Classic commendations aren't very useful unless you do not have the expansion. Otherwise you can get special speeders with them, that's about it unless you want the gear for looks.

One of the main things to avoid in the fight is the barrage of missiles, its important to keep moving when he starts launching them. I like to warn people about that beforehand when activating the console to his room (since all characters have to activate it to open).

There should be a plus sign around the portrait to bring the action bar back/maximize it, if not, check the interface editor to see if it is disabled or something. In the main menu (Esc or the Gears button in the top menu should bring it up) it should be under tools.

Usually if you ask in the general chat channel you can get a group together for it. At 55 he is a very easy world boss to solo even as a healer, so a single 50/55 should pretty much guarantee victory.

Orange gear is one of my favorite things about this game. I started using a full set around my 30's when I purchased an Investigator set and haven't looked back, just saved up 100 comms and then bought what I could. I used partial orange armor up to that point and it worked out well, just used some comms for upgrades and some quest rewards for the others. I've never outfitted my companion with moddable armor till 55 though, too expensive for me, and tank type mods are very rare till mid-late game. Gearing my guardian character with +defense mods before mid 30's has proved nearly impossible, but "Guardian" works out pretty well, its a shame that those stats are so rare early on and not craftable.

It reminds me of a huge Star Wars original trilogy arcade game I enjoyed in the late 90's-early 00's. It also rewards decent exp.

There is also Derelict Purple, which is still available from Contraband Cartel Packs, and requires lvl 10.

There is also the cartel market lvl 31 epic custom armor, for about 1,200 cartel coins. I bought it when my first character hit 31 and it was nice for a few levels and then replaced it with blue mods bought with planetary commendations or from the GTN. I still enjoy the armor at 55, but I recently put together a hodge-podge of cheap custom armor for a new character at about 2k-15k per piece, and it doesn't look too bad with a dye module and unify colors.

I hit 50 the past week and hit 55 mid-Makeb storyline. Since then I've just been doing daily quests for basic commendations to get gear (Makeb, Section X, and Black Hole areas). I also upgraded my orange gear to 148/156 rating using cheap blue/purple rank 28 modifications and working towards better ones when I can afford them. Unless you have a lot of credits I'd stick with some orange gear, but you could always look for some better cosmetic ones out there (cartel pack orange armors are generally very cheap on the galactic trade network), and the Makeb mod vendor sells purple lvl 50 mods for planetary commendations (10 for armor/weapon parts, 4 for mods/enhancements). I bought the Investigator armor at lvl 31 and put a dark blue/white dye module in it and still enjoy it at 55. The lvl 55 vendor armor isn't very attractive, at least Republic side...

Legacy unlocks are probably the best value for long term convenience, especially the ones requiring a high leveled legacy to unlock for credits. Cartel packs can be relatively fun, unless you're going for something specific. Armor unlocks can be nice for alts if you're already past lvl 31.