Been working at the level cap since Makeb came out on two characters, I now have four characters at 55 and 7 at 50 minimum. While I've always been more interested in running multiple characters rather than going on raids and the like, there's only so long you can do so before things start to get a bit old. So, whenever I see people advertising for raids, where they need a class I can provide, I ask what gear level they need, and alt to the appropriate character to check.

Problem is, that they tend not to be enough.

Now, I've been working on dailies for a while, but they only provide basic commendations. Yesterday, all I ever saw advertising for was HM operations, in need of 72 or higher. Not even my best geared is in full 72, she has two 72 pieces, and one 75, I think. 55 HM flashpoints are ok, but they don't seem to provide upgrades for me, and nobody ever uses the GF for SM operations, which I'd think is where the gear (or commendations, at least) that I need drops. I don't see people forming groups for it on the fleet, either.

I've tried joining progression guilds, but because I switch between characters a lot, on top of the fact that I actually need to work and sleep (and live in a different time zone), I tend to miss guild operations.

So, just how are you supposed to gear up for operations if nobody runs the operations at your gear level?

The long, straight path would be: do dailies for full 66s, then go into HM flashpoints to get full 69s. Then you can do story mode SNV/TFB for set bonus 69s. Then you can do HM SNV/TFB for full set bonus 72s. Then do NIM TFB/SNV for full 75s. Then do HM DF/DP for full 78s.

If you want to save some time you can do TFB/SNV HM in level 63 gear. You can also do HM DF/DP in mixed 69/72 gear.

It depends what HMs you're looking at.

The newer DF/DP Operations will generally require the higher gear req. of 72s, but the older TFB/SnV Operations which actually drop 72s will be more than do-able by people geared in 69s.

At the end of the day, the most important thing isn't your gear level, but understanding of the fights, obeying of mechanics and knowledge of how to play your class/spec properly.

I'd say look for guilds that aren't necessarily about progression, that have regular casual ops events (i.e. organised 16M SMs) and basically use them to learn the SM fights inside out, once you know those you should have sufficient gear to run the HM versions.

Unfortunately trying to pug a HM Op without having been in there is usually quite difficult as most groups aren't willing to take a gamble on a person who won't be able to pick up the mechanics on-the-go after having been explained/seen. Which is usually why it's recommended to try and find a guild group that's willing to be patient and give you time to familiarise yourself with how the encounters are.

Gearing can be easy if you find yourself a set of Bind on Legacy gear. Since basic commendations grant 69 rating armor you can get yourself a set of gear that is prepped for SnV and TFB SMs (well geared for them) and run those Ops plus the weeklies of others to get Elite Commendations and Ultimates for the 72 and 78. Just running the Weeklies of CZ, Oricon, TFB, SnV, DF, and DP, I cap out my Elites early on and usually come very close to hitting my ultimate commendation cap for the week. It's doable, but not with pugs I'm afraid.

Your best bet is to find a Guild that is laid back and willing to run the older content (plenty still run TC, TFB, SnV) for 16m comms runs and will gladly help someone out with gear and commendations. I went from no gear to a full set of 69s with set bonus in the span of 2 raids after I joined a Guild that needed my alt for one of their new Raid Teams. They spent 2 nights gearing me up and working on my rotation with me and got me prepared for the DF/DP that we are running now.

Good luck!

It depends what HMs you're looking at.

 

The newer DF/DP Operations will generally require the higher gear req. of 72s, but the older TFB/SnV Operations which actually drop 72s will be more than do-able by people geared in 69s.

 

At the end of the day, the most important thing isn't your gear level, but understanding of the fights, obeying of mechanics and knowledge of how to play your class/spec properly.

 

I'd say look for guilds that aren't necessarily about progression, that have regular casual ops events (i.e. organised 16M SMs) and basically use them to learn the SM fights inside out, once you know those you should have sufficient gear to run the HM versions.

 

Unfortunately trying to pug a HM Op without having been in there is usually quite difficult as most groups aren't willing to take a gamble on a person who won't be able to pick up the mechanics on-the-go after having been explained/seen. Which is usually why it's recommended to try and find a guild group that's willing to be patient and give you time to familiarise yourself with how the encounters are.

Well, I have found some good guilds on occasion, but the problem is, none of them have ever been in my time zone. So when I log on, it tends to be just me on my own. Tried asking what times they hold ops and such, but it gets difficult to figure out when that is to my clock on the fly. If there were exact times each week, I could adjust, but asit is... it's tough.

The long, straight path would be: do dailies for full 66s, then go into HM flashpoints to get full 69s. Then you can do story mode SNV/TFB for set bonus 69s. Then you can do HM SNV/TFB for full set bonus 72s. Then do NIM TFB/SNV for full 75s. Then do HM DF/DP for full 78s.

 

If you want to save some time you can do TFB/SNV HM in level 63 gear. You can also do HM DF/DP in mixed 69/72 gear.

It keeps coming back to those dailies, doesn't it? I used to run Oricron on borderline obsession daily for each character, but then I realized that I was capping two weeks reputation in one day, and that kind of got depressing. Doesn't help that unless you have an extensive legacy backing you up, Oricron can be impossible to complete for some classes (Gave up on ever getting my Operative through when she got blockaded by the easier champion).

But that's an entirely different discussion.

Still, good list. I should save it.

Gearing can be easy if you find yourself a set of Bind on Legacy gear. Since basic commendations grant 69 rating armor you can get yourself a set of gear that is prepped for SnV and TFB SMs (well geared for them) and run those Ops plus the weeklies of others to get Elite Commendations and Ultimates for the 72 and 78. Just running the Weeklies of CZ, Oricon, TFB, SnV, DF, and DP, I cap out my Elites early on and usually come very close to hitting my ultimate commendation cap for the week. It's doable, but not with pugs I'm afraid.

 

Your best bet is to find a Guild that is laid back and willing to run the older content (plenty still run TC, TFB, SnV) for 16m comms runs and will gladly help someone out with gear and commendations. I went from no gear to a full set of 69s with set bonus in the span of 2 raids after I joined a Guild that needed my alt for one of their new Raid Teams. They spent 2 nights gearing me up and working on my rotation with me and got me prepared for the DF/DP that we are running now.

 

Good luck!

Did they upgrade the gear at the basic vendor? Must have forgotten. I do have the credits and the legacy to fund a full set of legacy armour, so I guess I could go for that.

I might just have to set up a full excel spreadsheet of how all my characters are geared, so I can see where to improve them and have an easy reference for whenever someone is advertising on the fleet. Until they let you queue a full legacy at will, it'll be the only way for me to save the hassle of logging out and in again to see if I have someone that can join.

Now, I've been working on dailies for a while, but they only provide basic commendations. Yesterday, all I ever saw advertising for was HM operations, in need of 72 or higher. Not even my best geared is in full 72, she has two 72 pieces, and one 75, I think. 55 HM flashpoints are ok, but they don't seem to provide upgrades for me, and nobody ever uses the GF for SM operations, which I'd think is where the gear (or commendations, at least) that I need drops. I don't see people forming groups for it on the fleet, either.

Wait, what?

You have a 75 piece but you don't raid? Um, what? You can only get 75s from NiM ops, you can't get them anywhere else. I call shenanigans. Do you mean a 78 piece?

I don't understand how you can completely miss non-tier elite comm gear from running HM FPs. Elite comms buy 72s now so there is no reason not to just run HM FPs over and over (they're doable in 50 gear btw, I did it at launch, so there is literally no excuse).

SM raids only pop at primetime so you might be queuing at the wrong time, but TBH you get more bang for your buck if you just run HM FPs now since, like I said above, elite comms buy 72 gear and SM ops only drop arkanian.

Sorry if I sound a little mean but gearing in this game is ridiculously easy. The progression is HM FPS -> SM Ops -> HM Ops -> NiM Ops. It's a little wonky atm since they just released a new tier and shifted all the comms around but that's the gist of it.

I've compiled a list for your convenience so you know what drops where.

END-GAME PVE CONTENT AND WHAT IT DROPS FOR YOUR PERUSAL

HM FPs drop pre-arkanian or arkanian-level depending on the instance. You get Elite Comms.

SM TFB/S&V drops arkanian (69s). You get Elite Comms, and Ultimate Comms if you are in 16-man.

HM TFB/S&V drops underworld (72s, what you should be aiming for AT THE BARE MINIMUM at this point since you can run HM FPs to get 72 offset pieces). You get Elite and Ultimate Comms.

NiM TFB/S&V drops kell dragon (75s). You get Elite and Ultimate Comms.

SM DF/DP drops arkanian, and underworld off some bosses. You get Elite Comms and Ultimate Comms.

HM DF/DP drops dread forged (78s). You get Elite Comms and Ultimate Comms.

Basic comms now buy 69s.

Elite comms now buy 72s.

Ultimate comms now buy 78s.

Wait, what?

You have a 75 piece but you don't raid? Um, what? You can only get 75s from NiM ops, you can't get them anywhere else. I call shenanigans. Do you mean a 78 piece?

 

I don't understand how you can completely miss non-tier elite comm gear from running HM FPs. Elite comms buy 72s now so there is no reason not to just run HM FPs over and over (they're doable in 50 gear btw, I did it at launch, so there is literally no excuse).

 

SM raids only pop at primetime so you might be queuing at the wrong time, but TBH you get more bang for your buck if you just run HM FPs now since, like I said above, elite comms buy 72 gear and SM ops only drop arkanian.

 

Sorry if I sound a little mean but gearing in this game is ridiculously easy.

I probably misread the number then, I just remembered her having something better than average equipped.

HM Flashpoints don't pop nearly as often as I'd like. If I have GF set for everything, I'll get a 50 HM or a 55 SM flashpoint in short order, but with those out of the queue, I can run all my dailies without a single queue popping.

And 55 HM must have much stricter people on my server than yours, as I've seen groups disband before the first fight even, simply for one person being slightly under geared. Not that I can blame them, it is an incredible trial to try and heal through the security chief in the first Czerka flashpoint.

Basically, while it's easier to get elite commendations and their related gear, since they drop from HM flashpoints, it doesn't help if those flashpoints never actually form. And it takes a lot of elite commendations to get there.

Edit: And looking at your notes, looks like her better gear is a 78 piece, not 75. Don't have the game up, so couldn't check, but I do recall buying something with ultimate comms.

I probably misread the number then, I just remembered her having something better than average equipped.

HM Flashpoints don't pop nearly as often as I'd like. If I have GF set for everything, I'll get a 50 HM or a 55 SM flashpoint in short order, but with those out of the queue, I can run all my dailies without a single queue popping.

 

And 55 HM must have much stricter people on my server than yours, as I've seen groups disband before the first fight even, simply for one person being slightly under geared. Not that I can blame them, it is an incredible trial to try and heal through the security chief in the first Czerka flashpoint.

The czerka hms are slightly more difficult than the other HMs, imho. It probably doesn't help that security chief has what basically amounts to a oneshot on the final %s of his fight. I've had some FPs fail on me but not enough to really bother me, but then again I do play on a fairly big server (POT5).

Few practical tips from me - Czerka weekly (of which you can do the 2 Flashpoints is super easy Story mode that is role neutral thus very fast queue) + Oricon weekly + Makeb Staged will give you tons of Basics (69 gear) and Elites (72) AND cash.

Ears and implants - check GTN for lvl 53 with [Artifact] in name and 4 stats (main/endurance around 140-170 and 2 secondry stats around 70-90). These are the ears/implants that drop everywhere now and they're as good as vendor Basic (Black Market MK-1) ones and because how easily obtainable they are now people sell them for really cheap on GTN. Just from dailies you will have enough cash to bbuy plethora of them while saving Basic/Elite comms on other gear pieces you can't buy for cheap on GTN.

Pugs will look at your HP 99% of the time. 30k HP and you're good in Pug eyes for any SM ops (unless you're tank of course then you need more). If you lack a bit to that, install couple of augments kits with BLUE 28 augments in them, don't waste cash on purple ones, blues are dirt cheap and only slighty worse then purples.

What server/timezone are you in?

Have you tried the Guild Recruitment section in your Server's Forums to try and find a suitable guild you could raid with?

What server/timezone are you in?

 

Have you tried the Guild Recruitment section in your Server's Forums to try and find a suitable guild you could raid with?

I... did not think of that.

My main characters are on Beregen Colony, although I occasionally play on the Harbinger. Time zone is Australian (Think it's UTC+10? Not sure how the system works, just know that normally I'm on when the majority of the server isn't.)

it is an incredible trial to try and heal through the security chief in the first Czerka flashpoint.

only if your group is completely retarded and doesn't move out of the red circles

only if your group is completely retarded and doesn't move out of the red circles

Honestly, towards the end he kills you even if you moved out of the circle. The missile travels through time and hits you in the past. There is no other flashpoint boss where it is that bad.

only if your group is completely retarded and doesn't move out of the red circles

No, that's not a trial, that's a guaranteed wipe.

What makes it a trial is that the boss will ignore agro to throw grenades that deal a pretty savage amount of damage at people who aren't the tank, while savagely beating down on the tank. I don't know how well scoundrels or sages work in this fight, but it was brutal for my mercenary to get no chance to let her heat die down. I had to just keep switching back and forth, throwing down chain heals and dancing around in max heat regen levels.

It's almost a relief when he starts spamming missiles, because the missiles delay his grenades.

No, that's not a trial, that's a guaranteed wipe.

 

What makes it a trial is that the boss will ignore agro to throw grenades that deal a pretty savage amount of damage at people who aren't the tank, while savagely beating down on the tank. I don't know how well scoundrels or sages work in this fight, but it was brutal for my mercenary to get no chance to let her heat die down. I had to just keep switching back and forth, throwing down chain heals and dancing around in max heat regen levels.

 

It's almost a relief when he starts spamming missiles, because the missiles delay his grenades.

From experience: Scoundrel healing is laughable (2 stack of HoT on everyone, use your instas, and you don't even have to stop to cast, so just run around like a headless chiken), Sage is a bit tricier, but doable too. I've done it just yesterday night on my 'mando healer alt. I'd give advice on what abilities to use, but I cannot really remember*. I had to make a 12-min-long phonecall (mobile between the neck and shoulders to make it more interesting ) after the droid boss and by the time I was done, we've just finished the whole FP (and yes, it was HM,). Avoiding red circles and watching out who had eaten them is pretty much on autopilot at this point. Dunno if it helps, but I'm usually jumping out of the circles too. It all boils down to practice, if you're game is too laggy for you to avoid them (I'm running between 80-300ms), then simply never stop running, only stop and cast a heal, when you see the red circle at someone else's feet.

If you're the healer it can hardly go wrong. Enrage is not that tight, in case the dps decides to eat 3 circles in a row (which is hard to heal through, unless you're a scoundrel), then just finish it with the tank.

However a few days ago when I was on my shadow tank, unfortunately the other three bit the dust from the circles. At that point Zokar tries to get you with cryo grenade and red circle too. Finished him from 7-10%, never eating a single circle. So my advice: practice, parctice, parctice and never give up, cheers

* Thinking about it a little: throw kolto bomb to hit everyone for the healing buff, use all other heals when this buff is up on others, use your 360° knockback for aoe heals, keep up the healing stacks on the tank always, use your no cast time and free cast ability, don't save the insta heal for emergencies, use it on CD, go super healer mode after 30 stacks only when it is required. And when something goes really amiss (tank fails to turn boss, adds are not gunned down fast, too much damage going on), don't try to save you energy on the brink of crappy regen, just go all out and pop your energy back ability. Hope this helps.

(Sorry for the lack of ability names, my 'mando is really not my main, and you would need the Merc ability names anyway.)

From experience: Scoundrel healing is laughable (2 stack of HoT on everyone, use your instas, and you don't even have to stop to cast, so just run around like a headless chiken), Sage is a bit tricier, but doable too. I've done it just yesterday night on my 'mando healer alt. I'd give advice on what abilities to use, but I cannot really remember*. I had to make a 12-min-long phonecall (mobile between the neck and shoulders to make it more interesting ) after the droid boss and by the time I was done, we've just finished the whole FP (and yes, it was HM,). Avoiding red circles and watching out who had eaten them is pretty much on autopilot at this point. Dunno if it helps, but I'm usually jumping out of the circles too. It all boils down to practice, if you're game is too laggy for you to avoid them (I'm running between 80-300ms), then simply never stop running, only stop and cast a heal, when you see the red circle at someone else's feet.

 

If you're the healer it can hardly go wrong. Enrage is not that tight, in case the dps decides to eat 3 circles in a row (which is hard to heal through, unless you're a scoundrel), then just finish it with the tank.

 

However a few days ago when I was on my shadow tank, unfortunately the other three bit the dust from the circles. At that point Zokar tries to get you with cryo grenade and red circle too. Finished him from 7-10%, never eating a single circle. So my advice: practice, parctice, parctice and never give up, cheers

 

 

* Thinking about it a little: throw kolto bomb to hit everyone for the healing buff, use all other heals when this buff is up on others, use your 360° knockback for aoe heals, keep up the healing stacks on the tank always, use your no cast time and free cast ability, don't save the insta heal for emergencies, use it on CD, go super healer mode after 30 stacks only when it is required. And when something goes really amiss (tank fails to turn boss, adds are not gunned down fast, too much damage going on), don't try to save you energy on the brink of crappy regen, just go all out and pop your energy back ability. Hope this helps.

 

(Sorry for the lack of ability names, my 'mando is really not my main, and you would need the Merc ability names anyway.)

I have a mercenary and a commando, so I can make the translations pretty well. Fact is, though, that the healing required is a severe cut upwards from what I'm used to. Normally, you've got a tank being hit by severe damage, unless he's doing poorly, in which case a DPS will pull aggro, and I have to switch healing quickly. Occasionally, an ally might stand in a death zone, and I have to get them up and running again, but can spare that time.

The security chief, however, from the beginning, has an offhand attack that he uses as a regular rotation, that ignores threat, and will NEVER hit the actual tank with, that hits pretty damn hard. I have to be very quick with my targeting during this fight. I need to keep my eyes on everyone's health bar, my own rotation, and in the last phase, keep an eye open for those red rings of doom. It's doable, but it requires a lot more competence from DPS than normal, and a lot of attention swapping from me.

And then there was the guy who thought that story mode was identical to hard mode, and let half the mobs out of their cages in the final fight. I have no idea how I healed through all that.

It seems like gearing boils down to "Grind dailies and get a ton of basic comms and purchase 69 gear, then grind 55 HM and get a ton of elite comms and purchase 72 gear. Looks like I've got a lot of work to do.

I... did not think of that.

 

My main characters are on Beregen Colony, although I occasionally play on the Harbinger. Time zone is Australian (Think it's UTC+10? Not sure how the system works, just know that normally I'm on when the majority of the server isn't.)

Berg Colony? I sent you a PM--I'm in a large guild that runs ops almost every day, and many of our members are Australian or APAC.

The long, straight path would be: do dailies for full 66s, then go into HM flashpoints to get full 69s. Then you can do story mode SNV/TFB for set bonus 69s. Then you can do HM SNV/TFB for full set bonus 72s. Then do NIM TFB/SNV for full 75s. Then do HM DF/DP for full 78s.

 

If you want to save some time you can do TFB/SNV HM in level 63 gear. You can also do HM DF/DP in mixed 69/72 gear.

This is precisely how the game seems to be designed. Though you can really skip the NiM content and use commendations to get Oriconian 78's and that will get you through DF and DP.

The long, straight path would be: do dailies for full 66s, then go into HM flashpoints to get full 69s.

Oricon Storymode rewards with 69ers, too.

If I remember correctly, that is.

Oricon Storymode rewards with 69ers, too.

If I remember correctly, that is.

Corruptor Zero, Brontes, Raptus and the Dread Council also drop an underworld token (random)

Not sure if troll or serious... Let's pretend serious.

PART 1

a) Do Oricon story line (awards 5 pieces of 69 gear)

b) Do dailies. Use the money you get from dailies to have a 72 barrel / hilt crafted, have Underworld SA relic crafted, and spend the basic comms on another relic (arcanian), OR do some pvp and buy a PVP relic (slightly better than arcanian relics).

c) Do your weekly flashpoint quest (3 random HM flashpoints). Easy elite commendations.

OPTIONAL: Spam random flashpoints for elite comms (max 400) to get you 3 or 4 pieces of 72 gear per week.

Assuming you have a 72 mainhand, two arcanian+ grade relics and at least 66 gear you are now ready for the "real" stuff !

PART 2

a) Do 16 man story mode TFB 32 ultimate comms (20 ultimate comms from bosses + 12 weekly quest)

b) Do 16 man story mode SaV 40 ultimate comms (28 ultimate comms from bosses + 12 weekly)

Note: If you can't do 16 man do 8 man and use the group finder 22 ultimate coms each instance (10 for group finder + 12 weekly)

c) Do Toborro's 6 ultimate comms (weekly)

d) Do Classic operations 12 ultimate comms (weekly)

Note: Assuming you do 16 man TFB / SaV you now have 90 ultimate comms / week.

e) Do 8 / 16 man DF / DP story mode (16 ultimate coms weekly quest for either of those operations) + 4 ultimate comms / boss for 16 man difficulty.

If you did 16 man you are now CAPPED on ultimate commendations! That was rather easy wasn't it.

Spend your ultimate commendations on offhand (most important), then implants / earpiece, then whichever piece of gear you chose.

oricon awards 66 gear.

just to clarify.

its not bad (with exception of tanking option - alacrity again, come ON Bioware!!) but its not 69. its 66 with lvl 53 requirement to wear.