I am rerolling on a new server and just want to build up my cash. I think my best bet is Slicing for free lockboxes, Scavenge to sell all the mats of GTN, and then Underworld Trading to send my companions on missions once I hit level 15.

Does that make sense? Or are do Archaeology or Bio-analysis mats sell well enough to be worth all the gathering?

Thanks for any advice.

The thing about UWT is that it takes money to make money; you have to run missions to get materials to sell. Arch and BA OTOH are straight gathering skills; none to minimal credit investment is required. And starting from nothing, zero investment is better than any investment.

Not saying what you are thinking is bad or wrong, just that the credit investment is something to consider.

Thank you - I really do not understand the cost vs. return mechanic on sending companion on crew missions. Maybe I should sick to three pure gathering professions and just sell on GTN.

Which three would you recomend? I think Slicing and Scavenge are solid - do Archaeology or Bio sell better?

Thanks again.

From my experience, Biochem sells better than Archaelogy.

I started on a new server and I relied heavily on Slicing (while I leveled up my Cybertech on another character). Even sending Companions out on Lockbox missions, you tend to at least break even, and when it crits, you can get something you can post on the GTN and sell. It adds up.

Thank you - I really do not understand the cost vs. return mechanic on sending companion on crew missions. Maybe I should sick to three pure gathering professions and just sell on GTN.

Example: Generic mission costs you 1000 credits to run and from that mission you get 4 of material X. In order to profit you have to sell those 4 material X for more than 1000+the deposit to post on the GTN (I cannot figure out how this is calculated)+the GTN sales cut (6%). So if you sell those 4 material Xs for say 1100 credits total, you've probably profited from the sale (albeit not much)

The risks are:

#1 that the materials you have acquired through missions are not in demand and therefore do not sell at all. All materials sell eventually so this is not a big deal IF you have patience.

#2 that the materials you have acquired through missions are valued less than what they cost to acquire (i.e. take the example above and instead of selling for 1100, 4 material Xs are only selling for 1000 credits or less. Sure the person paid 1000 credits for the 4 material X but after the GTN cut of 6% and the deposit you lost credits.

Which three would you recomend? I think Slicing and Scavenge are solid - do Archaeology or Bio sell better?

 

Thanks again.

I am rerolling on a new server and just want to build up my cash. I think my best bet is Slicing for free lockboxes, Scavenge to sell all the mats of GTN, and then Underworld Trading to send my companions on missions once I hit level 15.

I leveled a self-sufficient toon recently with these exact crew skills and it went really really well.

Grade 2-4 blue mats sold very well. Purple grade 1-5 sold well also. I didn't have a lot of success selling blue 5-9, so I didn't run those as often. Basically, I found it better to continue to run the lower level metals missions than the higher missions. Plus, they're just a few minutes each!

By the time I had unlocked 4 companions I was making 100k-200k per hour (depending on purple crits) all while leveling.

On the Scavenging mats, there are some that are more rare than others. For example, Laminoid and Aluminum were selling for about 30x the price of Desh and Silica, though all 4 of these are Grade 1 mats. So if you find a zone with the rare mats, spend extra time doing gathering, but if the zone has the cheapo mats, I wouldn't waste too much time.

Cheers.

One more thing to consider is that gathering with 3 gathering skills will drive someone like myself insane - because it is hard to leave money behind, right?! So, if you get to a high level planet where there are only 20 other people, and you end up spending 5 hours and clearing 1/4 of the map.... Life is TOUGH!

In my experience on my server Scvg and Slicing are better money making than archaeology and nothing is gained from BioA, at least on level 1-2 crafting mats.

I also like having a mission skill to have access to companion gifts.

One more thing to consider is that gathering with 3 gathering skills will drive someone like myself insane - because it is hard to leave money behind, right?! So, if you get to a high level planet where there are only 20 other people, and you end up spending 5 hours and clearing 1/4 of the map.... Life is TOUGH!

Agreed. But that's learned behavior and can be unlearned. Believe me I know because I unlearned it. This goes back to opportunity cost - when you see a node, ask yourself the question, "is going after that/those node(s) - that is/are off my path and/or has a number of mobs surrounding it/them - worth the time it will take to get it/them?" You'd be surprised how often the answer is no.

Agreed. But that's learned behavior and can be unlearned. Believe me I know because I unlearned it. This goes back to opportunity cost - when you see a node, ask yourself the question, "is going after that/those node(s) - that is/are off my path and/or has a number of mobs surrounding it/them - worth the time it will take to get it/them?" You'd be surprised how often the answer is no.

Yes, there has to be a therapy for that! 7-Step program... something. I have made a great progress in ignoring Desh and Silica the other day on Korriban.

I started this morning at lvl 125ish, I ran 3 companions to 25 missions total, the cost was $11,350 the return was $13,419 ( average roughly $83 credits profit per mission, total profit $2063) all lockbox missions

Yes, but you run them to hit the jackpot of the Mission drops. You get one of those babies, they are worth 10,000 credits or more (or will net mats that will adequately cover the costs).

Yes, there has to be a therapy for that! 7-Step program... something. I have made a great progress in ignoring Desh and Silica the other day on Korriban.

If you find further help could you please let me know as I have a similar problem with side quests (no matter how overleveled I am i.e. grey quests, I can't seem to stop doing them as I feels it leaves things unfinished. Though, I have had success in being able to ignore heroics which I cant get a group for.

If you find further help could you please let me know as I have a similar problem with side quests (no matter how overleveled I am i.e. grey quests, I can't seem to stop doing them as I feels it leaves things unfinished. Though, I have had success in being able to ignore heroics which I cant get a group for.

I had that affliction with my first chars. Doing the earlier planets around 20 times healed me completely. The first one that went was Coruscant. When one learns how to ignore the questgivers it goes better and better even on planets I have done a mere 5 times so far. It is still a tiny bit disquieting not to know exactly what I miss since I tend to forget side quests I did months ago. But seeing the class quest in orange or red is sure a good feeling

In German there is an expression for it: Mut zur Lücke. Courage for the gap. (Courage to leave a gap or so). Students pass around that sentence a lot, at least where I studied, in Switzerland

Ugh, I'm afflicted with both: I must harvest all Shinies (my generic term for gather-able resources) and I can never let a mission go. Even if I'm completely over-leveled for it and it shows up as grey. Perhaps more so, because at this point it should be really easy and I can just slaughter everything that gets in my way. I love being able to go up to go up to Elites and be like: You, with the star above your head, acting all high 'n mighty - time to die; and not struggle at all with the fight.

My continued justification for this is simple: I'm paying a monthly fee (I'm a subscriber) to play this game, why the heck would I not want to get the full experience/story out of it? Even if every single mission is just some variant of "go here, kill X amount of guys" or "Go here, press a glowing thing, maybe kill a few guys in the area for a bonus." Oh, that reminds me: bonus quests. Cannot leave them undone: it's sacrilege! Even if the mission is gray and I literally gain nothing from it.

I think I probably need about a 100-step program, but if you try to put me on it, and just argue and resist.

My continued justification for this is simple: I'm paying a monthly fee (I'm a subscriber) to play this game, why the heck would I not want to get the full experience/story out of it? ...Cannot leave them undone: it's sacrilege!

 

I think I probably need about a 100-step program, but if you try to put me on it, and just argue and resist.

Well here is one step: Ask yourself the question why is it sacrilege? To help you answer that question here is something to ponder: $15 is roughly equivalent to the cost of going to a movie. A movie is roughly two hours long. So long as one plays this game in any fashion for more than two hours and enjoying themselves while doing so, that person is getting their money's worth.

Here is another step: you call missing a mission "sacrilege". Is this because you feel a sense of obligation to always play the game to its fullest extend no matter your enjoyment? Well STOP IT!!! I learned a long time ago, that with regard to any long term entertainment (MMOs, TTRPG groups, TV series, you name it), that as soon as you feel obligated to participate is the moment you need to not participate. What you do in your spare time, you are supposed to enjoy. If you do not enjoy doing every quest then don't do every quest.