Guide: How to bridge the PVP gear gap for fresh level 50s in less than 2 days

[Repefe]

This guide is pretty useless, you need PVP stats to compete, not PVE gear. You will still get owned even if you get the best PVE gear so you might as well just go straight into PVP with your naff gear asap then at least you are gaining the right gear from the start. If you are Rebel, I would wait until something is done about the server inbalance and the poor design of Ilum.

 

Not really ... the expertise alone amounts to 27% dmg buff in best battlemaster gear. You can counter it simply by using an exp pot that buffs your damage by 35%. Freshly dinged lvl 50 that buys gear OP mentioned and pops a pot is on par with battlemaster geared player.

[Quesadilla]

Not really ... the expertise alone amounts to 27% dmg buff in best battlemaster gear. You can counter it simply by using an exp pot that buffs your damage by 35%. Freshly dinged lvl 50 that buys gear OP mentioned and pops a pot is on par with battlemaster geared player.

 

Except that +35% of 0 is still 0.

[Garrum]

It's a nice idea, but for a lot of people, it's not possible. A lot of servers don't have any artificers making epic enhancements, or even blue enhancements for that matter. Same for cybertech. In fact, a lot of servers don't have much of anything for sale in the GTN.

 

That means you have to get your mods/enhancements/armors from the daily tokens and the quests themselves, which will take a good bit longer than 2 days. But it's still something I suppose.

[Chiefwakka]

The OP is clearly violating the TOS by bringing his half full glass of positivity around an official MMO gaming forum.

 

This post has now been reported.

[TotalImmortal]

When I hit 50, I had a full 50 lvl blue pvp gear, not full epic but competitive in pvp. And I dont like to lose WZ because of bums in green/orange gear. This guide is still pointless.

[keano]

You can buy an orange belt for Fleet Commendations, think I got it around level 40 or so, gives you a full set of orange gear.

[_Flin_]

You might want to add to the guide that for an optimal start into level 50, it is recommended to have 1000/1000 PvP coins and a purple bag in the bank.

[Atamosk]

Bump for epic justice.

 

bought all my lvl 40 orange gear from the guardian pvp vender that stuff looks so good and will lokk good till i get my pvp gear

[AndantePhist]

Lol there is ANOTHER post with people basically patting each other on the back telling fresh level 50s with 12k hp that they are food with no alternative but weeks and weeks of grinding with 12k hp...

 

 

REALLY?

 

I mean srsly really?

[Darkraid]

REALLY?

 

I mean srsly really?

 

Oh no, not really....I've heard it way too much.

 

Many of us, like myself, are still learning this game and MMO's in general. Some things aren't as obvious and the cost of gear/re-spec in this game limits the flexibility in testing builds on your own. (I learned this the hard way after re-specing too much $$.)

 

With that said, I just turned 50 and I'm rolling 12k 117 exp and just started making the real transition to pvp. My valor is up to 46 already as I didn't find questing as fun as pvp and played it more to level up averaging 21k xp per match (had some bad games of course in there too). I do need to change this now and pack more punch and this guide helps.

 

Thanks for posting, it's a good guide. Finally someone whose willing to help.

[AndantePhist]

I can tell you this, the difference between 12k and 15k-16k is pretty huge.

 

I helped out one of my guildie gunslingers with this guide, he immediately went from 12.5k to 15.5k hp. His offensive strength went up by alot too due to the big cunning/surge increase.

 

Sure he doesn't maintain the same sustained dps as full BM/champ geared players, but when he gets lucky with his crits, his high surge allows him to burst like the best of em.

[copasetic]

To the OP, this is a very nice guide and I applaud your efforts.

 

However, I want to point out what you said here:

 

"...and will give you a fighting chance against BM/champion geared level 50s."

 

This simply isn't true. I'm not trying to ruin the hopes of fresh 50s but without Expertise (and yes, I agree Expertise is a flawed mechanic but that's a different story) and the extra Stamina from PvP gear, you will be fodder for Champion and Battlemaster geared players.

 

This doesn't mean a fresh 50 shouldn't queue anyway. The only way they will get the Champion gear is by grinding Warzones and doing the Daily/Weekly. A good way to get a quick start at 50 is to make sure you have 1000/1000 Mercenary and Warzone commendations along with one Champion bag bought already. This is an instant 6 bags that you may be lucky to get 2-4 pieces from.

 

Will the initial grind suck and be painful to go through? Probably. But it'll slowly (or quickly, depending on your luck) get better in time with gear.

[allexj]

i use my mouse to pvp all the time and im always in the 10 top of every WZ

[AndantePhist]

To the OP, this is a very nice guide and I applaud your efforts.

 

However, I want to point out what you said here:

 

"...and will give you a fighting chance against BM/champion geared level 50s."

 

This simply isn't true. I'm not trying to ruin the hopes of fresh 50s but without Expertise (and yes, I agree Expertise is a flawed mechanic but that's a different story) and the extra Stamina from PvP gear, you will be fodder for Champion and Battlemaster geared players.

 

This doesn't mean a fresh 50 shouldn't queue anyway. The only way they will get the Champion gear is by grinding Warzones and doing the Daily/Weekly. A good way to get a quick start at 50 is to make sure you have 1000/1000 Mercenary and Warzone commendations along with one Champion bag bought already. This is an instant 6 bags that you may be lucky to get 2-4 pieces from.

 

Will the initial grind suck and be painful to go through? Probably. But it'll slowly (or quickly, depending on your luck) get better in time with gear.

 

Well I did duel people with full champ gear after I hit 50 and followed my own guide. Guess what? If they were bad, I beat them easily, if they were skilled, it was a close fight with them having a slight upper hand.

 

If you are not good at pvping... you will ALWAYS die alot in pvp, champ/bm gear won't change that.

 

Also if you jump into 5 enemies... you will die in a few seconds. If you are wearing full champ/BM gear and jump into 5 enemies... you will again die in a few seconds (trust me I know...unless you are a vanguard/powertech... god those guys are tough).

Edited January 23, 2012 by AndantePhist

[AndantePhist]

i use my mouse to pvp all the time and im always in the 10 top of every WZ

 

I get can top 3 in damage all the time with 9+ medals due to being able to guard/taunt on the fly as a tank (only feasibly doable by keybinds)

 

success is relative... top 10 out of 16 players... thats the bottom 40%... I guess if thats why you think is successful... hats off to you?

Edited January 23, 2012 by AndantePhist

[Whosthetank]

First of all, after playing many MMOs, I've found the modding system in SWTOR to be one of the most intuitive I've ever seen. With this system and some guidance, and a brain on your part, you can literally gear up your character in hours and become competitive.

 

What you will need:

 

1. orange armor gear and orange weapon.

 

2. 500-600k credits

 

3. about 10 hours of play time.

 

The Guide.

 

1. ORANGE GEAR! If you did not level with orange gear in every one of your main slots (weapon, helm, chest, gloves, boots, pants)... you're doing it wrong, Orange gear's flexibility is literally the cheapest option to keep your character in tip top shape until you get either tier 2+ PVE gear or PVP gear. If you don't have your full set, go to the GTN and pick up a full set/fill in slots you are empty. Buy the cheapest orange gear, the item level means nothing, because the power of your orange gear is literally determined by the mods placed in there.

 

2. Credits. By the time you hit 50, you should have 500k-600k credits saved up from just the questing. Skimp out on the 50 speeder training for now, gearing up is more important. What you want to do is find yourself a cybertech and a artificer for mods and enhancements specifically. Commission the artificer to make level 49 epic end/crit/surge enhancements(crit/surge is key for almost all classes) and the cybertech to make the level 49 epic mods with the main stat for your specific class. Epic level 49 mods/enhancements cost 25k-45k per depending on server. So expect to spend 300-500k on mods/enhancements for your orange gear.

 

3. TIME!(about 10 hours). Now if you don't have the credits... don't panic. Once you hit 50 and finish your class story, you unlock level 50 DAILIES. These dailies are located on Ilum and Belvavis (you grab starter quest from your fleet). Do the daily series in Ilum and Belvavis, and you'll be swimming in creds(100k+ creds per day!). Not only will you get credits, you also will get Daily Commendations (this is very important). Use these commendations asap to buy the epic level 50 hilts/barrels (depending on class) and armorings for your class. The heroic daily quests from belvasis and Ilum and definitely worth it, not only do they give you a lot more Daily Commendations, they also give you free mods/enhancers.

 

THERE YOU GO. Once you place all level 49 epic mods/enhance and level 50 armorings/hilt/barrel in your orange gear/weapon... you'll notice a dramatic increase in performance, and will give you a fighting chance against BM/champion geared level 50s.

 

Highly recommended additional tips.

 

1. Save 14 corelia commendations. You can buy a sweet level 50 blue offhand with 14 commendations.

 

2. level 49 epic crafted implants/earpiece. On most servers there will be plenty selection of these on the GTN, they'll cost 50k-100k each, but are highly worth it especially the (superior) versions.

 

3. Orange belt/bracers or epic crafted level 49+ (superior) belt/bracers. I've rarely seen orange belt/bracers on sale, but it could just be my server, but if you do have them on your server, don't be afraid to snatch them up and mod them with epic mods.

 

4. Matrix cubes. These relics are arguably the best for one of your relic slots. You'll need matrix shards to make a matrix cube. There are plenty of guides online that details how to get the matrix shards(datacrons) and forming matrix cubes. Just google "swtor matrix cube assembler" and "swtor datacrons".

 

EDIT: 5. 1000 valor and 1000 merc commendations. Thx for the additional tip guys! Before you hit 50, you can do WZs to cap out on 1000 valor and 1000 merc commendations. Now with the level 10-49 bracket, its a very fun and worthwile endevour (I didn't do it since when I was leveling, there was no lvl 10-49 bracket ). Make sure you buy a champion bag that cost 200/200 commendations, and then cap out with 1000/1000 commendations. That way the MOMENT you hit 50, you can open up to 6 bags by buying them one at a time from the pvp vendor. You might even get lucky and get a champ piece, but even if you get unlucky, you can use the 18 centurion tokens to buy yourself a piece that you badly need upgrading (the relics are really nice now).

 

 

Additional Note

 

When I hit level 50 on my Jedi Guardian, I joined a WZ and was hitting like a wet noodle against my opponents. I spent 2 days doing dailies and by doing all the things I listed and the optionals, in just 2 days after hitting fifty, I turned my character completely around.

 

My stats changed something like this.

 

-----------OLD-----------NEW

HP--------12k-----------16.5k

Power ---750------------1000ish

Crit-------14%-----------23%

Crit Mult.-55%-----------84%

Strength--1000----------1200

 

The transformation is insane and anyone can do it!

 

 

Disclaimer: My guide will NOT substitute for lack of skill or intelligence. If you are a Jedi Knight that mod alacrity and armor with cunning etc. Or if you mouse click all your abilities in pvp... no amount of guides will help you succeed. But for those that have the will, intelligence, and determination to improve your character, I hope my guide helps you immensely.

 

PS. Here is an old photo of how I used look like a few days after hitting 50 (I'm now in champ/BM gear now, its an improvement, but not THAT big of an improvement)

 

http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/2783/screenshot2012010913550.jpg

 

and yes if you follow my guide... you can look like a trooper as a jedi knight

 

Nice post for the new guys, +1

[Krondorf]

Thanks for these tips, youve given me new hope for my new warzone 50 bracket.

[dardack]

You basically need at least 15K HP to stand a chance against a BM level DPS (other type will beat you but they will grind you down as opposed to just burst you down). 15K HP with 0 Expertise isn't nearly the same as 15K HP with 8% PvP bonus, but it's still a lot better than 12K HP with 0% PvP bonus. It kind of sucks that the level 50 PvP set was removed. That set gets you about 13K with 5% PvP bonus, which at least gives you a slim chance against BMs, and a decent chance against Champion class characters.

 

It isn't removed, you can buy it on DK. I did for my class.

 

However, nice guide. But I would change some things. Guide is good if you already are in your 40's, but if your under. Don't buy the lvl 20/40 pvp gear. Buy the Lvl 50 pvp gear. It's right below champ, will get you decent expertise, and I used it to tank reg 4 man lvl 50.

 

So leveling, spent my com's on lvl 50 gear, then bought my 1 bag, saved up to 1000 of each. So yea you hope you get lucky from daily/weekly (make sure once you hit 50 you pick up daily/weekly, that's 8 bags+6 in 1 day) and out of the 14 bags from first day you'll get hopefully 2 pieces of champ.

Edited January 23, 2012 by dardack

[Hejjin]

Hmmm

 

You can also buy the weapons with expertise on them from the pvp weapons vendor next to bounty board, ok it is only a small amount of expertise per enhancement slot (18?), but every little bit helps.

[Daeth]

It isn't removed, you can buy it on DK. I did for my class.

 

However, nice guide. But I would change some things. Guide is good if you already are in your 40's, but if your under. Don't buy the lvl 20/40 pvp gear. Buy the Lvl 50 pvp gear. It's right below champ, will get you decent expertise, and I used it to tank reg 4 man lvl 50.

 

So leveling, spent my com's on lvl 50 gear, then bought my 1 bag, saved up to 1000 of each. So yea you hope you get lucky from daily/weekly (make sure once you hit 50 you pick up daily/weekly, that's 8 bags+6 in 1 day) and out of the 14 bags from first day you'll get hopefully 2 pieces of champ.

 

They did ninja remove it unfortunately, in Patch 1.1. The DK sellers now just have the 20 / 40 gear.

 

OP - good post. Getting kind of tired of all the threads about fresh 50s. Your post is pretty much what I did - modded up my 40 set until I started getting champ / centurion gear.

[AndantePhist]

They did ninja remove it unfortunately, in Patch 1.1. The DK sellers now just have the 20 / 40 gear.

 

OP - good post. Getting kind of tired of all the threads about fresh 50s. Your post is pretty much what I did - modded up my 40 set until I started getting champ / centurion gear.

 

The 40 pvp orange set looks pretty awesome for most classes... but I wanted to look like a trooper with a lightsaber and thats what i did lol.

[AndantePhist]

Thanks for these tips, youve given me new hope for my new warzone 50 bracket.

 

glad to have helped

[AndantePhist]

Bumpity bump, still alot of people misinformed and thinking they have to have 12k hp at level 50

[gunslinger]

tagging so I can find this later (lvl 31 now)

[Narcrus]

People don't realize that if you have oranges, fill em out in the 5o and 49 purple mods, you will have a chance in PvP against players who have PvP gear.

 

They would instead complain about getting wrecked by a Champion because they have WAY more gear.

 

 

If you just spent a little bit of time getting mods and orange gear, things would go alot better. That is what I did before I started to PvP. Made a HUGE difference.