The Many Looks of Nadia Grell

Complete Guide to Nadia Grell Customizations

Nadia, being the final companion that Jedi Consulars get, hasn't seemed to have gotten the attention that other female companions have. When I first talked about her, just after beta, I described her as an annoying school girl. As it turns out, her personality isn't exactly the same in the game as it was in the beta version. Bioware reduced the amount of complaining she does and she seems to be a lot more effective as a DPS companion. With the 30% armor buff Nadia gets in Game Update 1.2 tonight, it will make her an exceptional companion. Not only does she put out substantial DPS and AOE damage but she also uses the same gear as you. This makes it really easy to equip high end operations and PvP gear for her. Giving Nadia all my hand-me-downs gives her a huge advantage over my other DPS companions. She is a loyal companion and will also provide you with a streamlined story arc. I was able to complete Nadia's story line faster than any other companion's. If you are playing a nice light side Jedi, she will love almost all of your decisions. Most conversations awarded 100 affection from Nadia.

Nadia has 8 unique looks available ingame at this time; one default and seven customizations. The first time I saw Nadia in beta she actually had customization 3 as the default look. Bioware later changed it to the one she has now. Regardless of what hairstyle or skin color you choose for her, she'll always come default with a painted face, giving her a very Queen Amidala look.

The downside of the customizations for Nadia are the price of them. They each cost 35 000 credits. The first six are all available from the one unique vendor, Sergeant Koam. He is located in the Republic base on Ilum.

The security key vendor Captain Kneely on the Ilum space station is where you'll find the seventh customization. The cost is also 35 000 credits.

I personally chose customization 3 and considering most available outfits do actually cover her body (unlike the bikini) face painted marking and hair color are the extent of her variances. Even with a uniquely painted face, when you close up and personal with her you will notice that each customization includes a different facial shape.

Don't forget to check out similar posts:

Our full list of companions and gifts
The Many Looks of Elara Dorne
The Many Looks of Kira Carsen
The Many Looks of Vette
The Many Looks of Mako
The Many Looks of Risha
The Many Looks of Nadia Grell

For information on customization options for other companions check out the other 'Many Looks of ... ' posts on SWTORFace.

SWTOR Legacy Companion Unlocks in patch 1.2

Bioware is giving us a real reason to get in the good books with our companions. As of patch 1.2 increasing your companions' affection to 10 000 unlocks a unique enhancement for that specific class of companion. There are a total of five different companion classes and they are healer, melee damage, ranged damage, melee tank and ranged tank. Also, every single companion you cap affection with grants you 10 bonus Presence with all your characters under your Legacy name. So theoretically you can eventually have a default 400 bonus Presence on all your characters, if you play all eight classes and max out affection with all the (40) companions.


Somehow I think people are going to be spending a lot more time chasing companion gifts!


After doing some testing I discovered that the bonus I unlocked by maxing out Kira's affection on my Jedi Knight was applied to every other character I created, on both Republic and Sith sides. For Kira it was a bonus to surge and although it applies to all characters, the bonus surge can only be unlocked once. The Presence, on the other hand, can be unlocked on every companion and every class.

In the notes about what is unlocked is says "You may only receive this bonus for one healer/melee tank (etc) companion". It took me a bit of research to figure out that what this means is that if you unlock a healer companion on your Jedi Knight, you get the bonus for all the characters you create. It is not stacked or re-applied when you unlock another healer companion though on a separate character.

Here you can see the bonus surge applied to a naked level one Trooper. It is clearly not present in patch 1.1. Interestingly, base DPS with no weapon equipped seems to be higher in 1.1.

So, let's look at the bonuses that you get with each class of companion.

Achieving maximum affection with a healer grants you a bonus to the total healing you receive, increases your heroic moment by 12 seconds and reduces the cooldown by 1 minute. (Also grants 10 bonus Presence to all characters)

Surge rating goes up. Heroic moment goes up by 12 seconds and cooldown goes down by 1 minute.

Critical Hit Chance gets a boost for ranged damage companions as well as the usual increase of heroic moment by 12 seconds and reduction of cooldown by 1 minute.

With the melee tank companions you get a bonus to your accuracy (plus the usual).

With ranged tank it's the usual plus a Max Health bonus.

Here's a summary:

Campion class	Bonus*	Heroic Moment*	Cooldown*	Presence
Healer	Healing Received	Increased by 12 seconds	Reduced by 1 minute	+10 bonus
Melee Damage	Surge rating
Ranged Damage	Critical Hit Chance
Melee Tank	Accuracy
Ranged Tank	Max Health

* Is only unlocked once

All this means that getting on your companions' good sides is even more important than ever. To review the gift preferences of companions, check out our information pages.

Trooper Companion Information Updated

Troopers, it's your turn: our Companion List information for Trooper Companions has now been updated to our latest style of presentation. Character information, Gameplay information and Gift Preferences are all included.

Sith Inquisitor Companion Details in Full

If you want to romance Andronikos Revel, or maybe Ashara Zavros is more your style, you'll need to know what gifts can give you extra mileage. We've updated our Companion List information for the Sith Inquisitor class, with the gift preferences information and a whole lot more.

Go forth, you Force-attuned, Empire aligned players and get to know your companions! 

Jedi Consular Companion List Update

If you are playing a Jedi Consular then bookmark our page of information about their companions so that you can quickly alt-tab to check out the facts as you play. The list has been updated so that not only does it look pretty, it's got more information and no blank areas.

Check it out now.

Big update to our Bounty Hunter Companion List

Now that we've had the opportunity to spend more time ingame we'd thought we'd go back and optimize our companion pages which we started way back in Beta (which was only a little over 3 months ago!). We've included new information about when your companions are obtained and what quests actually award your companions. Information about gift preferences has also been updated and presented in a new easy to follow chart. We've gathered all this information for all companions and will be updating our pages over the following weeks. Today's update is of the Bounty Hunter companion list and it of course also includes the customizations for Mako.

I'd like to thank everybody for providing their feedback which has lead to these updates. Feel free to add tips in the comments section.

Don't forget, if you find the information useful, share it with your friends on Google+, Facebook or 

The Many Looks of Mako

Complete Guide to Mako Customizations

Mako's bubbly personality is an absolute pleasure to be around and whoever wrote for her did a fabulous job. She probably has the most realistic personality out of all the female companions I have encountered so far. Mako is the very first companion you get as a Bounty Hunter. As a healer she makes life really easy, especially if you're a Powertech hunter. The storyline in general in Bounty Hunter is brilliant and if you haven't rolled one yet, it's something you have to do in this game. Although my main class is Jedi playing alongside Mako on my Bounty Hunter provides a refreshing change of pace and experience. Although she is alligned with a Bounty Hunter, who theoretically works with Sith, she is not really keen on dark side decisions unless it involves making more money. Her cybernetics give her unique abilities and also provide distinct facial features in many of the customizations available for Mako. All eight of Mako's customizations are currently available in SWTOR. Let's have a closer look.

I equipped the security key vendor's bikini top on Mako for your viewing pleasure. Although she looks really good in her standard medium armor, Imperial Agent style gear. It was mentioned in Bioware's blog that Mako is the most popular companion when it comes to romance; this girl gets around! But I'd better be careful what I say about Mako ... I don't want every Bounty Hunter after me in the game!


The customizations provide you with an amazing variety of looks, everything from the simple Eurasian default look right through to the punk rocker look you get with customization 8. It doesn't matter if you prefer blondes, red heads, brunettes, dark skin or pasty white, there is a look for everybody.

The customizations are so diverse that she looks like a different character each time. Not only does the face shape change, so does the hair, skin color and the position of the cybernetics. Unlike other customizations for Kira and Risha you really do get 9 very different looks.

A special Rakghoul customization from our Rakghoul Pandemic event:

Although you get a choice of customizations 1, 2 or 3 when she first joins you, you can purchase customizations 1-6 from the customization vendor Keth on Taris. Each one costs 12500 credits.

Customization number 8 can be purchased on Imperial Fleet Vaiken Spacedock from the Security Key Vendor named Toth (above).

You can find customization number 7 also on Vaiken Spacedock but from the Collector's Edition Vendor called Nongta - so yes, you do have to have purchased the Collector's Edition to get number 7.

Mako Wallpapers

Show your love for this spunky splicer with some of these Mako wallpapers!

Don't forget to check out similar posts:

Our full list of companions and gifts
The Many Looks of Elara Dorne
The Many Looks of Kira Carsen
The Many Looks of Vette
The Many Looks of Mako
The Many Looks of Risha
The Many Looks of Nadia Grell

For information on customization options for other companions check out the other 'Many Looks of ... ' posts on SWTORFace.

For more information on Mako and Bounty Hunter companions, check out our companion pages.

The Many Looks of Risha

Complete Guide to Risha Customizations

Risha is the third companion Smuglers' get. She joins you very early on in the game as a class mission giver aboard your ship, although she doesn't become a full companion until you finish Act 1 in the Smuggler class story line. Risha's personality remotely resembles Princess Leia's and her personality isn't the only thing that the writer of this story got from the original trilogy. I've included two detailed screenshots of ALL of her currently available customizations. The reason that I have had to include two is that you'll notice in the first screenshot that even though she has a scantily clad bikini top she has quite a sour look on her face. The expression she has on her face when she is your active companion is depressing and when I said that her personality remotely resembles Princess Leia, it's because the story writer forgot to put in the fun side; she can be rather bitter. Personally, I'm not enjoying her as a companion but I'll see what happens by the time I finish Act 3.

Now Rish usually wears smuggler gear as you can see in the second screenshot. Due to popular demand I have equipped the metal bikini top. Please note that the bikini top is light armor and I wouldn't recommend it for combat use, no matter how hot she looks in it!

This set of screenshots taken (below) aboard the ship definitely does her more justice. As she is working away on your ship she seems to lose her sour look, although she's still not smiling. After i purchased all of the customizations I have chosen to use customization 8 which in this screenshot is the top right. It has that Carrie Fisher buns on the side look that any Star Wars fan loves. When you get this close to your companion you really see the detail in their complexions. Unfortunately, you can't get this close to your companion ingame when you have them out exploring the world as they continuously move away from you as you try to get close, as they are constantly trying to follow you. I used a camera trick to get these shots on my ship.

Something seriously needs to be done about the preview of customizations ingame. This screenshot below shows you what you get to see at max. detail and 1900x1080 resolution. Hopefully these shots I have taken will help you decide on what look you want for Risha.

Captain Kneely on the Ilum docking station, on your way down tot he level 50 planet has customization 8 available for 12500 credits.

Captain Kneely is only available to people who are using a security key to login to their account. This can be the keychain you got with your Collector's Edition, or an Android or iPhone app solution.

For customizations 1-6 you will find Guunta in bug town on Balmora, right near the entrance of the main base.

Although I started this exercise with over 70 000 credits in my bank account, as you can see from the above screenshot, my Smuggler now has just over 12 000 credits. There is no buy-back scheme ingame for stuff you decide you don't want and that combined with the low quality preview screens can make for a very unhappy customer, so take a look at my screenshots before you buy!

If you liked having a closer look at Mako, don't forget to check out similar posts here:






Don't forget to check out similar posts:

Our full list of companions and gifts
The Many Looks of Elara Dorne
The Many Looks of Kira Carsen
The Many Looks of Vette
The Many Looks of Mako
The Many Looks of Risha
The Many Looks of Nadia Grell

For information on customization options for other companions check out the other 'Many Looks of ... ' posts on SWTORFace.






For more information on Mako and Bounty Hunter companions, check out our companion pages.

The Many Looks of Kira Carsen

In SWTOR you spend a lot of time with your companion and a lot of a players even have intimate relationships with their companions of choice. Unfortunately, you don't have a Galaxy of companions to choose from. Your storyline introduces you to a set number of companions and you are stuck with their stories, personalities and voices.

Bioware do give you the options to customize the appearance of your companions. You can change their looks by equipping a companion customization token in your companion's inventory. These customizations are awarded through missions and they are also available through speciality vendors throughout the Galaxy.

This week I want to take an advanced look at all the different available looks for Kira Carsen.

Kira is a strong willed individual and my personal favorite companion so far. My Jedi Knight Guardian completed with storyline with Kira some time ago and although I chose to leave her default looks, not everyone likes a redhead. And to be honest, after seeing the variety of different looks she can have, I've now chosen to equip customization 8. Let's have a good look shall we?

Customizations 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 are available from vendors on both Taris and Balmora.

The vendor's name on Taris is Tatrog and he is hidden in the corner of the cantina. The Balmore vendor is hard to miss as he can be found at the entrance to the main base in bug town.

Customization 8 is available on Ilum at the Ilum Orbital Station from the Security key reward vendor.

Captain Kneely is in the center-left of the Orbital station and is only available to players who have attached a security key to their account.

At this stage I have not been able to find customizations 5 or 7. They may be randomly available from the Collector's Edition reward vendors, or even the security key reward vendors, but at this stage, they haven't been seen ingame.

It cost me 75 000 credits to purchase all available customizations for Kira. The reason I purchased them is that that the preview screen is tiny and uses low textures so I wouldn't have been able to provide you with proper images for comparison without purchasing the customizations.

For more information on Kira Carsen check out our Jedi Knight companion page 

If anyone wants to volunteer to provide high res screenshots of the customized looks for any other companions, please let me know!

If you liked having a closer look at Mako, don't forget to check out similar posts here:



See also
Our full list of companions and gifts
The Many Looks of Mako
 The Many Looks of Risha
The Many Looks of Nadia Grell

For information on customization options for other companions check out the other 'Many Looks of ... ' posts on SWTORFace.

No Level Restrictions on Companions

I'm constantly getting asked to include a level indicator for companions. People want to know approximately what level they will get their companions at. As an experiment I got together with a friend who was already level 50 while I played my level 15 Smuggler and we thought we'd try and get my 2nd companion, Bowdaar while I was still at level 15. Bowdaar ordinarily joins you at approximately level 21, or at least 21 is the level you need to be to complete the mission solo. But, we wondered, what happens if you have a level 50 drag you through all your class missions? To do this you will need to get your own spaceship first. Now, of course, you can get somebody to drag you through class missions to get your ship as well, but I already had mine. After that ...

The first hurdle was actually getting to my class missions while I was at such a low level. As you can see in the above screenshot, the mobs in the areas leading up to my missions were 7 levels higher than I was. This makes it impossible to solo. You can't hit opponents that are that much higher than your level. Every shot was a miss. But I had a level 50 gladiator dragging me along, so one-shotting these level 22 mobs was no issue.

Then obviously the missions themselves involved fighting elite level 21 mobs. If you're level 15 and alone then this in itself is absolutely impossible. Even if you work out a way to get to the mission, whether it be via stealthing or clone zerging, you'll have no chance to kill the level 21 elite at level 15. But there is nothing stopping you from bringing a friend. Rammy, my gaurdian, got one or two shots off; before this bounty hunter had a chance to blink he was dead.

I levelled from 15 to 16 in just a couple of missions, so our experiment to see if I could get Bowdaar at level 15 became moot anyway.

To complete all my class missions on Nar Shaddaa it took the two of us working together about 45 minutes. I leveled from 15-16 and Bowdaar became my companion at the end of the quest line on that planet. I was also pleased to see that Bowdaar's equipment was rated much higher than any standard level 16 equipment; in fact the mods in his weapon are level 21, even though he is only level 16. 

I have since gone back and completed all the missions on Corellia and Taris (both of which I had skipped for the experiment of teaming up with a level 50) and having an over-equipped tank has made the missions extremely easy.

There is absolutely nothing stopping you from powering through your class missions with the assistance of other players, even if your class missions are on space stations or space ships. Your group members can land and join you on those stations and ships to assist you in any fight. 

Obviously, as you complete your class missions, you not only get the benefit of higher level companions joining you, but you also get access to higher level equipment that is a class reward and usually has no level restriction. 

Although I don't recommend you do this for your first or even your second experience in SWTOR, once you have a few alts leveled up, this could be a quick and easy way to level an extra alt for crafting or different experiences.

New Players Guide to SWTOR eBook Out Now

So for some of you you're already in the game and probably not reading this! For others you are checking to see if you've been granted access in one of the random waves, just waiting to get your feet wet in the game! While you're waiting, or while you're learning the ropes, might I suggest you download this eBook I put together to help new SWTOR players understand the core elements of the game.

Whether you are a veteran MMO player or completely new to this genre of PC gaming, this guide will help you get started and understand the key concept of Companions and their role in the SWTOR galaxy. This guide covers getting set up with the game including the right hardware, a look at the background story and how to choose a server and guild. Key terms and roles for characters like DPS, tank and healer are introduced and inside information gained from over 250 hours of gaming in Beta is set out. The eBook then goes through the options for setting up a character before explaining and detailing the Advanced Class options. Complete lists of information about Companions available to each class is provided including their preferred gifts, which will help you build reputation, unlocking new and exciting Missions. Crafting with Companions, upgrading equipment and mods, keyboard and mouse controls, navigation, tips on Missions, combat, targeting, using Companions in combat and setting up Quick Shots is all explained, plus information on Datacrons and full Maps to planets is included.

Get set for your Galactic adventure! On sale for $2.99 now ... and besides, if you've been enjoying this site pre-launch, this is a great way to support us and in return get some useful advice for yourself.

The eBook is available on Amazon right now and can be read on iPad, iPhones, other smartphones, Kindle, Kobo, Nook and other eReaders.

SWTOR Jedi Knight Full Companion List and Gifts

To say T7-01 annoyed the crap out of me in Beta in an understatement! He had (it's now gone) this action called grapple that would pull what he was attacking to him. So I would jump to a NPC with force leap, then he would grapple it and I would have to run back after it. Man I wanted to stick my saber through his motorvater! As soon as I was joined by Kira (my second Companion) I never looked back; with my avatar semi tanking and her DPS killing stuff, was a blast! There is something about 2 Jedi out fighting side by side that I love!

Check out our full list of Jedi Knight Companions here:

SWTOR Sith Warrior Full Companion List and Gifts

Sith Warriors will have to wait for their second companion to get a healer. Don't let this discourage you though! The first companion Vette, is at least mildly entertaining and brings decent ranged dps, making her a nice balance to a juggernaut specialization. While at first, I found myself disappointed I had a crazy blue chick following me around, I found myself loving how fast each enemy went down with her added dps next to my marauder. Looking ahead, I can't wait to play with Broonmark the Talz tank!

Check out the full list of Sith Warrior companions, including their gift preferences,here:

SWTOR Companion Gifts: An Explanation

It's getting close to Christmas, the time of gift-giving. In SWTOR, the benefits reaped from giving gifts to your companions are immense. Not only do gifts grant extra reputation with your companions, and possibly unlock romantic interludes, but every new level you reach with your companion unlocks a series of very simple quests which are often just a conversation. These conversations can grant massive amounts of experience really fast. I found myself jumping through half a level in five minutes when unlocking a series of companion quests. There are multiple levels of gifts which grant multiple levels of companion reputation and you can either purchase these companion gifts from vendors in major cities or you can acquire them through crew missions from professions like Treasure Hunting. Make sure you give your companions the rights gifts though. Every companion has particular preferences. Some gifts will grant lots of reputation and others will grant no reputation at all. You will waste a gift if you give it to the wrong companion.

Gifts are easily identified in the game as companion gifts. They come with a deep purple label and a category:

Weapon
Military Gear
Courting
Luxury
Technology
Republic Memorabilia
Imperial Memorabilia
Cultural Artifact
Trophy
Underworld Goods

For each category there area variety of different items. I discovered the hard way ingame and wasted a lot of credits giving my companions the wrong items. If you use the gift system through leveling, it will help you get to 50 a lot faster as it will unlock easy quest storylines.

For every companion I have listed which categories of gifts they each like or are indifferent to. They are listed on the Companion List pages. Check it out here.

SWTOR Bounty Hunter Full Companion List and Gifts

Bounty Hunters really scored big when it comes to companions. Their first companion, Mako, is a pleasant enough companion who gives you ranged healing or even a little bit of DPS right off the bat. They also get Blizz; I mean who doesn't want a Jawa tank hanging out with them?! On top of that, they get a Devaronian. If that doesn't say bad-ass when you enter a room, what does?! The companion combination alone makes we want to play Bounty Hunter early on. I got to mess around with it a bit in beta and I loved the gameplay style. I have no doubt that we'll see our fair share of Bounty Hunter players in the galaxy.

Check out a full list of information about the companions for Bounty Hunter, including the gifts that do and don't work for them, here: