Orange items always best?

[jivares]

I'm fairly new to the game and enjoy playing it so far. I have collected several pieces of orange armor and weapons across my different characters. Often, I have other non-orange items which have higher base damage or a better armor rating and very similar on the ability bonuses. I understand the the orange items can be upgraded with better and better mods, hilts, barrels, etc, but does this offset the difference in armor rating or base damage? Do those base numbers increase when the mods are applied?

 

I have kept the orange pieces, but I am currently using other items in their place. Am I doing it incorrectly?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Varinm]

For armor, the Armoring slot increases the base level & armor rating of the piece. So far as I understand, Mods and Enhancements are just stat boosters.

 

For weapons, the Hilt (melee) or Barrel (ranged) increase the base level, min/max damage, and Force or Tech power rating. In the same way (as I understand), Mods and Enhancements are just stat boosters.

[LukeSaberRattler]

Orange armor is best as you can constantly change out the mods as you level and generally get higher stats at the same level as other blue/green items. However, it can get pricey to mod orange pieces especially if you have they in every slot compared to just buying a cheap blue off the gtn.

[Jason_T]

I try to start getting Orange pieces as early in the game as possible and I use planetary commendations to fill the armoring slots as I level up. I know you can start getting them on Nar Shadda or possibly as early as Taris/Balmorra. I basically take the commendation quest reward whenever possible unless the other option is a significant upgrade for. Then, before I leave that planet I buy the best armoring piece I can get and slot them into my orange items. Usually by the time I finish ACT 1 I'll have all my armor except belt/bracer as Oranges using those mods.

[tiltion]

Personally I compare stats more than anything. If a blue/green has better stats than my orange gear I use it.

[jivares]

Tank you for the responses, thoughts and information.

 

So, as I understand it, the orange gear I collected between levels 11 and 17 could possibly be used all the way to 50. Understandably, there are special gear sets out there for PVP, Social, etc., but when compared to 'regular' gear with a higher minimum level, orange gear has the potential to outshine them.

 

I guess I better go buy some mods.

[Kerensk]

Yeah, orange depends what's in it. Load it up with green mods and Armor and a regular purple item of the same level will probably outshine it. And the further behind you the level of mods is the worse it gets so your have to keep it up to date every few levels (about when you leave a planet).

 

If some gear drops that is better feel free to equip it. Keep the orange gear around so you can upgrade and use it later, especially if you like the look.

[LingBa]

Moddable purple items are actually the best but you generally don't see much of them at lower levels. As far as wearing good blue/unmoddable purples for 2/3 levels is concerned it's up to you. Personally on my first toon I sold those items on the GTN, purples especially will get you a stack of credits. Once you've got a 50 to financially support alts then by all means wear the purple/blue gear until your can upgrade your orange stuff further

[TheIronMonkey]

I start with whatever drops (no matter what color). As oranges come along, I put them on and never look back. Every planet has commendations, and the best use for them is the mods and armoring. With this and some cybertech crafting I keep all my armor above the drop level.

 

Choosing which orange is a matter of looks. Remember you can unify the colors, so choose your chest piece carefully. Even if the part comes with the wrong skill (lets say) AIM, you can convert it to cunning by switching the armoring and mod, assuming is something your toon can wear (heavy vs medium vs light).

 

If you get any bound pieces during a FP you don't need, remember you can take out the mods and use them on other items. I have been running some FPs and ended up with more chest pieces I could shake a stick at, but they turned out to be a good source of mods. You can even get an enhancement or a crystal off a lightsaber that a tech user doesn't need (again, on bound items, which you are not going to use and can only vendor them).

 

Yes, you can keep that level 10 orange all the way to L50. If you like the look.

[Kerensk]

Oh, and Adaptive Armor can be used on any Armor class, light medium or heavy.

[Nythain]

If you're a crafter, or know crafters, it's been my personal experience that of level blue recipes (at least from armormech) tend to be superior to oranges filled with planetary comm mods. If you are a cybertech, or know cybertechs, or are rich enough to GTN shop every few levels, then you can probably get away with modifying shells to be better, but only slightly usually.

 

The real advantage to shell gear, is that you can customize your look. And keep it. Had a female sith sorcerer used to run around with a fun mix of various oranges to achieve a ****ty boho look. Current female smuggler is rocking a classy combination of formal top, hidden head piece, slave girl gloves, some brown pants, and i forget what boots but they look pretty nice... and the social 2 pilots belt i think, or the social 3, it's the one that isn't too gaudy but has the two balls on the back of it. Either way, you get the point... container gear allows you to customize whatever look you want for your character, and keep it up to par with modifications.

[AhaziBorn]

I usually get orange armor on any of my new toons as early as possible. It can be pricey to keep up with, but I have a cybertech crafter as well as an artificer, so I can make armoring, mods and enhancements, which I will usually switch out when I leave a planet, every 5 levels or so, roughly.

[TheIronMonkey]

Here is another tip : armor pieces cost 7 comms, mods are 2. So if you have comms, get the mods first. Load up on those. You get armor pieces as reward for several heroics. And, for some reason, they are cheaper on the GTN than Mods. (Mod costs are crazy!!)

 

Once you get the mods (don't forget the weapons), then start using for armor. Remember also heroics give you 3 comms, so do those. Always upgrade the lowest armoring first, the one you gain the most from the upgrade.

 

On blue items : armstech can make some KILLER blue knives, so if you have a friend with crafting, talk them. Orange knives are dropping (I even got on an Black Talon!) but in the meantime, a blue knives can do wonders. Also, unless you find one, you can stay with blue belts and wrist armor, they are too expensive. Again, unless a friend can make you one. But don't spend hard earned cash on overpriced ones at GTN. It is really not worth it.

 

Oh, one more : a blue armoring for L29 can be better than a green one for L31. So when you search GTN, check out armoring that might be a bit lower in level than you. You might find a cheaper lower level that is still an upgrade to you.

 

If you really want to go all orange, supplement with social 1 items as needed. You can always replace them later as you find better looking stuff. You can transfer all your mods to the new item you just found.

Edited December 16, 2012 by TheIronMonkey

[Hassat-Hunter]

Not-so-long player here...

 

I notice I generally replace my orange gear by other orange gear or green/blue ones. Not just because of better stats, but due to better damage (sabers) or armor (armor items).

I don't see a way to improve armor/damage with modifications, so you have to upgrade just for that too (not to mention most orange rewards have better items in them than I currently use).

 

So am I missing a value on some mods that do add damage/armor, and the improvement is just because of that/those updated mods? Or does that really mean you can't use your lvl 15 orange all the way since it's armor value will drop 200 below what you need?

[TheIronMonkey]

Orange pieces armor value is computed (based) on the Armoring you put on them. So lets say you find a chest piece with Armoring 10 Endurance/15 Strength. A few levels later you can change that armoring to 18 Endurance/22 Strength and the armor value of your piece will go up. You can keep doing this all the way to L50.

 

The biggest difference between two orange chest pieces is how they look. If you get a new orange piece that has better stats, you can choose which one you want to keep and move the (better) mods from one to another. One thing I do a lot is move mods and pass the orange piece I don't want to one of my companions (if they can use it).

 

Same applies to weapons. You modify the barrel, mod and enhancement and the weapon produces more damage. There is no "damage" mod. By upgrading the barrel/hilt and the crystal, the damage goes up.

 

So, here is what you need to make sure :

 

- Pick the orange piece you like the looks and it is the highest category you can wear (Heavy, Medium or Light).

- Upgrade the mods at the end of each planet with he commendations you get for the missions on the planet.

- Upgrade by purchasing mods at GTN (expensive way to go, but if you have cash, well...)

- If you have cybertech, you can make your own armoring and mods (very sell-able)

- If you have armstech you can make your own barrels and weapons

- If you have artifice you can make your own crystals and hilts (also very sell0able)

 

With everything upgraded, you might find the occasional blue or green drop that has better stats, for a while. But soon enough you will upgrade your orange and a well modified orange will ALWAYS end up with better stats, Until L50 and you go to endgame stuff.

 

Hope that helps.

[ebado]

Summing this up in a few bullet points

• Gear shells (orange items and slotted purple items) derive all meaningful stats from their mods. Blue mods? Blue-level item. Purple mods? Purple-level item.
  
• This includes armor rating and weapon damage. Armor rating is derived from the armoring mod. Weapon damage from the barrel mod for guns and hilt mod for sabers.
  
• Make sure you have "Show Detailed Item Tooltips" checked in your preferences. It's under User Interface -> Tooltips. This makes it so you see the summed stats on a modded item and the stats on the mods (so you don't have to open up the modding interface to compare.
  
• All this said, the best gear is either a purple item or a modded item with purple mods (and by the time you get to 50, all purples are modded anyway) with an edge given to modded items with purple mods because of choosing your stats.
  
• Yes, that does mean level 27 green item might be better than your level 15 modded purple gear, but that's solely because of level. If you get a blue or purple modded level 27 item, it will be better.