That's not how it is right now, Artifice and Cybertech cannot craft augments. At least, all the augment schematics I've ever gotten from Slicing have been Synth, Armor, or Arms. My suggestion was that the non-primary augments should be broken up among Artifice, Cybertech, and Armstech, with Synth and Armormech keeping the primary. Your proposition isn't going to happen. They aren't going to take augment making completely away from any crew skill. Besides, orange gear crafting as a money-maker is about to be nerfed big-time, with criticals losing much of their value. Synth and Armormech are going to be hit hard.

Wha ...? Personally, I think the ability to craft augments should have been broken up among all professions. Seems like that would have been fair. Armormech should have Cunning and Aim, Synth should have Strength and Willpower, with the remainder being spread out.

Don't you think it's a bit disingenuous to imply that people are going to get schematics for Black Hole gear without raiding? Perhaps months after raiders have them, unless they are extremely lucky. BioWare doesn't want crafters to succeed in SWTOR, they want raiders who have crafting skills to succeed. A very real difference. It's just another way to force people into a particular play-style. Crafters can't make the best gear in the game. Raiders who craft make the best gear in the game. Which would be fine, if it didn't over-write what non-raiding crafters could do. When I first started SWTOR I could RE to level 49 purples, at tremendous cost and time spent farming elite robots for zal alloy, until I could produce quality pre-raid gear that people would buy so they COULD raid. Now that niche is gone. All those purple patterns are pretty much worthless. That is my problem. What I HAD was taken away. After I quit raiding in this game, I was quite content to make pre-raid tier items. Now I cannot, because raid-quality items are on the market. As I said before, my latest alt, who has never set foot inside a level 50 instance, has ilevel 25 mods. Pre-raid tier is gone. That is why crafters who don't raid-farm will be looking elsewhere for an MMO to play. And I don't want to hear from anyone about how such people shouldn't be playing MMOs. That's BS. People have their own reasons, their own play-styles, their own desires. Personally, I like being in guilds, I like talking to people while I play, I like helping guildmates, and I love participating in a player-driven economy. Those reasons are every bit as valid as any other. There is NO REASON why those things HAVE to be marginalized in an MMO. They can co-exist quite well, and have done so in other MMOs. In SWTOR's case, it's simply that they don't want that segment of the market. Which is fine. As I've said, it's their game. If they don't want that segment of customers, then so be it. I just don't understand why.

It's pretty much true, crafting is an unnecessary credit sink for the most part. Even if you make credits in the long run, it's unlikely that it will be more than you could have made selling materials. This is especially true now that you can buy raid-quality mods and gear.

BioWare's big mistake, as far as I'm concerned, is that they invalidated the traditional niche crafting has always occupied in most MMOs, which is the highest level of pre-raid gear. The first screw-up is easy to see. Daily questing offers equivalent or better mods to what base-level crafting can make, and better quality ear-pieces and implants. I started this game in pre-launch, and got my character up to max Cybertech before level 30. I remember how excited I was to get the schematics for the level 49 Armoring and Mods that I would need when I reached that point. However, I never made a single one of them. Back then, mandalorian iron was selling for 15k each, while you could basically get the mods for free just by doing some quests. It was like some kind of vicious joke. Now, they've further invalidated that tier by allowing instance-farmers to craft and sell gear that obliterates it. I have a character that's never been inside of any level 50 group instances AT ALL sitting on Fleet with iLvl 25 mods. Seriously? Pre-raid tier has been bypassed by purchasable raid-tier. It's an absolute mess. There is no structure, no cohesive design. BioWare basically only cares about having you as a customer if you're a raider. Which is fine, it's their game. But that isn't what they promised as far as crafting is concerned. However, I quit raiding in SWTOR because, frankly, I found it to be boring. I turned to leveling alts, instead. I would have been perfectly content, as a non-raider, to craft high level pre-raid gear. BioWare removing that tier from the hands of non-raiders pretty much means that most people who play this game for crafting will eventually go elsewhere. I hope that's what they wanted, because that's what they will probably get.

Not sure what you mean by mathematical advantage. If you're going to count augment crafting, then the Aim and Cunning augments that Armormech can craft probably give it an advantage as far as Bounty Hunters are concerned. However, the reason I didn't mention augments before is that most people won't be able to take advantage of it while they level, not unless they have a Slicer somewhere. Also, Armormech has plenty of profit potential with custom orange armor and blue/purple tanking gear, and the highest level augments sell well. I don't see either side having a significant advantage there.

Seems like Armormech would bring more to the table. You have gear covered for ALL your companions. Commendations will easily cover upgrading mods for your weapons. My first character was a Cybertech, but since I leveled up Armormech and Synthweaver alts, I barely use it anymore. If you're going to be a tank, or plan to use a tank companion, then there is no question.

Inflation? Might happen? Our servers must be radically different. Right now, on my server, grade 1 materials sell for almost as much as grade 6. Inflation has already happened. Why? Why is the economy so inflated? Because you can do daily quests, earn hundreds of thousands of credits, and at the same time earn commissions you can exchange for gear INSTEAD of buying it. What we're talking about now isn't a credit sink, but rather a punishment for those who like switching their gear around. A credit sink would be something that affected all players, that is generally unavoidable, such as speeder fees or repair costs. Credit sinks shouldn't single players out. Buying the armor, buying the augment, buying the augment kit, those costs are enough by themselves. There is no need to throw a reoccurring barrier behind that. It's a punishment, that's all it is. Seriously, the idea that an economy bloated by daily quests is actually going to see any level of deflation because players who like variety in what their character wear have an extra tax ... There are enough reasons to quit this game. BioWare not wanting people to change the appearance of their armor is not going to help. It's just another reason to be unsatisfied and annoyed. It won't be a credit sink, because most players will just decide not to do it, and instead simply settle for being mildly unhappy.

I don't know about Armormech, but there is a link to a listing for all the Synth patterns in one of the stickies in this forum. Personally, I just got everything I could, until I was at the point where I could determine what I was missing, then I wrote that down on a pad. I keep that in front of me when I'm checking the GTN for schematics. The only tricky part is that some of the low level sets don't have a helm. 19 and under, I think. The level listed on the pieces corresponds with the UWT mission levels you need to run. For example, if I have the Hooligan Helm, which requires level 27 to wear, then I have to run the UWT missions in that level range to get the rest of the set.

Materials are the main reason I still go to Belsavis. In all honesty, I don't need credits anymore, I have more than I will ever spend, but the place is an absolute treasure trove of high-end materials. Those are actually worth MORE than their market value, because you rarely see them listed on the GTN. I go all the way into the northiern dungeons, unlike most people who run in and run out. I'm usually in there long enough for most nodes to spawn a second time. As for the outside nodes, I usually pick those up four or five times. However, I don't see how running daily quests and crafting/running missions contradict one another. If I'm logged in, then I have five companions doing SOMETHING, whether I'm on Belsavis or standing around on Fleet.

Exactly. It doesn't matter where you got something, if you picked it up for "free" or if you over-paid on the GTN; the actual value of an item is the current market rate. I'm not sure why people are OK with BioWare's desire to put huge financial roadblocks on armor switching, other than "I don't intend to do it often, so it doesn't really affect me". Personally, I think that's a pretty lame and short-sighted philosophy. I know that I would love the ability to switch armor often. Why BioWare is against that, I do not know, but it's just another negative in my book. I have nearly all Synth and Armormech patterns and my main has about two dozen orange armor pieces in storage. Not being able to change looks without a huge penalty is annoying to me. Also, I'm a bit confused on something. Why are people responding that the cost will be a savings because "50k is less than augmented armor sells for now"? Isn't the 50k simply the table fee, which does not count the price of the augment kit (which we don't know) or of the piece of armor itself (which will almost certain rise)? It seems quite possible that on many servers, getting an augmented piece of gear will end up costing MORE. Never mind that if you're an armor crafter you'll have to shell out money upfront rather than simply pay with materials. I really don't get it. It seems to me like they're trying to turn an incentive into a negative. Letting people change their appearance for a nominal fee could only be a positive thing on all fronts. Instead, most will simply stick with what they have, even if they find something they like better. I just don't see the value in having some players feel regretful without reason.

Very nice. I want to send this out to the undercutters on my server who have ruined various markets by undercutting at 5-10k at a time, until the crafted product is selling at below the market value of the materials. A good read for those on SWTOR who need a little help earning credits.

Yeah, it definitely changes. Ugh. Sent a whole bunch of nice looking gear over to my new Republic Consular, and every single piece turned ugly. Especially the helm pieces. I guess I'm going to have to make one of everything. So far, it looks like Sorcerers win in appearance.

It shouldn't matter. Imperial players shouldn't have to create Republic characters just to see more utility from Cybertech. It's ridiculous that an entire subset of the profession is 95% worthless to one faction. Imperial Agent is the only Imperial class that has any real use for droid parts, but it's the least played class, and that companion isn't even used all that much. Even when it is used, Cybertech crafted droid parts aren't necessary, not unless someone really, really feels the need for an augment slot. I would LOVE to have a response from BioWare about why they decided to shaft Imperial Cybertech characters that way.

Pretty sure I got mine from Underworld Trading. Extremely hit or miss, though. You have to farm the same level tier as the item in question and hope you get lucky. You might run hundreds of missions and never get it. Your best bet is to check the GTN every single day, and maybe advertise in the trade channel.