Why do we need Expertise?

[NebulaeSands]

As a fairly new player here, I noticed something puzzling the other day.

 

After realizing that, after hitting level 55, I was feeling super squishy all of a sudden; I decided that it was time to invest in expertise items. Now I have the earpiece, two implants, two relics, arms, head, chest, and lower robe from the regular Warzone Comms vendor.

 

Puzzling thing is, after testing, it turns out that going in with my pve set actually nets me a higher experise rating, than going in with those pvp pieces. Obviously this has to do with the bolster mechanic, but like... is there a point where this stops being the case? Since my pve set has a significantly higher armor rating, it currently doesn't make any sense for me to wear the pvp pieces, aside from the small set bonus feature.

 

Is this an illusion? Is having the pvp pieces equipped, even with a lower expertise rating, the better way to go? I feel pretty squishy (as a Sage Healer) either way, so its hard to tell just based on playing.

 

Guess my question is the same as the OP's, just for a different reason xD

[Heal-To-Full]

After realizing that, after hitting level 55, I was feeling super squishy all of a sudden; I decided that it was time to invest in expertise items. Now I have the earpiece, two implants, two relics, arms, head, chest, and lower robe from the regular Warzone Comms vendor.

Puzzling thing is, after testing, it turns out that going in with my pve set actually nets me a higher experise rating, than going in with those pvp pieces.

This should not happen. Ever.

All Partisan+ PvP pieces have maximum possible expertise, always.

Have you by any chance swapped any mods from them? Used any color crystals?

[NebulaeSands]

This should not happen. Ever.

All Partisan+ PvP pieces have maximum possible expertise, always.

Have you by any chance swapped any mods from them? Used any color crystals?

 

I haven't swapped any mods out from the pieces, but I was using a War Hero's crystal from the cartel market packs.

 

I'm going to take another look at this to be sure it wasn't just me seeing the wrong thing.

[cashogy_reborn]

swg is gone and it isn't coming back

 

It is, but that doesnt mean that some of the mechanics from it were not good ideas.

[Lord-Atorius]

It is, but that doesnt mean that some of the mechanics from it were not good ideas.

 

I agree, SWG was much better PvP MMO. Open world was much better, plus you had reason to PvP to keep your buffs. Also it was fun hunting down the Op. Faction. Plus Bounty system was fun as hell.

 

These WZs, soon Arenas, and Expertise were just made to make the WoW ppl happy. The only thing this game has over SWG is eye candy. All TOR is really a new skinned WoW. It's sad since I was following this game for the first day it was leaked in development. I love Starwars, but this game has really pushed me away from it. I'm waiting on ESO now. It looks like it's going to be bringing back the MMO community setting. Unlike the MMOs right now.

Edited September 8, 2013 by Lord-Atorius

[IronGalaxy]

No one likes this idea?

I got a better idea. Remove gear from PvP entirely.

 

When you enter a warzone or arena your gear is scaled down to something resembling level 55 greens. Gear should never be relevant in a PvP environment, that carrot on a stick mentality is reserved strictly for raiding.

[Brunner_Venda]

A little gear progression and reward system is a must. It's what keeps the subs going.

[kirorx]

I agree, SWG was much better PvP MMO. Open world was much better, plus you had reason to PvP to keep your buffs. Also it was fun hunting down the Op. Faction. Plus Bounty system was fun as hell.

 

You make a great point about the pvp buffs in SWG

 

Once you got good gear in that game you did not have to worry about the gear, but you did have to pvp to keep your faction rank which gave out the pvp buffs

 

That was great system IMO it really kept the pvp players out there doing stuff and I did not feel like I had wasted a bunch of time because my old gear became obsolete

 

If I wanted to keep my rank, I had to kill the other faction wherever that was

 

The expertise thing is lame and even more so the constant gear changes

 

I was really happy to get those battlemaster pieces from those bags but I never finished before it was given away for nothing.

 

The higher tier keeps becoming the lower tier and the increase is not worth the work and IMO as far as rewards go I am over the ranked comms and so the gear reward is pretty much pointless after about a week IMO.

 

Of course with no housing to display shinys I feel that vertical progression will just continue to make old PvE content obsolete to high level characters and pvp gear will in turn keep being replaced with the next new thing

[Heal-To-Full]

I haven't swapped any mods out from the pieces, but I was using a War Hero's crystal from the cartel market packs.

I'm going to take another look at this to be sure it wasn't just me seeing the wrong thing.

Was it in a PvP weapon or a PvE weapon?

Putting a WH crystal into a PvE weapon - that is any weapon that is not filled with 63 or 65 expertise mods - screws royally with Bolster and lowers your Exp.

 

Fortunately cartel crystals cost nothing to destroy, so just put a Hawkeye or whatever you have back in if using a PvE weapon.

[NebulaeSands]

Was it in a PvP weapon or a PvE weapon?

Putting a WH crystal into a PvE weapon - that is any weapon that is not filled with 63 or 65 expertise mods - screws royally with Bolster and lowers your Exp.

 

Fortunately cartel crystals cost nothing to destroy, so just put a Hawkeye or whatever you have back in if using a PvE weapon.

 

Ahhhhh yes that was the case. A War Hero crystal in a PVE weapon.

 

And I wasn't accurate before. Wearing PVP earpiece, implants, and relics + PVE everything else = @1950 expertise rating. Wearing all PVP pieces except gloves and offhand = @1810 expertise rating. Something still seems a bit screwy with it. Maybe what you mentioned was the thing, the crystal in the wrong weapon. Will check into it later.

 

Thanks for the heads up!

Edited September 10, 2013 by NebulaeSands

[Zarthorn]

Expertise is a garbage stat invented because of a loud minority shouting about a silent minority.

 

The vast majority of PvP'ers and PvE'ers hated it in WoW, they hated it in Rift they STILL hate it here.

Expertise the Fiction: It creates a difference between PvE and PvP gear to keep the two groups seperate from one another so Raiders can't WTFPWN everyone.

 

Expertise the Fact: It creates a balancing nightmare forcing a much more Gear > Skill environment, it alienates casual players and those that enjoy both aspects of the game (the larger portion of the playerbase) no game with a self-respecting PvP mode before or after SWTOR has required such a stat, it has always been covered through bolsters, crafting system or Gear gaps not being astronomical.

 

DaoC never had it, WAR never had it (as poor as WAR was for the lazy balancing, none could complain about gear making people litteral Gods, RR 40's could still kill RR 80's if they were simply better players) Eve doesn't have it, GW2 doesn't have it.

 

It only exists as a lazy fix that creates more problems than it solves any self-respecting PvPer knows it.

 

Bioware would do well to phase it out.