Jedi Crafting (Crew Skills) Overview

Star Wars: The Old Republic has a slightly unusual crafting system, in that there are three types of professional skills (called Crew Skills): Crafting skills, Gathering skills, and Mission skills. The Mission skill is an optional, secondary gathering skill, which provides rarer materials for crafting Prototype or Artifact quality items, some components for Companion Gifts, and an additional type of item unique to that Mission skill (see below).

The crafting system is also unusual in that it's your Companions who do most of the work. Although your character learns the skills, it is the Companions who craft items and go on missions to collect materials.

Your character can learn a maximum of 3 Crew Skills, only one of which can be a Crafting skill. You can learn more than one Gathering skill or Mission skill, but the limit of 3 total skills holds, regardless of how many Companions you have.

Crew Skills Combinations

The three skill types are designed to be grouped together in certain combinations:

Artifice, Archaeology, Treasure Hunting
Artifice: creates Color Crystals, Enhancements, Hilts, Focus, Power Generator, Shield Generator, Relics
Archaeology: collects crystals and artifacts from world nodes and missions.
Treasure Hunting: collects lockboxes (containing credits or gear) and superior-quality crystals and artifacts.

Synthweaving, Archaeology, Underworld Trading
Synthweaving: creates Force-user armor for all slots:, light, medium and heavy armor.
Archaeology: collects crystals and artifacts from world nodes and missions.
Underworld Trading: collects superior-quality armor and cybertech materials, and Custom armor schematics.

Biochem, Bioanalysis, Diplomacy
Biochem: creates Stims, Medpacs, Adrenals, Implants
Bioanalysis: collects biological materials from world vegetation nodes and dead animals and missions.
Diplomacy: collects superior-quality biological materials and light or dark side points.

Cybertech, Scavenging, Underworld Trading
Cybertech: creates Mods, Armoring, Droid Parts, Earpieces, Ship Upgrades, Grenades, Speeders
Scavenging: collects metals from world nodes, destroyed droids, and missions.
Underworld Trading: collects superior-quality armor and cybertech materials, and Custom armor schematics.

Armstech, Scavenging, Investigation
Armstech: creates Blasters, Barrels, Ranged weapons of all types, vibroblades and electroweapons
Scavenging: collects metals from world nodes, destroyed droids, and missions.
Investigation: collects superior-quality weapons materials and prototype schematics for all crafts.

Armormech, Scavenging, Underworld Trading
Armormech: creates non Force-user armor for all slots: light, medium and heavy armor.
Scavenging: collects metals from world nodes, destroyed droids, and missions.
Underworld Trading: collects superior-quality armor and cybertech materials, and Custom armor schematics.

Slicing		  
Slicing: Get money from hacking computers, and get lockboxes from missions, Augments from missions, as well as Cybertech schematics and special mission unlocks. Instead of supplying materials for a crafting skill (it used to supply Cybertech), Slicing now appears to be a money-making alternative to taking a Mission skill. The materials from Mission skills are only necessary to craft Prototype or Artifact quality items.

Armstech and Armormech do not offer any items usable by the Force-using classes. Artifice can craft lightsabers, but only once max skill (400) is reached, and the lightsabers require level 48 to use, and the schematics require special bind-on-pickup materials that can only be obtained in Operations (raids) and Hard-Mode Flashpoints (heroic dungeons).

Crafting Skills

Reverse Engineering: each crafting skill includes the ability to reverse-engineer items specific to your craft, which will destroy the item, refunding some materials and give the possibility of learning a higher-quality schematic. You can reverse engineer items you made yourself, as well as some items acquired from looting or quest rewards.

Critical Success: it is possible for your companion to "crit" when making an item, which results in an "exceptional" version of the item. Currently, exceptional items have an additional component slot for "Augments".

Crafter-Use-Only Items: Each crafting specialty gets a few schematics that produce bind-on-pickup items (that is, items that only the crafter can use). They include:
Artifice: Relics, Hilts, and Enhancements with increased stats
Biotech: Stims and Medikits that are not consumed on use
Cybertech: Improved Earpieces, Armorings, & Mods; a unique Speederbike, and Grenades that are not consumed on use
Armstech: Barrels with increased stats
Armormech & Synthweaving: various armor pieces with increased stats

Artifice is the delicate skill of constructing lightsaber modifications, enhancements, generators and focii. Lightsaber modifications include color crystals and hilts that augment a Force user's combat attributes. Color crystals determine beam and bolt color for lightsabers and blasters. Enhancements are modification upgrades for weapons and armor. Artificers can reverse engineer their crafted items and possibly discover new ways to improve their creation. The gathering skill Archaeology provides crafting resources for Artifice.

Recommended Gathering Skills: Archaeology (Power Crystals, Color Crystals and Artifact Fragments).
Recommended Mission Skills: Treasure Hunting (Gemstones).

Synthweaving is the process of fabricating synthetic materials out of crystals, various chemicals and artifact fragments to construct armor for Force users. Vendors provide premade solutions, suspensions and composites that are used during the Synthweaving process. Synthweavers can reverse engineer their crafted armor and possibly discover new ways to improve armor creation. The gathering skill Archaeology provides crafting resources for Synthweaving.

Recommended Gathering Skills: Archaeology.
Recommended Mission Skills: Underworld Trading (Luxury Fabrics and Underworld Metals).

Cybertech is the skill to assemble droid armor, earpieces, grenades, armoring, mods and miscellaneous gadgets. Armoring and mods are upgrade modifications that augment combat ability. Earpieces are external mini-computers that are worn on or near the ear. They enhance combat prowess by giving audio and visual feedback to the wearer or through direct neural feedback via an external nerve relay. Cybertechs can reverse engineer their crafted items and possibly discover new ways to improve their creation. The gathering skill Scavenging provides crafting resources for Cybertech.

Recommended Gathering Skill: Scavenging (Scavenged Metals and Compounds).
Recommended Mission Skills: Underworld Trading (Underworld Metals).

Biochem is the skill involved in crafting medical supplies, performance-enhancing chemical serums and biological implants. Biochemists can create medpacs to restore health, stimulants (single-use injections) that provide a boost to physical abilities, and biological implants that enhance combat prowess by stimulating neural networks and regulating brain stem functions. Biochemists can reverse engineer their crafted implants and possibly discover new ways to improve implant creation. The gathering skill Bioanalysis provides crafting resources for Biochem.

Recommended Gathering Skills: Bioanalysis (Biochemical Samples and Compounds).
Recommended Mission Skills: Diplomacy (Medical Supplies).

Armstech is the ability to work with hard metals, alloys and synthetic materials to craft blasters, blaster modifications and melee weapons. Vendor-purchased fluxes are used during the weapon creation process to refine the materials to ensure suitability. Crafted blasters include blaster pistols, blaster rifles, sniper rifles, assault cannons and shotguns. Blaster modifications include blaster barrels. Melee weapons include vibroblades and electrostaves. Armstechs can reverse engineer their crafted items and possibly discover new ways to improve their creation. The gathering skill Scavenging provides crafting resources for Armstech.

Recommended Gathering Skills: Scavenging (Scavenged Metals and Compounds).
Recommended Mission Skills: Investigation (Researched Compounds).

Armormech is the ability to work with hard metals, alloys and synthetic materials to construct armor for non-Force users. Vendor-purchased fluxes are used during the armor creation process to refine the materials to ensure suitability. Armormechs can reverse engineer their crafted armor and possibly discover new ways to improve armor creation. The gathering skill Scavenging provides crafting resources for Armormech.

Recommended Gathering Skills: Scavenging (Scavenged Metals and Compounds).
Recommended Mission Skills: Underworld Trading (Underworld Metals).

Gathering Skills

Gathering skills allow the player to collect materials from resource nodes in the world (or certain types of corpses), or to send out companions on missions to collect resources on their own.

Archaeology is the study of crystal formations and archaeological finds. Crystal formations contain crystals that an Artificer can use to construct lightsaber modifications and armor for Force users. Archaeological finds contain artifact fragments of Force-imbued technology. These valuable items contain ancient formulas and algorithms used in the crafting skills Artifice and Synthweaving. Archaeologists can send their companions on missions to gather resources.

Recommended Crafting Skills: Artifice, Synthweaving.

Bioanalysis is the practice of collecting genetic material from creatures and vegetation. Genetic materials include cell fibers, bacterial strains, toxic extracts and medicinal fluids. Biochemists use these materials to create medpacs to restore health, stimulants (single-use injections) that provide a boost to physical abilities, and biological implants that enhance combat prowess by stimulating neural networks and regulating brain stem functions. The crafting skill Biochem utilizes Bioanalysis resources. Bioanalysts can send their companions on missions to gather resources.

Recommended Crafting Skills: Biochem.

Scavenging is the art of salvaging useful parts and base materials such as metals, alloys and synthetic compounds from potential technological resources--junk piles, fallen droids, abandoned cargo and broken-down vehicles. The crafting skills Armormech, Armstech and Cybertech utilize Scavenging resources. Scavengers can send their companions on missions to gather resources.

Recommended Crafting Skills: Armormech, Armstech, Cybertech.

Slicing is not a skill required for crafting. Slicing is the art of accessing secure computer systems and lockboxes to acquire valuable items, credits and rare tech schematics. Common slicing targets include electronic safes, data stations, security mainframes and biometric footlockers. These targets contain credits, rare tech schematics used to construct Cybertech gadgets, vehicles and space upgrades, and mission discovery objects that unlock challenging missions that can potentially yield great rewards. Slicers can send their companions on missions to retrieve these valuable items. Other possible mission rewards include augments that can be slotted into exceptionally crafted items.

There are also Slicing missions that produce Augments, which are special modifications for crafted items.

Recommended Crafting Skills: All (for mission discoveries), Cybertech (for tech schematics).

Mission Skills

All mission skills, in addition to the items listed below, also can get components for Companion gifts from missions.

Treasure Hunting is the ability to track down and recover valuable items by following a series of clues. Companions sent on Treasure Hunting missions can return with rare gemstones used to construct prototype and artifact enhancements, hilts, color crystals, focii and generators. Other possible rewards include lockboxes that can contain valuable items or credits and gifts for companions to raise their Affection rating.

Recommended Crafting Skills: Artifice.

Underworld Trading entails the exchange of goods and services on the galactic black market. Sending your companions on Underworld Trading missions can yield luxury fabrics and underworld metals used to construct prototype and artifact armor, earpieces, grenades, space upgrades, and weapon and armor modifications. Other possible rewards include gifts for companions to raise their Affection rating.

Recommended Crafting Skills: Armormech, Cybertech, and Synthweaving.

Diplomacy is the art of conducting and managing negotiations. Sending your companions on diplomatic missions can influence your light side or dark side standing. In addition to light side and dark side influence, possible Diplomacy rewards include medical supplies used to construct prototype and artifact implants, medpacs, stimulants, adrenals and gifts for companions to raise their Affection rating.

Recommended Crafting Skills: Biochem.

Investigation is the skill of researching, gathering, analyzing and decoding secret information. Sending your companions on Investigation missions can yield valuable items in the form of researched compounds used to construct prototype and artifact weapons and blaster barrels, prototype schematics for all crafts, and gifts for companions to raise their Affection rating.

Recommended Crafting Skills: All (for schematics), Armstech.