what do you think would be a recommended level to start KOTFE if the enemies and boss fights will have a higher difficulty?
I've always been tempted to make a post about the balance between leveling up and good story experience sooo here I am!
An introduction to maintaining a good level while doing the strict minimum to enjoy the story more~ (preferred player edition)
First time I played the game, I did like everything, every planetary story arc, every daily, EVERYTHING (almost). I also one shotted the entire storyline like you, like I finished the class story on one character then did all the expansions. In total, I have nearly 400h on that character, which is quite a lot for only solo content. Then I played the Sith Inquisitor storyline, did the same thing cuz I wanted to see what imp side had to offer but I didn't play the expansions as they're roughly the same throughout the classes. After that I only ever played the mission stories to try to complete legendary status the quickest possible, I managed in one year only.
What's the lowest level you can complete the class story with?
On these characters, I was able to complete their class stories at level 42ish (which is def difficult on Correllia but manageable, depending on the classes, some might need 43). But I never intended to play the expansions with them, so playing the minimum of the minimum is 100% playable for the class stories (except on Quesh where you need to be lvl 33 but it's usually not far stretched). Now, I wanted to replay the JK storyline and the expansions with my beloved Maverik'a to take screenshots and I wanted to do the minimum of the minimum this time (since last time I did like everything) so here's how I did it.
How to gain and maintain XP more easily?
First I recommend you buying character perks, if you're starting out a class story buying the entire class story & exploration tier can help you a lot. Now that you're in the expansions, the Flashpoints one might be a good one to have. Basically you gain more XP with these perks and level up more easily. Level wise, I recommend you being always 5-10 levels higher than you should, every planet has an ideal lvl you should at least be 5 lvl higher. How to do it without it becoming a task? Do, a few side quests here and there, with ALWAYS an XP boost on, and once you've hit a reasonable level continue the story and so on.
What are the lvl recommendations to play the expansions?
SO to finally answer your question, in my opinion, you must be around 60 when you hit Correllia. Like I said previously you can do just fine with as low as 42, but for expansions you're gonna end up having to catch up a lot and it's just more annoying. And I highly recommend being lvl 80, with your armor all upgraded, by chapter 16 of KOTFE since there's a big battle. The game recommends lvl 75 but if you're not geared up well it can be very difficult, specifically the last chapter of KOTET. These two chapters have big boss fights, a friend asked me to help her on the last chapter of KOTET cuz the boss would keep killing her and she was around lvl 75. At 80, I never had a problem defeating that boss, I one shotted it lol.
Honestly from the comment you left me, I assume you're subscribed cuz you level up quick so it shouldn't be as much of a grind as it is for preferred (the status I had when I replayed the entire thing lol). But 60 at Correllia and 80 at the last chapter of KOTFE is still what I'd recommend even subscribed.
Lowest level and time to complete a class story without expansions = lvl 42 at Correllia, playtime from 24-34ish hours.
(If you're a class story complitionist, it takes around 60h! More than the double of a minimalistic run!)
Lowest level and time to complete a class story WITH expansions = lvl 60 at Correllia, playtime 135h for the entire swtor storyline (instead of almost 400 when you're a complitionist!)
Thanks to have come to my Ted talk, I hope this helps people šš
