One thing that stood out when the Sith Triumvirate Raid was released, is that there were no exclusive rewards other than the coveted Darth Traya shards. This is stark contrast to both the Rancor and AAT raids, which introduced new, raid exclusive gear, additional gear levels, and even level cap increases. Now, months later, this has been changed. Six new gear pieces have been released which are exclusive to the Heroic tier of the Sith Triumvirate Raid. Capital Games was kind enough to give us a lot of warning before this happened, and even detailed how much salvage we can expect to drop from each raid.
Below is an overview of the new pieces, how hard they are to obtain, and my thoughts on the overall impact to the game.
The requirements to craft each piece of G12+ gear adhere to a set format, which is:
- 1x Component A (HSTR Exclusive) – 50x salvage
- 2x Component B (HSTR Exclusive) – 20x salvage
- 1x Component C – 1x existing full piece & 2x (20 salvage) existing G12 components
The New Gear
Piece 1: Mk 12 ArmaTek Thermal Detonator
Requirements:
- 1x Mk 12 ArmaTek Thermal Detontor Prototype (HSTR Exclusive) – 50x salvage
- 2x Mk 12 Carbanti Sensor Array (HSTR Exclusive) – 20x salvage
- 1x Mk 12 Armatek Thermal Detonator Component – 1x Mk 3 Carbanti Sensor Array & 2x (20 salvage) Mk 6 MedPac
Stats:
- 100 STR
- 1800 Health
- 14 Armor
- 140 Physical Damage (Primary Stat only)
- 6 Speed
- 115 Physical Damage
- 90 Armor
Piece 2: Mk 12 ArmaTek HoloLens
Requirements:
- 1x Mk 12 ArmaTek Holo Lens Prototype (HSTR Exclusive) – 50x salvage
- 2x Mk 12 Czerka Implant Prototype (HSTR Exclusive) – 20x salvage
- 1x Mk 12 ArmaTek HoloLens Component – 1x (50 salvage) Mk 8 BioTech Implant Prototype & 2x (20 salvage) Mk 7 Chiewab Hypo Syringe
Stats:
- 40 AGI
- 15 Physical Crit Chance
- 2.8 Armor
- 56 Physical Damage (Primary Stat only)
- 2000 Health
- 6 Speed
- 100 Physical Damage
- 85 Physical Crit Chance
Piece 3: Mk 12 ArmaTek Key Pad
Requirements:
- 1x Mk 12 ArmaTek Key Pad Prototype (HSTR Exclusive) – 50x salvage
- 2x Mk 12 Czerka Security Scanner Prototype (HSTR Exclusive) – 20x salvage
- 1x Mk 12 ArmaTek Key Pad Component – 1x Mk 4 Zaltin Bacta Gel & 2x (20 salvage) Mk 8 Nubian Security Scanner
Stats:
- 45 AGI
- 18 Physical Crit Chance
- 3.15 Armor
- 63 Physical Damage (Primary Stat only)
- 2000 Health
- 6 Speed
- 60 Armor
- 60 Resistance
Piece 4: Mk 12 ArmaTek Data Pad
Requirements:
- 1x Mk 12 ArmaTek Data Pad Prototype (HSTR Exclusive) – 50x salvage
- 2x Mk 12 Czerka Shield Generator Prototype (HSTR Exclusive) – 20x salvage
- 1x Mk 12 ArmaTek Data Pad Component – 1x Mk 10 TaggeCo Holo Lens & 2x (20 salvage) Mk 6 Athakam Medpac
Stats:
- 40 TAC
- 96 Special Damage
- 4 Resistance
- 56 Physical Damage (Primary Stat only)
- 3050 Health
- 6 Speed
- 60 Resistance Penetration
- 50 Special Crit Chance
Piece 5: Mk 12 ArmaTek Fusion Furnace
Requirements:
- 1x Mk 12 ArmaTek Fusion Furnace Prototype (HSTR Exclusive) – 50x salvage
- 2x Mk 12 Czerka Stun Cuffs Prototype (HSTR Exclusive) – 20x salvage
- 1x Mk 12 ArmaTek Fusion Furnace Component – 1x Mk 3 Czerka Stun Cuffs & 2x (20 salvage) Mk 6 Athakam Medpac
Stats:
- 6500 Health
- 6 Speed
- 30 Armor
- 30 Resistance
Piece 6: Mk 12 ArmaTek Stun Gun
Requirements:
- 1x Mk 12 ArmaTek Stun Gun Prototype (HSTR Exclusive) – 50x salvage
- 2x Mk 12 Czerka Hypo Syringe Prototype (HSTR Exclusive) – 20x salvage
- 1x Mk 12 ArmaTek Stun Gun Component – 1x Mk 5 A/KT Stun Gun Prototype & 2x (20 salvage) Mk 8 Nubian Security Scanner
Stats:
- 2000 Health
- 6 Speed
- 100 Physical Damage
- 100 Armor Penetration
As you can see, the different pieces have relatively equal stats, especially when you add in the bonus from primary stats. This is in stark contrast to the original G12 pieces, which have more pronounced differences.
The stats, like CG said, are comparable to the difference between G11 and G12. This is a significant boost, especially since speed has made a return. However, the difficulty of completing a single piece will reduce the value for most players.
Acquiring the Gear
The majority of players who are completing the Heroic Sith Triumvirate Raid will only get a small amount of salvage each raid – as low as 20% of what’s required for a full piece. The table below shows the minimum and maximum amount of salvage that can be obtained at each rank.
| Rank | Min/Max drop | Component A | Component B |
| 1-3 | 50%-100% | 25-50 | 20-40 |
| 4-10 | Exactly 50% | 25 | 20-40 |
| 11-20 | 20%-50% | 10-25 | 8-20 |
| 21-50 | 20%-50% | 10-25 | 8-20 |
CG also released the average drop rate at lower ranks, which is shown below.
| Rank | Average Drop | Component A | Component B |
| 11-20 | 40% | 20 | 16 |
| 21-50 | 30% | 15 | 12 |
As you can see, the drop rate still looks good at lower ranks – an average of four raids to accumulate enough salvage for a piece, five at the absolute most. However, when you factor in the number of different drops possible, the number of raids needed increases significantly.
There are six different pieces. Assuming they all have the same chance of dropping, you’re looking at a average of six raids to get the drop you want. This puts it at a massive twenty raids needed for the majority of players to complete a specific piece. RNG means this will vary one direction or the other, but we’re looking at averages here. Of course, over the course of those twenty raids, each player should be making just as much progress on the other pieces, so we’re still looking at an average of four raids for a single piece.
The non-G12 pieces will be annoying to get – some of the most sought after gear is required for the different recipes, although this shouldn’t come as a surprise. Mk 3 Carbantis and Mk 3 Stun Cuffs are both highly sought after and commonly needed pieces. Mk 10 HoloLens are a HAAT exclusive piece. As always, it will be a choice between developing the top of your roster moreso, or boosting a lower character to viable levels.
The only piece that stands out as being worse to get than another is the Mk 12 ArmaTek HoloLens, which required two full G12 pieces and a Mk 8 BioTech Implant Prototype, which is both highly sought after and hard to obtain. Of course, who needs each new piece, and how many are needed overall will have an impact on this, but not enough data is available at this time.
The Tradeoff
Now, averaging four raids for a single piece isn’t actually bad. Twenty raids for a specific piece isn’t too much of a stretch. But, we’ve made a trade off. Anyone outside the top 10 has no chance whatsoever of a full piece of G12 gear drop anymore. This is down from 80% at the lower ranks, which is a very big change.
Previously, we could expect around 3 full pieces of G12 gear from four raids, or about 16 from twenty. The tradeoff we’ve made is quantity for exclusivity. Having speed on the new pieces will do a lot to bridge this gap, since it’s so essential to have as much as we can possibly get, but the difference will still hurt.
Further bridging this gap is the timing. TB and TW have been out long enough for high level players to finish farming Wampa and Hermit Yoda to 7*, freeing their currency up to buy G12 salvage. Not only this, but HSTR has been out long enough for many players to reach the point of adding G12 pieces to their lower tier teams, making the older G12 pieces less valuable.
The people this change will really hurt are newer players. While people who have been cleaning HSTR consistently will have a lot of G12 pieces already equipped, people who have just started, or are about to start, will not. These players will never be able to catch up, because the G12 pieces will be harder to complete now.
The Squad Arena will see those who can add the new gear pieces gain a slight advantage, though this can be lessened by having better mods. Combined with the current state of the META, I doubt we’ll see any major change – most teams have clear counters, and these new gear pieces will not change that.
The Fleet Arena, on the other hand, will see a gap appear between those players who are clearing HSTR, and those who are not. Because the stats on mods do not matter, the only way to gain an edge on your opponent is to have more developed pilots. As it stands now, most players are able to invest in their pilots heavily enough that there’s no gap between HSTR and non-HSTR players, because G12 gear is obtained relatively easily though TB, TW, and the Guild Event Store. This is going to change, since there is no way to reduce the advantage of an extra piece of gear or two.
Summary
Overall, I believe there are clear winners and losers in this update, so it’s hard to say if it’s an improvement overall. For players with more advanced rosters, especially those able to consistently rank high in raids, this will be a definite improvement. For players who haven’t developed their rosters as much yet, this will definitely hurt.
One way everyone able to clear HSTR will win though, is in the Fleet Arena. Having the faster Chimera is still a deciding factor in many Fleet Arena battles, and being able to add two new gear pieces to Thrawn will be a clear advantage.
