Hi.

Quite some time ago i just gave up on this game and took a long break due to BW seemingly not giving a crap about pvp. This was about 1,5 years ago or so i think. Well, with BW's recent summer roadmap focusing on pvp and more specifically being able to have a bit of control over which maps i wanna play and a new huttball map in the works - i wanted to support that, so i resubbed and wanna give it another go.

The problem is gearing. All my toons are geared in pvp gear from before this new current system and i have zero clues what to do! Is it possible for someone to give a somewhat short explanation to me, showing me what im supposed to do with these "unassembled tokens" i get from warzones - and where i get the top tier "pvp" gear?

On fleet i see vendors everywhere selling all sorts of stuff but charging items i have no idea where to get...

Please tell me that i wont be forced to do lots of highend pve to be able to get toptier gear for pvp? I just wanna pvp =(

Thanks

//Twin

Try this. Tell me if it is detailed and clear enough:

CT = command tokens

UC = unassembled components

Tokens are specific for each slot and each tier [Ex: Tier 3 Implant token]

 

Gear:

Vendor location: supplies section of fleet, 2nd room.

Cost per piece: Token (of respective rating) + CT. [Tier 1 requires only CT]

Alternative source: Lucky RNG in command crates.

 

Token:

Vendor location: supplies section of fleet, 1st room.

Cost per piece: gear of previous tier + UC [Tier 2 tokens can be purchased without the gear of previous tier]

Alternative source: ops bosses.

 

CT:

Source: Command crates.

 

UC

Source: all no-solo content (especially weekly missions), and disintigrating Gear (with stats, not cosmetic) from Command crates.

 

Command crates:

Source: leveling up with CXP.

 

I copied it from an old thread and then edited due to some changes since that post. If you go to the origin of the quote you can find a longer, more detailed post, but the details there might be outdated and I am too lazy to edit that

One thing I forgot to mention, the rating of tiers:

1. 230

2. 236

3. 242

4. 248

Bolsters takes you up to 242, so once you exceed it you are stronger than people below it. Make no mistake, it is not so hard to beat high geared enemies with low gear, just hardER than otherwise.

To add to Rafi's answer... if you have 208 PvP gear, I would use that until you get to tier 3 or even tier 4.

This thread contains a "spreadsheet" link in the first post that shows how bolster works with the tiers, including 208 gear.

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=941376

For gearing up, I'm finding the most cost effective way is to get tier 1 gear (or 208 in your case) and then not buy/upgrade pretty much anything until I get to tier 3. At that point, any tier 3 you get from the crates can be directly traded in to get tier 4 (and you'll probably have enough unassembled components by that time). Save tier 2 stuff, just in case you are missing "that final slot" and you get tired of waiting for random luck - then at least you won't have to buy the tier 2.

(Otherwise, from scratch, you have to buy tier 2 token, buy tier 2, trade in tier 2 for tier 3 token, buy tier 3, trade in tier 3 for tier 4 token, and finally buy tier 4. PITA, and costly.)

Thank you! (Both)

I think that covers most of my confusions. However it does seem like quite a pain to gear up multiple toons =/

One thing I forgot to mention, the rating of tiers:

 

1. 230

2. 236

3. 242

4. 248

 

Bolsters takes you up to 242, so once you exceed it you are stronger than people below it. Make no mistake, it is not so hard to beat high geared enemies with low gear, just hardER than otherwise.

If I recall correctly I think the difference between 242 and 248 geared is slightly less than 10%.

@ the OP, just because someone may be better geared than the opponent they are fighting doesn't necessarily mean they are a better player, know the spec they are playing very well, or they have more PVP experience. Skill can trump gear so don't worry too much about that.

Do yourself a favor, concentrate on gearing one character at a time or it will take you a really long time to be fully geared if you piecemeal out the gearing of multiple characters at the same time. If you concentraite on one at a time it's really not that bad, if you don't it's a nightmare. Personally, I find gearing by way of UCs earned in WZs the better choice, there are no lockouts like with Operations and you are not competing with other players for the same drops. People in operations will often try to get pieces they already have on the toon they are playing so as they could than give it to an alt or piecemeal out mods and enhancements as needed. That said, however, if you have a preference in group content type, sure, just go about it that way, also nothing stopping you from doing a bit of both.

Best of luck to you, see you out there.

Thank you! (Both)

 

I think that covers most of my confusions. However it does seem like quite a pain to gear up multiple toons =/

Yes, how alt-unfriendly this system is has been "discussed" many times.

Thank you! (Both)

 

I think that covers most of my confusions. However it does seem like quite a pain to gear up multiple toons =/

The first is the hardest. There is a legacy perk you can unlock (under "others") which boosts your cxp gain permanently by 25% for each toon you got to lvl cxp rank 300. In addition, cxp boosts give you a 100% bonus (not a lame 25%) and can be bought for command tokens or randomly rewarded from the command crates themselves.

Also, (this one is mentioned in my longer, less colored, guide) when you use old gear to by new gear via UCs, you only need the SHELL of the gear, but can keep all the stats. For example, if you have a 242 lightsaber and have enough UC to buy 248, you can strip the 242 hilt, mod and enhancement and put it in any other shell, and use the empty statless saber to buy the mainhand token of tier 4 (248). Then you can use this token to by whatever main weapon you like (lightsaber or sniper rifle or whatever) and you end up having a 248 weapon PLUS all the mods of the 242 weapon, which can be used by an alt or on a lesser gear piece. Basically never disintegrate legendary 236 or 242 gear that you get, even if you don't need it. You will be able to use to twice: for mods and for buying better gear of the same slot.

Yes, how alt-unfriendly this system is has been "discussed" many times.

TBH, having 1x 248 geared DPS and 1x 248 geared tank all in legacy gear I can tell you with all seriousness that the system has been really alt-friendly for me. My concealment jumped from using the deception 248 gear to using the concealment 242 set bonus with 248 mods, enhancements and relics in very few days, and I still have more than 8k UC to spare (which is enough to buy nearly full gear from Nada, but I rather progress slightly slower with more dependency on the RNG because it would save me more than half the cost eventually).

Things really get quite fine for a character a few lvls after 300

TBH, having 1x 248 geared DPS and 1x 248 geared tank all in legacy gear I can tell you with all seriousness that the system has been really alt-friendly for me. My concealment jumped from using the deception 248 gear to using the concealment 242 set bonus with 248 mods, enhancements and relics in very few days, and I still have more than 8k UC to spare (which is enough to buy nearly full gear from Nada, but I rather progress slightly slower with more dependency on the RNG because it would save me more than half the cost eventually).

 

Things really get quite fine for a character a few lvls after 300

For us, who have had time to save up and stack UCs and command tokens, sure the system is fine.

Dont forget he probably doesnt have thousands of UC or command tokens lying around on all his alts like we do.

For us, who have had time to save up and stack UCs and command tokens, sure the system is fine.

 

Dont forget he probably doesnt have thousands of UC or command tokens lying around on all his alts like we do.

Of course. I am just clarifying that the system is not exactly "alt-unfriendly" but more like "newbie-unfriendly" (newbie is anyone who didn't play any endgame since 5.0), which means it gets better if you dare brave the beginning, unlike what "alt-unfriendly" makes it sound like no matter how much you play, you better focus one toon or suffer.

Of course. I am just clarifying that the system is not exactly "alt-unfriendly" but more like "newbie-unfriendly" (newbie is anyone who didn't play any endgame since 5.0), which means it gets better if you dare brave the beginning, unlike what "alt-unfriendly" makes it sound like no matter how much you play, you better focus one toon or suffer.

Fair enough. The current war on alts had shifted to conquest which is an entirely different bag of worms. On the pvp gearing front though, like you and i both said in thr other thread, it does become substsntially easier if you are willing to do some pve.

TBH, having 1x 248 geared DPS and 1x 248 geared tank all in legacy gear I can tell you with all seriousness that the system has been really alt-friendly for me. My concealment jumped from using the deception 248 gear to using the concealment 242 set bonus with 248 mods, enhancements and relics in very few days, and I still have more than 8k UC to spare (which is enough to buy nearly full gear from Nada, but I rather progress slightly slower with more dependency on the RNG because it would save me more than half the cost eventually).

 

Things really get quite fine for a character a few lvls after 300

I didn't know about the legacy bonus you described in another post. So I'll revise my claim to say that it's unfriendly to folks who just play the game and click the buttons presented to us - vs. actually go looking for how to get the max out of the system. I'm the former. I just open crates mostly, and disintegrate everything. I apply CXP boosts when I get them in a crate. I don't think I've ever bought one.

I have one toon at full 248, and a few others part way there. And I'm still comparing to pre-5.0 land. Where I could work towards gear WHILE I leveled. So that by the time I got to 70, if I had PvP'd all the way I could just buy gear. So sad I can't do that anymore.

How in the world did you manage to gear a tank!? I used to play tanks all the time, and with the way I did it, I'd basically have to get gear twice for a tank. Once to get the armorings off of the "tank" gear for the set bonus, and then again to get the same gear but for DPS so that I could ditch all the shield/absorb/defense. I basically gave up. I decided, bioware wants me to play a DPS.

TBH, having 1x 248 geared DPS and 1x 248 geared tank all in legacy gear I can tell you with all seriousness that the system has been really alt-friendly for me. My concealment jumped from using the deception 248 gear to using the concealment 242 set bonus with 248 mods, enhancements and relics in very few days, and I still have more than 8k UC to spare (which is enough to buy nearly full gear from Nada, but I rather progress slightly slower with more dependency on the RNG because it would save me more than half the cost eventually).

 

Things really get quite fine for a character a few lvls after 300

8k isn't even enough to upgrade from 242 to 248, is it?

How in the world did you manage to gear a tank!? I used to play tanks all the time, and with the way I did it, I'd basically have to get gear twice for a tank. Once to get the armorings off of the "tank" gear for the set bonus, and then again to get the same gear but for DPS so that I could ditch all the shield/absorb/defense. I basically gave up. I decided, bioware wants me to play a DPS.

The crafted high endurance mods and enhancements are better for tanks than those you get from the real 248 gear, and aren't too expensive to craft, so you just need to get the tank gear, and use tanky 242 unmodables to upgrade to DPSy 248 unmodables (if you truly were unlucky enough and didn't get any tier 3 unmodables it will get complicated, or you can just stack some tier 4 crates, switch to DPS and open them all at once hoping to get some of the things you need)

8k isn't even enough to upgrade from 242 to 248, is it?

The cost per item gets quite higher for each tier, so you might be right, but I am quite certain it is enough to get TO 242 with some to spare. Anyway, this isn't the practical way to do things. As you rank up you can use the 240 and later 246 stuff that you get. I personally spend UC just to boost up my MH and OH, to complete the set bonus (when just starting a character) and to get DPS relics for tanks. Only if I reach the point when I have nothing else to improve, I would use the UC to upgrade some 242s to 248 because until the time I choose to play a new character I will probably earn them all back.

Fair enough. The current war on alts had shifted to conquest which is an entirely different bag of worms. On the pvp gearing front though, like you and i both said in thr other thread, it does become substsntially easier if you are willing to do some pve.

An issue you face doing it with PVE that you don't have with PVP is repair costs. The repair costs for 242-248 are ridiculous. In some HM and more NiM you're looking at 100-250k + potentially [Progression raiding]. Some nights you're working on one boss the whole time if the team hasn't cleared it yet and is giving some trouble/while learning and trying tactics.

Not enough reason not to do it of course, just as a consideration in terms of comparison of PVE vs. PVP. I use to love progression raiding, I didn't care how much it cost me while working on clearing a troublesome boss.

Revan HM, you might as well take out a mortgage on your house for the repair costs you WILL be incurring for a good long while. My 2nd raid team came close, but we didn't clear it, 5.0 dropped while we had been working on it and raiding died right than and there, progression groups disbanded in droves over the changes.

It may cost more one way or the other, but, if that's your area of preference, there is something to be said for having fun.

An issue you face doing it with PVE that you don't have with PVP is repair costs. The repair costs for 242-248 are ridiculous. In some HM and more NiM you're looking at 100-250k + potentially [Progression raiding]. Some nights you're working on one boss the whole time if the team hasn't cleared it yet and is giving some trouble/while learning and trying tactics.

 

Not enough reason not to do it of course, just as a consideration in terms of comparison of PVE vs. PVP. I use to love progression raiding, I didn't care how much it cost me while working on clearing a troublesome boss.

 

Revan HM, you might as well take out a mortgage on your house for the repair costs you WILL be incurring for a good long while. My 2nd raid team came close, but we didn't clear it, 5.0 dropped while we had been working on it and raiding died right than and there, progression groups disbanded in droves over the changes.

 

It may cost more one way or the other, but, if that's your area of preference, there is something to be said for having fun.

Im not suggesting anyone do revan hm for gear. A kp/ev will net you an entire set bonus. I have certainly had a fsir share of ev/kp wipefests but in no way are they nearly as difficult as revan (or even... snv or tfb which are probably the mext easiest hm).

Overall, its fsr fewer comms and UCs to grab 242s from EV/KP and if you dont want (or can't) pull of the other HMs to pick up 236 for the rest.

The repair costs have gotten ridiculous, i grant you that. The easier ops i still say are cheaper (and certainly less headache inducing) than the UC grindfest or RNG boxes.

Even GF ops are decent way to farm command levels and get packs so doing few of them a week will speed up a process.

208 gear with augments will bolster well , quite low hp but decent stats. Current level of play in general will allow experienced player in sub par gear do well enough in regs. And sins are in a good place as well

If you have lot of credits you can buy 246 gear which is nice too. Then either keep 208 Arnorings or not (I would) .

You should buy cxp boosts from vendor to help you lvl faster and the currency it takes is useless.

Like others said, it’s fairly quick to get system but terrible and unfriendly bear in mind you will need the shells of 242 gear to get 248 as with old pvp gear.

Welcome back

I stopped worrying about gears after a month of grinding PVP and seeing how my 208s seem to work fine. I have far too many toons I like playing to stick on one just to ensure I get to 300 CXP and have in max gears.

I always played lots of alts, and quit shortly after 5.0, so imagine the work I have trying to gear 16-20 toons, most that are stuck at 65 lvl.

I just play to queue for PVP, and I am not playing PVE even if that would make it easier to gear my army of alts.

I hate the PVE on this game and would rather play parts of SWTOR I like even if they offer a less efficient way to gear my characters.

I’m always extremely confused everytime I have to go upgrade my pvp gear and I have been playing since 5.0 dropped. I wish they would just switch it back to 4.0 gearing which was more self-explanatory.

LOL, there were a few times where I had to ask on the fleet because I forgot what I was doing

They should just get rid of the UC vendors and allow you to trade gear or UCs at the one vendor. Having to run back and forth is stupid and certainly not intuitive. I can’t imagine what it must be like for new or returning players.

Bioware do t even have any official tutorial or notes on the website or forum stick to explain how it works.