So finally dinged 55 the other day, kind of confused as to what I should be queuing for. Found out not geared enough for 55 HMs which is understandable. However I did get people complaining that I'm not geared enough for regular 50 HMs. My gear is mostly 61 mods, some 58. I have two pieces of campaign gear. Is there something wrong with that? I stack endurance and defense, some absorption.

What OPs can I do at my current gear level? I thought maybe EV and KP but they are not in gf, am I able to queue for these OPs?

Also I wanted to start working on the Basic comm gear, but I don't understand why it's so inconsistent...there seems to be very little gear tailored for Jug tank. Seems a lot of the gear has +alacrity or +aim, very few pieces that have strictly +str +endr +def. Is there something I'm missing? The proper vendor for a Jug is the one farthest to the right on fleet, correct?

if you haven't already, check out this link - http://www.swtor.com/info/eldergame

make sure to read the info below the gear descriptions, I found it to be helpful.

with mostly 61's you are definitely geared for lvl 50 HM's. some people forget that it can take time to get the highest lvl gear sets and expect everyone to geared like they are.

also, I've never played a Jugg or Guard but make sure your running in the tank skill tree and check out the class forums for tips on min / maxing the stats ( primary and secondary ) for the class / roll your playing.

( you're at lvl 55 so I'm sure you know more about a Jugg than I do - )

anyway, hope this helps at least a bit and keep at it... you'll have that high lvl gear in no time - good luck!

61/63 Gear is more than enough for level 50 HM flashpoints and Operations, especially KP/EV in any mode (they're made for less than that.) even full 58 is higher than what the 50 HMs were originally made for. But people sometimes get all elitist and demand more. If they do, ignore them, if they kick you, just queue again for an instant queue which tanks generally get.

For level 55 Flashpoints and raids you likely want a bit of basic gear. Obtained by doing Section X and Makeb dailies, more on that in the very detailed, well-made Dulfy-guide:

http://dulfy.net/2013/04/14/swtor-level-55-endgame-gearing-guide/

(Or you can balance out the gap by augmenting your gear, which is extremely pricy, but amazing for people that dislike dailies, like me.) And avoid alacrity and accuracy pieces. You'll lose so much shield-rating it's not worth it. And I personally find it worth keeping my set-bonus, but that's preferance.

A recommendation from a fellow Guardian and Juggernaut tank. Even though so many people do, going endurance heavy is NOT the way to go. It will make you extremely squishy, sort out your defensive stats first and never augment for endurance. Just ask yourself: What does extra endurance give me? (The answer, gives healers more time to react, then ask is that time needed? Generally the answer is. NO.) What does extra mitigation give me? (the answer, less damage taken, thus less healing needed to keep you alive. Yay!)

Really detailed stat-distrubution threads for when you start min-maxing gear:

Gloomycakes makes good points. I agree with him fully that defensive stats (defense rating, shield, and absorb) are more valuable than endurance when it comes to tanking.

As for gearing, the stat distribution on most comms purchased gear, is suffice it to say...a little off. It is even more so when you upgrade one piece at a time (because the stat distribution for each piece changes in each grade of comms).

There is no easy solution. My advice is up until Elite and Ultimate comms gear, just buy the appropriate comms gear and do not worry so much about perfecting stat distribution. There should be enough defensive stats for your jugg tank to function. If you catch any flak from PuG GF people just ignore them. Worst case is you leave the group and re-queue (and chances are you'll get a new group and be done with your FP before they find a new tank ).

Once you get into full Black Market gear (via elite comms), then you have some choices to make. If you want "perfect" stat distribution, then you will have to spend comms on gear pieces for the one mod or enhancement in that piece and then vendor the rest, or you can build up your credits and scour the GTM for the "perfect" mod and/or enhancement. Even operation token gear is not "perfect."

There is no easy solution. My advice is up until Elite and Ultimate comms gear, just buy the appropriate comms gear and do not worry so much about perfecting stat distribution.

vendor sold gear is awful in stats :-)

but as for minmaxing that's a rather easy way for basic gear (66 grade) - you can get enhancements of your choice from Makeb staged once a week for a char and it's BOE

and these 66 enhencements can be used even with 69 gear because they have better (more suitable) stats