Bioware considering SWTOR Master Operations Gear Drops changes

The highest tier of EndGame content in Star Wars The Old Republic has a weak spot – the Master Mode Operations gear drops consistency. The level of randomness in Tier 4 gear pieces dropping currently in the game from MM Ops is very high and the Developers are looking for a way to change that.

SWTOR 5.2 EndGame Gearing GUIDE for PvE and PvP

Eric Musco posted on the forums that the team is considering 2 possible solutions for now and is asking for players’ feedback and more ideas. Here’s an example he shared in his forum post of what the Master Mode Operations offer right now:

Master Mode Operations:

Each non-final boss in an Operation will drop random Tier 4 Prototype and/or Artifact quality item. Ex: Killing Nefra in Dread Fortress will drop 2 random items which will be of Prototype or Artifact quality
Each final boss of an Operation will drop a specific Tier 4 Legendary quality item. Ex: Dread Master Brontes in Dread Fortress will always drop 2 gloves

Gods From the Machine does not follow the above rules. Here is how that works:

Story Mode – Each boss will drop a specific Tier 3 Legendary item. Ex: Tyth will always drop a Tier 3 reli
Veteran Mode – Each boss will drop a specific Tier 4 Legendary item. Ex: Tyth will always drop a Tier 3 relicT

The current situation was created with clear minds that Gods from the Machine will provide the Best in Slot Gear. However, the new Operation is scheduled to be released one boss per 2-3 months and this slows player gearing progress significantly at the moment (while we only have 1 boss available). To lessen the RNG Bioware is considering making the 2 following changes:

Double the amount of drops awarded in both 8 and 16-player difficulties. This means there is a random aspect of what is dropping, but there will be more chances of receiving Tier 4 gear based on the number of players participating in the Operation.
Leave the amount of gear drops as is, but add Unassembled Components to each boss. This would mean that players running Master Mode would not only be receiving a chance at Tier 4 gear, but they are also working towards being able to upgrade/purchase the Tier 4 gear they need.

As Musco states in his own post, the Unassembled Components have been restricted for PvP only until now, but the team can easily add them as drop from Master Mode Boss Encounters as well.

Here comes your role in all this. What do you think is the best solution?

► Discussion Source: swtor.com

If you had forgotten or never knew how Unassembled Components work, check out the above linked Gearing Guide or take a look at this video. In it I overview the new Fleet PvP and PvE gear vendors.