[Guide] Reverse Engineering

[Blacryan]

Perhaps, but judging on the amount of similar items like this on the marketplace, I assumed they were craftable as well. Weapons seem to do this a lot, maybe an Armstech can let us know.

 

I bought a purple box for 24 commendations and that's how I got the ear piece. That's why i'm curious if I RE it if I will get the schematic. So I know they come from more places then crafted.

[MichaelKage]

Perhaps, but judging on the amount of similar items like this on the marketplace, I assumed they were craftable as well. Weapons seem to do this a lot, maybe an Armstech can let us know.

 

I'm at work right now and can't check it out right now ( but i'm downloading the game client -> screw work swtor fo' life ) , didn't write abut the prototype/artifact thing because i don't have any reliable info/ patterns as to how or why it happenes, but i can impart some of my findings:

 

My guess is that the suffix in brackets says something abut the additional quality of the item with no actual benefit of stats

Seems the suffix is in correlation with the tier 1>2 prefix but is surpassed if an item gets a modulator slot

The suffix really gets in play when you get items that you learned from schematics directly Prototype quality ( blue ) witch don't have a starter suffix/prefix

This can get confusing when you add item names/ suffix /prefix/ AND chat link bug

 

Examples: Hawkeye - Prototype Sonic Blaster - [ Superior]

 

prefix tier2 - actual item name - suffix ( says it has a modulator slot)

 

Note: re-ing other found weapons as armstech got me ZERO recipes ( only green/blues haven't found any purples ) so i wont re them anymore since its way more profitable to sell them at vendor then to get 1-2 mats.

 

- as armstech ( at least until 280 my current skill ) you get a full set weapon green schematics for every 4 levels starting at 9 ( 13-17-21-25-29-33-etc)

 

-full set includes: pistols/rifles/cannons/shotguns/snipers/vibroblades/vibroknives/tech-blades/tech-staff

 

-ALL of those have use either on classes or on pets ( most melee vibo stuff is for pets except vibroknife witch is used by IA)

 

-some of those have TWO variants ( example: pistols with aim and pistols with cunning [ cunning pistols for smugglers/ aim pistols for pets ] )

 

-exception: there is a offhand ONLY pistol ( with cunning) at 25 lvl req

 

-all of the above can be re-d into items prototype->artifact->with tier 1>tier2+modulator

 

As you can see there are many many recipes ( full set every 4 levels with almost all having 2 variants of base stats) and they can get quite confusing.

 

Note: and to the above list you add recipes found with slicing or any other way ( but not from trainer) witch start as blue items ( without the implicit tier 1 prefix you get from re-ing trainer greens) - thees recipes seem to complete the gaps by 2 levels ( eg. lvl 11, 15,19,23,etc) - but so far only found 1 pistol 15 and a bunch of rifles/techstaves 19 so i cant be sure

 

Note: and to all of the above you add barrel mods witch you only get as green trainable and can be re-d into prototype>artifact with no additional prefixes or suffixes

-barrel mods very two lvls ( 9,11,13,15 etc )

 

All the numbers above are the lvl requirements not actual names or anything.

Edited December 20, 2011 by MichaelKage

[Carlez]

From what little I have tested, it seems that oranges can be re-engineerd but they wont

yield you anything specific outside the usual return of materials.

The item as to have mods inserted for it to work though.

 

My biggest mistake here was testing on a headpice that I really wanted to keep.

Oh well. Better luck next time!

[klaarzaken]

finally I understand RE thanks a lot!

[Litefire]

I dont currently have the cash to drop, but i wanted to try and RE green guardian mods to see if i can get the guardian mod pattern. Since I know you cant get it from the vendor or RE'ing the Might mod. And it doesnt appear to be a trainable pattern till around 400 skill.

[bazutti]

Thanks for writing this guide. Has my vote for a sticky!

[Naverion]

Sticky please!

[NostalGeek]

Thanks for writing this guide. Has my vote for a sticky!

 

Speaking of, how do you request sticky?

[Berjiz]

Does anybody know if their are any purple variant of the biochem implant? I been REing maybee 10 blues and havent gotten any schematic and saw that one more in this thread had done the same without sucess. Also on torhead there is no purple variant but the blue and green is there. My guess is that there isnt any purple implant for biochem, atleast not the lvl 25 ones.

[BigAngry]

Having a discussion over on Reddit about RE'ing stacks of medpacs or stims from BioChem -- It'd be nice to have some sort of confirmation either way on whether the RNG makes a roll on EACH item in the stack or just once for the entire stack.

 

From my experience, it's each item, but of course the plural of anecdote is not data. Have others experienced higher chances of getting the next tier schematic when RE'ing stacks?

[Chumsy]

hmm i dont get why the last tier of stims and adrenals arent reusable?? And yes we need artifact quality implants for lower levels!

[BjarniVeigar]

First off, thank you Slaign for an awesome guide. I was working on this myself by trial & error and it sure saves me money by reading this instead.

 

I have a little question for you, or anyone else who knows, about the [superior] prefix you can get when you discover new schematics.

 

Yesterday I RE'd a blue Overkill item and got the Rampart version of it and it ended with the [superior] prefix and I'm wondering if I can "upgrade" my already discovered regular schematics? For example with the Premium item Savant Sash, I have RE'd that into the 3 next tiers, Overkill, Redoubt and Critical. If I keep RE'ing the Base Item can I eventually re-discover the blue schematics but with the [superior] prefix?

 

Thanks again,

B.

[Idaho-D]

Can you R.E. Artifact armor into Custom Armor recipes or is Underworld trading the only way to get Custom recipes? Edited December 20, 2011 by Idaho-D

[Slaign]

First off, thank you Slaign for an awesome guide. I was working on this myself by trial & error and it sure saves me money by reading this instead.

 

I have a little question for you, or anyone else who knows, about the [superior] prefix you can get when you discover new schematics.

 

Yesterday I RE'd a blue Overkill item and got the Rampart version of it and it ended with the [superior] prefix and I'm wondering if I can "upgrade" my already discovered regular schematics? For example with the Premium item Savant Sash, I have RE'd that into the 3 next tiers, Overkill, Redoubt and Critical. If I keep RE'ing the Base Item can I eventually re-discover the blue schematics but with the [superior] prefix?

 

Thanks again,

B.

 

You are very welcome, I enjoy working on this guide. As for your question, the [superior] tag is, in my mind, either a glitch and not supposed to be there, or simply denotes that the Tier 2 prefixes are better than the Tier 1 prefixes. In other words, There is no (to my knowledge) "Rampart Savant Sash" that does NOT have the [superior] tag. All Tier 2 prefix items seem to have the [superior] tag and no Tier 1 prefix items have it.

 

When I first saw this, I had assumed it was a glitch related to the tags an item gets during a critical craft. However, now I think it may be because with a blue base item, both Tier 1 and Tier 2 prefix items are purple, and they want to denote the superiority of the Tier 2 items for people who might not understand the system.

 

I'll update the guide to clean up the information on this.

 

Can you R.E. Artifact armor into Custom Armor recipes or is Underworld trading the only way to get Custom recipes?

 

Based on everything we know, UWT is the only source of Custom schematics. This doesn't preclude there from being a method we haven't discovered, but for now, UWT is the only way you can be certain of having a chance to find them.

[The_Glaive]

I could have sworn I looted a custom pattern from a flashpoint boss.

[BjarniVeigar]

Thanks Slaign for the quick reply, much appreciated.

 

B.

Edited December 20, 2011 by BjarniVeigar

[Slaign]

Update: The guide just went under a massive overhaul! Since it was written as I was learning, I re-wrote many sections now that I understand the system more clearly. I won't repost the re-written sections here because it's a HUGE chunk of the guide.

 

If you are still unclear on the mechanics of Reverse Engineering, or you just want to see what changed, I suggest re-reading the guide. Specifically, re-read the "Reverse Engineering" subsection under each quality type, and re-read the Prefix section.

 

As a little taste, here's the new introduction to the guide:

 

Introduction

 

Hello everyone, I'm Slaign. Armed with a thirst for knowledge and an interest in SWTOR crafting, I wanted to learn as much about Reverse Engineering as possible. This system is vastly more complex than I think most people realize, especially for armor and weapon crafters.

 

Not content to keep the information to myself, and wanting to enlist the help of as many fellow players as possible, I decided to write this guide. In it's infancy, it had many flaws and much speculation. While there is still much to learn, 115 posts (as of this update) and many helpful contributors later, I feel I can say that this guide is now the premier source of information on the mechanics of Reverse Engineering on the forums, if not the internet itself.

 

I want to thank everyone who has read this guide, commented, questioned, and contributed. I especially want to encourage you to take the time to look over the names in the Special Thanks section and recognize the assistance they gave in making this guide what it is today.

 

We're not done here by a long shot, so I encourage everyone to continue to comment, question and contribute. The goal is to make this guide a source of knowledge capable of answering any question about the mechanics of Reverse Engineering. If you have a question, please ask, and even if I can't answer, someone will try to help you.

 

So without further ado, let's get to it.

 

I mean every word of thanks to all of you who have contributed and will contribute in the future, and also to all of you who have read the guide and asked questions. This would not be possible without you, and together I think we have created an amazing resource for our fellow players.

 

Now if we can just get that sticky! If you haven't already, I'm going to suggest you "Flag" the original post and put in the message "Please Sticky!" I've tried sending PMs and contacting Mr. Reid on Twitter, but he is a busy man, especially now. Perhaps flagging the post will get the attention of someone with the time to sticky the post.

 

Don't worry, I back up the guide every time I make an edit, so if a miscommunication occurs and your flags result in a closure, I can repost it.

 

Thanks!

Edited December 20, 2011 by Slaign

[Owsley]

RE: Help!! My Reverse Engineering button is gone!

 

FYI

I can also get the button back by opening up my bank vault.

[PsychoPhoenix]

Don't have much to add, but say thanks, very useful and I hope this gets sticked. Because it needs to be up top. Again, thanks.

[Slaign]

RE: Help!! My Reverse Engineering button is gone!

 

FYI

I can also get the button back by opening up my bank vault.

 

Makes sense, I'll add that in. Thank you.

[Sardusx]

*deleted post* Edited December 21, 2011 by Sardusx

[AncientWire]

Thank you very much for the guide and this thread to share information.

 

I have a question about what can be Reverse Engineered. My husband is an Armsmech and can RE every weapon drop we find. My son is an Artifice and can RE every lightsaber we have found. I am a level 15 Scoundrel Armormech with a skill of 80 and can only RE a very few of the med/heavy drops that we get - maybe 5% or so. Is it just me, or is it this way for all Armormechs?

Several days ago I RE'd most of the things I got from Ord Mantell. The next day my husband gave me the armor he collected from there and I couldn't RE that batch. I have been able to RE everything that I have crafted myself that I have tried.

 

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

Captain Ayfa

[zaknaphein]

Hello and really good job there,

 

I wanted to ask if anyone knows how crew skill effieciency affects crafting. For example say a companion has xxx crew skill efficiency +10. I know critical raises the chance for a critical success ie. an augment slot on an item but what about efficiency....

 

 

Edit: There seems to be a bug regarding Armstech vibroknives RE. They do not produce schematics of higher type, thought it was my bad luck but after having 90-100 tries on a single item and having no blue schematic from a RE vibroknife along crafting there is definately some issue there. Other people reporting the same problem...

Edited December 21, 2011 by zaknaphein

[dragond]

I wanted to ask if anyone knows how crew skill effieciency affects crafting. For example say a companion has xxx crew skill efficiency +10.

 

I'm almost positive that efficiency lessens the time for a companion to do said task. So, if my understanding is correct, a companion with high affection and +efficiency will be faster than an companion with the same affection doing the exact same task (edit: without said efficiency, of course).

Edited December 21, 2011 by dragond

[Aimorai]

This is an incredible guide. Thanks so much for posting it.