Itemization feedback

Wicked Feedback
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1

Hi, after spending over 100 hours and finishing the Crucible several times with different builds, I feel there’s something wrong with the item system.

On paper, everything looks great:

  • White items offer more customization options.
  • Blue items provide magic enchants but less customization.
  • Purple items offer stronger enchants with a negative effect.
  • Yellow items are unique with exclusive enchants.

You can also upgrade a Tier 1 item to Tier 3, making all items theoretically useful.

But in the end, there is actually zero excitement when a new item drops.

  1. Zero Excitement Due to Equal Item Qualities: All item qualities are essentially equal, and regardless of color, every item has an equal chance to be good or bad. This diminishes the thrill of finding new items.

  2. Lack of Progression System: There’s no progression system beyond upgrading your current gear. In games like this, item quality often serves as a progression system. Lower quality items become stepping stones to higher levels of power and eventually become obsolete, which is their intended role.

  3. Weak Unique Items: Unique items are not strong enough, and the inability to change their runes makes them even less useful.

  4. Weak Purple Items: Purple items often have very strong negative enchants and weak positive enchants. They should consistently have 4 good enchants, as many currently have only 2.

  5. Difficulty Comparing Items: It’s challenging to compare items’ base stats like damage and armor because they drop at different upgrade levels.
    – Quick Fix: Show stat ranges for better comparison.
    – Alternative Solution: Display upgraded stats when comparing items. For example, if you have a Tier 3 item and compare it to a Tier 1 item, also show the stats the second item would have if upgraded to Tier 3.

2

I agree with your post. I am at over 100 hours in the game. While I have yet to be able to beat the crucible. However, the itemization I totally agree with all you said. For instance, I am using the rapier that drops from the boss in Nameless pass. Fully upgraded it only has 20 damage. I think for something you get late game it should do way more damage. Also, when an item scales with multiple stats, to get damage increase you must upgrade both stats before you get 1 point of damage increase. Currently that makes weapons that scale from a single attribute gain more damage. A fix to that would to have each attribute point in either stat add damage to the weapon that scales with multiple stats. I also think any unique gold items should be way stronger than others you find because they are so rare.

The enchants I find are less than thrilling most of the time. Earlier today I enchanted about 30 times and did not see anything I found useful. With all games, I understand time put in and all that to equal better gear. However, for 30 or more enchants something useful should be obtainable. I find that the focus gain/health gain stats have already been nerfed so badly. Being that enemies can take you out in two to three hits, despite having extremely high armor, I do not think that it was the correct decision to nerf things like that into the ground. It feels like the devs just want us to do the busy work of consuming food and running around while we wait for 18 seconds to be able to use food again, instead of giving us good healing options from weapons/gear/infusion/enchants, etc. I really do not care for that decision and I truly hope to see some gain back to items related to focus and health from the recent nerfs. It is almost like the devs are nerfing the fun of the game (hello Diablo IV devs).

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3

I agree with a lot here, I’ll unpack things as you have listed them; excluding point 5.

1. Zero Excitement Due to Equal Item Qualities

I only get excited if I find a white piece of equipment that I am actively farming for aesthetic reasons. Blue, gear gets sold since the enchantments are too random to matter; same with purple gear. And legendaries seem like niche items that require a build around them. They don’t feel like plug and play weapons, but rather weapons used on a second playthrough.

It is EA, so I imagine enchanting get’s expended upon. Maybe blue and purple gear can be disenchanted for enchanting components. Maybe we can remove affixes from gear. The blue and purple gear’s affixes are too random to be relevant as viable armor items.

Enchanting needs to be expanded upon in a way that blue and purple gear become relevant.

2. Lack of Progression System

We are getting a talent tree!

Also I wouldn’t want T2 plate to be 100% better then T1 plate upgraded to T2 plate. I use my armor for aesthetic reasons and would like them to be viable to the end of the game. Else everyone would end up with similar end game armor per armor type.

3. Weak Unique Items

I would like the option to change runes on legendaries for sure. Some just feel really bad.

Additionally I would like to have legendary rings and armor as well. And that an item being legendary simply implies that it has a unique affix or something. Some game changing affix like fiery explosions on charged attacks. And, then we can swap this out to our preferred weapon or something.

4. Weak Purple Items

Some negative affixes are really unplayable that I even wonder why they are in the game. Some of the enchants purple gear can get are quite good though, but, emphasis on can. Maybe purple gear can have higher affix values.

TLDR

Add more depth to enchanting so blue, purple and yellow gear matter more. There is too much randomization with too little customization.

Here is my topic on how I would like to see it:

Enchanting Reworked, Vampire Survivors Inspired Enchanting

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4

Yes to everything.

But also add bonuses to equipping gear sets. I wouldn’t know what types of bonuses but it makes sense to do something like this.

Like Kindler Set increases X% of Fire Damage and -X% of Focus and Stamina on Fire Abilities/Runes. Add more perks as the armor set when reaching certain levels: like +50% Fire Resistance and Flame Trail or whatever on whatever levels they have to be.

Farmer Set increases produce pickup amount. More health restoration on food ingredients. Focus Regen around produce.

Something like that.

5

Yes! i suggested that in a thread about rings as well. There should be (hidden) set bonuses for sets of rings or armor sets. this would also improve the basically useless cloth and leather armor sets.

Like for example give a noticeable defense buff when wearing all cloth or something, so people at least think about using it before selling it anyways :rofl:

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