I gotta say I'm quite confused about gear types and their vendors since I only started playing two months ago. It seems a lot has changed with the 2.0 patch and there's a lot of old/obsolete information out there on the web.

The reason I ask this is because I'm trying to figure out where to get Black Hole Med-tech's MK-1 Legplates. No sites out there mention where they drop, however askmrrobot.com says they require 55 blackhole commendations. I don't believe these exist anymore, and from what I read the Blackhole vendor is on fleet in Supply quarter but I don't see any Blackhole gear from the Classic comm vendor. I got the Med-tech's helmet, chest and bracers all from Directive 7 and just trying to find out where I can get the pants to match up, because we all like to have matching gear, right?

Also, what's up with this Tionese/Columi/Rakata/Arkanian business. I'm guessing at some point the commendations for all of these were changed to the classic/basic/elite/ultimate, but no idea of knowing which is which. I see that gear bonus on Classic comm gear says 'Rakata War Leader' so does that mean the classic gear is Rakata?

Like I said all of this is really confusing just because theres a lot of old outdated information out there

Tioneese/Columi/Rakata are completely removed from the game. The item modifications sold by the Makeb vendor are equal to Rakata level how-ever.

Black Hole gear drops in HM Flashpoints and SM Operations (Eternity Vault, Karraga's Palace and Explosive Conflicts) Hazmat drops in the Nightmare (and HM?) versions. Dread Guard (equal to Hazmat with Setbonus) tokens in EC. Campaign is available for classic commendations. They're equal to Black Hole but carry a set-bonus.

For level 55 there's a lot of new sets. Best to check Dulfy:

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

But a short summary anyway:

Basic Gear - Basic Commendations - 28 (66) in numbers. (Black hole is 26 (61) and Hazmat 27 (63))

Black Market - Elite Commendations + Level 55 HM FP drops - 30 (69) in numbers.

Arkanian - Drops in SM Terror from Beyond and Scum and Villainy - 30 (69) in numbers. Has a set-bonus.

Verpine - Ultimate Commendations - 31 (72) in numbers.

Underworld Gear - Drops in HM Terror from Beyond and Scum and Villainy - 31 (72) in numbers. Has a set-bonus.

Kell Dragon and Shadowed - Drops in Nightmare Mode Terror from Beyond and Scum and Villainy - ?? (75) un numbers. Kell Dragon has a set-bonus.

also, a decent link about gear progression -

http://www.swtor.com/info/eldergame

and, if you still have some Tionese, Columi or Rakata gear tokens you can trade them in at the classic comm vendor at Gav Dagon on the missions deck ( same for old PvP gear tokens ) for a decent amount of classic comms.