Flashpoints are Star Wars: The Old Republic’s equivalent of mini-dungeons, multi-boss encounters that tell a story and provide the player with some excellent rewards. While not as challenging as an Operation, Flashpoints are a great first step if you want to try your hand at delving into the mechanically-based world of boss encounters! SWTOR offers a wide variety of different Flashpoint encounters that take place all across the known galaxy, and feature many different stories. Here are some of the best Flashpoints in the game:
10. Hammer Station
Taking place on a space station once believed to be destroyed during the war, your main goal here is to destroy the station along with the powerful weapon it houses in order to stop the Advozsec from conquering world after world.
Highlights:
- This is an excellent beginner’s Flashpoint. While the story is somewhat lackluster with very few cutscenes within the instance itself, you still gain some lore on the state of the galaxy while journeying through the phase
- Hammer Station is fairly quick as far as Flashpoints go, and is one of the best to grind out for experience, with ample shortcuts, efficient areas perfect for Line of Sight, and fairly simple bosses
9. Cademimu
The planet Cademimu has had martial law imposed by its governor, who has sent out his own private army to take down the uprisings of the Cademiman civilians. Save the citizens, recover the missiles and stop a tyrant in his tracks in this Flashpoint.
Highlights:
- Cademimu only has three bosses, making it a fairly quick Flashpoint to go through
- Republic and Empire players both have the option to expand their faction’s interests during this Flashpoint, by either redirecting the missiles at an enemy world or choosing to ‘disarm’ the missile by sending it towards an uninhabited moon
- The final boss fight of Cademimu is fairly interesting and introduces players to some of the first mechanics with consequences in Flashpoints -- the general will repeatedly launch missiles at 3 of 4 areas of the arena, so your group must be aware of their surroundings and audio cues to stay alive!
8. Directive 7
The remote planet of Zadd has come under the jurisdiction of wayward, bloodthirsty droids. This Flashpoint will ask you to quell the droid rebellion before it has the chance to extinguish both the Republic and Empire.
Highlights:
- With a fairly interesting concept as the center of this Flashpoint’s story, Directive 7 is definitely a memorable experience when compared to the others
- The final boss of Directive 7 is an enjoyable encounter, with a range of mechanics. You will be fighting Mentor, the brain of the operation, who will spawn giant turrets and different mega-sized droids, who will test your awareness
7. The False Emperor
Part of the Ilum arc directly after completion of your class story, The False Emperor is the sequel Flashpoint to The Battle of Ilum. Following the events of that previous Flashpoint, your team has acquired a stealth ship that will allow you to infiltrate Darth Malgus’ space station and stop his grab for power once and for all.
Highlights:
- An iconically ‘Star Wars’ story of betrayal and lust for power, this Flashpoint will you set you on a path to stop Darth Malgus from reforming the Empire and demolishing the Republic. Interestingly enough, Malgus surrounds himself with several alien factions, many of which you will recall from earlier Flashpoints (Hammer Station, namely), and promises to ring in a new age for acceptance within the Empire
- If you’ve ever played the original Knights of the Old Republic games, you’ll see a familiar face here: HK-47 himself!
- Malgus himself is an iconic character in SWTOR’s lore, a legendary Sith who fought during the Battle of Coruscant and heralded the rebirth of the Sith. He will be your final encounter in The False Emperor!
6. Red Reaper
Seventy years have passed since Darth Ikoral was sent off on his journey by the old Dark Council to search for more of his kind: Sith Purebloods. Obsessed with Sith purity and unaware that the times have changed while he has been off on his journey, Darth Ikoral returns with a furious army of Purebloods ready to purge the galaxy of all others.
Highlights:
- Another Flashpoint that features an engaging story with relevant real world themes, your task here is to stop Darth Ikoral in his tracks and save your faction from the destruction he hopes to reap!
- This is one of the shortest Flashpoints to complete, and if you know how to solo it as a stealth player (see video!), it should take you around 7 minutes to complete. Perfect for grinding
- The Red Reaper also only has three bosses, making it a rather quick endeavor. Darth Ikoral will be the final boss you face, and has a few fun mechanics up his sleeve, including add spawns that must be dealt with in a specific manner, DoTs that hit hard on random players, and a rage-fueled frenzy!
5. Athiss
The resting place of Vodal Kressh, an ancient Sith prophet, the planet of Athiss has been sealed off from the galaxy by the Empire in an attempt to contain Kressh’s utter insanity, even after his death millenia ago. Unearthed by archaeologists, the spirit of Vodal Kressh has returned with a vengeance and a hunger for chaos!
Highlights:
- This Flashpoint features a rather interesting story of Sith possession, leading you through the mishaps of the recent Republic archaeological team that became stranded on the planet surface and inhabited by Kressh’s spirit!
- Athiss is a great Flashpoint with stealth friendly aspects, which in turn make it one of the quicker journeys for you and your group!
- Though the boss encounters are somewhat simplified, all three are engaging and bring the lore of Athiss to life
4. Depths of Manaan
Part of the Shadow of Revan story arc, Depths of Manaan will take you to – you guessed it – Manaan! Fight your way through Selkath forces in an underwater station to uncover the terrible truth at the center of this story!
Highlights:
- The music in this Flashpoint and of course the setting itself are nostalgic for many players, as it reminds them of KOTOR!
- There are a few challenges in this Flashpoint, some which grant Legacy titles on completion. ‘All Natural’ and ‘Honored Air Breather’ both stem from the special achievements in Depths of Manaan
- Featuring a timed final encounter in which you must defeat the cybernetically enhanced Selkath before the arena sinks to the bottom of the ocean, this Flashpoint delivers with its sense of urgency and fully envelops you in the story!
3. The Nathema Conspiracy
One of the newer Flashpoints within SWTOR, The Nathema Conspiracy sees the player’s return to the once barren surface of Nathema, which has now mysteriously begun to grow lush plant life and nurtures a plethora of wild animals in record time. Whispers abound about the Order of Zildrog uncovering the serpent god’s machine body itself from the ruins of Nathema, spurring your Alliance into action!
Highlights:
- As one of the more recent Flashpoints to come into the game, you can be assured that this Flashpoint is highly story-driven and will deliver in that department!
- A lush and beautiful location, Nathema is just plain pleasant to look at! Coupled with the mysterious circumstances of its newfound life, this Flashpoint is drenched in mysticism and really sets the tone
- Nathema’s bosses all have a chance to drop rare decorations found only in the Flashpoint’s instance, as well as cosmetic pieces of armor!
- All boss encounters in this Flashpoint offer some new interesting mechanic into the mix, keeping it engaging throughout. Punishing and demanding on the player’s attention, this Flashpoint is a great way to hone your situational skills
2. The Foundry
Bidden by word of this station’s immense power, the Empire rushes to secure the asteroid that houses this weapon. Said to have the ability to create an endless army of droids, the Empire desperately wants this station for its own. However, a mysterious mad Jedi within the station is dead set on purging the Sith from the galaxy and defending the station to the bitter end! Stop the crazed Jedi, and secure the station for the Empire!
Highlights:
- For all those Revan fans out there, this is a great Flashpoint for scratching that itch. Not only will you once more come face-to-face with the beloved HK-47, you will also fight to-to-toe with none other than Revan himself! Nostalgic of KOTOR’s magic, this FP will immerse you in Revan’s story once more
- The Foundry is only available to Imperial players. However, the Republic side has a similar FP which also features Revan and is definitely worth a run-through (The Maelstrom Prison)
- The space station location is built into the asteroid itself, and makes for a really cool setting to fight through!
1. Lost Island
With his plan to eliminate the Tion nobility via the Rakghoul virus stopped in its tracks, Doctor Lorrick descends into a crazed madness and goes into hiding where he begins to experiment on himself. Face off against some of Lorrick’s genetic monsters on your way through the remote island on Ord Mantell until you breach his lab!
Highlights:
- Part of SWTOR’s zombie arc, this challenging FP features an exciting story mixed with interesting boss mechanics. I highly recommend playing through Kaon Under Siege, the Flashpoint that precedes this one to get a full grasp on the story and fully enjoy its outcome!
- Deemed too challenging for Veteran mode Group Finder, this Flashpoint is only available in Master mode while queueing. You can still walk into the phase set on Veteran for the story aspect, but keep in mind that this Flashpoint is more challenging. That’s what makes it so great, afterall!
- Each boss here has intense mechanics that require you to focus and be fully aware of your positioning and timing! Excellent for practicing for harder content, and really just plain fun at the end of the day!
