Break down armor

[Jet]

Is it possible? I have armor that is no longer useful stat wise. But is it possible to take the effects from them like hunstman+1, or Strength. status effect chances etc? Maybe in the form of runes? Im still in fort joy so just wondering if I should just sell them instead. If I cant take their stat bonuses then there really is better alternative use for it is there?

I also read that crafting armor/weapons yourself is weak.

[Lem]

The crafting overhaul mod allows you to salvage gear (and monster corpses), breaking into parts, that can be used to craft new armor and weapons. You can customize it to some degree stat-wise, but not as far as you're hoping. I've mostly just used it for armor dyes because I just don't have the patience to sit down and wrangle the weird variety of crafting components. I suspect if you got heavily involved with the mod, it probably unbalances things a bit, but the few pieces I did craft weren't any better than stuff I was finding. They weren't worse though, so it's probably worthwhile if you need to fill a specific slot and have no luck with merchants.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1139958448

There is another mod allowing you to upgrade gear to your level. It only scales the armor values though, so you're stuck with lower level stats. Additionally, the cost of an upgrade is usually more than buying a new armor piece and you aren't getting to resell old gear to offset the cost. Those two points make it fairly balanced I think. I've used it on some unique and divine items I haven't found great upgrades for. You'll still want to move up to newer gear eventually to get better stat bonuses, with the exception being some uniques. I have an Amulet of the Deep (stun resist amulet) upgraded from like lv 4 to 20. The stats suck, but... friggin stun resist! Great for some fights. I suppose I could buff with potions... but meh... I don't like wrangling consumables either. It's especially useful if you want to keep a certain weapon aesthetic (like using 2H swords only and not axes, maxes, ect) which limits your choices.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1351113887

Really though, there aren't that many stats in the game. If you keep an eye on the merchant, you should be able to find the stats you need... maybe not on the specific piece you want it... but if you add more strength and huntsman on your boots, you could afford to lose it on your gloves to keep your armor values up to date. Keeping your armor up is very important, even moreso than having the right stat bonuses IMO. More strength isn't going to be useful if you lose a turn to knockdown. I think there is a mod to shuffle merchant inventories quickly if you're reaaaaly bugged about not having perfect gear.