First toon hitting 55

[darkprophecies]

Hey guys, this is my first toon hitting 55. Need a little advice here. Where should i start of from gearing up? Currently im using 156 ratings from the first set of gears given to me in oricon. Should i continue dailies on oricon? Or should i go makeb or some other place?

[Essence_of_Light]

If you can, I recommend getting a group to carry you through SM Operations. The reason for this is because the gear drops will be better than what you currently have. That should start you off on a good foot.

 

Or, you could grind HM flashpoints in order to get Elite Comms which you can use for Elite Gear.

 

Personally, I try to always do the first option, but thats just me.

 

 

Sorry for the short explanation. I would go into more detail but I'm beat.

Edited September 4, 2014 by Essence_of_Light

[darkprophecies]

that is a problem... i always join the matchmaking queue, but never ever got into any operations before...

[Essence_of_Light]

that is a problem... i always join the matchmaking queue, but never ever got into any operations before...

 

Most people don't use the groupfinder (match making queue). If you go to the fleet, you're bound to find someone forming a SM Operation group in general chat.

 

Alternatively, if you're in a guild that raids, you can ask them to carry you.

[Khevar]

Howdy and welcome to 55!

 

If you haven't yet augmented your gear, you can make some money doing dailies or crafting, and use augment kits and augments to for a big boost to your stats.

 

I'd also recommend queuing for HM flashpoints. Partly for the commendations, and partly for the practice.

 

Any time you meet some really good players, add them to your friends list (and hopefully vice-versa, too!). It is much easier to form a pre-made operations group than to use the Group Finder, and having people on your friends list can shorten the time it takes to put a group together.

Edited September 4, 2014 by Khevar

[FrozenGoalie]

If you haven't yet augmented your gear, you can make some money doing dailies or crafting, and use augment kits and augments to for a big boost to your stats.

 

Note, if you haven't ripped the 156 mods out and put them in your own gear: Make sure to do this on the gear that you want to wear for a long time. It's expensive to do and annoying to redo if you change your set. DO NOT do this right on the gear pieces from Oricon if you don't like the look of them.

[darkprophecies]

Thanks guys for the info. I have not augmented any of my EQ yet. Will do it once i save enough money. For now I am doing oricon dailies while queueing up for HMFP 50s. I havent tried 55s yet for the sheer fact that i met a few people who scorn at my low gears and said that the group will never finish it cos im using 156s and just leave the group.

[Fidelicatessen]

Thanks guys for the info. I have not augmented any of my EQ yet. Will do it once i save enough money. For now I am doing oricon dailies while queueing up for HMFP 50s. I havent tried 55s yet for the sheer fact that i met a few people who scorn at my low gears and said that the group will never finish it cos im using 156s and just leave the group.

 

They are bads. HM 55 FPs are TOTALLY doable in 156 gear. In fact, you're OVERGEARED for them. Go ahead and queue, and if folks leave in a huff, make sure to make a note who it was and avoid grouping with them.

 

Once you have queued for 55 HM FPs and maybe have some ultimate coms under your belt, start looking at augmenting your gear but, as the poster above said, make SURE you like the look of it. Rip the mods out of the good stuff and place them in gear you like the looks of. It costs 36k credits per piece just to attach a mk-9 augment slot to gear, and there is also the cost of the mk-9 augmentation kit, which can run anywhere from 40k-100k depending on various things. This means it can cost ~100k credits PER PIECE to augment, so it's important that you like the look of your gear.

 

Get on at prime-time and join some SM ops--folks put these together on the fleet and then use groupfinder to actually enter the op, as you get an extra 30 ultimate comms for finishing the op when you do it that way. Before you start this, DO pick up the one-time quest for the op--they reward valuable drop-only crafting materials which, even if you aren't going to use them, will sell for plenty on the GTN.

 

Do dailies on Oricon and CZ-198--both are quick cash grabs and can be done every day. If you queue for a random tactical FP you can also get an extra 10 elite comms per day. Truly, though, you should be looking for ultimates. Ultimate comms should be saved until you can upgrade your offhand, as that will give you the biggest boost (don't spend elite comms on an offhand). With the cash you get from doing dailies, after you have augmented your gear, save up for a 180 hilt/barrel for your mainhand weapon. You can pick up some extra cash by spending all your Basic comms on Vials of Isotope-5 and selling them on the GTN.

 

Roll need on the gear tokens that drop when you do ops--they can be traded for very well-statted gear that has a set bonus. When you win one, go to the vendor on the fleet (operations gear vendor? it's in supplies, in between the kiosks that sell stuff for Classic/Basic/Elite/Ultimate comms) and carefully read over the various set bonuses you can choose from. One of them should fit your build quite nicely.

 

Even if you aren't really a PvPer, try doing enough PvP so you can afford the PvP relics. Brutalizer relics are 2nd BiS, and will last you a long, long time. Worth augmenting these relics.

 

That's all I can think of at the moment. Good luck and have fun!

Edited September 4, 2014 by Fidelicatessen

[darkprophecies]

They are bads. HM 55 FPs are TOTALLY doable in 156 gear. In fact, you're OVERGEARED for them. Go ahead and queue, and if folks leave in a huff, make sure to make a note who it was and avoid grouping with them.

 

Once you have queued for 55 HM FPs and maybe have some ultimate coms under your belt, start looking at augmenting your gear but, as the poster above said, make SURE you like the look of it. Rip the mods out of the good stuff and place them in gear you like the looks of. It costs 36k credits per piece just to attach a mk-9 augment slot to gear, and there is also the cost of the mk-9 augmentation kit, which can run anywhere from 40k-100k depending on various things. This means it can cost ~100k credits PER PIECE to augment, so it's important that you like the look of your gear.

 

Get on at prime-time and join some SM ops--folks put these together on the fleet and then use groupfinder to actually enter the op, as you get an extra 30 ultimate comms for finishing the op when you do it that way. Before you start this, DO pick up the one-time quest for the op--they reward valuable drop-only crafting materials which, even if you aren't going to use them, will sell for plenty on the GTN.

 

Do dailies on Oricon and CZ-198--both are quick cash grabs and can be done every day. If you queue for a random tactical FP you can also get an extra 10 elite comms per day. Truly, though, you should be looking for ultimates. Ultimate comms should be saved until you can upgrade your offhand, as that will give you the biggest boost (don't spend elite comms on an offhand). With the cash you get from doing dailies, after you have augmented your gear, save up for a 180 hilt/barrel for your mainhand weapon. You can pick up some extra cash by spending all your Basic comms on Vials of Isotope-5 and selling them on the GTN.

 

Roll need on the gear tokens that drop when you do ops--they can be traded for very well-statted gear that has a set bonus. When you win one, go to the vendor on the fleet (operations gear vendor? it's in supplies, in between the kiosks that sell stuff for Classic/Basic/Elite/Ultimate comms) and carefully read over the various set bonuses you can choose from. One of them should fit your build quite nicely.

 

Even if you aren't really a PvPer, try doing enough PvP so you can afford the PvP relics. Brutalizer relics are 2nd BiS, and will last you a long, long time. Worth augmenting these relics.

 

That's all I can think of at the moment. Good luck and have fun!

 

Oh i see! No wonder i cant find anyone on the ops queue. Thanks for all advice! will do it as soon as my lecture ends ><

[PavelH]

55HM FPs are totally doable in 156 gear, we had worse when it came out (154 or so, dread guard), and we farmed them for elite comms. at the start they were hard (well, its called hard mode for a reason), but once you learned the fights and knew when to use cooldowns they became easy.

 

if 3 of the 4 people have 180+ gear, then there is no reason to fail, if you use your brain correctly (and not pull every mob you see, for instance). if the tank and/or healer have slightly worse gear, and have not been there before, there might be some wipes, but when they learn the fights its easy

 

since FPs dont really have enrage timers, its entirely possible for one person to completely slack, as long as he is dmg role

 

if you are actively playing the game, try finding a guild. they can carry you through SM and HM raids.

most guilds are happy to have new active members (and sad if you leave them after getting all the gear)

[darkprophecies]

55HM FPs are totally doable in 156 gear, we had worse when it came out (154 or so, dread guard), and we farmed them for elite comms. at the start they were hard (well, its called hard mode for a reason), but once you learned the fights and knew when to use cooldowns they became easy.

 

if 3 of the 4 people have 180+ gear, then there is no reason to fail, if you use your brain correctly (and not pull every mob you see, for instance). if the tank and/or healer have slightly worse gear, and have not been there before, there might be some wipes, but when they learn the fights its easy

 

since FPs dont really have enrage timers, its entirely possible for one person to completely slack, as long as he is dmg role

 

if you are actively playing the game, try finding a guild. they can carry you through SM and HM raids.

most guilds are happy to have new active members (and sad if you leave them after getting all the gear)

 

unfortunately, i set up my own guild with a group of my friends whom we play together alot and we all just hit 55 together on our first toons. >< and most of us are at 156 ratings hahaha

[Nazdika]

Until you know the mechanics of the 55 FPs, you may get some flac for whatever you are doing, in my experience with GF. Just let people know in the beginning, you are new. It is somewhat annoying to find out someone woulda needed explanations after +10k rep costs each We all have started someday, so it is not a shame in the least. It helps though, to know the respective FPs in SM, IMO. And gear-wise, 180+ is by far not needed on anyone to breeze through them with 4 people. Giving someone a hard time for 156 gear is a bad joke, really.

 

About gear in general: Remember that SM Terror from Beyond, and Scum & Villany get you 2 mass manipulation generators for the first run, each. Invest those in 180 hilt / barrel as soon as you can. That is, as soon as you can afford the 8 isotop-5, and 8 exotic equalizers that are needed for each hilt / barrel. Isotop-5 you get with basic comms (35 per), or in Toborro's Courtyard mini-OP. EEEs seem to be so common these days, you will soon swim in them On the servers I am playing it is completely fine to "need" them.

[darkprophecies]

Until you know the mechanics of the 55 FPs, you may get some flac for whatever you are doing, in my experience with GF. Just let people know in the beginning, you are new. It is somewhat annoying to find out someone woulda needed explanations after +10k rep costs each We all have started someday, so it is not a shame in the least. It helps though, to know the respective FPs in SM, IMO. And gear-wise, 180+ is by far not needed on anyone to breeze through them with 4 people. Giving someone a hard time for 156 gear is a bad joke, really.

 

About gear in general: Remember that SM Terror from Beyond, and Scum & Villany get you 2 mass manipulation generators for the first run, each. Invest those in 180 hilt / barrel as soon as you can. That is, as soon as you can afford the 8 isotop-5, and 8 exotic equalizers that are needed for each hilt / barrel. Isotop-5 you get with basic comms (35 per), or in Toborro's Courtyard mini-OP. EEEs seem to be so common these days, you will soon swim in them On the servers I am playing it is completely fine to "need" them.

 

i really wished that everyone were like you guys. there was an occasion this guy just looked at my gear at the start and said OMg you guys arent geared enough. and just left the group.

[Nazdika]

i really wished that everyone were like you guys. there was an occasion this guy just looked at my gear at the start and said OMg you guys arent geared enough. and just left the group.

 

Good riddance. Some may have little time to rush through the daily FP. And some may just be psychos.

 

What I just remembered too though: I do hope you already invested in a +41 crystal from CM a long time ago Whichever stat you need. Some colors are not THAT expensive on GHN. And about the guild, on my main server most of the guilds have kinda alliances with other guilds. Due to friendship, or similar play-style or other reasons. Even if you are in a guild with friends, maybe find an alliance. Or maybe even join a friendly guild as a whole.

[darkprophecies]

sorry you meant GTN? and what is a CM? yes i already had a crystal long time ago hahaha. and wait alliance? how do i alliance?