Are sets just garbage?

What I don't get is why some sets have odd item choices.

Why do the Amazon and Druid Bow sets use short bows instead of their respective class bows?
Why do the Amazon Blood and Paladin Unholy Caster sets use a club instead of a scepter?
Why does the Sorceress Fire Set use an axe instead of a staff?

Also the Amazon Blood set is useless against strong enemies and bosses. Why do I have to force myself to drink a potion every 10 seconds just to take advantage of this set against bosses? Why not make it so her Energy increases her max life and life regeneration instead of her mana with the full set?

i'm having the opposite issue. my damage is capped by my set. there doesn't seem to be a loadout that can surpass it. i could become tankier but i'll lose 50% of my damage. if i use a recipe to make an ethereal item i might come close to my damage, and i'll certainly become more tanky, but it will still be a liiittle bit below the glorious full set master race build :wall:

The only time I've ever used a set, from cLoD, through Median08-LazMXL, to now..
Sigon set.

Sets should never be 'endgame' gear, but should be viable 'near-endgame' if they are going to be sacred only, higher level gear.

Update -- Marco responded on a different thread that sets will be re-worked in 1.2!!

Garbage sets --> recycling sets --> Captain Marco Planet --> global warming defeated. Checkmate atheists.

there seem to be a few set items that have some decent use, and there was a thread not long ago with a necro in full set farming fautz pretty easily. but overall most dont seem to be of much use

Bitech wrote:What I don't get is why some sets have odd item choices.

Why do the Amazon and Druid Bow sets use short bows instead of their respective class bows?
Why do the Amazon Blood and Paladin Unholy Caster sets use a club instead of a scepter?
Why does the Sorceress Fire Set use an axe instead of a staff?

Also the Amazon Blood set is useless against strong enemies and bosses. Why do I have to force myself to drink a potion every 10 seconds just to take advantage of this set against bosses? Why not make it so her Energy increases her max life and life regeneration instead of her mana with the full set?

I would guess the base choices are just so they are more common drops.

sumiyaka wrote:I feel like sets have to have something worth completing for and most ARPGs seems to be terrified of this idea. When you put 5 lions together in Voltron, you end up with friggin Voltron, but 5 pieces of gear in most games and it's like here's some hard stat fodder for your sheet, my doods.

Nah.

Sets should be giving my character super powers that aren't achievable through normal means, else there's really no point in the set if all it offers is a number boost. I agree boosting a main skill by 5000% is an enticing reason to want the set, but that's just a bit too utilitarian and it says the set is more like a uniform that you are forced to wear rather than a rad outfit that makes me shoot lazers in 53 different directions.

TLDR: a set should give something unique that literally nothing else in the game can give.

honestly this sounds like the best way to do things. id much rather sets be intersting and fun and perhaps a bit weaker than be how they are now

I think the more important part is to figure out where we want Set items to be in terms of the gearing hierarchy. As it stands now they pretty much compete with Sacred Uniques due to the effort required for a full set. However, with the except of certain pieces, most set items don't compare to SU in terms of power boost.

And if we are to make Sets function outside of the standard gear hierarchy, then we'll have to think about how they can do that. Since we don't have item slots dedicated to Set items, any Set item you equip means you are forgoing a potential power up. Maybe have the Set be an additional spec via powerful oskills. This way the set can compliments an existing spec of the class by boosting areas the spec is weak at.

For example, specs that have good boss damage can get a set that improves their farming capability at the expanse of their single target damage and vice versa. This way we don't screw with the existing progression by introducing more variables in the list of upgrades. And we can address a specific problem of a spec without tweaking their skill tree

Hi, just started trying out median xl 2 weeks ago and seeing the discussion lean into gear transitions it resonated with some of my frustrations. A lot of guides tend to use simple terms like early/mid/late game. When I get to 115-120, and feel myself falling behind a tad I can't help but ponder, when is this 'mid' game or 'late' game, at what levels are these supposed to happen? SUs are dropping now and then but it's never what I need.

I'm currently trying out a Javazon and defense is not as big of a deal for me. As such, a crafted weapon is my priority. Been spamming Abandoned shrines(roughly 100+ so far) on a maiden jav but none seem to be doing more damage than my current

Dwaallicht

Dwaallicht
Throwing Spear (4)
Throw Damage: (12 - 14) to (33 - 47)
One-Hand Damage: (10 - 12) to (27 - 39)
Required Level: 10
Required Dexterity: 95
Item Level: 19
Dexterity Damage Bonus: (0.11 per Dexterity)%
20% Attack Speed
+(11 to 20) to Maximum Damage
(31 to 50)% Bonus to Attack Rating
Adds (6 to 8)-(8 to 15) Magic Damage
(2 to 3)% Life stolen per Hit
(3 to 6)% Mana stolen per Hit
+(51 to 80)% Enhanced Damage
Weapon Physical Damage +(25 to 30)%
Requirements +15%
Socketed (2)
Throw Damage: (36 - 42) to (84 - 103)
One-Hand Damage: (25 - 29) to (60 - 76)
Required Level: 29
Required Dexterity: 153
Item Level: 40
Dexterity Damage Bonus: (0.11 per Dexterity)%
30% Attack Speed
+(21 to 30) to Maximum Damage
(71 to 90)% Bonus to Attack Rating
Adds (16 to 20)-(26 to 38) Magic Damage
(5 to 7)% Life stolen per Hit
(11 to 14)% Mana stolen per Hit
+(81 to 110)% Enhanced Damage
Weapon Physical Damage +(37 to 42)%
Requirements +25%
Socketed (3)
Throw Damage: (80 - 91) to (181 - 210)
One-Hand Damage: (48 - 55) to (114 - 133)
Required Level: 47
Required Dexterity: 322
Item Level: 59
Dexterity Damage Bonus: (0.11 per Dexterity)%
40% Attack Speed
+(36 to 45) to Maximum Damage
(111 to 130)% Bonus to Attack Rating
Adds (101 to 120)-(126 to 150) Magic Damage
(9 to 11)% Life stolen per Hit
(19 to 22)% Mana stolen per Hit
+(111 to 140)% Enhanced Damage
Weapon Physical Damage +(49 to 54)%
Requirements +35%
Socketed (4)
Throw Damage: (113 - 126) to (255 - 294)
One-Hand Damage: (62 - 70) to (157 - 183)
Required Level: 55
Required Dexterity: 708
Item Level: 85
Dexterity Damage Bonus: (0.11 per Dexterity)%
50% Attack Speed
+(51 to 65) to Maximum Damage
(131 to 150)% Bonus to Attack Rating
Adds (201 to 240)-(251 to 300) Magic Damage
(12 to 13)% Life stolen per Hit
(23 to 26)% Mana stolen per Hit
+(141 to 170)% Enhanced Damage
Weapon Physical Damage +(55 to 60)%
Requirements +50%
Socketed (4)

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So I find myself in this gearing gap where I don't see any advantages in shrine crafted gear+blessing over my TU4s and not finding any relevant set items.

Am I doing something wrong or is this pretty much the basis of where this thread is leading to?

the very high physical damage is not always the key . having a bit less damage than maximum available , but a good proc on striking or "after kill" is usually much more efficient than having top high damage and no proc ; also , Javelins can spawn with up to +375 max damage regardless which type of shrine you are using (it can be abbandoned or whatever else). it would be ideal to get around +300 max damage and a nice proc .

abbandoned crafts also add %dexterity and flat dexterity which can help you increse your chance to block .

i strongly doubt that you had no better rolls in 100 shrines (1000 rolls) than your TU javelin .