The Basics of Gearing up at Level 70 in SWTOR

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RUBgW0uFn8Due to numerous changes to Star Wars: The Old Republic’s endgame gearing system, gearing up at level 70 can be a daunting process.

The good news is that the complexity of the gearing system allows players to have many different options to earn endgame level 70 gear – whether they like group Player vs environment content, Player vs player content, or playing solo.

In the past, gear was separated in to PvE  and PvP Gear – but with the 5.0 update, these two gearing types and paths are now interchangeable.  In this video, we’ll be going over the very basics of how to earn endgame level 70 gear in Star Wars: the Old Republic, including the Galactic Command System, Operations, PvP and Crafting.

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Galactic Command

The Galactic Command system was introduced to the game near the end of 2015, and was meant to expand gearing and allow players to gain gear no matter what their playstyle. Unfortunately, at its release, the Galactic Command system was extremely limited and entirely focused on random chance. Over time, the developers of the game have expanded the endgame gearing system, and the Galactic Command system now sits comfortably as one of many ways to gain gear.

The Galactic Command System is a simple way of gaining gear that’s accessible to all level 70 subscribed players. For every piece of content you complete, whether in a group or as a solo player, you’ll gain CXP. As you earn CXP, you’ll increase your Command Level, and for every Command Level you earn, you’ll receive a loot crate filled with random gear and items.

Some of the activities that will earn you CXP include…

• Heroics
• Story Chapters
• Dailies
• Flashpoints
• Operations
• Warzones
• Galactic Starfighter
• Defeating enemies
• and Completing almost any quest

For each Command Level you gain, you’ll get a command crate you can open that has a random assortment of items in it – these items can be anything, including pets, mounts, cosmetic gear, companion gifts or, most importantly, gear with stats. When you open a command crate, the items you receive are not automatically added to your inventory. Instead they are added to your Command Stash where you can then decide to either claim them or disintegrate them. To view your command stash, press CTRL+ I on your keyboard, or find it under the icon of a triangle on the main menu.

Disintegrating an item will either earn you some CXP or give you Unassembled Components, which can be used to buy gear from vendors on the fleet.

Apart from gear with stats, another useful item you can get from command crates are Command Tokens.  Command Tokens are a type of currency that can be used to buy pieces of level 70 starter gear. Command Tokens are legacy-bound, and you can see how many you have in the currency tab of your inventory,

Once you’ve earned enough Command Tokens, you can go to the Supplies section of the fleet, and buy a gear piece of your choice from a the <Tier 1 Class Equipment> for your class. Each piece of starter gear costs between 49 to 84 command tokens.

The Galactic Command system allows you to gear up by random chance through command crates, but if you don’t get lucky, you can supplement your gear with level 70 starter pieces bought with Command Tokens.

Operations

Players who run Operations, the 8-man endgame content for player who enjoy group missions, will also have access to gear dropped from bosses in addition to any gear they gain through the Galactic Command System. Each boss in an Operation drops a piece of unassembled gear that is either won by chance or handed out fairly, depending on how your operation group handles loot. If you win a piece of unassembled gear from an operation, you can turn it in for a gear piece with the stats of your choice in the Supplies section of the fleet.

PvP

Players who play PvP have the highest amount of options when it comes to gearing. In addition to any gear they gain through Galactic Command, PvPers gain Unassembled Components for every daily and weekly PvP quest they complete, and for every match they complete. Once you’ve saved up enough Unassembled Components, you can turn them in the Supplies Section of the fleet for a gear piece of your choice. The starter set of gear you can buy with Unassembled Components is better than what you can buy with Command Tokens, and costs 288 to 450 Unassembled Components per piece.

Players with Unassembled Components also have the option to upgrade any gold-bordered endgame gear pieces they have, by turning in the piece and some Unassembled Components. This means if you picked up a piece of gold-bordered gear from the Unassembled Components Vendor, from Command Crates, or from an Operation, you can turn it in along with somewhere between 375 and 810 Unassembled Componts and you’ll receive the same piece of gear but with better stats!

Upgrading gear this way is the most reliable way of upgrading your gear and isn’t restricted to just PvPers. You can get Unassembled Components by disintegrating gear with stats from Command Crates, through PvP, though Galactic Starfighter, and by defeating bosses in Master Mode Operations.

Crafting

The Galactic Command system, Operations and PvP are the main ways to earn gear at level 70 – but for players who are interested, Crafting offers an alternative to gearing up, or to make some credits. Endgame level 70 schematics come from three sources: Galactic Command Crates, completing Weekly PvP Quests, dropped in Operations, and some starter schematics are available directly from the crafting trainers for players who have a level 600 crafting skill.

For endgame level 70 gear earned from Galactic Command or bought with Command Tokens, only PURPLE-bordered item modifications including Armorings, Mods, Enhancements, Hilts and Barrels can be reverse engineered for schematics. Green, Blue, and Gold items CANNOT BE reverse engineered for schematics. The only exception to this rule is that all blue-bordered crafted items from the crafting trainers can be reverse-engineered with a 60% chance to get the corresponding purple schematic.

Because you can only get the better schematics by running content or by reverse engineering gear you’ve earned, most players do not use crafting as a main source of gearing up. Instead, they use it to gear their second or third character, or buy expensive crafted gear on the GTN from other players. The best crafted gear in the game is one level lower than the best gear available through PvP, Galactic Command and Operations, and crafted gear does not have a set bonus.

Augments

If you’re looking to upgrade your gear even more, you can add augments your gear. Currently, the best augments in the game require some very expensive crafting materials, or can be bought on the GTN for a high price. The good news is that there are two lower levels of augments available that are less expensive but will still give you an impressive boost to your stats.

And that’s the basics of gearing up at level 70 in Star Wars: The Old Republic! I hope you found this rundown useful, and the path to gearing a little clearer.