Here’s a look at all the new Character Modernisation Art Update that has been added to the SWTOR PTS in March of 2025!
Table of Contents
Character Update Overview
In late 2024 the developers of Star Wars the Old Republic held a livestream where they announced that the SWTOR player characters (and some aliens) would finally be getting new high-definition skin textures including brand new textures for skin pores, wrinkles and veins.
This had been a much requested feature ever since the game first released, as it was already criticised in 2011 for looking ‘too old’ for an MMO and the characters were often criticsed for looking like ‘plastic’ or ‘action figures’.
The first wave of Character Updates released in November of 2024 alongside Game Update 7.6.1 and while the update itself was well-regarded, the updates carried across from the PTS were somewhat controversial and appeared to divide the community.
Some players loved the new character models and definitions added to the face and body, others hated it and claimed it ruined their characters (sorry Chiss players)!
To read a recap of Game Update 7.6.1, read here:
New Planet Map
In the last iteration of the March PTS for Character Modernisation updates, SWTOR has snuck in a new Planetary Map, the main difference is that there is no longer a hologram background, instead the map displays clearly and blankly on a dark blue background.
Three new Tabs have been added to the left side of the map:
The new Map now includes an expanded Legend by default, showing all the different interactive Icons.
Quick Travel now has its own dedicated Tab and is Free again, you can freely choose which Quick Travel location you wish to travel to from the Quick Travel Tab on the left side below the Legend.
Below the Quick Travel Tab is now a new Events tab, which shows the locations and time left for all time-limited quests (such as Dynamic Encounters) in the area.
New Items
In the final update to the Character Art PTS, several unannounced Cartel Market items have appeared!
Four new items have appeared in the Recently Added tab, the Guerrila Commander and Imperial Director Armor Sets are most likely Andor themed. It is likely that Guerrila Commander will be Saw Gerrera inspierd and Imperial Director will be Krennic inspired.
However the TWO new mounts, named GDW Flatbed and GDW Weaponcarrier have some interesting descriptions:
The GDW Flatbed Mount supports Pets and ‘Large Companions’, while there are currently other Mounts in the game that support Companions, we do not know what ‘Large’ Companions entails.
The GDW Weaponcarrier Mount supports Pets and ‘Humanoid Companions’, while there are currently other Mounts in the game that support Companions, it is likely that this Mount will only allow companions such as Lana Beniko or Ashara Zavros and not companions such as Khem Val or Blizz.
The Amethyst Vulptilla Pup, unlike the other ‘purple’ themed rewards in the past, is listed as being obtained from a Community Event, and not a Promotional Twitch Livestream.
Another item that has been located on the PTS, hidden behind the ‘Amethyst Vulpilla’ unlock is an Umbaran Holo-Rancor. Funnily the description calls it a ‘Night Stalker Rancor’ and indicates it to be a future Twitch Livestream Promotional Item.
The B25-SAL Probe Droid is another unlisted and unreleased Minipet, it’s description only states that is an upcoming Subscriber Reward.
Finally, the last unannounced Item is the Poster: Coruscant (purple frame), which also appears to be an upcoming Twitch Livestream Promotional Reward.
Character Comparison Video
Youtube video showing the new Character Art Update from the PTS in March 2025.
Rattataki Up Close
Rattataki are one of the best previews to see the new changes to the skin tones on the PTS.
The pores of the skin especially around the forehead and sides of the face dont appear to be as harsh as they used to.
Rattataki Male facing direct sunlight, Location: Blba Groves
Left: Old, Right: New (PTS)
Top: Old, Bottom: New
Neck Seams Fixed!
One of the heaviest criticisms of the Character Art Modernization in 7.6.1 was that the brand new high-definition skin textures caused even worse neck-seams and shadow issues then the ones that existed in the game before.
Many species from Humans to Mirialans have all had their neck seams fixed incredibly well, even better than before the original character art.
I chose to use the Mirialan Species as it had a far worse neck seam then most other player species, thus making it the best choice to show off the new update.
Mirialan Female facing away from sunlight, Location: Blba Groves
Left: Old, Right: New (PTS)
Top: Old, Bottom: New
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Mirialan
Mirialans were one of the better species in the first round of Character Modernization that updated in 2024, however one of the points many players found critical was the neck seams of their characters not lining up, which appears to have been fixed.
You can see that the skin pores and wrinkles under the eyes that were heavily visible on both the shoulders and face are now much more subtle when your character is in sunlight.
Unfortunately the new, pronounced collarbones seem to have also been mostly smoothed over.
Mirialan Female facing direct sunlight, Location: Blba Groves
Left: Old, Right: New (PTS)
Top: Old, Bottom: New
Human
I couldnt tell of any differences between current female Human characters and the new character art on the PTS. I believe they have ‘returned’ some of the shiny filter that was on the characters face but I did not notice anything else.
Human Female facing direct sunlight, Location: Blba Groves
Left: Old, Right: New (PTS)
Top: Old, Bottom: New
Male Body
Much like the Human female character’s face, the Human male character also only appears to have slight smoothing over of the skin pores on their face and body. Although the neck seam has been cleaned up a lot compared to before, it is not as clean as the Mirialan’s new neck seam.
Miralukan Male standing directly under Yellow light, Location: Dromund Kaas Stronghold
Left: Old, Right: New (PTS)
Top: Old, Bottom: New
Chiss Body Textures
The most controversial part of the first round of Character Modernization update in 2024 was to that of the Chiss, who now suffers from a splotchy blue body regardless of any darkside corruption or chosen skin color by the player.
While the neck seam has been noticibly smoothe down and the skin pores have also been softened, the blotchy blue skin sadly still remains for now.
Chiss Female standing directly under Yellow light, Location: Dromund Kaas Stronghold
Left: Old, Right: New (PTS)
Top: Old, Bottom: New
Previous Graphics Update Comparison
All of the images in this Guide reference the Character Modernization PTS of March 2025 (for new images) in comparison to the current Live Server (game update 7.6.1) which released the current Character Art which players have today (for ‘old’ images).
If you wish to see detailed comparisons between the true Original Character model art (2011-2024) and the new Character Art Modernization update (2024-now), see this guide:
New Galaxy Map Icons
The first noticible change to 7.6 on the PTS is the addition of the new Galaxy Map icons representing active Dynamic Encounters across the Galaxy. Dynamic Encounters rotate in and out every 15 minutes and repeat often, so if you miss one you’ll be able to play it again soon.
You can see which Dynamic Encounters are active on each planet by the icons at the bottom of the travel screen of each planet.
New Sith Statue Decorations
New Statues of the Sith have been added to Korriban, Dromund Kaas, the Imperial Fleet and everywhere else in SWTOR. Roughly half of the old metal statues of the Sith have been upgraded with higher quality and reflective metal textures as well as a new face that looks much closer to Emperor Vitiate. Others remain unchanged.
New Korriban
Korriban has had a complete overhaul to its ambience and atmospheric lighting across the entire planet. Both the upper Valley of the Dark Lords around the Korriban Academy as well as the ambience in the Lower Wilds has all been drastically changed.
Korriban Comparison Video
Valley of the Dark Lords Overhaul
The brown slave statues and walls of Korriban have been replaced with brand new, high detailed orange walls and statues.
The Lower Wilds has also recieved some drastic ambience changes to both the desert as well as the entrances to the many tombs across the planet. There are also visible clouds in the distance behind the mountains of the Lower Wilds now.
The entrances to many tombs have had new large statues holding spears added, with a much brighter orange fog added across the entire Valley of the Dark Lords.
Korriban Tombs
The insides of many Tombs across Korriban have all been changed. The stone floors and statues of Sith have all been replaced with much higher resolution and poppier colors. While many of the wall details such as sith writing and stone walls have also had their cartoony graphics replaced with realistic writing and stone walls.
Many tombs, such as the Tomb of Naga Sadow have been made darker and their purple lighting replaced with dark red. The floors, walls and Sith statues in the tombs have also all been graphically updated. The sith writing on the walls has also been graphically updated to be clearer and stand out.
Hoth Update
The Ice wall and mountain textures on Hoth have been updated. The old blue ice texture has been updated to have a white sheen and a high detailed blue reflective texture when viewed up close.
New Snow
There are several new rock, snow and metallic wall texture updates available across Hoth as well. The overall blinding white seems to have been reduced by the new texture quality in some areas.
Tython Comparison Video
New Tython Details
Tython has recieved several new subtle detail changes. The Jedi Temple now has high resolution stone floor and wall textures. Several Jedi have also been updated to have Yellow or Orange lightsabers around the Jedi Academy.
All Jedi Padawan’s training sabers now glow with yellow light on the environment and nearby NPCs, where as before they just had a thin white light.
Tython Trees and Grass
All trees, dirt and grass textures and their shadows on Tython have been updated with high detailed flowers, moss and mud patches that didn’t exist before.
Distant Mountains on Tython have been updated with more detailed and shaded cracks and crevices, the moss and grass along the mountain edges has been made brighter and placed in new areas.
New high detailed trees and leaves have been added across all of Tython, including much more realistic tree trunks and shadows on the ground that are also animated to move in the wind.
Several buildings and dead trees across the Gnarls and the Forge towards the South of Tython have also recieved graphical updates, including the Tomb of Rajivari with a much higher resolution Jedi symbol painted on.
New Ilum Map
The planet map for Ilum has been updated, many of the ice spikes on the map have been removed, which better help see the actual playable areas of Ilum, most notably around the top edges of the Gree Event zone on the North-West corner of the map.
SWTOR has also added yellow roads to the Gree Event zone area which should help with navigation.
New Ilum Graphics
Not only has Ilum been updated with new Ice and Snow graphics, but there have been several major lighting updates across the entire planet that give the planet a brighter feeling in the light and a darker feeling in the shadows.
New Locations Added to Ilum
New Areas, Quicktravel and Taxi Points have been added to the abandoned West Ilum Ice Shelf which was removed after the release of 1.0 Ilum PVP in 2011.
As you can see by the above image, new roads and pathways have literally been cut into the ice to allow players access to the Western Ilum Ice Shelf PvP zone from 2011. This area was previously cut off from players unless they travelled through a secret tunnel inside the Gree PVP event area.
The Western Ilum Ice Shelf is now a PvP-free area and has both quicktravel and medical respawn bases for both Republic and Imperial players.
Both Republic and Imperial home bases on Ilum have also been updated with new graphics as well as a new Instanced area!
The doorway appears to lead players into a new Operation (raid) and is found opposite the entry point to the Battle of Ilum and the False Emperor Flashpoint doorways inside both the Republic’s and Empire’s base on Ilum.
See More
- SWTOR 2026 Roadmap
Everything we know coming to SWTOR in 2026 including Story, DirectX 12 and 8.0 Expansion. - How to Make Credits in SWTOR 2026
How to earn Millions of Credits as a F2P or Subscriber in Star Wars the Old Republic. - SWTOR January Cartel Market Sales 2026
All Cartel Market items that are part of SWTOR’s January 2026 Cartel Sale. - SWTOR PvP Season 9 Guide
SWTOR PvP Season 9 Gladiators of the Outer Rim Guide, Rewards and Achievements. - SWTOR Dantooine Stronghold Guide
How to unlock and ecorate the Dantooine Stronghold in SWTOR! - SWTOR Dantooine Dynamic Encounters Guide
A complete Guide for every Dynamic Encounter on Dantooine in SWTOR. - SWTOR 7.8 Pursuit of Ruin Update News
Everything about SWTOR 7.8 including Story, Dantooine and new content. - STAR WARS: The Old Republic – Enter the Fight Bundle
Everything you need to know about the Limited-Time Enter the Fight Bundle in SWTOR.
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