First, definitions, just to be clear:
Underleveled: The state of being substantially lower level than the lowest level quest you have. This situation makes it difficult to complete your quests because you struggle to defeat regular groups of enemies, and are very likely to lose (often, repeatedly) to a strong or boss enemy at the end of the quest.
Overleveled: The state of being substantially higher level than the highest level quest you have. Most players consider this a good thing: quests are easier to complete because you are more likely to resist/parry/deflect attacks, and your attacks are more likely to affect the enemy. You also have better gear and abilities than a lower level person. The only possible downside is reduced challenge when completing solo quests, but Heroics, Raids and PvP are still just as challenging as ever.
I personally am a subscriber, and benefit from Rest XP, plus all the other perks of being a subscriber, so I am overleveled.
But I notice that almost all of my friends who are Free to Play (F2P) become so underleveled that they can't even beat a solo side quest. Sure, they might be able to clear out the groups of standard / weak mobs, but they inevitably die to some boss/champion/whatever at the end of the quest. It happens over and over again, and they ask for help when they can't beat it. And it's not just a few people: almost every F2P player I know of experiences this burn.
What advice should I give them so that they can safely gain XP and become at least "right-leveled" (the same level as the class quests and side quests they're attempting)? Note that in almost all cases, these underleveled individuals are completing all the side quests and heroics as they go. But they simply don't have the resources to buy XP boosts or subscribe, so they can't get Rest XP, etc.
I am already sort of aware of the following possibilities, but I wanted to know if there are other things they should be doing:
- PvP as many times as they can per week until the system won't let them do it any more
- Run dailies (flashpoints) as many times as they can until the system won't let them
- Get into groups with other underleveled people and complete quests together
- Repeat heroics several times (can F2Pers do this? I honestly don't know.)
Best Answer
I just recently started playing SWTOR as a F2P player. My experience so far has shown that as long as I complete all the side quests and heroics, I am usually a level or two higher than my current quests. Not much, to be sure, but it's enough to give me the edge I need, and I play a tank Jedi Guardian, solo except for the Heroics.
I don't PvP at all, so that's definitely not it. I run the Flashpoints once, mostly to see the content, but that's definitely a good way to pick up good gear if they run it multiple times when they're eligible for it. F2P players CAN do the heroics multiple times, so if they don't mind grouping, that would also be a good way to gain experience and potential gear upgrades.
If your friends are unable to beat a boss at the end of a sidequest, that means they may be focusing on the wrong aspects of a fight, or bringing the wrong companion with them to complement their playstyle.
They should also be keeping up with their equipment; quest rewards are important to keep you at the proper power level, and spend those commendations before you leave the planet entirely. Modded gear has a bit more complexity, but make sure your armoring, and hilt/barrels are the best you can get; they're what determine armor and damage.