Over the past ten years since Star Wars: The Old Republic was first released, a number of game mechanics have changed. However, besides some expansions and overall improvements, crafting in SWTOR has remained a constant staple of the overall experience. Even for players who are not crafting-focused, it can be an excellent tool to complete Conquest objectives, increase companion influence, and acquire higher-rated gear and modifications.
Learning to craft in SWTOR is a fairly simple process, even for players who may have overlooked it and are past the introductory chapter of the game. On both the Republic and Empire main fleet, near the starting planet departures, players can acquire the Crafting Trainers tutorial quest. This quest will lead players through acquiring their first Crew Skills by marking the crafting trainers’ location on their map and providing step-by-step instructions to interact with them, though it does not cover the actual crafting process.
Once players are in the Strongholds and Crew Skills area of their faction’s fleet in SWTOR, they have the option to explore the different crafting, gathering, and mission crew skills. They can right-click on each trainer to add the skill’s information automatically to their SWTOR Codex. Players can have more than one gathering or mission skill trained at a time but can only specialize in one of the crafting skills. It is possible to pick any combination of skills; however, it’s recommended that players select the gathering and mission crew skills that provide the required materials to craft the items available for their trained crafting skill. The recommended crew skills for the various crafting skills can also be found in the Codex.
How to Use the Crew Skills Menu to Craft in SWTOR
To access the Crew Skills menu in SWTOR, players must navigate to the main menu at the top of the screen, then open the Content drop-down menu to the right of the Player menu and click on the diamond shape labeled Crew Skills. Once the Crew Skills panel opens, players will see the skills in which they have trained at the top and a list of available companions below that. To craft or send a companion on a mission, players can select a crafting skill next to an available companion from the Crew Skills menu, then choose a schematic or mission, and then select the Craft or Send Companion button in the lower right-hand corner to confirm the choice.
Each of these tasks has a timer that players will need to wait for before the mission is complete and their companion returns. During this time, the selected companion will be unavailable. If players need them to return sooner, they can cancel the mission in the Crew Skills menu by selecting the x to the right of the time remaining bar, and any credits or materials spent will then be refunded. Items crafted by companions will appear in the main Inventory, while materials gathered will be placed into the legacy-wide materials inventory, which can be accessed on the left sidebar of the Inventory panel.
As players raise their crafting level in SWTOR, the crafting trainer will have new schematics for higher-rated gear that they can purchase. Players can also find schematics in loot drops from enemies or by purchasing them on the Galactic Trade Network. Additionally, as players level up in SWTOR and max out their crafting levels, they will unlock legacy Craftsmen titles that they can display in their character's nametag.
All the skills players can choose to level in Star Wars: The Old Republic appear below:
- Crafting Skills: Armormech, Armstech, Artifice, Biochem, Cybertech, Synthweaving
- Gathering Skills: Archaeology, Archaeology, Scavenging, Slicing
- Mission Skills: Diplomacy, Investigation, Treasure Hunting, Underworld Trading
Star Wars: The Old Republic is available on PC.