Hey guys, I've been playing swtor for about 1 weeks now. I am currently lvl 18 sith juggernaut. I have an alright amount of credits but I have found myself running low on credits lately. I have just recently picked up slicing artifice and archeology. I'm wondering if those are the right crew skills for credits. Any one got any suggestions for anything I can do to make some more credits.

Your first character can be a bit of a struggle. - You can go around killing mobs for some credits, and on the way pick up the materials nodes. Slicing the computer terminals and sending your companion(s) out to run missions. – Sell anything you don’t need. – If you want to use your artifice as a crafting skill, best to research your current schematics and reverse engineer the items you can make. Once they turn blue then research the list price on the GTN. – If you can farm materials and make blue or even purple items then selling them on the GTN can make a fair amount. – Do some simple calculations for cost to produce vs sale price minus the GTN tax. – Even a hundred credits profit / item can soon mount up. – Though you’ll probably need Treasure Hunting to go with the Artifice if you want to avoid buying expensive materials off the GTN.

 

If you are crafting, then always send your companions to get materials. Especially the generic stuff like Brocart filaments, insulating flux and thermionic gel. – Much more cost effective than buying it from crew-skill vendors.

 

If you have a bit of spare cash then the GTN can be your friend. Check the prices of generic materials. Sometimes someone dumps a few items for the suggested list price, or misses out a zero somewhere…. I bought 99 Krayt Dragon scales once for 40K – Usual price is 4-5K each!

 

Do some daily quests – at level 18 you could probably easily solo some heroic 2s at level 10 or so – Even do the Black Talon a couple of times, either solo or in group.

 

Group questing usually yields better drops from the mobs you kill. If you are sensible on your need/greed this can keep the credits rolling in. side missions are good too. Try ones around your level for the right rewards. Don’t try to take on every single mob in the game. Choose your targets carefully. Some are quite tough, and if you are continually defeated and paying for repairs then your bank balance will suffer.

 

Some space missions can yield money – the rewards are small at lower level, but OTOH there is minimal cost - You don’t have to pay repair bills to the ship even if you fail the mission.

 

If you have friends or are in a guild, you could ask them for a loan. –Best pay it back when you can to keep them sweet!

 

If you have some Cartel coins either by subbing or paying IRL then sell anything you don’t want or need. If you undercut some of the prices on the GTN then that can make for a quick sale. For example I recently got a WARZONE XP boost in a cartel pack. As I’m basically PvE that went straight on the market.

 

When you level up, sometimes it pays to wait until you actually need the skill on offer. – Speeder rank II can wait a few levels for instance. Also, if your gear can stand it, then don’t go for the absolute best. A purple hilt or mod or crystal is great, but you’ll outlevel it soon enough and need a new one. Save the credits and buy blue or green if you’re on a budget. Sell everything you’ll not need again. Old mods, hilts, level 10 medpacks, everything. – You might be surprised the number of characters with 3 cargo bays full of useless junk. – Ever going to need a piece of green armouring for a level 11 again – no?

 

At level 18 or so, probably best to gear up just 1 companion and stick with it. Match your playstyle to that companion for a bit. If you have a companion that can use your gear Hand-me-downs you can save quite a bit of cash. – As you rise through the levels, you’ll probably find 1 companion that gets used almost all the time. – That’s the one to keep geared. The others can wait. Also spend your planetary commendations. You’ll not need them in a few levels time, you’ll be too high a level to make much use of them, so spend them now!

 

There are many more strategies, but I’ll leave those for another time.

 

-Phew!

 

Good luck out there, May the Force be with You / Up the Empire!

Good tips there, I'd say if you don't buy items off the GTN, you can't help but accrue credits if you're doing the majority of quests in the area you're in. Always loot the grey junk, it's not much but adds up overtime.

 

Slicing should be a low profit skill for you which is better than most which cost you. If you're not into playing the GTN with the selling mats game, I'd think about dropping one of those for treasure hunting. Lockboxes can come back with decent items to vendor or equip.

 

The other low effort way I make credits is to grind companion gift missions (rich grade 5s) when I'm in ops or doing something else, low yield but you don't have to worry about what you need to craft any particular item, or reverse engineering etc. Ultimately you have to be quite serious about crafting to turn it into a profit maker on it's own.

Space combat missions were a BIG credit source on my first character, but there are some more generic tips I have given over the last 13 years playing MMOs:

 

- do not spend your money on anything you do not absolutely have to. At your level stims and medpacs fall into this category. They can be very attractive, but are NOT necessary.

 

- do every quest you can, you would be amazed how much the quest rewards add up.

 

- along those same lines, choose your quest rewards carefully. when you are offered a piece of gear or a planet comm, you sometimes need to weigh the benefits of both. Even if the piece of gear is not an upgrade it might be more valuable for the vendor credits than the one planet comm.

 

- make sure your inventory is as empty as possible when you go out so you can loot everything. Again, you would be amazed how quickly your credit total grows when you can sell 50 gray items to a vendor.

 

- have patience. So long as you have enough credits to train all your class and advanced class abilities your credit total is fine. If you can do that AND level your crew skills so much the better.

Pick up archaeology, bioanalysis, and scavenging. Scan every node you run across while leveling up, including animals and droids that you kill. Sell all the mats you gather on the GTN. Set the prices a little bit less than whatever is the lowest unit price when you post them, and your stuff will sell quick every time.

 

The reason this works out so well is that even low level mats sell very nicely to lazy crafters who don't like to farm, and the mats you gather cost you nothing in credits and almost nothing in time to get, so whatever you sell them for is pure profit. You also will not waste any credits leveling up your crew skills or reverse engineering patterns, as you have to do with the crafting and mission skills.

 

And once you hit 50, you will have a nicely maxed out farm toon that can generate tons of mats, and a steady income, to fund your other alts that you decide to take crafting skills on.

Edited February 13, 2013 by Heezdedjim

Pick up archaeology, bioanalysis, and scavenging. Scan every node you run across while leveling up, including animals and droids that you kill. Sell all the mats you gather on the GTN. Set the prices a little bit less than whatever is the lowest unit price when you post them, and your stuff will sell quick every time.

 

The reason this works out so well is that even low level mats sell very nicely to lazy crafters who don't like to farm, and the mats you gather cost you nothing in credits and almost nothing in time to get, so whatever you sell them for is pure profit. You also will not waste any credits leveling up your crew skills or reverse engineering patterns, as you have to do with the crafting and mission skills.

 

And once you hit 50, you will have a nicely maxed out farm toon that can generate tons of mats, and a steady income, to fund your other alts that you decide to take crafting skills on.

 

^^ This!

You CAN make money crafting, but you will ALWAYS make money gathering.

If you check prices on GTN, you can often find items listed much lower than the competition.

I like to do this with things I'm already selling since the prices are fresh in my mind.

Hello Everyone. Let me first say that this is my first MMO and I'm truly thankful to have finally taken the plunge...especially since it's STAR WARS. I am, however, COMPLETELY and UTTERLY overwhelmed in certain area's and am having GREAT difficulty learning 1. How to use my crew skills, and 2. How to employ crew skills with my 1st character so as to benefit all of my Future characters....? I would actually be willing to PAY someone through paypal to serve as a consultant via emails if ONLY in order to gain a grasp of the various workings of the game.

 

Please excuse my ignorance if I am entering this in the 'wrong' area of the forum. For instance, at level 33 Sith Marauder, I am still not sure how to 'scan' defeated droids or open safes or hack computer terminals for materials...? Also, I have NO clue how to 'sell' a mission on the GTN. Realize in advance that I am in my fifties, a retired competive endurance athlete and artiste who, though old in body, alas, is still very much kick *** in mind and spirit. .............Can anyone point me in the right direction as such to find a one on one way to connect with a master player or group....? My guild seems not to have any patience for actively doing what it takes to help me actually LEARN how to truly play the game for all its worth. I especially want to start using my crew skills to start accruing wealth for future distribution to my future legacy. Believe it or not, I have only done a singl flash point and find that the players are not really behaving in a militaristic fashion but only seem to run around chaotically with ZERO interest in behaving in a true tactical manner.. [ I was actually a battle feild analyst when I was in my early twenties]. Is this the way it is...? Is this the way 'war zones' are....? Pure chaos with zero attention to 'realistic' strategic behavior....? First and foremost, Please, somebody, help me get a grip on how to begin to use and strategize my crew for gathering and crafting for profit. And if anyone knows of anyplace where I can get one on one attention, PLEASE let me know. I learn slow, but one I learn something I usually 'go pro', and right now, I'm a bumbling ignoramous.

 

Thanx in advance. - Sa'Umyazza [lvl 33 Sith Marauder / Carnage]

Hello Everyone. Let me first say that this is my first MMO and I'm truly thankful to have finally taken the plunge...especially since it's STAR WARS. I am, however, COMPLETELY and UTTERLY overwhelmed in certain area's and am having GREAT difficulty learning 1. How to use my crew skills, and 2. How to employ crew skills with my 1st character so as to benefit all of my Future characters....? I would actually be willing to PAY someone through paypal to serve as a consultant via emails if ONLY in order to gain a grasp of the various workings of the game.

 

Please excuse my ignorance if I am entering this in the 'wrong' area of the forum. For instance, at level 33 Sith Marauder, I am still not sure how to 'scan' defeated droids or open safes or hack computer terminals for materials...? Also, I have NO clue how to 'sell' a mission on the GTN. Realize in advance that I am in my fifties, a retired competive endurance athlete and artiste who, though old in body, alas, is still very much kick *** in mind and spirit. .............Can anyone point me in the right direction as such to find a one on one way to connect with a master player or group....? My guild seems not to have any patience for actively doing what it takes to help me actually LEARN how to truly play the game for all its worth. I especially want to start using my crew skills to start accruing wealth for future distribution to my future legacy. Believe it or not, I have only done a singl flash point and find that the players are not really behaving in a militaristic fashion but only seem to run around chaotically with ZERO interest in behaving in a true tactical manner.. [ I was actually a battle feild analyst when I was in my early twenties]. Is this the way it is...? Is this the way 'war zones' are....? Pure chaos with zero attention to 'realistic' strategic behavior....? First and foremost, Please, somebody, help me get a grip on how to begin to use and strategize my crew for gathering and crafting for profit. And if anyone knows of anyplace where I can get one on one attention, PLEASE let me know. I learn slow, but one I learn something I usually 'go pro', and right now, I'm a bumbling ignoramous.

 

Thanx in advance. - Sa'Umyazza [lvl 33 Sith Marauder / Carnage]

 

Ilike when groups actually think of what each player can bring to the table but in low level flashpoints their are allot of new players that dont know and allot of alts who are fully geared for their level that feel it is just faster to plow through the flash point than to wait for tactics.

 

If you have the correct skill then just place your mouse pointer over the droid/computer and you will see the pointer change icons, if it is grey then you are out of range or do not have enough skill if it is gold just right click.

 

What server do you play on?

Hey thanks for the reply...! I currently play on 'HARBINGER' which is 'PVE' out here in Los Angeles. I'd REALLY like to play PVP but I know from the one single OP I did in PVP that I'm just not skilled enough yet to succeed [i died within 20 seconds each time I respawned....Ha ha. I can already tell that once I manage to figure out / evolve my own particular 'style' of 'control / aim / game play......I'll REALLY do well and have fun. Currently, I'm still trying to find the best peripherals for my hand size / play style. Luckily I can 'afford' to burn a little money buying products and testing them out. There's no way in hell I can make use of a mouse with 15--25 buttons, UNLESS they are placed exactly where I would naturally 'use' them.....which....thus far, the ONLY mouse which had managed to do this is the [color=Red]'Thermaltake e-sports level 10' mous[/color]e made in partnership with BMW's adavnced design team. I'm also just now trying out the 'Razer Orbweaver Game Pad', as well as the 'Gaming Glove' which is set to arrive tomorrow. The glove 'seems' like it just might be a viable option for me, but perhaps the Orbweaver will be the right controller. All I know is that a 'keyboard' doesn't 'seem' to do it for me. The buttons are just too damned close together for me to attain proper control. What are your thoughts on these peripherals that I am now set to use....????

 

Thanks for your input even if kinda brief though it may be. Yes...I finally figured out how to scan for 'nodes'. But I'm still having trouble with play style / control of character. I guess this just takes time....???? It's kinda frustrating not to be able to make the character 'do' what I want him to do WHEN I want him to do it.

 

ANY input / tips you may have for me regarding 'how' to go about establishing / finding a group who thinks alike and actually 'behaves' in a sane manner would be GREATLY appreciated. I'd REALLY like to find / build a group to play with so I can get into flashpoints and missions.

 

Thanks again.

Hey thanks for the reply...! I currently play on 'HARBINGER' which is 'PVE' out here in Los Angeles. ...

ANY input / tips you may have for me regarding 'how' to go about establishing / finding a group who thinks alike and actually 'behaves' in a sane manner would be GREATLY appreciated. I'd REALLY like to find / build a group to play with so I can get into flashpoints and missions.

 

Thanks again.

I think the only way you'll really find a regular group to play with is by joining a guild. I know you mentioned that you're in a guild already and they haven't been as helpful as you'd like, so maybe it's time to look around and see if another guild might be a better fit for you?

 

You could try posting on your server forums (http://www.swtor.com/community/forumdisplay.php?f=383), and also check for any recruitment posts that emphasise a helpful and welcoming environment for new players. If any guilds look promising, have a chat with the recruiters and let them know what sort of guild you're looking for.

 

You do need to be careful not to come across as being too "needy" when having these conversations, and that also applies if you do find a new guild. I understand that you're new to all this MMO stuff, but remember that the other players are here to have fun too, and they have their own things they want to do during their playtime. Many people will be happy to help with advice and the odd group, but you need to be a bit self-sufficient too - it's very easy to cross the line and get a bit stalker-ish

Flashpoint behavior is highly unpredictable.

 

Having said that, I have 2 experiences which I think will explain most of what you'll see.

 

Experience #1:

I was a noob to not only SWTOR, but also MMOs in general. I had my level 11 Guardian and I ran the Esseles FP. I had no idea how to find a group for it, so I tried it solo. I got owned, obviously. Eventually, I found another Guardian to help me. But this was obviously an alt for him, and he just rushed through the FP killing everything as he went. I helped, obviously, but I had no idea what we were doing. It was all I could do just to keep up with him. It felt "chaotic", just as you described.

 

Experience #2:

I just recently had my level 11 Powertech run the Black Talon FP (this is my 4th toon, my other 3 are level 50). I was grouped with 2 other players. One of them seemed to be a veteran of the game, and one seemed to be new to the game. I used Mako as the 4th group member, and with my massive Presence bonuses from my previous characters, I probably could have solo'd the content (except for the last boss). We absolutely rolled through that FP. The other veteran and I just kept on rolling to the next fight, and I noticed that the new player was always lagging behind. Once the FP was over, I had time to reflect on the fact that I had swapped roles. I was now the "fast, chaotic" player, instead of the one feeling out of sorts and getting left behind.

 

Here's the difference:

When you're new, you're not sure what to expect, and you're constantly trying to get your bearings. You'd love to plan out the next move: both to increase your chances for success, and also to give you more confidence that you know what's going on.

But as a veteran of flashpoints (story mode), you know that you can just roll through the whole thing (particularly Esseles/Black Talon), and that tactics/planning only makes the FP take longer.

 

So how you're going to approach a FP just depends upon your familiarity with it. If you really want to go through a FP carefully and plan/strategize, you'll need to be grouped with others who are also new to that FP (and probably on their first toon). I don't know how you would go about making that happen, but that's the only way I can think of that you would be able to achieve what you're looking for.

Thanks again for the input people. Yes, I am aware of being ''needy' / greedy'. In fact, EVERY time I'm logged on....I make it a point to go and actively FIND low level people and offer them help.....and or.....make myself available for help. But it seems to be a kind of one way street a lot of the time....???

 

My only other area right now which seems to be irritiating is this : I have a relatively easy time now finding nodes to 'slice' in order to get my slicing to 400 [eventually], but I have yet to find ANY way to find 'Archeological' nodes, OR 'Underworld trading nodes'. ???? Does this mean that you may ONLY opt for paying for your crew to do 'missions' on Archeology and Underworld trading....??? If so....I don't see how in heck you can / or will---EVER get to 400 unless through spending ALL your credits on them....plus....it seems thus far, that the there are NEVER any NEW missions available in the crew window.....they always stay the same missions...and whenever I try to repeat them too often...the crew member FAILS. So what I am NOT understanding here.....??? Why is this stuff NOT explained properly in the tuturials....? How the heck are you supposed to actually figure this stuff out....??? If you can, PLEASE help me figure this out....so I can get to work on this area of the game.... I SURE would appreciate someone explaining this area to me. Truly. Thanx again for your input / help.

Thanks again for the input people. Yes, I am aware of being ''needy' / greedy'. In fact, EVERY time I'm logged on....I make it a point to go and actively FIND low level people and offer them help.....and or.....make myself available for help. But it seems to be a kind of one way street a lot of the time....???

 

My only other area right now which seems to be irritiating is this : I have a relatively easy time now finding nodes to 'slice' in order to get my slicing to 400 [eventually], but I have yet to find ANY way to find 'Archeological' nodes, OR 'Underworld trading nodes'. ???? Does this mean that you may ONLY opt for paying for your crew to do 'missions' on Archeology and Underworld trading....??? If so....I don't see how in heck you can / or will---EVER get to 400 unless through spending ALL your credits on them....plus....it seems thus far, that the there are NEVER any NEW missions available in the crew window.....they always stay the same missions...and whenever I try to repeat them too often...the crew member FAILS. So what I am NOT understanding here.....??? Why is this stuff NOT explained properly in the tuturials....? How the heck are you supposed to actually figure this stuff out....??? If you can, PLEASE help me figure this out....so I can get to work on this area of the game.... I SURE would appreciate someone explaining this area to me. Truly. Thanx again for your input / help.

Archaeology is a gathering skill, so you should be able to find nodes for that - they look like crystalline outcrops, and should show up as available nodes on your minimap.

 

Underworld Trading is a missions-only skill, so the only way you can level it is to pay for your crew to run missions. For this reason it may not be ideal for your first character because it's quite slow to level the skill, but looking ahead it's a very valuable "support" skill for the Cybertech, Armormech and Synthweaving professions. If you stick to the "Underworld Metals" missions, you should be able to sell them at a profit, but it'll be pretty slow going to level up - the fabrics don't sell so well because only a subset of Synthweaving uses them, and companion gifts are a very mixed bag.

 

Mission failures are random, they happen from time to time - it's not related to how often you run the same mission. As you level up, more missions become available. You still gain skill points even if the mission is a failure, but you don't get anything to sell.

 

Re: "How do I learn this stuff?", I honestly just learned by reading the tutorial items on the Codex, and then a bit of trial and error. I've got a ton of fairly useless Luxury Fabrics because I didn't realise those weren't as useful as the metals when I was levelling Underworld Trading, and maybe I wasted some credits finding that out, but it's really not that big a deal

Edited March 5, 2013 by rgrocott

Many thanks 'Old Ben' and 'Rgncot'. Points well taken. Though I have managed to get going on the slicing nodes, which do in fact show up on my map, I have yet to see anthing show up on the map for Archeology....and....If I go up to those 'crystal' out croppings which I do in fact see as I explore....nothing happens. If I click on them....I get nothing. So I don't know what I am doing wrong. Yes...I do in fact have Archeology currently trained. So I'm not sure what's wrong. Based on your advice 'Rgncot', I'll likely drop the underworld trading and retrain with 'biotech'.

 

Old Ben.....thanks for the info. Yes....it makes sense to me now. I guess I'll just lay back and just level up at least two 'toons' [is that what you call them ?]. I've been calling them 'characters' up to now. Though I'd like very much to get into flashpoints and group missions....I don't seem to be good at finding anyone who I seem to be similar to in terms of experience.....I'm either a lot better than, or much to slow for the people I seem to find thus far. So, that said, even though it' s getting kind of lonely now for me to go about the WHOLE game 'solo'......I guess that's what I likely have to accept for now. Mind you brothers....I'm in my 50's now, and I suppose that may have some degree of impact on 'how' I approach the game play, even so, believe it or not....a ten or 12 hour gameplay time for me seems to be pretty normal now. I wish I had been using my crew skills from the get go, 'cause now my level 33 Sith Marauder is WAAAY behind on crew skill......and......I thus far have a very meager 'social' point accruement.

 

Thanks very much for taking time to address my points. It sounds to me like you just have to figure it all out on your own in terms of 'how' to go about setting up your keys and mouse. Though I'd really like to speak to someone about what works best, I'm not able to find anyone yet who seems capable of speaking about this in a way which makes sense to me. One thing IS for certain : The BEST thing I've done thus far was equip myself with a Razer Orbweaver. I know feel as if I have the potential to attain Powerful control over the vastness of the game's dynamics, whereas, before, I just couldn't seem to control things properly. A keyboard just wasn't cutting it for me.

 

Thanks again brothers.

A couple of points..

 

1) You don't have to participate in crafting at all to be successful in SWTOR, it's an extension of the game that can improve the leveling speed of alts (alternate characters). But it's not actually necessary to level crafting skills, while leveling your character. It can give you a few nice perks a long the way with your first toon ~ but if it's done wrong it can actually slow your game progress and ingame accumulation of wealth down.

 

2) The type of control interface you use is much less important that having a solid understanding of your character's abilities & how those abilities synergize with other advanced classes. "hotkeying" with an mmo mouse is major upgrade, but it's not actually necessary for better than average play in PvE.

 

3) Acuumulating social points has almost no impact in SWTOR. All that social rank will gain you is access to a social set of armor from each planet, and a couple of in game "toys" & titles. Not to say that social rank isn't worth pursuing, it's just not something to become focused on.

 

4) About a third of the acheology nodes are "artifacts" & these can be very difficult to spot from almost any distance on any terrain other than snow. If your inventory is full, the harvest will proceed but the items will not be added to your bag. They will instead remain in the node & be instantly harvested by the next player to attempt to harvest that node. Sometimes it doesn't hurt to double right click on a node, and harvest it yourself ~ instead of waiting on your companion.

 

5) It can be very difficult to distinguish between advanced players & bat-**** insane players. Because advanced players don't tend to take normal content or even some hardmode content very seriously. Grouping with either can be a jarring experience for a new player. Advanced players have certain expectations of other advanced players, and this leads them to behave in somewhat strange ways just because of force of habit.

Edited March 6, 2013 by Cleet_Xia

... I have yet to see anthing show up on the map for Archeology....and....If I go up to those 'crystal' out croppings which I do in fact see as I explore....nothing happens. If I click on them....I get nothing. So I don't know what I am doing wrong. Yes...I do in fact have Archeology currently trained. So I'm not sure what's wrong.

That definitely sounds odd. I don't know if that's the kind of thing that can get bugged, but if you haven't levelled your Archaeology via missions yet, maybe try dropping the skill and relearning it, assuming you want to keep that skill.

 

Based on your advice 'Rgncot', I'll likely drop the underworld trading and retrain with 'biotech'.

Not sure if you mean Biochem or Bioanalysis there If you take Biochem, then you absolutely must take Bioanalysis to support it (replacing your Archaeology), or you won't have the materials needed to craft the items. You could buy them on the AH instead, but that would be horribly expensive.

 

As a general rule, each crafting skill has one primary gathering skill that supports it, and one mission-based skill that provides the additional materials needed to craft blue and purple quality items. Example combinations are:

 

Biochem + Bioanalysis + Diplomacy

Armormech + Scavenging + Underworld Trading

Armstech + Scavenging + Investigation (wouldn't recommend this, it's much less useful and profitable)

Synthweaving + Archaeology + Underworld Trading

 

A decent guide for the basics is http://www.darthhater.com/articles/feature/19800-guide-choosing-crew-skills

 

Personally, my preference for a first character on a server is Biochem + Bioanalysis + Slicing. Bioanalysis gets you the materials you need to level Biochem, and you can use the meds and stims from Biochem to help you level, while Slicing brings in some cash. Alternatively, you can buy re-usable purple quality meds and stims on the GTN as you level up - these don't get bound when you use them, so once you upgrade to the next level of these items, you can sell the old ones on the GTN to get your money back. These require you to have a certain level of Biochem skill to use, so you can reverse engineer the Biotech items you create to get back some more materials to help get your Biochem skill level up quickly.

One other thing I'd say. Given that you're already lvl 33, the amount of time needed to go back and level a new gathering profession to the point where you can gather materials during your current quests may simply not be worth it.

 

As someone else mentioned, you don't *need" these professions, they're just a nice-to-have that makes your life easier. I suspect that the amount of time you'd spend levelling those professions would be significantly more than the time they'll save you getting to level 50. Maybe just do the questing/flashpoint thing for now, and when you start your next alt and decide what crew skills they'll have, you can pick up a supporting mission-based skill on your Marauder, and level it easily with your 5 companions and all the spare cash you will hopefully have at level 50

Hey Rgrcot---Thanx again for the input. Much appreciated. Thanks for the link too....it's very helpful. I'll do just as you've suggested. It'll work out OK since, thus far, 'slicing' is the only crew skill which I've managed to get going on. You might think it's kinda funny that an guy my age is into this, but in truth, I wish I'd tried this 'MMO' stuff years ago....'cause I really like it alot. I'm considering, now, spending a little money and building my own computer which I use solely for SWTOR, but alas, I'm kind of at a loss as to 'where' to go online for advice...??? Might you have any suggestions...??? The problem I'm having is this : I can't find a source through which to make component choices which WILL do the job MINUS the bias of a salesman attempting to get me to 'spend' 2 or 3 times the amount I truly need to. I simplly want to build a system that WILL allow me to run the game in 'HD'....meaning that I REALLY want to experience the game in the highest resolution possible at this point in time, and, which will grant me a 'lag free' gaming experience. I'm really having difficulty finding someone who can tell me what I need compontent wise to build a system optimized for leveraging 'SWTOR'. For instance, I already know I DO NOT need anything like dual graphic cards, but that I DO need a high end chipset as well as a single high end graphics card, as well as a sturdy motherboard.....but......Who should I go with....???....Intel OR AMD...??? Nvidia OR EVGA...??? I'm by no means rich, but I DO have a few bucks set aside to do this. ANY advice you might be able to share would be very much appreciated. Again, thanks very much for your help / time. I can't wait to get enough legacy points to get myself a jet-pack...! By the way, what server do YOU play on currently...??? Are you a PVP player...???

^^ This!

You CAN make money crafting, but you will ALWAYS make money gathering.

If you check prices on GTN, you can often find items listed much lower than the competition.

I like to do this with things I'm already selling since the prices are fresh in my mind.

 

+1 crafting is almost always a loss unless you really put time into researching what sells then being dedicated to it. It costs alot to level it up mission skills (which are needed for most of the things ppl want) and it's hard to get those credits back. For a new player, it's easier to not worry about making anything.

 

Gather and sell. Use planetary commendations or mission rewards to keep you in decent equipment.

@Shiziticus, I can't really help you on PC components - I'm in the UK, so I'm not familiar with US hardware vendors. What I can say is that SWTOR is not a very demanding game when it comes to graphics - I have a Radeon 5850 graphics card, an Intel i5 processor, and the game runs smoothly for me with everything except shadows set to High. In short, it's not the sort of game that requires a dedicated PC to run well

You may want to hold off on buying your upgrade for a few months, until a few things get worked out.

 

A lot of people are having difficulty getting SWTOR to run under windows 8, as not all the drivers for the grafics cards are 100% compatible. It's purely a software issue, and will no doubt be resolved over time.

 

Pretty much any new off the shelf desktop pc has more than enough basic hardware for SWTOR. But you'll want to spend between $100 - $200 on a video card (I recommend NVidia). Depending on the model this may require a power supply upgrade to support the video card.

Thanx for the input 'Cleet'.... Really appreciate it. I won't be using windows 8. I don't like it. Also, I won't be buying an off the shelf rig, rather, I'll be building it myself, so I'll be able to create a nice, clean, crap-free hard-drive / set up / install. I 'may' end up using the computer for a few other non 'MMO' games too. I first tried SWTOR the second month of it's release.....and put it aside because my computer at the time didn't seem to agree with it. But as of late....[for about a month now] I've been playing steady on an ASUS gaming laptop....which 'seems' to do OK as long as a few of the settings are turned off and or to 'low' setting, however, I got a chance to see someone playing the game at '1020 x 1080' and knew then and there that THAT is how I wanted to experience this game BEFORE I go any further-----'cause------you only get ONE opportunity to experience each world / and each toon's story ONCE. Only ONCE. So that is pretty much why I want to wait until I can play the game on MAX settings across the board.

 

Also....I've attempted to experiment with 'other' MMO's out there at this time....and NONE of them grant me whatever it is that makes me 'feel' EAGER to play.....as does SWTOR. When STAR WARS originally came out.....I was in my mid teens [1977-78]. It utterly changed my life. In fact, as I recall, I saw 'Empire Strikes Back' at the Drive right near the beach on Cape-Cod in Massachussetts. So even though I'm likely a lot older than most of you....I'm really and truly thankful that SWTOR has come to be. I just wish the graphics were a bit more 'spruced up'. Example....on Tatooine, I really would have liked it if there were 'sand storms' etc....but it's kinda 'flat' and there is really zero in terms of dynamic 'Weather' in the game. 'Weather' can REALLY enhance immersion, which, in turn, can TRULY bind you to the game a lot more. Perhaps in time....???? Thanx again for the input.