Hi everyone. I currently have Synthweaving as my crafting skill, but from what I can tell, Biotech is way more useful at endgame. Artificing seems kind of useful too. (I'm a Jedi Consular/Shadow.)

Does Synth have any endgame value? I don't want to spend lots of time and credits into something that isn't going to help me when I turn 50... on the other hand, those reusable biotech medkits sound pretty nice.

First off, those reusable medpacs, adrenals and stims have no market value, because only people with leveled up biochem can use them.

Second. the answer is yes, because People will want the rare orange clothes that only crafters can make with very rare schematics.

First off, those reusable medpacs, adrenals and stims have no market value, because only people with leveled up biochem can use them.

 

Second. the answer is yes, because People will want the rare orange clothes that only crafters can make with very rare schematics.

I guess I'm a bit selfish; my focus isn't on making credits, but rather improving my own character's performance. From what I hear, from this standpoint, Synthweaving is useless. Is that true?

You can craft and reverse engineer the green level schematics at level 50 into blues, and then into differnet purples, which give you nice stats.

You can also get schematics for nice orange gear which you can mod.

This can benifit your character.

If your looking for more of a guaranteed/direct benifit, biochem will fit that bill better.

Depends on your flavor.

You can craft and reverse engineer the green level schematics at level 50 into blues, and then into differnet purples, which give you nice stats.

 

You can also get schematics for nice orange gear which you can mod.

 

This can benifit your character.

 

If your looking for more of a guaranteed/direct benifit, biochem will fit that bill better.

 

Depends on your flavor.

No you cant.

Since purple items have a locked armoring slot, low level purples will always be inferior, also, orange gear is purely for looks, so if you dont even want the look, why put in the effort to get the thing to 400. And third, biochem makes insane potions, not just the resueable but all of the blue ones are insane.

I am hardpressed to believe crafted endgame gear will be better or even viable to come by with hardmode flashpoints.

orange gear is purely for looks, so if you dont even want the look, why put in the effort to get the thing to 400.

Not true, all orange gear has slots for mods that can be exchanged and upgraded. Meaning, there could be mods at level 50 that could make your orange gear better then purple gear from flashpoints/ops. Of course, until we have a database that tells us ALL loot from synthweaving and flashpoints/ops, these are just guesses.

Not true, all orange gear has slots for mods that can be exchanged and upgraded. Meaning, there could be mods at level 50 that could make your orange gear better then purple gear from flashpoints/ops. Of course, until we have a database that tells us ALL loot from synthweaving and flashpoints/ops, these are just guesses.

Alright, first you will need to understand the difference between epic gear, and modifiable orange gear.

orange gear is fully modifiable, epic gear can only change the mod and the enhancement slots.

Epic gear comes with a set amount of stats in the armoring slot, the orange gear comes completely empty, im 300 synthweaving, i am not wrong.

Alright, first you will need to understand the difference between epic gear, and modifiable orange gear.

 

orange gear is fully modifiable, epic gear can only change the mod and the enhancement slots.

 

Epic gear comes with a set amount of stats in the armoring slot, the orange gear comes completely empty, im 300 synthweaving, i am not wrong.

So given that you are very familiar with synth, do you recommend it?

So given that you are very familiar with synth, do you recommend it?

Dude in all honesty im forcing myself to 400 for the bind on pick up stuff. But realistically, if i didnt put this much money into it to begin with, and i wasnt a primary for my guild i would switch to biochem and simple raid for my gear.

critting an orange armor craft will net you an armor with an extra augment slot wich its better than anyting you normally get.

yah, for the sake of balancing what you can do would have been better that Cyber would be able to craft orange earipieces (and maybe implants) and moving armoring mods to synth/armorcraft, even as it is its still usefull.

People who claim the armor crafts are useless simply do not understand them, or do not like the way they work. Usually it's the former, but for the latter, it's usually people who think "Useless" means "Not necessary because there are other ways to achieve similar results."

The fact of the matter is that with armor crafts, you can make armor competitive and sometimes better than you can find elsewhere. However, the flip side is that you can achieve similar results without an armor crafting skill.

The pros of armor crafting:

• It's cheaper to craft basic armor than it is to mod out every slot. For every moddable item you use, you must keep 3-5 slots upgraded. With regular armor, that's 1-2. Orange gear has no stats, and requires mods. Crafted gear of a certain quality has the same stat value as an orange item filled with that quality mods. This means for an orange item, you must buy or craft 3-5 purple mods in order to equal the power of a single crafted purple.
  
• Contrary to popular belief, crafted purples have just as much variety in stats as moddable armor, or at least nearly so. If you truly understand reverse engineering, every equippable item you can make has 19 variations, 1 base quality, 3 improved, and 15 vastly improved. Read my guide, stickied in this forum and linked in my sig for more information.
  
• While it's true you could raid for gear, it will take longer to outfit yourself. Even if raid gear is better, you will be able to craft gear to take up those slots you haven't yet filled. It's also likely that raids will also drop schematics to allow you to craft comparable gear. While it's true you could also keep up with orange gear, see my first point about the extra effort required.
  
• Armor crafters make the bulk of the orange gear in the game. If you want a certain look, or to be able to often change your look, or to sell orange items to appearance conscious players, you will want to be able to craft armor.
  
• Armor crafters can critically craft armor to gain an extra mod slot that isn't available from any other source. This includes orange armor, meaning even if you choose to use mods, you will need armor crafted by a crafter to get the best results. Might as well be you.
  
• Being able to craft armor allows you to easily and relatively cheaply outfit your companions in excellent gear.
  
• Reverse engineering is fun (Highly subjective.)
   
  

Cons:

• Using standard armor rather than orange armor removes your ability to look however you want.
  
• Finding orange schematics is rare
  
• Discovering all the varieties of a schematic can be time and credit consuming. If you are lucky, you will be able to find the variation you want quickly. If you are unlucky, it can fast become a time and money sink.
  
• Crafting takes a lot of time. Fortunately, you can do other things while doing it.
  
• You won't feel the immediate satisfaction of always having a neat toy to use during combat like you will with Biochem. Biochem feels more useful in the short term, because it can actively save your life. Once you equip an item, you tend to forget about it. Also, Biochem is easier and more relevant while leveling, because you only need to keep up with stims rather than upgrading all your gear.
  
• Reverse engineering is frustrating (Highly subjective.)
  

In the end, only you can choose what's important to you, and what fits your playstyle. However, don't let anyone tell you that armor crafting is useless, as it is not, assuming you know what you want to get out of it, and how to do so.

If anyone wants to argue with me about this, don't bother unless you can read my RE guide and say you knew all that and still think it's useless. Actually, just don't bother in general, because I don't feel like arguing.