The 6* Wall

The 6* wall. The majority of us know exactly what this wall entails, since we've sat on it for many a day before 3.0 arrived. A number of members are still on that wall, so I decided to post tips and strategies for overcoming it.

Before I do, I feel it necessary to clarify one particular point. While I did take advantage of the Saboteur Special Offer -- I had the necessary chromium stockpiled, coincidentally -- I was ready to level up my Riposte Suppression Blade to 7* Max and go get a Lightsaber. Luckily, I didn't, since I decided to wait and see what the new Raids were all about. Could I earn 6-8* or 7-9* gear? I was clueless. As it turned out, I spent chromium on gear and Event Crystals on 2 Force Powers instead. I'll address Special Offers at the end of this post.

But first, a few words about the new Raids, specifically the Normal Raids. Currently on Hoth, the Frozen Armaments Raid map contains 3 Prize Nodes at different PR ratings:

Bottom Node: 19,500
Top Node: 13,500
Final Node: 9500

These PR ratings essentially mean that, if you're stuck on the 6* wall, you've probably got a PR that allows you to access 2/3 Prize Nodes. The Final Node is the easiest and, thus, guarantees a Legendary Reward of 2x 5* Event Crystals and 1 4-6* piece of Commando gear, which isn't particularly helpful in raising anyone's PR to any significant degree, since most of us already have earned this gear already. Obviously, the Event Crystals are necessary. But the Top Node, though, guarantees 1 5-7* piece of Commando gear, and this is where our story begins.

So far as I can see, the Raids were designed to ensure that T2 gear stays relevant. When T2 came out, T1 gear fell by the wayside, which irked many founding players. With the 3.0 update, players need to upgrade their T2 gear to 7* first, and only then can they begin the hunt for 6-8* gear shards.

Which leads us to the 1 5-7* piece of Commando gear that the raids guarantee. Like many players in general, I got suckered into using Tie Pilot and Imperial Officer gear. And I say suckered because the Havod necessary to level just 1 piece of this gear is rare. Conversely, players who earn this 5-7* Commando gear can grind the Normal Raid map for crystals. 

Moreover, many players have stockpiles of 4-6* Commando gear from Daily Assaults they can salvage, as well as a healthy pile of Weapons Crystals, which can be used to trade for an array of Faction Crystals necessary to level gear to 7*.

In other words, while Imperial gear has a slightly higher PR than most other gear and, interestingly, has a killer Attack Rating, shelving the Imp Gear and replacing it with standard Faction Gear when you finally level it to 7* isn't the end of the world. My Imp gear is shelved while I wait for the opportunity to collect more Havod. Sigh.

So, in brief, the Normal Raid map will guarantee at least 1 piece of 5-7* gear that you can eventually level up to 7* with enough grinding and, let's face it, RNG luck.

Now, you can also obtain 5-7* gear on Daily Opportunity missions, Crane Pulls, and Special Offers. I'll briefly address each of these in turn.

I just received a 7* Daily Op that guaranteed 2 5-7* weapons. I've received these in the past as well. The 5-7* weapon is particularly important because, as we know, it's generally easier to level up weapons than gear. Keep your eyes open for this opportunity.

As for Crane Pulls, I haven't pulled that crane in a LONG time! However, since Kabam did lower the price, it may very well be worth it. I do know that a few of our members benefited from the 3.0 Crane when it first went live, though the crane is no longer hemorrhaging 6-7* items! So, be wary.

The Special Offers have been interesting thus far, considering the Saboteur debacle. My guess is that Kabam intended to randomly offer gear sets on a rolling basis, from planet to planet as the Raids moved, but the outcry from founding players about the Saboteur set was so loud that Kabam rethought this strategy. And while these Special Offers are interesting, they can prove a little dubious. At the end of the day, Special Offers are on a par with Crane Pulls, only with the caveat that you kinda sorta maybe know what you're going to receive for your chromium:

The description is deceptively ambiguous. What do such Raid Chests contain, exactly? Well, you will receive a full set of 5-7* gear. But that's not the end of the story.

These Raid Chests are akin to Crane Pulls in the sense that the 5-7* gear you receive may already be leveled up to either 6* or 7*. For 750 Chromium, a full set of just 5-7* gear is really pretty good, in my opinion. Receiving the 6* or -- gasp -- the 7* version seems to proverbial ice this particular cake.

So, a list of things to remember, a few of which I fail to mention above:

• Raids guarantee at least 1 5-7* gear
• Raid maps yield mats needed to level up 5* to 7*
• Daily Assaults, Daily Creds, Cartel Ops, and Lando Missions yield needed mats as well
• 7* Daily Opportunity guarantees 5-7* gear and/or weapons
• Crane Pulls may yield 5-7* gear and/or weapons
• Raid Chest Special Offers guarantee at least one full 5* gear set 

There you have it. Sitting on the 6* wall is a bummer at times, but, as I hope I've demonstrated in this post, there are many opportunities available to obtain the gear, weapons, and materials needed to hop over to the other side and raise your PR.

Keep an eye out for a Lightsaber post in the near future!