Patch 1.4 Changes: MK-2 PvP gear

Patch 1.4 will be making it easy for new players to jump right into PvP with the new Recruit MK-2. 

Just before the servers went down I managed to get a couple of screenshots of the MK-2 gear and in these screenshots I have compared it to both Battlemaster gear and the old Champion gear (which is no longer ingame). 

As you will see, new recruit gear falls just short of the Battlemaster stats. Each piece is around 24-27 expertise lower than the current Battlemaster gear. All the other stats are a level or so under the Battlemaster gear as well, but the expertise is what you need for PvP. 

This gear also looks exactly the same as current Battlemaster gear, so you won't be targeted by players who are looking for easy kills on fresh new players. 

The price on the gear hasn't changed and it will all be available in Patch 1.4, which has just hit the test servers today. A full set of Recruit MK-2, including the unchanged Champion relics, will grant 944 Expertise. This is a 5% increase over the original Recruit gear (896 Expertise). 

SWTOR: It's All About the Look

A real important part of any MMO is how you can customize your character. SWTOR does a great job of providing a variety of different outfits, to allow your character to have a very unique look. The only issue at this stage is the PvP gear. Unfortunately the PvP gear is the best stuff you can get for most players, but it forces you to have a certain look. You can only take two of the three mods out and equip them in other orange items. For me though, I actually really do like the look of the Jedi Knight PvP armor. 

There's a long thread in the forums with massive complaints about the look of this armor. Now, although I have to agree that the helmet is absolutely dreadful, the rest of the armor, in my eyes, looks really good. Unfortunately the image linked in the thread is of very low quality and you really can't tell what it looks like. The images below are high quality of the Jedi Knight PvP armor in the silver and brown combo and the gold variety.

One thing I'm personally very vain about is the look of my lightsaber. I've been running through lower level flash points in search of the look I want and I've found two lightsaber hilts (shown in the image above) that I believe suit my character's style perfectly. At level 50 there are a variety of different flash points you can solo. I've found this to be a really great way to find unique orange items for yourself and your companions too. Although the mods in the orange items you pick up might be too low, they are easily upgraded with mods from the Galactic Kiosk or even through tokens and vendors on places like Corellia.

More images of the controversial Jedi Knight PvP armor.