When to upgrade Armour?

[Tanchyon]

Skills and weapons are easy since should always be upgrading them whenever you can. But I can't tell when to start upgrading armour pieces because I regularly find better pieces, leading me to believe upgrading what I have is just going to be a waste for when I find something better?

[HeksevilleHero]

I'd say once you get the Valkyrie armor, you should upgrade, cause you aren't getting anything better until you explore the optional realms

[Insan3]

Originally posted by Goro Majima:

I'd say once you get the Valkyrie armor, you should upgrade, cause you aren't getting anything better until you explore the optional realms

You're putting yourself at an insane disadvantage by waiting that long. Definitely don't do this. Don't worry too much about upgrading because you'll get plenty of resources. If content begins to get difficult then that should be a good time to improve your gear.

[Grimzy]

Originally posted by Tanchyon:

Skills and weapons are easy since should always be upgrading them whenever you can. But I can't tell when to start upgrading armour pieces because I regularly find better pieces, leading me to believe upgrading what I have is just going to be a waste for when I find something better?

The skills you learn they arent always active, they depend on certain stat amounts. If you dont upgrade gear, you will not have enough stat values to use the skills you learn.

[cheetah1546]

honestly i've been upgrading armor often so i can face tougher enemies

[Insan3]

Originally posted by Grimzy:

Originally posted by Tanchyon:

Skills and weapons are easy since should always be upgrading them whenever you can. But I can't tell when to start upgrading armour pieces because I regularly find better pieces, leading me to believe upgrading what I have is just going to be a waste for when I find something better?

The skills you learn they arent always active, they depend on certain stat amounts. If you dont upgrade gear, you will not have enough stat values to use the skills you learn.

This isn't true. The skills you learn are in fact always active. What Grimzy is talking about are the bonus effects for reaching a certain stat threshold.

[HoboCop]

I'd say go for an upgrade if you have more than two times the amount of resources required.

[Tether Me Daddy]

There are some armors in the game that are simply better than what you find in chests, because these get more levels during upgrades, and have more of enchantment slots.
But hoarding materials for upgrading later is a REALLY BAD IDEA.
I strongly recommend crafting the metal armor as soon as its available, then building the ancient armors as soon as you get the necessary materials. It will last you a good amount of time.
Then you can move on to traveler armor, or even the royal dwarven armor.
Or if grinding is your thing, you can farm Niflheim for mist armor set, which is one of the best in New Game.
Remember
1. You can always mix and match equipment, no need to stick to a set
2. your target should be reaching the level thresholds. Gaining levels over enemies make them significantly easier.
3. Enchantments contribute towards your level progress. So, more slots is usually better.

[Lexor]

Originally posted by Tether Me Daddy:

There are some armors in the game that are simply better than what you find in chests, because these get more levels during upgrades, and have more of enchantment slots.
But hoarding materials for upgrading later is a REALLY BAD IDEA.

Great! Just one addition:

This is what I understood until now. Better / later armors are normally requiring different materials than worse / earlier armors. So there is no reason to save the resources, because you won't need those materials later anymore.

Most high end armors need special materials you can only use for those armors. So you will never be in a situation where you can't craft the armor of your dreams, because you have crafted to many crap armors resp. wasted resources earlier on.

[Diomedes]

Its safe bet to upgrade unique armors (like Tyr's, Dwarven, any legendary, or Wanderer's armor)..
If you're struggling early on, absolutely upgrade your preferred armor until you find those... The resources required to common armors is cheap and will not impede your progress in upgrading those armors.
Furthermore, unless you're playing at the highest difficulty, armors like Tyr's you can easily complete the game with.