Are there other places to get this from besides the crew skill vendor?

The reason I ask is I thought the -A and -B suffix mods were better from what I saw on the GTN (and those are purchasable at 400+ and the no-suffix ones aren't) so I spent a lot of time/credits getting to be able to craft 25/28 purples but then found out in general chat the "standard" versions are better. I found I could buy those cheap on the GTN (way cheaper than it cost me to develop purple Deft Mod 25A/28A etc) but it seems there is no way to learn those recipes myself via buying form the vendor or reverse engineering. I've never seen a cybertech recipe for mods drop, is that something that happens endgame?

Short Answer: there is no way to acquire the "standard" grade 25 and 28 mod schematics because they do not exist.

Long Answer: Even if you manage to get a "standard" mod as a drop, if you attempt to RE it you will see "no research available" in the tooltip.

Further, "standard" mods are only better from an optimization standpoint. At level 50 and 53 (when grade 25s and 28s are usable respectively) optimization is not as big a deal. Believe me the population (on The Harbinger at least) purchases the crafted grade 28 "As" and "Bs" by the truck load.

If you dip into the grade 30 and 31 markets (must RE existing mods to get the schematic and only purples exist), then the "standard" mods are more desirable. But I would not bother actively seeking those schematics for three reasons:

#1 - Grade 31 gear is now available for elite comms so the item modifications are easier to acquire so the demand for crafted is lower

#2 - Even before #1 the profit margins on crafted 30s and 31s were slim to none: totally dependent on crits (materials are valued at around 1 million credits and the mods sell for 900K to 1.2 million)

#3 - crafted grade 34s are on the horizon

Well it looks like I have a decent source for credits then. Looks like the profit margins on Advanced Deft Mod 25A and 28A look pretty decent.

I'm only level 50, but suddenly at that level I could advance cybertech beyond my level. I can craft purple level 52-53 earpieces as well and thought I could now craft any armoring or mod. Guess I was wrong and it looks like there is no point in crafting 30/31 either.

I'm only level 50, but suddenly at that level I could advance cybertech beyond my level.

That can be done right from level 10. I have a level 11 character with 450 in armormech and a level 17 with 450 in biochem. I'll eventually level them up, but for now they're just crafters.

Short Answer: there is no way to acquire the "standard" grade 25 and 28 mod schematics because they do not exist.

 

Long Answer: Even if you manage to get a "standard" mod as a drop, if you attempt to RE it you will see "no research available" in the tooltip.

 

Further, "standard" mods are only better from an optimization standpoint. At level 50 and 53 (when grade 25s and 28s are usable respectively) optimization is not as big a deal. Believe me the population (on The Harbinger at least) purchases the crafted grade 28 "As" and "Bs" by the truck load.

 

If you dip into the grade 30 and 31 markets (must RE existing mods to get the schematic and only purples exist), then the "standard" mods are more desirable. But I would not bother actively seeking those schematics for three reasons:

 

#1 - Grade 31 gear is now available for elite comms so the item modifications are easier to acquire so the demand for crafted is lower

#2 - Even before #1 the profit margins on crafted 30s and 31s were slim to none: totally dependent on crits (materials are valued at around 1 million credits and the mods sell for 900K to 1.2 million)

#3 - crafted grade 34s are on the horizon

Ok so let me get this straight.

I'm currently wearing all 28s, which are also called 66s. Above this level of gear there is still:

30s or 69s

31s or 72s

33s or 75s

34s or 78s

Currently 31/72 is the highest you can craft, but it just isn't worth it because materials are $$$$$ and commendations buy all the best gear. So really I can just start focusing learning blues and purples for other classes since I have all of the STR/END I will never need now.

Ok so let me get this straight.

 

I'm currently wearing all 28s, which are also called 66s. Above this level of gear there is still:

 

30s or 69s

31s or 72s

33s or 75s

34s or 78s

 

Currently 31/72 is the highest you can craft, but it just isn't worth it because materials are $$$$$ and commendations buy all the best gear. So really I can just start focusing learning blues and purples for other classes since I have all of the STR/END I will never need now.

Some will disagree, but for the moment, you got it. I sell blue and purple 28s by the truck load

If you want to upgrade your 28/66 gear check out Dulfy's level 55 endgame gearing guide where to go.

My advice gear your character up first then take advantage of any extra/leftover gear and RE the mods.

With history of what gets converted to craftable , the assumption is that grade 34/78 (from HM DF/DP and Ultimate Comms) will become craftable once NiM of the latest Operations (DF and DP) hit...mid-March at the earliest (Full/Official release of GSF hits in early February).

Some will disagree, but for the moment, you got it. I sell blue and purple 28s by the truck load

 

If you want to upgrade your 28/66 gear check out Dulfy's level 55 endgame gearing guide where to go.

 

My advice gear your character up first then take advantage of any extra/leftover gear and RE the mods.

 

With history of what gets converted to craftable , the assumption is that grade 34/78 (from HM DF/DP and Ultimate Comms) will become craftable once NiM of the latest Operations (DF and DP) hit...mid-March at the earliest (Full/Official release of GSF hits in early February).

In retrospect I think cybertech was a great choice for my first character's crafting skill as it seems to take care of so many of the things you need on your character. Is it just me or is learning every single purple earpiece a MASSIVE PITA? It seems you learn 3 blues and then those 3 blues result in about 8 purples.

Armorings and mods are a piece of cake, which is why I like cybertech. You can craft 2/3 (or both in the case of belt/bracers) of the slots for everything but your weapon. Got lucky there, when I started I didn't know the difference between any of the skills and just picked cybertech (even though I initially wanted to go artifice for the lightsaber parts) since I figured you wear 1 weapon and umpteen pieces of defensive gear.

It's four or five purples for each blue. And you definitely do not have to get every single schematic as a lot of them are not worth much.

- cunning and ANY defensive stat: no cunning tank

- any redoubt with anything but shield: tanks do not want any other stat

- any non-redoubt with shield: again no tank wants any other stat and non-tanks don't want defensive stats

- any presence: you're better served gearing up your companions than gearing yourself to buff your companions

If you get these while going for more worthwhile schematics, so be it, but they won't sell.

It's four or five purples for each blue. And you definitely do not have to get every single schematic as a lot of them are not worth much.

 

- cunning and ANY defensive stat: no cunning tank

- any redoubt with anything but shield: tanks do not want any other stat

- any non-redoubt with shield: again no tank wants any other stat and non-tanks don't want defensive stats

- any presence: you're better served gearing up your companions than gearing yourself to buff your companions

 

If you get these while going for more worthwhile schematics, so be it, but they won't sell.

Unfortunately those are the ones I keep getting when I'm looking for the one that has less buffs overall but have a bunch of power and surge.

I actually crafted 25 of the Level 54 Blue STR/END earpieces last night then RE'd all of them and got 0 purples.

ARGH............thankfully Frasium is dirt cheap.

It's four or five purples for each blue. And you definitely do not have to get every single schematic as a lot of them are not worth much.

 

- cunning and ANY defensive stat: no cunning tank

- any redoubt with anything but shield: tanks do not want any other stat

- any non-redoubt with shield: again no tank wants any other stat and non-tanks don't want defensive stats

- any presence: you're better served gearing up your companions than gearing yourself to buff your companions

 

If you get these while going for more worthwhile schematics, so be it, but they won't sell.

I like the cunning redoubts! Hear me out before you scream...

In some cases the defense is enough to reduce damage and therefore you last longer. its great if you are like a sniper or the like with DPS in that it allows for you to get a greater damage avoidance. Basically in a nutshell, it is great if your 'role' is to provide suppression fire and keep mobs from concentrating out on a your tank.

I like the cunning redoubts! Hear me out before you scream...

 

In some cases the defense is enough to reduce damage and therefore you last longer. its great if you are like a sniper or the like with DPS in that it allows for you to get a greater damage avoidance. Basically in a nutshell, it is great if your 'role' is to provide suppression fire and keep mobs from concentrating out on a your tank.

If you're pulling enough agro off the tank that defense helps you survive longer, then the tank either isn't doing his job properly, or he's intentionally sacrificing a DPS because the healer is struggling to keep him alive.

In any case, defense paired with cunning is never a good idea, unless you are low level and it's the only piece with cunning you can find/afford.

I like the cunning redoubts! Hear me out before you scream...

 

In some cases the defense is enough to reduce damage and therefore you last longer. its great if you are like a sniper or the like with DPS in that it allows for you to get a greater damage avoidance. Basically in a nutshell, it is great if your 'role' is to provide suppression fire and keep mobs from concentrating out on a your tank.

 

If you're pulling enough agro off the tank that defense helps you survive longer, then the tank either isn't doing his job properly, or he's intentionally sacrificing a DPS because the healer is struggling to keep him alive.

In any case, defense paired with cunning is never a good idea, unless you are low level and it's the only piece with cunning you can find/afford.

agreed 1,000,000,000%

Further, by having defense rating as a stat you are gimping your own DPS (that allocation of defense rating is taking away from power or critical rating) - instead of avoiding incoming damage prevent it entirely by killing the mob faster .