I have done roughly 20-30 complete heroics runs since returning to the game last year in march. In that time I have looted the following rare/semi-rare items: elite tusken gaderiffi baton, acidic vibro-axe, massassi sword, IG-head, 2x CCV cryo-projector schems, nightsister beret, & star destroyer cooling tower. During these runs I probably saw the same number of rare/semi-rare items looted by my groups.

Now in the past two days I have done 3 complete runs (AM, TK, EK, ISD, IG) in an effort to score some quick 5pc sets I had my eyes on, and I have looted a massassi carbine schem and a star destroyer solar console, in addition to those two items my groups saw the following drops: the tusken rucksack, elite tusken gaderiffi baton, 2x AM crystals, and EK fresco, EK torch, EK torture table, CCV cryo-projector schem, star destroyer cooling tower, whistler carbine schem,  IG head, and I am sure there were two more drops which I cant recall. In addition I have seen 3 rare loot chests drop in the AM cave during cave clearing.

So it could just be a swing in luck for me but all of my groups were more or less in agreement that the drops were higher than they had been historically. I believe luck was responsible for wednesday's run since the patch hadnt been put in, but the two runs on thursday were undeniably impressive I didnt even bother keeping track of all the weapon augs/enh and other lesser rares that dropped.

I would say that if you had been hoping to get your hands on something from a heroic instance that you cant afford or arent willing to pay for, this weekend would be as good a chance as any to get it and that it would be worth jumping into a random group if a guild run isnt possible at the moment.

So much to do to take advantage of this weekend and so little time to do it!