Hello,
I wanted to impart the knowledge I've gained from doing the Holo grind in search of the elusive Force Sensitive Slot. I've currently mastered 11 professions: Brawler, Teras Kasi Master, Pistoleer, Image Designer, Entertainer, Marksman, Artisan, Scout, Ranger and Creature Handler. The silence is deafening.
1. Be prepared to master all 32 professions, if necessary. The way that FSCS works (at least current theory) is that there are 4+1 professions you must master. 4 will be told to you by the holocron. The fifth is random, one of the remaining 28 professions. If you're not prepared, you will become very frustrated very quickly. Enjoy mastering the professions as you go. Smell the roses. The game isn't going anywhere, you have plenty of time to get your FSCS. It's not a race.
2. Holo hunting: There are a few ways to get holocrons. For rebels, the easiest by far is the Imperial base south of Lake Retreat on Naboo. The second easiest is Garm missions in Coronet. You can also get them from Force Sensitives and Deserters on Yavin 4. If you are hunting in an area that is camped, be aware that you need to have done more damage (as a group) than any other group to get looting rights. This means that in the Imp base, find yourself a Commando and a TKM or else you will never get looting rights. I personally got Holos along the way as I needed them. My friend Jeep got all 4 up front so that he wouldn't have to go back to the Imp base. To each his own on strategy there.
3. How should I use my Holos? The current theory is that you should do all your Holos before you do any Basic Professions. The theory goes that there are 32 profession, of which 6 are Basic Professions. Basic professions can be done in a matter of hours. Elite Professions can take weeks. Leaving your Basic professions for after you're done w/ Holo professions increases the likelyhood that the random profession is a Basic profession. In my case, I did Basic Professions first (and only used 3 Holos before they became silent) and now have to guess which Elite Profession is my fifth profession. Again, back to the first point: Be prepared to do all 32 professions if you're looking to unlock the FSCS.
4. OK, so I got X profession, how should I grind it?
This is a short tutorial on each crafting profession, how to grind. You can try different methods, but this is based on my research and experience:
Medic/Doctor/Combat Medic: Find a Marksman w/ 0002. Have them /tumbletostand. Heal away. Get Doctor first. Find someone to kill for Rez exp. Kill, Rez, Repeat. Once you're Master Doc, enhance people/pets to get Med exp for Master CM. Crafting part: Get 25k Lok Wheat, Get 25k Tat Fiberplat. Obtain 8 crafting tools. Create a crafting macro. Make 1400 ABECs for each.
Entertainer/Dancer/Musician: Join the biggest entertainment group you can. Create a macro that does flourishes ever 4 seconds. Have a /startdance command in the macro (you will eventually run out of action and will need to restart the dance sequence). Leave your computer running overnight. Always use the highest level dance/song/instrument you know, if possible.
Artisan: Make Tools. Work up 3000 first. Make Personal Harvesters to get to 4440. Use a survey macro that /kneel, /survey, /pause 3, /sit, /pause 30, repeat. You don't need action buff to use this survey macro.
Image Designer: Find a like-minded Holo grinding ID. ID each other. Find a Master Musician to buff your Mind Secondaries. Pay them well so that they will buff you repeatedly (every 2 hours). (I was able to master in 2 days)
Ranger: Get in a large hunting group. Don't be so concerned about killing, just harvest everything that drops. Join groups on Dantooine. Harvest Bone and Hide. Make a crate of Traps and trap the biggest thing you can. Grind camps to get your camping exp (use the Bone and Hide you collected). After you're done w/ your camping exp, make sure to harvest Meat (for use in Bio-Engineering). (I was able to master in 4 days)
Creature Handler: Get a Cowardly Gurreck to get to 1100. Upgrade to Grand Wrix/Greater Sludge Panther. Get 1103. Pull out Grand Wrix/GSP combo at 1303. Join large hunting groups. Hit everything once w/ your pets. Use GW/GSP pair to mastery. Harvest meat (for use in Bio-Engineering). (I was able to master in 4 days). Please note changes in CH will affect this grinding method.
Architect: Use the Grinding Macro again. You'll need 550k Ore and 200k Metal. Make Wall Modules. DO NOT STAY IN PRACTICE MODE. Sell them to a Master Architect for 8k a pop.
Weaponsmith: 450k Steel. Grind Proj Pistol Barrels to 0200. Grind Proj Rifle Barrels to Master.
Chef: 11k Fruit, 220k Wheat, 90k Corn, 90k Water. Grind 1.1k Wastil Breads to 0020. Grind Ithorian Mists to Master.
Droid Engineer: 500k Steel and 180k Fiberplast. Grind Mouse Droids to 0002. Grind Advanced Frames to Master.
Armorsmith: 100k Iron, 190k STeel, 70k Fiberplast. Grind 2k AUKs to 3000. Grind 5k Ubese Shirts to Master.
Tailor: 160k Steel, 40k Fiberplast, 100k Inert Petro. Grind 1.4k Ribbed Shirts to 0400. Grind 2k Cartridge Belts to Master.
Bio Engineer: 200k Flora, 90k Meat (from harvesting above!). Grind Nutrient Suppliments to Master. No good way to grind DNA, unfortunately.
Merchant: Buy and place 10 1-slot small Naboo Houses. Get 10 of your best friends, and a Master Merchant to pay 1 credit to enter and exit each of the houses.
Smuggler: Get 50-100 Locked Containers and the same number of Molecular Clamps.
Fighting Professions: I leave this up to you to do. I've found the fastest exp is a good group, but if there are folks that are doing too much damage, you'll get very little exp. You'll have to balance whether you want to be in a large group if you're not dealing very much damage. ALWAYS use a powerup.
Commando: Get 0040 first and kick some butt w/ a sliced FlameThrower with a Speed Powerup.
Squad Leader: Good luck! LOL.
Bounty Hunter: Again, Good Luck!
OK, so those are my notes. For those of you foolish enough to attempt this, good luck. Please add any comments from your experiences.
|