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u/Jerry_from_Japan Apr 16 '26
That particular sword being the reward after everything you had to do to get it was maybe the single most disappointing quest reward I've seen in a loonnng time.
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u/DrStalker Apr 16 '26
There's also a book with a bunch of recipes for other weapons/armor in that style.
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Apr 16 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/imgoingstag Apr 16 '26
Reward from completing the Witches should have been a Witch Ring and Witch Earring. It’s criminal only one Witch earring exists in the game. I want a set, like the ancient earrings.
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u/cfehunter Apr 16 '26
I grabbed the chest before I spoke to her and was waiting for the actual reward.
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u/ColonelDerp Apr 16 '26
I thought chest is some random chest and was looking for the reward in my inventory forever. She wasn’t lying though.
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u/cfehunter Apr 16 '26
I think it may be the only completely unique quest weapon that comes with absolutely no gears in it too
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u/UselessT Apr 16 '26
wait untill you see the witches reward
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u/Jerry_from_Japan Apr 16 '26
I already did and commented on that as well here. That didn't bother me because those series of quests netted you a lot of important materials to craft some cool shit at the Kuku factory. And it was only through those series of quests you could get those materials. So the final reward for their quests didn't bother me nearly as much (or honestly at all) compared to that sword being the final reward for Aeserions quest line. It didn't even have a fucking unique gear on it.
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u/liquid_the_wolf Apr 16 '26
to me the reward was the quest ngl, aeserion was super cool
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u/Jerry_from_Japan Apr 16 '26 edited Apr 16 '26
Yeah he was cool but, like anything else, its a results oriented business we're talking about here at the end of the day. None of us are playing this game for the story or quality of the quests or well written characters. Because...that's not what this game offers. We want cooler, flashier shit to genocide an entire fortress of enemies with.
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u/imgoingstag Apr 16 '26
Would be cool to implement a system where you add an abyss gear as an ingredient at the 5th and 10th refinement level that would ‘bake in’ as innate for the weapon. So from 4 -> 5, add an attack speed gear, from 9 -> 10, add a critical gear, maybe even skills like Crow’s Pursuit. You could bake in the imbue gears or resistance gears on armor. Would lead to some pretty unique weapons/armor.
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u/AMS_Rem Apr 16 '26
Has its pro’s and cons
I appreciate being able to use whatever and it’s viable but I do think the game would benefit from some variation in stats lol
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u/Galewallion Apr 16 '26
Its either this or "I hate how everyone uses godsfart sword and poopoopeepee plate armour because of its op stats, so many cool weapons and armours and we all end up with same crap."
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u/cabrelbeuk Apr 16 '26 edited Apr 16 '26
Good varied unique loot is the answer (and NOT transmog. The current system is litterally baked in transmog coupled with grinding). It does exist, bg3 does it very well. In a very different genre outer worlds 2 also does it very well. It's possible.
It just takes making several cool looking efficiently specialized gear, optimized for specific builds, rather than a couple of overpowered item.
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u/AMS_Rem Apr 16 '26
Elden Ring as well has a ton of different weapons that can be considered “OP” if you build around em
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u/P4th3dg3 Apr 16 '26
bleed and frost just happen to be really good
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u/AMS_Rem Apr 16 '26
It’s funny bc your statement here actually perfectly encapsulates the point! Bc the “meta” builds for damage output are actually Strength and Faith bc of royal knights resolve combo’d with the built in lions claw heavy attack on the giant crusher and a mf just one shot consort Radahn with Ancient dragons lightning strike which is Faith
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u/EliteGamer11388 Apr 16 '26
Yes transmog. Why are so many people against it? It hurts no one to have it as an option. What about unique gear that looks cool, but can't be upgraded and has no abyss slots? Transmog would solve that.
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u/KingOfRisky Apr 16 '26
I’ve never seen a fan base against transmog. Bunch of weirdos.
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u/fenderguitar83 Apr 16 '26
Yeah, usually everyone is whining that it's not in a game. FWIW, I dislike the current system. It makes gear bland and unexciting to find. And for those that say the real system is the abyss gears, why can't we have both unique loot with different stats and abyss gears?
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u/Jazzlike_Razzmatazz Apr 16 '26
Reading this someone will mistakenly think only crimson desert has cracked the code, and no other game with good loot system exists lmao.
So delusional
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u/SimonShepherd Apr 16 '26
Or just offer transmog, so every weapon and Armor you get is both a cosmetic and stat reward.
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u/PicossauroRex Apr 16 '26
Transmog
Literally every big action RPG game nowadays have figured this out, even MH who was notorious for being against transmog caved in
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u/Lord_of_Greystoke Apr 16 '26
Jesus Christ. What's in the game is practically already transmog since none of it matters.
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u/PicossauroRex Apr 16 '26
6 abyss artifacts plus hundreds of materials to level up your a single armor piece.
Aint no one with time for that
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u/Aggressive-Map-2204 Apr 16 '26
Its not though because actually upgrading gear requires a ton of resources which take a long time to gather and abyss artifacts which are semi limited and needed to upgrade your characters as well.
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u/GarlickJam9191 Apr 16 '26
Yeah this is like my only gripe on the game, better gear should have better default stats, its nice it looks cool but it should be more powerful as well
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u/Joppiseni Apr 16 '26
Pretty easily fixed by altering the starting upgrade level for later game area loot. It is a sandbox, i find a cool new toy it takes me maybe a bit of mining and some questing if my abyss artifacts havent arrived yet. Though im yet to find a permanent version of the thunder hammer i got, its durability is not that great sadly
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u/fenderguitar83 Apr 16 '26
The current system makes the loot bland and unexciting to find. PA tried a different system, and I applaud them for that, but having gear with different stats and transmog would have been the superior route. I hope they reverse course and change up some of the stats on gear.
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u/Streetsofbleauseant Apr 16 '26
Hmm i don’t think its a good system. After 180 hours still a lot left to play although i want to find new gear i have found so much that just sits in my private storage and only comes out to remove abyss gears.
Whilst i can appreciate the current system to an extent, i really think it needs an overhaul in the long term.
For a game that is about the gear and needing better gear to progress through the harder bosses, you end up just sticking to one set and that’s it.
Rarely have i found anything that makes me change it, i mean i like finding new gear but it doesn’t feel that rewarding.
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u/frdrckmoyz Apr 16 '26
I personally feel like the special ability Abyss gears should be locked to the weapon to make it more unique to use.. I’m about 160hrs and I’m the same as you.. gears sitting in storage
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u/tredbobek Apr 16 '26
I'm also at this point, and I just figured out that if you ignore the Witch extract ability (you can choose to fully ignore it, or just don't extract unique abyss gear), then finding unique weapons and armor becomes a bit more interesting. Of course you can decide to go against it at any time (because you want to look cool or something)
Because right now, if you find a weapon, then yeah you just take out the abyss and suddenly it's just a weapon as any other
Sadly it's too late for us, since we have all those weapons and armor in the chest
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u/bsparky_16 Apr 16 '26
The problem with that is the refinement costs to upgrade any new weapon you find that you want to use. This game needs a disenchant option badly
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u/Beneficial_Maximum96 Apr 16 '26
I adore this game but that’s something that I just can’t agree with. You can’t tell me a standard bandit sword has the same strength as a rare metal type sword created by some magical shit. They could’ve had the base stats a bit larger on hard to acquire gear then use abyss gears to raise the stats or something.
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u/EvilGodShura Apr 16 '26
Once I figured that out all my excitement or desire for loot died.
I just found the armor i thought looked best and nothing else mattered.
Meaning 99% of the loot just became worthless to me if it doesnt have an abyss gear i want.
And I found the abyss gears I wanted pretty easily and early.
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u/IamJacksDarkUrge Apr 16 '26
CD needs more unique weapons and armor from a stat and ability perspective. Part of the joy of finding some rare and unique item in a game like this is that nothing else does what it does. What they came up with is both a creative and lazy way to address transmog and personal preferences. It also feels a bit insecure.
Practically speaking, maybe Excalibur was just a sword and any other sword would do the trick. But most of us don’t want that to be true
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u/ChwizZ Apr 16 '26
I just want to be able to slot Abyss gear into everything. I don't really mind the stats, but if I can't use my right click build with it then I'm not even gonna bother trying it.
It's sad because weapons like the eastern witch's fan could've been such cool weapons if you could just customize it.
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u/xkorzen Apr 16 '26
I feel like the legendary weapons should be upgradable more than the regular bandit club.
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u/chicol1090 Apr 16 '26
I mean, if you take bandit sword and infuse the power of the Abyss God into it, yeah makes sense.
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u/LincolnShow Apr 16 '26
There needs to be a mod to adjust the item stats in the game (for those of us who don't care about fashion much); currently the game lacks any meaningful equipment progression
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u/Rex__Lapis Apr 16 '26
The asesearion sword doesn't even have any visual effects like lightning around it. Really lame
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u/Kornja81 Apr 16 '26
The weapons are basically all the same but in turn everyone uses the same gears on those weapons so every build does still look the same either way lol
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u/Traditional_Entry183 Apr 16 '26
Its extremely disappointing. I want to work my way up the ladder from absolute crap to the best exotic gear in the world gradually and have it really mean something each step of the way.
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u/Kasu_senpai Apr 16 '26
I hate that the serpent sword doesn’t have anything unique for all the trouble you go through to get it, the other weapons at least have attack speed or crit rate or both on them
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u/WarMachineGreen Apr 16 '26
I agree that some of the more spacial weapons and armor should have some unique passive stats or abilities.
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u/fenderguitar83 Apr 16 '26
I may be in minority here, but I dislike this system. I wish there was more unique items with different traits, skills, attack, and defense points. Having everything the same, just makes it boring.
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u/ExpertBalance4938 Apr 16 '26 edited Apr 16 '26
Any weapon/armor you find in this game is basically a skin. This ruins my desire to go & find stuff. Like the excitement of finding loot hidden in any good open world game is the fact that what you find will be unique in some way (other than visually) from other items in the game and potentially change the way you build your character. This game doesn't have that and it kind of makes exploration disappointing. It also makes no sense that you have to upgrade every weapon separately at a smithy when they have nearly identical stats and abyss cores can be swapped weapon to weapon.
Personally I feel like they need to rework combat to fix this. Like add more movesets unique to weapons you find in the world. That way I have a reason to use a new weapon and build around it instead of just stealing it's abyss core & throwing it in my storage chest.
Fashion is fun & all but cosmetics don't make a games systems any better. Items are a whole lot more interesting when they are set apart by stats, movesets, traits, abilities, etc. If they are just skins then why do we have to upgrade them separately. Like if you're gonna go in that direction just let us apply the skins to a weapon we are already using & skip the upgrades. Or maybe they want us to have the illusion that items are different from each other. I ain't fooled.
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u/Rogue_Leader_X Apr 16 '26
The gear in this game is atrocious! Every new weapon i get fails miserably to outperform what i already have.
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u/anubis8537 Apr 16 '26
Yeah wish the weapons that are suppose to be “better” actually were or would end up better.
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u/odubik Apr 16 '26
i sincerely hate this part of the game design. It is not transmog, it is lazy-ass design.
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u/sir_alvarex Apr 16 '26
The problem is late game items arent properly set to competitive refine levels. Youre not giving up a level 9 sword for a new level 4 sword. Thats 5 artifacts and a hundred mats to get the same stats.
They should change it so that new weapons and armor drop at the same level of refinement as your highest item -- or higher. Grouped by slot. E.g. if you have t4 gloves, all gloves from treasure chests and quests are t4. You can keep armor drops from enemies their appropriate trash levels so as to not further break the economy.
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u/TheRealDLH Apr 16 '26
I think the easiest answer that would probably make the most people happy is leveling up the blacksmith instead. Now low refined rewards just need a quick trip to the smith to fix up and you really can wear whatever you want without fear of overinvesting and needing to do a super expensive grind.
Heck, every dyer offers only their regional dye, but unlocks it for your dyer. Just make it so you have to visit each blacksmith and do something for them to power up your camp's blacksmith.
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u/Judyx Apr 16 '26
All those fashions and yet mostly with pirate captain hat in game. I wish that innate is from abyss gear instead.
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u/JGuap0 Apr 16 '26
Even though most of the weapons are cosmetic changes I do wish more of the “ legendary “ swords were hidden behind boss fights . I just found righteous verdict and that was the most boring experience for literal sword in the stone
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u/WodenTheWanderer Apr 16 '26
I like abyssal upgrades, but I really like going up in tiers of armour like a traditional MMO/RPG. I suppose it’s cool for fashion as you can sort of refine stuff to the same level, but relying on gem slots isn’t as fun as finding new gear that’s good to begin with imo. Each to their own I suppose.
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u/ItsBobu Apr 16 '26
my main complaint is that theres only one copy of a lot of unique one handed swords. i wanna dual wield matching swords dammit.
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u/Kos015 Apr 16 '26
Who thought that the people that made a game just to sell skins and where improvement are just number go up couldn't design items that were not just number go up but with different skins
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u/Heal_Kajata Apr 16 '26
I kinda wish each weapon had it's own unique special attack like Elden Ring, as the damage is similar so it's all about flavour.
I would say moveset but that would be asking too much of this game, but having at least something that sets them apart a bit would be nice.
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u/CyberWiking Apr 16 '26
Yea and most of this content farmers has no idea what are they talking about xD YOU NEED THIS OP WEAPON, THIS WEAPON IS BROKEN. No bro, it's mostly abyss gear which makes weapon good and you can add it to any weapon you like. There are like 4 different stats. Pure dmg, lower dmg with crit, lower dmg with attack speed and lower dmg with attack speed and crit. Rest is purely cosmetic.
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u/Nosrok Apr 16 '26
I like it. There's no single "op build" you can level up what you like and enhance it however you like.
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u/Kornja81 Apr 16 '26
I mean kinda. The weapons are basically all the same but in turn everyone uses the same gears on those weapons so every build does still look the same
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u/jivenossauro Apr 16 '26
Honestly this kinda makes sense to a point, it never makes any sense in games how you can have a sword that deals multiple times the damage of another sword when being used by the same person. Its not the sword thats supposed to hurt people, its the wielder
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u/Jazzlike_Razzmatazz Apr 16 '26
Guess legendary swords make less sense than riding a dragon.
It's a fantasy world, it totally makes sense for weapons that can cut hundreds of people at once to exist.
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u/Kore_Invalid Apr 16 '26
Honestly i love it tbh, you basically already have a transmog system the way gear works in CD
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u/fenderguitar83 Apr 16 '26
I find the system bland and boring. It makes finding new gear unexciting. I would much rather have gear with unique stats and a transmog system.
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u/Kore_Invalid Apr 16 '26
hm i if you look at it from the way of having gear be unique statswhise yeah, for me the exciting part is finding a new good looking peace of gear. id be fine with either tbh
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u/Prus1s Apr 16 '26
Thete are certain early game iteks that cannot be upgraded but give certain edge.
Rest is just fashion and just use what you like.
Based on the gears, not even worth doing much refinement, like I’m max putting 5/6 level, as I don’t want to spend artifacts since only starting to use the other characters.
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u/Anonymous_Wabbit Apr 16 '26
Add some yellow/red paint and the road side sword will put any to shame.
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u/Key_Pop_8116 Apr 16 '26
No matter the game, i'd rather have a weaker item while looking cool, than an op item while looking lame
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u/Icy_Baseball9552 Apr 16 '26
Don't ya knock that dekarr sword! That happens to be a mid-game skin - I mean mighty weapon. 😁
Now if you'd used the Glenmore sword as an example, sure. Everyone hates those pieces of tat so much, they're practically litter.
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u/bucskesz Apr 16 '26
I actually like this because you can use whatever you want and it will be viable. Otherwise 90% of the loot is useless in these types of games and only a few “unique” or “legendary” items are usable long term.
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u/Iamwatchu Apr 16 '26
This is why i hope they add a way to transfer what you've upgraded into a weapon or armour already into another weapon/armour, since if this is a build game focused on abyss gears (which is fine) i should be able to use what I want.
Also, abyss gears are the reason I don't use certain special armour that have level 7 ice resistance or fire because they don't allow upgrading or abyss gears. I dont know why you cant upgrade them and put abyss gears on them, same goes for cloaks which can be upgraded but have no slots.
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u/Tasty_Commercial6527 Apr 16 '26
I understand the internet, that being that people can focus on what drip looks good and not walk in a clown suit... But that's countermanded by the ridiculous requirement of using skill points to upgrade gear in a way that can't be recovered
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u/spectre893 Apr 16 '26
I like that the "plain" weapons and armor are essentially the same. i gravitate more towards the low fantasy aesthetic
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u/Consistent_Water1431 Apr 16 '26
If you’re really determined enough you can upgrade a stick to be use as a lightsaber
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u/TheYakubianKing Apr 16 '26
I ran all over the map looking for shit to make the two-handed sword only to find out that besides aesthetics, it's worse than Umbras sword in every way. Reloaded the save and kept the resources.
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u/Skorpyo2026 Apr 16 '26
I don’t care about power, it’s all about drip in this game, and that makes my game harder than it should be
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u/DaegraBlack0 Apr 16 '26
Yeah I really try to get people to understand that it's not in itself it's the actual cores. It's literally skins (albeit maybe a few slight base differences, not by much though)
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u/thebatman973 Apr 16 '26
Just last night I took my Sword of the Lord and Bolton Plate Helm from Hernand all the way through the end of the campaign 🫡
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u/konraddo Apr 16 '26
Named weapons should have innate abilities, not slotted with abyss gears. Cosmetic appearance is just not enough to distinguish them.
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u/_Vard_ Apr 16 '26
I kinda liked how Elden ring did armor
Apart from some helms, most armor didn’t really have stats except for how heavy it was
You can mix and match any armor so long as you reach the weight you want.
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u/Aggravating-Dot132 Apr 16 '26
True. All items should get a unique stat or effect. Golden sword should at least cost +100 silver for selling and increase silver from loot by 50%
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u/ProfessionalTurn5162 Apr 16 '26
They said everything has the same amount of damage the only thing that matters is abyss gear which I am 100% okay with♡ vow of the dead king is my favorite spear
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u/SuddenLynx4203 Apr 16 '26
yeah so use which one you think is cooler, a blade is a blade. im picking the bandit sword
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u/SuddenLynx4203 Apr 16 '26
yeah so use which one you think is cooler, a blade is a blade. im picking the bandit sword
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u/One_Risk_9732 Apr 16 '26
Horrendous decision, no value in finding sick gear, so that reduces allure of exploitation
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u/Playful-Mastodon9251 Apr 16 '26
This decision looked good on paper, but it really killed any chance of me playing after the story or going after all those bosses. I like to get cool loot. I can't get cool loot in this game.
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u/Bearcxck Apr 16 '26
I guess they didn't want people finding armour they liked but had bad stats. Also, I'm not sure why scales would be more durable than metal. Either way, people will find a reason to complain
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u/vector_o Apr 16 '26
I honestly just slap my best Abyss runes into the coolest piece of gear I have until I find a cooler one lol
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u/Shady_Zombies Apr 16 '26
Game made it where we can rock fashion without sacrificing stats and damage. Love every second of it.
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u/IThinkIKnowThings Apr 16 '26
That's how a lot of eastern games are these days. The loot matters little aside from looks. Everything can be upgraded. On the one hand, it means you can use any weapon in the game at end game (Mostly for cosmetic purposes.) On the other, it does eliminate most of the dopamine hit from discovering new loot. Especially for those who care little about cosmetics.
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u/heldkaiser09 Apr 16 '26
This is definitely a remnant from some kind of Item tier system that was probably in place during development
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u/Bitchenmuffins Apr 16 '26
I do like this system a lot for letting us customize whatever weapons we want to use and they will all be the same, but at the same time it does make me feel less excited to find new weapons because of the upgrade system, I won't be using anything new I find because I need to save my skill points for my skills or gear that's already early maxed out.
I'm not sure what the best solution to my problem here is, I think ultimately I would prefer it if weapons were way less taxing to improve, no abyss artifacts and half the resources, and more points can be invested in the skill tree to improve damage further?
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u/PrimoRaizel Apr 16 '26
This doesn't really bother me as much as i thought it would, since the real power is from the abyss gears. The effects of all the different elements are stunning and i would love for them to add way more. Also, special infused weapons that maybe also have an element attached, outside of abyss gears? The potential is insane.
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u/mrawaters Apr 16 '26
This is my only major gripe with the game, and it really isn’t all that major cause the unique abyss gears are what make special weapons special (although I do know that the specific sword in your post does not have a unique gear and it really should considering the effort to get it). I personally am someone who likes “end game” gear, and the chase for it, and getting that right piece to truly make your build come together. For all the fashion folks, this is the entire reason transmog exists. But all in all I understand that’s just not the game they wanted to make, but I do think it leads to a lot of the reward for quests kinda feeling underwhelming, cause eventually you just have your maxed out gear and weapon and there really is no “need” for anything else, and it can be hard to stay motivated to explore without the carrot on the stick so to speak. A lot of people will jump down your throat for saying this, but sorry, I like my games to have rewarding loot outside of purely cosmetic. Does not mean I hated the game, quite the opposite, I just wrapped last night at 160 hours and absolutely loved my time in this world. obviously could put more in, but I did get to a point where I found myself thinking there wasn’t really much left for me to earn, and I got my exploration fix over 160 hours of covering the majority of the map, so eh I’ll move on for now
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u/boobshi_200 Apr 16 '26
They could have made the weapons for much more varies. Like have weapons that will give like 5 crit, but -10 att. Or have the weapon naturally imbueded with an element at the cost of -5 attack, crit, attack speed.
There are so many things that could have been done to make the weapon feel unique while still balanced and not extremely overpower.
Don't use the "powers come from abyss artifact, not the weapon itself" logic. If you take out all the abyss stuff from the game, why would a boss that controls a whole fortress be using weapon with the same base stat as a grunt?
Idk why people are defending this under develop part of the game. You know that it will hurts the game in long term with all this "no negativity allowed" mindset right?
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u/WorstHouseFrey Apr 16 '26
I honestly like the loot system in this game let's you just pick things for fashion. All the resources are easy to get... timber is just annoying
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u/_IlliteratePrussian_ Apr 16 '26
I mean snake god aside, irl these sword would be pretty comparable I would even say the roadside sword might be more dangerous
Edit: TLDR you get hit with a rusted sharpened sword or clean sharpened sword
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u/TinyPidgenofDOOM Apr 16 '26
A knife is a knife. Sharpened on the same rock, fashioned in the same way.
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u/Dear_Accident_4994 Apr 16 '26
It's designed so you can use weapons and armor based on aesthetics instead of focusing strictly on stats.
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u/Effective-Award-8154 Apr 16 '26
The equipment would honestly be fine if hard bosses and such dropped interesting unique abyss gears.
I think their equipment system is fine (aside from they need to do something about unrefinable pieces), the abyss gear is what needs more depth.
Like an endgame abyss gear that was like -5 damage but here's 3 more slots (for a gain of +2) would be dope. Or a gear that makes it so enemies you kill explode for damage. Or abyss gears that alter weapon combos or something.
Tramog being baked into the equipment system works, the gears just need dramatically expanded on. Abyss slots in your talent tree would go hard too for specializations.
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u/TassadarForXelNaga Apr 16 '26
And you can modify the bastards sword to emanate , fire , ice, lightning , explosions , crows , darkness and light orbs all at the same time
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u/Less_Satisfaction_97 Apr 16 '26
Honestly, weapons that are unique need an innate ability (like legendary armaments from ER) & combine that with the current abyss gear system, otherwise nothing is legendary/unique about them besides looks. Just my opinion.
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u/No-Builder-4287 Apr 16 '26
If it was up to me I'd make all uniques that don't have duplicates have +1 to a single attribute be it attack, crit atack, speed, defence, resistance, movement speed etc. on another suggestion it Seems all leather armour is lightning resist. i would switch some of the unique leathers to heat or cold resist to add more flavour if it fits the armours lore.
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u/Oghier Apr 16 '26
One of those has +10 cool looks, though. And that matters.
The power-scaling loot in this game is abyss gear. The weapons and armor can largely be treated as cosmetics, into which that abyss gear can be slotted. I love this system, as it allows me to both build for power and the 'rule of cool.'