How far can low level armor take you?

Lord_Hev · May 2014

Say, I had a full-set of heavy armor all at level 14. How high-level can I survive with it if I kept upgrading it? Let's say I upgraded every piece of it to blue quality. Could it continue to serve me well at level 25 for example?

Azarul · May 2014

For PvE questing, yes. For PvE 4 man as tank, not as much. Why you would do this though I have no idea.

zhevon · May 2014

One bit of warning - the repair costs will get annoying; and if you don't keep it repaired its ability to protect goes down.

reggielee · May 2014

the amt of gold you will have invested in keeping that set would not be worth it. Just don gear from drops while you are lvling to skip the repairs. I only repair nice pieces and then only once or twice before discarding them

pavelcherepanskyrwb17_ESO · May 2014

Lord_Hev wrote: »

Say, I had a full-set of heavy armor all at level 14. How high-level can I survive with it if I kept upgrading it? Let's say I upgraded every piece of it to blue quality. Could it continue to serve me well at level 25 for example?

Why would you do it? Save blue tempers... save all the tempers until you get to Vet levels and you'll need a set of purple and then gold gear.

zhevon wrote: »

One bit of warning - the repair costs will get annoying; and if you don't keep it repaired its ability to protect goes down.

That. Just make yourself a new white/green set every two levels and it should be fine.

Lord_Hev · May 2014

Azarul wrote: »

For PvE questing, yes. For PvE 4 man as tank, not as much. Why you would do this though I have no idea.

pavelcherepanskyrwb17_ESO wrote: »

Why would you do it? Save blue tempers... save all the tempers until you get to Vet levels and you'll need a set of purple and then gold gear.

Because... It's mainly role-play reasons + lack of rare motif materials.

I wanted to start an alt with Daedric armor.(Dunmer Daedric worshiper) Having to constantly create new armor for each level zone would be very Daedra Heart intensive...

bloodenragedb14_ESO · May 2014

i only upgrade my armor so i can use the next level of armor enchants, otherwise id pick my favorite style and keep it.

Lord_Hev · May 2014

I'm curious as to why many of you are citing repair costs... Does your armor take more degradation if the enemies out-level it?

If not, and it degrades as normal... than that's not a problem. I can easily lend a grand or two from my main.

redwoodtreesprite · May 2014

For many, gear decay far exceeds the amount of gold one can get, especially when not doing quests. (I only quest on the weekends with my hubby.)
Until you have a character that can handle a new area well enough to be able to gather enough mats, it is simpler to use lower level gear. When I am running a gal around collecting ore for steel armor, I wear level 14 leather for example. Used to wear level 14 heavy armor, but the bots took that option away...

Phantorang · May 2014

Got no issue at all with repair costs, the income from looting and selling stuff to vendor far exceeds the cost of repairs. I use an addon that does auto repair everytime im visiting a vendor that is able to repair.

But if I could save the gold for repairs, I could do an ability reset instead.

redwoodtreesprite wrote: »

For many, gear decay far exceeds the amount of gold one can get, especially when not doing quests. (I only quest on the weekends with my hubby.)
Until you have a character that can handle a new area well enough to be able to gather enough mats, it is simpler to use lower level gear. When I am running a gal around collecting ore for steel armor, I wear level 14 leather for example. Used to wear level 14 heavy armor, but the bots took that option away...

What did the bots do to take away the option to wear heavy armor?

sevcik.miroslaveb17_ESO · May 2014

If you run around gathering marerials some players could report you as bot. But I think that it is hard to missjudge this. If you are not sure just talk to them.

No reply + waypoint movement = bot.

Vraok · May 2014

I'm a roleplayer myself and here's what I do; I have a set RP-gear I set as 'junk' so I don't accidently sell it. It just rests in my inventory and takes up around 10 slots, but with bag upgrades it's hardly noticable.
Now as leveling gear I just use random drops and equip them, or if I happen to hit a suitable level for the three group-dungeons in the current zone I might craft myself a complete set of gear.
So you just keep your lvl 14 gear for RPing purposes and use leveled drops for PvE.

temjiu · May 2014

Phantorang wrote: »

What did the bots do to take away the option to wear heavy armor?

I think she's referring to the sheer amount of bot's farming ore like it was going out of style. you can literally noticed the increase in available mining nodes (and other farming style nodes) shortly after an in-game Gm ban. however...getting leather involves killing certain mobs, which is far more difficult for a bot to accomplish

Not that a bot can't kill mobs. but farming leather takes certain mob types, and is more labor intensive which means not as efficient for bots to do to make gold.

Lord_Hev · May 2014

Vraok wrote: »

I'm a roleplayer myself and here's what I do; I have a set RP-gear I set as 'junk' so I don't accidently sell it. It just rests in my inventory and takes up around 10 slots, but with bag upgrades it's hardly noticable.
Now as leveling gear I just use random drops and equip them, or if I happen to hit a suitable level for the three group-dungeons in the current zone I might craft myself a complete set of gear.
So you just keep your lvl 14 gear for RPing purposes and use leveled drops for PvE.

That is waaay too much of a stretch, hassle, and inconvenience. I also play 99% in third-person. So looks is priority #1 for me.

pavelcherepanskyrwb17_ESO · May 2014

Lord_Hev wrote: »

Because... It's mainly role-play reasons + lack of rare motif materials.

I wanted to start an alt with Daedric armor.(Dunmer Daedric worshiper) Having to constantly create new armor for each level zone would be very Daedra Heart intensive...

In that case by all means do upgrade your armor constantly. I agree, daedra hearts are a tad more rare than tempers

As for me, I've been using Ashen Grip level 16 set until ~22 and it was green so I see no reason why you wouldn't be able to use blue set until 22-24.

On the other hand, if daedra hearts are so rare, why would you create a daedric armor for a low-level character when you know you'll have to change it regularly?

Lord_Hev wrote: »

Because... It's mainly role-play reasons + lack of rare motif materials.

Roleplay reasons? Huh? Give me a logical lore-friendly reason why level 14 newbie character would be wearing a full set of Daedric armor, which, in all other TES games, was an ultimate, final armor set.

Lord_Hev · May 2014

pavelcherepanskyrwb17_ESO wrote: »

Lord_Hev wrote: »

Because... It's mainly role-play reasons + lack of rare motif materials.

Roleplay reasons? Huh? Give me a logical lore-friendly reason why level 14 newbie character would be wearing a full set of Daedric armor, which, in all other TES games, was an ultimate, final armor set.

Several off the top of my head.

1.) Dunmer are Daedric fanatics. Especially the Ashlanders whom shun the mortal-Gods Tribunal. The Dunmer as a whole are the most Daedrically-attuned society. Daedric paraphernalia is not that uncommon.

2.) Daedric pacts. A warrior from a clan that has served Boethiah's harsh lessons to the bitter end, yields only the best rewards and equipment.

3.) Daedric summoner. Pry the secrets of Daedric forgery and clothing straight out of a summoned Dremora.

4.) Descendant of an obscured Daedric cult. The gear was given to you as an heirloom. You've maintained it since. Either as a direct reward, or given to you by your parents.

5.) You pryed the armor and equipment off a banished Dremora while in Coldharbour, during the riot.

Lord_Hev · May 2014

pavelcherepanskyrwb17_ESO wrote: »

Lord_Hev wrote: »

Because... It's mainly role-play reasons + lack of rare motif materials.

I wanted to start an alt with Daedric armor.(Dunmer Daedric worshiper) Having to constantly create new armor for each level zone would be very Daedra Heart intensive...

In that case by all means do upgrade your armor constantly. I agree, daedra hearts are a tad more rare than tempers As for me, I've been using Ashen Grip level 16 set until ~22 and it was green so I see no reason why you wouldn't be able to use blue set until 22-24.

On the other hand, if daedra hearts are so rare, why would you create a daedric armor for a low-level character when you know you'll have to change it regularly?

Hmmm. I could just give the old equipment to my main for deconstructing... With rank 3 extraction, I should at least get 5-6 of the hearts back... if not all 7!

AlexDougherty · May 2014

Lord_Hev wrote: »

Say, I had a full-set of heavy armor all at level 14. How high-level can I survive with it if I kept upgrading it? Let's say I upgraded every piece of it to blue quality. Could it continue to serve me well at level 25 for example?

Not really, if you enhance it then it could function for you, but function well, as I said not really.

Best saving your Blue tempers until you get to a level of crafting you like (say Ebony/Dwarven) and use them on armour you craft yourself.

pavelcherepanskyrwb17_ESO · May 2014

Lord_Hev wrote: »

pavelcherepanskyrwb17_ESO wrote: »

Lord_Hev wrote: »

Because... It's mainly role-play reasons + lack of rare motif materials.

Roleplay reasons? Huh? Give me a logical lore-friendly reason why level 14 newbie character would be wearing a full set of Daedric armor, which, in all other TES games, was an ultimate, final armor set.

Several off the top of my head.

1.) Dunmer are Daedric fanatics. Especially the Ashlanders whom shun the mortal-Gods Tribunal. The Dunmer as a whole are the most Daedrically-attuned society. Daedric paraphernalia is not that uncommon.

2.) Daedric pacts. A warrior from a clan that has served Boethiah's harsh lessons to the bitter end, yields only the best rewards and equipment.

3.) Daedric summoner. Pry the secrets of Daedric forgery and clothing straight out of a summoned Dremora.

4.) Descendant of an obscured Daedric cult. The gear was given to you as an heirloom. You've maintained it since. Either as a direct reward, or given to you by your parents.

5.) You pryed the armor and equipment off a banished Dremora while in Coldharbour, during the riot.

Wow! Thanks. Makes more sense now

gypsythief · May 2014

Lord_Hev wrote: »

Say, I had a full-set of heavy armor all at level 14. How high-level can I survive with it if I kept upgrading it? Let's say I upgraded every piece of it to blue quality. Could it continue to serve me well at level 25 for example?

Some numbers:

Heavy Cuirass at level 14 (iron) upgraded to blue has 106 armour rating.

A non-upgraded white Cuirass gets 106 armour at level 20.

At level 24, a non-upgraded white Cuirass has 121 armour, leaving you 15 short, or around 10%, which seems quite survivable to me.

For a full set:

          |14 Blue|24 White|
---------------------------|
Cuirass   | 106   | 121    |
Greaves   | 93    | 106    |
Pauldrons | 93    | 106    |
Helm      | 93    | 106    |
Sabatons  | 93    | 106    |
Gauntelets| 53    | 60     |
Girdle    | 39    | 45     |
---------------------------|
Total     | 570   | 650    |
---------------------------|

So you end up 80 armour down; add a Petty Glyph of Decrease Physical Harm (these go on jewelry, so you could have 3):

            | Normal | Fine | Superior
---------------------------------------
Level 10-20 |   40   |  70  |   100

That can get you a potential 300 more armour, leaving you 220 armour up!

So yes, it all looks quite do-able to me!

ArRashid · May 2014

As a light armor pyromancer, I have no need of caring about my armor at all.

I've crafted myself full lvl 4 set, lvl 16 set (first level of tier 2), lvl 26 set (first level of tier 3) and lvl 36 set (first level of tier 4)..
And I had absolutely no need for upgrading... even when taking 10 levels higher armor, I didn't notice any difference at all - just that my magicka and health enchants were a tiny bit better.

I also upgrade staves every 10 levels, because doing so every 2 levels makes me feel no difference in damage while costing a lot of precious upgrade materials.. I rather craft 2 blues every 10 levels than 2 greenies every 2 levels.

Still, as pyro, I have no actual need for that upgrade, I roll over my enemies in about 3 seconds per pack anyway. Capped magicka alone makes skills deal enough damage.

lwerker · May 2014

Thanks for all the comments, I was wondering wether creating a whole new white set every 2 levels in the levels from 10 to 20 was worth the material costs. I guess it only is, when you really want to level your blacksmithing.

ArRashid · May 2014

so to sum it up:
gear is only worth crafting every 5-10 levels when you get access to more powerful glyphs. Everything in between is just wasting resources. Also, gear quality higher than green is a waste for anything but max level gear (VR10, soon to be increased)... unless you are one of THOSE people who have hoarded millions and you can now freely waste gold to feel 1% more powerful per 100k gold spent.

jircris11 · May 2014

As a NB i upgrade my armor every 4-6 lvls, my weapon is every 4 lvls seeing how i use a purple bow and 2 purple daggers. But honestly if you are a tank you might as well upgeade every 2 lvls unless you make purple gear then it will last for every 4 lvls.

ArRashid · May 2014

jircris11 wrote: »

As a NB i upgrade my armor every 4-6 lvls, my weapon is every 4 lvls seeing how i use a purple bow and 2 purple daggers. But honestly if you are a tank you might as well upgeade every 2 lvls unless you make purple gear then it will last for every 4 lvls.

Depends if you're willing to repair your armor (about 2-3k) or spend few hundred thousands to craft new epic set.. As tank you're most likely armor capped anyway, so why bother overcharing for a 0.001% more mitigation?

To put it in different way: I was armor capped on my 5medium2heavy DK with lvl 12 gear till lvl 21. And that was mostly medium armor, with just 100 bonus armor from set bonus. Caps are really absurd.

Lord_Hev · May 2014

gypsythief wrote: »
Lord_Hev wrote: »

Say, I had a full-set of heavy armor all at level 14. How high-level can I survive with it if I kept upgrading it? Let's say I upgraded every piece of it to blue quality. Could it continue to serve me well at level 25 for example?

Some numbers:

Heavy Cuirass at level 14 (iron) upgraded to blue has 106 armour rating.

A non-upgraded white Cuirass gets 106 armour at level 20.

At level 24, a non-upgraded white Cuirass has 121 armour, leaving you 15 short, or around 10%, which seems quite survivable to me.

For a full set:
          |14 Blue|24 White|
---------------------------|
Cuirass   | 106   | 121    |
Greaves   | 93    | 106    |
Pauldrons | 93    | 106    |
Helm      | 93    | 106    |
Sabatons  | 93    | 106    |
Gauntelets| 53    | 60     |
Girdle    | 39    | 45     |
---------------------------|
Total     | 570   | 650    |
---------------------------|
So you end up 80 armour down; add a Petty Glyph of Decrease Physical Harm (these go on jewelry, so you could have 3):
            | Normal | Fine | Superior
---------------------------------------
Level 10-20 |   40   |  70  |   100
That can get you a potential 300 more armour, leaving you 220 armour up!

So yes, it all looks quite do-able to me!

Very nice, was hoping for some detailed info like this. Thank you!

ArRashid wrote: »

As a light armor pyromancer, I have no need of caring about my armor at all.

I've crafted myself full lvl 4 set, lvl 16 set (first level of tier 2), lvl 26 set (first level of tier 3) and lvl 36 set (first level of tier 4)..
And I had absolutely no need for upgrading... even when taking 10 levels higher armor, I didn't notice any difference at all - just that my magicka and health enchants were a tiny bit better.

I also upgrade staves every 10 levels, because doing so every 2 levels makes me feel no difference in damage while costing a lot of precious upgrade materials.. I rather craft 2 blues every 10 levels than 2 greenies every 2 levels.

Still, as pyro, I have no actual need for that upgrade, I roll over my enemies in about 3 seconds per pack anyway. Capped magicka alone makes skills deal enough damage.

Yes, I suspected as much. Every 10 levels seems fine to me as well. I think this is workable. Especially since I can alleviate Daedra heart loss by making sure to send old gear to my main for deconstruction + rank 3 extraction perk.

jircris11 · May 2014

ArRashid wrote: »

jircris11 wrote: »

As a NB i upgrade my armor every 4-6 lvls, my weapon is every 4 lvls seeing how i use a purple bow and 2 purple daggers. But honestly if you are a tank you might as well upgeade every 2 lvls unless you make purple gear then it will last for every 4 lvls.

Depends if you're willing to repair your armor (about 2-3k) or spend few hundred thousands to craft new epic set.. As tank you're most likely armor capped anyway, so why bother overcharing for a 0.001% more mitigation?

To put it in different way: I was armor capped on my 5medium2heavy DK with lvl 12 gear till lvl 21. And that was mostly medium armor, with just 100 bonus armor from set bonus. Caps are really absurd.

as i said as a NB i do not upgrade often. in a lvling spree from say 30-36 i only had to repair once and that was at 34. it cost me 1.2k i made about 7k by then. As a tank you would want the best you can get IF playing in a team. if soloing you can get by with much more and not have to worry if you die. I have a lvl 30 templar and my V5 NB. I have more experience on NB then any other class, thus most of my information is coming from it. and i dont know what you mean by a few hundred thousands.... if your buying the items then yes it would cost to much, i decon everything and i have more then enough to make epics when needed.