(GW2) Ascension
As a friend got her ascended staff crafted on Sunday, I got to thinking about armor again and the value of this top-tier gear.
Rings, trinkets, amulets - little side pieces that can be acquired with laurels (among other methods) seem to go through a decent bump from exotic to ascended levels. The same is true of the back piece that was introduced, with some stat bonuses going up by around 30% (more or less in some cases) from exotic to ascended levels. The points get watered down with everything else, but it's a notably per-piece percentage benefit.
Weapons and armor, on the other hand, are a bit more iffy. Going from exotic to ascended/legendary there on any particular piece is right around a 5% difference, plus an infusion slot that's worth about another 5 points in one stat.
My initial thought for weapons was "Five percent more damage? Sure, sign me up!" But it isn't even that much. Though the stats and base damage go up by that amount, an ascended-level weapon doesn't change the stat contributions from all your other gear, never mind traits and base character level stats. I still think it's probably worth upgrading, if feasible, but the actual change in damage output for one or two weapons is fairly trivial.
Armor is even worse, really. Instead of one or two slots, you've got six. While the overall difference still hovers around 5% for each upgrade, the actual numbers on that are pretty darn low. In the case of boots, gloves, and shoulders, that can literally be a 1 point increase in each stat. Add the infusion slot and that still tends to be around 20 points total for the "smaller" armor items. Is that worth the investment of time and resources to make such items (as they're account-bound)? Eh... I suppose it's a goal to work toward, but I find it hard to argue it's actually "worthwhile."
Some of the armor does look neat. I just wish it actually matched the character style I favored. Plus, that medium headpiece is... ugh... ;)
Rings, trinkets, amulets - little side pieces that can be acquired with laurels (among other methods) seem to go through a decent bump from exotic to ascended levels. The same is true of the back piece that was introduced, with some stat bonuses going up by around 30% (more or less in some cases) from exotic to ascended levels. The points get watered down with everything else, but it's a notably per-piece percentage benefit.
Weapons and armor, on the other hand, are a bit more iffy. Going from exotic to ascended/legendary there on any particular piece is right around a 5% difference, plus an infusion slot that's worth about another 5 points in one stat.
My initial thought for weapons was "Five percent more damage? Sure, sign me up!" But it isn't even that much. Though the stats and base damage go up by that amount, an ascended-level weapon doesn't change the stat contributions from all your other gear, never mind traits and base character level stats. I still think it's probably worth upgrading, if feasible, but the actual change in damage output for one or two weapons is fairly trivial.
Armor is even worse, really. Instead of one or two slots, you've got six. While the overall difference still hovers around 5% for each upgrade, the actual numbers on that are pretty darn low. In the case of boots, gloves, and shoulders, that can literally be a 1 point increase in each stat. Add the infusion slot and that still tends to be around 20 points total for the "smaller" armor items. Is that worth the investment of time and resources to make such items (as they're account-bound)? Eh... I suppose it's a goal to work toward, but I find it hard to argue it's actually "worthwhile."
Some of the armor does look neat. I just wish it actually matched the character style I favored. Plus, that medium headpiece is... ugh... ;)
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