Advice for a returning player.

[MeoTwister]

So I played swtor for a few months back in mid 2012 and quit after getting 4 chars to 50 due to medical school. I haven't played in more than 2 years and only just decided to come back since I now have more free time and with 3.0 coming up. I also decided to start from zero by... well deleting my chars and work from the ground up.

 

Since I never played 2.0 and starting new with 3.0 less than a month away I was reading stories of how some people had problems transitioning in 50-55 gear wise and will probably face that in 55-60, how hard would it for a relatively fresh player go straight from 1-60 levelling on nothing but drops and crafted greens before doing proper gearing for endgame? Assuming I skip 50 and 55 group content.

[Cox_The_Beast]

So I played swtor for a few months back in mid 2012 and quit after getting 4 chars to 50 due to medical school. I haven't played in more than 2 years and only just decided to come back since I now have more free time and with 3.0 coming up. I also decided to start from zero by... well deleting my chars and work from the ground up.

 

Since I never played 2.0 and starting new with 3.0 less than a month away I was reading stories of how some people had problems transitioning in 50-55 gear wise and will probably face that in 55-60, how hard would it for a relatively fresh player go straight from 1-60 levelling on nothing but drops and crafted greens before doing proper gearing for endgame? Assuming I skip 50 and 55 group content.

 

Well, Welcome Back, first of all.

 

Then, to business. Tbh I am actually levelling a Jug Tank and a Scoundrel Healer with the 12Exp to Class missions, the first one with just green mission rewards, not moddables, and the second one with moddable gear I keep up to date via crafting. No problem on either side up to now, and they're 35 the Jug and 45 the Scoundrel.

 

That said, gearing at 50 and 55 is kind of a different matter. I usually go at it this way and get little to no trouble.

First of all, at 40 I begin keeping Planetary Comms to get them as close to 100 as possible, then at 50 I buy from the Makeb Vendor on fleet as many 140 purple rating pieces as I can. Hilts/Barrels and Armorings first, usually, because of resistance and dmg, but that's my personal choice.

Then from that I begin moving towards higher lvl, and at 55 I run Oricon for the 156 rating purple set. Once I get it, I'm good for Group Content, if I so wish. All in all, I wouldn't stop before that with gearing, considering the new Expansion will raise the limit a lot, and I'd rather be at least at starting level first.

[Necrotic_Rose]

As mentioned above, the makeb vendor to begin. After that id say dailies for basic comms and upgrade with those if you can't or don't want to do Oricon. If you complete weeklys such as CZerka, Section X etc, you will also get elite comms, granted its faster to get elite comms from flashpoints but atleast with weeklys you are earning cash too.

[ZackyFeet]

Hi there,

It would be hard to go through with just drops. Modable gear is very important to staying alive or else you'll eventually get killed by the 'easiest' mobs!

[NYYankee]

Well, Welcome Back, first of all.

 

Then, to business. Tbh I am actually levelling a Jug Tank and a Scoundrel Healer with the 12Exp to Class missions, the first one with just green mission rewards, not moddables, and the second one with moddable gear I keep up to date via crafting. No problem on either side up to now, and they're 35 the Jug and 45 the Scoundrel.

 

That said, gearing at 50 and 55 is kind of a different matter. I usually go at it this way and get little to no trouble.

First of all, at 40 I begin keeping Planetary Comms to get them as close to 100 as possible, then at 50 I buy from the Makeb Vendor on fleet as many 140 purple rating pieces as I can. Hilts/Barrels and Armorings first, usually, because of resistance and dmg, but that's my personal choice.

Then from that I begin moving towards higher lvl, and at 55 I run Oricon for the 156 rating purple set. Once I get it, I'm good for Group Content, if I so wish. All in all, I wouldn't stop before that with gearing, considering the new Expansion will raise the limit a lot, and I'd rather be at least at starting level first.

 

This covers most of it. From 1-50, the side mission rewards can help a bit with the gear, if you need gear on the cheap, run a few side missions to get yourself back on track. Be sure to check the rewards first to make sure you're getting something useful.

 

Once you get to 47 you can go to Makeb and get bolstered. This will boost your stats and will allow you to run content above the level of your gear. In the process, you can pick up some 50-55 gear as rewards/drops.

 

After Makeb, go to Oricon for the 156 level gear. If you're still undergeared, the boss fights here can be tricky. That said, the dailies are the same as the base missions (which award the 156 level gear). You can typically find people that will help you through the boss fights. Just be aware that the boss fights require certain mechanics and without top level gear, you'll have a smaller margin for error.

 

Once you've got the Oricon gear, you're ready to run any non-Operation PVE content and to get started on SM Ops.

[MeoTwister]

But what if say I decide to skip 55 content and jump straight to 55-60? Given people's experience with the transition to 2.0 (remember that I never played 2.0) is it likely that I need to be geared in tiered 55 to survive 55-60?

 

Basically if I can survive levelling 55-60 and start gearing for 60 without doing 55 group content. In theory of course since 3.0 isn't out but I'm planning to go straight to it and skip 2.0 content so I'm just planning based on your experiences in 2.0. In other words, if in theory doing the endgame content of 2.0 would be required to survive the transition to 3.0.

Edited November 11, 2014 by MeoTwister

[Sharzade]

But what if say I decide to skip 55 content and jump straight to 55-60? Given people's experience with the transition to 2.0 (remember that I never played 2.0) is it likely that I need to be geared in tiered 55 to survive 55-60?

 

Basically if I can survive leveling 55-60 and start gearing for 60 without doing 55 group content. In theory of course since 3.0 isn't out but I'm planning to go straight to it and skip 2.0 content so I'm just planning based on your experiences in 2.0. In other words, if in theory doing the endgame content of 2.0 would be required to survive the transition to 3.0.

 

I'm guessing that like me, you're back in the game and are leveling solo. I'm also curious if elite level 55 endgame raidgear will be needed to do the new Revan expansion 55-60 content. Any concerns might be reduced because I've read that new level 60 will be the power equivalent of the current level 55 (not sure if I understood this right), but if that's the case, maybe being fabulously geared up for the 55-60 level content will be less of a hurdle.

 

To Cox, I appreciate the tips on hoarding commendations from level 40 to get purple gear from the Makeb vendor, etc. I'll give that a go.

[Darkelefantos]

"Elite endlevel gear" would constitute the 186 rated Dreadmaster Gear, basically. But since 186 will be the entry gear level for the new Operations they'll release come SoR, I guess you'd be mostly fine leveling in the stuff you get on Oricon. And that's without knowing what you might get from quests.

[NYYankee]

But what if say I decide to skip 55 content and jump straight to 55-60? Given people's experience with the transition to 2.0 (remember that I never played 2.0) is it likely that I need to be geared in tiered 55 to survive 55-60?

 

Basically if I can survive levelling 55-60 and start gearing for 60 without doing 55 group content. In theory of course since 3.0 isn't out but I'm planning to go straight to it and skip 2.0 content so I'm just planning based on your experiences in 2.0. In other words, if in theory doing the endgame content of 2.0 would be required to survive the transition to 3.0.

 

It's impossible to gauge the minimum gear level required for 3.0 until the expansion comes out. The Devs have given some hints, but even their plans and expectations are sometimes off once the masses familiarize themselves with the content and the easiest way to get through it.

 

That said, indications are that you won't need the current Operations gear to get going in 3.0. 156 gear is the entry level for the current endgame content and I would suspect that it will be entry level for the expansion. You can get a full set of 156 for free in about an hour on Oricon.

 

If you're trying to minimize your path, then Makeb, Ilum, CZ-198, and other solo PVE content can probably be skipped. That said, I'd still do Oricon for the 156 gear.

[ScarletThorn]

So I played swtor for a few months back in mid 2012 and quit after getting 4 chars to 50 due to medical school. I haven't played in more than 2 years and only just decided to come back since I now have more free time and with 3.0 coming up. I also decided to start from zero by... well deleting my chars and work from the ground up.

 

Since I never played 2.0 and starting new with 3.0 less than a month away I was reading stories of how some people had problems transitioning in 50-55 gear wise and will probably face that in 55-60, how hard would it for a relatively fresh player go straight from 1-60 levelling on nothing but drops and crafted greens before doing proper gearing for endgame? Assuming I skip 50 and 55 group content.

 

Welcome back as has been mentioned do the Makeb story line for gear and don't forget to the bolster from the terminals when you get there. Then between story, drops and vendor you should be fine. After that go do the Oricon story for a set of gear. I suggest going with a friend, if possible, to run it faster because the mob density on Oricon is pretty high.