Best traits for weapons/armor?

sb001001

Trying to figure out which traits I should prioritise learning for weapons and armor.

Currently lower level so I'm runnig mostly exploration to get the extra xp but unsure where to progress from here on out.

Xendyn

Armor: Infused, Divines, Reinforced maybe
Weapons: Sharpened, precise then perhaps infused and weighted

would be my priorities (hopefully not forgetting anything)

Nirnhoned is popular right now on PC but may be getting changed and is expensive to research (20-25k per piece)

Nestor

For Leveling, Training is an awesome trait to have. So, learn that too.

My first 3 traits to learn would be:

Weapons Sharpened, Precise, Training

Armor Infused, Divines, Training

Then fill in all the others. I would even put a preference to Training as the first trait as that is more useful to your character overall than any others while leveling in the early stages.

In fact, you may not even be able to get to the Mundus Shrine you really want until you reach the higher level zones, so Divines is good, but you don't have to be in a hurry for it. Unless you are liking the Mundus stones that you can get to.

Also, don't over look Well Fitted if you have a Farming character. That can really help with getting from Node to Node.

The key is, learn two traits on all the things you want to make, then start learning the third. Once you learn the third, then the fourth. Once you reach the 6th trait on the things you want to make, fill in the other traits in your research, then start chasing the 7,8 and 9th traits.

Robbmrp

@Xendyn has the right idea. If you wanted an exact order I would go this route:

Armor - Divines, Infused, Reinforced, Impenetrable, Nirnhoned, Well-Fitted, Training, Exploration & Sturdy.

Weapon - Sharpened, Precise, Nirnhoned, Weighted, Defending, Infused, Charged, Powered & training

Leandor

First three (sometimes four) traits for each category, in my personal order of importance:

Light Armor, large pieces (Helm, Chest, Legs):

• PvE focused: Infused, Divines, Nirnhoned
• PvP focussed: Nirnhoned, Infused, Divines

Light Armor, small pieces (Shoulder, Belt, Hand, Feet):

• PvE focused: Divines, Nirnhoned, Infused
• PvP focussed: Nirnhoned, Divines, Well-Fitted

Medium Armor, large pieces (Helm, Chest, Legs):

• PvE focused: Infused, Divines, Nirnhoned
• PvP focussed: Nirnhoned, Infused, Reinforced, Divines

Medium Armor, small pieces (Shoulder, Belt, Hand, Feet):

• PvE focused: Divines, Nirnhoned, Infused
• PvP focussed: Nirnhoned, Divines, Well-Fitted, (Reinforced for Shoulders as they provide the same armor as legs/helm)

Heavy Armor, large pieces (Helm, Chest, Legs) plus Shields:

• PvE focused: (as tank only) Reinforced, Infused, Divines, Nirnhoned
• PvP focussed: Nirnhoned, Reinforced, Infused, Divines

Heavy Armor, small pieces (Shoulder, Belt, Hand, Feet):

• PvE focused: (as tank only and only for Shoulder) Reinforced, Divines, Nirnhoned, Infused
• PvP focussed: Nirnhoned, Divines, Well-Fitted, (Reinforced for Shoulders as they provide the same armor as legs/helm)

All Weapons:

• Nirnhoned, Sharpened, Precise, (As tank only) Defending

Nestor

I love how you guys are recommending a fresh player to chase Nirnhorned at 25,000 a pop.

Nirnhorned is good and certainly worth chasing, but just remember it is very expensive to buy and at low levels it will take an entire zone worth of questing and mob killing and vendoring each thing you get (no deconstruction to level crafting) to get 25,000 gold.

We end game players tend to forget how precious gold is for the first 30 to 50 levels, especially if we are growing crafting.

Leandor

Point of my list is, depending on the intended specialization, it may be beneficial to not research until you can actually afford the desired traits.

I have not regarded this at the time I started (early access PC in April 2014) with the consequence that I couldn't use the most desired traits at all for a very long time. Also, since nirnhoned was not in the game at that time, I had to wait 27 days for each piece to research it (and that is 4/4 perk and ESO+ membership).

The list above, hence the introductory sentence "In my personal order of importance", reflects the traits that are actually desireable to have available on the respective pieces of equipment. Yes, training is nice to bring up a weapon/armor skill line that had been neglected so far - but you will not craft your main equipment with training if you have something else available.

The same is valid for most traits.

Since many of the best sets do not require many traits (with the exception of Hunding's Rage [6 traits], Eyes of Mara for non templar healers [8 traits] and possibly Way of the Arena [8 traits], none of the higher sets are distinctively better than their simpler counterparts), it is entirely feasible to limit research to the best traits only and skip the others.

For those players not intending to maximize crafting but being able to actually maximize benefit while minimizing effort put into crafting, the list above goes a long way in the right direction. If you limit yourself to 4 traits a piece, research is done way quicker.

Also, while it is a significant upfront cost to research nirnhoned, it is also the only decent way to earn gold from knowing traits. Just sitting in the second area main city for the respective alliance (the city containing the undaunted enclave) will net you 5k to 10k gold a piece even if you have the clients provide the trait stone.

So, in essence, learning nirnhoned as fast as possible goes a large way in actually helping you obtain gold for bank slots, mounts, riding lessons or craft styles, more so than delaying it until you have all these completed.

Nestor

Leandor wrote: »

Point of my list is, depending on the intended specialization, it may be beneficial to not research until you can actually afford the desired traits.

I think that Nirn should be the 5th or 6th trait researched. By that time, a player should be at a level where making 25K is not that difficult to do.

Leandor

Nestor wrote: »

Leandor wrote: »

Point of my list is, depending on the intended specialization, it may be beneficial to not research until you can actually afford the desired traits.

I think that Nirn should be the 5th or 6th trait researched. By that time, a player should be at a level where making 25K is not that difficult to do.

Valid view point and absolutely okay. If I would be a new player today with all the experience I have but no gold whatsoever, I would save every nickel until I could afford to buy my first nirnhoned piece, research it (in 6 hrs!) and then go to my undaunted enclave and sell it until I have enough gold for the rest.

sb001001

Thanks a lot everyone for the info. Lots of useful stuff here and this definitely helped me!