Request: Equipment "reforging" to increase item level

DarthVella

I craft my own gear. It's pretty nice, so long as I don't run out of materials. But at the same time, the items I create are often obsolete in a couple of hours of play, because I've outlevelled them. Yes, yes, improving an item's quality gives better stats than making a new one two levels above, but you do eventually outlevel that too and I don't have the amount of tempers required to get consecutive sets of armor/weapons past fine/green. Right now my plan is to hit max veteran rank before I even think about customising my armor with enchantments and traits specifically because I'll just burn straight past those sets soon enough anyway.

Which is why I'm suggesting that crafters be given the ability to reforge equipment to increase its level without affecting the quality, trait, enchantment, or item set, in a similar way to improving an item's quality using tempers. This would require nothing more than the appropriate crafting station and refined materials, with more materials used increasing the chance of success, again like tempering. However, you would not be able to improve an item past its material's level cap (that is to say, 14 for iron/maple/homespun, 24 for steel/linen etc).

This would give players greater incentive to improve the quality of their items, because they would not have to waste their limited tempers on a set that would just get thrown out in a few levels anyway. In addition, it would extend the usefulness of quest rewards and other unique items. I don't know how it would affect enchantments, because at the moment player-created enchantments are restricted to a lower and an upper level cap. I guess either the upper cap would be removed, or enchantments would be removed when the item gets past the enchantment's level cap.

TL, DR: I'm requesting that crafters be given the ability to improve the level of equipment while keeping traits and quality.

Ourorboros

I usually laugh at requests like these that would make minor or limited changes while there are still so many bugs and other fixes that ZOS needs to work on. But I can get behind this idea for one reason: my VR12 Legendary armor set and a new VR14 level cap. I guess I should have seen a rise in level cap coming, and maybe there will be more of these in the future. I held off on making any Legendaries until I reached the level cap (then VR12) due to the expense. Not sure what all the new VR14s are doing, but I am not really happy that I will have to make a new set of Legendaries if I want the best armor. And it seems I can continue to expect this to happen again. So I agree, that since ZOS keeps changing the level caps, they should give us an option that does not require making a new top level armor from scratch.
I'm not as sure about reforging below the game level cap, but, like the OP, I limited improvements as I leveled because of how fast you outgrow the items. Maybe it does make sense to be able to upgrade within the current mat level before having to make a new set.

pez8897nub19_ESO

I think it should be something that can only be done at the earth forge. That forge is just so useless to me right now and am I the only person to keep their prismatic blade??? I'd like to upgrade it please.

AlexDougherty

DarthVella wrote: »

I craft my own gear. It's pretty nice, so long as I don't run out of materials. But at the same time, the items I create are often obsolete in a couple of hours of play, because I've outlevelled them. Yes, yes, improving an item's quality gives better stats than making a new one two levels above, but you do eventually outlevel that too and I don't have the amount of tempers required to get consecutive sets of armor/weapons past fine/green.

I find I pick up a lot of gear that I can use, in fact I usually have replaced two thirds of my gear before I reach the next tier for equipment.

I just wish so much of the Heavy Armour wasn't either Nord or Imperial, I do also level a sorc in Light Armour, but he gets a variety of styles. (ironically I craft Imperial for my Templar, but get annoyed when my DK is forced out of his Dunmer Armour).

Nestor

You can already level up your gear. Improve it. Even better, you get more from the Trait effects this route.

Of course if you have a set of Legendary, your kind of stuck there.

MrGhosty

I would agree and say it should be taken a step further. Rather than limiting this improvement to the level cap of the material let us use the same amount of material that it would cost to make a new set but let it retain whatever level of improvement is on it. Example: I pick up a set piece at level 12 that I want to carry over, once I have improved it to that material lvl max, I can then use the 12 steel it would take to make another piece only instead of a new piece those 12 ingots are consumed to make the item lvl 16 and so on and so forth.

Additionally (since i'm a greedy bugger), I would like to see the effects of these improvements show on the armor visually. If you started with a level 5 chest piece and then improved it up to level 50 chest piece the armor could keep it's base look but have some tacked on additions, So the starting point of the armor would dictate the base appearance and then it would have additions like bolted on plates, etc. For a visual reference of what I mean re watch the CGI trailers for the game, those armors looked "lived in" and it would be epic to wear the same set of armor you started the game with all the way through to max level and have it reflect your journey.

If 12 ingots would make the same piece as you have but new that would be the base cost of improvement, if the item had been improved to green quality it would then require 15 ingots, and increase it up for each quality level of improvement mat. That would mean those who made a legendary set of armor at vet 12 could pay a cost in materials to keep that gold level armor but make it vet

As for the enchantments, I would say they should probably stay the same they were originally until overwritten with a new glyph.

Brassleb14_ESO

i think if you could upgrade any items level it could be easly abuse, but maybe if it was use to upgrade item levels for sets meaning you have to have the full set, and you upgrade it all at one to ur current level and doing so bounds the items to you if they were not already.

butoijo

The purpose of this game is grind mats to keep us play for hours, and opening a job to a "farmer" like me to gather mats when i'm boring.

I use darkstrider set to gather mats on my orc