The new armors/"class sets"

[Nirain]

So i know it's still in development, stuffs still being fine tuned. I feel like the new armor set, not only slows or removes armor progression since you can get any pieces at any level randomly; Plant > leather > combat > iron > steel being the old leveled standard. Sticking with combat for stealth builds heavy for everything else, this new set system makes progression feel removed.

I'm willing to accept i'm wrong in thinking this, but i feel like the new armor sets try to fix a problem that wasn't there by completely muddying their until now armor system. Theres now 15 armor sets, 4 of which are simply put this on if your currently farming/mineing/cutting down trees/or breaking down cars. I don't like that system but it's fine i get it, I honestly feel like all of these armors should be "classes" and not armor sets i swap on and off. that way in multiplayer you have a guy who does mining/lumber/scaving and so on.

I also feel like the set bonus' are just not worth using a whole set. For instance I love a good bat build or even a sledge hammer build, before 1.0 i'd throw on heavy armor and forget about it. But now with all these sets you can build for a specific weapon/play style, which i do like but almost all the parts are better mixed rather than matched. There's almost no set bonus that i'm like "oh ok i'd rather use full Biker because it's all these melee effects" if in reality i'm choosing a worse option by choosing the set bonus.

I'd love the idea of a melee build getting better melee benefits of using medium armor over heavy, just have the biker be full melee. Making me consider going more damage over tankiness maybe the set bonus being something like faster swing speed, not like %more damage (damage is fine per hit) but some kind of bonus where i'm like OK yes i'm choosing medium over heavy because biker gets this cool ass thing.

Another example unless i'm understanding this wrong, if your using guns pretty much your best bet for gloves is preachers, does 60% more damage to zeds while it's equiped at tier 6 these gloves aren't even technically armor as in perks don't effect them. That + the assassin hood t6 is 60% sneak damage, so as long as your attacking a zed you'd do 120% more damage in sneak. I'm sure the math is calculated in game different but flat numbers in this example. Now the assassin outfit set honestly one of the few set bonus' id consider worth having if your going stealth, that makes sense to me your giving up damage for the ability to hide in combat.

Hate to keep harping on the biker set but it's honestly the best example of what i'm talking about, Biker set gloves do more melee damage, shoes reduce stam cost of melee other two parts add a bit of tankiness dope sounds good. Why would i run that full set which at t6 is +6 armor and -20% fuel useage on bikes. when i know i'm just gonna replace the bike with the car when i get it. Where as the raider set, pure tankiness with 100% stun resist vs the 20 of biker the same stats on melee as the biker gloves with a set bonus of 45% ignoring crits. Out of the two raider is just the better option and i think that's a shame.

I feel like if i have the same odds to pick up a biker helmet as i do to pick up a raider helmet and the sense of material progression plant > leather > combat > iron > steel is completely gone then make me want to choose something over just always rocking heavy with a melee build. I feel like these 15 sets added excluding the 4 gathering sets, there's 4/11 MAYBE 5 if you count full preacher that are worth actually collecting and wearing full sets of.

That being said the models and textures on the parts are ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ dope. i do wish we could equip some "cosmetically" i love the priest hat, but you can't even dye armor parts yet so i assume stuffs still in work there.

Some examples of reworks i think might be good all of these at t6.
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Nomad currently great heavy set for all round tankiness/exploring. More damage to rad zombies(great for later game stages) +run speed +backpack - to food/water. Great set, even the set bonus is decent increase stam regen.
How about making the set more thematic. All the same base stats, set bonus "while not sheltered (nomadic) Gain 30% regen, 20% damage, 10% movement speed." so anytime out in the open without a roof over your head your buffed. Thematically and literally matches the name, maybe even make it 10% less likely to be cold or hot as well while unsheltered (the small house icon that shows up inside houses)
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Commando set bonus currently recovery item speed IE that circle when you loot stuff's duration. That's fine but i feel like you're hindering yourself running those gloves, i don't think the gloves should be buffed. But the set bonus could be "item recovery speed, chance to find more ammo, reload speed."
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Ranger a set i've found to be extremely lack luster, could be improved "rev/bow/lever reloadspeed, every 3rd rev/lever/bow hit bullet/arrow does 3x damage (similar to bat)" this way gives bows more of a use then JUST stealth
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Raider i feel like the 45% crit resist set bonus is too strong on a full tank set, "Crit resist 20% max, does more damage non-zed IE animals players blocks. +40% (idk something like 40)" Like a raider breaking through a wall or killing and looting a person or slaughtering animals.
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Biker, changed to brawler(that way keeps the biker theme) give the fuel useage to scaver and remove the "bike only" "+6 armor (that's fine i don't think it makes much of a difference but it's fine) More of a knockback chance, maybe melee stuns last longer, 20% faster swing speed" that way works for all melee builds fists/hammers/spears and so on, and feels like a reason to use it.
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Nerd Armor, it's fine i get it. something you equip low level until it's more or less useless.
I think the only reason "too" equip it would be baton damage long term but i'm pretty sure baton builds count as melee damage either way so even that seems meh. New set bonus maybe just embrace the this is a set to use if you want level up. "building/scaving/gathering XP is increased by 30%, weapon and tool degredation lowered 35%"

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Assassin perfect i think it does what one would expect it too, i think it's a great replacement over the whole gillie system of pre 1.0.
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I don't consider the light armor worth it, the only real decent "non-farming set" is preacher the other non farming sets i feel are either really lacking a purpose as those bonus' do not make going low/no armor in a zombie horde game worth it. At least preacher has a bit of tankiness.