Every player in SWTOR wants the best possible gear for their characters. Jedis want the best lightsabers, Bounty Hunters want the best blasters and heavy armor, and Sith want the highest quality shock collars they can get their sadistic hands on. There are a variety of items that can increase the abilities of a piece of gear in SWTOR, and one of those methods is through the use of augment slots and augments. In patch 1.3, a huge change occurred for creating augment slots on gear. To help padawans the galaxy over, Swtorhub.com presents an overview of the changes to the augment slot system.

What are Augments and Augment Slots?

To increase the abilities of an item in SWTOR, you can modify it by adding various items such as: mods, enhancements, crystals, barrels, hilts, and, of course, augments. Each one of these various components can add additional primary and secondary stats to the item in question. Some examples would be additions to Aim, Endurance, or Power. The various types of gear (blasters, lightsabers, armor, etc.) can be modified by certain modifying items. You can add an enhancement, mod, and barrel to a blaster, while a lightsaber can be modified by the use of power crystals, focus lens, color crystals, and hilts.

Augments are one of these modifying items and they can increase various stats depending upon what kind of augment it is. Reflex augments add to Aim, redoubt augments add to Defense, fortitude augments add to Endurance, and might augments add to Strength. There are additional augments that increase other stats and there are augments that increase multiple stats. To use an augment, there has to be an augment slot on the gear. Augments are obtained through the slicing crew skill. If you don't have slicing, then you'll have to shop the Galactic Trade Network.

Adding Augment Slots Prior to Patch 1.3

Some items that you loot will have an augment slot on it already, but the most common way to get an augment slot added to an item prior to patch 1.3 was through crafting by getting a critical result on crafting the item in question. In addition, you could only have augment slots on certain armor and weapon types. However, all this changed in patch 1.3 for SWTOR.

Changes to Augment Slots in Patch 1.3

The system of adding augment slots to gear in SWTOR underwent a radical transformation in patch 1.3. In the new system, you can add an augment slot to any piece of equippable gear, from earpieces to implants to generators. To add an augment slot to an item now will require you to use the Item Modification Table, which are most easily found on the fleet stations. The item must be green level or higher. (Why would you try to improve a gray item anyway?) To add an augment slot to the item, you have to spend credits and use an augmentation kit.

Augmentation kits are created through armstech, armormech, and synthweaving crafting skills. You can purchase the recipe from your crew skill trainer. The augmentation kits created by the three different crew skills are exactly the same. The only difference is in the materials used to create the augmentation kit. The augmentation kits have six tiers, ranging from MK-1 (the lowest) to MK-6 (the highest). The higher the tier, the better the augment slot you can add to the item.

Each augmentation kit is created with ten augmentation slot components (of the specific tier) and several other crafting materials that are associated with that crafting tier. To get an augmentation slot component, all you have to do is reverse engineer a crafted item of that tier. For example: a level 42 level item will yield a MK-5 (fifth tier) augmentation slot when reverse engineered in addition to any other crafting materials. You are guaranteed an augmentation slot component when reverse engineering so you don't need to have any fear of needing a critical result or anything special to get it.

Once you have the augmentation kit, all you have to do is click on the Item Modification Table and then add the level of augment slot you wish. You can change the level of the augment slot later, but you will have to outlay the full amount of credits to do so. There is no cost savings when upgrading.

Below are the costs of installing the various levels of augment slots and the materials necessary to create the augmentation kits. As you can see, armstech and armormech use the same materials, while synthweaving uses different materials. The results are the same though. An augmentation kit MK-6 is the same, no matter if it was created through the use of armormech or synthweaving.

Synthweaving

Tier Installation Cost Materials
Augmentation Kit MK-1 1000 Augmentation Slot Component MK-1 x10
Rubat Crystal x2
Augmentation Kit MK-2 2500 Augmentation Slot Component MK-2 x10
Rubat Crystal x2
Lost Artifact Fragment x2
Fibrous Nylite Solution x2
Augmentation Kit MK-3 4000 Augmentation Slot Component MK-3 x10
Nextor Crystal x2
Prehistoric Artifact Fragment x2
Thermoionic Gel Suspension x2
Augmentation Kit MK-4 7000 Augmentation Slot Component MK-4 x10
Galactic Artifact Fragment x2
Opila Crystal x2
Brocart Filaments x2
Augmentation Kit MK-5 10,000 Augmentation Slot Component MK-5 x10
Hypertech Artifact Fragment x2
Firkrann Crystal x2
Brocart Filaments x2
Subelectronic Data Module x2
Augmentation Kit MK-6 30,000 Augmentation Slot Component MK-6 x10
Primeval Artifact Fragment x2
Upari Crystal x2
Cortosis Substrate x2
Subelectronic Data Module x2

 

Armormech and Armstech

 

Tier Installation Cost Materials
Augmentation Kit MK-1 1000 Augmentation Slot Component MK-1 x10
Desh x2
Augmentation Kit MK-2 2500 Augmentation Slot Component MK-2 x10
Laminoid x2
Aluminium x2
Conductive Flux x2
Augmentation Kit MK-3 4000 Augmentation Slot Component MK-3 x10
Plasteel x2
Chanlon x2
Insulating Flux x2
Augmentation Kit MK-4 7000 Augmentation Slot Component MK-4 x10
Bondite x2
Fibermesh x2
Brazing Flux x2
Augmentation Kit MK-5 10,000 Augmentation Slot Component MK-5 x10
Resinite x2
Diatium x2
Brazing Flux x2
Subelectronic Data Module x2
Augmentation Kit MK-6 30,000

Augmentation Slot Component MK-6 x10
Durasteel x2
Zal Alloy x2
Thermoplast Flux x2
Subelectronic Data Module x2

Augments have always helped to increase the power and capability of gear in SWTOR, but their use has been limited due to how augment slots were created and the few items they could be found on prior to patch 1.3. Now all that has changed and augments are really in demand as players are scrambling like mad to upgrade all their equipment, not to mention their companions' gear as well. The changes to the augment slot system in patch 1.3 have really opened the item modification field wide open. Now get out there and start upgrading that gear!


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Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

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