class quests!
Once you are done with Balmorra it is time to move on to the shortest planet you have done thus far, Quesh. Also after you reach level 35 there will be a few new space battles available to you. Whether or not you want to do them is totally up to you.
Where Do I Turn In My Balmorra Commendations? (Empire) - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveli...mendations.cfm
Where Do I Turn In My Balmorra Commendations? (Republic) - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveli...endationsr.cfm
Intermission Space Battle - Pakuuni Defense -
http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/spacebattles/
Intermission Space Battle - Kovor Ice Field -
http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/spacebattles/
Warzone Leveling Guide - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/warzones.cfm
SWTOR Leveling Guide 36 - 37
The next planet you will want to go to for this level range is Quesh.
Quesh is the shortest planet you have yet to come across in the game. The entire planet has probably only has twenty or so quests, you can be leaving the planet within an hour of even arriving. There isn't really much to say about Quesh, it is an extremely easy straight forward planet. I found this planet to be slightly more difficult than the previous ones, mainly because the mobs here specifically the cartel mobs have some pretty powerful abilities that you need to interrupt or face the full wrath of. You should be getting used to interrupting abilities by now anyway, it's time you learn to play!
You should be level 37 before leaving Quesh, if not you'll want to run some Warzones or participate in space battles. Either or, make sure you're level 37. Oh yeah and before you waste time looking for something that isn't there, there is no Bonus Series for Quesh. Once you're done here you're done here.
Warzone Leveling Guide - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/warzones.cfm
Where Do I Turn In My Quesh Commendations?
SWTOR Leveling Guide 38 - 41
Hoth 37 – 41 - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/gettin...anets/hoth.cfm
Hoth is a frozen wasteland planet that is covered in wreckage from ships used in the great war. Even though this was one of my favorite planets, visually, I didn't really like the planet as a whole when it came to questing and trying to level up. As an example, the planet was about as big as Tatooine and there were half as many quests as Tatooine. In other words there is a lot of running around and barely any quests to do in between all of the running around.
It took me awhile to level through Hoth pretty much just for this reason. I spent most of my time running from quest to quest and not a lot of time actually doing the quests. Regardless though, those that like Star Wars will probably greatly enjoy this planet just because it is home of one of the most famous battles in Star Wars history.
Where Do I Turn In My Hoth Commendations? - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveli...mendations.cfm
Warzone Leveling Guide - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/warzones.cfm
SWTOR Leveling Guide 41 - 44
Belsavis 41 – 44 - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/gettin...s/belsavis.cfm
Belsavis is a prison planet which is currently experiencing their first major riot. The Republic are currently trying to control the massive outbreak of prisoners on Belsavis, which as it stands now you are their only hope. Belsavis was my least favorite planet of them all, almost, because of how the quests here were grouped together as well as the NPCs. Everything felt really tightly grouped together and if it wasn't for Stealth I think I would have spent hours killing unnecessary mobs to get to my quest objectives.
Graphically, I really enjoyed Belsavis though, I liked the rainforest areas mixed in with the snowy lava like terrain that comes in later. The terrain was pretty to look at but amazingly annoying to navigate. Since it is just one giant prison complex on the whole planet (or at least most) there are only a few doors to get from area to area. Which I don't need to explain how annoying it is to run 5 minutes out of your way to make it through a gate to another area to get to your next quest objective. On top of all this, Belsavis is an extremely long planet. Every planet before Belsavis took me 3 to 6 hours TOPS but Belsavis seemed to take soo much longer.
Since all I've done is complain about the planet so far I'll make one more complaint before moving on... As a Jedi Consular the amount of Droids you must fight here (especially the elite ones and strong ones together with no CC.... It's annoying, let's just say that). Anyway, after you're finished with Belsavis it is time to move on to a much more interesting planet in my opinion, Voss!
Where Do I Turn In My Belsavis Commendations?
Intermission Space Battle - Hydian Way Blockade - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/spacebattles/
SWTOR Leveling Guide 44 - 47
Voss is one of the final planets you will be visiting in Swtor and is one of my favorite planets (especially after enduring the past three or four planets which I just couldn't stand). Voss is a lush planet covered in golden forests and a peaceful weird race named the Voss. You'll notice what I mean by weird as soon as you get here. Over all I liked Voss, it was a very interesting planet and had a lot of cool scenery. The only thing I strongly disliked about the planet was the whole religion driven mumbo-jumbo.
Voss reminded me a lot of Final Fantasy 10, in the sense that you need to help one of their races members in completing their pilgrimage, that is what the main quest of the planet is built around, or at least that is how it is for Republic. Voss is also the very first planet I encountered with some extremely difficult elite mobs that you need to fight for some quests. At level 46 they actually give you a quest where you need to kill a level 48 elite and his two friends. I popped every cooldown in the book and still lost this fight time and time again. It was like slamming my head into a wall. Even when I came back at level 48 and tried to do the quest it was STILL hard.
But, despite that almost impossible quest I just described (If you're curious it was the quest to kill Lord Relnik I think his name was) I found Voss to be an excellent planet. I was pretty dissapointed when it was time to leave Voss and to move on to Corellia.... See that pro sentence? Served two purposes, closed out my Voss explanation while also telling you what planet you are going to next. Shazam!
Voss 44 - 47
Where Do I Turn In My Voss Commendations?
Intermission Space Battle - Kalee Fortification - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/spacebattles/
Intermission Space Battle - Zosha Advance -
http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/spacebattles/
SWTOR Leveling Guide 47 - 49
Corellia is the second to last planet in Swtor and for most people will be the final stop before level 50. I and quite a few of the people I know all hit level 50 on Corellia and didn't even have to go to Ilum, however of course in my typical worst-case-scenario fashion I still am making a guide for Corellia and a continuation guide for Ilum just incase you aren't level 50 after you finish up Corellia. Anyway, on the planet of Corellia you're going to be spending your time in pretty much a giant destroyed city. It's probably by far the most unique planet yet since it is the first planet (Aside from Coruscant, but it reminds me nothing of there) that is 100% city.
Corellia is quite interesting as a planet and is a refreshing change after all of the crappy planets before it. From what I have seen so far the quests are all kinda close together on the planet so there isn't much travel time and any gatherable crew skill items are extremely spaced out. Besides that the only other negative of this planet I have found is that it is much like Belsavis, being almost maze like in its design. In order to get to a quest objective sometimes you have to go way out of your way to find a path that leads through the buildings to the otherside.
That's about all I know of Corellia for now, I'll post more as I learn more about the planet...
SWTOR LEVELING GUIDE
Almar’s Swtor Leveling Guide
There is still much work that needs to be done on this leveling guide but for now it provides the perfect outline for everyone looking to level up. I just reached level 50 so expect much more detail to go into the guide over the next week, I’m making it my mission to provide the best and most accurate guides to all players!
Swtor Levels 1 - 10
Levels 1 - 10 are easy as can be in Swtor. This entire level bracket will be spent on your noobie zone planet (check my list of planets below) questing. Unlike how it was in early beta, quests are not that difficult to find anymore, in fact they are quite hard to miss. The only quests that are even possible to miss are the Bonus Quests, which as I have mentioned before are not a requirement but do help out a ton when it comes to leveling up. If you follow the simple directions each quest gives you, complete them all and also use my previous
Many people are probably wondering about the group quest for this level range, wondering that if they skip it how badly behind in level will they be. Well to answer your question the first time I skipped it and I was level 9 when leaving my noobie world, the other times I was level 10. So, I recommend doing this quest even if you do it at level 9 solo once you've completed all other class quests. There is actually no logical reason to skip this quest, since it doesn't even require a real healer or tank there is no reason to skip it.
After you complete all of your class quests on the noobie planet you will be able to take the shuttle to your faction's main fleet station. This is the first major town/area for your faction and one giant gathering place for a lot of players. There are many subzones off of your Fleet Station, including shuttles to both of the noobie planets, a bay specifically forFlashpoints and more shuttles leading to each of the classes of your faction's spaceships (required you unlock it first, however).
Swtor Levels 10 - 16
After you finish off the noobie planets you will be taking a shuttle a space station that has additional shuttles to your main factions planet, which will be either Coruscant or Dromund Kass depending on what your faction is. Republic will go to Coruscant and Empire will go to Dromund Kass. Once you arrive at either of these planets you will have a few things that you need to get done before you can run out and just start questing again. The first thing you will want to do is choose your Advanced Class. Running around without an Advanced Class will just severly gimp your playing ability. If you've played WoW it is like not spending any Talent Points, ever.
Once you've selected your Advanced Class you will want to speak to all of the Tradeskill trainers in the same area not only for the Codex entries but also to choose all three of your Tradeskills. Depending on what you're looking to do in the game, you will want to choose your Tradeskills wisely. I recommend checking out my Professions guide in order to figure out exactly what Tradeskill would best work with your playstyle. If you are just looking to level as fast as possible right now and you don't give a $%^& what Tradeskill your characters have, then just grab three gathering Tradeskills so you can still at least make decent money. I recommend:
Bioanalysis
Bioanalysis allows players to collect genetic materials from plants and certain creatures. The genetic materials you can collect include cell fibers, bacterial strains, toxic extracts and medicinal fluids. The items gathered with Bioanalysis are used in Biochem to craft medpacs, stimulants, and biological implants.
Slicing
Slicing allows players to hack into secured lockboxes or computer systems and acquire valuable items, information and data. Some of the things players can find through Slicing include rare recipes that can be used by other professions to craft weapons or armor. As of now, Slicing is currently one of the biggest money makers in swtor as the resources gathered through use of this tradeskill can be put to use with all other professions. The tech schematics gained through Slicing are used for the Cybertech crafting skill.
Archaeology
Archaeology allows players to find imbued items like lightsaber crystals and ancient artifacts. As archaeology is mainly used to mine crystal nodes, you could compare it to Mining in other games. The crystals obtained from the crystal formation can be used by a player with the Artifice tradeskill to construct lightsaber modifications and armor for Force users. The items found using Archaeology can be used in the Artifice and Synthweaving Tradeskills.
Once you have choosen your tradeskills it is time to get on back to leveling! From here you will want to follow the main quest you have available to you, at this point you may still be required to talk to your master or you may be off doing a chore for him, whatever it is do it. On both Coruscant and Dromund Kass you will be constantly taking speeders (Flightpaths) to different levels of the planet depending on where you need to go. The quests are always fairly specific in where you need to go and even if you're slightly confused when you mouse over a flightpath location it will be lit up green and tell you what quests you have available in that area. It's pretty much a quest helper for dummies.
Levels 10 - 16 will take another few hours to accomplish, no more than 5 depending on how crowded the areas are and how much time you are spending waiting for spawns. During this time you will get some pretty heafty bonus quests, quests that require you to kill up to 45 enemies in the general area. For these quests I highly recommend trying to complete them but if there aren't enough spawns as there are too many people in the area (and no one wants to group up) just skip these quests and move on to the next area. When it comes to leveling fast you want effective and quick not standing around waiting for spawns.
For the sake of argument, I have decided to answer a few main questions here that I am seeing in general chat all the time through this level range. I'll space these questions out to make them easier to see, hopefully they help someone!
Where can I talk to my Companion? - He wants to talk to me in private, but no where is private to him...
You must go to an inn(cantina) or your starship in order for him to feel comfortable talking to you.
Will I be under level for the next planet if I skip the group quests?
Yes and no depending on what else you do. If you skip every single group quest and don't run a single Warzone, yes you're going to be hurting. However right when you get your star ship you can kind of make up for this by running the different space battles available to you.
Once you have completed all of your class quests on your faction's main planet you will be given a ship. In fact, technically the final class quest is the one that will lead you to your ship, but either way, once you get your ship you will be able to leave this planet and go anywhere you want in the entire galaxy. If you're looking for the very next planet for leveling up you will want to pick Taris. You will have a class quest that will take you to a different planet than Taris (most likely), but let's stick to leveling since this is a leveling guide after all.
Where Do I Turn in Coruscant Commendations? - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveli...mendations.cfm
Where Do I Turn in Dromund Kaas Commendations? - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveli...mendations.cfm
Intermission Space Battle - Fondor Escort - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/spacebattles/
Intermission Space Battle - Balosar Outpost - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/spacebattles/
Swtor Leveling Guide 16 - 20
The first planet you will be going to after level 16 is Taris. Taris is a plague infested swamp world (code for really cool). Finding the quests here isn't that difficult, once you exit your ship keep an eye out for the triangular thingy that indicates there is a mission available. Accept the first mission and follow it through till you run into the second and then the third and... you get the point. For the first level and a half or so on Taris you will be running around all over the place killing all different kinds of mobs, but mostly Rakghouls.
The Rakghouls are pretty much everywhere on Taris and they usually come in packs of four or five. Luckily they are extremely easy to kill and the pose very little threat to you. There isn't really much for me to say or add about Taris, besides keep an eye out for groups running any of the many group quests. Participating in one will reward you with good xp and loot.
Additional Important Note: Apparently there is a certain class quest on Taris that is tied to a memory leak, ask around in general chat if you're here to get a heads up to avoid that quest. Upon completing it your FPS skydives to almost nil and the game crashes, forcing you to submit a ticket and have your character moved off of Taris.
Taris 16 – 20 - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/gettin...nets/taris.cfm
How To Get To Taris: In case you weren't paying attention, once you reach level 16 and complete all of your class quests in Coruscant or Dromund Kass, you will be given a ship which you can use to fly around anywhere you want in the entire galaxy. With this ship you will want to head on over to Taris, which is the next planet in line.
One of the more annoying quests on Taris that you will be encountering is Catalyst, or at least that is what it is called for the Republic. What you need to do for this quest is fight Rahkghouls until one infects you. If this quest is taking awhile for you, don't worry it did for me too. In fact I killed the Rakghouls for about 45 minutes before I just gave up. This quest is later important to do, so I recommend trying your darnest to get it done. People said the red Rahkghouls are the ones you need to kill for the quest, or rather be hit by. Try to fight them for as long as possible without killing them to give yourself the best chance of being infected.
At level 20 you are given two options for leveling up, one you can stick to Taris for awhile longer (depending on if you have completed the quest I mentioned before that requires you to get infected. Without completing that quest you will not be able to do any of the quests at the final outpost... Or at least that is the assumption I am working on.)
Once you reach level 20 you have two options, you can switch planets to Nar Shaddaa or you can stay on Taris until level 24.
Note: If you decide to stay on Taris, you class quests are the quests that will unlock the towns far out in the world. By completing your class quest and unlocking the towns far out there you will make it so you are able to stay on Taris until level 24 if you so please.
Where Do I Turn In My Taris Commendations? (Republic) - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveli...mendations.cfm
Where Do I Turn In My Taris Commendations? (Empire) - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveli...mendations.cfm
Intermission Space Battle - Archenar Interception - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/spacebattles/
Warzone Leveling Guide - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/warzones.cfm
SWTOR Leveling Guide 20 - 24
These levels will be spent on Nar Shaddaa, which is the first "neutral planet" you will come across. If you're unsure what I mean by neutral and you've played WoW, think Dalaran. I am not sure how this planet works since I personally have never been here, however I have heard that much like Coruscant or Dromund Kass the planet is "layered". This means you will be taking the speeder around to different levels depending on which quests you have available to you.
Nar Shaddaa 20 – 24 - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/gettin...narshaddaa.cfm
Nar Shaddaa is a giant terrible planet with many subzones. This is by far my least favorite planet in the game just because there is entirely way too much confusion going on here since it is a city (cities confuse me). Luckily you won't be on this planet very long, the four levels you will be spending here are very short and not only that but there aren't even many quests here. Without completing a single one of the group quests I was able to reach level 24 and get half way through before leaving the planet and heading over to Tatooine.
There isn't much for me to say about this planet besides, if you have any of the gathering professions at least you will make a good profit off of this rock. There are nodes for you to gather EVERYWHERE.
As aformentioned, once you're done with Nar Shaddaa you will want to head over to Tatooine. If you're having trouble finding the spaceport, it is the flightpath just above the promenade locations in the center of the map. Be warned that if you're playing on a PvP server Tatooine will be the first planet you will encounter enemy players to fight... And a lot of them at that. Be warned and be ready to be killed.
Where Do I Turn In My Nar Shaddaa Commendations? - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveli...mmendation.cfm
Intermission Space Battle - Makem Te Assault - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/spacebattles/
Intermission Space Battle - Javaal Fleet Action - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/spacebattles/
Warzone Leveling Guide - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/warzones.cfm
SWTOR Leveling Guide 24 - 28
The very next planet you will be visiting is Tatooine, which is by far my favorite planet in all of Star Wars. Now, there are a few things I have heard about this place but I am unable to confirm. I have heard that Tatooine is an open pvp planet (which fits its lore quite well since it is home to smugglers, bandits and the like). What this means by open PvP though is anyone is able to attack anyone regardless of faction as long as that player is not in your group.
While this may sound super fun to some, it sounds like we will be dealing with a lot of kids on this planet. Since I am playing on a PvE server I am unable to elaborate more on the ganking situation. Even if I was on a PvP serverthere aren't even many people on Tatooine at the minute. Me and 6 others are here. Anyway, one important bit of information that I would like to give you about Tatooine which could have saved my life countless times... ALWAYS HEAL UP BEFORE ENTERING A CONVERSATION. It is amazing at how many conversations on this planet end with three silver mobs or a gold one punching your face in...
Tatooine 24 – 28 - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/gettin...s/tatooine.cfm
Once you reach level 25 it will be time for you to buy your Speeder. First you will need your Speeder training, which can be purchased from your trainer and costs 40k if I recall correctly. After you get Speeder training it is time for you to buy a Speeder, which can be bought at either your faction's fleet stations or by the flightmasters on Tatooine. The speeder costs 8k no matter where you buy it. Buying the Speeder is extremely important for leveling up, the amount it decreases time spent traveling is well worth the 48k you need to spend for it.
Note: Something I felt neccessary to add here is if you're having difficulty leveling up at this point, you should consider buying your companion and yourself new gear. I wasn't paying attention and did not understand how much gear helped my companion and he still had the same pieces of gear since level 11. Needless to say when I bought him new gear he started kicking butt again. Learn from my mistakes!!
Just when you finish your last class quest on Tatooine and you think you're done on the planet, on your way back to the hangar you will encounter a new NPC with a quest previously unavailable to you. Talk to him and accept the Bonus quest for Tatooine. You may remember a bonus series of quests on Taris, if you decided to stick around there after completing your class quests.
The bonus quest is a single quest that requires you to kill a few mobs but once you complete it opens up an entire new settlement for you to get and do quests for. These bonus quests will take you far past when you would normally leave Tatooine for Alderaan, so now whatever level you feel comfortable leaving at is totally up to you. I recommend waiting until 29 or 30 that way the mobs and quests on Alderaan are a lot easier but also give you as much XP as they would have two levels earlier.
After Tatooine, your next stop will be Alderaan.
Where Do I Turn In My Tatooine Commendations? - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveli...mendations.cfm
Intermission Space Battle - Llanic Station Strike - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/spacebattles/
Intermission Space Battle - Syvris Evacuation - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/spacebattles/
Also a quest called Operation Searing Light (Requires you to do Balosar Outpost and Javaal Fleet Action)
WAIT!!!
If you are thinking of leaving Tatooine and you have not yet completed the Tatooine Bonus Series of quests I strongly recommend you do so. If you are leveling solo and not participating in any Warzones, Flashpoints or Group quests, without doing these bonus quests you will find yourself very far behind in level.
Warzone Leveling Guide - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/warzones.cfm
WAIT!!!
SWTOR Leveling Guide 28 - 32
By now you should probably know a little bit about Alderaan, assuming you participated in The Civil War Warzone. Alderaan is primarily a snowy continent and from what I have seen of it on the maps, quite large as well.
Alderaan 28 – 32 - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/gettin...s/alderaan.cfm
Alderaan is a snowy-forest like planet with snow capped mountains and lush plains. Much like Tatooine, you will need a speeder to navigate Alderaan without it taking so long that you just want to rip your hair out. Depending on your class and what level you come to Alderaan certain quests here can be extremely difficult to do. Most of the quest chains on Alderaan end in you having to take out a gold mob (Elite) and his two lackeys. This may be easy as cake for some but other classes will really struggle.
Unlike the planets before it, Alderaan does not have many quests. In fact, if you come here at level 28 as many people recommend you do, you will be lucky to get to level 31 completely running out of quests. See, the thing is Alderaan does not have a Bonus Series of quests until much later (Level 37) and as I mentioned before, it doesn't have that many quests in the first place. If you skipped the Tatooine bonus quests I seriously recommend going back to do them at this point, if not you're going to need to find a group for the heroic quests on Alderaan and also run some Warzones to cover the XP you would need.
After you finish the Usurpur(sp?) quest on Alderaan, you've completed all of the quests currently available for this planet. It flew by didn't it? And the last item you got from the final quest so totally wasn't worth it, huh? Anyway, in order to get the Bonus Series for Alderaan you will need to come back here at level 37, if you want to do that it is totally up to you.
Without further ado, the very next planet on your list to level up on should be Balmorra, so off we go!
Where Do I Turn In My Alderaan Commendations? - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveli...mendations.cfm
Warzone Leveling Guide - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/warzones.cfm
SWTOR Leveling Guide 32 - 36
Balmorra is a pretty lame planet and is mostly under control by Imperials. As a Republic player 99.99% of your quests on this planet will be spent dealing with the Imperials in some way. Luckily Balmorra is a fairly straight forward planet and getting off of this rock is just as easy as getting on. Just about the only thing I can say with a straight face that Balmorra is good for is if you have gathering tradeskills. Other than that, I think if you're like me you'll find this planet a complete nightmare that you just can't wait to get off of.
As I mentioned before, if you have any gathering crew skills then your entire stay at Balmorra will probably be a good one since all of the credits you will be making surely out weigh the suck of the planet. Anyway, Balmorra (Unlike Alderaan) will get you from 32 - 36 with ease, depending on how you play here. Doing the bonus missions and all non heroic quests will get you the exact amount of XP you're looking for. Also don't forget the class quests!
Once you are done with Balmorra it is time to move on to the shortest planet you have done thus far, Quesh. Also after you reach level 35 there will be a few new space battles available to you. Whether or not you want to do them is totally up to you.
Where Do I Turn In My Balmorra Commendations? (Empire) - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveli...mendations.cfm
Where Do I Turn In My Balmorra Commendations? (Republic) - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveli...endationsr.cfm
Intermission Space Battle - Pakuuni Defense -
http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/spacebattles/
Intermission Space Battle - Kovor Ice Field -
http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/spacebattles/
Warzone Leveling Guide - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/warzones.cfm
SWTOR Leveling Guide 36 - 37
The next planet you will want to go to for this level range is Quesh.
Quesh is the shortest planet you have yet to come across in the game. The entire planet has probably only has twenty or so quests, you can be leaving the planet within an hour of even arriving. There isn't really much to say about Quesh, it is an extremely easy straight forward planet. I found this planet to be slightly more difficult than the previous ones, mainly because the mobs here specifically the cartel mobs have some pretty powerful abilities that you need to interrupt or face the full wrath of. You should be getting used to interrupting abilities by now anyway, it's time you learn to play!
You should be level 37 before leaving Quesh, if not you'll want to run some Warzones or participate in space battles. Either or, make sure you're level 37. Oh yeah and before you waste time looking for something that isn't there, there is no Bonus Series for Quesh. Once you're done here you're done here.
Warzone Leveling Guide - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/warzones.cfm
Where Do I Turn In My Quesh Commendations?
SWTOR Leveling Guide 38 - 41
Hoth 37 – 41 - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/gettin...anets/hoth.cfm
Hoth is a frozen wasteland planet that is covered in wreckage from ships used in the great war. Even though this was one of my favorite planets, visually, I didn't really like the planet as a whole when it came to questing and trying to level up. As an example, the planet was about as big as Tatooine and there were half as many quests as Tatooine. In other words there is a lot of running around and barely any quests to do in between all of the running around.
It took me awhile to level through Hoth pretty much just for this reason. I spent most of my time running from quest to quest and not a lot of time actually doing the quests. Regardless though, those that like Star Wars will probably greatly enjoy this planet just because it is home of one of the most famous battles in Star Wars history.
Where Do I Turn In My Hoth Commendations? - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveli...mendations.cfm
Warzone Leveling Guide - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/warzones.cfm
SWTOR Leveling Guide 41 - 44
Belsavis 41 – 44 - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/gettin...s/belsavis.cfm
Belsavis is a prison planet which is currently experiencing their first major riot. The Republic are currently trying to control the massive outbreak of prisoners on Belsavis, which as it stands now you are their only hope. Belsavis was my least favorite planet of them all, almost, because of how the quests here were grouped together as well as the NPCs. Everything felt really tightly grouped together and if it wasn't for Stealth I think I would have spent hours killing unnecessary mobs to get to my quest objectives.
Graphically, I really enjoyed Belsavis though, I liked the rainforest areas mixed in with the snowy lava like terrain that comes in later. The terrain was pretty to look at but amazingly annoying to navigate. Since it is just one giant prison complex on the whole planet (or at least most) there are only a few doors to get from area to area. Which I don't need to explain how annoying it is to run 5 minutes out of your way to make it through a gate to another area to get to your next quest objective. On top of all this, Belsavis is an extremely long planet. Every planet before Belsavis took me 3 to 6 hours TOPS but Belsavis seemed to take soo much longer.
Since all I've done is complain about the planet so far I'll make one more complaint before moving on... As a Jedi Consular the amount of Droids you must fight here (especially the elite ones and strong ones together with no CC.... It's annoying, let's just say that). Anyway, after you're finished with Belsavis it is time to move on to a much more interesting planet in my opinion, Voss!
Where Do I Turn In My Belsavis Commendations?
Intermission Space Battle - Hydian Way Blockade - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/spacebattles/
SWTOR Leveling Guide 44 - 47
Voss is one of the final planets you will be visiting in Swtor and is one of my favorite planets (especially after enduring the past three or four planets which I just couldn't stand). Voss is a lush planet covered in golden forests and a peaceful weird race named the Voss. You'll notice what I mean by weird as soon as you get here. Over all I liked Voss, it was a very interesting planet and had a lot of cool scenery. The only thing I strongly disliked about the planet was the whole religion driven mumbo-jumbo.
Voss reminded me a lot of Final Fantasy 10, in the sense that you need to help one of their races members in completing their pilgrimage, that is what the main quest of the planet is built around, or at least that is how it is for Republic. Voss is also the very first planet I encountered with some extremely difficult elite mobs that you need to fight for some quests. At level 46 they actually give you a quest where you need to kill a level 48 elite and his two friends. I popped every cooldown in the book and still lost this fight time and time again. It was like slamming my head into a wall. Even when I came back at level 48 and tried to do the quest it was STILL hard.
But, despite that almost impossible quest I just described (If you're curious it was the quest to kill Lord Relnik I think his name was) I found Voss to be an excellent planet. I was pretty dissapointed when it was time to leave Voss and to move on to Corellia.... See that pro sentence? Served two purposes, closed out my Voss explanation while also telling you what planet you are going to next. Shazam!
Voss 44 - 47
Where Do I Turn In My Voss Commendations?
Intermission Space Battle - Kalee Fortification - http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/spacebattles/
Intermission Space Battle - Zosha Advance -
http://almarsguides.com/swtor/leveling/spacebattles/
SWTOR Leveling Guide 47 - 49
Corellia is the second to last planet in Swtor and for most people will be the final stop before level 50. I and quite a few of the people I know all hit level 50 on Corellia and didn't even have to go to Ilum, however of course in my typical worst-case-scenario fashion I still am making a guide for Corellia and a continuation guide for Ilum just incase you aren't level 50 after you finish up Corellia. Anyway, on the planet of Corellia you're going to be spending your time in pretty much a giant destroyed city. It's probably by far the most unique planet yet since it is the first planet (Aside from Coruscant, but it reminds me nothing of there) that is 100% city.
Corellia is quite interesting as a planet and is a refreshing change after all of the crappy planets before it. From what I have seen so far the quests are all kinda close together on the planet so there isn't much travel time and any gatherable crew skill items are extremely spaced out. Besides that the only other negative of this planet I have found is that it is much like Belsavis, being almost maze like in its design. In order to get to a quest objective sometimes you have to go way out of your way to find a path that leads through the buildings to the otherside.
That's about all I know of Corellia for now, I'll post more as I learn more about the planet...
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