As dps you will be fine, even as tank or healer you probably will do fine if your gear is at about recruit gear lv.

Just make sure to say if your new to a FP. A few bosses have some tricks you need to be aware of. Most are just tank and spank tho. Lost Island try to do that with your guild the first times, it takes a few wipes to learn, and pugs usually hate to wipe. Lost island is tier2 hard mode so you need better gear for that. Just stay clear of it untill you got mostly columi.

All HMs are doable in Recruit Gear, but obviously better gear will make them easier. But if you want recommend or minimum gear levels then here we go.

The easiest HMs (at least for the Republic) are Teral V and Maelstrom Prison (I don't know about their Imperial counterparts). Recruit Gear or even lvl 50 Orange or Purples should easily cope with these (especially considering how much trash you can skip).

The Esseles too is easily doable in Recruit although a bit of Tioneese or Battlemaster is going to make a couple of the bosses easier to deal with.

Battle of Ilum and False Emperor are a little tougher and you might find anything less that Tioneese or BM may come up a little short, especially since a couple of the bosses turn into to a DPS race.

Kaon Under Siege is a lot tougher, you need a good Tank or the mobs will simply overwhelm you. Full Tioneese of BM with a couple of bits of Columi or War Hero should be more than sufficient though.

And Finally there's Lost island, which has many people running away crying about how they need full Rakata to beat the Droid Boss. Well you don't, sure better gear helps, it always does, but Lost island is like a mini operation, it's all about the mechanics, get them right and you'll pull through regardless of gear, get them wrong and no amount of Rakata can save you. Full Columi or WH should be easily up to the challenge.

If you're really worried about your gear in HMs, then my advice is as follows:

1. Get that Recruit Set and use it.

2. Play PvP and get some BM

3. If you got a free 25 Black Hole commendations from server transfers, go and run the Black Hole Weekly once and get another 6, this will give you enough to buy a piece of BH gear.

4. Start running Teral V and maelstrom Prison, to get the Tioneese Crystals and Commendations

5. Do the HM Daily and Weekly missions to get Columi Comms

6. Try and run the HMs with guild mates or people you play with regularly and who have experience with the HM mechanics.

7. Finally and most importantly HAVE FUN

I forgot to say id be healing. Agent healing if it matters. Soooo i dont see people talking about Black Hole gear much, whys that? Not as good as Rakata or Columi? I kinda wanted to get all Black hole stuff, or should i shoot for something else?

Gear progression is as follows

Tionese ----> Columi ----> Rakata ----> Black Hole -----> Campaign.

Replacing a tionese with a Black hole piece would help massively. Generally Black hole to campaign isnt much of a Increase, more of a redistribution, black hole is very endurance heavy for quite a few classes. Aiming for black hole is pretty much what everyone does, until they can get into HM EC or the nightmare pilgrim for some campaign items.

Hope that clears things up for you

Remember that Black Hole stuff is without the set bonus.. This is an added bonus you get to a certain characteristic of your class..

As an Agent healer the pve 2 piece set bonus is nice, and so is the pvp 2 set bonus, so you can have them both at the same time with the right gear.

With regards to Hardmodes and Operations, just look at your gear. You should have level 50 gear in all slots, and it should be relevant to your class. So no Marauder gear on your Agent and so on. You should be pretty set if all your gear is level 50 with cunning as its primary stat. Once you have that, you're good to go for the easier HM's and Story mode Eternity Vault.

If you still have some pieces left that are not level 50, start running the dailies on Belsavis, Illum and Corellia for some nice drops, and do Battle Of Illum and False Emperor flashpoints in Normal mode. If you have a bit of cash, you can go shop at GTN as well, but don't spend too much on a single piece.

Another "shortcut" is to do pvp.. You get a recruit set when you ding 50, and as a healer that's pretty nice to start out with in Warzones.. Complete your daily pvp mission for a week, and the weekly, and you should have warzone commendations for a few pieces of Battlemaster gear.. Then you're definately set for HM's.

I would wait until you're predominately tionese/columi geared before you try Lost Island. Not as much for the gear level itself, but simply because you need to be a decent flashpoint healer before doing that, and getting those pieces gives you the experience you need.

Yes it does thank you! I was looking at gear earlier and decided i wanted to get those purple implants (cost 120 daily things i think) first, and fill my orange gear with those 50 purples to get started. You guys think i would be ok doing hardmode flashpoints like that till i get some Black Hole stuff?

You can do HM's since the start (recruit and orange stuff) most of the time. I myself just got my sorcerer to 50, and i qued the moment id grabbed recruit and orange because i knew that most people queing for HM's are over geared, just wanting BH Comms. Gear up using HM's, then do some Ops. You dont need the rakata implants yet

Generally dont go straight to black hole, try get some tionese/columi/rakata first.

Its been two days since my Sorcerer hit 50, and shes columi/rakata, and has yet to get any black hole because i know she doesnt even need it yet. The best thing to do is gear in the order it was intended

Remember that Black Hole stuff is without the set bonus.. This is an added bonus you get to a certain characteristic of your class..

True but remember also that the set bonus is tied to the shell of the armor (although I think campaign might be an exception) so you can take the mods out of the BH gear and put it in Tioneese, Columi or Rakata shells, that way you get BH level gear with the gear set bonus. This costs a lot of credits to do but the BH mods are some of the best in the game, perhaps not BiS but pretty close.

I find it interesting that so many people responding here are OK with recruit-level gear.. One time when I queued into LI (not understanding that it was more difficult than other SM's) and one time doing HM Esseles, I got gear snobbed in a mix of recruit and BM gear. The LI group scolded me for needing so much more attention from the healer, creating slack that the tank and other DPS had to make up for, etc because I was ill-geared (yeah, I was the problem. Not the idiot tank that couldn't stay out of the circles/bubbles and kept dying). The Esseles folks were nice enough to leave it at "healer, pay attention to Sinthe since she's under-geared" and I did fine. Granted, both times I queued in (maybe my guild would have been more accommodating?), but it kinda puts me off running them without a better PVE set. I don't like feeling like a burden, and it's unfair to my group mates if I actually am a burden.

Errr, sorry about the lack of helpful advice, OP. Maybe get with a good guild (assuming you aren't already) that will guide you in this regard? People in GF can be ******es.

I find it interesting that so many people responding here are OK with recruit-level gear.. One time when I queued into LI (not understanding that it was more difficult than other SM's) and one time doing HM Esseles, I got gear snobbed in a mix of recruit and BM gear. The LI group scolded me for needing so much more attention from the healer, creating slack that the tank and other DPS had to make up for, etc because I was ill-geared (yeah, I was the problem. Not the idiot tank that couldn't stay out of the circles/bubbles and kept dying). The Esseles folks were nice enough to leave it at "healer, pay attention to Sinthe since she's under-geared" and I did fine. Granted, both times I queued in (maybe my guild would have been more accommodating?), but it kinda puts me off running them without a better PVE set. I don't like feeling like a burden, and it's unfair to my group mates if I actually am a burden.

 

Errr, sorry about the lack of helpful advice, OP. Maybe get with a good guild (assuming you aren't already) that will guide you in this regard? People in GF can be ******es.

I'm glad your team was good-natured about it. I'm not a gear snob but I just bailed tonight for the first time ever on an HM Foundry with a Juggernaut tank who turned up in full Recruit. Frankly he was useless. He had 15k hp, took huge bursts of damage in trash fights and was incapable of maintaining aggro. Not all hard modes are created equal. Maybe he could have handled Boarding Party with the Sorc face-tanking and me propping him up, but Foundry? Nuh-uh.

All HMs are doable in Recruit Gear, but obviously better gear will make them easier. But if you want recommend or minimum gear levels then here we go.

 

The easiest HMs (at least for the Republic) are Teral V and Maelstrom Prison (I don't know about their Imperial counterparts). Recruit Gear or even lvl 50 Orange or Purples should easily cope with these (especially considering how much trash you can skip).

The Esseles too is easily doable in Recruit although a bit of Tioneese or Battlemaster is going to make a couple of the bosses easier to deal with.

Battle of Ilum and False Emperor are a little tougher and you might find anything less that Tioneese or BM may come up a little short, especially since a couple of the bosses turn into to a DPS race.

Kaon Under Siege is a lot tougher, you need a good Tank or the mobs will simply overwhelm you. Full Tioneese of BM with a couple of bits of Columi or War Hero should be more than sufficient though.

And Finally there's Lost island, which has many people running away crying about how they need full Rakata to beat the Droid Boss. Well you don't, sure better gear helps, it always does, but Lost island is like a mini operation, it's all about the mechanics, get them right and you'll pull through regardless of gear, get them wrong and no amount of Rakata can save you. Full Columi or WH should be easily up to the challenge.

 

If you're really worried about your gear in HMs, then my advice is as follows:

1. Get that Recruit Set and use it.

2. Play PvP and get some BM

3. If you got a free 25 Black Hole commendations from server transfers, go and run the Black Hole Weekly once and get another 6, this will give you enough to buy a piece of BH gear.

4. Start running Teral V and maelstrom Prison, to get the Tioneese Crystals and Commendations

5. Do the HM Daily and Weekly missions to get Columi Comms

6. Try and run the HMs with guild mates or people you play with regularly and who have experience with the HM mechanics.

7. Finally and most importantly HAVE FUN

OP DO NOT do HM Flashpoints in pvp gear. I don't care what these people say. PvP gear is for PvP. The expertise rating does not factor into PvE content therefore all you are doing is limiting your damage output. PvE gear has less stats than PvE gear.

Mod yourself a complete set of orange gear with mods from daily quests, and what you can buy off the mission support vendor.

Taral V is by far the easiest for the Republic side. Most runs I go on people skip all but 2 of the bosses, but I bet if you asked nicely and explained you needed gear it wouldn't be a problem for most groups to stop and do another boss or two for Tionese crystals. Here is a rough order of the Republic side HM FP's:

1. Taral V

2. Maelsrom Prison

3. The Esseles

4. Battle for Ilum

5. False Emporer

6. Directive 7

7. Kaon under Siege

8. Lost Island

I find it interesting that so many people responding here are OK with recruit-level gear.. One time when I queued into LI (not understanding that it was more difficult than other SM's) and one time doing HM Esseles, I got gear snobbed in a mix of recruit and BM gear. The LI group scolded me for needing so much more attention from the healer, creating slack that the tank and other DPS had to make up for, etc because I was ill-geared (yeah, I was the problem. Not the idiot tank that couldn't stay out of the circles/bubbles and kept dying). The Esseles folks were nice enough to leave it at "healer, pay attention to Sinthe since she's under-geared" and I did fine. Granted, both times I queued in (maybe my guild would have been more accommodating?), but it kinda puts me off running them without a better PVE set. I don't like feeling like a burden, and it's unfair to my group mates if I actually am a burden.

 

Errr, sorry about the lack of helpful advice, OP. Maybe get with a good guild (assuming you aren't already) that will guide you in this regard? People in GF can be ******es.

LI is going to be hard in recruit gear. It's just a difficult flashpoint.

Many people want blow through the flashpoints when queuing, so they see a lesser geared person and get all bent out of shape b/c it's not going to be trivial. If you get a group in rakata gear or better, you can pretty much just breeze through any of the teir 1 hardmode flashpoints.

These flashpoints were all originally done after launch in blue L50 gear or gear stuffed with daily comms, as that was all that was available in the gear progression. Now, you're pretty much assured one person in the group is going to be full rakata gear or better, so you shouldn't have any issues.

Recruit gear is pretty much the same as daily comms gear, and MUCH easier to get. It's perfectly fine to do any of the non-Lost Island flashpoints and story mode EV.

It probably goes without saying that these gear recommendations assume you know your class, your role, and the mechanics of the fights. Most of the mechanics are pretty straight forward and can be explained quickly, but the minimum gear recommendations don't give much room for poor play/errors.

Recruit gear is pretty much the same as daily comms gear, and MUCH easier to get. It's perfectly fine to do any of the non-Lost Island flashpoints and story mode EV.

While I think that you *can* do HM FPs in Recruit gear without making hurting your group too much, I wouldn't get even remotely close to saying that it's pretty much the same as daily comms gear. Recruit gear spends a massive amount of the comparative itemization on Expertise, which is completely worthless for PvE. A tank in full recruit gear is going to have noticeably low shield, absorb, and defense compared to a tank in fresh leveling blues thanks to the poor budgeting. They might have *marginally* better K/E DR thanks to the higher armor from the higher rating, but it's not gonna make up for it. The drop in rating from 128 to 124 is *more* than made up for by the fact that you're properly itemized.

While I think that you *can* do HM FPs in Recruit gear without making hurting your group too much, I wouldn't get even remotely close to saying that it's pretty much the same as daily comms gear. Recruit gear spends a massive amount of the comparative itemization on Expertise, which is completely worthless for PvE. A tank in full recruit gear is going to have noticeably low shield, absorb, and defense compared to a tank in fresh leveling blues thanks to the poor budgeting. They might have *marginally* better K/E DR thanks to the higher armor from the higher rating, but it's not gonna make up for it. The drop in rating from 128 to 124 is *more* than made up for by the fact that you're properly itemized.

100% recruit tank

http://swtor.askmrrobot.com/character/4435b01d-03f5-40fd-9b48-198f1eb8c492

17k hp

35% damage reduction

19% defense

34% shield

40% absorb

100% leveling blues

http://swtor.askmrrobot.com/character/dedba344-038f-459d-bc85-8d628bdd91c5

17k hp

33% damage reduction

18% defense

32% shield

41% absorb

Anyone that could pass a flashpoint in "Fresh Leveling Blues" could just as easily do it in Recruit.

Player skill is the determining factor. If a player in PvP gear is doing poorly in a T1 flashpoint, it has more to do with their ability to play their class than anything else. I've pugged HMFP with players in mostly Columi who were terrible players and (as a healer) I had to work my buns off to keep everyone alive. I've also pugged HMFP with players in PvP gear that did fine.

If you've just dinged your first 50, then Recruit gear isn't the way to go until you get better skill. If this is your third alt and you not only know how to play well but have probably mastered all of the flashpoints, Recruit gear is going to be fine. One of our guildies rolled a tank alt, dinged 50, bought recruit gear and main tanked HM EV in it.

While I think that you *can* do HM FPs in Recruit gear without making hurting your group too much, I wouldn't get even remotely close to saying that it's pretty much the same as daily comms gear. Recruit gear spends a massive amount of the comparative itemization on Expertise, which is completely worthless for PvE. A tank in full recruit gear is going to have noticeably low shield, absorb, and defense compared to a tank in fresh leveling blues thanks to the poor budgeting. They might have *marginally* better K/E DR thanks to the higher armor from the higher rating, but it's not gonna make up for it. The drop in rating from 128 to 124 is *more* than made up for by the fact that you're properly itemized.

The only reason they are able to get away with full recruit in HMs is because they have 3 other highly geared people carrying them through the FP. Get 1 tank, 2 DPS, and 1 healer together and do a HM in full recruit.... good luck.

The only reason they are able to get away with full recruit in HMs is because they have 3 other highly geared people carrying them through the FP. Get 1 tank, 2 DPS, and 1 healer together and do a HM in full recruit.... good luck.

How good do you think the gear people wore was when people first did these flashpoints? Groups weren't decked out in full daily comms gear. Most people had some, but weren't in full daily gear.

Recruit gear is not much different than that. Sure, daily stuff is better but not for the effort it takes and the time it lasts. It's generally worth grabbing the barrel/hilt (especially if you're a damage dealer) or some armorings (especially if you're a tank), but it's not strictly required.

Recruit gear just means you need to pay attention to what you're doing and play smart. Last night we had 3/4 people geared well with over 20k health and ran through the HM Foundry w/o any care. Barely healed ever between fights, never cc'd anything, and as DPS I led off a bunch of fights. This level of sloppiness would never fly with recruit gear, but that doesn't mean you can't do the flashpoint.