New Guy With A Couple Dumb Questions

[justcrash]

Hello all, my Jedi Sentinel just hit level 13 and I am on Coruscant. I am in love with the game and recently subscribed.

 

My questions are probably obvious to most, but I am thick.

 

Anyway, I bought the Valiant Jedi Armor from the cartel and equipped it. It seems dramatically weaker in all aspects than armor I just received in drops. Someone mentioned I need to "upgrade it". Where do I buy pieces for that? I seem to have very little money and not sure how to get more. Which leads me to my next question:

 

What is the best professions for making money? I do not understand the profession aspect one iota. I get 3, correct? And only one of them can be crafting? What do you guys suggest and how do I do them?!

 

Lastly, I saw someone mention taking weapons apart and taking out components. How do I know which weapons to do that to and how do I do it? At the modification tables, I assume?

 

Thank you in advance for your help!

[Fletchernator]

I do not have that set but I think it's un modded right? If its un modded you need to add your own mods to give it stats.

Each piece of armour has 3 mod slots. If you hover the mouse over a piece it tells you how to look. I think it's ctrl + right click.

As you gain levels you find more powerful mods. Also mods are given as some quest rewards, and their is a commendation vendor selling mods for commendation tokens. I'm not sure if there is a vendor who sells mods for cash though

[Rashan]

Welcome to the game!

 

The set that you bought is one of the Adaptive armors. They're orange in color and adapt to whatever the highest level of armor you have is. E.g. if you're a Guardian, they'll be heavy armor. If you're a Sentinel, they'll be medium armor. I really wish that there was some message for new players that these things need upgrading in order to use because, frankly, it's going to be a pretty long time before you get enough components to use that entire suit properly.

 

That being said, adaptive armors have 3 components to them: armoring, mod and enhancement. You have to put those in the piece of armor to make them worthwhile otherwise they're just fancy clothes that don't do jack for you. Those mods can be found at any mod vendor but the best ones for your level are generally found at the Mod Commendations Vendor. On Coruscant, they're in the market area just before the Senate tower (lower level, I think west side ... can't remember..) You have to get Commendations which are given out for certain quests and as random drops on various harder mobs. e.g. Silvers or Gold tend to drop them more often in my experience but not always. You can also buy these items on the Galactic Trade Network (called GTN by most) but they get expensive in a hurry so a new character without funds will probably have a hard time buying them as you generally want to stick to Blue (prototype) armoring, mods and enhancements as they give you a pretty good bang for your buck.

 

To put mods in something, you control+ right click on the item. In that new screen, you can either add or remove mods from the item. It costs credits to remove them from something so keep that in mind when you're going to do it. The game tells you how many it'll cost.

 

As for what professions to go, my recommendation on a new character would be to take 2 gathering skills and slicing. e.g. Archaeology, Scavenging and Slicing. You can then sell the crystals/parts you get from them on the GTN which will net you some pretty good cash which is great on a starting character. Slicing will let you open all the treasure boxes around which net you a decent amount of cash for leveling up. Mission skills (treasure hunting, underworld trading, etc) are great for selling on the market but require you to send your companions out specifically in the Crew Skills window, which costs your credits. Gathering/Slicing don't cost you anything to use while you're running around (you'll see nodes on your minimap which show you a gatherable resource) so it's pretty good for a starting character. This is called Profiteering by a lot of people. Then, once you hit 50, figure out which of the crafting skills that you'd like to use on that character (or just keep Profiteering) which, for Jedi, tend to be either Artifice or Synthweaving but it depends on what you want to do. I would recommend checking out this thread when you get a chance and some time as it'll explain which class is "best" at which crew skills due to your companions but there is a lot of information there which can overwhelm in the beginning.

 

Anyway, hopefully that helps you out! Good luck.

[Talon_Starfire]

I do not have that set but I think it's un modded right? If its un modded you need to add your own mods to give it stats.

Each piece of armour has 3 mod slots. If you hover the mouse over a piece it tells you how to look. I think it's ctrl + right click.

As you gain levels you find more powerful mods. Also mods are given as some quest rewards, and their is a commendation vendor selling mods for commendation tokens. I'm not sure if there is a vendor who sells mods for cash though

Any mods in Cartel packs?

[Przemo_No]

Listen to Rashan.

He deserves a shot of whiskey/ vodka/ beer, for such extensive xplanation ..

Edited January 9, 2013 by Przemo_No
typos

[SpoeMeister]

Hello all, my Jedi Sentinel just hit level 13 and I am on Coruscant. I am in love with the game and recently subscribed.

 

My questions are probably obvious to most, but I am thick.

 

Anyway, I bought the Valiant Jedi Armor from the cartel and equipped it. It seems dramatically weaker in all aspects than armor I just received in drops. Someone mentioned I need to "upgrade it". Where do I buy pieces for that? I seem to have very little money and not sure how to get more. Which leads me to my next question:

 

What is the best professions for making money? I do not understand the profession aspect one iota. I get 3, correct? And only one of them can be crafting? What do you guys suggest and how do I do them?!

 

Lastly, I saw someone mention taking weapons apart and taking out components. How do I know which weapons to do that to and how do I do it? At the modification tables, I assume?

 

Thank you in advance for your help!

 

OK, I'll try to keep this as concise as possible:

 

1. To upgrade gear, you'll need to buy Modifications. These can be bought on the GTN or on special vendors on each planet. Some vendors ask credits, but they are the bad vendors anyway. You'll need to find the "Modification Commendation Vendor". He will sell you Modifications for Planet Commendations. You can obtain these commendations through random drops, finishing flashpoints in the level range and finishing heroic quests on that planet.

 

You can only upgrade orange and purple gear. Depending on the gear you have, you will need to buy 3-5 different kinds of modifications:

- Armoring/Hilt/Barrel: Defined by type of gear (Armor/Lightsaber/Blaster)

- Color Crystal: Only in weapons

- Mod: Every type of gear has this, so you'll need one for each piece of gear you want to upgrade.

- Enhancement: Every type of gear has this, so you'll need one for each piece of gear you want to upgrade

- Augment: These can be added by certain crafters. Not really necessary for a first time leveling experience, so we skip this.

 

2. In order to get some easy cash through crew skills, I'd suggest to skip crafting as a skill and just go for gathering skills. You can encounter materials for free while travelling, or send your companions when you don't need them on missions. Once you gathered a good amount of a certain material, just put them on the GTN. My suggestion: Slicing (for lockboxes and augment parts), Scavenging (used by Armstech, Armormech and Cybertech) and Bioanalysis (Biochem is a popular craft). Just gather and sell should do the trick. When you have these gathering skills, little sunshaped nodes will appear on your minimap, indicating there is a gathering node there. when you go there, rightclick the shiny blue node to gather the resource.

 

3. Taking apart weapons is a process called "Reverse Engineering". This can only be done by certain crafting skills and has a couple of uses, like gaining materials (although minimal) and discovering new recipes. Armstechs can RE (=Reverse Engineer) Blasters, Artificers can RE Lightsabers, Armormechers can RE armor with the aim and cunning stats while Synthweavers can RE armor with the willpower and strength stats.

 

If you follow my example, you will not be able to RE anything. IF you do take a crafting skill, Reverse Engineering is done via your inventory tab. In the upperright corner is a button "Reverse Engineering". If you click that, it will grey out all non-REable items and some will become clear. You can RE those items. Mind you, the tooltip will indicate whether you gain a recipe from it or not. Don't do it for just the materials unless you really need them, because it will not be worth it.

 

I think that's about it... Sorry for the wall of text.

 

EDIT: Rashan beat me to it :-)

Edited January 9, 2013 by SpoeMeister

[Nythain]

Listen to Rashan.

He deserves a shot of whiskey/ vodka/ beer, for such extensive xplanation ..

 

With a few corrections.

First, the game does a pretty good job introducing you to customizing/upgrading moddable gear at the end of your starter planet, when you get your first piece of moddable gear. It even sends you to a lore object to get a tutorial all about it.

 

Second, not all orange (modable) armors are adaptive. A very excellent explanation of what "adaptive armor" means was provided, but then the explanation went on a fairly misleading explanation that adaptive armor is moddable, not pointing out that not all oranges are adaptive and armor doesn't have to be adaptive to be moddable. This point I'll also personally point out that Orange isn't the only color for moddable gear, you can get moddable Green weapons of the non-standard variety, usually referred to as companion weapons but why be limiting... and there's the Purple quality moddables. Now that I've got that out of the way, I should mention that color of moddable doesn't determine quality in the slightest. Only the mods put in the item determine it's effectiveness. An empty purple moddable will have the same base stats as an empty orange or green moddable.

 

Third, concerning modifications, the "best" available for your level will be purchasable on the GTN or crafted with either cybertech and artifice and armstech. Modification Commendations Vendor mods are good, but between being fairly limited in selection and only available in blue quality, you can find much better on the GTN. I don't advise any new player rush off the GTN for artifact quality mods for their first character Pre-50 though. That's just silly. (This point didn't need so much correction as the wall of text before me does a good job stating the same, just had to clarify that the GTN and more specifically personally crafting or having a guildie craft will result in the best mods.)

 

Now, not a correction, but another note of something I personally do. You'll notice as you play that the Modifications Commendation Vendors selection usually sucks. To get around this, I'll visit the Equipment Commendations Vendor, Special Goods Vendor, Weapons Vendor, and appropriate Armor Vendor to see if I can't get a better selection of mods from various items, even if I can't use the item. I just want it's mods in my own item. This is a useful trick for upgrading Color Crystals and Enhancements specifically.

 

Addressing making money from crew skills. While many will say take gathering skills to sell mats and make money (this is good advice), I take a different route. A wise man once said "A penny saved is a penny earned." and it's for this reason my first/main character took up Armormech. I have "made" a boatload by not "spending" squat on companions and some of my characters armors. One of the biggest reasons new players want fat cash is so they can buy awesome gear and pwn leveling content. Well, why spend when you can make! Just an alternate suggestion.

tl;dr not all moddables are "adaptive" and your best option for upgrading any moddable gear is to craft the mods you need or stick to the modifications commendation vendors of each planet.

Edited January 9, 2013 by Nythain

[Rashan]

With a few corrections.

First, the game does a pretty good job introducing you to customizing/upgrading moddable gear at the end of your starter planet,

 

Aye, it does. It just doesn't make it enough apparent IMO in the Cartel that these things don't come with any modifications in them for new players.

 

Second, not all orange (modable) armors are adaptive.

 

Absolutely right. My post was specific to his situation. I should have elaborated further.

 

Now, not a correction, but another note of something I personally do.

 

I hadn't really thought of that, to be honest. Thanks for the insight.

 

Addressing making money from crew skills.

 

Absolutely. Crafting can save cash if you stay diligent with it but IMO the easiest way for a new player to make cash without having to put a bunch of thought into it is to use gathering skills/slicing. That way all you have to think about is clicking on nodes and whatnot. I personally went for Artifice on my first character and then Cybertech on my second but a lot of people seem to have issues with the crafting skills without an in depth explanation.

 

Glad someone clarified my post further!

[justcrash]

Thank you so much for your replies, it's all a bit much to take in. I will work with what you guys have told me, I really appreciate it.

 

Another dumb question: I guess my sentinel can use two lightsabers. Can I just buy a new one? If so, where? Do I have to build it? If so, how?

[Rashan]

Thank you so much for your replies, it's all a bit much to take in. I will work with what you guys have told me, I really appreciate it.

 

Another dumb question: I guess my sentinel can use two lightsabers. Can I just buy a new one? If so, where? Do I have to build it? If so, how?

 

You can get them from the Equipment Commendations Vendor or from random drops. you should have got a second one in a packet when you picked sentinel though ... look in your inventory for a bag which says Click to Open or something of that nature when you mouse over it.

[redfurry]

Another dumb question: I guess my sentinel can use two lightsabers. Can I just buy a new one? If so, where? Do I have to build it? If so, how?

 

When you spoke with the advanced class trainer and became a Sentinel, you received a bag in your inventory that contained a second lightsaber. Both this one and the one you receive before leaving Tython are moddable, so you can keep them through all the game and upgrade their mods as you level.

 

If for whatever reason you do not have your second lightsaber anymore, I think you can get a level 14 one from the Coruscant Equipment Commendations vendor. Check carefully, because some lightsabers are mainhand only and cannot be used as a second one. Artificers can make moddable level 20 ones and will probably sell you one for cheap, either directly or through the GTN. And green quality sabers drop from mobs or are given as mission rewards from time to time.

[Nythain]

Another dumb question: I guess my sentinel can use two lightsabers. Can I just buy a new one? If so, where? Do I have to build it? If so, how?

 

Others have answered this one pretty good. I think the only thing I have left to mention (not sure if it was brought up) is to make sure you ALWAYS check if a weapon is Main Hand, Off Hand, or Main Hand and Off Hand before buying. Don't know how many time's I've dropped 14+ comms on a lightsaber only to realize I couldn't equip it cause it was Off Hand only.

 

Check carefully, because some lightsabers are mainhand only and cannot be used as a second one.

Lol derp. I should learn to read. Edited January 9, 2013 by Nythain

[Mozivicus]

Great to see a new player asking for help! If you're on Prophecy of the Five server, whisper Moz....I'll make you stuff to put in your armor and your lightsaber....for free...because you took the time to ask for help.

 

One more thing to add, to the already great responses, about professions (crew skills).....the Jedi knight(sentinel) is probably the best suited class in the game (due to companion bonuses) to go biochem. Meaning you should/would take Bioanalysis, biochem, and diplomacy. I have a sentinel with that set up and he crafts all the biochem needs for my whole legacy. As for sales or making $ with biochem....not sure, I don't bother with it. Sometimes I sell the Bioanalysis materials, but I'm usually using them for crafts. /shrug

 

Glad you're enjoying the game btw

[Ighten]

Thanks Rash.. As a newb the armor really had me a little confused until I read your simple explanation.. I think what confuses the issue is the cartel market armor (well at least for me but then Im a bit DOH)..

 

So theres little point buying these things unless you have the mods to go on them.

[Kerensk]

The cyber tech crafting skill makes armor and mods to go in orange gear, that'sa 2/3rds of what you need without purchasing anything. Just use your world commendations to buy the enhancement piece and you're upto date without spending a dime.

 

I'd reccomend cybertech, underworld trading, scavenging as your crew skills. You can keep your full set of orange gear upto date and all skills are profitable on the Galactic Market for your excess materials and crafts.

Edited January 9, 2013 by Kerensk

[Nythain]

So theres little point buying these things unless you have the mods to go on them.

If you keep up on flashpoints, and heroics on each planet, it gets real easy to keep at least 2-3 pieces of moddable gear up by purchasing the mods from each planets modifications commendation vendor. In fact, it's at least highly recommended by me to pick up a moddable weapon, chestpiece and i usually opt for a headpiece since the rewarded ones are far and few.

You can always swap them out with better drops if you find any, at least until you get a chance to upgrade the mods again.

[Adric_the_Red]

Aye, it does. It just doesn't make it enough apparent IMO in the Cartel that these things don't come with any modifications in them for new players.!

They don't come with modifications in them for old players either. And that's quite clear, if you take a moment to look.

 

Open the Cartel Market Window.

Click Equipment.

Click on the Valiant Jedi Armor set.

Read the details box where it says it "is a collection of adaptive gear with no modifications."

Click the Show Items button (it will change to "Show Details").

Hover your mouse over the items listed, and notice that for each piece all the modification slots are "Open".

 

Several other sets (for example, the Investigator's Armor Set) do have mods in them. Those say they have "removable modifications" and list the total stats in the "Details". And if you click Show Items, you can mouse over the list and see exactly what the stats are for each piece, and for each of the mods on them.

[justcrash]

Great to see a new player asking for help! If you're on Prophecy of the Five server, whisper Moz....I'll make you stuff to put in your armor and your lightsaber....for free...because you took the time to ask for help.

 

One more thing to add, to the already great responses, about professions (crew skills).....the Jedi knight(sentinel) is probably the best suited class in the game (due to companion bonuses) to go biochem. Meaning you should/would take Bioanalysis, biochem, and diplomacy. I have a sentinel with that set up and he crafts all the biochem needs for my whole legacy. As for sales or making $ with biochem....not sure, I don't bother with it. Sometimes I sell the Bioanalysis materials, but I'm usually using them for crafts. /shrug

 

Glad you're enjoying the game btw

 

Wow thank you for such a kind offer. U fortunately I am on shadowlands. So far I really like this community. The only mmorpg ive played before was city of heroes and it was the community that kept me coming back and that I miss.