I can find only one reference besides TORHead, and that is a Dearth Hater post about things discovered in the 1.3 patch on Test Center. But we already know the data files for those weapons are in the game. http://www.darthhater.com/articles/swtor-news/20633-game-update-1-3-general-things-learned

Well said.

War Hero is better, but Battle Master is about even (though the Cube has more Endurance).

No. Atock Imperial Agent

Biochem uses them, but they aren't valuable.

Willpower has a separate DR curve from Critical Chance, so it doesn't matter how much CRIT you have. The DR for Willpower is quite shallow, so it should still be about 10% better than Power.

It all comes down to the mods and the armorings (listed separate due to slot restrictions now). I'm a healer Op so I don't pay as much attention to DPS needs, but you should be able to buy all the mods and enhancements you need from BH. You can also get the armoring for legs, gloves and boots from the purchasable BH. The head and chest will have to come from random drops unfortunately.

I looked up the numbers in another thread. It is debatable which option is better. The Mending will do more healing (even with over healing), but the Power relic gives you more control over the bonus (and focuses the healing bonus at one moment).

That is interesting. Here are the numbers for Operative (assuming perfectly timed procs and casts). Relic of Residual Mending: 2460 HP every 2 minutes Normal Rotation (6x KInj + 6x SP) Columi Relic of Boundless Ages: 1496 HP in 20 seconds (used on 2min CD) Burst Rotation (6x KInj + 6x Kinf + Adrenaline Probe (Energy CD)) Columi Relic of Boundless Ages: 1862 HP in 20 seconds (used on 2min CD)

If you REALLY want to get down to basics, then if no one is dying you don't need either one. Personally, I prefer the proc since I don't have to watch a cooldown for it.

I currently have 1848 CUN and 218 CRIT after the Rakata Skill Stim. With that, here are my current HPS weights for the top stats: CRIT: 122% CUN: 110% POWER: 100% (I compare to Power since it has no DR) My goal is to get ~275 CRIT, and then the rest of my points will be put into the best balance of CUN and POWER.

Obvious troll is... well, you know the rest. OP: I agree, only get the BH items that have the mods you need. http://www.torhead.com/item/9t4msvc/black-hole-trappers-mk-1-leggings is a useful one.

Here is a bit more depth on the stat priority. You are going to be making two kinds of tradeoffs with your mods (and gear in general), Cunning / Power / Crit and Surge / Alacrity. Cunning / Power / Crit Cunning will always be worth slightly more than Power with current gear. It is worth about 10% more (though less when you raise your crit) than Power. Crit is worth more than either until you get around 275 points of Crit. Surge / Alacrity Get surge, period (for PVE).

I wouldn't call +160% HPS and +15% HPE a small adjustment. Any objective measure would fine the pre-1.2 RN to be very inferior. Its only plus was hitting 4 people instead of 3. +10% EPS for our burst regen, but -27% total energy from the cast. Slightly more useful for emergencies, but a problem for energy neutrality.

You are pretty much spot on. This is how pretty much all games of this type are structured. Quests (including dailies), cash drops, and the other one you didn't mention, vendoring items. With the costs being vendor items (including legacy rewards), training (while leveling), repair bills, missions, GTN fees, and travel costs.