SWTOR How to Get the Best Gear in the Game (7.4 Hyde & Zeek 340 and Rakata 344)

All players, no matter how they play, will have the ability to earn the best gear in the game at level 80. This includes solo players and more casual players, who can earn the best gear over time by playing almost any part of the game. This “best gear” is not necessary for any type of content in the game – it is just powerful gear you can chase down if you want the best available, or to help give you an edge in combat if you need one. UPDATED! For 7.4 launch.

There are technically two ways to earn some really amazing gear – one is a lot harder but will give you a higher gear score, and the other is easier to earn and easier to adjust/fix if you make a mistake gearing up. The good news is, you can work on the easier one first, then work on the harder one, and they kind work together. This guide will cover both methods and how to tie them together.

Goals

We will have three general end-goals:

1. Get a single Blue-bordered piece of gear up to item-rating 340, to gain unlimited blue item-rating 340 mods from Hyde & Zeek for your gear
2. Get a single Purple-bordered piece of gear up to item-rating 340, to gain unlimited purple item-rating 340 armorings from Hyde & Zeek for your gear
3. If you want to shoot for 344 purple gear, acquire and upgrade Rakata gear to 344 for every piece except your implants

To get and upgrade these, you’ll need different types of endgame currencies.

Currencies

You can see how many of these different currencies you have by clicking the Currency tab at the top right of your inventory.

 Conquest Commendations are a type of currency which can be earned through a variety of ways, but the main way is by completing Conquest each week. When you complete Conquest by completing activities of your choice listed in the Objectives area of the Conquest panel, then you’ll get 200 of the Conquest Commendations currency as a reward for earning 100,000 conquest points on your character, plus an extra 500 Conquest commendations if you do so in a bigger guild. Many players hop between characters to earn conquest across their legacy after reaching their conquest goals. Conquest Commendations are the easiest type of currency to earn, and because there’s such a wide variety of conquest objectives, they can be earned by players who enjoy any part of the game. These can also be exchanged for the other type of currencies.

FP-1 Stabilizers are a type of currency mainly earned through running Flashpoints or deconstructing gear dropped from Flashpoints. You can also trade Conquest Commendations to get FP-1 Stabilizers if you don’t want to run Flashpints.

OP-1 Catalysts are a type of currency mainly earned through running Operations or deconstructing gear dropped from Operations. You can also trade Conquest Commendations for them to get OP-1 Catalysts if you don’t want to run Flashpoints.

1. Get Your Basic Level 80 Set

If you’re a fresh level 80 character and haven’t started your gearing journey, you start by grabbing some basic gear!

As soon as you hit level 80, the very first thing you should do is head to the Supplies section of the Fleet and speak to the big Blue Twi’lek quest giver twice, which will give you the Technological Advancements quest. This will eventually allow you to buy the best Implants for your character in the game. Right now though, we’re just picking up the quest so we have it on our character. Legendary Implants Guide

Your next step is to complete a Conquest while at Level 80. Conquest is a weekly set of rotating objectives, and your goal is to earn 100,000 points within the week. You can see the Conquest panel by opening your Missions windows and pressing the Conquest tab. Completing a Conquest at level 80 will give you enough endgame currency to buy your first basic level 80 gear set.  Conquest Guide

Go to the Supplies section of the Fleet and find the Conquest Gear Vendor.

Buy one of each armor piece, a main hand, and an offhand, two yellow implants, a yellow earpiece, and two different red relics. This will give you a full set of basic “324 green” gear so you at least have level 80 gear on while you work on getting better gear.

2. Acquire a blue-bordered piece of gear

Our first step is to get a piece of level 80 blue-bordered piece of gear, that we can then upgrade all the way to item-rating 340.

If you do not already happen to have a blue-bordered piece of level 80 gear, there are a couple of ways to get your gear piece, and you can choose one.

Blue-bordered gear can start as low as item-rating 324, so the higher item-rating that blue piece is when you pick it up, the less you will have to pay to upgrade it up to 340. In general, it is also less expensive to upgrade Earpieces, Implants, Relics. Belts, or Bracers, so you may want to focus on earning and upgrading one of those instead of say a chestpiece or weapon.

• From Veteran Flashpoints, if you do the “force an earpiece to drop” trick (EASIEST guaranteed way and you can even do it solo, but it guarantees you start all the way down at 324, but it’s the best way if you are starting without any gear)
•  From Master Mode Flashpoints, as a guaranteed drop from any boss (Most Efficient way – this is a great way for players who are already partially geared up – you have a chance of the piece dropping being higher than item-rating 324, especially if all of your current pieces are already higher than 324. You can do this alone if you are a skilled stealth player, or with a group through the Group Finder.)
• If you refuse to run Veteran Flashpoints or Master Mode Flashpoints, you can instead focus on earning 400 FP-1 Stabilizers so you can outright buy your first piece of 324 blue gear – you’ll be able to exchange  400 Conquest Commendations for  100 FP-1 Stabilizers, and Conquest Commendations can be earned through many ways via Conquest. (Most flexible way – not recommended though, as you want to save those currencies for upgrades, but this is a very flexible method of getting your blue piece)

PS if you were playing before this 7.4 update, make sure to go check your cargo bays to see if you have any blue-bordered pieces sitting around! You are looking for ones called Supreme Decurion with a blue border, the higher item-rating the better. If you have any Columi pieces, those technically work too, but they are a lot more expensive to upgrade.

3. Upgrade your blue-bordered piece of gear to 340

The second step is to take that blue piece, and upgrade it to item-rating 340 in the Supplies section of the Fleet at the Flashpoint Upgrades vendor.

You will need FP-1 Stabilizers for each upgrade. It will be up to you how you want to earn these, and you have quite a few options. The traditional way would be to run Flashpoints, and even if you are playing solo you can earn them quite quickly with the “Solo Veteran Mode Red Reaper” trick. However, as of update 7.4, because you can trade  400 Conquest Commendations for  100 FP-1 Stabilizers, you can now use any method you want to earn Conquest Commendations, or more specifically, complete whichever Conquest objectives you want to reach your Conquest goals on as many characters as you want during the week.

The exact costs varies a bit by piece, but here’s roughly what you’ll need if you upgrade a blue earpiece to item-rating 340:

• 324 to 326: 170 FP-1 Stabilizers + 50,100 Credits
• 326 to 328: 170 FP-1 Stabilizers + 53,900 Credits
• 328 to 330: 170 FP-1 Stabilizers + 57,800 Credits
• 330 to 332: 180 FP-1 Stabilizers + 61,000 Credits
• 332 to 334: 180 FP-1 Stabilizers + 65,000 Credits
• 334 to 336: 180 FP-1 Stabilizers + 69,000 Credits
• 336 to 338: ?? FP-1 Stabilizers + ?? Credits
• 338 to 340: ?? FP-1 Stabilizers + ?? Credits

Please note, you will be deconstructing aka destroying this specific blue 340 piece to unlock a vendor, so don’t get too attached to it!

4. Hyde & Zeek

Once you have your blue 340 piece, you can unlock Hyde & Zeek and complete their quest!

Speak to Hyde & Zeek, pick up the blue 340 Prototype quest, then deconstruct your precious blue 340 piece once you’ve confirmed you are on the right quest. After you speak to Hyde & Zeek again, you’ll be able to turn in the quest and a vendor will become available. You can technically even stop at this step for a pretty great set of gear, just skip the purple steps!

5. Acquire a purple-bordered piece of gear

The next step is to get a piece of level 80 purple-bordered piece of gear, that we can then upgrade all the way to item-rating 340.

If you do not already happy to have a purple-bordered piece of level 80 gear, there are a couple of ways to get your gear piece, and you can choose one.

Purple-bordered gear can start as low as item-rating 324, so the higher item-rating that blue piece is when you pick it up, the less you will have to pay to upgrade it up to 340. In general, it is also less expensive to upgrade Earpieces, Implants, Relics. Belts, or Bracers, so you may want to focus on earning and upgrading one of those instead of say a chestpiece or weapon.

• From Veteran Operations, if you do the “force an earpiece to drop” trick (EASIEST way, but it guarantees you start all the way down at 324, but it’s the best way if you are starting without any gear)
•  From Master Mode Operations like “Nightmare Mode Nefra”, as a guaranteed drop from any boss (Most Efficient way – this is a great way for players who are already partially geared up – you have a chance of the piece dropping being higher than item-rating 324, especially if all of your current pieces are already higher than 324)
• If you are a solo player or not ready for harder Operations, you can instead focus on earning 20 OP-1 Catalysts so you can outright buy your first piece of 324 purple gear.
  • If you run Story Mode operations, you’ll still earn quite a few OP-1 Catalysts, so getting your first purple piece won’t take you very long to save up for and buy from the vendor.
  • If you are a solo player or refuse to do Operations, this update for the first time allows you to earn the best gear in the game, but it’s going to take you a while! You’ll be able to exchange  2,000 Conquest Commendations for   175 OP-1 Catalysts or exchange   500 FP-1 Stabilizers for   175 OP-1 Catalysts (same exchange rate either way.)

PS if you were playing before this 7.4 update, make sure to go check your cargo bays to see if you have any purple-bordered pieces sitting around! You are looking for ones called Rakata, the higher item-rating the better.

6. Upgrade your purple-bordered piece of gear to 340

The next step is to take that purple piece, and upgrade it to item-rating 340 in the Supplies section of the Fleet at the Operations Upgrades vendor.

You will need  OP-1 Catalysts for each upgrade. It will be up to you how you want to earn these, and you have quite a few options. The traditional way would be to run Operations at any skill level, which used to be the only way to get them. However, as of update 7.4, because you can trade  2,000 Conquest Commendations for   175 OP-1 Catalysts , you can now use any method you want to earn Conquest Commendations, or more specifically, complete whichever Conquest objectives you want to reach your Conquest goals on as many characters as you want during the week. It’s obviously going to take quite a while to to earn 2,000, so this is really meant to be something you earn over a longer period of time. Don’t forget you can also exchange   500 FP-1 Stabilizers for   175 OP-1 Catalysts (same exchange rate either way) if you happen to enjoy running Flashpoints.

The exact costs varies a bit by piece, but here’s roughly what you’ll need if you upgrade a blue earpiece to item-rating 340:

• Purchase 324 = 25 Op-1 Catalysts
• 324 -> 326 = 50 Op-1 Catalysts
• 326-> 328 = 60 Op-1 Catalysts
• 328-> 330 = 60 Op-1 Catalysts
• 330 -> 332 = 60 Op-1 Catalysts
• 332 -> 334 = 60 Op-1 Catalysts
• 336 -> 338 = 60 Op-1 Catalysts
• 338 -> 340 = 60 Op-1 Catalysts

7. Hyde & Zeek

Once you have your purple 340 piece, you can unlock Hyde & Zeek and complete their quest!

Speak to Hyde & Zeek, pick up the purple 340 Artifact quest, then deconstruct your precious purple 340 piece once you’ve confirmed you are on the right quest. After you speak to Hyde & Zeek again, you’ll be able to turn in the quest and a vendor will become available. This vendor will sell purple-bordered item-rating-340 enhancements for 200,000 Credits each.

8. Set yourself up some Hyde & Zeek 340 Modded Gear

1. Start by getting and equipping a full set of empty moddable gear, weapon and offhand equipped. you can easily get a set in the Supplies section from the Adaptive vendor, I recommend grabbing one of the legacy-bound ones. You can grab any missing main-hands or off-hands from the Spoils of War vendor. You can CTRL+Right click equipment to mod it.
2. Equip what have available or can get for your Relics, a new Earpiece.
3. Equip your Legendary Implants if you have them, if not, equip whatever implants you have.
4. Next, look at your Accuracy stat in your Character Sheet (Details). You want to reach as close to 2,694 accuracy as possible, aka 110% accuracy, with the least amount over as possible, for non-PvP content if you are a Damage character. So start buying and equipping the purple-bordered yellow-colored accuracy enhancements from Hyde & Zeek, called the Advanced Initiative Enhancement 101, until you reach 110% accuracy on the Details sheet (scroll down in the sheet), so you never miss an enemy. Note your Bracers and Belt can’t have enhancements. I needed about four to five accuracy enhancements/pieces. If you are doing this properly, you can do 3 purple accuracy enhancements/pieces, 4 gold augments, and 1 reuseable accuracy stim.
5.  Your next step is your Alacrity, which controls how often you can use your abilities (and how fast casted abilities go). For most classes, you will be shooting for roughly just over 2,000 Alacrity, but it varies by class and by preference. With my Legendary Implants, this meant I only needed to buy two Alacrity Advanced Nimble Enhancement 101 enhancements. How much Alacrity do I need?
6.  The rest of your stats you can put into crit. The may mean an enhancement, or augments.If you have any empty enhancement slots left, fill them with Advanced Adept Enhancement 101.
7. The next part is easy – buy 7 of the red blue-bordered armorings called Versatile Armoring 105, one for each of your armor pieces, then the red hilts/barrels/armorings you need for your weapon and offhand.
8.  And then buy 9 of the red mods called Lethal Mod 105, one for each of your moddable pieces.
9. The last optional step would be to augment your gear.

Adaptive Vendor Map

Spoils of War Vendor Map

9. Acquire all your needed gear pieces as purple-bordered Rakata and Upgrade them to 344

The final step is overboard if you are starting from scratch – this is more for the players who really like to chase gear. If you managed to unlock the blue 340 and purple 340 from Hyde and Zeek, you will already have a really fantastic set of gear that is technically even better than what you would want to wear to do the hardest content in the entire game. But if you’ve already earned your 340 gear from Hyde & Zeek, you might have fun chasing down the very best gear in the game, 344 Rakata! You may also want to do this to fill in the “gaps” in your armor, including your Relics and Earpiece that can’t be gotten from Hyde & Zeek, which is where I recommend starting.

Upgrade to Rakata 344

To get Rakata 344, you would do it the exact same way as you did earlier – get a piece of purple gear either from Operations or saved up currencies, and then save up currencies to upgrade its item-rating. The only difference is instead of deconstructing it, you get to keep it, and you also can keep upgrading it all the way to 344.

• Purchase 324 = 25 Op-1 Catalysts
• 324 -> 326 = 50 Op-1 Catalysts
• 326-> 328 = 60 Op-1 Catalysts
• 328-> 330 = 60 Op-1 Catalysts
• 330 -> 332 = 60 Op-1 Catalysts
• 332 -> 334 = 60 Op-1 Catalysts
• 336 -> 338 = 60 Op-1 Catalysts
• 338 -> 340 = 60 Op-1 Catalysts
• 340 -> 342 = 80 Op-1 Catalysts
• 342 -> 344 = 80 Op-1 Catalysts

Stats & Which Rakata Pieces to Upgrade

There is however one important consideration for getting your 344 Rakata Gear, because it is fairly expensive to upgrade. Getting the right combination of stats is just as important as having a high item-rating – if your stats are not well balanced (Accuracy, Alacrity, Crit, and to a lesser extent Mastery and Power), your high-item-rating efforts are kinda wasted. So you will want to pre-plan what pieces you want to upgrade so you don’t waste and currencies on the wrong pieces or relic types. With your Hyde & Zeek piece, it’s less of a big deal, because if you use the wrong pieces, you can more easily swap them out by just spending more credits to get different mods, so it’s less of a worry.

Advice from Randomno for DPS for min-maxing: Spreadsheet 7.4

• For accuracy you want 3 pieces. The earpiece can also be part of these 3 (it provides 640 tertiary stat as well). The missing accuracy after the 3 pieces comes from 4 Gold Augments (+130 accuracy x4) plus a stim “Advanced Kyrprax Proficient Stim Increases Accuracy by 264 and Critical Rating by 109 for 480 minutes. Only one stimpack can be active at a time. This effect persists through defeat.”
• Alacrity depends on what implants your class uses as well as the passive bonuses from e.g. Lightning. Since offhand is always alacrity, most classes want only one other alacrity piece, since most classes use 1 critical implant and 1 alacrity implant.
• So for all classes I would say you can safely buy 3 accuracy pieces, then just be careful not to buy too many alacrity pieces

Rakata Chart

You will work on getting your Legendary Implants and Rakata 344:

• Relic #1 (priority, since you can not get it from Hyde & Zeek)
• Relic #2 (priority, since you can not get it from Hyde & Zeek)
• Earpiece (priority, since you can not get it from Hyde & Zeek)
• Mainhand Weapon
• Offhand
• Chest
• Legs
• Boots
• Gloves
• Bracers
• Belt

Make sure to base which pieces around which Legendary Implants you have, as Legendary Implants all have some stats baked in.