Right, so your four Alliance Specialists, (Neckbeard, Smuggirl, Fatboi, and Bathrobe), in the Secret Rebel Base all want crates, and each of your Underworld Contacts wants 5 crates to get on with the biz of taking down the Star Forts. So how do you think I should allocate the crates?

 

Would it be better to make the Underworld Contacts wait while I do Heroics and such to get the Alliance Specialists all up to a certain level?

Are you planning to run the Heroics solo, or two person?

 

Assuming you're going to solo the Heroic 2s, it's best to wait until you've raised the influence level with all of your advisers to at least 10.

 

At level 10 each one provides their own unique reusable ability item that can be activated on cooldown throughout the fights if you find them aboard the Star Fortress. Admiral Aygo gives you a turret that draws aggro, Hylo Visz gives you a stun grenade, Sana Rae a focus that boosts your movement speed and does nasty AOE damage, and the Hutt an item that heals you. All of them are very useful in the boss fights and make it a lot easier to solo, and gives you the Fully Armed and Operational title that you might have seen some people using.

Edited April 24, 2016 by Aeneas_Falco

Each alliance specialist to 10, then open the HFs. You get refunded one crate by doing the shield bunker, and I think the first bunker refunds you 5, but it's been a while.

OK, thank you both for the advice and information.

 

But what's an HF?

OK, thank you both for the advice and information.

 

But what's an HF?

 

Heroic fortress

(Easily soloable with the level 10 influence specialist boosts

You also get a nice passive boost from the console in the room you drop into right at the start. One passive boost per specialist that is at rank 10. They are juts as important/helpful as the activatable abilities you get from the nodes as you work through the SF for doing the heroic versions solo. I don't remember what each passive is for each specialist, but one increases your max health (science I think), one reduces damage enemies deal..and I honestly can't remember the other two. Edited April 24, 2016 by TheGrebs

Heroic fortress

(Easily soloable with the level 10 influence specialist boosts

 

Easily solo-able if you can see what you're doing, and don't get lag-spikes in the sun reactor room that keep throwing you into the holes even with the thermal shield up

Easily solo-able if you can see what you're doing, and don't get lag-spikes in the sun reactor room that keep throwing you into the holes even with the thermal shield up

 

We've alll been there... lol

That's a decent option. This other method words well for me though:

 

Tell the 4 leaders what they want to hear, then complete "Inflicting Comfort" correctly (seats to bathrobe, aroma to fatboi, nutrition to neckbeard, portable to smuggirl). That'll give you enough rep with them to use the easy mode terminal at the start of the Heroic fortress. Ignore the leaders from then on.

 

Give your boxes to the Star Fortress contacts.

 

Do the Heroic Star fortresses. Hit the easy mode terminal. Ignore the slicing boxes. Win!

 

With the easy mode terminal, you can clear the game with a mid-low influence companion. Probably less if you know your class.

 

That's how I'm burning through them on 8 characters.

You need approximately 20 crates each type to get each specialist to influence rank 10, and another 18 of any type to fund your resistance recruits (only 18, not 30, because of the crates you are rewarded for completing the recruitment and unlocking the SF.) That of course doesn't include C2-N2's weekly mission "Inflicting Comfort" which awards 650 influence to each specialist and whatever influence you gain from the initial conversations. The first week's "Inflicting Comfort" and the introductory alliance conversations usually get you to rank 2 or 3 depending on the specialist.

 

It takes another 60 crates to get a specialist from rank 10 to influence rank 20. So, 338 crates total, though getting them to 20 beyond the first character is only needed if you want the vehicle.

 

FYI, each crate contains an armor piece, which may be for one of two classes, and one of five sets, and one of seven slots; or it can contain one of two Roche speeders. So, if you are searching for a specific piece of armor to complete a set, you have a 1 in 72 chance of getting the piece you want. In general, that means a couple hundred crates to get the one you want (approximately 256 crates to have a 97% chance to have gotten the piece you want.)