Advice sought: Repairing & Upgrading Armor/Weapons vs make new

GreyRanger · August 2014

I am leveling up my first character (Lvl 40 night blade) and have been working up the crafting professions on him and some alts as I go, mostly good fun. To save on $ I have rarely repaired gear, I have just made basic white gear, weapon damage glyphs, and when the gear is about worthless I make a new set.

I have been saving all my armor and weapon upgrade materials and trait stones.

What I am curious about is what is the point in the game at which you keep armor and weapons long enough that it is worth investing in upgrading it to higher quality, enchanting the armor, and starting to pay to repair it rather than replace it?

(Aside: I dread the $ sink that paying to repair armor will turn into. I spend most of my $ on storage, horse upgrades and glyphs to level my enchanter).

Thanks for the help.

Nestor · August 2014

GreyRanger wrote: »

What I am curious about is what is the point in the game at which you keep armor and weapons long enough that it is worth investing in upgrading it to higher quality, enchanting the armor, and starting to pay to repair it rather than replace it?

Enchanting? Every piece of Armor is Enchanted by me. 1400 gold at your level to outfit a full set. Some dungeons and areas drop enough Glyphs that you can at least cut that value in half. I run all points in Health and use Glyphs for Mana (usually) or Stamina (rarely).

As for Armor, the increases to Green or Blue are not so much for the increase in armor rating, but the increase in the effects from traits or enchants, or better, traits that improve enchants (Infused) for instance. For example, a full set of White with the Training Trait gives 42% bonus to Armor Exp, Green gives 49%, Blue gives 56%, Purple 63%, Epic 70% (I think, I have never made anything Epic yet)

What I do is make a set of gear every 4 levels, upgrade it to Green at least, and once I have the Temper Passives, upgrade it to Blue. I have 4 mules with Hirelings that give me enough upgrade mats over time that I don't have to buy any. This will keep my character protected for the next 4 levels as compared to White Drops. Then I will swap out Green and Blue drops I get along the way if they offer more stats or protection.

However, then there are the Crafted Sets with bonuses for wearing a certain number of pieces. This can make it difficult to break a crafted set to use better armor as you lose the Set Bonus(es). So, you don't want to give up a nice bonus for 4 more Armor for example.

Hope this helps

Edit As for Repairs, I repair quite often. That way it is only 100 or 200 Gold each time, sometimes even less. Although last night I was doing some Group Dungeons and they kicked my butt, I died 8 or 9 times, and that repair bill on my L46DK was 1200 Gold, ouch. But my HA Crafter will not have the traits until this after noon to make the crafted set I want that guy in, so I had to pay the money or stop playing him last night. Fortunately, I was farming loot, so the money was there.

Super_Sonico · August 2014

First off, if you're collecting loot like normal, repairing armor is not a money sink. Decon all the armor and weapons you get to advance your crafting skill, except for items with 'ornate' trait. Sell those. Between those and the drops that are only good for selling (foul hides, carapaces, etc.) that should totally cover your repair costs. Repairing is cheap. On the occasion you hit hard bosses and die a bunch and repair gets expensive, sell all your white items. I've never had this not pay for repairs and everything else (like saving for bag and bank space upgrades).

Second, why are you wearing white armor? I didn't need to make a piece of armor until I was close to level 50. Sure, I could have made armor that was better than what was dropping, but everything that was dropping was just fine for advancing through the game. This includes finding multiple epic level pieces of armor, weapons, and jewelry.

Finally, I'm not going to make a set of armor and upgrade it to legendary until I hit VR12. Frankly I won't have enough legendary mats to do it until I get to VR12 (plus some extra work thrown in to refine raw mats and get enough). Again, I'm still finding, even at VR7, that the drops I find are sufficient to get through the game, have plenty to deconstruct for mats and advancing skills, and even enough to sell and make money.

If you're having a hard time finding that balance, I think you're doing something wrong with collecting mats and looting. If repair costs really are a lot for you, get sturdy armor. Try and hone your skills so you take less damage and don't die as often.

Nestor · August 2014

Super_Sonico wrote: »

Finally, I'm not going to make a set of armor and upgrade it to legendary until I hit VR12.

I can make better armor than I can find in most cases. However I never improve anything beyond Blue, usually just Green, that I make. And, with all the Temper Mats I get from Decon and 7 characters worth of Hirelings, making improved Armor is cheap.

However, just like you, I won't make a set of Epic, or even Legendary, until I get to VR10 or VR12.

Super_Sonico · August 2014

Epic is purple

Superior is blue
Legendary is gold
Fine is green
Normal is white.

I have found that if you get a good blue drop weapon, it's worth bumping it up to purple. It can last a good 2-3 levels longer.

Nestor · August 2014

I have never made anything above Blue,so I don't have the colors memorized. I just decon them for Temper Mats when I get them. (Curse of the Crafted Sets). I did think Epic was the Gold though....

See, this is why we should not have two names for the same thing, it confuses us old farts.

Super_Sonico · August 2014

There's only one name

They're just color coded :P

theyancey · August 2014

There is plenty of coin in the game. No need to be afraid of running low. I have all 8 of my slots filled and 6 of those are crafters. One is waiting for the next profession and the other is a mule.

At lvl 40 you are in a spot where you can easily pay to repair something until you decon it. I would not improve anything past blue yet though. My lv l48 temp just added one heavy piece and a ring of the "Unassailable" heavy set to his otherwise light clothing. I bought it green really cheap and improved it to purple. After all I am getting ready for the Minimarco throwdown. Those grieves gives me a big boost to health, armor, and 90 to critical hit protection. Plus having that 2 piece set adds an additional boost to health. After I outgrow it it will be a good decon piece or handed down to an alt.

GreyRanger · August 2014

Thanks for the thoughts guys. I have focused on crafted sets to get the set bonuses, guess I should be taking a closer look at the dropped stuff