BioWare is making some some big gear changes to Star Wars: The old REpublic with the launch of the next expansion:

Gearing Changes in Eternal Throne | 10.17.2016, 03:44 PM

Hey folks,

One of the things we talked a bit about on the stream is that there are gearing changes happening with Knights of the Eternal Throne. This thread is meant to give you a few more details on some of the things that will be happening in KOTET, along with being a place that I can address questions or concerns you have with these changes. First, here are the details on how gearing will work at level 70:

Once you hit level 70, the source of end-game gear will be Command Crates from Galactic Command.

Most activities in the game will earn Command Experience Points (CXP), which will earn you Command Ranks. Each time your Command Rank increases, you earn a Command Crate.

The higher your Command Rank, the better gear that will drop from your Command Crates.

The highest difficulty Operations and Uprisings, along with Ranked Warzones are intended to be the fastest ways to earn CXP. This means they are the fastest way to get the best gear.

Both PvP and PvE gear will come from Command Crates. Their gear is now shared as Expertise is being removed (head to this thread to discuss PvP/PvE itemization specifically).

Gear will no longer drop from bosses as all gear will come from Command Crates. All cosmetic/unique drops will still remain on those bosses (Stronghold Decorations, Wings of the Architect, etc.).

Players will be able to craft comparable item level gear without set bonuses.

That should cover most of the basic changes coming to itemization in KOTET. I know this is a lot to take in, so please ask any questions you may have in this thread and I will work to answer what I can!

-eric

PvP and PvE Gearing in Eternal Throne | 10.17.2016, 03:45 PM

Hey folks,

As we talked about a bit on the stream, there are some gearing changes happening with Knights of the Eternal Throne. The purpose of this thread is to go over how these changes will impact PvE and PvP gearing. Here are some more of those details:

Expertise is being removed from the game.

Any color crystals which have Expertise on them will be converted to a new type of color crystal – Mastery.

There is no longer an Expertise requirement to get into Ranked Warzones, this will be replaced with a Valor requirement.

PvE and PvP will share the same gear in Eternal Throne.

Crystals and Warzone Commendations will also be phased out in Eternal Throne, we will have more details on our conversion plans in the coming weeks.

That covers an overview of how the changes will impact PvP and PvE gear in Eternal Throne. Please let me know of any questions you may have and I will work with the team to get you answers.

-eric

Gearing Changes in Eternal Throne | 10.17.2016, 03:57 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Jerba What happens to Priority Ops?

Priority Ops will no longer exist. They are sort of replaced in that Operations can be the daily bonus, which will award bonus CXP for doing them.

Quote: Originally Posted by Rolodome Is there a cap to command rank? As in, for example, you reach “level 100 command rank” and you can progress no further?

EDIT: Also, will any of this affect gearing prior to level 70?

There is a cap. When you hit the cap you continue to earn CXP and fill your bar so that you “level.” When this happens and you are at the cap you will get a Command Crate but not level up.

No effect below level 70.

-eric

Gearing Changes in Eternal Throne | 10.17.2016, 04:05 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by JackJack 3 questions

1. Just to clarify, you only have to hit level 70 to access command ranks, and not complete KOTET story, correct?

2. Is there a max level for command ranks?

3. Once we hit that level, will there be any other way to obtain rewards that we didn’t get?

Thanks

1) Correct, you only need to be level 70 to access GC.

2) Yes there is a max level (still in flux)

3) Yup

Gearing Changes in Eternal Throne | 10.17.2016, 04:17 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Jamtas also, what happens to all current commendations? do they turn into points or just rendered worthless?

Current Commendations will be going away, we will have more details in the coming weeks on their conversion.

Quote: Originally Posted by De-mu-noki First of, are these random drops, that is to say that if I’m extremely unlucky I can’t get the best earpiece for my char at all?

Secondly, are you saying that if a player grinds H2’s for long enough he can get Nightmare gear?

Yup, the drops will be random. The item type is determined by your Advanced Class and the item rating is determined by your Command Rank (higher rank = higher item rating). Keep in mind that you can always earn more Crates and that you can disintegrate any duplicate or unwanted items into CXP to get your next Crate faster.

Yes. All end-game gear (level 70+) can be earned by doing almost any activity. However, someone doing Nightmare (Master) level Operations, as an example, will get there substantially faster than someone doing easy/solo content.

PvP and PvE Gearing in Eternal Throne | 10.17.2016, 04:18 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by ShadowLordIV Since bosses will no longer drop gear in operations will there be lock outs on the operations?

Yup, lockouts will still remain in place. Although they don’t directly drop gear they will still drop their other cosmetic rewards and will be one of the best sources of Command Experience Points.

-eric

PvP and PvE Gearing in Eternal Throne | 10.17.2016, 04:20 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Pietrastor Balancing will be the key. If doing Opses rewards, say, 4x the Galactic Points than anything else thus effectively dumps way more crates on you faster, then it will still be totally worth to do Ops and gear the fastest this way.

Bonus aside, it is the goal that fastest way to earn CXP will be through the hardest difficulty Operations and Uprisings, along with Ranked Arenas.

-eric

Gearing Changes in Eternal Throne | 10.17.2016, 04:30 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by HomerMorisson So how are F2P/Preferred players supposed to get OP-worthy gear after KotET launches?

F2P and Preferred players will be unable to earn end-game gear since they will not have access to Galactic Command (GC). If they were a subscriber who went preferred and had earned gear through GC we won’t take it away, but they will be unable to earn additional gear (through Command Ranks) until they subscribe. They can still get gear through Crafting, that is unchanged.

-eric

PvP and PvE Gearing in Eternal Throne | 10.17.2016, 04:43 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Tsillah How can you do the hardest difficulties without having gear first? This seems contradictory to me. Surely you first need a decent set of gear before you can touch NiM?

Fair point, but that isn’t too dissimilar to how it works now. If you are someone who loves Operations, as an example. You may start in Story Operations to get your Command Rank up and gear up until your character is ready to move into Master (Nightmare).

In general the rule for CXP is that the more players that participate in content, and the harder that content is, the faster you earn it. Although it isn’t as fast a Master Operation, doing a Story Operation is still worth more CXP then doing Heroics would be.

-eric