Gearing Changes & Updates in 7.1

News Date: July 29, 2022 Patch: 7.1 News Source

Changes are coming to gearing up at level 80 in SWTOR in 7.1!

  • If you are currently gearing up through Conquest, Flashpoints, or story/veteran Operations, you can now keep upgrading your gear all the way to 330
  • If you are currently gearing up through PvP, you can now upgrade your purple Thyrsian gear to 328 (up from 326)
  • A new type of blue 328 gear is available from the new Story Mode R-4 Anomaly operation via Tokens, which can be upgraded to 330
  • A new type of 332 blue gear will drop for your group from the new Veteran Mode R-4 Anomaly operation, which can be upgraded to 340
  • A new tier of 340 purple gear is available from the new Veteran Mode R-4 Anomaly operation via Tokens, specific pieces from specific bosses
  • Legendary Implants can now be upgraded to 334 (from 330)
  • 7.1 will include mods available at Item Ratings 328 and 330 via questgiver and deconstruction method, which when combined at 330 are roughly the same as Rakata 330
  • Adjusting the stat distribution of Premium and Prototype gear
  • New/Removed Tactical items: Missile Backblast and Sonic Heal being removed, Unstable Fusion for Arsenal/Gunnery, Magnetic Resonance for I.O./Assault Specialist and Kolto Vapors for Bodyguard/Combat Medic

Hi everyone,

Now that 7.1 PTS is live, I have some additional info to share with you from the Design team regarding gearing in Operations, specifically in The R-4 Anomaly.

On PTS you’ll notice that gearing works differently in R4 than other Operations. There are 2 goals we’ve focused on with R4 gear.

Progression as a Group
Operations are difficult content requiring coordinated groups to progress. Progressing can be easier if the group has control over which members are receiving their upgrades. We want to allow groups to have some control over their power progression, and have built this into R4’s gearing.

Progression on every Kill
It isn’t fun to kill a boss and make no progress towards your goals, even if your team is progressing towards group goals. R4 will have a secondary method of progression allowing every player to gain power as their group conquers each boss.

How these take shape in R4

Story Mode
In Story Mode, each boss will reward the operation group with story mode tokens, 1 per player. These tokens can be brought to a vendor and exchanged for Prototype gear at item rating 326 328. Players can use additional story mode tokens and credits to upgrade their gear pieces to a maximum item rating of 330. Cosmetic versions of the gear will be available on the vendor for players who have finished upgrading.

Veteran Mode
Veteran Mode offer gear at 2 item qualities:

Virulent Gear (Artifact, Maximum Item Rating: 340)

Bosses will drop a token unique to them, for now let’s call it the R4 Boss 1 Token. This Boss Token can be exchanged on a vendor for a piece of Artifact gear at item rating 340. Only 2 tokens will drop per boss and they are tradeable amongst the operations group.
Each boss token can only be used to purchase certain gear pieces, defeat the entire operation to obtain all gear!

Here is the list of Boss Tokens and the gear slots they purchase:

Boss 1

  • Head
  • Waist
  • Relic

Boss 2

  • Legs
  • Wrists
  • Relic

Boss 3

  • Chest
  • Offhand
  • Earpiece

Boss 4

  • Feet
  • Hands
  • Mainhand

Note: Implants will not be purchasable at item rating 340 as players are encouraged to focus on their Legendary Implants.

Hazardous Gear (Prototype, Maximum Item Rating: 340)

Each boss on defeat will reward the entire operation group 1 Veteran Token each. These tokens can be brought to a vendor and exchanged for Prototype gear at item rating 332. Players can use additional story mode tokens and credits to upgrade their gear pieces to a maximum item rating of 340. Cosmetic versions of the R4 gear will be available on the vendor for players who have finished upgrading.

(Story Tokens do not seem to be used to upgrade Hazardous gear as the post mentions on the actual live patch. – Swtorista)

We look forward to your feedback on this gearing system with the 7.1 PTS! – Jackie

PART 2

Hey Community!

I’m back to talk about the changes to gearing and progression players can expect with the 7.1 Update. We’ve already posted about the gear for the upcoming Operation: The R4 Anomaly, so this post will hit on the rest of the changes!

New Operation: The R4 Anomaly
We’ve previously outlined how gearing will work for R4 Anomaly, but let’s talk about vanity gear! The token exchange vendors for Story and Veteran will offer dyeable versions of the R4 Anomaly gear in two color variations, along with special versions of the gear with special VFX.

The story token exchange will trade tokens for the Hazardous Delver, Virulent Delver, Hazardous Excavator, and Virulent Excavator sets.

The veteran token exchange will trade tokens for Hazardous Explorer, Virulent Explorer, Hazardous Pathfinder, Virulent Pathfinder, Hazardous Expert, Virulent Expert, Hazardous Professional, and Virulent Professional sets.

Stat Distribution Changes
We’re further adjusting the stat distribution of Premium and Prototype gear, with the intent of making players feel stronger in this gear. These changes will apply to Premium and Prototype gear at Item Rating 328 and higher.

We’ll also be adjusting the stat distribution of Artifact gear for tanks. Tanks will see higher values for Endurance on gear.

Increasing the Power Ceiling
With 7.1 we’ll be implementing our first power increase, allowing players to obtain even stronger gear. Here are the new maximum item ratings players can obtain:

  • Noble Decurion Gear – 330 (up from 326)
  • Elite Decurion Gear – 330 (up from 324)
  • Supreme Decurion Gear – 330 (up from 326)
  • Tionese Gear – 330 (up from 322)
  • Columi Gear – 330 (up from 326)
  • Thyrsian Gear – 328 (up from 326)
  • Legendary Implants – 334 (up from 330)

Moddable Gear
7.1 will include mods available at Item Ratings 328 and 330! To begin the process of unlocking the new mods, players should seek out Hyde and Zeek near the modification vendors in the Supplies section of the Fleet. Hyde and Zeek will require players to obtain and deconstruct items at Item Rating 328 and 330 to unlock purchasable mods at those Item Ratings respectively. Combined with Power Ceiling Increase, all players will have a chance to earn this moddable gear! Missions will be offered for Prototype and Artifact gear separately, so gather the best gear to unlock the best mods!

Reducing the Cost of Legendary Implants for Alts
We’ve developed a system for players to earn Legendary Implants easier for additional characters. 7.1 will include new Legacy of the Sith Achievements for upgrading two Legendary Implants up to Item Rating 330 and Item Rating 334. Once you have obtained this achievement, SN-4RK will reduce the cost of lower Item Rating Implants and Implant Upgrades for reduced Conquest Commendations (60, down from 100) and Tech Fragments (2500, down from 6500).

Planetary Vanity Gear
The addition of Combat Styles brought along changes to the gear players earn while leveling. With 7.1 we are adding vanity versions of the leveling gear to Planetary Vendors so players can pick and choose the looks for themselves and their companions, regardless of Origin Story or Combat Style.

Dyeable Versions of Thyrsian Gear
PvP players will notice Thyrsian Fitted Gear available for sale from the PvP Gear Vendor on the Fleet which have unlocked dye and modification slots. These items can be purchased using WZ-1 Accelerants and credits.

We hope you enjoy these updates and look forward to your feedback. See you on the Fleet! – Bryant

In another post, it was noted that there would be some changes to gear for lower-level planets or content.

In this phase of PTS, there are a couple of special notes players should know:

  • Augments will work in level shifted content
  • Stat scaling in level shift: Alacrity, Accuracy, and Shield Chance are no longer being scaled down when you’re shifted down (this does not apply in PvP)

Moddable gear seems to be a useful way to gear up alts or fill gaps in your Rakata 330 gearing while getting ready to gear through R4.

How to Get Mods in 7.1

In addition to all this, there are some changes to Tacticals coming

New/Removed Tacticals in 7.1!