Gear Progression - Could use some Information

[Foxglovez]

Starting the Gloom, got the upgraded upgrade bench, took my gear from Green (76ishGS) to Blue (126ish GS). Am still in my old patched pink harpy trapper set. It's nicely tarted out with charms, etc. but now I'm getting the itch for new stuff but don't want to waste my time or any mats that I might otherwise wish I had saved a bit longer.

Since this is a linear game there must be better benches coming up at some point but I can see piles of potential sets and even could make a slightly better looking one but the GS was no improvement when I tested it on my current bench. I also read threads where there is at least a vault or maybe more I could enter with this old raggedy equipment but have no idea how that works. I can't seem to make the items to help Bly, the charm oil one in particular (I might have nuked a bishop and bugged it).

Anyway, just feel kind of at sea here. Do I just carry on with Gloom, finish the quest with all the mats to get him and things will open up? Is my gear score adequate for where I am (old MMO min/max urges so this is important to me)? Fights are no real problem. Think I've died twice on this toon but just normal lvl. The whole gear thing just seems odd. Is gear really just skins stuck on top of stats built using the mats available? It doesn't feel like what we wear visually at this point means much other than fashion but it's almost all locked anyway. Am I overthinking all this? Help me Rhonda.

Thanks for any feedback from you that have blazed the path. Am looking for opinions here probably as much as anything.

[muchdebate]

I wish I had advice...I have the cards through Herbarium but am slowly working through the various levels/biomes (gate-palooza near my house).

I'm mostly in simple gear (finally got some of the NTTC patterns by running "ahead") and souped up my axe and pick - yes I have a shotgun and revolver (copper for range bonus), but there is nothing as reliable as a souped up axe with a "lightning" (whatever it's called) charm on it for now.

I do wish you luck.

[DixieFlatline]

Until you arrive at the watch, your maximum tool level will 134. (refined blue bronze tools with 2 enchantments and 2 infusions).

Once you arrive there, you will get access to purple upgrades.
After arriving at the watch, you will get recipes for ornate tools as a quest reward.

The vaults at the watch are lvl 100, so you will be fine with your 100+ gear to run them to get your first T3 essences.
T3 essences can also be gained from ascended realms. Their level depends on your difficulty settings. Extreme ascended realms are 220. hard ones I think 160 or 180. Anyway, you can see the realm level when you open a portal.

To make a tool with lvl 200+, you need ornate recipes, upgrade it to purple, put 3 enchants on it and three infusions (green and blue give 2 levels, purple get you 4 levels. I can't remember if you need purple infusions to break lvl 200.

You definitely need T4 materials, 3 enchants and 3 infusions (I think two of them purple) to make lvl 230 ornate tools. These will harvest T5 resource nodes.

Bottom line: You just crossed a big hump by finishing the gloom site and getting access to the second upgrade table to make blue gear.

Now you sail to the watch, serious gear upgrades are there.

You can min/max some armour items earlier from recipes sold by the realm traders, but thats mostly about materials and looks.

Hope that helps, safe travels in the realms.

[Foxglovez]

Cool beans, yeah my gear is gud enuf at this point, am starting to get the greeeen ores, so I will just keep on keepin on then. Thanks for the tips.

[william_es]

I really wouldn't sweat anything until you get past the watch and move onto the "ascended" realms. You will begin getting access to the 3rd tier crafting stations, called "excellent". Also, in the watch apex vaults and in the ascended realms you will start to get tier 3 hide, meat, bone and up to tier 5 for wood and fiber. Also higher grade rarer metals.

Once you get the excellent upgrade bench, you can start to boost gear to epic (purple) level. Tier 5 wood and metals will require a pickaxe or axe with at least GS 230. Which you can't reach without the excellent upgrade station, higher grade tiers of tools, and many infusions.

So, in short, you have more hurdles in front of you. I would get comfortable at the "blue" level of upgrade, start experimenting with the "refined" clothing and other recipes you unlock.

Also, when you reach the watch, you get a present a full length great coat that's purple level epic with some really nice resistance to environmental debuffs, weather, and damages. It also covers you from throat to wrist to ankle. So the only thing people will see are hat, shoes and gloves. You will see all the new arrivals at the watch wearing the same exact coat.

Also, at the watch central hub is where you have a chance to start buying the plans for the highest grade tools, either "Mystic" or "Dauntless". And you can purchase the highest tiers of clothing, which are basically Druidic and Hermetic.

Mystic and dauntless aren't just cosmetic differences, they actually have different stats. Dauntless is more geared towards melee, and Mystic has higher magic rating. You can create hybrids sort of, like making a "dauntless" weapon, but with metals that boost magic. and vice versa.

You will also receive a series of unlocks for calcularian and explorer clothing. There's a 3rd set, it's name is escaping me right now. These are all one tier below druidic or hermetic.

[Freedekogge]

Ok, here´s a related question from a beginner (~20 hours into the game). I got everything the trader sells in the Antiquarian Forest and am now starting Antiquarian Swamp. Haven´t done desert after the tutorial.

So, I upgraded some of my weapons / clothes and put infusions on some of them. I wonder if it´s worth it doing this with all my stuff... or will better items come soon, so I´d better save up my T1 Essences? fwiw, I´m doing the Antiquarian Swamp on "hard" with a Treasury Minor Card (or whatever it´s name was, the one that gets you more essence), and I´m doing fine and I have almost 400 T1 Essence.

[Dagmar]

Originally posted by Freedekogge:

Ok, here´s a related question from a beginner (~20 hours into the game). I got everything the trader sells in the Antiquarian Forest and am now starting Antiquarian Swamp. Haven´t done desert after the tutorial.

So, I upgraded some of my weapons / clothes and put infusions on some of them. I wonder if it´s worth it doing this with all my stuff... or will better items come soon, so I´d better save up my T1 Essences? fwiw, I´m doing the Antiquarian Swamp on "hard" with a Treasury Minor Card (or whatever it´s name was, the one that gets you more essence), and I´m doing fine and I have almost 400 T1 Essence.

While you're working a tier, you'll have ample essences. Clear most (>80%) of the POIs on the map (and don't skip a biome) and you'll have more than enough essence for upgrades. At T1 usually you can pick up enough essence clearing the POIs that you can clean out each essence trader on your first visit to a realm--and that's on normal mode.

[Foxglovez]

My way was to clean out the POIs and THEN go to the trader n never miss the fae portal, lots of essence there. Be watching everywhere for little wisps to open as they give you the items you would otherwise buy. My first biome or two I threw all my essence at the trader and was pinched for upgrades. Saw the error in my ways, rerolled toon and spent almost no essence which was a win win. So it depends on your playstyle or a mix of the two. I thought it was great fun to get stuff for free as much as I could. Take your time, really explore biomes and pick up everything interesting. This is a grand game for hoarders.

You also want to be sure to hit all the traders, at least one per realm but sometimes more. There is a list in the glossary that shows all and what they carry if you are really curious. The game actually has a lot of information to help you but it is very poorly and unintuitively set out. You kind of need to figure out how they set it up to make it useful for you. Or maybe I'm just dense...

[Foxglovez]

Originally posted by william_es:

I really wouldn't sweat anything until you get past the watch and move onto the "ascended" realms. You will begin getting access to the 3rd tier crafting stations, called "excellent". Also, in the watch apex vaults and in the ascended realms you will start to get tier 3 hide, meat, bone and up to tier 5 for wood and fiber. Also higher grade rarer metals.

Once you get the excellent upgrade bench, you can start to boost gear to epic (purple) level. Tier 5 wood and metals will require a pickaxe or axe with at least GS 230. Which you can't reach without the excellent upgrade station, higher grade tiers of tools, and many infusions.

So, in short, you have more hurdles in front of you. I would get comfortable at the "blue" level of upgrade, start experimenting with the "refined" clothing and other recipes you unlock.

Also, when you reach the watch, you get a present a full length great coat that's purple level epic with some really nice resistance to environmental debuffs, weather, and damages. It also covers you from throat to wrist to ankle. So the only thing people will see are hat, shoes and gloves. You will see all the new arrivals at the watch wearing the same exact coat.

Also, at the watch central hub is where you have a chance to start buying the plans for the highest grade tools, either "Mystic" or "Dauntless". And you can purchase the highest tiers of clothing, which are basically Druidic and Hermetic.

Mystic and dauntless aren't just cosmetic differences, they actually have different stats. Dauntless is more geared towards melee, and Mystic has higher magic rating. You can create hybrids sort of, like making a "dauntless" weapon, but with metals that boost magic. and vice versa.

You will also receive a series of unlocks for calcularian and explorer clothing. There's a 3rd set, it's name is escaping me right now. These are all one tier below druidic or hermetic.

So no new benches till after the Watch. Interesting. Thanks for all the tips.