How to enter SWTOR's Flashpoint "The Esseles" in Veteran mode?

Question

My friend and I are starting a playthrough of SWTOR. We've done the Flashpoint "The Esseles" on Story Mode a few times now, and wanted to try it on Veteran Mode. However, whatever we try, we always end up in a Story Mode version.

The steps we take:

1. Group up freshly
2. Start conversation to pick up the quest
3. Both choose "Veteran Mode" when the options in the chat wheel pop up
4. Both make sure the "Mission Difficulty Preference" is set to "Veteran"
5. Make sure the instance phase has been reset, to prevent old instances from troubling us
6. Run into the instance

However:

• The result: we get thrown into a Story Mode flashpoint, and a related Story Mode quest pops up
• Expected: starting the Veteran Mode flashpoint

Here's a screenshot of most of the above points visible:

Is there some trick or setting we need to use to enter "The Esseles" on Veteran Mode?

Answer 1

The missions you currently have in your log are both for Veteran Esseles. Or rather, the mission "[FLASHPOINT] The Esseles" is difficulty-agnostic - it is the same on all difficulty levels. When entering a flashpoint on Story mode, you should have a "[STORY] Flashpoint:..." mission and (in most cases) will receive server messages about the GSI Combat Support Droid. (I've actually not done Story mode flashpoints in a group before, so I don't know if the droid is only for true solo runs.)

Note that the "two players recommended" in the Veteran Esseles description is not an error; unlike every other flashpoint, The Esseles (and its Imperial counterpart, The Black Talon) was originally designed for two players.