The crafting (or crew skills) system in Star Wars: The Old Republic is pretty interesting. While it is based off of the run of mill MMO crafting system, it's more broad. What I like best about it is that you can send your companions out on missions to retrieve crafting materials. So while I am fighting in a Warzone, I can still be making crafting progress!
As you probably know, my first character will be a Trooper/Commando. He wears heavy armor and carries a very big gun. It's time to decide which crew skills I will take. I like to start with the actual crafting skill, which I've narrowed down to two choices.
Armortech. This crew skill focuses on making armor (surprise!), which includes heavy. I've used this in beta with my Bounty Hunter and it produced some nice pieces. Unlike the next crew skill, I make use of a number of armor items.
Another positive of Armortech is that it makes use of Underworld Trading as a mission skill. According to this dev post, UT will be able to get Custom schematics. These are basically shell items you can mod all the way to the end game if you like the look.
Arsmtech. This crew skill makes weapons, including heavy blaster rifles. The Commando is all about his gun, so being able to craft the best would be beneficial. On the downside, my companions and I can only use a limited amount compared to armor.
Despite no need for Underworld Trading, I am still leaning toward Armstech. The allure of crafting weapons for my Commando is just too much. Hopefully, BioWare either spreads about the Custom schematics around the rest of the crafting skills, or they are rather common on the GTN (auction house).
For more info on SWTOR crafting, try the TOR Nexus PvE page.
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