When the Legacy of the Sith gearing changes hit, a lot of us were taken aback by all the updates. We are going to try and explain what we can on how the Current Gearing Currency system works.
Ok, so you got to 80, now what? This is where we say it is time for “The Grind”. There isn’t really a way to say it better. The goal is to get the best possible gear for your personal needs, not always the top gear, and not always what everyone else does. It can vary drastically depending on your own playstyle, abilities, and what activities you plan to do.
First things first, in order to even participate in some of the endgame activities, you will need to be a subscriber. Free and preferred status players are limited on what aspects they can play. What does that mean? It means, Operations, Uprisings, and Master Flashpoints, as well as expansions after Shadow of Revan may not be available. For more on limitations, visit here.
Basically, you will get gear anywhere depending on what you like to do. Every type of Endgame activities has a dedicated gear and currency that will drop for it. You will be able to use that currency to upgrade that specific gear. The harder the content, the better the gear. The higher gear will offer some extra benefits, for example, more Endurance over Defense for Tanks and more Power over Endurance for Damage and Healers.
You can’t upgrade to a different track using the currency from a different activity. So you won’t be able to upgrade from the Noble Decurion to Supreme Decurion with the Conquest currency. You will need the Flashpoint currency. The good thing is the vendors do allow currency exchange, so you can upgrade, just using different currency. Below is a list of the different currencies:
Conquest Commendations
Conquest Commendations are earned through completing Dailies, Heroics, and Conquest objectives. They are also occasionally dropped via other activities as well. This currency is needed for Conquest Gear and Legendary Implants.
FP-1 Stabilizers
FP-1 Stabilizers are earned through Flashpoint and Flashpoint Weeklies. Doing higher difficulty flashpoints will give more currency. This currency is needed to upgrade the Flashpoint Gear.
WZ-1 Accelerants
WZ-1 Accelerants are earned from PvP, including Arenas, Warzones and Galactic Starfighter and their Weeklies. The more wins, or the better you do, the more currency you may get. This currency is needed to upgrade the PvP Gear.
OP-1 Catalysts
OP-1 Catalysts are earned from Operation Bosses and Weeklies. As with the Flashpoint currency, the higher the difficulty, the more currency you will receive. This currency is needed to upgrade the Operations Gear.
R-4 Story Tokens
R-4 Story Tokens are earned from defeating a boss in R4 Anomaly Story mode. This currency can be used to upgrade your R-4 Gear.
R-4 Veteran Tokens
R-4 Veteran Tokens are earned from defeating a boss in R4 Anomaly Veteran mode. This currency can be used to upgrade your R-4 Gear.
Tech Fragments
Tech Fragments are earned literally everywhere. (For a more specific list, visit our Currency page.) This currency is used to get Legendary Implants, Tacticals, and Cosmetics. You will need A LOT for gearing.
You are able to convert one currency to another allowing for upgrading of higher quality gear.
| Starting Currency | Amount | Amount | Ending Currency |
| All Endgame Currencies | 200 | 200 | Tech Fragments |
| Conquest Commendations | 400 | 100 | FP-1 Stabilizers |
| Conquest Commendations | 2000 | 175 | OP-1 Catalysts |
| FP-1 Stabilizers | 500 | 175 | OP-1 Catalysts |
There are four different tracks for Gearing, including Conquest, Flashpoint, PvP and Operations. Some of the gear of identical iRating and rarity will have the same stats across different tracks, with the exception of PvP.
| Name | Rarity | iRating |
| Noble Decurion | Premium | 324-340 |
| Name | Source | Rarity | iRating |
| Elite Decurion | Veteran (VM) | Premium | 324-340 |
| Supreme Decurion | Master (MM) | Prototype | 324-340 |
| Name | Source | Rarity | iRating |
| Thyrsian | Arenas, Warzones, Galactic Starfighter (GSF) | Prototype | 322 |
| Thyrsian | Arenas, Warzones, Galactic Starfighter (GSF) | Artifact | 324-336 |
| Name | Source | Rarity | iRating |
| Tionese | Story (SM) | Premium | 324-340 |
| Columi | Veteran (HM) | Prototype | 324-340 |
| Rakata | Master (NiM) | Artifact | 324-344 |
| Hazardous | R-4 Anomaly (Story) | Prototype | 328-340 |
| Hazardous | R-4 Anomaly (Veteran) | Prototype | 328-340 |
| Virulent | R-4 Anomaly | Artifact | 340 |
Gear Caches are another new item that was introduced with the Legacy of the Sith expansion updates. Weekly quests will give you an option of a Gear Cache or Currency to choose from. These Gear Caches can be opened or exchanged at Gear Vendors for higher Gear.
The caches have the chance to give you an upgrade to a piece you have equipped with the lowest item rating and rarity, with the exception of the Noble Decurion. Noble Decurion will just give you a piece of gear, regardless the item ratings.
As stated above, you can exchange these Gear Caches at the following rates:
| Name | Caches Needed | Cache Purchased | Vendor |
| Elite Decurion | 3 | 1 Supreme Decurion Cache | Flashpoint Gear Vendor |
| Supreme Decurion | 3 | 1 Columi Cache | Flashpoint Gear Vendor |
| Tionese | 3 | 1 Columi Cache | Operations Gear Vendor |
| Columi | 3 | 1 Rakata Cache | Operations Gear Vendor |
| Thyrsian | 3 | 1 Columi Cache | Coming Soon |
- Noble Decurion Distribution Chests cannot be exchanged, so you can just open them while you have your highest gear equipped.
- Rakata Upgrade Cache cannot be exchanged because at the time of writing this it is the highest gear in the game. Best idea for these are save them until you have fully optimized your gear before opening them.