The definitive word on end game itemization in 1.2

[GeorgZoeller]

Hi Georg,

 

I think the white crystal is being removed for 1.2, can you, or someone else confirm this?

 

Also, will the white crystal be bound to legacy or bound to character?

 

I bought the white crystal and love it. I wont have the time to level my 3rd alt to 5o (or 47) before 1.2, and I don't have the credits right now.

 

I think it would be a cool feature to have rare color crystals bound to legacy so we can use them with alts!

 

What do you think?

Hey,

 

I can confirm that it is not possible to obtain the white crystal come 1.2. Currently they are bind per character. I do think your suggestion of binding it to legacy warrants some discussion, so we'll look into that.

[GeorgZoeller]

This is a very good question. Right now there are very limited (about 12 sets per weight/type)

orange schematic options compared to the model/skin combinations in the game as green/orange/NPCs. You say there are "more", does that mean we will finally get some real variety?

 

I also have to say, as someone who likes the look of the BM gear better than the new stuff, I don't like having to trade it away to get the WH stats. At least give us schematics so we can get a set made.

1.2. adds a number of new orange appearances, through the new endgame sets as well as through mission discoveries.

 

We are also looking to make additional schematics available in the future and Champion is on the list for that, for example. For 1.2, with all it's features and additional work, I think we added a good number of new endgame appearance options, but there's definitely room for a lot more

 

You will be able to get the Battlemaster appearance via crafted shells and transfer War Hero mods, including set bonus, into it.

 

Also keep in mind that we are aiming to allow you to be able to add augment slots to existing moddable shells in Game Update 1.3, so definitely hold on to that Champion set of yours if you like it.

[GeorgZoeller]

I think we cannot afk in 1.2, if we dont have like 4? medal, we get nothing from the match.

We don't believe AFK is going to be as much of a problem in Game Update 1.2, between the ability to vote kick people and the fact that you don't get any rewards if you don't display a certain level of participation. We'll be paying close attention to this after the update goes live.

[GeorgZoeller]

What about PvP implants, earpieces, mods, etc? Can we learn schematic with Reverse Engineering?

 

'Schematic boxes' on the PvP vendor at PTS contains only Head, Body, Legs, Hands and Boots.

No. At the current time, what you can learn for PvP is appearances and certain color crystals.

 

We may extend this in the future, but as it stands, we prefer people to earn their PvP mods through PvP, not from the GTN.

[ODTONE]

Hey

 

thanx for the info, answered a few things i was wondering about.

Im very happy about most changes specially being able to keep the

set bonuses in the mods, nice one!

also happy about war hero gear since im over 70, very sweet!

kinda sad that my grind was way more work for my gear than the stuff is worth now

but hey thats updates lol devaluating is normal with an update,

same happened when the champ thing hit, champ gear was suddenly easyer to get...

anyways,

at least this time theres a kind of compensation and boost to the gear.

 

i was wondering though, will modding stay as expensive?

I find like 25k to pull out a BM mods or so a purple good one,

abit much!

 

Im a big fan of modding and looking forward to trying the new system for mods,

but im always broke also, because i mod alot, because of the ridiculous pull out prices...

please reduce the costs of advanced modding (pulling out mods from high end gear).

 

greetz

 

ps: one thing id love! is to remove repairs from the gear,

i hate over and over repairing gear for 100k after raids or so ...

seems almost all my creds go for gear and mods i have already worked for?

Edited April 11, 2012 by ODTONE

[GeorgZoeller]

My questoin is the current cent/champ gear tokens that we have for currency saved up? what happen to them? I know there alot of pvpers right now that have alot of them? Is there going to be a way of exchange for gear etc ?

I suggest spending them pre 1.2.

[GeorgZoeller]

Hi Georg,

 

First off, thank you for the clarification on this. Much appreciated. Two questions for you on the crystals:

 

1.) Are the black/orange and black/purple crystals tied to a faction for drops? As in, black/orange (which I have from PTS testing as a Republic player) for Republic, and black/purple for Imperial?

 

2.) Will artifice be able to reverse engineer these (and other +41s, like cyan, purple, blue/black, etc) to learn the schematic and then craft them? I looked for an RE "tooltip" on PTS and did not see it for the crystals, but was unsure if this was missing on the UI or working as intended.

 

I sure would like to have a set of the black/purple crystals for my sabers. And on number two, I understand completely if the new tier of crystal colors is not RE-able, to keep some "prestige" to them for running Operations. Would be nice to RE and craft the Rakata/Columi colors though.

1. No. We have done away with the faction restriction that existed for example on the purple crystal and we don't intend to reintroduce them. As such, both colors are available to both factions.

 

2. We are introducing PvP crafting in 1.2 with a limited set of expertise crystals (blue/yellow crystals) that are exclusive to crafters. Their schematics are obtained via Warzone commendations, as are the materials needed to craft them.

 

We will likely expand this system in the future, but did not feel like the RNG drive RE mechanic is the right way to go about this for 1.2. A future RE system update that lessens the RNG dependency might open the door to something like what you are describing.

[xxxFistxxx]

Why wouldn't war hero gear require rank war hero?

[GeorgZoeller]

Two questions:

 

1) What will happen to the daily pvp quest rewards? Will we still be given a bag choice depending on rank, and if so, what will it contain?

 

2) Sort of a follow-up - I just recently obtained valor level 60 and have been trying to save Battlemaster commendations so that I can purchase the weapon (for 3 commendations), but I only have one. Will Battlemaster gear still be available for purchase with leftover commendations after the patch, or should I use the commendation now to purchase an item that only costs 1? Will existing battlemaster/champion/centurion commendations be exchanged for warzone commendations?

1) Some quests reward Warzone commendations, other reward Ranked WZ commendations. We eliminated all RNG mechanics from the PvP gear progression, so no more opening of Battlemaster bags.

 

2) The answer is that you probably want to use them towards an item. The longer answer is that yes, there's some things you can use your old commendations on, but how desirable they are is in the eye of the beholder.

 

The ever analyzing Dulfy posted a pretty good summary of what to do with your old commendations here: http://dulfy.net/2012/03/20/your-old-pvp-commendations-and-1-2/ (Thanks Dulfy, making my life much easier )

[GeorgZoeller]

Actually, crafting is viable without the added augment. My complaint is exactly that ... why do i HAVE to go through a crafter to obtain BIS gear? Why is that hard to understand and why isnt running a HM or NMM ops providing me with said gear?

The answer is that we feel that crafters are an integral role of the game economy as of Game Update 1.2.

 

We know there are some fears and uncertainty about this (after all, few other MMOs have done something like this and we know people get uncomfortable about such things) and we do take those concerns seriously.

 

Questions like 'But what if there are not enough crafters?' or 'Is there going to be enough supply?' are valid, especially on faction imbalanced servers, and we do take those seriously and have had long discussions about them before committing to this system.

 

Short term (1.2.x), there are going to be some changes to the way the game economy works that will alleviate a lot of these concerns.

 

Mid term (currently planned for Game Update 1.3), we are introducing a mechanic that allows anyone to add augment slots to any orange gear (including social), but we are doing it in a way that keeps crafters valuable. We will discuss this in more detail in a while after the 1.2 focus has died down a bit.

[GeorgZoeller]

So...no answer as to why you guys decided not to make a new and interesting set bonus?

With the scope of 1.2 being as big as it is, adding and balancing a new set bonus was sadly not possible in terms of scope.

 

So, the answer for this was 'time and resource constraints'. Simple as that.

[DkSharktooth]

Hi Georg,

 

1. The 50,000 credit schematics you can purchase from the PvP vendor in 1.2, what is the % chance you will get a DIFFERENT item every time you purchase another box? I can forsee a problem where I get 10 helmet schematics in a row and am out 500k credits.

 

2. Is it intended that people who play rated pvp and want the "different color" or "prestigious" war hero armor to have to spend about ([30k credits x3 mods per gear piece] x 6 gear pieces) to rip mods out of the purple war hero gear into the orange? This seems more like a punishment than a reward for people who play ranked. It would be nice if we could trade in the purple war hero gear for the orange+some ranked comms. Can you clarify please?

 

Thank You,

Shark

Edited April 11, 2012 by DkSharktooth

[GeorgZoeller]

Is there a way to get the Campaign gear schematic to someone else - either by letting all profs RE everything, or by trading the gear? E.g., I'm an armstech smuggler, and I get a chest piece I like. Can I RE it for the schematic, or trade it to an armortech, or is the only way to get an orange of this to find a raiding, armortech smuggler who has looted and RE'd it?

 

Thanks,

 

Shayne

Hey,

 

You cannot RE a piece of gear for someone else. However, rolling for 'disassemble' (same priority as greed) in an Operation will allow any Armortech player a chance at the schematic.

[Shonuff]

Hey,

 

First off, some colors of expertise crystals are crafter only - the schematics and materials are obtained through the PvP vendor.

 

We've added a low level and endgame version of the magenta crystals, with the schematic available through a number of sources in game (not just Operations).

 

The crystal vendor from 1.1.5 was removed and several of the crystals are now exclusive to artifice. See the complete 1.2. patch notes for details.

 

Georg

 

I know the team wants to save some of the discoveries for suprises but what about the imfamous white crystals? Are they much easier to get/harder? I have the idea of creating a Miraluka Sith Inquistor with white gear and white saber or maybe one for my main.

 

I would create an Inquisitor now and buy the crystal but I want the Miraluka and that requires 1.2 to do it. What will happen with the white crystals after the vendor is gone?

Edited April 11, 2012 by Shonuff

[GeorgZoeller]

I'm still confused about social gear. Specifically, the armor.

The Republic Officer social gear, for example, is "light armor."

Is it viable for me, a Gunslinger, to put my end game mods in that?

Or will it stay light armor?

Sadly, for 1.2. it will stay light armor.

 

We are currently working on what we call 'adaptive gear' technology for a future Game Update (hopefully 1.3) which will make social equipment morph to the correct armor type for a player. Together with the ability to infuse mod slots into existing gear, this will make social gear a completely viable option when it rolls out.

[Dampeer]

Hi Georg,

 

1. The 50,000 credit schematics you can purchase from the PvP vendor in 1.2, what is the % chance you will get a DIFFERENT item every time you purchase another box? I can forsee a problem where I get 10 helmet schematics in a row and am out 500k credits.

 

2. Is it intended that people who play rated pvp and want the "different color" or "prestigious" war hero armor to have to spend about ([30k credits x3 mods per gear piece] x 6 gear pieces) to rip mods out of the purple war hero gear into the orange? This seems more like a punishment for people who play ranked. Can you clarify please?

 

Thank You,

Shark

 

i would like to know the answer to both of these as well.

 

thanks in advance george!

[GeorgZoeller]

What happens to the currencies we currently have accumulated? I currently have Battlemaster tokens, Champion tokens, Centurion tokens, Mercenary commendations, and Warzone commendations. Do they get converted at some ratio, or do they just go away (or sit and waste space on my currency screen)?

 

I also have a couple Champion bags from weeklies sitting in my inventory that I've been too lazy to open - what will happen to them?

We are providing several boxes you can trade the items for (e.g. PvP storage boxes with random item rolls) along with some other venues.

 

However, given that Champion gear will no longer be obtainable at all in the game after 1.2, you should carefully weigh if you want to turn those commendations in before the patch. I'm sure your companion would appreciate a nice set of champion gear

 

Your choice.

[GeorgZoeller]

What about the lvl of augments? Are they staying the same? Just like crystals?

You are correct.

 

The highest augment level is 49 at this point and that does not change with this patch. Any existing augments you collected will still be top of the line for 1.2 and very likely 1.3.

[orpheus]

will happen with the white crystals after the vendor is gone?

 

im pretty sure this has been answered already in this thread - the white crystals will be gone.

 

They will not be crafter supplied. The other colors will however.

 

Perhaps they will show up later but for now if you want one, spend 2.5m and buy one from the vendor

[Karl-Just-Karl]

Just so that I am completely clear. PvE gear had too much accuracy and we were encouraged to take advantage of its mod-able nature and swap in some surge or alacrity. We swapped in some surge surge or alacrity. We were then told that the gear was going to be re-itemized but only if you replaced the surge or alacrity stuff with the original accuracy heavy mods and enhancements. replaced the surge or alacrity stuff with the original accuracy heavy mods and enhancements. Now we are being told that PvE gear will not be re-itemized at all. Did I miss something?

[GeorgZoeller]

Hey Georg, can you let us know whether or not tanking mods will be added to the cybertech trainer? These are the mods I'm talking about:

 

Resilient/Robust/Weighted (main stat + absorb)

and

Deflecting/Elusive/Reinforced (main stat + defense)

 

They've been missing the whole time and are still missing as of April 10. Also, will cybertechs be able to RE the level 61's coming out so they can do piece work for others? Artificers for the enhancements? This would end some of the complaining about itemization, if anyone can just design their own for their own gear.

 

Thanks,

 

Vulcano

Hey,

 

Let me check into the status of that with the Crew Skills designers regarding these questions and get back to you.

[YuriYers]

My only questions are what is the new warzone commendation cap and what will happen to existing commendations that will be removed in 1.2 (mercenary/centurion/champion/battlemaster)? Will they be converted automatically to warzone commendations at some rate or do we just lose any we currently have?

[GeorgZoeller]

Georg

 

I know the team wants to save some of the discoveries for suprises but what about the imfamous white crystals? Are they much easier to get/harder? I have the idea of creating a Miraluka Sith Inquistor with white gear and white saber or maybe one for my main.

 

I would create an Inquisitor now and buy the crystal but I want the Miraluka and that requires 1.2 to do it. What will happen with the white crystals after the vendor is gone?

Answered this before, but here we go:

 

In 1.2 there is no way of getting a white crystal.

 

We will probably introduce some way to obtain the crystal through gameplay at some point in the future (definitely not in 1.2, likely not in 1.3), but whatever that ends up being, it will not be as easy as walking up to that vendor.

[GeorgZoeller]

Just so that I am completely clear. PvE gear had too much accuracy and we were encouraged to take advantage of its mod-able nature and swap in some surge or alacrity. We swapped in some surge surge or alacrity. We were then told that the gear was going to be re-itemized but only if you replaced the surge or alacrity stuff with the original accuracy heavy mods and enhancements. replaced the surge or alacrity stuff with the original accuracy heavy mods and enhancements. Now we are being told that PvE gear will not be re-itemized at all. Did I miss something?

Existing PvE gear will not change, no. Basically we found that way too many people have modded their PvE gear in a lot of different ways and there is no clean way for us to make changes to that gear without causing serious trouble for a large number of players (see Battlemaster for a small taste of the problem).

 

Since existing PvE content is also balanced for that gear, there is no pressing in game need to change the stat distribution on the gear apart from 'it is certainly not optimal' and, as you said, a lot of players have taken the matter into their own hand and already adjusted gear to their liking.

 

Going forward, the stat distribution on gear (Black Hole, Campaign) is significantly improved.

[GeorgZoeller]

What about the Champion Gear appearances? I much prefer the Champion Commando coloring (white with black and red) over the Battlemaster one (pale blue-ish). Are there Champion appearance schematics?

Currently no, but that's something we are looking at for the future.

 

Nothing stops you from moving BM mods into the Champion gear chest in 1.2 and matching color to chest though. You'll also get the ability to augment it in the future (we're aiming for Game Update 1.3) , so definitely hold on to that Champion shell.