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New Player Guide · SWG Restoration

Star Wars Galaxies Restoration — New Player Guide

Everything you need to know to start playing SWG Restoration in 2026.

Restoration is the most-played Star Wars Galaxies private server — an NGE-based emulator run by a dedicated dev team with an active player base. It's free, the client is free, and the community is welcoming to returning veterans and brand-new players alike.

Create your Restoration account Jump to quick-start ↓

Photo by Felix Mittermeier on Unsplash

1. What is SWG Restoration?

Star Wars Galaxies launched in 2003 and shut down in 2011. In its lifetime it cycled through three combat eras — pre-CU (the original skill-tree sandbox), CU (the Combat Upgrade, 2005), and NGE (the New Game Experience, 2005–2011). Emulator projects have kept different eras alive ever since the official servers shuttered.

Restoration is the most actively developed NGE-era emulator. The team didn't just preserve what NGE shipped with — they re-introduced pre-CU and CU mechanics where they thought it made the game better, balanced the profession trees, and added their own content. The result plays like NGE but feels broader: 28 professions, full crafting economy, ground + space combat, faction warfare, player cities, and heroic instances.

Restoration is free, the client is free, and there is no premium tier. The team funds servers through voluntary donations. Active development means patches drop regularly, so some mechanics drift from vanilla NGE — when this guide says "verify in-game", that's why.

For the canonical background, see Restoration's own about page ( swgr.org/pages/about ).

2. Quick start

Five steps from zero to in-game. Allow ~1–2 hours for the first download + patch, less on subsequent logins.

  1. 1

    Download the launcher

    Grab the Restoration launcher from swgr.org . The launcher will fetch and patch the SWG client files automatically — no separate retail-disc install needed.

  2. 2

    Create your account

    Register at swgr.org/join . Free, ~30 seconds. Verify your email and you're done.

  3. 3

    Patch + login

    Open the launcher, sign in with your account, let it patch. Initial download is several GB; subsequent logins are fast. Click Play when the launcher is green.

  4. 4

    Create your character

    Pick a species, customize your appearance, and choose a starting profession. Don't overthink it — skill points respec freely and many players multi-class. See Section 3 below for picker recommendations, or browse the full profession reference.

  5. 5

    Run the tutorial

    The in-game tutorial drops you on a starting planet — typically Tatooine, Corellia, or Naboo. Run the tutorial to ~CL5, then head into the first themepark of your choice.

3. Choose your profession

Restoration runs the NGE-era 28-profession tree. Each profession is self-contained (you don't gate it behind a base class) but most share skill-tree prerequisites — Brawler feeds melee specialists, Marksman feeds ranged, Artisan feeds crafters, Scout feeds wilderness disciplines.

Recommended pick

Brawler

Cheapest, fastest path into combat. Drop a few skill points, kill mobs, see XP roll in. Gateway to Pikeman, Bounty Hunter, every melee elite.

Open profession →

Recommended pick

Artisan

Crafting starter. Survey, harvest, sample. Profitable from level 1 — the economy literally feeds itself through you.

Open profession →

Recommended pick

Scout

Utility starter. Track creatures, tame pets, harvest hides. Skill points feed Creature Handler, Bio-Engineer, Ranger.

Open profession →

The full picker, grouped by intent:

Combat

You want to fight — solo grind, group PvE, or open-world GCW.

Crafting

You want to make and sell — the economy needs you.

Support

You want to heal, buff, or run the cantina.

Scout & wilderness

You want to live outside the cities — track, tame, harvest.

4. First 30 levels — what to do

Levels 1–30 are the warmup: you'll bounce between the tutorial, early newbie-friendly themeparks, and grinding XP on starting planets. Don't worry about endgame yet — get the controls, the UI, and your combat rotation down first.

Where to start

XP grinding spots

  • Tatooine — banthas + womp rats in the deep desert for early combat XP, Krayt dragon graveyards once you're CL40+.
  • Naboo — Gungan swamps for early creature grinding, Theed for crafter resources, Moenia for the Nym handoff.
  • Dantooine — mid-tier creature density, Janta Cave system, perfect for CL20–40 XP runs.
  • Corellia — CorSec newbie quests, Tyrena, Coronet starport, Corellian Corvette space content.
  • Talus — Imperial / Rebel base presence for GCW skirmishes once you've picked a faction.

First themeparks to run

Themeparks are linear quest chains with named NPCs that pay out cash, XP, and signature gear. Run these in roughly this order:

  1. Imperial Theme Park
  2. Rebel Theme Park
  3. Jabba's Theme Park
  4. Nym's Theme Park
  5. Meatlumps Theme Park

Faction choice — when to commit

Imperial, Rebel, or Neutral? You can run as Neutral indefinitely. Both the Imperial and Rebel themeparks are runnable while Neutral — declaring faction is a separate step.

Declare faction once you know which side you want to PvP for: GCW bases, ground assaults, and faction-locked vehicles ( see vehicles) all gate behind declared status. Most players wait until CL40+ to lock in.

5. Tools to bookmark

SWGDB's purpose is to give you a faster, more searchable view of the SWG knowledge base than any wiki. Bookmark these:

6. Community + getting help

Restoration's community channels are where most live support happens. Veterans answer newbie questions in Discord daily; the Senate is where players vote on community direction.

Also follow Restoration on Facebook , X , and YouTube for patch announcements + event reveals.

7. Common newbie questions

Quick answers to the questions every new player asks. If a question isn't here, the Discord is your fastest path to a real human.

Is SWG Restoration free?
Yes. SWG Restoration is a free, fan-run emulator of Star Wars Galaxies — no subscription, no premium tier. You'll need a legitimate Star Wars Galaxies client (the Restoration launcher walks you through this).
Is it pre-CU, CU, or NGE?
Restoration is an NGE-based custom server. The team has rebalanced and re-introduced systems from the pre-CU and CU eras, plus added their own content — so it plays like NGE but feels broader. Mechanics can drift from vanilla SWG; verify specifics in-game.
What's the population like?
Active player base with regular peak-hour activity. Check the official Restoration site for current population stats and event schedules.
Can I play with friends?
Yes — full group, raid, and guild support. Form a guild for persistent grouping, then run heroics together at endgame.
How do I make credits?
Three reliable paths. (1) Crafting — pick up Artisan early, survey resources, sell to other crafters. (2) Themepark quests — each named themepark below pays out cash + gear. (3) Heroic instances at endgame — group runs drop high-value loot.
What's the endgame?
Heroic instances, GCW (Galactic Civil War) ground + space combat, crafting mastery, player cities, and Jedi unlocking. See the Heroics index for the high-end PvE loop and Vehicles for ground/space mobility.
Will my old SWG account work?
No — Restoration runs independently of LucasArts / SOE / EA. You'll create a fresh Restoration account on swgr.org.
Can I unlock Jedi?
Yes. Jedi unlock paths exist on Restoration but the exact mechanics differ from vanilla NGE — verify the current ruleset in-game or on swgr.org's wiki. SWGDB tracks the Jedi profession in Professions once unlocked.

8. Sources + further reading

This guide is Restoration-primary: when Restoration's wiki and a third party disagree, we cite Restoration. Cross-references against the SWG Fandom and SWGEmu are used to confirm long-standing mechanics unchanged since launch.

  • swgr.org/wiki/new_player_guide — canonical Restoration onboarding doc. The primary reference for this page.
  • swgr.org/pages/about — what Restoration is, who runs it, how it relates to the SWG codebase.
  • SWG Fandom — community wiki for vanilla SWG mechanics. Cross-reference for systems that pre-date Restoration.
  • SWGEmu Wiki — pre-CU reference. Useful when a mechanic was changed across eras and you want to see the original.

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