Stop using gear sets to force a character into a forced play style

D

Dman1970

Well-known member
I've noticed that a LOT of the gear sets are designed to FORCE a character into a particular way of being played. If you want, say the caster set bonuses from Ravenloft or Sharn, you MUST wear cloth armor. What about playing a more melee style PM/EK or a Sorc EK/FI and you still want the bonuses of the caster, like say the Beacon of Magic set, but you CAN'T because you want more defense from light/medium armor. Why try to make everyone conform to the cookie cutter style. Casters MUST wear robes/cloth to get the set bonuses, but if you go a different route screw you. Even Dark Apostates get screwed over in some sets because it most cleric gear is geared to positive spells but not negative healing and such.
I want to play a melee "Death Knight" style wizard, but I still need bonuses to my spell DCs, Spell Power, SP, etc. It's even worse for hybrid toons. Couldn't sets that are 3 piece have options that DON'T require the armor of a set to be complete, or make the armor used between any set in that packs gear, and your enhancements and proficiencies dictate what you wear? I know that you can mix some sets from different packs to get bonuses, but a lot of the 2 and 3 piece sets from the much older gear can't compare to even the 3 piece sets from Ravenloft, Sharn, etc... It's a bit frustrating trying to play something different when the great sets are made to steer you otherwise.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 3
Aelonwy

Aelonwy

Well-known member
I complained of this with Sharn, most especially how both Bard and Warlock INNATELY can cast in light armor with zero arcane spell failure as a feature of their class choice but the devs flat out refused to make a caster light armor with the same caster bonuses as cloth armor for Sharn, even for Sharn docks sets. So it was not a real bonus of the class. Its was a false choice, a pretend choice that did not actually exist... until Feywild sets. Thankfully, finally, Feywild sets actually opened that up so it could actually benefit such classes and playstyles. But I definitely agree more could be done.

Feywild itemization is to me almost the pinnacle of their creativity with Feytwisted being just the most brilliant idea I think any of them have ever set upon. The biggest flaw to Feywild itemization IMHO is each set needed 2-3 more item choices to feel like you actually have real choice. They could have fixed this with the later Feywild adventure pack but chose not to allow those items to count for the Expansion sets, nor does that adventure pack have quite enough accessories to mitigate the lack of choice anyway.

Sometimes I wish they could go back and add an item here or there to appeal to a greater variety of playstyles and classes. Unfortunately, I don't think I've ever seen them add new items to old expansions ever which, again unfortunately, is where most sets appear. The only time I can think of them adding necessary items to support a playstyle to a wide variety of content was when they added artificier and runearms were scattered across the game. I'm pretty sure when they added orbs they didn't make as much effort to proliferate them across content.
 
Spook

Spook

Well-known member
Feytwisted was only good for casuals it was awful for the min-maxers. Imagine trying to farm a reaper +2 Titanias before reaper crafting was a thing. It was awful.
 
D

Dergex

Well-known member
They really should split sets up and put their bonuses split across the items in a set. As it is right now I find myself equipping 1-2 pieces of gear with stats I don't need or want just to get the set bonuses.
 
D

Dman1970

Well-known member
Aelonwy said:
I complained of this with Sharn, most especially how both Bard and Warlock INNATELY can cast in light armor with zero arcane spell failure as a feature of their class choice but the devs flat out refused to make a caster light armor with the same caster bonuses as cloth armor for Sharn, even for Sharn docks sets. So it was not a real bonus of the class. Its was a false choice, a pretend choice that did not actually exist... until Feywild sets. Thankfully, finally, Feywild sets actually opened that up so it could actually benefit such classes and playstyles. But I definitely agree more could be done.

Feywild itemization is to me almost the pinnacle of their creativity with Feytwisted being just the most brilliant idea I think any of them have ever set upon. The biggest flaw to Feywild itemization IMHO is each set needed 2-3 more item choices to feel like you actually have real choice. They could have fixed this with the later Feywild adventure pack but chose not to allow those items to count for the Expansion sets, nor does that adventure pack have quite enough accessories to mitigate the lack of choice anyway.

Sometimes I wish they could go back and add an item here or there to appeal to a greater variety of playstyles and classes. Unfortunately, I don't think I've ever seen them add new items to old expansions ever which, again unfortunately, is where most sets appear. The only time I can think of them adding necessary items to support a playstyle to a wide variety of content was when they added artificier and runearms were scattered across the game. I'm pretty sure when they added orbs they didn't make as much effort to proliferate them across content.
Click to expand...
Wizards and Sorcs going EK can cast in light armor as well, but do any of the CASTER sets show that? No... just the universal sets... more of the illusion of choice as you put it. Eldritch Knight can use light, and with enough points, even medium armor, but no set bonuses for you! The way that could be fixed is ALL armor/robes/docents are the base for ALL sets of that pack, and then you can pick the pieces you make the set or even sets you want. It allows for flexibility in gear choices and ways to play in the style players WANT to play, not cookie cutter stuff. The Gem of Many Facets was kinda cool to allow different items to be substituted so you could use 2 or even 3 sets if you chose certain gear from different sets. The kind of standard style armors from IoD work in a way, but there is ONLY the universal bonus and not caster, tank, dps, etc offered. There really should be the options for more choice of gear sets.
And as far as Warforge go, that is part of why I don't ever really want to play one and will save and spend the cash to get the racial reincarnations done for that race on any toon I play. Just click and "Oh yeah, I was this race and not the one I played for 20 levels."
 
P

PraetorPlato

Well-known member
IoD you can choose armor type for any of the role-specific sets, it just takes a different set augment. Red dragon armor was meta for a while. Sharn has 2 heavy/medium caster sets. I agree that some of these have been misses, but it's not quite as universal as is claimed.
 
D

Dman1970

Well-known member
Dergex said:
They really should split sets up and put their bonuses split across the items in a set. As it is right now I find myself equipping 1-2 pieces of gear with stats I don't need or want just to get the set bonuses.
Click to expand...
Yep... this! THIS is a big issue. You can sometimes wind up doubling up on stats and effects or getting effects that give no use to you to complete sets. Or worse, you can use a piece of gear because it has things that don't benefit you and may even weaken you. Prime example I found looking at the Legendary gear from saltmarsh, and the negative energy absorption on Black Pearl Ring is just plain stupid. It would have been AMAZING for PMs/DAs for the item effects AND the set bonus. But no, they ruined it by putting the negative energy absorption on it. WHY?! Who thought that was a good idea?
 
D

Dman1970

Well-known member
PraetorPlato said:
IoD you can choose armor type for any of the role-specific sets, it just takes a different set augment. Red dragon armor was meta for a while. Sharn has 2 heavy/medium caster sets. I agree that some of these have been misses, but it's not quite as universal as is claimed.
Click to expand...
The level 32 stuff, you're right. There IS a lot more choices with the build your own gear stuff. THAT is really cool, but limited to either old Slave Lords gear at level 8 or level 31 IoD stuff. Why isn't there more of that for other levels? Plus, there are some effects you can't get on build your own stuff. There is so much room for improvement, but it seems to have been dropped for all but the higher levels and the forgotten Slave Lords stuff.
As far as caster light/medium/heavy sets, they seem to be gear for Artificers/Druids that went bear form and took the enhancement to wear steel armor, and the cleric stuff doesn't boost negative spells, so DAs get kicked there. The actual caster gear? ROBES or DOCENT, no light or medium armor offered to get those bonuses at all. Zero, nunca, nada, none, nothing. This IS a big issue. Sets and itemization are big issues and seem to need to be retroactively looked into and fixed.
 
Last edited:
D

Dman1970

Well-known member
I just happened to find a great set at level 17 from Sharn for PM that has the choice of cloth, light, medium, and a docent for Warforged. Now to address the problem with Dark Apostate gear. Update the Ravenloft and Sharn gear to add negative amplification and neg spell crit and such to the same sets for regular clerics. Just add the negative versions to the same piece of gear. The Flamecleansed Fury set could be done and also have light, medium, and heavy armor added to the beacon of light set so clerics, druids, and DAs have a choice for that set bonus. Also, add heavy armor to the Dreadkeeper set. It shouldn't be that hard to fix. Tweak a few pieces of gear and make them useable for classes that seem to get the shaft otherwise. People also shouldn't have to wait until 30+ to get gear that gives a set bonus that really works for your toon. It opens up more options for players.
 
Shagarot

Shagarot

Member
Spook said:
Feytwisted was only good for casuals it was awful for the min-maxers. Imagine trying to farm a reaper +2 Titanias before reaper crafting was a thing. It was awful.
Click to expand...
Got it by chance from my third or fourth fey-twisted chest ever opened... but I still detest the fact that you can't turn off those annyoing butterflies visual.
Anyway...
I agree with this topic wholeheartedly. Going for Feywild set was great because there were many different pieces to mix and match and even without going for 7-piece set you could get decent bonuses. Then we've got Saltmarsh which was a downgrade in set design quality imho. IoD is better because you can craft some pieces but still not perfect (as you have bonus just from 3-piece sets and 5-piece sets). I see that in Vecna we're at lest getting 3-piece sets + more adjustable multi-tier set. It's not perfect but at least an improvement.
 
D

Dendrix Deathblade

Well-known member
An option to take the Armour type and change it to another, or even a docent would fix so many itemization issues in the game. Heck, I'd pay turbine points to buy an "armour blank" to merge with my existing armour to change to to cloth/light/heavy/medium/docent. Just change the armour type (and the associated AC to be standard for the level)
 
D

DBZ

Well-known member
I have feywild and sharn docent sets how many more u need lol they'll get you to 30
 
droid327

droid327

Well-known member
Dman1970 said:
Wizards and Sorcs going EK can cast in light armor as well, but do any of the CASTER sets show that? No... just the universal sets...
Click to expand...

"Universal" sets like Fey are caster sets. You cant complain that caster sets arent flexible enough, but then also seemingly expect them to make a caster set tailor-made for your specific playstyle.

Now there's a very real complaint that Fey isnt a good set because it requires too many pieces to achieve the good bonuses, and the pieces in each set are too incoherent so you have to equip too many trash pieces. But thats an entirely different complaint than the devs arent even trying to give the option.
 
D

DBZ

Well-known member
Yes but there all inferior to in game options currently IOD no one will give up if they have it gomfs or other iod artifacts as well
 
Purr

Purr

Well-known member
Downside, of course, is that if you have 4 armor options for every set, it adds a ton of bloat to inventory. The idea about being able to reforge an armor into a different type has a lot of potential for those sets where each of them is essentially a carbon copy of the other versions (like feywild armors).
 
TeamScorpioRI

TeamScorpioRI

Well-known member
DBZ said:
Yes but there all inferior to in game options currently IOD no one will give up if they have it gomfs or other iod artifacts as well
Click to expand...

True... but I see it more as a 1st attempt and maybe the standard going forward. I agree with the OP that some of the existing sets restrict you too much. IOD did open this up a little with the crafting, and now I see this next set as the next version of that.

And who knows, they may tweak the sets before release (I doubt it... but one can have hope, right??)
 
D

DBZ

Well-known member
What we really need is 1 five stars aligned btcoe gear xpack that would give us all reasons to log

And bring back in game trading and selling an actual in game economy worth grinding
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top