There are hundreds of sentient species spread throughout the galaxy. Only a fraction of them will appear in the game.
For a list of non-sentient species; see Bestiary.
Playable species
There are a number of species that the player may choose from for their character. So far, Chiss, Cyborg, Humans, Miraluka, Mirialan, Rattataki, Sith Pureblood, Twi'leks, Zabrak, Cathar (first announced during E3 2012 and made available in Game Update 2.1) and Togruta (implemented in the 3.3 Game Update titled 'Grand Togruta Celebration) are available as playable species. It was announced on April 15, 2019 that Nautolan would be introduced as a playable species with the Onslaught expansion in September 2019.
The Human, Zabrak and Cyborg species are available for all playable classes for free-to-play players. All others must be purchased one way or another, whether that be through the Cartel Market, or through purchasing subscriber status. The chart below shows which species are available for each class by default for subscribers. The Cathar and Togruta are only available through the Cartel Market, and makes it available across an entire account on purchase. However, all other species are also available through the Cartel Market in Species Legacy Unlocks, which allow you to create more than one character per species if you have a Legacy at a Level 10 or higher.
Playable class/Species combinations
Subscribing players have all initial species unlocked, but different species have different limitations as to which ones can be used for different classes. If a species is unlocked for a specific legacy, then that species is unlocked for all classes. For example, the Cathar, when purchased from the Cartel Market, is unlocked, account-wide, for all classes. But a subscriber only has access to certain species when creating certain classes (see the chart below).
If a character of a specific species is created and leveled to level 50, the species will then be available at character creation for any class in that legacy, even if subscription was ended/expired. Once a species is unlocked as so, the following chart will not apply to what class they can play as.
| Jedi Knight | Jedi Consular | Trooper | Smuggler | Sith Warrior | Sith Inquisitor | Bounty Hunter | Imperial Agent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cathar | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Chiss | X | X | X | X | X | X | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cyborg | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Human | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Miraluka | ✓ | ✓ | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| Mirialan | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | X | X | X | X |
| Rattataki | X | X | X | X | X | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Sith Pureblood | X | X | X | X | ✓ | ✓ | X | X |
| Togruta | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Twi'lek | ✓ | ✓ | X | ✓ | X | ✓ | X | X |
| Zabrak | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Other species
The majority of species in The Old Republic are not playable, but some will be available as companions to the player.
Sub-species
The term sub-species refers to a biologically distinct subdivision of a biological species; for example, the Y'bith, are a sub-species of the Bith species. While obviously similar to other Bith, they differed in their weaker eyesight, more sensitive skin, thicker bones, stronger hands and feet, and ductile mouth structures. A related term was race. While members of different races within a species are capable of interbreeding and producing viable offspring, members of different species generally could not.
However, in casual discourse, the term "race" would often be used where species would be technically correct (especially when referring to different sentient species.) In addition, it was often difficult to tell if a population was a race, a subspecies, or a distinct species, and the division was often arbitrary or cultural. The Theelin, for example, were capable of interbreeding with baseline humans, but are referred both as a race and as a distinct species.
