I've been Reverse Engineering level 49 pieces since not that long after launch, with 400 Cybertech at player level 28. I have around twenty level 49 schematics, and just got a new one two days ago. The rate feels about the same to me, with an average of around 60 attempts, so I don't think it was "broken" with any patch. I think it's more likely that the feedback has convinced them to make things easier. To be honest, I can't help but feel a little amused every time I see a "I RE'd 50 pieces and got NOTHING" post.

Personally, I don't have that big of a problem with the Reverse Engineering rate. I think my average for getting a level 49 purple from a blue is somewhere around 60 attempts. Not that big of a deal. It's an investment that I've been willing to make. In fact, I'm not really looking forward to it being super easy for everyone to get to where I'm at after the patch. Yeah, I'm kind of bitter about that. The problem I have is with the randomness of what you get, and the horrible, horrible random itemization. It can take you three or four "wins" to get you anything that even worth making, and THAT is the messed up part about it. Instead of 60 attempts, bad schematics can make the attempts needed to get something actually usable balloon into 200 attempts or more. That, and the awful "you already know that schematic" return.

I can't speak for Armormech, but if I had it to do over, I probably would not go Cybertech. I would go Slicing, Underworld Trading, and another gathering/mission skill, which should allow me to hit 50 with a few million in the bank. Commendations, quest rewards, and loot drops allow your character to level just fine, and the blanks can be filled in from the GTN. Even if I planned to go with one of the crafting skills at 50 for the purposes of end-game, I would probably still level with mission/gathering skills. It's usually easy to power level a skill when you're 50.

It's a nice thought, but I can't see it happening. BioWare LOVES the combination of RNG and crew skills.

Actually, the best reason to take Slicing is because it's an incredible support skill for crafting. Slicing has the potential to return an unlocked mission item on a critical. Those unlocked mission items account for about 80% of the Mandalorian Iron I acquire, and a large percentage of my Promethium and Zal Alloy(grade 5 and 6 metals and compounds). An Underworld Trading unlocked mission item can return about 50k worth of materials, for instance. That's why I run Slicing missions non-stop when my companions aren't being used for other things. Even the ones I can't use can be sold on the GTN, from prices of 4k to 25k (level 340). The lockboxes are completely secondary, and only make up a small fraction of the profit Slicing generates for me. That aside, I don't really disagree with anything else you've said. I don't think crafting is broken. I keep 5 or 6 pages of Earpieces on the GTN at all times. However, it does have a LOT of problems, and I often see others being quick to discount those problems because they've managed to avoid them. I do understand that this thread isn't about that, though, which I can respect. On the subject of high-level purples, I would like to say a little bit. You actually can make quite a bit of credits, but it requires a huge investment. You have to be willing to spend millions to procure purple schematics, and you have to be willing to make dozens of slow selling pieces in order to craft those much desired slotted pieces. I crafted ten Inquisitor Earpieces today, and two of them were slotted. Both of them sold within 10 minutes after advertising just once on fleet, for 150k each. Obviously that's not going to happen most of the time, but if you're willing to invest, the level 49+ market does still hold some areas of profitability.

A good portion of my previous post was aimed more at the "if you're not rich you're doing it wrong" crowd than at the OP. That's the sentiment that annoys me. People shouldn't HAVE to give up on the level 49+ market. The proliferation of daily quest reward mods on the GTN being sold at BELOW what they cost to craft is a problem people SHOULD be complaining about, and even those not affected should understand why others are bothered by it. I don't mind a thread intended to talk about the positives of crafting, not at all, but some posts are much too smug and dismissive of the problems others are having. The crafting system could, and should, be a lot better than it is, and I'm pretty anxious to see the changes that have been mentioned.

It's easy to pick out the good bits about any profession, but I can't help but dislike the idea that because there are good parts, no one should say a word about the problems. And there ARE problems, like it or not. First of all, most of the threads that complain about crafting are complaining about the unique value of that skill, what makes it worthwhile as opposed to OTHER crew skills. Inevitably, however, about half the replies will be "IT'S GOOD BECAUSE I MAKE A PROFIT". Well, yeah. My cat could get rich in this game. Anything can make money. Also, because you make and sell blue gear to low level characters, a market that will likely shrink as we get further from launch, by the way, does not mean that the people who want to craft level 50 gear do not have a right to complain about the impact daily quest rewards have on this game. They absolutely have just as much right to be annoyed with that as you would if BioWare started replacing low level commendation blues with purples. Just because something does not affect YOU does not mean that it is invalid. That's a selfish mind-set. As to the OP's assertion that you can't depend on commendation gear, loot drops, and quest rewards while you level, that's not even close to being true. This is an easy game, and you can level perfectly fine without ever using a crafted product. If you feel the need to keep your gear up to date, that's awesome, more power to you, but it probably won't have much of an impact outside of a few builds. I had level 400 Cybertech before I was level 30, and once I realized I didn't need to update my gear often, I stopped making mods and armoring for myself. I did make the occasional Earpiece, but nothing I couldn't have bought off the GTN. Personally, when someone asks me about how to make credits, I tell them to ignore crafting. Yes, as I've said, you can make money with crafting, but you can make more if you go with gathering/mission skills. You can buy everything you need and still be absolutely wealthy by the time you hit 50. I'll be honest, here. I've sold low level gear. Sure, it sold pretty well, but at level 50, the profit from doing that is almost negligible, at least in my experience. If I'm not crafting high level purples, then I can't help but think that my companion's time would be better spent on Underworld Trading or Slicing missions.

You've got to hope for a critical hit, basically. If you get lucky and the mission is a critical, then you'll get purple metals. The better way is to get your paws on some unlocked mission items, though they can be seriously overpriced on the GTN. I get most of mine from Slicing, though I'll buy them if they're within reason.

I"m still reading a lot of people saying "it's good because you can make credits with it". What does that have to do with anything? You can also make credits hand-over-fist by going with three gathering/mission skills. With all those credits, you can gear up yourself and your companions on the GTN quite easily. You could go with zero crew skills and level quite comfortably on nothing but commendations, drops, and quest rewards. Why, then, is it a point people fall back on over and over when talking about how good a crafting skill is? I could understand it if the question was "can I turn a profit with X crafting skill", but it's not. "I can turn a profit with it" and "I can keep myself geared up while I level" aren't really accomplishments. Both things can be done quite easily in SWTOR, regardless of the route you take. I think people want to know what makes a particular crew skill different or unique in these kinds of threads, not what makes it just like everything else.

What is means is that they decided to use a horrible and extremely lazy system for itemization. I have 16 schematics for level 49 Earpieces, and only four of those are worth making.

I'm wondering what you mean by relevant. This is not a hard game to level up in. You do not need to keep all your gear at the same level as your character. That simply is not necessary. I had 400 Cybertech before I was level 28, and I almost never made my own armoring or mods. I just didn't find it worth the effort and expense when I was leveling up easily without having to RE for blue schematics. You also fail to mention the mods and pieces of gear you get from drops and as quest rewards, which reduces the total commendation cost. I've never really understood the idea that being able to make minor upgrades to your gear while leveling is much of a draw. I mean, it's fine, but it's nothing special. You can easily go with three gathering or mission skills, keep your armor up to date via the GTN, and hit level 50 with millions of credits in the bank. There is also the "X crafting skill is good because I've made credits with it" defense. Again, that means very little in a game where you can go without any crew skills at all and still be wealthy.

Cybertech has grenades, and that's pretty much it. Though, honestly, I think I used maybe two of them while leveling. A five minute timer and the expense involved kept me for ever depending on them. You can get reusable versions at level 50 by raiding or farming hard modes for materials, and I understand some people like them for PVP, but the damage is too low for it to have much of an impact in end-game PVE. Everything else you can get from the GTN. A potential exception might be slotted purple Earpieces at level 49, but that usually requires a huge investment of time and money in order to get the exact Earpiece you want. If you don't intend to sell them, then it's probably cheaper to just watch the GTN for what you want. It will pop up there eventually.

"Slicing missions aren’t as bad as the detractors make it out to be, but at the same time they aren’t inherently as good as the defenders make them out to be. To make it that good requires some serious work." I pretty much agree. Slicing is something you have to run a LOT of in order to see the real picture. If I'm playing, and my companions aren't crafting, then four, or sometimes even five of them are on Slicing missions. My priority order is 'Taking Back Control', 'Fly on the Wall', 'Data Race', 'Plug the Leak', and then sometimes I'll run the lower level grade 5 missions hoping for a level 300 UT unlock. Yeah, I get a lot of net losses, and someone who doesn't run many missions would probably get very discouraged by that, but the much less frequent large criticals go a long way toward balancing that out. Seeing a loss pop up doesn't concern me in the least. Actually, I don't even usually pay attention to how much a lockbox returns unless it's blue. What I'm really after, and what puts Slicing on par with most other crew skills, are the unlocked missions. Factor those in, and it's a nice profit over the long run. Not nearly as steady as something like Underworld Trading, but certainly not bad, provided you stick with it.

Seriously, buy them from the GTN. They're often dirt cheap, and there aren't really all that many of them. Going with Slicing in order to get schematics for Cybertech, for instance, is a waste of time--if that's all you want from Slicing, that is. I get them all the time, and almost always vendor them, as people usually sell them on the GTN for LESS than the vendor price. Don't pick your skills based on getting schematics. That should be one of the last criteria you consider.

It should have been taken out of the crafting progression ladder and given to NPC vendors. There is very little more frustrating than thinking you've learned a schematic only to discover it has +presence, which you will likely never make or sell, or to get a purple +28 augment that might otherwise be worth 100k or more only to discover that it's an absolutely worthless +presence augment. Rar. Rage rage. It's like a rather vicious joke BioWare decided to play on anyone who wants to craft.

While you level, perhaps. A lot of people like to keep their gear up to date. It's not necessary, though. You can level just fine with commendation mods and quest gear. Even with max level Cybertech, I almost never made my own mods. You might be able to make some money with it at low levels, but it's generally less than you would make with many gathering/mission skills, as crafting demands a lot of investment. When you're level 50, probably not. If you PVP a lot, you might like the grenades for the extra CC every five minutes, though the damage is pitiful. Still inferior to BioChem, though. Level 6 ship upgrades still sell, though the market is becoming clogged and the demand is declining as the player base matures. Depends on your server, really. Cybertech Armoring is invalidated by level 50 daily quest commendations, which offer superior quality, while Earpiece and Mods demand are hurt badly by compatible quality items. In my opinion, the only thing Cybertech has going for it is the ability to make slotted purple level 49 Earpieces on a crit. The crit rate is low, however, so for every slotted piece you get, expect to have around ten or so unslotted pieces that sell badly. I have an entire storage bay filled with them, so I've been reduced to REing the unslotted purple Earpieces I create. It's a discouraging feeling, especially since the material return is so meager. Also, if you want to craft Earpieces for profit, then you're going to have to eventually raid for schematics in order to keep up, at least from what I understand. Crafting is going to be Raid or Die based, so if you're not into that, then I wouldn't even bother with it.

If I had it to do over, I definitely would not go Cybertech. I have the schematics for the purple mods and armoring I would use at level 50, but it was so much more economical and practical to get them from daily quests that I've never actually used those schematics. It's kind of funny, if you think about it, how that entire segment has been invalidated so simply and easily. I passed on making the level 50 speeder. It would cost about 150k to build, so I just got a 55k speeder instead. If it had been unique, I probably would have gone for it, but it's just a recolor. I never got around to making the grenades. The damage is so low that I can't see how it would be worth the global cooldown in PVE, not unless I was badly overheating. Firing off another Tracer Missile would be a much better option otherwise. I suppose if you're really into PVP it might be different. The only really nice thing I got out of Cybertech is an excellent slotted Earpiece, but I'm sure I could found one on the GTN with a little patience. I've made credits with Cybertech, but no more than if I had simply gone Slicing / Scavenging / Underworld Trading. Actually, given the enormous amount of credits I've sunk into Cybertech, I would probably have made a LOT more without it. That being said, I'm not going to drop Cybertech until the next major content patch. I'll see what they do with the augment system, which they've promised to improve, and if they live up to their stated claim to make the economy more player driven. I'm giving them a chance. If not, then BioChem still looks like the way to go.

From selling Earpieces, I've noticed that a lot of people pass on buying slotted gear. I suppose some of that at low levels is because SWTOR does absolutely nothing to explain about augments, and most new players are confused about it or simply unaware that it exists. I've heard so many questions about augments in general or guild chat. People also have color fixations. People will pass on a slotted green for a blue, or a slotted blue for a purple, even when the slotted has the potential to be a better piece. I think many people prefer simply not to bother with the extra effort of finding and buying an augment, as well. I've become pretty disenchanted with how the system works at level 49+, to be honest. No one wants slotted blues or unslotted purples at that level, I assume because of daily quest rewards. I have tons of each in storage, and they just don't sell very well, even at low prices. Slotted purple Earpieces DO sell, on the other hand, but the critical crafting rate is so low, probably about 10% or less, judging from my own experiences. It's not that it would be hard to get a fair number of them, it's rather that I end up with so many unslotted versions that I have no more space for them. Soon I will start having to RE any unslotted purples, which just seems wrong somehow. That's the way the system works, however, so there is little use in complaining about it. Still, I can't help but wonder if that was what BioWare intended. I think I would much rather they take the RNG aspect out so I didn't have to bother with all these unwanted purples. Just give me a straight schematic for a slotted piece that requires five times the materials, or something to that effect. Stop forcing me to waste my time producing unwanted stuff, just hoping for a lucky crit.

No absorption. The stats that can be added from a blue to a purple are Accuracy, Alacrity, Presence, Surge, and Shield. The blues you get from a green can add Critical, Power, and Defense. Those are the only combinations. The five purple stats get added on top of the blue stats. Oh, and apparently, there is some kind of bug where you cannot get a purple which adds Alacrity to a Redoubt (Defense) piece.

You can RE the Redoubt blue until you, hopefully, get a Veracity piece, which adds +shield. That would be the best pure tank Bounty Hunter piece you can craft. I have a mastercraft version up for sale right now.

I hate to ask, but what the bloody hell are you talking about? Nothing you said had anything to do with what I said. Rares less rare? Wha ..? You really got that from me pointing out that there is often just as much or more profit in selling materials than in selling crafted goods? Really?

Dropping UT simply for the purposes of leveling CT might not be a bad idea. You can completely do without UT if you just want to power level CT to 400. It's in the crafting of blues, and especially purples, where UT becomes your biggest roadblock. If you want to craft level 49 purples then UT is almost a necessity, and Slicing helps in obtaining UT materials. However, another roadblock to end-game pieces is Zal Alloy, a grade 6 material obtained from Scavenging. It can be pretty scarce and/or expensive. The best solution I've found is to level up an alt for the fourth profession, but I know that's not a route everyone wants to take.

It's actually kind of hard to make suggestions without knowing quite what you're looking for. For example, some people believe Cybertech is good for leveling, but it doesn't offer much at all if you plan to do end-game instances. What is your focus? Personally, if I had it to do over, I'd go straight profit for leveling, and not worry about crafting until I neared the level cap. Crafting can be a huge financial drain, especially while your income is low. With a level 50, however, you can easily make hundreds of thousands of credits a day, and power level a craft easily. You don't even need crafting while leveling, anyway. Some people like to be geared up at all times, but this is an easy game, especially if you're in a group, and you can easily progress with quest and commendation rewards, and an occasional trip to the GTN. Crafting can easily turn into a time/money sink. That's just my personal take, and how I would do it if I were to reroll. I had 400 Cybertech before I was level 30, but I almost never made my own gear. Just never felt the need for it. I think Earpieces were the only items I worried about at all. Now, as a level 50, it does nothing for me.

You mean, besides buying them on the GTN or from someone you know?

I actually agree with you there, for the most part. I've already made a significant investment in Cybertech, millions of credits worth, with 16 level 49 purple earpiece schematics. I'm not dropping it yet, as much as I covet what BioChem brings to the table. But if the next major patch goes by and I'm still dropping large amounts on the GTN for Stims with no end-game usefulness for Cybertech, then I will be yet another BioChem convert. However, for anyone new to the game, I still say there is no compelling reason to pick Cybertech.