"You've Got Bad Gear....."

[UberSamoyed]

I run all three tanks. The story is the same for all. Set gear is the best starting point. But, if you're not running set gear and only pugging hm fps(which is fairly common)...the most effective way to gear is 198 B-mods and high mitigation enhancements. The 198 comm enhancements are terrible. Familiarity with KBN's mitigation stats is highly recommended. I would also recommend a mid setup or maybe even a high m/r set for hm fps.

 

It's as simple as that. People can and do what they will. But, if you want the most effective tank setup without running any ops...then the above applies. "Effective" being the key word. Of course, I'm not sure why one would not run ops if they are geared with some comm 198 stuff. The difference in average time invested between hm fps and TOS/Ravagers is minimal.

[DataBeaver]

It all depends on the content the player does, if it is HM flashpoints as the OP states or SM operations then 198 is not a waste of time.

Maybe he meant that only caring about the highest possible rating is a waste of time? It takes less effort to get full 192 with a set bonus from operations than to farm the necessary commendations for crappy 198. It's downright trivial if you're in a guild that's willing to do a gearing run for you. 198 ops gear is a different story, but I hope anyone wearing that is able to recognize optimized 192 gear and is knowledgeable enough to not call it bad for anything.

 

IMHO, this is the best dps/healer gear you can get without doing HM ops:

- 192 armorings with 6-piece set bonus

- 198 armoring (remaining piece)

- 192 mods (unlettered; can substitute with 198 A in a pinch)

- 192 enhancements (the good kind)

- 192 mainhand

- 198 offhand hilt/barrel

- 192 relics

- 192 implants and earpiece (Mk-V or Mk-X; some classes may benefit from 198 Mk-1)

 

Notice how that does not have all that much 198 in it? So yeah, if all you care about is that your gear has the number 198, you're doing it wrong.

Edited July 8, 2015 by DataBeaver

[CheaterLL]

Maybe he meant that only caring about the highest possible rating is a waste of time? It takes less effort to get full 192 with a set bonus from operations than to farm the necessary commendations for crappy 198. It's downright trivial if you're in a guild that's willing to do a gearing run for you. 198 ops gear is a different story, but I hope anyone wearing that is able to recognize optimized 192 gear and is knowledgeable enough to not call it bad for anything.

 

IMHO, this is the best gear you can get without doing HM ops:

- 192 armorings with 6-piece set bonus

- 198 armoring (remaining piece)

- 192 mods (unlettered; can substitute with 198 A in a pinch)

- 192 enhancements (the good kind)

- 192 mainhand

- 198 offhand

- 192 relics

- 192 implants and earpiece (Mk-V or Mk-X; some classes may benefit from 198 Mk-1)

 

Notice how that does not have all that much 198 in it? So yeah, if all you care about is that your gear has the number 198, you're doing it wrong.

 

198 B-mods for tanks.

And only the armoring/hilt/barrel 198 for the offhand.

[DataBeaver]

198 B-mods for tanks.

Good point. I haven't tanked much lately so I forgot.

And only the armoring/hilt/barrel 198 for the offhand.

That's what I meant. I'll edit my post for clarity.

[CheaterLL]

Good point. I haven't tanked much lately so I forgot.

 

That's what I meant. I'll edit my post for clarity.

 

Oh and actually Colossal Monolith 16M SM drops a random 198 token, so...

[UberSamoyed]

If you just slap on 198 comm gear for a tank, then you'll end up being a glorified pinata. Edited July 9, 2015 by UberSamoyed

[LeonoraOmega]

Now my main tank is finally level 60

sitting on 49K HP

most gear is 190 (armor is all 190)

relics are 178

main hand is 186

offhand is 190

earpiece is 192

and the two implants are waiting to be replaced I think are 186 but cant remember right now

As it stands without finishing up my ziost farming which will replace my implants with 190, this is pretty much my entry level for HM FLASHPOINTS bolded that cause I am not talking OP's.

yet.

Is this alright? judging by the rest of the thread I would say it is but.... always looking for that opinion

 

for anyone looking for stat examples

my DR is sitting around 50% my shield chance as around 45% and my shield absorption at around 32%

Edited September 1, 2015 by LeonoraOmega

[CheaterLL]

Now my main tank is finally level 60

sitting on 49K HP

most gear is 190 (armor is all 190)

relics are 178

main hand is 186

offhand is 190

earpiece is 192

and the two implants are waiting to be replaced I think are 186 but cant remember right now

As it stands without finishing up my ziost farming which will replace my implants with 190, this is pretty much my entry level for HM FLASHPOINTS bolded that cause I am not talking OP's.

yet.

Is this alright? judging by the rest of the thread I would say it is but.... always looking for that opinion

 

for anyone looking for stat examples

my DR is sitting around 50% my shield chance as around 45% and my shield absorption at around 32%

 

You're overgeared for HM FPs.

[CaraExas]

Now my main tank is finally level 60

sitting on 49K HP

most gear is 190 (armor is all 190)

relics are 178

main hand is 186

offhand is 190

earpiece is 192

and the two implants are waiting to be replaced I think are 186 but cant remember right now

As it stands without finishing up my ziost farming which will replace my implants with 190, this is pretty much my entry level for HM FLASHPOINTS bolded that cause I am not talking OP's.

yet.

Is this alright? judging by the rest of the thread I would say it is but.... always looking for that opinion

 

for anyone looking for stat examples

my DR is sitting around 50% my shield chance as around 45% and my shield absorption at around 32%

 

for FP's, yeah that is more then fine.

 

honestly, it just flashpoints, if you have half way decent idea of what each defensive cooldown you have does, and can hold aggro, you should be fairly successful.

Edited September 1, 2015 by CaraExas

[FlyinSpaghetti]

so there is basically no reason to walk into a FP without at least 190 for most things

 

I feel that's the problem with the HM flashpoints, you generally require more gear than the intended 178 rating skyridge/corsair only to get rishi maze and massasi trash as rewards which makes them kind of pointless when you can just run ops in 186/190 from yavin/ziost and get your set bonus stuff.

[CheaterLL]

I feel that's the problem with the HM flashpoints, you generally require more gear than the intended 178 rating skyridge/corsair only to get rishi maze and massasi trash as rewards which makes them kind of pointless when you can just run ops in 186/190 from yavin/ziost and get your set bonus stuff.

 

Generally.

Because of all the terribads.

See here

[LeonoraOmega]

You're overgeared for HM FPs.

 

this kinda made me laugh considering the thread topic is about being undergeared XD

[FlyinSpaghetti]

Generally.

Because of all the terribads.

See here

 

So someone with previous NiM experience clears a HM flashpoint in 172's (which mod vendor 172's are actually statistically similar to sky ridge bar some endurance and tertiary stats) and you expect that to be the norm for people starting out at endgame?

 

This is part of the problem, bioware tuned them to be a tight challenge for "experienced" people in the recommended gear then aimed the FP at a different group of people entirely by making the drops all entry level trash. IMO tactical flashpoints should fill the entry level role when it comes to endgame content, where as HM flashpoints should be tuned to not only be a challenge for people at higher gear levels and experience but to complement operations gear-wise.

 

Instead what you get is people who are not very experienced being lumped with tough boss fights while the content becomes obsolete for more experienced operation runners who could do with that sort of challenge before stepping into HM ops but it's not worth it for them due to the drops being trash and pointless.

 

The best model was pre 2.0/pre pre nerf LI HM, the fights were tough however the reward at the end was a main hand and chest piece which prepared you to step into HM ops on a high. Why can't we go back to those times when it comes down to HM flashpoints in where they actually meant something?

Edited September 1, 2015 by FlyinSpaghetti

[Khevar]

The best model was pre 2.0/pre pre nerf LI HM, the fights were tough however the reward at the end was a main hand and chest piece which prepared you to step into HM ops on a high. Why can't we go back to those times when it comes down to HM flashpoints in where they actually meant something?

Related to this, there was a better structure to end game back then.

 

Tier I endgame

Tier II endgame

 

The only T2 flashpoint was HM LI. T1 ops were EV/KP. T2 ops were EC and TfB. The rewards were better for T2, but there was a ramp up in more challenging mechanics, as well.

 

At the time, it had been my hope 2.0 would have continued this trend by adding more Tier 1 flashpoints AND more Tier 2 flashpoints. And more T1 operations (easier mechanics) and T2 operations (harder mechanics).

 

Alas.

Edited September 1, 2015 by Khevar

[FlyinSpaghetti]

Related to this, there was a better structure to end game back then.

 

Tier I endgame

Tier II endgame

 

The only T2 flashpoint was HM LI. T1 ops were EV/KP. T2 ops were EC and TfB. The rewards were better for T2, but there was a ramp up in more challenging mechanics, as well.

 

At the time, it had been my hope 2.0 would have continued this trend by adding more Tier 1 flashpoints AND more Tier 2 flashpoints. And more T1 operations (easier mechanics) and T2 operations (harder mechanics).

 

Alas.

 

For flashpoints while the old tier system worked there doesn't need to be different flashpoints of different difficulties as tactical FP's should be filling the role of the old easier tier 1 flashpoints where as hard modes should be tier 2 with tougher mechanics for more seasoned players.

 

However the problem is how bioware is counting HM flashpoints as "tier 1 & a half" by making them a stepping stone into operations rather than content for more experienced players to play along side ops, but at the same time they pander to the "make them hard" crowd and the result we get is flashpoints too tough for the average noobs the gear inside is intended for where as the more experienced players the difficulty is intended for would be much better off sticking to ops instead because the drops are trash.

 

IMO they need to stop trying to cater for both sides with HM flashpoints, keep tactical flashpoints for entry level endgame while make HM flashpoints more of a benchmark for experienced geared players who are looking to tightly test their skills in a 4 man environment before stepping into HM or a more difficult tier of ops. This is why LI HM was such a good flashpoint, if we had the achievement system back then it would probably be the only thing required to show you were a capable player for any raid.

[Faardor]

for tanks its more important to know how to gear and stat yourself vs comm gear or not. altough yes, ziost gear or 192 gear with optimized enhancements (that do drop from HM flashpoints) is preferred. would be better to just do kiddy level ravagers a little bit for optimized everything and set bonus.

[ThrakhathSpawn]

I very often find people say "I don't have gear good enough for this", yet invite them along anyway.

 

For some reason, there are a class of ultimate com baddies that like to treat everything like a test dummy, if you don't have their exclusive 56K health, it must your lack of endurance stat, not their inability to drop an orbital on an add, or move adds to a boss in blood hunt, etc.

 

Decent level 55 gear, will run the level 60HM FP's if played well. The same was true of the 55HM FP's when the level cap was 55, you could do them in level 50 Gear.

 

At level, a team in underworld 168 gear, could drop DF NIM. Yet, bad raid leaders would drop people not in full 180's from a HM group. This is simply people who do not have skill, thinking only of gear rating.

 

Also of note - pay attention to the stats, rather than the rating. I would far rather have a player with the Ziost 190 enehancements for an UL pug, then someone in all ult com gear. The person who didn't put in the commendation enhancements, noted the extra power the 190's gave.

 

Un augment-ed basic com 172's with basic com 150 relics, basic com 162 implants and earpiece, basic com level 55 or less everything, in essence, on my operative is 3,000DPS. Most HM 60FP's only require about 2,000DPS, although the first boss on blood hunt has a tighter DPS enrage that makes 3,000 a better number to bring. The blue 178's from spamming tactical's, if you play well, will be more than sufficient.

 

Also - take advantage of the level 55sm raids to get Arkanian or underworld set pieces.

 

The storyline hands you all the gear you need to to run HM 60 FP's by the time you hit 60 on Yavin, and gives you severe overkill if you move on to Ziost.

 

The game is getting changed drastically, all advice in this thread may not apply in a few weeks. :\

 

Fun read.

Edited September 11, 2015 by ThrakhathSpawn

[DNGDangerous]

If you dont have level 65 gear from the upcoming expansion, then you cant possibly beat any flashpoint, especially the ones designed to be beat at lv50. Stay away from black talon and essless story mode, because those are absolutelly brutal for anyone lvl 64 and under.

[AFTOHSIX]

Just a question here because this really annoyed me when it happened. If the best pve gear you can get is from the ultimate gear vendors on the fleet..

 

I haven't checked to see if anybody said this already but.... That isn't the best PVE gear you can get.

[josephinec]

So my Infiltration Shadow has a mix of gear from ROTE and elite gear vendors. Her saberstaff is fully modded and she has update to date relics. She's at level 60. Do you guys think she's geared enough for level 55 hard mode or nightmare operations?

I kind of want to recruit for those but I'm nervous that I don't have good enough gear or that I'll end up with a badly geared group.

[nyrkverse]

Uhm, ROTE? Anyway the l55 HM and NiM have vastly reduced dps checks in any type of current gear and the difficulty now lies almost entirely with the mechanics. The only real exceptions may be Brontes and Council NiM where the burn phases still require a good output although nowhere near what it used to be on level.

 

The mechanics are not trivial though, especially in NiM, you need good coordination and experience playing together as a team.

 

But this is the best time to go for it since once everything is updated they'll become much more difficult again

[TACeMossie]

Uhm, ROTE?

 

Took me a sec to realise, but its "Rise of the Emperor" - AKA rating 190 Ziost gear

[nyrkverse]

Took me a sec to realise, but its "Rise of the Emperor" - AKA rating 190 Ziost gear

 

ah, of course! Thank you

[Astaldoath]

so are these new HM FP so much worse than when rise of the hutt came out? I mean gear to challenge ratio

[Astaldoath]

If you dont have level 65 gear from the upcoming expansion, then you cant possibly beat any flashpoint, especially the ones designed to be beat at lv50. Stay away from black talon and essless story mode, because those are absolutelly brutal for anyone lvl 64 and under.

 

*** r u talking about level 60 is max level....