Star Wars: The Old RepublicHow to Get the Most Free Cartel Coins in Star Wars: The Old Republic
SWTOR is the odd one out here: it hands out free Cartel Coins for achievements and for security measures. There is no direct credit conversion, but the internal market covers almost all of the gap.
What is the fastest and most efficient way to get Cartel Coins in Star Wars: The Old Republic?
Cartel Coins are the Cartel Market's currency and they cannot be bought with credits. Even so, SWTOR grants periodic and one-off allowances to accounts that do not even pay a subscription, which is unusual for the genre. And on the other side, almost everything that comes out of the Cartel Market can be sold on the Galactic Trade Network, which makes credits the indirect key to that catalogue. Combining both routes is the sensible way to play without spending.
Every day
- Steady credits to work the internal market with
Daily missions and conquest content
The planets with daily mission areas are the most predictable source of credits in the game, and conquest objectives overlap with them almost entirely, so you get paid twice for the same route. Picking a conquest goal that matches what you were going to play and chaining two or three daily areas is enough to keep a steady flow going. That credit cushion is what later lets you buy Cartel Market items on the Trade Network.
Every week
- Cosmetics and Cartel Market items without touching the premium currency
Buying Cartel items with credits on the Trade Network
Here is the bridge. The items other players pull out of Cartel Market packs are tradeable, and they end up listed on the Galactic Trade Network in exchange for credits. With patience you can get armour sets, mounts and pets from the premium catalogue paying only with credits earned by playing. Prices fall considerably in the weeks after a new pack launches, once the market saturates, so the strategy is to wait rather than buy on release day.
One time only
- 100 Cartel Coins every thirty days, for any type of account
Linking a security key to your account
This is the best effort-to-reward ratio in the whole game. Attaching a security key to your account starts a grant of one hundred Cartel Coins every thirty days, and it works the same whether you are a free-to-play, preferred or subscribed player. The grant triggers when you log in once the cycle is up, so simply logging in now and then is enough not to miss it. It takes five minutes to set up from the account website and never asks anything of you again.
- Hundreds of Coins spread across achievements, once per account
Achievements that grant Cartel Coins
Part of the achievement list comes with a Cartel Coin payout attached. The amounts per achievement are small, but the accumulable total runs to around nine hundred and it is granted once per account, not per legacy, so there is no point repeating them with new characters. They tend to be tied to progression milestones: completing class story arcs, finishing planets or closing out collections. If you are going to play the story anyway, it is money that arrives on its own; it is worth checking the panel to see what you are missing.
- Rewards for the person inviting and for the invited account
The Friends of SWTOR referral programme
The referral system hands out benefits on both sides: the new or inactive account that joins through a link receives a package of perks, and the person inviting gets their own reward once the invitee hits certain progress milestones. It is a one-off route rather than a recurring income, but it covers the start of an account well. Bear in mind that the terms require the referral to meet certain progression or subscription requirements, so it does not trigger just from signing up.
Events only
- Season rewards, cosmetics and resellable materials
Galactic Seasons and calendar events
Galactic Seasons run on daily and weekly objectives plus a reward track that includes cosmetics, companions and exclusive items. In parallel, the calendar rotates world events with their own currencies and shops. Both are indirect but real sources of value: part of what they hand out can be sold on the Trade Network, and what you keep is catalogue you did not have to buy. It is worth reviewing the weekly season objectives before the reset so you do not leave them unfinished.
What does not work
No generator can add Cartel Coins to your Star Wars: The Old Republic account: the balance is handled on the game’s servers and there is no way to touch it from outside. If you arrived looking for one, we explain in detail how they work on the inside and why they always end the same way.
See why Cartel Coins generators are a scam →Frequently asked questions
How do you get Cartel Coins without a subscription?
There are two main routes. The first is linking a security key to your account, which triggers a grant of one hundred Coins every thirty days for any type of account. The second is the achievements with Coin rewards, granted once per account and adding up to several hundred in total. On top of that you can add the referral programme, which is a one-off.
How do you reach the Cartel Market catalogue paying with credits?
Through the Galactic Trade Network. The items other players get from Cartel Market packs are tradeable, so they are sold between players for credits. You are not buying the premium currency, you are buying the item directly. Prices drop noticeably a few weeks after each pack launches, which is the sensible moment to step in.
How much do subscriber rewards hand out each month?
Subscribers receive an allowance of roughly 525 Cartel Coins every thirty days, and that grant is separate from the one the security key provides, so the two stack and arrive on different dates. It is the only one of these routes that requires payment, but it is worth knowing the figure so you can judge whether it beats buying Coins outright.
Why does buying credits from outside sellers endanger your account?
Because the terms of service forbid exchanging in-game goods for real money outside the official channels, and the studio punishes it by removing credits and suspending accounts. Those credits almost always come from compromised accounts or automated farms, so they vanish during audits. With the free allowances and the Trade Network, the external route offers no advantage at all.
