Well, stabilizers are used primarily by crafters (whether non-crafters buy them to trade for crafted items, or crafters craft them, themselves). With version 2, the cybertech's realised that 1million for an armoring and 600-900k per mod were prices that weren't going to fly anymore. Who would pay through the nose now for what will be average gear soon? A large volume of armorings, mods, stabilizers, crafted hazmat (implants/ear) and dread relics started appearing on the market. Naturally, people undercut each other by small amounts on the GTN as more and more appear on the market. Prices of both crafted items and mats predictably fell. They will continue to fall due to a large increase in supply coupled with a large decrease in demand. As a cybertech that liquidated a large volume of 27 armorings and mods upon seeing version 2.0 gear changes, my advice to sellers is to sell out asap (fire sales) and for buyers to hold onto your credits. Stabs are going to continue to decrease in price up until 2.0 goes lives, and from there be worth little. From what I understand, Exotic Element Equalizer are the new Molecular Stabilizers. Cash is king at the moment.

Content in the game is designed specifically for different gear levels - and there's a transition from one level to the other. Becoming a fresh 50, taking your free gear and then winging because you don't have the time or inclination to improve your gear but still want to do harder content is just silly.

Suggestion: tweak the new functionality so that people can't enter less than 3 text characters, but numbers are excluded, so you can still put in "27" without issue. That shouldn't be hard at all.

Using your analogy. You install after-market modifications on your vehicle, maybe a sub or something. Someone totals your car. Then replaces your car with a newer model. Then gives you the old model of your car back, too. Except, without the after market modifications. Sure, you're out the cost of your sub, but now you've got two cars.

I was wondering how many replies before someone came into whine about their fix. I think the vast majority of the community will be pleased with this solution, the developer's response and the level of communication with the community. Kudos! The item you formerly owned was the incorrect implementation of the item you currently own. Now, you get to own two sets of armor to make up for the error. Augmentation Kits Mk-6 range from $30-40k credits per item. The cost is insubstantial to the majority of people putting their end game mods into aesthetic pieces.

Not really. You make credits by playing and enjoying the game - every quest reward, every enemy you kill, every loot item you pick up, every space mission, every pvp match - all of it brings in credits. Most of the stuff you do for comms post-50 brings in reasonable amounts credits, and crafting/companion mission grinding hardly detracts from the game as it requires next to no effort. Although you could then argue that doing the same HMs day in and day out and end game raiding is working to obtain pretend items...

Spend some time crafting/doing dailies/playing the game and making credits. Buy some packs, or just items from the GTN. Use them however you like. You've just bought your first batch of items some sucker paid real life money for.