For me I am using the 12 end 18 willpower aug for the simple reason I will be dropping all my + crit rating gear for gear with +power and +surge. And the cheapest way to get the mods would be to just to actually use the gear with those enhancements... I did the math and it is much MUCH cheaper to just use the Force Mystic or Force Master gear that has +Power Surge. Now this works best for a DPS Kenetic Shadow since the only really need the 2 piece bonus from the Survivor. So the other 3 pieces can be the optimized Power Surge gear. Though it really sucks buying 2 WH survivor items just for the Armoring mod... My set up is Helm and Gloves will have the Survivor armoring and the mod/enhancements from the BM Stalker items (will upgrade these last). From there WH Stalker Chest, and Force Mystic/Master legs/boots/DBLS/implants/bracer. The WH Stalker Belt is good though.

I dropped 1 point from Psychokinesis to cover it.

There is a lower level crafted set... forget the name but I have them on the server Sanctum of the Exalted. EDIT: It is the Traditional Demicot Lower Robe. They are actually trousers/pants. And they are white.

I personally use 31/1/9. It works very well and gives me a force cost reduction on Project/Double Strike and gives the Infiltration Tactics buff a 10% chance to go off... which is more often than you would realize.

Basically I got into a discussion with someone that was trying to RE a green to blue to purple to advanced purple (I believe that is the correct progression). And they said once they got the final product they were going to try and craft the epic for an Augment slot. I commented that the aug slot was impossible. Well I got called idiot and a lot of other things. Am I wrong? I know crits on most everything else can give you an aug slot but i swear i read before that you cannot get an aug slot on schematics gained this way. Am I wrong? Did I miss something? I know I have never seen a RE learned schematic yield an aug.

Augmented Consular Vestments is what I wear iirc. It is a dark grey/purplish. UNFORTUNATELY there are no black robes. Closest thing is the lvl 20 or 40 PvP armor. Once you can augment something without crafting it I will be wearing it again.

Damage wise this is true. http://www.jedilace.com/category/swtor/ However Expertise also increases your damage reduction in PvP (along with increased healing). So unless it is a really REALLY good PvE piece I would still use the expertise items for PvP. For example the only PvE piece I run right now is my Rakata Relic (End, Power use:def rating) that has an augment slot (12 end 18 willpower). I use this instead of a PvP relic due to much better stats... but other than than I use the PvP stuff.

Just a little variation that has added some umph to my play. 31/1/9 The 1 point into infiltration tactics adds so much burst to the spec. SS is useless without it. I also get Kenetic Ward because I am a ball carrier a lot and it helps. I choose 2/3 Nerve Racking over any points in Mental Fortitude. And 1/2 in Rapid Recovery. I use a shield. Other than that full DPS gear with 2 pieces of Survivor gear for the 2 piece bonus (fully modded with DPS mods etc).

The question I have been trying to find the answer for is will the Champion/Columi items' armor and hilt mods become available to trade out or upgrade?

nevermind

quote of some of what I said: And for the people who say you can't tank and do damage well... I have never seen that nor will I ever tell you that. Quote of what he said: Well, honestly, I lack numbers to judge curently, but I readed a lot of time experienced players saying than the extra survivability you get with a defensive gear is far less noticeable than the extra DPS you get with an offensive gear. I wonder if someone will be able to bring real number after the 1.2 logs will be there. and my response: I never said tank gear. Tank is a role. And with DPS gear you can do plenty of damage. And you can provide plenty of protection as well.

Is there somewhere we can see the new PvP gear and what its stats might be.

Try this if you don't want to be the norm. 31/1/9. I personally think Slow Time is just too good not to use. Between its damage, its damage debuff, and its AoE snare it is amazing. I used to refuse to use it... but I finally tried it. And haven't looked back. This spec gives you the opportunity to take advantage of Shadow Strike with the Find Weakness buff that Infiltration Tactics gives you. Now it is ONLY 10% chance but remember... you get that 10% chance on everyone that Slow Time and Force Breach hits in one cast. You have that same 10% chance for EACH swing of Double Strike and Saber Strike. So it will be up much more often than you would think. Just wait for the buff to use SS. Boom more damage. Cheap. I wear 2 pieces of BM/Champ Survivor gear for the 2 piece bonus and 2 pieces Columi Stalker. All defensive mods have been removed for DPS ones. The rest of my gear is Stalker or Force Master depending on what has better stats. I am a Tanky DPS. And I enjoy it very much. I have used a focus and I have used a shield. That preference I will leave to the player but I currently run the shield as default in WZs now. I tend to run the ball the most and defend points to ensure the win so the extra shield defense helps a lot. 28/3/10. Let me say this first. If you are not going to have Slow Time then you should have at least 12 points in Balance for the extra 50% Double Strike crit damage. Having said that I don't think the full 3 points in infiltration tactics. As I explained above you can do well with just 1 point in it and get your +50% crit damage for double strike. As far as other specs I have tried well here you go: 27/1/13 or any variant of that... like 29/0/12, 28/1/12 etc etc. They are good... I just enjoy having Slow Time a lot. And for the people who say you can't tank and do damage well... I have never seen that nor will I ever tell you that. All I will say is this... test things out for yourself. Find what you are comfortable with (and enjoy!) and go with that.

And if you kill them fast they do no damage. Ultimately each Kenetic specced Shadow needs to test both out and decide for themselves. I have tested both and continue to test both. But I do hate the Champ Shield. Accuracy... really?

QFT. Someone who gets it. I have used a shield before. And I have used a focus. I KNOW which once suits my play style and I know which one helps me to kill faster and in turn die less. I am not geared to tank (0 defense stats) but I am Kenetic spec. In essence a Tanky DPS. The bonus to Force Damage on a focus is huge compared to the pittance the shield gives. And most of a full Kenetic Shadow's rotation is force abilities. But there are situations where the shield is useful. No doubt. That is why I still have Kenetic Ward specced. It also has its uses whenever I do use the shield.