SWTOR Gifts And The Affection System

As you start getting deeper into SWTOR, you will realize that there are computer controlled characters that you can befriend. These characters ultimately become your SWTOR companions. Having a SWTOR companion is very useful, in that they can help you craft items, gather resources and even engage in missions. However, in order to make companions seem more true to life, the developers of the game have built in an affection system. What this means is that if you please your companion, by buying them SWTOR gifts for instance, then they will become more productive, more efficient and may even want to start a romantic relationship with you.
Now, keep in mind that your companion is simply a program and any kind of 'romance' between your character and your companion will probably only add depth to the narrative. Having said that, there are definitely advantages to getting SWTOR gifts for your companion.
The first advantage is that giving gifts to your companions will increase their affection rating towards you. Companions with higher affection towards your character will complete Crew Skills tasks faster and have a higher success rate at doing things like crafting items.
The second advantage of getting SWTOR gifts for your companion is because companions with a certain affection rating can unlock different quest lines tied to that companion's storyline.
Also, there are those who just want to enjoy the storyline unfold, rather than to "rush to the level cap" as fast as possible.
Just as there are many classes of characters you can choose from, there are also different classes of SWTOR gifts. These are:

Republic Memorabilia

Imperial Memorabilia

Weapons

Technology

Military

Cultural Artifacts

Courting

Luxury

Trophy

Underworld Goods

Each and every companion will have a certain level of liking towards a particular gift. In fact, there are 4 types of liking, which are Indifferent/None, Like, Love and Favorite. As you can probably tell, a gift that is Favorited by a companion will increase their affection towards you more than if the gift was only Loved, which in turn will have a higher affection level than if the gift was only Liked.

There are also 5 different affection levels as well, 1 being the lowest and 5 being the higher affection level. In turn, there are 5 corresponding ranks for SWTOR gifts for each affection level.
The way this system works is that giving your companions SWTOR gifts of a certain level can significantly or insignificantly increase their affection towards you. For example, if your companion's affection level is level 1 and you gave them a gift that is of a level 3 ranking, then this will have a much higher affection gain than if you just gave them a level 1 gift. Similarly, if your companion's affection ranking is level 3 but you only gave them a level 1 gift, then this will have a much lower affection gain than if you just gave them a level 3 gift.
However, if you give gifts matching your companion's affection level, then you will gain a certain number of affection points.
Indifferent gifts: +0 points
Like gifts: +24 points
Love gifts: +54 points
Favorite gifts: +96 points
SWTOR gifts are also color coded to indicate its rarity, which can affect the perceived value of the gift by your companion. These colors are green, blue and purple, where green is the most common and purple is the least common.



Green SWTOR gifts can be purchased at vendors but blue and purple gifts can only be acquired via Crew Skills mission rewards. Learn more about SWTOR gifts, tips on increasing affection points and more with this SWTOR guide here.