What's going to happen to our End Game Gear?

[Graydon]

When Makeb is released, what impact will the new level cap have on our 63 mods?

 

Do I continue to spend millions on BIS that may no longer be the top gear?

 

Save my cash or continue to improve gear that may become worthless in a few months?

 

BW, I really think its time to set some assurances and expectations. The silence and secrets is really annoying and a bit unfair to your current players.

[Screaming_Ziva]

When Makeb is released, what impact will the new level cap have on our 63 mods?

 

Do I continue to spend millions on BIS that may no longer be the top gear?

 

Save my cash or continue to improve gear that may become worthless in a few months?

 

BW, I really think its time to set some assurances and expectations. The silence and secrets is really annoying and a bit unfair to your current players.

I think it's a bit of a stretch to say 63s will become worthless in a few months. You can currently clear all content in 61s. 63s didn't make 61s worthless.

[nicosand]

so, what the OP wants, is that the curren 63 gear, is gonna be just as good as the new top end gear for lvl55?? how is that even fair?? Ofc the gear for the new lvl cap has to be better, why else would you even bother buying the expansion if ur not gonna lvl ur char to 55 and get better gear??

[Aries_cz]

We have been assured by BW that we will certainly not see common mobs dropping green gear with better stats than our end-game gear (at least Campaign/Dread Guard)

[PUMA]

so, what the OP wants, is that the curren 63 gear, is gonna be just as good as the new top end gear for lvl55?? how is that even fair?? Ofc the gear for the new lvl cap has to be better, why else would you even bother buying the expansion if ur not gonna lvl ur char to 55 and get better gear??

 

Read his post veeerrrryyy slloooowwwwllllyyy. He's referring to it becoming utterly useless (replaced by questing greens and blues) versus the current linear gear upgrade model the game has. The OP wants to know if he can hit 55, go into the new raid launched with Makeb in full 63s, and progressive content for ilvl 65s in the same fashion it is now.

 

And yes it was stated that gearing was supposed to remain linear.

Edited February 4, 2013 by PUMA

[BeToo]

Since Makeb is a continuation of story, and the storyline on Ilum only takes you to sub-tionese gear (106-116 rated drops), I'd imagine that Makeb would pick up there, and take you to maybe tionese or columi level gear at most (for main storyline drops/rewards).

 

I think officially they've only said something to the effect of your current end-game gear will give you a headstart on Makeb.

 

I also expect a new level 65 gear when the next Operation is introduced ... as that seems to be their model for raising the gear caps (new Operations, not new planets).

[Jack_Deth]

Since Makeb is a continuation of story, and the storyline on Ilum only takes you to sub-tionese gear (106-116 rated drops), I'd imagine that Makeb would pick up there, and take you to maybe tionese or columi level gear at most (for main storyline drops/rewards).

 

I think officially they've only said something to the effect of your current end-game gear will give you a headstart on Makeb.

 

I also expect a new level 65 gear when the next Operation is introduced ... as that seems to be their model for raising the gear caps (new Operations, not new planets).

 

This makes sense to me. Also in terms of content at 55, I would figure we'd get new 55 Hard Modes of Flash Points that dont' have them now. Basically, Red Reaper HM, Collicoid HM, maybe another.

[Knockerz]

Nothing will happen to it. You will just need to upgrade the mods. Too bad wow didn't have some thing like this in place back in bc. I really liked the season 2 warlock set on my belf. Looked rather menacing with the spikes and color was black/red to match her evilness. It so happen they introduce that transmog or whatever it's called when I no longer play wow. Edited February 4, 2013 by Knockerz

[Lostpenguins]

I'm guessing that the stats for endgame gear won't be replace until close to the end of the questing on Makeb as you hit lvl 55. Heck, they might not even be replaced until you start doing lvl 55 FP's.

[Stradlin]

Since it really looks like the game will get a new artifical 5 lvl cap increase with no new FPs or OPs, I'd worry about end game more than end game gear;p Clearing OPs designed and balanced for lvl 50 as lvl 55. Great fun? Edited February 4, 2013 by Stradlin

[bibobpipop]

What does BIS stand for? >_>

[AsheraII]

Since Makeb is a continuation of story, and the storyline on Ilum only takes you to sub-tionese gear (106-116 rated drops), I'd imagine that Makeb would pick up there, and take you to maybe tionese or columi level gear at most (for main storyline drops/rewards).

 

I think officially they've only said something to the effect of your current end-game gear will give you a headstart on Makeb.

 

I also expect a new level 65 gear when the next Operation is introduced ... as that seems to be their model for raising the gear caps (new Operations, not new planets).

Except that everybody gets a free set of Tionese at lvl 50, so I think it's pretty obvious how gear progress will look in Makeb:

Tionese will be entry level gear, and gradually replaced in ~1-2 levels.

Columi, Rakata and WH gear will get gradually replaced in 2-4 levels

DG, Black Hole and EWH gear will get gradually replaced during the last ~2 levels of Makeb, some of it you'll bring into the new tier of lvl 55 operations and hardmodes.

 

The better your gear, the longer it will last you.

 

Whether it gets replaced with something green, blue, or for all I care, white with pink polkadots, it really doesn't matter. It gets replaced, sooner or later. If replacing a purple item with a better quality item that happens to have a green border bothers you that much, then I suggest you craft your own. That exact complaint caused the "Free epics in every carton of milk" problem that ruined itemization in WoW. Let's quote George Lucas here, the last time he said something sensible: "It's just a color". Green items, whether they are drops or mission rewards should NEVER be vendor trash. They should be useful in the line of steady progress.

 

By lvl 55, EVERY player who went through the storyline for Makeb should be geared in something very comparable to Dreadguard. That's not a request, that's a simple fact of armor progress through level increases and expansions. Some of it will be purple with a lvl 50 requirement, other comparable items will be green with a lvl 55 requirement.

 

If you already have better gear, then that's nice for you. Though some replacement will eventually come up anyway. And think of it: there will definitely be players in full Black Hole or Dreadguard gear, who would LOVE to actually get rewarded useful things for their missions, who like the leveling content to offer some challenge, instead of easymoding their way through by merrit of their gear. I, for one, hope those players get a couple of actually useful rewards along the way too. Maybe just a few relics with fun abilities on activation or something, but at least some things that make them inspect their rewards instead of vendorizing them without a glance.

Edited February 4, 2013 by AsheraII

[Fubarq]

What does BIS stand for? >_>

 

Best in slot.

[AsheraII]

What does BIS stand for? >_>

Best In Slot

[Lostpenguins]

Since it really looks like the game will get a new artifical 5 lvl cap increase with no new FPs or OPs, I'd worry about end game more than end game gear;p Clearing OPs designed and balanced for lvl 50 as lvl 55. Great fun?

And you know this how? Or are you basing it solely on the fact that they haven't mentioned it yet. For them not to throw in one or two more FP's would be silly.

[Quraswren]

When Makeb is released, what impact will the new level cap have on our 63 mods?

 

Do I continue to spend millions on BIS that may no longer be the top gear?

 

Save my cash or continue to improve gear that may become worthless in a few months?

 

BW, I really think its time to set some assurances and expectations. The silence and secrets is really annoying and a bit unfair to your current players.

 

I'll try and find it but at one point a blue posted and said end game gear (I am assuming 63 modded gear) will not be useless.

 

Something to that effect. I'll try to find that info.

Edited February 4, 2013 by Quraswren

[MCesca]

I certainly understand the concerns people might have on both sides of this argument. My Gunslinger, being my main, is decked out in top notch gear. My other 7 characters, which I played for story, are not. I'd like the option of playing through the new content in all of these characters, and not just my Gunslinger. So it's only natural that the new content allow for access to players who haven't gone through every one of the FP's and OP's with every alt they have in a game that encourages alts the way this one does. But at the same time, I'd like my Gunslinger to get something out of this as well. So hopefully they strike a nice balance of gear requirements and drops to make it all work.

[Quraswren]

Here it is:

Hi everyone! While we can't address every concern raised in this thread right now, we can reassure you that the gear you've obtained in our current endgame will continue to be relevant after the expansion is released, and it will provide a great bootstrap into the higher-level content offered by Rise of the Hutt Cartel. You won't be replacing your Dread Guard gear with gear you pick up as you level, and thanks to improvements in the way item power is calculated, we won't be handing out any entry-level gear at the new level cap. You'll hear more about RotHC as we approach its launch, and we'll continue to answer questions and provide more details!

 

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=5607007#post5607007

 

Of course things could change but so far this is what we have to go on.

[Dawginole]

When Makeb is released, what impact will the new level cap have on our 63 mods?

 

Do I continue to spend millions on BIS that may no longer be the top gear?

 

Save my cash or continue to improve gear that may become worthless in a few months?

 

BW, I really think its time to set some assurances and expectations. The silence and secrets is really annoying and a bit unfair to your current players.

 

Three things:

 

1) BW is launching a new set of gear every six months or so. If RotHC releases in April as expected, then this will be the window for new gear. Your 63's won't be the best anyway. (I am full 63s btw, so this isn't a shot at you, it's just reality. Bear in mind 28's are already in the game, just not available.) This is just how it works in mmo's. This game is a gear chase. It always will be.

 

2) I'm fairly sure they have confirmed that the gear will scale with the new content.

 

3) If you are spending millions on 27 mods then you need to give serious thought to the efficiency of how you are gearing. It would only cost you around 600k to fully level artifice and cybertech on a pair of alts. And if you don't have a set of legacy gear, you can purchase a full set for about a mill. Though there will likely be a new set of legacy gear available with the upcoming Ilum event for you to get free. I got my set by doing the event on Nar Shada. You can then easily farm BH and WZ comms to purchase WH and BH gear that you can then put in your legacy set and send to your alts to reverse engineer. Take the acquired stabs to a crafter to craft your level 27's. I have two full sets of dread guard on two of my toons and not including the original investment to level my crafts only spend a few hundred thousand credits in tips to crafters for both sets.

[SentinelDranoel]

Why do people assume level 55 Makeb gear will match dreadguard gear. That is only one option, they can still have the gear match the levels like with the rest of story content. Columi is 56, Rakata is 58, yadda, yadda, yadda.

I am personally waiting to see if they are going to keep making gear increasingly better at a rate faster than they can produce content to use it in.

[Mistress_Ivi]

Chances are, the "green" grade stuff will match blackhole items in terms of rating.

 

This makes Rakata somewhat useless, as it does with Tionese and Columi. But. It'll make Dreadguard pretty much useful for the hardmodes they'll likely include - or some kind of currency for doing Makeb dailie or whatever, that'll grant the "65" rating stuff. aka, 154 stat stuff.

 

That'll mean free-to-play players who are not buying into the expansion will have to work their basesides off for blackhole stuff, whilst those who paid up ... get roughly the same stuff, for simply leveling on the new planet. Those that want their gear to mean something - will continue to mean something, because the blue items dropped are only equal to their gear - and the best stuff (purple/orange) can only be found in the flashpoint and/or heroics and/or world boss(es).

[TheBetty]

Here it is:

 

 

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=5607007#post5607007

 

Of course things could change but so far this is what we have to go on.

 

Cool, not following suit with wow. It was soo painful to replace your raid gear, early into levelling, with greens

[Arlbo_Nabbins]

Except that everybody gets a free set of Tionese at lvl 50, so I think it's pretty obvious how gear progress will look in Makeb:

Tionese will be entry level gear, and gradually replaced in ~1-2 levels.

Columi, Rakata and WH gear will get gradually replaced in 2-4 levels

DG, Black Hole and EWH gear will get gradually replaced during the last ~2 levels of Makeb, some of it you'll bring into the new tier of lvl 55 operations and hardmodes.

 

I disagree. The best gear from Makeb drops while leveling should be level 55, that makes it about equal to Columi gear. That means that after Makeb people can go straight into HM Flashpoints for comms and Ops for Rakata and Dread Guard rather than needing to gear up before starting the ops. It also means that the free players who don't buy Makeb can stay competitive by gearing up in HM FPs and SM Ops and join people who have bought Makeb. What they will be blocked from is the new tier of Ops that will probably give 65 gear as that will probably need you to be level 55.

Edited February 5, 2013 by Arlbo_Nabbins

[Fantazm]

Chances are, the "green" grade stuff will match blackhole items in terms of rating.

 

This makes Rakata somewhat useless, as it does with Tionese and Columi. But. It'll make Dreadguard pretty much useful for the hardmodes they'll likely include - or some kind of currency for doing Makeb dailie or whatever, that'll grant the "65" rating stuff. aka, 154 stat stuff.

 

They've said completely different.

[well]

Gee improving the gear when the expansion comes.How terrible.Gee I have a couple of Droids with 154.Are they going to be out of fashion...oh noes.M1 4X and Hk 51 will be heartbroken.