Loot is broken.

[Balalaika]

For example Level 11 Epic sword does 26 dmg and can be upgraded 4 times. VS level 12 Legendary sword that does 28 damage FULLY upgraded 5 times. Many such examples including armor. Basic crafted armor is way better than armor you find in chests.

[Riucario~]

Armorpart of your argument is wrong.
Since armor is always the same level for each set its easy to compare.
Mercenary (Melee Armor) is slightly worse than some other melee-based armorpieces, and since there is no actual set-bonus you can mix-n-match them to your liking.
Knight-Gloves (lvl18) are a good example where the same-level "loot"-armor is just straight up better than the crafted one.
Difference between Mercenary and KnightGloves is "only" 9% OneHanded MeleeDamage, but thats still a big bonus.

Of course that all aint the case with every single craftable armor and its comparable loot-found same-level set, but in the end just mix-n-match to get what stats you need.

[Mr_Bloodjack]

That's because legendary items go the "special skill / buff" way.
Epic items have 4 normal buffs + bonus on the basic stat.
Legendary/unique items have 5 special buffs + bonus on the basic stat.

They play differently rather than boring full "hit harder / def better", they have a buff no other "regular" items can have

I may be wrong, still early in the game, but this is how I understood how the devs though about it.

[Clawyer]

I think the problem here is that the damage number shown for an item does not represent additional stats like higher crit damage or crit rate and also, more understandably, omits stats like better defense and resistances. If you only look at "number-go-big" you will probably miss the finer details that might make a legendary weapon good.

[Balalaika]

Originally posted by Mr_Bloodjack:

That's because legendary items go the "special skill / buff" way.
Epic items have 4 normal buffs + bonus on the basic stat.
Legendary/unique items have 5 special buffs + bonus on the basic stat.

They play differently rather than boring full "hit harder / def better", they have a buff no other "regular" items can have

I may be wrong, still early in the game, but this is how I understood how the devs though about it.

Originally posted by Clawyer:

I think the problem here is that the damage number shown for an item does not represent additional stats like higher crit damage or crit rate and also, more understandably, omits stats like better defense and resistances. If you only look at "number-go-big" you will probably miss the finer details that might make a legendary weapon good.

Except they play the same and difference is minuscule. So flat out bigger damage numbers is better.

[Clawyer]

I have a legendary weapon with a lower overall score than the higher level white or blue stuff I have found since, yet the legendary with all its upgrades does way more damage than the blue stuff with a higher number.
As long as that big number you are looking at is not accurate you might want to compare items on a more detailed level.

[zoner_91]

Loot and rarities need to be looked at. Its busted and ive never seen a game handle loot tiers this way before when the item is the same lvl but different rarities. The devs need to fix and implement a fix +1 for every rarity to dmg power number. People need to stop thinking they know how it works when they have no idea. Its un-intuitive and confusing, simple as that. it needs a clear understanding of rarity is better so bigger number. It works like that in every game in existence in the rpg genre.

Maybe it will get fixed until then the best wep in the game is the legendary Shroud weaver staff lvl 30 upgraded to lvl 35 at 62 power with chain lightning lvl 22 spell, a lvl 25 bow with 35 power and 41dmg explosive tip arrows, an a lvl 30 shroud rusty short sword that can drop and be upgraded once to lvl 31 at 56 dmg its uncommon rarity. those are the cream of the crop as of right now hands down no amount of lvl 25 legos with all affixs unlocked will make up the raw dmg they can put out. DEVS need to look at their game and fix it

[Balalaika]

Originally posted by zoner_91:

the best wep in the game is the legendary Shroud weaver staff lvl 30 upgraded to lvl 35 at 62 power with chain lightning lvl 22 spell, a lvl 25 bow with 35 power and 41dmg explosive tip arrows, an a lvl 30 shroud rusty short sword that can drop and be upgraded once to lvl 31 at 56 dmg its uncommon rarity. those are the cream of the crop as of right now hands down no amount of lvl 25 legos with all affixs unlocked will make up the raw dmg they can put out. DEVS need to look at their game and fix it

This right there meme

[Judaspriester]

I already got that "issue" sereval times. The "power" value is just an estimate and doesn't reflect the additional stuff you get via upgrades. a blue lvl 10 bow with 3x mana leeech will end up at the same value than a similar one with 3x added damage on it. still the latter deals more dmg without any question.

for amor, there are fixed sets with fixed attributes and levels so within a level, it's much more a question of which one fits your playstyle, in stead of having one strictly better than another.

Besides that, it's still an EA game. I don't know about you but I don't expect a fully fleshed out and perfectly balanced loot system. Besides that, I think right now there are other priorities than adjusting numbers on the loot tables.