So I had a modable chest piece that said "requires smuggler". I modded it out with the best purple mods I could get. I was planning to put it on my companion when I replaced it later. I am now trying, and it won't work.

Apparently, Risha isn't a "smuggler" I guess? It just doesn't make sense that my companion, with the same armor and stat requirements, can't wear a piece of crafted gear. I'd assumed she was considered a "smuggler" too.

Is this working as intended?

Companions do not have a class, or you could say their class is Kira or Risha.

They do not qualify as being a Bounty Hunter or Jedi Shadow, so any time you see armor that has a class requirement it will not work on a companion.

There *is* orange gear out there without class requirements. Check the GTN often for them as they tend to get snapped up quickly.

I have to add that, IMO, it's not really necessary to have orange gear on your companion. The companion gear rewards for basic gear are just fine, and you can pick up decent earpieces and implants for them on the GTN. You're better off getting yourself geared with orange pieces so come lvl 50, you can add artifact level mods for automatic purple gear.

Tis unfortunate. The one I find problematic is I would like to set up Lord Scourge in Sith gear. Don't want him to look like a big, red Jedi.

Been there, done that. You cannot avoid it. Even if you were able to buy orange sith gear through the Hutt network, It would change appearance when equipped by a jedi companion.

Scourge is doomed to look like a wannabe-jedi instead of the sith lord he rightly is :-(

In addition to this,

As long as the gear doesn't have a class requirement, I can equip it on my companion, right? So if I got some orange gear from Commendations, I could put it on my companion as long as there aren't any [class] requirements?

Also,

What about Light/Dark alignment requirements? I'm Dark III... can I get an orange lightsaber from Commendations for my Jaesa companion that requires Dark III or more and let her use it?

Also,

 

What about Light/Dark alignment requirements? I'm Dark III... can I get an orange lightsaber from Commendations for my Jaesa companion that requires Dark III or more and let her use it?

Yes, companions can use alignment gear if your player character has the alignment.

Now there is popular misconception that they can't and someone will probably reply to this saying that they can't, but yes they can.

So I had a modable chest piece that said "requires smuggler". I modded it out with the best purple mods I could get. I was planning to put it on my companion when I replaced it later. I am now trying, and it won't work.

 

Apparently, Risha isn't a "smuggler" I guess? It just doesn't make sense that my companion, with the same armor and stat requirements, can't wear a piece of crafted gear. I'd assumed she was considered a "smuggler" too.

 

Is this working as intended?

Unfortunate, but, if it says 'Requires [class]', you can't equip your companion with it.

In addition to this,

 

As long as the gear doesn't have a class requirement, I can equip it on my companion, right? So if I got some orange gear from Commendations, I could put it on my companion as long as there aren't any [class] requirements?

Correct.

My guess on the reasoning behind this is that some companions are actually opposite faction classes.

Andronikos Revel, Vette, and Ensign Temple would probably all be classified as 'Smuggler' classes (Dual Blaster/Cunning Attribute), but are companions for Imperial classes. I'm pretty sure there's at least 1 Republic companion who is a Sniper as well.

My guess on the reasoning behind this is that some companions are actually opposite faction classes.

 

Andronikos Revel, Vette, and Ensign Temple would probably all be classified as 'Smuggler' classes (Dual Blaster/Cunning Attribute), but are companions for Imperial classes. I'm pretty sure there's at least 1 Republic companion who is a Sniper as well.

No, they are not. Companions are their own classes and that's that.

Even if some companions use gear with similar stats as some playable classes, they don't have class like playable characters.

Their abilities are quite different.

Andronikos Revel, Vette and Ensign Temple are not smugglers. They don't have really have the abilities of the smuggler class.

Also heavy armor with aim main stat using ranged dps companions have almost identical special abilities as cunning using ranged dps companions.

My guess on the reasoning behind this is that some companions are actually opposite faction classes.

 

Andronikos Revel, Vette, and Ensign Temple would probably all be classified as 'Smuggler' classes (Dual Blaster/Cunning Attribute), but are companions for Imperial classes. I'm pretty sure there's at least 1 Republic companion who is a Sniper as well.

I see what you mean by "the reasoning behind this", but think if this were the reason for not giving any companions a valid "class", it's a pretty shonky piece of reasoning. The recipes for imperial-class stuff drop for Republic toons and vice versa, and having cross faction-class companions would provide a market for this kind of stuff.

To be honest though, I don't think they were thinking that deeply. Just wonkily.

I see what you mean by "the reasoning behind this", but think if this were the reason for not giving any companions a valid "class", it's a pretty shonky piece of reasoning. The recipes for imperial-class stuff drop for Republic toons and vice versa, and having cross faction-class companions would provide a market for this kind of stuff.

 

To be honest though, I don't think they were thinking that deeply. Just wonkily.

It doesn't have anything to do with faction stuff (IMO). It's more so they don't have to worry about balance between classes where you get a companion of the 'same' class (such as Trooper) and ones that don't.