Best Crew Skills for a Newbie Jedi Guardian Tank?

[Basboos]

Hello,

 

Just started playing (and subscribed to) SWTOR, and am loving it!

 

I played WoW for a while before this, and used my tank characters the most, so am looking to do the same for SWTOR. I therefore chose the Defense spec for my Jedi Knight Guardian.

 

I'm now at the point where I have to pick my crew skills, but am torn between Synthweaving and Artifice. I've done a few searches, but all the threads I've found are 2-3 years old and I'm betting the information available is out of date given the slew of patches/expansions etc.

 

Any ideas? I'd prefer something I could spec now and stick to once I hit the level cap - rather than something that is useful while I level but not so good when I hit level 55.

 

Thanks, and apologies if this post is in the wrong sub-forum!

[Drudenfusz]

Artifice is easier to raise (Synthweaving costs more materials), but in the end it makes no huge impact on end game. For levelling artifice seems like the better option of those two. My shadow tank has artefice, and a hardly use that to craft anything for me, but mostly juts for alts and from time to time some dyes. Colour crystals are pretty much useless, since people simple buy those from the cartel market (probalby on the GTN when not directly the packs), and those cartel market colour crystals are as good as a level 50 one can craft, but are usable at level 10 already. In Synthweaving there are some augments, but you have to get mostly the schematics first. Overall, most characters I play these days have mostly slicing and two other things to collect mats, and then I trade simply for the things I want. Crafting is not really a valid playstyle in SWTOR... at least that is how it feels to me... maybe with the execption of BioChem, you propably going to use lots of stims during endgame, so it is nice to make those yourself.

[Basboos]

Thanks for the response!

 

It would seem much of what I cannot craft I can simply purchase from vendors anyway, during levelling and also end-game. Is this correct?

 

However, I'm guessing there are also a small number of high level endgame items that can only be crafted and not purchased and would be "best in slot" for the crafter. If so, which of synthweaving and biochem would have the most of these items relevant to a Guardian Tank? I'm assuming such items from artifice would be less relevant as it is geared more to weapons, which are less important than armor and stims for a tank.

 

From another perspective, which of synthweaving and biochem (with their associated gathering and mission based skills) would create better profit on the likes of the GTN?

 

Thanks again!

[Drudenfusz]

Of those two, clearly BioChem. Synthweaving has augments, but you craft them once and are fine til the next level cap raise. BioChem has for your character the option of re-usable med packs and stims, but to use those one has to have BioChem, and that leads to people are always going to buy some more stims (used not only in PvE, but also in PvP, and the not-reuasables are slightly better than the re-usables). BioAnalysis is only used by BioChems, while Archeology is also used by Artificers, so they might also sell their exceedingly matierials (and since they need less to raise their profission, they have more to sell). Finally, BioChem needs Diplomacy, which helps to get your alignment faster in one direction, so that you can wear the relics that have a alignment requirement (those are not better, but are easy to get, and will make it easier to join end game content), while Synthweaving has Underworld trading, where you will go mostly for fabrics that nobody else needs, even though you could also go for underworld metals, which you don't need yourself, but Cybertechs and Armourmechs like those.

[RandomXChance]

Thanks for the response!

 

It would seem much of what I cannot craft I can simply purchase from vendors anyway, during levelling and also end-game. Is this correct?

 

However, I'm guessing there are also a small number of high level endgame items that can only be crafted and not purchased and would be "best in slot" for the crafter. If so, which of synthweaving and biochem would have the most of these items relevant to a Guardian Tank? I'm assuming such items from artifice would be less relevant as it is geared more to weapons, which are less important than armor and stims for a tank.

 

From another perspective, which of synthweaving and biochem (with their associated gathering and mission based skills) would create better profit on the likes of the GTN?

 

Thanks again!

 

Do not let end-game item crafting be part of your decision. The true BIS items are never craftable. Only the level just below BIS is and the materials required come from HM Ops (well, the Mass Manipulation Generator only drops there and that is the roadblock).

 

It is difficult to make good money off the GTN on your first character. Many newer players gather the more in-demand materials and sell them on the GTN. My time is better spent on things other than gathering so I frequently buy things like a stack of 99 Carbonic Crystals for my crafters off the GTN.

 

I usually tell people that good Crafting skills for a first toon are Biochem and Cybertech. Biochem gives you VERY useful reusable stims/adrenals and medpacks. Cyber is popular for PvP due to having very useful re-usable grenades and the ability to craft end game armorings and mods if you raid enough to get parts to RE.

 

In the long run veteran players have one of every crafting skill and multiple with the same gathering/mission skills to get enough materials for crafting for GTN sales.

[Toweleeeie]

Biochem Bioanalysts and slicing.

 

All of my toons are this for the re-usable stims and adrenals. Slicing for credits.

[Drudenfusz]

Biochem Bioanalysts and slicing.

 

All of my toons are this for the re-usable stims and adrenals. Slicing for credits.

Do you buy the medical supplies from Diplomacy with the credits or do you have at least one toon doing the Diplomacy?

[Toweleeeie]

Do you buy the medical supplies from Diplomacy with the credits or do you have at least one toon doing the Diplomacy?

 

I don't really craft to make money it's mostly for the re-usables. I do the sliced tech parts bountiful and rich missions then sell the purple grade parts on GTN. I also collect bio mats in Ops and FPS to make the aug slot mats and sell them.

[Basboos]

Apologies, just to clarify my situation, I most likely would not be able to access the absolute best end game gear due to being more of a casual player. Therefore, crafted gear may still be the best available for me to access.

 

To give you an example, when I played WoW, I was not able to access the most difficult end game content for the last two expansion cycles due to limited time. I instead always used the Raid Finder tool, which awards slightly lower level gear than what you could get in the normal or heroic raids. In that case, the professions on my characters (Blacksmithing and Tailoring for example) actually gave me a few pieces of gear that were better than anything I could get from the Raid Finder system. So although not technically best in slot for the whole game, it was actually an opportunity to make the best available gear for my specific situation.

 

Given this, would you still not recommend going for Synthweaving over Biochem?

[Toweleeeie]

Apologies, just to clarify my situation, I most likely would not be able to access the absolute best end game gear due to being more of a casual player. Therefore, crafted gear may still be the best available for me to access.

 

To give you an example, when I played WoW, I was not able to access the most difficult end game content for the last two expansion cycles due to limited time. I instead always used the Raid Finder tool, which awards slightly lower level gear than what you could get in the normal or heroic raids. In that case, the professions on my characters (Blacksmithing and Tailoring for example) actually gave me a few pieces of gear that were better than anything I could get from the Raid Finder system. So although not technically best in slot for the whole game, it was actually an opportunity to make the best available gear for my specific situation.

 

Given this, would you still not recommend going for Synthweaving over Biochem?

 

That's not really how this game works. Comms are handed out like candy and it's much easier then crafting. Also I would not level as a tank. Level as dps and switch to tank at 50 or 55.

Edited July 9, 2014 by Toweleeeie

[cach-x]

If you're only going to have 1 character I guess the choice is between Bio, cyber and Artifice. The rest of the crafting professions are too expensive and only marginally useful. I personally started with Cybertech, but by now I have leveled all professions across all my characters.

 

Biochem

Good:

Medpacs and Stims are always useful at all levels.

Making your own Implants is a good extra.

Bad:

Crafted implants are usually worse than dropped/recipe implants.

It was the toughest to level up (for me, anyways). There's always that rare ingredient with low droprate that annoys me.

 

Cybertech

Good:

Mods and Armoring while you level are really useful.

Pretty cheap to level up.

Earpieces, bombs and starship parts are a cool thing to have (even though I rarely use them).

Bad:

Crafted earpieces are weak (see implants above).

There are weird recipe order as you level up. "you can craft tanking stuff now, but at the next level tier you can't, for no reason at all!".

 

Artifice

Good:

You want this only for enhancements and the hilts.

You could get your hands on rare crystal recipes or dyes and make some money, but it's rare as a casual player.

Bad:

Cartel Market killed most of the advantage of having your own crystals

Relics are nice but get quickly made useless by Comm gear (at 50+)

[Drudenfusz]

Apologies, just to clarify my situation, I most likely would not be able to access the absolute best end game gear due to being more of a casual player. Therefore, crafted gear may still be the best available for me to access.

 

To give you an example, when I played WoW, I was not able to access the most difficult end game content for the last two expansion cycles due to limited time. I instead always used the Raid Finder tool, which awards slightly lower level gear than what you could get in the normal or heroic raids. In that case, the professions on my characters (Blacksmithing and Tailoring for example) actually gave me a few pieces of gear that were better than anything I could get from the Raid Finder system. So although not technically best in slot for the whole game, it was actually an opportunity to make the best available gear for my specific situation.

 

Given this, would you still not recommend going for Synthweaving over Biochem?

Nope, the gear you get with Synthweaving is mostly green, and you have to reverse engeneer is to get blue gear, and then craft that again to reverse engeneer it again and get the purple schematic, which especially on end game levels need materials that you mostly will get out of the end game content. And the of the good stuff on Synthweaving you probably have to either buy schematics on the GNT or reverse engeneer stuff that dropped in end game content. So, randam drops and the rewards for daily quests will be more usefull, and to get those easier the Biochem stims come in handy.

 

Also I would not level as a tank. Level as dps and switch to tank at 50 or 55.

I have to disagree. Sure, I did so too on my first toon here (my main featured in my signature), out of habit from other games, but SWTOR seems to be working fine to level as a tank, and since I love to play tanks I have by now levelled multiple characters completely in tank stance without any trouble at all (basically every tank there is in SWTOR). Also, it is good to play as tank to get some experience in flashpoints in that role already while levelling, and of course one has a better queue time for flashpoints (and some people will be quite relieved to see an actual tank there then joining the flashpoint and not somebody who just also took that option because of the better queue times).