Downgrade to Success!

[Kitty Kat]

Lately, I'd been struggling to push my main character (Bounty Hunter CL 1000) through TL104 and into the magical realm of TL105. So when the current ANB went active, I thought it a relief to drain my frustration through it. During the ANB, one of the bad guys passed a Legendary Lvl 55 BoM for heatseekers. I thought about salvaging it. When my run was over, I received it in my mailbox and thought to replace my Epic Lvl 72 with it, and try again. Boohyah! Success on the first attempt. Why? How? I don't know...I'm still trying to figure out that if money doesn't grow on trees, then why do banks have branches?... Anyway, here's the comparison:



then I added a Brilliant Topaz -


I'm starting to think that my path to success in this game, will be paved with greater achievement stones, simply by applying current US gov principals to the game...

[WarriorSeven]

That's really not a "downgrade". On the surface, just comparing the armor ratings the Epic is superior.

But another simple way to visually inspect 2 competing items' impact on overall stats is to swap it out with its alternate while your champ is displayed on screen left and your inventory (with the 2 items) is on the right, then note the green/red contributions/detraction values each swap has on your toon's overall Damage, Toughness, and Recovery. The one with "more" positive (green) value is "better" overall.

[Kitty Kat]

That's really not a "downgrade". On the surface, just comparing the armor ratings the Epic is superior.

But another simple way to visually inspect 2 competing items' impact on overall stats is to swap it out with its alternate while your champ is displayed on screen left and your inventory (with the 2 items) is on the right, then note the green/red contributions/detraction values each swap has on your toon's overall Damage, Toughness, and Recovery. The one with "more" positive (green) value is "better" overall.

Ahh, but therein lies the rub. If I make a comparison in inventory while the character is in battle-rattle, the "equip to gain" (here hencewith known as ETG) ratings vary. So to get a more realistic value, I strip the character of the like item and get to compare them in their "natural state". Of course, I am probably making a horrible mistake by making such assumptions. Another thing I notice is that armor works in conjunction with ETG, not apart from it. High armor (to this Eternium virgin mind) generally means lower damage value, and vice versa. Note that the Epic 72 has ~60 more armor, but heatseeker is greater by 3% and ETG are comparable in the Legendary 55. The addition of the brilliant Topaz puts it slightly over the edge. Slightly off topic, if a value could be assigned to each attribute on a given item, then a simple math formula could be developed to determine the actual value of one item over another. But...these are just the ramblings of a Rank - Amateur, so I defer to the knowledge and experiences of the lords of eternium.

[Kitty Kat]

Here is the comparison with battle dress:
Epic 72 BoM


Here with Legendary 55 no jewel:


and same Legendary with jewel -


You're right; on the face of it the Epic is superior in armor, but the trade-off in armor and a little recovery for the increase in CR and damage, put this character, without doubt, over the edge in TL104 and TL105. It also taught me that I MUST somehow figure out how to increase my firepower if I'm going to advance much further. I finished TL 105 with just under 2mins to spare

[WarriorSeven]

Not sure of your "ETG" strategy delivering more realistic data. If you strip the character down to nakedness, you miss out on the benefits/negatives of equipment interactions with remaining overall build at the time of employing the gear. Unless you're at L77 on the piece, the assumption is you'll want to invest in future improvements anyway, so I'd be most interested in what the piece can do for me and my current build now, if anything.

At this point in the game, I'm not one to get down into the weeds with the individual stats and complicated formulae. It's not worth my time at my level and experience (in fact, it may never be -- it remains a hobby to those fierce competitors that love and need to do it). Those top level Damage, Toughness, and Recovery stats for a blended snapshot/look-see are good enough for me when making quick and easy comparisons on gear.

In addition, let's say on a different gear, arm guards for example, there may be a time when Damage is more important to me than Tougness and/or Recovery, easily discovered with the simple swap out. But in the case where I find that both Toughness and Recovery stats together simply overwhelm the Damage stat, I often defer to the better contributions and select the piece, waiting for another day when one with "better" Damage comes along, either by a very lucky drop or by crafting. At the end of the day, I found an item that provides overall improvement to my build. Yay!

Regarding the armor discussion, the bracer in question is a defensive item, even with offensive stats. So the key comparative is the armor stat as a first guess. Best guess? No. No argument here on what further complicates the decision -- like all the other stats as well as the impact of Legendary vs Epic. That's why I would do the simple swap out.

No worries here, If you find you have a method that works for you, go for it and promote it!

[Kitty Kat]

Thanks, Warrior. I learned a few things from that productive exchange ! I'll take your advice and "plug n play" away - fall down seven times, get up eight...hehe! I hope this little post helps others, too. Btw, I'm not Japanese either, but a long time ago I spent a few years on one of their islands and love the country and people.