2018 Expertise Main PVP Stat Is Essential

[Icykill_]

Yes of course I will mate. And I apologise for plugging my channel on your thread dude, I find it's a good community to get noticed from and I feel ppl appreciate the time and effort it takes to make PvP guides to help us all.

 

Please plug away... The more people that we can help... The better it is for the pvp community

[jagertharn]

Just wanted to pop in here and say I am using the 174 pve armorings for my scoundrel healer 2 piece bonus. Here is a link so you can see what I use.

 

 

http://imgur.com/a/jLcRO

[Quinan]

Just wanted to pop in here and say I am using the 174 pve armorings for my scoundrel healer 2 piece bonus. Here is a link so you can see what I use.

 

 

http://imgur.com/a/jLcRO

 

Yes the reason this is possible is because bolstering will take the average rating for your gear. In this instance (174+148+162) ÷ 3 = 161

So it is still below the cap and allows you to bolster but it'sa nice way to play around with which stats you prefer, good job

[Icykill_]

Just wanted to pop in here and say I am using the 174 pve armorings for my scoundrel healer 2 piece bonus. Here is a link so you can see what I use.

 

 

http://imgur.com/a/jLcRO

 

As Quinan says, its because your average is still under 162 total for that piece...

 

I like your ingenuity and it shows that people are still testing things

I've done something similar on a few toons... But there can be a lot of trial and error... I tried to simplify it a bit by saying don't use anything over 162... But I like experimenting too and encourage others to experiment as well... The simplest rule to follow is... "Will adding that item make the average higher than 162"

Edited March 1, 2015 by Icykill_

[Shiroikage]

I am sitting on1977 expertise on all my characters. I replaced my mainhand weps crystal from expertise to power. The difference i noticed is that it boosts dmg output very very slightly and the dmg reduction u loose is miniscule so i dont think there is much of a difference between 2018 and 1977

[jagertharn]

As Quinan says, its because your average is still under 162 total for that piece...

 

I like your ingenuity and it shows that people are still testing things

I've done something similar on a few toons... But there can be a lot of trial and error... I tried to simplify it a bit by saying don't use anything over 162... But I like experimenting too and encourage others to experiment as well... The simplest rule to follow is... "Will adding that item make the average higher than 162"

 

I just upgraded my mods in these pics to item rating 150. I still get a bolster to 2018. So any op healers out there, get the set pieces from nightmare tfb & snv, mods from hm zorn and toth, and enhancements from the intro flashpoints to the expansion.

[Wainamoinen]

I am sitting on1977 expertise on all my characters. I replaced my mainhand weps crystal from expertise to power. The difference i noticed is that it boosts dmg output very very slightly and the dmg reduction u loose is miniscule so i dont think there is much of a difference between 2018 and 1977

 

41 Power will give something like 0.6% extra bonus damage at a proper gear level, precise figure depends on the level of your other stats. Given Ranged and Melee take part of their damage calculation from Weapon Damage, I'd expect teh boost to your damage output to be a bit less.

 

Losing 41 Expertise cuts 1.2% boost to all damage, and going from 2018 to 1977 reduces your damage taken reduction from 37.5% to 37.0%.

 

Expertise is the better stat. You do more damage with it and take less damage. 41 points won't make much difference, but I'd jump at the chance for an easy >0.6% plus

[Kordine]

Just hit 60 on my Scoundrel and it's in 172 blues everywhere. Had been fine in the middies but zero expertise on Ilum confused me till I did some reading here. Fortunately I have 162 greens and purples on my Agent I can move. Might mix and match to get the right stats. I have enough comms to get both weapons and upgrade 1 of them. I assume main hand is the one to go with.

 

Also have a 59 Sent in 172 blues who has started SoR but I replaced the 162 greens already so sounds like Oricon once I hit 60.

 

Thanks for the thread. I noticed the problem but a good explanation always helps.

[Icykill_]

I posted this in another thread and wanted to share this with you

 

I've been doing some parse testing using http://swtor-parser.elasticbeanstalk.com

 

I've used the combat dummy on the fleet wearing a full set of PVE 162 gear (2018 bolstered), a full set of PVE 186 gear (900 bolstered), a full set of PVP 162 Brutalizer (bolstered) and finally a full set of Exhumed (bolstered)

 

LoL... The dummy is pretty useless for this sort of testing... It doesn't take Expertise into account... It only takes the bolstered stats

 

So I tested it in WZs... Massive gap difference between the 2018 Expertise gear and the 900 Expertise gear... Approx 30-50% less damage and 3rd more deaths wearing the 186 PVE gear... There wasn't as big of a difference between 162 PVE gear and Brutalizer... Approx 2-5% due to set bonus and relics and damage/deaths about even... About 3-6% difference between Brutalizer and Exhumed...

I did do multiple WZs in each, but each match had different quality players... So these figures are just estimates

 

Next test when I can organise it with my mate is to test it on Oricon 1v1 to see if I can get more accurate numbers...

We are very similar in skill LVL and both have full the same class in full Exhumed gear... I need to check what he has available in the other gear

[Icykill_]

Eric, can we please get this Thread Stickied... I have had lots of people asking where it is when I point them to it in game... There are also new threads on a weekly basis saying how bolster is broken or why they need need pvp gear to get 2018 expertise... Having this stickied would hopefully make it easier for people to understand that bolster is working as intended and that they do not need pvp gear to get expertise

 

If I need to edit anything slightly to have it stickied, please let me know

[Kurj]

Thank you so much for all of the great info you are giving us. I am a 60 and just started PVPing so this is a huge help.

 

Am I correct that my best bet would be to buy lvl 55 PVE gear with my basic comms until I can save up enough wz comms to buy pvp gear?

 

And, for MH, I will need to use a 162 hilt with lower mod/enh to max bolster, and the OH will need to be lower level armor/mod/enh? Do I have that right? What level do the other armor/mods/enh need to be, or do you just have to experiment with bolster on to figure it out for each toon?

[Icykill_]

Thank you so much for all of the great info you are giving us. I am a 60 and just started PVPing so this is a huge help.

 

Am I correct that my best bet would be to buy lvl 55 PVE gear with my basic comms until I can save up enough wz comms to buy pvp gear?

 

And, for MH, I will need to use a 162 hilt with lower mod/enh to max bolster, and the OH will need to be lower level armor/mod/enh? Do I have that right? What level do the other armor/mods/enh need to be, or do you just have to experiment with bolster on to figure it out for each toon?

 

Yes any PVE gear that is at or below 162 is the best... 156 is also good

With weapons and off hand you can have 162 or 156 hilt/barrel/armor, but you mustn't have your mods or enhancements any higher than 148

[Kurj]

Thank you!

[Icykill_]

I will be updating this when 3.2 comes out... I've heard they will be adjusting Bolster

[Dalwhinnie]

I came back to game about 60 days ago after a 2 year hiatus and was level 50 valor. I gained 9 valor levels and was able to buy a full set of Exhumed including relics and minus MH/OH which I was using my old level 50 Rakata MH/OH.

 

Now I bought the Exhumed MH and I don't achieve 2018 anymore it's 1977. Do I have to have a full set of Dark Reaver before I can wear it? How would you suggest ramping up from here ie: what's the gear buying plan post 60 to achieve BIS PVP gear?

Edited April 15, 2015 by Dalwhinnie

[Amaste]

I came back to game about 60 days ago after a 2 year hiatus and was level 50 valor. I gained 9 valor levels and was able to buy a full set of Exhumed including relics and minus MH/OH which I was using my old level 50 Rakata MH/OH.

 

Now I bought the Exhumed MH and I don't achieve 2018 anymore it's 1977. Do I have to have a full set of Dread Guard before I can wear it? How would you suggest ramping up from here ie: what's the gear buying plan post 60 to achieve BIS PVP gear?

 

The weapons no longer comes with a crystal, make sure you buy and slot an expertise crystal in there. if you use any other type of crystal you'll just lose that 41 expertise.

[Dalwhinnie]

oh duh haha 2018-41=1977

[marchesq]

oh duh haha 2018-41=1977

 

may I ask why you came back?

[Icykill_]

I came back to game about 60 days ago after a 2 year hiatus and was level 50 valor. I gained 9 valor levels and was able to buy a full set of Exhumed including relics and minus MH/OH which I was using my old level 50 Rakata MH/OH.

 

Now I bought the Exhumed MH and I don't achieve 2018 anymore it's 1977. Do I have to have a full set of Dark Reaver before I can wear it? How would you suggest ramping up from here ie: what's the gear buying plan post 60 to achieve BIS PVP gear?

 

Good to see you back playing pvp 😃

[Dalwhinnie]

may I ask why you came back?

 

 

We were are Walt Disney World in December and I used the word "noobs" to describe myself and my husband, as far as, how the resort buses worked and the driver asked if I was a gamer. Then he proceeded to tell us how he played SWTOR and was excited about Revan coming out. And being the huge SW geek I am; it started gnawing at me that I missed the immersion in the SW universe.

 

So this time I'm focusing on my alts and PVP and enjoying the immersion instead of rushing through the raiding content.

Last time I approached it like a hard core raider and was really disappointed. This time focusing on things like running around on my varactyl and dressing up like a Nightsister has let me enjoy the game and be a lot less critical.

 

As far as PVP goes. I have always played on a PVP server and done the warzones. Without the fear factor of human vs human I think the game loses a lot, like playing chess vs a computer.

[ajsenior]

Hi,

Last time i played SWTOR, we used to get the gear through the PvP merchants at low levels (10-49), but apparently these vendors no longer exist. I am not all that interested in PvE, so is there still a way to gear up without having to quest and still take advantage of bolstering?

From what I have read, I need to have items at a minimum of four levels below my character's level, but where can I get these items if I only PvP?

[AlrikFassbauer]

Hi,

Last time i played SWTOR, we used to get the gear through the PvP merchants at low levels (10-49), but apparently these vendors no longer exist.

 

They do exist - on the capital planets - but their items don't have any expertise anymore. Not that I'd know of.

They still do look nice sometimes, though.

[Turshek]

Hi,

Last time i played SWTOR, we used to get the gear through the PvP merchants at low levels (10-49), but apparently these vendors no longer exist. I am not all that interested in PvE, so is there still a way to gear up without having to quest and still take advantage of bolstering?

From what I have read, I need to have items at a minimum of four levels below my character's level, but where can I get these items if I only PvP?

 

You can convert your wz comms into basic comms and buy the pve gear in supplies area.

[aldin_kiris]

I just wanted to pop in and thank the OP for posting this guide. It's been extremely helpful, as I've never actually had the bolster system explained to me before.

 

Now that I know what I'm doing and have gotten my expertise to 2018, I'm doing much better in warzones than before.

 

So once again, thank you for the info Icykill. It's been extremely helpful.

Edited April 21, 2015 by aldin_kiris

[RoboutteDorn]

Just a quick bump, as I didn't see this on the first page and its far more useful and informative for those that are still using high PVE gear or as I noticed the other night whilst on my middie lvl Jugg 168 Cove gear (had to slap guard on that sorc [DPS] right at the start of 4v4) and thinking that they are assisting their team mates