Originally posted by Armisael:
Weapons of Legacy: A Compendium of Magic Items
Let's admit it: it's about time we got a decent magic item compendium going. Probably the biggest hurdle handbook writers face is dealing with the gigantic mass of items D&D has spawned and discerning the treasure from the trash. This compendium aims to rectify this. Before we begin, allow me to set some ground rules:
-I'm not doing this alone. I will set up the handbook, provide the layout, add the occasional item and update it regularly, but I have no intention of doing all the work by myself. This will be a community effort, and will either pull through on the strength of CharOp's work ethic or fail because nobody cares enough to lend a hand.
-With that caveat in place, it should be obvious that I'm looking for feedback. Lots and lots of feedback. Your feedback. If you think an item merits inclusion, feel free to present it! But as a note, please try not to just give me a name and maybe a book to search through. This really doesn't help the community any, because it means somebody else has to go through the book after you did it, track the item down, and then spend precious time working on a writeup. If you can just mention an item, provide a brief description of it and explain why it's good, that'll be greatly appreciated.
-On that note, if you're putting items forward, try to do so clearly. A fifty item list, all bunched up together with no line breaks, will be summarily ignored unless I have no other choice because my eyes will bleed and roll out of my sockets in the process of going through it. If you can put items in spoiler blocks, that's good. If they can also be neatly arranged at the same time, that's even better. Thank you for paying attention to these guidelines!
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Ratings: Read this before commenting!
Because there's so many items and so many are applicable in a wide, wide variety of situations, the usual Red-Gold scale is so meaningless as to be worthless here. It is, however, a very convenient shorthand, so I am stealing it and repurposing it, as seen below:
Gold:
The same as it's always been: a dominant choice, or even the dominant choice for an item slot. Don't expect to see this a lot, and if you do see it, expect it to show up only for specific builds for which it is unmatched. If it's mentioned as being applicable to a very wide range of characters, it's almost certainly broken or a math patch.
Sky Blue:
The item is versatile and has little opportunity cost - many characters can use it without devoting significant build space to making it fit.
Blue:
An item that is just as powerful as the option immediately above, but has more opportunity cost or a barrier of accessibility compared to similar items.
Black: An item that is potentially not top of the line, but widely accessible, or top of the line but only for certain builds.
Purple:
A very niche item. Only a handful of builds can use it properly, but it's still a powerful option for them.
Red:
Trash. Don't expect to see many of these except to clear up noob traps.
Beyond Ratings: The Item Glossary
It ain't always easy, providing useful feedback for a project of this kind. I understand this, and for this reason I have constructed a submission template. If you think an item deserves to be listed here, use this template! You have been warned. (In truth, I'll look at submissions that don't use the template, but please, PLEASE take advantage of it - it makes my life much easier.)
[ItemName] [Slot (Source)]: [Description]. [Keywords].
So, what does this mean? Let's use an example to clear things up.
Frost Weapon (Weapon, PHB1): The gold standard all weapon enchants are compared to. A cheap, easy way to obtain up to fourteen points of damage and constant CA, and all it asks of you is a pair of feats you'd be taking anyway if you were planning on using this element. It even converts pre-typed powers too, so even implement users can join in on the fun. Elemental (Cold), Striker, Augmentable, Multi-Role.
See how nice it looks? This is why I want everybody to use this template. Now, you might have noticed the part that read [Keywords]. What that bit is there for is as a way to help people browse through this compendium with ease. Say I want to find items that suit Avengers. I can Control+F Avenger-marked items, then Striker marked items, and go from there, probably finding what I want very easily. The keywords this compendium uses are:
[Class]: This keyword indicates that a specific class benefits a lot from this item. This keyword always shows up as a class name, never as itself. So you'll see 'Avenger', 'Rogue', 'Barbarian', but never 'Class', for obvious reasons.
[Role]: As above, but for roles! Items that have such a huge impact all or most members of a role should consider them tend to be enormously valuable.
[Elemental (Element)]: This item plays with elements in some way or another. If it just affects elements in general, skip the (Element) bit, which is used to list what specific element it toys with.
[Source]: Power sources, such as Martial, Arcane, etc.
[Skill]: This item provides a bonus to one or more skills.
Consumable: Items that are consumed after use.
Boon: Slotless items that grant special capabilities or mimic normal slotted items. They fade after five levels as a rule, but many, many campaigns consider them permanent once acquired.
Augmentable: This item has notorious synergies with other items and/or feats. Note that this does not mean that the item will increase its effects with power points! For that, see below.
Psionic: This item's effects increase if you funnel power points into it.
Set: This item is part of an item set.
At-Will: This item has some sort of at-will power. For the sake of avoiding keyword bloat, use this keyword only for the items that have actual powers that operate on an at-will frequency. Something like type conversion doesn't count, but something like a Shadow Mite does.
Encounter: This item has some sort of encounter power.
Daily: This item has some sort of daily power.
(Surgeless) Healing: This item has healing powers or properties, possibly even surgeless ones. Big surgeless heals tend to be very valuable!
THP: This item provides Temporary Hitpoints. Generally, not nearly as good as the previous keyword, except if they're long-lasting or it's a very large amount of them, in which case they powerfully ablate damage.
Teleport: This item either facilitates teleportation, enhances it, or provides it in some way.
LFR Reward: This item is obtained as a reward for an LFR Module and thus, not normally obtainable in LFR.
Magic Mart: An item that you wouldn't wishlist, but would definitely craft yourself if you could. Generally applies to lesser pickups and cheap items. Obviously not really applicable in rarity-enforcing games for the most part.
Common: This item can be crafted by PCs under the Rarity system. Note that this guide will mostly concern itself with the pre-essentials system, but rarity can be convenient to know about for certain campaigns and LFR. Because it is the default rarity, Uncommon rarities should not be listed.
Rare: Only one item of this type can be found per tier, and they cannot be crafted.
To-Do List:
-Add more keywords. Suggestions are welcome!
-Find a good quote for the first post.
-Include all items of note.
Acknowledgements:
To be filled later as submissions are posted.
Originally posted by Armisael:
Mastering The Blade: Weapons of Legacy List
Heroic Weapon Options
[sblock]Frost Weapon (Level 3+, PHB1): The gold standard all weapon enchants are compared to. A cheap, easy way to obtain up to fourteen points of damage and constant CA, and all it asks of you is a pair of feats you'd be taking anyway if you were planning on using this element. It even converts pre-typed powers too, so even implement users can join in on the fun. Really takes off once you have a Shard of Merciless Cold and Gloves of Ice, but is still mighty decent with just the core kit of Wintertouched and Lasting Frost. Elemental (Cold), Striker, Augmentable, Multi-Role, Daily.
Staggering Weapon (Level 2+, AV): One of the best enchantments for flail using fighters. Adding the enhancement modifier to a slide is extremely powerful. It also knocks the target prone on a crit in addition to doing extra damage on a crit, which helps. Combines very well with status effect stacking tricks, such as those obtained through flail weapon feats. Fighter, Augmentable.
Rending Weapon (Level 4+, AV):
The more ways you have to increase your chances of scoring a critical hit, the more this becomes a mandatory weapon. Not only does this add 1d6 per plus to your critical hit damage, it also grants you a no action melee basic attack. There's nothing more a striker could ask for. Only drawback is that it only comes as an axe, but that's just more incentive to wield a Gouge. Avenger, Striker.
Unforgettable Cudgel (Level 8+, AV2):
A reliable, simple enchant for Clerics, and also very, very tasty for Avengers too. Pity it's Mace only, but you can't have everything, right? Avenger, Cleric.
Sunblade (Level 4+, AV):
The first of the lightsaber line, and actually one of the best because of its lower price bracket. Not as great as Radiant, but cheaper and available in the Heroic tier, so that's something. Striker, Elemental (Radiant).
Mace of Healing (Level 8+, AV):
A great weapon for healers to carry around in their offhand. You don't even have to attack with it! Healing.
Flail of Winds (Level 3+, Dragon 391): Its a nifty little enchantment for flails which increases any forced movement effects created by the flail by 1. What is important to note is that it says "any attack made with the flail" meaning it is also implement friendly which is something it has over Staggering along with being a common item. Common, Defender.
Battlecrazed Weapon (Level 4+, AV):
The other contender for the 'biggest damage boost' throne, Battlecrazed has the advantage of not requiring as many pieces as a Radiant Weapon to get you there. Unfortunately, what pieces it does require have a great opportunity cost: This weapon only truly shines with Bloodfury Weapons in ample supply to keep it going (I recommend Gauntlet Axes, which take up no slots), which makes it minor-action heavy, and just like Radiant it requires a Paragon Path to truly get its damage to the stratosphere (the Paragon Path being Winter Fury to effectively double up your weapon slot). Still, while pricey, that investment has appropriately huge returns. Striker, Augmentable, Daily.
Bloodfury Weapon (Level 4+, AV2):
The other piece of the Battlecrazed puzzle. Normally not worth your time by itself, but being able to kick bloodied boosts to 'always on' status is amazing for certain characters. Best used on Gauntlet Axes to maintain your hands open for weapon-carrying. Striker, Augmentable, Encounter.
Frost Fury Waraxe (Level 3+, AV2):
The less well-known cousin of Battlecrazed. What's better than a Frost weapon? Why, a Frost Weapon that adds even more extra damage on top of the frost package! Real pity that not that many classes use CON, it's Axe only and it requires Bloodfury to shine, because this is one heck of an enhancement. Striker, Augmentable, Elemental (Cold).
Githyanki Silver Weapon (Level 9+, Manual of the Planes): Two amazing properties on this one. The first lets you turn all damage done by this weapon into psychic damage, which works amazingly well for defenders that want to use Psychic Lock, for example. A Headband of Intellect also gives you a +1 item bonus to all attacks, although the Headband is a rare item these days. The second property lets you banish a creature (save ends) when you hit with the weapon, which is a pretty rare and very powerful ability. Element (Psychic), Daily, Augmentable.
Feyslaughter Weapon (Weapon, Level 9+, AV): If you hit something with this, it can't teleport for a round. A great property for defenders who want to keep everything adjacent to them, and almost mandatory for Brawler Fighters. Defender.
Vanguard Weapon (Level 3+, AV): Part of the 'charge kit', along with (among others) the Horned Helm. This weapon adds 1d8 to the damage of any succesful charge attack. The daily power lets you boost your allies' attack and damage rolls for a round, although the amount of damage depends on how good your Charisma is. Striker, Augmentable, Daily.
Rhythm Blade (Level 3+, AV2):
When you wield this in your offhand, your shield bonus to AC and Ref increases by 1. Which means you need to have a shield bonus in the first place (Battle Cleric's Lore and shielding implements say hi), and you need your offhand free. If you qualify for that, there's not much that beats this if you want to boost your defenses cheaply. Augmentable, Common.
Shielding Blade (Level 4+, Dragon Magazine 391): Want more AC but no room for a shield? Take this and be happy with it. Nothing fancy, but it serves a purpose. Swordmage, Common.
Lightning Weapon (Level 5+, PHB):
Gets this rating for the synergy with Mark of Storm. Now any attack you make with the weapon lets you also slide the target 1 square. There are countless things that benefit from that, notables being Flail Expertise and Polearm Momentum for easy proning. The daily power lets you do some more damage on a hit. Elemental (Lightning), Augmentable, Daily.
Quicksilver Blade (Level 2+, AV2): Need an item bonus to initiative? Proficient with any light blade and have a hand free? Then look no further. You just need to hold the Blade at the start of combat to get the bonus, so there's nothing stopping you from dropping it and Quick-Drawing another weapon on your first turn. The daily power gives you an additional move action on a hit. Daily.
Harmony Blade (Level 4+ AV2): Non-action attacks on a crit for dual-wielders and you lay down attack penalties to enemies if you hit them twice. Beautiful on characters who specialize in multiattacking, such as Whirlybarbs and Rangers, and part of a set too. Striker, Ranger, Avenger, Set.
Farbond Spellblade (Weapon, Level 2+, AV2): The default thrown weapon option for most characters. Shouldn't be your main weapon enchant, but never leave home without one. Multi-Role.
Hungry Spear (Weapon, Level 2+, AV2): Another passable weapon option for throwing, though the main draw here is the Encounter power and long range. Immobilizing an enemy at range helps with closing in and downing fliers, which is handy. Encounter, Multi-Role.
Dwarven Thrower (Level 2+, Dragon 385): Mandatory for throwers, as it's one of the few ways to get a decent item bonus to damage, though it's a paltry substitute for true Bracers of Archery r Iron Armbands. Also a passable throwing option, I s'pose. Striker.
Totemic Spear (Level 2+, AV2): Only a Shaman needs bother with this item, which does have the really nice perk of boosting your Spirit Companion's range. Still, it's quite niche. Is reach really worth that much to you? Shaman.
Totemic Warclub (Level 2+, AV2): Adds a fair amount of versatility to Shaman power deployment. Doesn't really make you more powerful, but you might not need it if you can get the right powers off at the right time. Shaman.
Chieftain's Weapon (Level 3+, Dragon 381): Overrated, I think. It's easy enough to boost MBAs into overwhelmingly powerful forces of nature without having to rely on burning a Weapon enchant. There's almost always something better out there. Leader, Common.
Defensive Weapon (Level 2+, AV):
For most characters, sacrificing their weapon enchants is an impossibly bad proposition...but not so bad that Wardens and other Second Wind users can't carry an outdated version of this weapon around to draw for that round when they need to Second Wind and screw enemies hard. Warden, Defender, Magic Mart.
Weapon of Defense (Level 4+, MME):
Pitiful bonus for a primary weapon...but who said this was going to be primary? Particularly good for Thri-Kreens due to the wording (says 'holding', not 'wielding'), but still good for anyone who can spare a hand. Defender, Magic Mart, Daily.
Firewind Blade (Level 4+, HotEC):
At long last, fire has an answer to Cold and Radiant's elemental shenanigans. Thanks to this outstanding little item, every time you strike an enemy with fire damage, they take 1 + Enhancement bonus damage. Needless to say, this works with vulnerabilities, which means that if you can reliably generate fire or general vulns, the target will be quickly fried. The only catch is that you have to make your attacks fiery without the aid of a weapon enchant, which isn't so easy...but not impossible either. The PPs Soaring Blade and Malec-Keth Janissary can provide a source of fire damage, and so can a certain nifty little slotless item (that all Desert Wind Monks should carry). Speaking of which...Desert Wind Monks
must take this item as their implement. It's how they keep up with the big boys. Lastly, this item gets very stupid if you have Radiant One and Morninglord. Striker, Monk, Augmentable, Daily.
Hidden Weapon (Lvl 3+, DSCS):
Need an item bonus to initiative? Proficient with light blades or maces? Just keep one of these guys in your hand when you roll initiative and then drop the sucker when you're done with it to go quickdraw your weapon of choice. If you do feel like using it, it comes with its own quick draw ability, and once you sheathe it only you can find and draw it, making it a useful and stylish way to go undercover. Now, you can have that swordcane you always wanted. Multi-Role, Magic Mart.
Flaming Weapon (Level 5+, PHB): Mostly not worth your time - passable for Tieflings though. Note that it does not convert typed damage, because of a very dumb bit of errata. For a fire elemental converter refer to the paragon section. Tiefling, Daily.
Subtle Weapon (Level 3+, AV): An OK enchantment. There's much better ones out there, but this one's easy to use so it has that going for it. Striker.[/sblock]
Paragon Weapon Options
[sblock]Radiant Weapon (Level 15+, AV): Weapon property is basically 'you get your arms slot back'. Also one of several common ways for an implement user to get an item bonus to damage, and it enables use of radiant dragonshards. While not as easily applicable as Frost, it has the advantage of enabling one of, if not the biggest damage boosts you can get out of a weapon alongside freeing the eternally chained Arms slot, by utilizing Morninglord and Pelor's Boon from the DMG2. Elemental (Radiant), Striker, Augmentable, Multi-Role.
Blade of the Eldritch Knight (Weapon, Level 15+, AV2): Heavy Blade that increases your melee reach to 5. Great if you want to attack stuff in melee, but don't actually want to stand next to it, or simply want a range increase (Warlords come to mind here). Also lots of fun if your melee attacks slows your target in some way. Part of the Eldritch Panoply set. Set.
Thunderbolt Weapon (Level 13+, AV):
Lightning Weapon, except in a cheaper bracket and with a better daily. The only downside is that it only works with Ranged weapons...but that includes Daggers and Drow Long Knives for instance, as a FYI, so Sorcerers in particular are really, really happy about their existence. Elemental (Lightning), Augmentable, Daily, Sorcerer.
Jagged Weapon (Level 12+, AV): Want to double your crit range? This is the earliest way you'll be able to achieve it. Potentially scary as hell if you have enough bennies that trigger on-crit - expanded crit range is deceptively powerful, particularly if combined with the Five Stars Five Strikes boon. Do note, however, that this item is superseded entirely by the option below. Striker, Avenger, Barbarian, Augmentable.
Melegaunt's Darkblade (Level 12+, Dungeon 177):
Like Jagged, except it adds a ton more damage via extra dice that deal cold damage. Essentially the same, but more. Lots more. Striker, Avenger, Barbarian, Augmentable, Elemental (Cold).
Battlemaster's Weapon (Level 14+, AV): Salve of Power in weapon form. Recharging an encounter power once per day is an interesting option for almost any (non-power point) class. One interesting detail is that the encounter power doesn't have to be an attack power, or even class power. Daily.
Weapon of Summer (Level 15+, Dungeon 160): If you're using a Flaming weapon for some reason, chuck it for this toy as soon as you are able. It's the only way to get fire conversion out of weapon enchants too. Tiefling, Multi-Role, Daily.
Captain's Weapon (Level 13+, MME):
Not only does it offer a nice bonus to damage rolls as a minor, it offers Hail of Steel as a daily power. Let me repeat this, for emphasis: It offers Hail of Steel as a daily power, no need to swap any powers out. One of the definitive Leader weapons, bar none. Leader, Warlord, Encounter, Daily.
Wind Weapon (Level 14+, MME): Do you have allies who like Agile Opportunist and either a free hand or no pressing need for another enhancement? Congrats, here's an at-will slide effect for any move action you weren't using. And it helps you get your allies into flanking positions or out of danger. Leader.
Withering Weapon (Level 13+, AV):
In a party with a bunch of meleers? Hit a target once (or twice, or thrice if you can swing it) on your turn with this weapon and paint a gigantic 'FOCUS THIS GUY' sign all over him. Being easily ended by a save kinda sucks, but in the worst case scenario, this should still be a turn of focus fire made simpler and more profitable. Combine with a Crown of Equilibrium for outstanding save granting capability, if your enemies don't die first that is. Leader, Augmentable.
Thundergod Weapon (Level 13+, AV): Trash in the paragon tier because it is strictly inferior to the Vanguard Weapon. Strictly superior in Epic, when the bonus it gives climbs up from 1d6 to 2d6. Good on people spamming the charge package. Augmentable, Striker.
[/sblock]
Epic Weapon Options
[sblock]None yet![/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Armors of the Unbroken: Armors of Legacy List
Heroic Armor Options
[sblock]Rebuking Armor (Level 4+, PHB2):
A nifty, reliable boost for the defense-challenged people in the audience. If you're stuck with Chain, this is a nice way to patch up your defenses. Cleric, Invoker.
Healer's Armor (Level 5+, AV2):
Healing more with each healing surge spent can be really handy, for obvious reasons. Healing.
Shared Valor Armor (Level 8+, PHB2): Normally rather unremarkable even for constant THP granters, this armor's worth absolutely skyrockets if you're an Artificer, and is a major contributor to the power of the Resistive Formula. Artificer, THP.
Shadow Warlock Armor (Level 10+, AV2): Nearly eternal combat advantage against whatever target you're trying to kill is amazing for any striker, and Warlocks are no exception. Nobody but a warlock can use this, but they certainly love this puppy. Note that melee warlocks and Hybrids don't care one whit for this armor, however. Warlock.
Dwarven Armor (Level 2+, PHB):
Even as a daily power, you just don't say no to surge-free, action-free healing. One of the two de facto choices for heavy armor users. Surgeless Healing, Daily, Multi-Role.
Bloodiron Armor (Level 8+, AV2):
The other default for heavy armor. You were going to beat the snot out people anyway, why not become defensively tougher in the process? Multi-Role.
Armor of Resistance (Armor, Level 2+, AV): Hate typed damage? Then this armor will grant you resistance against one out of a wide range of damage types. Not as good as other armors which grant resistance to two types of damage, but a lot more customizable. Resistance scales with tier. Common.
Armor of Adaptable Resistance ( Level 4+, PP):
Like the Armor of Resistance, this only provides you resistance against one damage type (out of a wide range of types), but the daily power that lets you change resistance until the end of the encounter makes it a lot more versatile. And if you have at least one power point, it will make you practically immune to all typed damage one encounter per day. Psionic.
Black Iron Armor (Level 4+, PHB, HotFL): This armor lets you resist fire and necrotic, the two most common damage types. Resistance scales with tier. Only comes in Scale and Plate. Common.
Inner Warmth Armor (Level 9+, PHB2):
This armor lets you resist cold and necrotic. One is the most common damage type, the other... not so much. The daily power however lets you win one encounter per day, that is if your DM is shortsighted enough to use only necrotic or cold damage after he's given you this armor. Resistance scales with tier. Only comes in Hide. Daily.
Runic Armor (Level 3+, AV2):
For all you Sages of Ages out there, this armor gives you the item bonus to your Arcana check you've been looking for. The bonus to damage rolls if you Second Wind is just gravy. Skill, Augmentable.
Battle Harness ( Level 4+, Dragon Magazine 368): Don't have a Warlord in your party but still want that power bonus to initiative? Then take this as your light armor, stack it with an item that gives an item bonus to initiative, and Team Monster can eat your dust. You also get Quick Draw for free with this Armor, which is a deceptively good bonus.
Time Link Armor (Level 4+, AV2): Need an item bonus to initiative? Wearing Chain Armor? Then look no further. You also get a daily initiative reroll, which combined with the right background (Trained From Birth for a Specific Prophecy) and Danger Sense will make sure you always go first. Daily.
Armor of Sudden Recovery (Level 3+, AV2): A +1 item bonus to saving throws against ongoing damage, and the ability to once per day turn your ongoing damage into regeneration that lasts until the end of the encounter. Practically gold for Lair Assault. Daily.
Moon Armor (Level 3+, AV2):
This armor is mostly entirely unremarkable and wouldn't merit mention in this guide...were it not for the existence of the Enshrouding Candle and Ringmail. It costs a feat and some gold, but that's a small price to pay for an always-on +1 to AC. An oft-overlooked piece of the unhittable light-armor Striker/Defender puzzle. Augmentable.
Bloodthread Armor (Level 5+, PHB1): Another piece of the Battlecrazed puzzle, this one is much better for Avengers and Hybrid Swordmages who want to get a cheap, potent bonus to AC early on. Doesn't stack with Elven Chain Shirt, but until level 20 it's a very easy way to boost your AC up and save money. Not too shabby. Augmentable, Swordmage, Avenger.
[/sblock]
Paragon Armor Options
[sblock]Champion's Hauberk (Level 13+, AV2): Part of the Champion's Flame set, this armor can be handy on occasion. Say, for a Radiant Mafia Cleric who wants to use Favor of the Gods AND Solar Enemy to shorten fights. Set, Encounter, Cleric, Invoker.
Feytouched Armor (Level 12+, Manual of the Planes): Need an item bonus to initiative? Wearing Leather or Hide Armor? Then look no further. It also allows you to become invisible once per encounter as a standard action. Be aware that this competes with Battle Harness for the same slot, although the bonus types differ. Encounter.
Bonegrim Armor (Level 14+, AV): This armor lets you resist necrotic and poison. One is the most common damage type, the other... is useful when fighting Drow I guess. It does have some weird properties though. The resistance only scales correctly with the level 19 and higher armors, and releases you from the need for food (and at level 29, even sleep). The problem stems from one little line, which says that you cannot remove the armor without a ritual to remove afflictions...problem is, this armor applies a penalty to it equal to its level. Yes, you read that right: not enhancement bonus, level. This means it's more or less flatly impossible to take it off, which means the only way to upgrade it is with Enchant Magic Item (as you can't take off a lesser Bonegrim Armor for a better one)...which means you cannot upgrade it at all in an LFR game. Cursed.
Greater Armor of Eyes (Level 14+, MME): Can't be blinded and you get darkvision. This doesn't pop up often...unless you're a Demonskin Adept, that is. Then you really, really
want this. Sorcerer, Multi-Role.
Armor of Dark Deeds (Level 14+, AV2):
Hit an enemy granting CA to you, gain concealment against everyone until the end of your next turn. In other words, be aggresive and you gain big bonuses to defend against non-burst/blast attacks. Where do I sign up? Warlock, Sorcerer, Striker.
[/sblock]
Epic Armor Options
[sblock]Armor of Shared Health (Level 30, AV2): Surgeless healing is surgeless healing, even if it only kicks in for three fights, tops. Would have been a much more powerful and interesting property ten or twenty levels earlier. Surgeless Healing.
Soulwarding Armor (Level 24+, AV): This armor lets you resist necrotic and psychic. The resistance is 5 lower than it should be at this level, but you're compensated with the fact that it's one of the few items that lets you resist psychic damage, and that you can't lose healing surges from enemy attacks anymore. Not bad eh?
[/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Talismans of The Mystics: Charms of Legacy List
Heroic Neck Options
[sblock]Amulet of Life (Level 5+, Dragon 381):
Access to extra healing is never bad, especially if you get beat on a lot. Even better if you have a reliable way to generate saving throws so it doesn't compete with other neck slot items that grant saves. It shines on classes that have a lot of healing surges, because after a few fights surge management tends to become an issue. Defender, Encounter.
Cloak of Distortion (Level 4+, AV):
If you're in doubt as to what neck item to pick, go with this one. The ever-increasing bonus against distant attackers is bound to come up once in a while, and likely to be a life-saver when it does. Multi-Role.
Healer's Brooch (Level 4+, AV):
Needless to say, a nice and big bonus to heals like that is pretty nifty, even if it does chew up an important slot. Worth taking into account if you're gonna toss out lots of heals. Healing, Leader.
Medic's Amulet (Level 4+, AV2):
If you have no access to Mark of Healing or other save granting effects, you can use this to compensate, somewhat. Only pick this up if ongoing damage is a thing in your campaign, though. Leader.
Steadfast Amulet (Level 8+, AV):
Grants you an II save against daze or stun once per day. Best part is, if you fail the save, the power is not expended. Daily.
Cloak of Translocation (Level 9+, AV2): Great if you expect to teleport at least 3 times an encounter, and the daily is top-notch if you have a teleport attack encounter power, of which there's a surprising amount. Sorcerer, Swordmage, Teleport, Daily.
Elemental Ward Cloak(Level 9+, Dragon 408): This item becomes available in late heroic, but it really starts shining around mid-high paragon. By that point, it gives a truly immense item bonus to all defenses against any attacks with an elemental keyword (acid, cold, fire, lightning, and thunder). It also helps offset the need for a lot of resistances for these damage types, except to avoid auto-damage. If you get another part of the set, then you also get a little resistance to a damage type of your choice. Bottom line: if your DM does elemental damage, GRAB THIS.
Set.
[/sblock]
Paragon Neck Options
[sblock]Timeless Locket (Level 14+, AV2): Need an item bonus to initiative? Then look no further. The daily power lets you trade a minor for a standard, albeit one that you can't use for an attack (but a creative player like you can surely find a way to get around that). Daily.
Tenebrous Shroud (Level 13+, Dragon Magazine 380): Major resistance to the most common damage type on a neck slot item, for when you want to save your armor and head slot (Skull Mask) for something else. The daily power lets you become invisible as a reaction when you get hit. Daily, Resistance.[/sblock]
Epic Neck Options
[sblock]None yet![/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Implements of Power: Implements of Legacy List
Armisael's Note: Because implements are divided into lots of categories that don't mesh with each other, I have chosen to split them into further spoiler blocks beyond the usual Heroic/Paragon/Epic split. This has been done to reduce the messiness of this particular section to a minimum.
Heroic Implement Options
[sblock]Holy Symbols
[sblock]Symbol of the Champion's Code (Level 8+, AV2): An item tax for paladins. If you don't take it, you're failing in your duty as a paladin. The daily power helps take the sting off the tax though, as it's really damn good. Paladin, Element (Radiant), Daily.
Symbol of Victory (Level 9+, PHB1):
An unbelievably powerful item, and a reason to get holy symbol proficiency all by itself. You don't even need to use it to trigger its property - just be proficient and carry it around. So strong, it inches close to Gold
value. Multi-Role, Daily.
Symbol of Divine Reach (Level 8+, AV):
A nice way to take 'long-range bombardment' to a whole new level. Wanted to hit even the farthest reaching enemies from outside their maximum range? Now you can. Multi-Role, Divine.
Sun Disk of Pelor (Level 8+, AV):
A radiant converter for the implement users out there. The possibilites are immense: a good idea is to become a Morninglord and get Pelor's Boon to dish out massive amounts of extra damage via vulnerabilities. Elemental (Radiant), Augmentable.
Symbol of Daring (5+, AV2):
Underappreciated Holy Symbol. Expensive due to its level, but has a very nice property: An untyped bonus to damage for your allies' AP attacks. A nice way for the Cleric to play at Warlord, or a good symbol for those divine characters who usually stick to weapon attacks, like the Avenger or Paladin. Cleric, Leader.
[/sblock]
Staves
[sblock]Staff of the Traveler (Level 5+, PHB3):
Not all builds have reasons to want this item, but for those that do, it's absolutely invaluable. An inordinately powerful item for all teleporters and speedfreaks. Teleport, Multi-Role, Warlock, Bard.
Staff of Sleep and Charm (Level 3+, AV2): Scaling item bonus to attack with Charm and Sleep powers that works in the offhand, on a staff, and you only ever need the cheap version per tier, since it scales at 3, 13 and 23. Did I mention it's common yet? An incredibly good item for Wizards, Bards and anyone else with a heavy lean to Charm based powers. Wizard (Enchanter), Bard, Psion, Common.
Staff of Ruin (Level 3+, AV):
Need to get damage done as an implement user? Look no further than this staff. You'll be hard pressed to find something better. Striker, Sorcerer, Wizard, Invoker.
Architect's Staff (Level 5+, AV):
Walls aren't that common, but this item can increase their value to potentially enormous levels. Certainly worth considering, and the daily allows you to sculpt the battlefield, quite literally. Wizard, Daily.
[/sblock]
Rods
[sblock]Blast Scepter (Level 7+, Halls of Undermountain): One hell of an odd item. It's very versatile, providing resists, two powers, and a good crit die, but suffers due to not doing anything extraordinarily well. A nifty item nonetheless, however. At-Will, Daily, Rare.[/sblock]
Orbs
[sblock]Orb of Ghostbane Triumph (Level 9+, PP): Tired of being ineffective when fighting ghosts? Then get one of these, which will let you ignore the insubstantial quality as long as you have at least one power point remaining. The daily power provides this benefit for your allies too if you hit an insubstantial creature with it. Psionic, Daily.
Orb of Nimble Thoughts (Implement, Level 3+, PHB3): Need an item bonus to initiative? Proficient with Orbs? Then look no further. You don't even need to use this Orb to get the bonus, just hold it at the start of combat. Int-classes and power point users (Psions in particular) also get a nice shifty movement mode out of it. Psion, Psionic, Encounter.[/sblock]
Wands
[sblock]Nein.[/sblock]
Totems
[sblock]Pure Spirit Totem (Level 5+, PHB2): Mostly here to be used for their daily power to get people up on the cheap. Beware, your DM might protest if you buy or make ten of them.
Surgeless Healing, Daily, Shaman.[/sblock]
Tomes
[sblock]Tome of Undeniable Might (Level 8+, MME): Tired of being ineffective when fighting ghosts? Then get one of these, which will let you ignore the insubstantial quality when you attack a target with certain elemental powers. Common, Elemental.[/sblock]
Ki Foci
[sblock]Ghost Strike Ki Focus (Level 2+, PHB3): Tired of being ineffective when fighting ghosts? Then get one of these, which will let you ignore the insubstantial quality when you attack a target that grants you combat advantage.
Shadow Master Ki Focus (Level 3+, Dragon): Any permastealth or rich regular stealty build should look at this item for one of the highest damage boost from a single item, especially at lower levels. Necrotic can backfire, and moderate scaling let's other items catch up, but since it's untyped, and ki focuses can be turned on and off, it may keep it's use late game. Striker, Assassin, Rogue.
[/sblock][/sblock]
Paragon Implement Options
[sblock]Holy Symbols
[sblock]Ain't nuthin' here, boss.[/sblock]
Staves
[sblock]Jeeze, you're thick-headed.[/sblock]
Rods
[sblock]What part of 'no items to showcase yet' didn't you get?[/sblock]
Orbs
[sblock]Dammit, you're persistent. Stop bugging me![/sblock]
Wands
[sblock]Oh c'mon, really? You must be the same kinda guy who clicks on Blizzard RTS units to get their hidden quotes.[/sblock]
Totems
[sblock]Alright, fine, you found the hidden quotes. Can you leave me alone now? Please?[/sblock]
Tomes
[sblock]That's it. I'm gonna start ignoring you. I won't even stare at you![/sblock]
Ki Foci
[sblock]*Ignores*[/sblock][/sblock]
Epic Implement Options
[sblock]Holy Symbols
[sblock]*Ignores*[/sblock]
Staves
[sblock]*Ignores*[/sblock]
Rods
[sblock]*Ignores*[/sblock]
Orbs
[sblock]*Ignores*[/sblock]
Wands
[sblock]...Dammit, I can't keep this up. Alright, you win.[/sblock]
Totems
[sblock]Being honest...heh. I gotta say, I admire your persistence.[/sblock]
Tomes
[sblock]We're getting close to the end of the line, though. This silliness will have to end soon, so...[/sblock]
Ki Foci
[sblock]...Goodbye.[/sblock][/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Bracers and Bulwarks: Armbands of Legacy List
Heroic Arms Options
[sblock]Iron Armbands of Power (Level 6+, AV): The most powerful arms slot item, bar none, because it's a math fix. It's not a question of why you'd want to use them, but why not, and this earns the Armbands a coveted gold rating. Unless you have some sort of plan, stick to these on all melee characters. Striker, Multi-Role.
Bracers of Archery (Level 6+, AV):
The less-often applicable version of the Iron Armbands. Still a math patch though, so what goes for them goes for these bracers too. Striker, Multi-Role.
Bracers of Mighty Striking (Level 2+, PHB, HotFL):
Yes, Iron Armbands of Power are better. Now that we've got that out of the way, these are available 4 levels earlier and common. Problem is that they only work on melee basic attacks, but there are enough classes out there that are just fine with that restriction. Striker, Multi-Role.
Bracers of the Perfect Shot (Level 3+, PHB): Yes, Bracers of Archery are better. Now that we've got that out of the way, these are available 3 levels earlier and common. Problem is that they only work on ranged basic attacks, but there are some classes out there that are just fine with that restriction. Striker, Multi-Role.
Bracers of Mental Might (Level 6+, AV): Not everybody can get an Item bonus from elsewhere and has a power they want to swap for, but for those that do, this is an outstanding item. Leaders in particular adore it, because it lets them savagely poach from the Warlord powerlist to get whatever power fits their fancy that can end encounters in a hurry. Leader, Multi-Role, Encounter.
Hammer Shield (Level 6, AV2): An untyped +1 to defenses when you hit is pretty nifty, but there's two drawbacks: One, you have to use a hammer to get the bonus, and two, you're sacrificing Iron Armbands for it. Defender.
Floating Shield (Level 1, AV): Not your everyday shield, but worth sticking in your pack if encumbrance and purchase access to uncommon items isn’t an issue. For a cheap price, you can bypass certain skill checks entirely. One of these and a rope will get an entire party across that river. On some rare maps, the ability to walk on water will be strictly better than the damage bonus you might get from your arms slot. However, use only as needed. Skill (Athletics), Magic Mart.
Preservation Shield (Level 2, AV2): The first fight of the day is frequently a warm up, surge drain appetizer fight. Blow your daily on this shield immediately in the first fight to save some of those surges, then trade it out for your Iron Armbands in the short rest. Useful for high surge count characters, but quickly loses luster as you progress up the tiers. Defender, Daily, THP
Battleforged Shield (Level 4+, AV): Big daily surgeless heal, fairly easy to trigger, limited range. Good for paladins as an emergency nova heal with Lay on Hands, or for short rest surge preservation (you never really have to wear this in combat if you prefer). Daily, Healing, Leader, Defender.
Throwing Shield (Level 6+, AV): Let’s be honest. This power is Standard Action, Ranged 10, you mark the target if you’re a fighter, or engage him if you’re a paladin. Still, when you’re an immobilized defender…meh, get something to escape immobilize instead. That it uses an outdated math formula doesn't help its case, either. Fighter, Defender, Paladin
Healer’s Shield (Level 10+, AV2): Depending on how much variable healing dice you’re throwing out there, the daily on this can be ridiculous. Can be used during a short rest if you like. Leader, Healing.
Coutures of Second Chances (Level 5+, AV): The extra damage bonus of the Iron Armbands is almost always going to be better than the daily reroll offered by these bracers. If you really, really don't care about damage or do absolutely none of it yourself though, these might be worth considering. Controller, Daily.
[/sblock]
Paragon Arms Options
[sblock]Bloodhound Bracers (Level 13, AV2): If you or one of your party members specializes in ongoing damage and you desperately want combat advantage, I guess this is a decent option. Works well for Slashing Kama Style Monks, for example. The daily power lets you inflict a pitiful 5 ongoing damage when you bloody an enemy. Daily, Augmentable.
Shield of Fellowship (Level 15, AV2):
You need to not care about damage and have an easy source of THP to pick up this item (and the number of characters who fit that bill is smaller than it looks), but properly used this item can be a way of giving the party a big source of THP turn after turn. Part of the Arms of Unbreakable Honor set. THP, Set.
Rapidstrike Bracers (Level 16, AV): Use a single target at-will attack instead of a basic attack once per encounter. Can be useful for some characters who get granted RBAs. An item bonus to initiative makes it sweeter to boot. Encounter.
[/sblock]
Epic Arms Options
[sblock]None yet![/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Boots of Seven Leagues: Boots of Legacy
Heroic Feet Options
[sblock]Acrobat Boots (Level 2, PHB):
Who likes to spend their move action standing up from prone? No-one, that's who. This lowly level 2 Feet slot item forever saves you from having to worry about this. This effect is also obtainable by taking the level 2 Acrobatics utility power Agile Recovery, but why spend a precious utility on it when these boots do the same? At-will.
Boots of the Fencing Master (Level 7, AV): This kind of mobility is usually reserved for Monks, so making it available as a Feet slot item is great. There are so many uses for a minor action shift 2 it's not even funny. And that's not mentioning the item bonus to AC and Reflex when you shift. One of the top heroic picks for Feet slot items. Encounter.
Goblin Stompers (Level 6, AV): Shifting as an immediate reaction when missed by a melee attack as an encounter power. Not bad for getting out of a tight spot, not bad at all. Encounter.
Rushing Cleats (Level 7, AV): They need preexisting forced movement to use properly, but when deployed intelligently, these boots can provide a valuable, very important boost to many builds, such as Lightning Furies looking to up their damage, Deadly Drawers and more. Augmentable, Multi-Role.
[/sblock]
Paragon Feet Options
[sblock]Greaves of Maldeen (Level 12, Dragon 364): +2 bonus to speed, regardless of armor, and even a daily power to make sure your enemy won't get away from you as an immediate reaction, and the only limitation these boots have is that you must move closer to an enemy to get the bonus. When aren't going to be doing that? One of the default choices for the boot slot. Daily, Multi-Role.
Butterfly Sandals (Level 12, AV): There are few classes that benefit from a static bonus to fly speed, but for those who do this is a huge increase. If you have a way to consistently take to the skies, this lets you do a decent Neo-impression. Common.
Boots of Dancing (Level 11, AV): A tame benefit in not granting CA when Dazed, but it's something any character can make use of. The bonus to reflex pushes this item up further to the point where it's worth taking.
Battlestrider Greaves (Level 12, PHB): Speed is king on the approach and on big battlefields, and heavy armor users are constantly gimped in that department. This item lets them get some of their speed back.
Oceanstrider Boots (Level 14, AV): A bonus to speed regardless of armor type is good already. Being able to take advantage of terrains that would normally be harmful to you is godlike.
Eladrin Boots (Level 16, PHB): These boots enhance any of your teleports, even if the teleport isn't from a teleportation power. This comes in handy for paragon paths and epic destinies which give teleportation as a movement mode, as well as the teleportation granted by the epic feat Fey Shift. The daily is underwhelming if you already have at-will teleportation, but it's ok until then. Daily, Teleport.
Earthreaver Stompers (Level 17+, AV): A bit of Tremorsense. Not the most amazing thing in the world, but handy on occasion.
Phantom Chaussures (Level 18, AV): A big bonus to defenses when moving is already pretty good, emulating Shadow Walk, but the daily power is nothing short of outstanding, giving you a colossal defensive buff once a day on the approach (AKA the most dangerous round). Daily.
Planestrider Boots (Level 18, MotP):
A big jolt of mobility makes these boots attractive to anyone, but it's the ability to split teleports that truly earns these boots its rating. Warlocks, and Evermeet Warlocks in particular, love these boots. Warlock, Encounter, Teleport, Augmentable.
[/sblock]
Epic Feet Options
[sblock]Boots of Speed (Level 22, AV): +2 to Speed and a daily power for extra movement sure looks tempting...until you realize you could get an identical effect with the Greaves of Maldeen much earlier. Pass. Daily.
Zephyr Boots (Level 24, AV): Flight in light armor, with no other caveats. I don't have to explain how this is incredibly good, do I?
Boots of Teleportation (Level 28, AV): You now teleport at-will instead of moving. Pretty much the de facto choice at ultra high levels, with a bit of competition from some scattered boots here and there. At-Will.[/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Gloves of Silk, Gauntlets of Steel: Handguards of Legacy
Heroic Hands Options
[sblock]Strikebacks (Level 10, AV): If you have a serviceable melee basic attack and don't use your immediate action literally every round, there's no reason to skip this. Combats where these don't trigger are few and far between, so take these and be happy with them. Additional benefit: you finally don't have to remember those annoying Gauntlets of Blood anymore. Encounter.
Resplendent Gloves (Level 5+, AV2): A powerful damage bonus when you hit with an attack that targets will, and possibly CA too. Absolutely worth picking up if you target Will and are interested in damage. It's part of the Resplendent Finery set, to boot. Set, Striker.
Claw Gloves (Level 4, AV):
Damn near an autopick for Druids, and the same goes for Lycans...especially for Lycans. Strikers need not apply without level 10 and that particular theme. Part of the Skin of the Panther set. Striker, Druid, Set, Augmentable.
Babau Gauntlets (Level 10+, Dragon Magazine 408): Once per turn, you can make a melee basic attack using Dex instead of Str. Useful for Dex-strikers that otherwise wouldn't have a functional MBA, even if it's just for an OA. The encounter power deals damage to one attacker equal to half the item's level when you're bloodied. Monk, Bladesinger, Slayer, Striker, Encounter.
Antipathy Gloves (Level 10, AV): The daily power is pretty much whatever, but you're not here for it anyway - you're here for the gigantic stickiness boost these gloves provide to most defenders, making the process of escaping them or moving around them a living hell. Daily, Defender.
Gauntlets of Blood (Level 4+, AV2, HotFL):
A scaling untyped bonus to damage against bloodied targets. The one drawback about these is remembering that you even have the damn things. Striker.
Gloves of Eldritch Admixture (Level 8+, AV): The ability to add a damage keyword to any warlock attack by way of warlock's curse allows a warlock to get around immunities and resists. Though Cold and Fire are common damage types and are often resisted, adding them to another attack makes it unlikely it will be resisted. And you can always use the gloves to add cold. For an Elemental Warlock, Gloves of Eldritch Admixture become Gold due to the increased likelyhood that you will have a vulnerability that matches what the gloves can do which increases your damage by 5/10/15. Warlock, At-Will, Augmentable.
Lancing Gloves (Level 7, AV): If you're not a lycan, not using a frost weapon, and can't prone targets easily, this is a good source of extra damage so long as you're mounted. Striker.
[/sblock]
Paragon Hands Options
[sblock]Gloves of the Healer (Level 12+, AV): That much bonus healing can stack up, and stack up fast. It can be equivalent to a half-tier or tier jump for your Leader healing ability! Healing, Leader.
Gloves of Transference (Level 14, AV): Increases the range of utility powers by 2. This can have some interesting, if niche uses.
Hero's Gauntlets/Great Hero's Gauntlets (Level 17+, AV2):Technically two items, but they have exactly the same purpose, so...in any case, a major boost of THP and a bonus to attack rolls n an Action Point are both neat little features to have. No reason not to give these items a look if you can generate APs often. THP.
Gauntlets of Destruction (Level 18, PHB):
Pseudo-brutal on melee weapons. Decent enough but unremarkable normally, better if you're using Carnage weaponry, quite good if you're using a Falchion, and outstanding if you're charging and chucking lots of dice at people, as it adds up to +4 effective damage or more. Striker, Slayer, Barbarian, Rogue, Scout, Thief, Augmentable.
Gloves of the Wandering Star (Level 19, AV2): A range booster, albeit a lesser one, and a compensation attack on a miss with terrible scaling. Eh, not the best for sure, but it can have its uses. Part of the Offerings of Celestian set. Set, Daily.
Many-Fingered Gloves (Level 20, AV2):
Get an extra ring slot in exchange for your Hands slot. While not for all characters, this item is overwhelmingly powerful for those who can use an extra ring (if nothing else, an extra Champion's Ring is always welcome). Augmentable.
Gloves of Ice (Level 11+, AV2):
Another untyped bonus to cold damage for Frost Weapon wielders. Alternatively, this lets you ignore 5/10 points of cold resistance, which still is a net gain of 3/6 damage. Element, Augmentable.
[/sblock]
Epic Hands Options
[sblock]Foe Caller Gauntlets (Level 22, D381): While these gauntlets are only available in an epic variety, their encounter power can effectively cancel one attack at range each encounter for any character that can mark. Most useful for battleminds and swordmages who have persistent marks which work at range, but still useful for other defenders for dealing with enemies who can teleport or otherwise move without provoking opportunity attacks. Defender, Encounter, Teleport.[/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Crowns and Circlets: Helmets of Legacy
Heroic Head Items
[sblock]Casque of Tactics (Level 4+, AV): An easy way for everyone to boost their initiative a bit with an item bonus. Gets a lot better at higher tiers, where the difference really becomes noticeable. The daily power is deceptively powerful. If you're a Dex-striker and your controller or defender rolled badly on their initiative, this will let them set up the battlefield for you, after which you can come in and kill what's left. Daily.
Fey-Blessed Circlet (Level 8, AV2): CHA in THP at the start of each fight. Not an amazing bonus, but one that any CHA primary or secondary character can use to decent effect. THP.
Horned Helm (Level 6+, PHB): The lynchpin of the so-called Charge Package, based upon doing lots and lots of damage while charging. This lets you add 1d6 per tier to the damage of any charge attack, which quickly results in a lot of extra dice thrown on the table. To enhance the pain further, there's even ways to make multihit attacks usable on a charge, such as the Avalanche Boots and being a Gnoll Reincarnate Champion. All of this combines for frankly silly amounts of damage. Unless you've got a plan, this should be your default Head item as a Striker with MBA access. Striker, Augmentable, Barbarian, Slayer, Scout.
Eagle Eye Goggles (Level 2+, AV): It's a scaling bonus to attack rolls. Elementalists simply have no reason, no excuse, and no way to hide from the fact that they want and need this item. Fail to take it, and fail utterly. Elementalist, Striker.
Circlet of Indomitability (Level 8+, AV):
A scaling untyped bonus to Will, on a common Head slot item no less. If you have any need at all for some extra Will, pick this up and be happy with it. Common, Defender.
Skull Mask (Level 5+, AV):
Want scaling resistance against the most common damage type, but don't want to sacrifice your armor slot for it? Then get this scary thing, which also gives you an item bonus to Intimidate checks. Enemies take a -2 penalty to saving throws against Fear effects, which are pretty rare. Ardent, Wizard, Skill.
Helm of Heroes (Level 10+, PHB):
It's pretty much a daily with a small bonus attached, but what a daily it is. Combine this with, for instance, Death From Two Sides and a Barbarian and you're looking at absolutely unbelievable amounts of carnage. An absolutely prime pick for Warlords and Divine-Oracle'd Enablers alike. Warlord, Leader, Daily.
[/sblock]
Paragon Head Items
[sblock]Eyes of the Eagle (Level 11+, MME): Strict upgrade compared to the Headband of Perception. Not the strongest possible option in a slot with a lot of competition, but a solid option for those who need a perception boost.
Helm of Able Defense (Level 14, AV2): The best way to survive is to not get hit. And this helm facilitates that, a lot. Defenders should be careful though not to become too hard to hit, because monsters will go looking for your allies otherwise. Oh, and a +1 item bonus to Will is just gravy. Part of the Panoply of the Shepherds of Ghest set. Defender, Set.
Crown of the Brilliant Sun (Level 14, AV2): Provides type conversion for elemental abuse? Check. Doesn't take up your weapon enchant? Check. Is a part of the Gifts for the Queen set, which means it gives you a damage bonus? Check. If you're a Lightning or Radiant user, this item deserves serious consideration. Set, Striker, Elemental (Lightning, Radiant), Augmentable.
Circlet of Arkhosia (Level 14+, Head, PHR
): Being dazed or stunned sucks hardcore. Saving against dazing or stunning at the start of your turn, so you can get your full action, is excellent. If you're not a warden and don't have the Wis or Cha for Superior Will, and don't have any other head slot commitments, you will want this helm. Especially mandatory for defenders, who can't punish when they're debilitated. The level 24 version also gives you a start-of-turn save against dominated. Set, Defender.
Golden Crown of Battle Command (Level 14, AV2):
Perhaps the single most powerful item in the game for its price, this item takes arguably the most powerful and game-changing class, the Warlord, and kicks it into overdrive by turning its enabling abilities into a well of free buffs that stack with every other boost they bring to the table. This is such a dominant choice for them that the only, and I do mean only other item they should consider is a Helm of Heroes...and even then, the smart move is to carry the Helm, use its power, and then instantly switch to the Golden Crown. Perhaps the only item that carries an absolutely magnificent name and actually lives up to it. Warlord, Set.
Crown of Equillibrium (Level 12, AV2): Combine this with a withering weapon and you essentially have an at-will saving throw grant. Still pretty OK otherwise, too, assuming you use (save ends) effects at all. Leader, Augmentable.
[/sblock]
Epic Head Items
[sblock]None yet![/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Sashes of Gold, Cinctures of Diamond: Belts of Legacy
Heroic Waist Options
[sblock]Diamond Cincture (Level 10+, AV2):
The default waist option. Only few builds want another item. A bonus to fortitude AND extra healing is almost more than anyone would dare to hope for. Healing.
Belt of Vim (Level 8,18,28, AV):
Completely overshadowed by Diamond Cincture. Its only saving graces are that it's 2 levels lower and common. Common.
Cincture of the Dragon Spirit (Level 6, AV):
It's a sad fact of D&D that Strength focused characters tend to...well, be utterly useless in social challenges. Not so with this belt. Combine it with the cheap skill power Try The Stick, and your big bulky barbarian or fighter will be as charming as that sly rogue or bard!
Viper Belt (Level 4, AV): Not worried about your Fortitude defense (i.e. don't need a Diamond Cincture) and want some protection in case you run into Drow? Then get this belt, which protects you from poison damage with resist 5 and a daily power that lets you save against ongoing poison damage. Daily.
Belt of Sonnlinor Righteousness (Level 6+, Dragon 385):
The infamous Belt of Brokenness, this monster turns any Revenant willing to invest in sub-zero optimization (read: Superior Will and enough save boosters to make the save against daze automatically) into a ridiculous, unkillable beast. Not applicable for everyone, but for those who can use it and don't mind utilizing the biggest and most broken exploit still in the game, this is gold.
Daily, Augmentable.
[/sblock]
Paragon Waist Options
[sblock]Belt of the Witch King (Level 18, AV2): Awesome belt for any Arcane character - not only does it give you roughly the benefit of the regular Fort belt, but it gives you free action significant surgeless healing as a daily. Arcane, Surgeless Healing, Daily.
Cord of Divine Favor (Level 13, AV): While awful for surge efficiency (you want to stack as many boosters on top of a healing surge to make sure you spend as few of them as possible), it's impossible to deny how useful this belt is when you need heals NOW. Leader, Encounter, Healing.
Totemic Belt (Level 11, AV): It's a daily power, but how many powers are '+1 to attacks for a fight'? Potentially great for people who already want to charge as a matter of course. Daily, Striker, Barbarian, Slayer.
Waistband of the Grappler (Level 13, AV2): Not for everyone, but if you can push yourself off the d20, this belt provides a meaty bonus to damage rolls. Just make sure to kill everything before they can make use of the CA you're granting them. Striker, At-Will.
Belt of Mountain Endurance (Level 18, Dragon 365):
At higher levels, equivalent to having taken Toughness three times for the purposes of surge values. Even on a dinky seven-surge Striker, that's close to two bonus healing surges, and can reach absolutely silly levels if you have enough surges to burn (five surges' worth of healing just from this belt? Don't mind if I do!). A defensive bonus on spending an Action Point is awesome icing. Daily, Defender.
General's Belt (Level 15, AV2):
Unimpressive by itself, this belt becomes a really good way to get a good to outstanding Will Defense when combined with the Golden Crown of Battle Command from the same item set. If you're using that item, consider picking this one up, as it's not too shabby and it's not that easy to boost your most important NAD by 2 points. Daily, Warlord, Set, Healing.
Cinture of Vivacity (Level 14, MME): A mid-paragon Common item, you'd expect this to be useful, but not amazing, and it is. Its function is simple: healing above you maximum becomes THP. Now, in most parties, that might not be a big deal, because healing is a limited resource that you don't want to waste. But it becomes sky blue or even gold for the right parties and characters. Simply put, if you want to be proactive about healing or you have to be (thanks, for instance, to a PP feature such as Champion of Corellon's AP, or a class feature such as a Knight's 19th and 23rd), this lets you make the most of it. However, it's at its best with a Warlord or other leader who hands out significant buffs with his encounter healing powers. In that situation, you really want this item - or the Warlord needs to carry one around to deck his friends out with. Healing, THP, Augmentable.
[/sblock]
Epic Waist Options
[sblock]Belt of Titan Strength (Level 25, PHB):
For when something absolutely, positively has to die, accept no substitutes. Striker, Daily.[/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Bands of Platinum and Wishes: Rings of Legacy
Paragon Tier Rings
[sblock]Ring of the Radiant Storm (Level 17, AV2):
Not only does it give you roll-twice-take-better damage rolls, not only does it let you recover powers on a miss (any miss - multiattack and multitarget powers recharge even if they hit the primary target if you miss a secondary one!), but it's part of the Gifts for the Queen set, which means just one more item will provide a +2 bonus to damage rolls or higher. Damn near an autopick for lightning or radiant characters. Set, Daily, Striker.
War Ring (Level 16, AV): An extra die of critical hit damage and a daily of two extra critical hit dice over and above the property (maxed after a milestone). Not bad for people who like to fish for crits and are properly geared to do so. However, this pales in comparison to the next ring, to the point you should only use it if your DM rules that you can't stack two of them. Striker, Daily.
Ring of Giants (Level 13, Dragon 378): +2 critical hit damage per enhancement pointof your weapon. Beats out the War Ring by the time you are using a +4 weapon and is competitive when you have a +3 weapon. The daily push + prone is excellent icing on the cake if you're primal, but every Striker should give this serious consideration if they can get close to a 10% crit chance per attack. If they can go higher than that reliably, don't even hesitate. Pick this up and go wild. Striker, Primal, Avenger.
Ring of Circling Fangs (Level 20, Dungeon 181):
Unimpressive on the surface, until you realize there are builds that use Battlecrazed and Bloodfury Weapons, that those builds attract incredible amounts of monster aggro, and that the damage is dealt per hit. This can stack up to an extra attack or two of bonus damage, which is pretty damn good...just make sure you can take the heat before you put this on. Rogues can stay out. Striker, Barbarian, Augmentable, Encounter.
Iron Ring of the Dwarf Lords (Level 14, PHB): A healing surge is always useful, if a bit unremarkable. Meanwhile, the power can be a lifesaver, though you're probably not gonna get to use it that often.
Ring of Fury (Level 14, Dragon 366): An utterly ridiculous punishment for getting bloodied, which stacks with the Backlash Tattoo. Essentially, this makes your bloodied value a timebomb. Enemies will just flatly not want to attack you once you get close to it, because a triple out-of-turn wallop will be enough to down everything that isn't a Solo for daring to hit you. This would be broken if it was per-encounter, and is just merely really good once it triggers as-is. Daily, Striker.
Ring of the Dragonborn Emperor (Level 15, AV):
The only way for close burst abusers to get their item bonus to damage on before Epic, and also a good way to boost dragonbreath for rebreathers. Trying to use close bursts for damage is mostly a sucker's bet, but the option is there...and more importantly, that daily power is excellent and makes the ring worth picking up. Rare, Daily, Sorcerer.
Foe-Binder Ring (Level 19, Dragon 381):
Damned if you do, damned if you don't. No matter what the enemy does, he really does always lose now. Hysterical on defenders who focus on defending via penalties instead of punishment, but any type of defender can use it to good effect. Defender.
Champion's Ring (Level 17, Revenge of the Giants):
Super dirty trick: get your entire party to pitch in and get Champion's items, plus one of these rings for each of you. Proceed to automatically win battles as you gain a +5/+6 item bonus while bloodied. It does cost item slots and party cooperation, but few things are as satisfying as knowing you can't ever lose a fight unless you're actively trying to do so. The fact that you get to apply elemental vulnerability on top is super nice icing, as is the initiative bonus you're going to get if you follow this strategy. Augmentable, Striker, Daily, Set.
[/sblock]
Epic Tier Rings
[sblock]Ring of Tenacious Will (Level 21, AV):
Go from scrawny to beefy in the span of a single slot. This can easily cause your surges to double, or even more than that. If you're a charisma character, you better have a damn good reason NOT to take this ring. As a reminder, Comrade's Succor exists to make sure the entire party will benefit from your being beefier. Augmentable, Multi-Role.
Luminary Ring (Level 22, AV): Some really wonky wording makes this ring a pretty decent pick to grant yourself hilariously overlarge reach with powerful leader powers. It comes in a bit late and only provides a direct bonus as a daily, but the tactical uses of it are potentially immense. Leader, Daily.
Ring of Free Time (Level 29, AV2): All damage you take is reduced by 5...and that's the nifty little bonus of this ring, amazingly enough. Having an extra minor action is just off the charts. If there is one Rare item worth considering for every character, this is it. Rare, Multi-Role, Encounter.
Opal Ring of Remembrance (Level 29, AV):
Do you use intelligence as your attack stat? Yes? You want this ring. A bonus to your attack rolls AND your best skills, and you regain a utility power if you're Arcane? The only possible competition for this is the Ring of Free Time. Wizard, Psion, Swordmage, Artificer, Daily, Rare.
Ring of Traded Knowledge (Level 21, AV2):
Psionic characters can use this ring to get a complete, fully augmentable power of a higher level than the ones they can actually get for an entire encounter. Post milestones, it even comes with an accuracy buff, too! Definitely worth considering for them. Ardent, Battlemind, Psion, Daily.
Golden Ring of Teros (Level 24, AV2):
Part of the Rings of the Akarot set, and an amazing way to ensure you will make it through a fight intact. This ring exponentially increases your survivability, because enemies won't attack someone they can't hit...thus ensuring the trigger will never come to pass. The daily also happens to be an outstanding buff, which is tasty, tasty icing. Defender, Daily, Set.
Shadow Band (Level 27, MME):
An upgrade on the Golden Ring above for the most part. It loses value against enemies who can pierce concealment and the daily is worse, but on the other hand it DOES provide a bonus to all defenses instead of just some...your call on which one's better, really. Defender, Daily.
[/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Priceless Jewels and Hidden Techniques: Wondrous Items of Legacy
Armisael's Note: Because of its massive size, this list has been split by types into wondrous items, boons, and oddball items and mounts.
Wondrous Items
[sblock]Heroic Wondrous Options
[sblock]Enshrouding Candle (Level 7, AV):
It fuels the Moon Armor if you're using that, it grants nigh-unpierceable invisibility if you need it and oh, it sets up traps and surprise rounds. Always pack one with you. Always. Daily.
Zaarani's Solitaire (Level 10, Seekers of the Ashen Crown): Adventure item, so normally not that easy to obtain, but super handy for every character after other solitaire's got nerfed. Why say no to free proning and forced movement? Encounter.
Power Jewel (Level 5, AV):
A strong incentive to keep good lowbie powers throughout your entire career. Just picture the carnage if a Sorcerer gets to cast Flame Spiral twice in one fight, for instance. Daily.
Backlash Tattoo (Level 9, AV2):
Get hit, hit right back. A classic choice for all strikers, who really like getting counterattacks without burning their class powers in the process. Striker, Encounter.
Demonskin Tattoo (Level 3+ AV2):
Never fear elemental damage again. If you action point, this tattoo gives you scaling resistance to acid, cold, fire, lightning or thunder damage until the end of the encounter. One of the default tattoo choices.
Eager Hero's Tattoo (Level 10+, AV2): Wants THP? This is one of the easiest ways to get them. At the end of each short rest, you get THP = 5/10/15 + the amount of expended healing surges/x2/x3. Gets a lot better if you've invested in Con. One of the default tattoo choices. Defender, Warlock.
Curse Eye Tattoo (Level 8, AV2): Builds who deal in save ends effects shouldn't leave home without one. A -2 penalty to all saves for one target when you action point. To add insult to injury, this is also a save ends effect. Augmentable.
Fleet Hero Tattoo (Level 8+, AV2): A scaling speed bonus until the end of your next turn when you action point. For when you need to move, RIGHT NOW.
Tattoo of Shared Vengeance (Level 10, AV2): Unreliable, but assuming your entire party gets in on the action of this tattoo, the damage potential is just magical. Not gonna work often, but when it does hilarity will ensue.
Vistani Buzuq (Level 7, Dragon 380):
Free surge rearrangement, for the low, low price of a level 7 item. Not only should you get this, you probably should buy spares. Daily, Magic Mart.
Magic Scabbards (Level 5/15/25, 10, 12, AV & Dragon 381): Enjoy light or heavy blades and keeping your hands free while you walk, but don't want to spend an action pulling them back out or spend a great deal of money? Then buy a scabbard, which basically lets you Quick Draw any light or heavy blade you sheathe in it. The Ruby/Sapphire/Diamond scabbards from the AV grant a not-really-that-important per-encounter power bonus to the damage roll of the next attack you make after drawing the weapon, while the Scabbard of Sacred Might is a level 10 item with an encounter power that converts your damage into radiant damage (perfect for that hero who kind of wants to be in the Radiant Mafia but is apparently too damn cheap to buy a real lightsaber?), and the Diplomat's Scabbard from Dragon 381 provides a bonus to Diplomacy when you're not stabbing people, and has an emergency defensive daily for when someone gets the drop on you. For those of you who either don't want or can't afford things like Battle Harnesses, at higher tiers dropping 1000 gp on a Ruby Scabbard is a dirt cheap way of ensuring that your sword will always be close at hand.
Bridle of Conjuration (Level 4, AV): Free horse once per day for the next twelve hours. It says it disappears when reduced to 0 HP or fewer, but it's a conjuration, so maybe it's invincible and ignores terrain. Check with your DM before use. Daily.
Bag of Holding (Level 5, PHB): Don't leave home without extradimensional storage. There's just too many fun things to do with it. 200 pounds of weight and 20 cubic feet of space in this one.
Deepfarer's Pouch (Level 5, AV2): Are you a perma-stealth character who's sick of your loud and clumsy party members? Well, if you stick them in extradimensional storage, they can come with you and not make a sound. If they're not constructs or undead, give them one of these so they have an hour of fresh air in their little bags. In fact, have more than one and rotate them during breaks.
Decanter of Endless Water (L7, MME): Encounter power to give 1, 5 or 30 gallons of water as a standard action. If you can't think of fun things to do with water, ring up an engineer friend and ask him to explain hydraulics to you. Super useful item. Encounter.
Battle Standard of the Hungry Blade (L9, D381): Close burst 3, pulls enemies 2 squares towards the center and slows them until the start of your next turn and does that every time your turn starts. If the enemy attempts to pull the standard out of the ground, everyone gets to make an OA on the enemy. Translation: Plant this item, bunch enemies up and if they try to get away your meleers will pulverize them. Seriously worth the standard action to plant it in a bunch of cases. Defender, Encounter.
Echo of Ty'h'kadi (L7+, HotEC): Item bonus to lightning and thunder damage, which is not so easily obtained. There are better options, but how many are slotless? Encounter, Sorcerer, Rare.
Pale Tooth (L7+, HotEC): Item bonus to cold damage, ice walk, and the daily ability to immobilize creatures and make them vulnerable to cold if you're hit by cold. If you can't use Iron Armbands or Bracers of Archery, pick this baby up. Daily, Sorcerer, Rare.
Pitted Flowstone (L9+, HotEC): Can you shift two squares or more reliably? If yes, this turns all minor and move actions you'd normally use purely for repositioning into a source of damage and minion killing. Not bad, eh? Striker, Encounter, Rare.
Elven Chain Shirt (L10+, MME):
The question isn't if you're picking this item up as a light armor user. It's when, and how far up you'll push the item bonus (most characters should stop at the level 20 version, the level 30 version isn't worth sacrificing that much cash for). Multi-Role.
[/sblock]
Paragon Wondrous Options
[sblock]Seed of War (Level 15, AV2):
A bit cumbersome to use, but just look at that absolutely silly damage boost. That's got to be worth something. Daily, Leader.
Exodus Knife (Level 12, AV):
The return of Rope Trick, in more balanced form. Can't quite cheese dungeons as hard as before, but if you can't find a use for an extradimensional storage you're not really trying. Daily.
Breakchain Tattoo (Level 13+, AV2): Don't like being hindered in your movement? Then use an action point and mimick the level 10 Fighter's Grit utility to ignore immobilize, slow and restrain for a turn. The Epic version lets you outright end one of those effects.
Solitaire, Citrine (Wondrous, Level 11, AV):
Once per day when you crit, you can spend a healing surge. Can be invaluable for turning a difficult fight around. Get a few if you can. Healing, Daily.
Solitaire, Aquamarine (Wondrous, Level 16, AV):
Once per day when you crit, you get to make a free action melee basic attack against the target (if it's not dead already). Extra attacks are pretty good on slotless items, I hear. Shame that you can only get one free action attack per round, so it won't work with striker class features like Rampage. Striker, Daily.
Stone of Earth/Flame/Light/Shadow/Spirit/Storms/Wind (Level 12, AV2): A daily slotless reroll would be good by itself. The fact that it also gives you an initiative bonus if the party collects these items (and they should) and on top of that tack on a humongous power bonus to the reroll (!!!!!) means you have absolutely no excuses not to get one. What a set of items this is. Set, Daily, Multi-Role, Rare.
Dice of Auspicious Fortune (Level 11, Dragon 381):
Three known results per day. Let me repeat that: Three known results per day. This means three potentially confirmed crits, three guaranteed hits, or three convenient misses if needed. The uses for this item are simply staggering, and it's your goal, nay, your duty to obtain it. Encounter, Rare.
Broom of Flying (Level 15, MME): Flight is good. This is Fly speed 8 and hover, all day, every day. The catch? -2 to attack rolls, but this is still ridiculously powerful out of combat, and even in combat it's a gimme for Lazylords. Warlord, Daily.
Greater Flying Carpet (Level 20+, MME): Got a reflex defense so bad that you don't care if you make it worse? Not really getting attacked against AC much? Don't care because you can soak HP damage like a boss? Get this item then. Flight is an absolutely precious commodity and it helps obviate many encounters. Rare.
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Epic Wondrous Options
[sblock]Mummified Hand (Level 27, AV):
Comes in really late and requires extra items to work, but can you really say no to a bonus ring slot? Everybody can use an extra ring, pretty much.
Solitaire, Violet (Wondrous, Level 26, AV): Once per day when you crit, you get an action point which you have to spend before the end of your turn. Doesn't let you get around the "one action point per encounter" limit unfortunately, but still very useful for every other encounter, especially since it's slotless. Get a few if you can. Daily.
[/sblock][/sblock]
Boons
[sblock]Heroic Boon Options
[sblock]Blessing of Blazing Fangs (Level 4+, DSCS):
Fire is a very common element, so you should get this cheap bonus that stacks with itself and is obtained from enemies' attacks reasonably often...and if you're a Desert Wind Monk, this is a core item
you should never let go of, because it lets you trigger your Firewind Blade by flurrying yourself, turning you into an actually effective single-target striker. Really damn good boon, honestly. Striker, monk, Augmentable, Boon.
Pelor's Sun Blessing (Level 3+, DMG2):
Are you a Morninglord or Solar Enemy abuser? Then this boon is broken and you should abuse it to high heaven. It also has a nifty daily, to add insult to injury. Augmentable, Avenger, Strike, Daily, Boon.
[/sblock]
Paragon Boon Options
[sblock]Five Stars Five Strikes (Level 13, Dragon 404):
Do you have access to boons? Are you a melee character? If the answer to both of those questions is yes, you're taking this boon, period. That's four extra chances to score a crit on an attack, a lot of good extra damage on a nova round if you're a striker (18 damage if all attacks hit is quite a bit of bonus punch - comparable to applying Weapon Focus six extra times), and it all comes with movement on top, too. There's very, very few items that are usable by a wide variety of classes and builds. This is one of them. Striker, Multi-Role, Encounter, Boon.[/sblock]
Epic Boon Options
[sblock][/sblock][/sblock]
[sblock=Mounts and Other Items]Heroic Miscellaneous Options
[sblock]Ornithopter (Level 8, AV):
Easily shot down and kinda slow, but this is unlimited flight. Repeat: UNLIMITED FLIGHT. A complete steal, and it's worth sacrificing item parcels to stick the party in flying machines.[/sblock]
Paragon Miscellaneous Options
[sblock]None yet.[/sblock]
Epic Miscellaneous Options
[sblock]None yet.[/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Reserved 12: Consumables, Lair Items, Miscellaneous and Mundane.
Originally posted by Armisael:
Reserved 13: Rich Lucky Thirteen, just in case.
You may post now!
Originally posted by thespaceinvader:
Very interesting. I will surely be contrinuting at some point.
For the record, I'm intending to write up Staggering Weapon shortly, probably Cinture of Vivacity (the one that gives you overheal as temps, which is hilariously good with a nice buffing Warlord's heals) - on which note, as THP keyword would probably be useful - and probably others as take my fancy.
Originally posted by Koshinuke:
Staggering Weapon (Weapon): One of the best enchantments for flail using fighters. Adding the enhancement modifier to a slide is just ridiculous. It also knocks the target prone on a crit in addition to doing extra damage on a crit. If you want to really add distance to a slide or make flail expertise and dragging flail insane, get a staggering flail and rushing cleats. That being said, I do not see this enchantment being good for most other classes or weapons without taking dragging flail and MC fighter unless you are only looking to position them and not prone them.
I know you don't want to abuse gold but being able to slide a target 8 squares at L30 with two items is kind of ridiculous.
Lashing Flail+Dragging Flail+Flail Expertise+Staggering Flail(+6) = Every MBA you make, especially OAs and Combat Challenge, now has prone+slide8
If you really want to go for distance, it is possible to hit slide 10 along with a prone at L30. You would be able to do this to all targets in a close burst2 as a fighter.
Scattering Swing(L13 encounter, close burst1) = slide1
Flail Expertise = prone on the slide1 from Scattering Swing
Spiked Chain
Bludgeon Expertise = +1 slide/push(affects spiked chain through arena training)
Rushing Cleats = +1 slide
Dragging Flail = +1 slide on prone
Polearm Master PP = +1 forced movement with reach weapon(spiked chain)
Reaching Whirlwind(Epic Tier) = close burst1 becomes close burst2 with a reach weapon
Staggering Spiked Chain +6 = +6 slide distance
At the end of it all, with a single attack, every enemy within close burst2 is either prone/slide10 on a hit or push 3 on a miss.
Gloves of Eldritch Admixture (Hands): The ability to add a damage keyword to any warlock attack by way of warlock's curse allows a warlock to get around immunities and resists. Though Cold and Fire are common damage types and are often resisted, adding them to another attack makes it unlikely it will be resisted. And you can always use the gloves to add cold. For an Elemental Warlock, Gloves of Eldritch Admixture become Gold due to the increased likelyhood that you will have a vulnerability that matches what the gloves can do which increases your damage by 5/10/15.
Originally posted by Armisael:
Can you prove that a Staggering Weapon is the unbeatable dominant choice for flail users, Koshi? I'm very, very hesitant to rank things gold without extremely good reasons for it, because it paints the wrong picture of 'get this or die', if you get what I mean. Iron Armbands of Power and Bracers of Archery would earn gold, for instance, because they are mathematical necessities to keep up with the game's expected damage per tier for most characters. An item like Claw Gloves, while overwhelmingly powerful for most Strikers post Lycan, would probably still land a Sky Blue rating because it is not so dominant a choice compared to Gauntlets of Brutality and Gloves of Ice that there's no reason for somebody to pick another item.
---
@TSI: Added a Healing and THP pair of keywords. Thanks for the suggestion!
Originally posted by thespaceinvader:
Staggering's also very good for buffing forced movement to trigger PM. It's a dominant weapon choice for Berserkers who want to defend, too. And for Knights, albeit they have a lot of options.
I wonder, also, if there's room for sub-items - i.e. Shard of Cold and Gloves of Ice are pretty much gold for permafrost users, pretty much terrible for most others.
Originally posted by Dzance:
Do you intend to include Rare items including artifacts? I only mention because Hammer of Thunderbolts is very VERY good for strikers who focus on thrown weapons, but as an artifact it's extremely DM-dependent. Otoh, if you want to role play Thor...
Originally posted by DarthPotater:
I think this keywords can be very useful.
[skill] when the item add a bonus to one or more skills
[initiative] when the item add a bonus to initiative
[teleport] there is a teleport handbook but...
A question: When the item is very good for one purpose and bad for others, how are you rating it? I cant see stagering being gold, if only is mandatory for one build.
Maybe you can do ratings in the keywords? Not sure....
Btw good luck, this can be a very useful guide.
Originally posted by Armisael:
If it's actually worth it, an artifact would go under Miscellaneous. It would really have to be borderline broken to even make the cut though, because c'mon, it's an artifact. I expect something really stupid out of unimaginably plot powerful items. It should be an Excalibur or Durendal to even merit notice.
---
As for Staggering, I don't think it is as dominant as you guys think. Very good? Sure. But you're gonna have to convince me that it's better than a Mark of Storm Lightning Weapon (AKA, 'your attacks don't happen'), Feyslaughter weapons (Or 'you're locked down. Completely.'), and so on. It really needs overwhelming evidence in its favor to get a gold rating, and I don't think it has it even for flails.
And sub-items will be listed, TSI - they will receive ratings appropriate to the item they're augging or lesser. So sky blue is the limit for shards and gloves of ice for instance.
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[MENTION=7314]darth[/MENTION]Potater: It's only going to be gold if it is an overwhelmingly powerful item for at least one very popular build, and likely a subset of them. Staggering does not make the cut until further evidence in its favor is presented. If you want an example of something I'd consider gold worthy, think of pre-nerf Reckless Weapons. Also, I question the need for an initiative and teleport tag, but I've added a Skills tag because it makes sense to mention it. Thanks for the suggestion!
Originally posted by DarthPotater:
I usually make compendium searches for initiative items, because all the builds (or near all) want initiative. Teleport not many times because is not so common. Maybe its only me, but i never remember the core-initiative items
Item level(s) can be usefull too
Lets rate 2 items:
Shield of Fellowship (arms) Any shield. This is the only item that can be used for transfer THP. Mandatory for massive THP generators (battleraggers, valorous bards...).
[THP] [Level 15]
Rushing Cleats (feet): This is one of the cheapest way to get the second square push or slide on polearm momentum builds. Usually better than spend a feat.
[Fighter] [Level 7]
Originally posted by thespaceinvader:
You're hard pressed to rate any Arms slot other than item bonuses to damage as sky blue. I'd limit the shield to blue, given that it's not THAT often you want to transfer temps around in my experience.
Similarly, there's enough other forced movement boosters that I wouldn't make the cleats higher than blue either.
Originally posted by Armisael:
Out of curiosity, what would those boosters be? As someone who basically doesn't really bother with Forced Movement beyond getting that Slide 1/2 for Lightning Weapons, the Cleats are amazing at getting me to the amount of movement I need on my hits, and the opportunity cost of all other options is too big to consider. Maybe there's something I'm missing here though.
Originally posted by Jugulator007:
If I wasn't at work doing this on my phone, I'd write up staff of ruin and the periapt of cascading health.
Also, as more of a niche item, Jolting guard weapons, if you have some II or IR to make the monster miss (weakens as an OA)
Originally posted by thespaceinvader:
At least 1 feat (battering Shield), at least 1 weapon (staggering, cf above). It depends on what combos you're trying to build, I suppose.
Originally posted by Armisael:
Right. As I thought, this is kind of an issue if you're building more offensively because you surrender a minimum of 5 points of damage, and likely 7 compared to the MoS Lightning Weapon, which adds up quick. What I'm seeing is that the Staggering Weapon is pretty great...as a build lynchpin. But if you're picking it up for more general utility it is really, really terrible, because you need to stack up several resources to get the good times rolling. What I'm thinking right now is a blue rating for it, because it's not widely applicable enough to merit sky blue and not powerful enough for gold.
Originally posted by Mommy_was_an_Orc:
Why don't you make a group password of some kind, similar to the collective, where say only 10-20 CharOp regulars who do this kind of thing a lot have access to it? That way, people can still post here to submit ratings, but that cuts out a lot of cutting and pasting for you...
Originally posted by Mand12:
This isn't how resistance works, fyi. Adding extra damage of a type does not change the type of the base damage. The power has the full set of keywords, yes, but that doesn't extend down all damage done in all circumstances by the power.
Originally posted by Armisael:
Tons of paranoia about it degenerating into a cluster****, mostly. Also, I'm not convinced that I, or anybody else, is qualified to designate those 10 or 20 CharOp regulars who can rate items because they are the One True Group of experts. I don't mind the C&P either, I just think it's a really bad idea to try to tackle a gargantuan project such as this alone. Hence, asking people to lend a hand with the submissions.
Originally posted by GelatinousOctahedron:
It would probably be useful to include links to things like my weapliment guide and mellored's holy symbol guide. Maybe in your last post.
Symbol of the Champions Code [Paladin] [Radiant] Scaling boost to the radiant damage of both your challenge and sanction.
Originally posted by Mommy_was_an_Orc:
I'm not actually saying that you won't do the ultimate ratings - at a certain point, you just change the password once most of the basic work is done. But there are thousands of magic items...
Also, you should consider stealing...um praising through copying...Soulliard's item thread, just so you have things to quickly edit.
Originally posted by DarthPotater:
Diamond Cincture (waist):
The default waist option. Only few builds want other waist item. Bonus to fortitude and free heal.
[Surgeless healing] [Level 10,20,30]
Baldric of Shielding (waist): Only for shielding swordmages (except Coronal Guards), but gain THP equal to the amount of damage you prevented with aegis, is nice.
[THP] [Shielding Swordmage] [Level 19]
Originally posted by Armisael:
I'll think of it. Could be a good idea, actually!
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[MENTION=12749]MwaO[/MENTION]: Hmm...probably worth a shot if things go slowly, though I disagree with a ton of the ratings there. There'd be lots to change...still, something to keep in mind.
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EDIT: The Diamond Cincture isn't surgeless anymore, DP...
Originally posted by svendj:
DarthPotater already did this in some of his posts, but item level needs to be included somewhere in the description.
Great initiative, I'll definitely contribute.
Originally posted by svendj:
Rending Weapon (Weapon):
The more ways you have to increase your chances of scoring a critical hit, the more this becomes a mandatory weapon. Not only does this add 1d6 per plus to your critical hit damage, it also grants you a no action melee basic attack. There's nothing more a striker could ask for. Only drawback is that it only comes as an axe, but that's just more incentive to wield a Gouge.
Avenger, Striker. Level 4+
Amulet of Life (Neck):
Access to extra healing is never bad, especially if you get beat on a lot. Even better if you have a reliable way to generate saving throws so it doesn't compete with other neck slot items that grant saves. It shines on classes that have a lot of healing surges, because after a few fights surge management tends to become an issue.
Defender, Encounter. Level 5+
Strikebacks (Hands, level 10, AV): If you have a serviceable melee basic attack and don't use your immediate action literally every round, there's no reason to skip this. Combats where these don't trigger are few and far between, so take these and be happy with them. Additional benefit: you finally don't have to remember those annoying Gauntlets of Blood anymore.
Encounter.
Acrobat Boots (Feet, level 2, PHB):
Who likes to spend their move action standing up from prone? No-one, that's who. This lowly level 2 Feet slot item forever saves you from having to worry about this. This effect is also obtainable by taking the level 2 Acrobatics utility power Agile Recovery, but why spend a precious utility on it when these boots do the same?
At-will.
Boots of the Fencing Master (Feet, level 7, AV): This kind of mobility is usually reserved for Monks, so making it available as a Feet slot item is great. There are so many uses for a minor action shift 2 it's not even funny. And that's not mentioning the item bonus to AC and Reflex when you shift. One of the top heroic picks for Feet slot items.
Encounter.
Butterfly Sandals (Feet, level 12, AV): There are few classes that benefit from a static bonus to fly speed, but for those who do this is a huge increase. If you have a way to consistently take to the skies, this lets you do a decent Neo-impression.
Common.
Helm of Able Defense (Head, level 14, AV2): The best way to survive is to not get hit. And this helm facilitates that, a lot. Defenders should be careful though not to become too hard to hit, because monsters will go looking for your allies otherwise. Oh, and a +1 item bonus to Will is just gravy. Part of the Panoply of the Shepherds of Ghest set.
Defender, set.
Casque of Tactics (Head, level 4,14,24, AV): An easy way for everyone to boost their initiative a bit with an item bonus. Gets a lot better at higher tiers, where the difference really becomes noticeable. The daily power is deceptively powerful. If you're a Dex-striker and your controller or defender rolled badly on their initiative, this will let them set up the battlefield for you, after which you can come in and kill what's left.
Daily.
Originally posted by Armisael:
Good point about the template, I missed some fundamental things. Edited them in, should be better now.
Originally posted by Koshinuke:
The biggest thing I was thinking about is that staggering weapons are legal in all games unless the DM specifically bans magic items, magic weapons, or staggering weapons themselves. They do not have the restriction of being from a particular world, like mark of storm is, which is required for that combination to run. While it is easier to add damage with a lightning weapon, the basic ability you are aiming for, sliding to prone, can be accomplished without using possibly restricted feats. Also, when you can prone a creature and slide them beyond charge range I think that is a good thing. You can do that starting mid paragon.
Pick up repel charge and you could prevent them from hitting you because you get charged, you get an OA, you slide them and prone before they get their attack.
You stated gold was the best item for a niche build. I could see you downgrading it to sky blue but it is at least sky blue because it is one of the best options for a flail using controller.
Originally posted by Armisael:
Gold doesn't mean just 'best' item. It means 'unarguably best', to the point there's absolutely nothing to argue about it being best (so doing the best damage by two points for a specific build doesn't qualify you - doing the best damage by twenty does, for instance). There are control tools that a flail user wants besides Staggering, so it's not gold, and as mentioned before, it has a major opportunity cost, which keeps it from sky blue.
Originally posted by Mand12:
I'd argue that for things like items, the Gold category really has different meaning. It's not that Staggering Weapon is inarguably the best for flail fighters, but it is the core item in the builds that use it. Sure, I can build a fighter that doesn't use Staggering Weapon, but for the ones that do, it's absolutely critical. Is it really helpful to give a general, across-the-board rating? It's entirely possible that a general rating of Sky Blue for one item and a general rating of Black for another may be appropriate in general, but character builds aren't general. For my build, maybe that Black item is so stupidly crazy important that it becomes Gold, for that build. Alfsair Spear is a perfect example. As a spear enchantment, it's pretty meh. Nice, I guess, but no better or worse than dozens of other mediocre spear enchantments. In the hands of a Polearm Druid, though, it is the item that makes the build, and you have absolutely zero choice in the matter. Which is the definition of Gold.
What I fear, though, is that in recognizing the semi-uselessness of the general rating, we just have a list of Gold items for popular builds. Which rapidly just turns into a list of our favorite items, which isn't the point of handbooks like this. If anyone's got an argument for why general ratings are helpful, I'd love to hear it. I'm at a loss right now. The only use I can think of is for the truly generalist items. Things like Iron Armbands of Power. There's no one specific build that they're the key linchpin of, they're just generally good for everyone who uses melee attacks. But that's a pretty slim set of the item base, and to be honest it's the most boring set. The interesting items, in my opinion the ones that you can make a build around, aren't the sort of things that lend themselves well to ratings. Either they're all going to be purple-black as a general rating, or they're all going to be Gold (or, if you're overly humble, sky blue). Neither of which is particularly useful.
Originally posted by Armisael:
Build enabling items aren't going to have a gold rating. They'll have a purple rating, most likely. Gold isn't about being critically important, it's about being an overwhelmingly dominant choice. If the build is enabled by the item but isn't the most powerful build by a mile, then it's not gold.
Originally posted by Armisael:
Mastering The Blade: Weapons of Legacy List
Heroic Weapon Options
[sblock]Frost Weapon (Level 3+, PHB1): The gold standard all weapon enchants are compared to. A cheap, easy way to obtain up to fourteen points of damage and constant CA, and all it asks of you is a pair of feats you'd be taking anyway if you were planning on using this element. It even converts pre-typed powers too, so even implement users can join in on the fun. Really takes off once you have a Shard of Merciless Cold and Gloves of Ice, but is still mighty decent with just the core kit of Wintertouched and Lasting Frost. Elemental (Cold), Striker, Augmentable, Multi-Role, Daily.
Staggering Weapon (Level 2+, AV): One of the best enchantments for flail using fighters. Adding the enhancement modifier to a slide is extremely powerful. It also knocks the target prone on a crit in addition to doing extra damage on a crit, which helps. Combines very well with status effect stacking tricks, such as those obtained through flail weapon feats. Fighter, Augmentable.
Rending Weapon (Level 4+, AV):
The more ways you have to increase your chances of scoring a critical hit, the more this becomes a mandatory weapon. Not only does this add 1d6 per plus to your critical hit damage, it also grants you a no action melee basic attack. There's nothing more a striker could ask for. Only drawback is that it only comes as an axe, but that's just more incentive to wield a Gouge. Avenger, Striker.
Unforgettable Cudgel (Level 8+, AV2):
A reliable, simple enchant for Clerics, and also very, very tasty for Avengers too. Pity it's Mace only, but you can't have everything, right? Avenger, Cleric.
Sunblade (Level 4+, AV):
The first of the lightsaber line, and actually one of the best because of its lower price bracket. Not as great as Radiant, but cheaper and available in the Heroic tier, so that's something. Striker, Elemental (Radiant).
Mace of Healing (Level 8+, AV):
A great weapon for healers to carry around in their offhand. You don't even have to attack with it! Healing.
Flail of Winds (Level 3+, Dragon 391): Its a nifty little enchantment for flails which increases any forced movement effects created by the flail by 1. What is important to note is that it says "any attack made with the flail" meaning it is also implement friendly which is something it has over Staggering along with being a common item. Common, Defender.
Battlecrazed Weapon (Level 4+, AV):
The other contender for the 'biggest damage boost' throne, Battlecrazed has the advantage of not requiring as many pieces as a Radiant Weapon to get you there. Unfortunately, what pieces it does require have a great opportunity cost: This weapon only truly shines with Bloodfury Weapons in ample supply to keep it going (I recommend Gauntlet Axes, which take up no slots), which makes it minor-action heavy, and just like Radiant it requires a Paragon Path to truly get its damage to the stratosphere (the Paragon Path being Winter Fury to effectively double up your weapon slot). Still, while pricey, that investment has appropriately huge returns. Striker, Augmentable, Daily.
Bloodfury Weapon (Level 4+, AV2):
The other piece of the Battlecrazed puzzle. Normally not worth your time by itself, but being able to kick bloodied boosts to 'always on' status is amazing for certain characters. Best used on Gauntlet Axes to maintain your hands open for weapon-carrying. Striker, Augmentable, Encounter.
Frost Fury Waraxe (Level 3+, AV2):
The less well-known cousin of Battlecrazed. What's better than a Frost weapon? Why, a Frost Weapon that adds even more extra damage on top of the frost package! Real pity that not that many classes use CON, it's Axe only and it requires Bloodfury to shine, because this is one heck of an enhancement. Striker, Augmentable, Elemental (Cold).
Githyanki Silver Weapon (Level 9+, Manual of the Planes): Two amazing properties on this one. The first lets you turn all damage done by this weapon into psychic damage, which works amazingly well for defenders that want to use Psychic Lock, for example. A Headband of Intellect also gives you a +1 item bonus to all attacks, although the Headband is a rare item these days. The second property lets you banish a creature (save ends) when you hit with the weapon, which is a pretty rare and very powerful ability. Element (Psychic), Daily, Augmentable.
Feyslaughter Weapon (Weapon, Level 9+, AV): If you hit something with this, it can't teleport for a round. A great property for defenders who want to keep everything adjacent to them, and almost mandatory for Brawler Fighters. Defender.
Vanguard Weapon (Level 3+, AV): Part of the 'charge kit', along with (among others) the Horned Helm. This weapon adds 1d8 to the damage of any succesful charge attack. The daily power lets you boost your allies' attack and damage rolls for a round, although the amount of damage depends on how good your Charisma is. Striker, Augmentable, Daily.
Rhythm Blade (Level 3+, AV2):
When you wield this in your offhand, your shield bonus to AC and Ref increases by 1. Which means you need to have a shield bonus in the first place (Battle Cleric's Lore and shielding implements say hi), and you need your offhand free. If you qualify for that, there's not much that beats this if you want to boost your defenses cheaply. Augmentable, Common.
Shielding Blade (Level 4+, Dragon Magazine 391): Want more AC but no room for a shield? Take this and be happy with it. Nothing fancy, but it serves a purpose. Swordmage, Common.
Lightning Weapon (Level 5+, PHB):
Gets this rating for the synergy with Mark of Storm. Now any attack you make with the weapon lets you also slide the target 1 square. There are countless things that benefit from that, notables being Flail Expertise and Polearm Momentum for easy proning. The daily power lets you do some more damage on a hit. Elemental (Lightning), Augmentable, Daily.
Quicksilver Blade (Level 2+, AV2): Need an item bonus to initiative? Proficient with any light blade and have a hand free? Then look no further. You just need to hold the Blade at the start of combat to get the bonus, so there's nothing stopping you from dropping it and Quick-Drawing another weapon on your first turn. The daily power gives you an additional move action on a hit. Daily.
Harmony Blade (Level 4+ AV2): Non-action attacks on a crit for dual-wielders and you lay down attack penalties to enemies if you hit them twice. Beautiful on characters who specialize in multiattacking, such as Whirlybarbs and Rangers, and part of a set too. Striker, Ranger, Avenger, Set.
Farbond Spellblade (Weapon, Level 2+, AV2): The default thrown weapon option for most characters. Shouldn't be your main weapon enchant, but never leave home without one. Multi-Role.
Hungry Spear (Weapon, Level 2+, AV2): Another passable weapon option for throwing, though the main draw here is the Encounter power and long range. Immobilizing an enemy at range helps with closing in and downing fliers, which is handy. Encounter, Multi-Role.
Dwarven Thrower (Level 2+, Dragon 385): Mandatory for throwers, as it's one of the few ways to get a decent item bonus to damage, though it's a paltry substitute for true Bracers of Archery r Iron Armbands. Also a passable throwing option, I s'pose. Striker.
Totemic Spear (Level 2+, AV2): Only a Shaman needs bother with this item, which does have the really nice perk of boosting your Spirit Companion's range. Still, it's quite niche. Is reach really worth that much to you? Shaman.
Totemic Warclub (Level 2+, AV2): Adds a fair amount of versatility to Shaman power deployment. Doesn't really make you more powerful, but you might not need it if you can get the right powers off at the right time. Shaman.
Chieftain's Weapon (Level 3+, Dragon 381): Overrated, I think. It's easy enough to boost MBAs into overwhelmingly powerful forces of nature without having to rely on burning a Weapon enchant. There's almost always something better out there. Leader, Common.
Defensive Weapon (Level 2+, AV):
For most characters, sacrificing their weapon enchants is an impossibly bad proposition...but not so bad that Wardens and other Second Wind users can't carry an outdated version of this weapon around to draw for that round when they need to Second Wind and screw enemies hard. Warden, Defender, Magic Mart.
Weapon of Defense (Level 4+, MME):
Pitiful bonus for a primary weapon...but who said this was going to be primary? Particularly good for Thri-Kreens due to the wording (says 'holding', not 'wielding'), but still good for anyone who can spare a hand. Defender, Magic Mart, Daily.
Firewind Blade (Level 4+, HotEC):
At long last, fire has an answer to Cold and Radiant's elemental shenanigans. Thanks to this outstanding little item, every time you strike an enemy with fire damage, they take 1 + Enhancement bonus damage. Needless to say, this works with vulnerabilities, which means that if you can reliably generate fire or general vulns, the target will be quickly fried. The only catch is that you have to make your attacks fiery without the aid of a weapon enchant, which isn't so easy...but not impossible either. The PPs Soaring Blade and Malec-Keth Janissary can provide a source of fire damage, and so can a certain nifty little slotless item (that all Desert Wind Monks should carry). Speaking of which...Desert Wind Monks
must take this item as their implement. It's how they keep up with the big boys. Lastly, this item gets very stupid if you have Radiant One and Morninglord. Striker, Monk, Augmentable, Daily.
Hidden Weapon (Lvl 3+, DSCS):
Need an item bonus to initiative? Proficient with light blades or maces? Just keep one of these guys in your hand when you roll initiative and then drop the sucker when you're done with it to go quickdraw your weapon of choice. If you do feel like using it, it comes with its own quick draw ability, and once you sheathe it only you can find and draw it, making it a useful and stylish way to go undercover. Now, you can have that swordcane you always wanted. Multi-Role, Magic Mart.
Flaming Weapon (Level 5+, PHB): Mostly not worth your time - passable for Tieflings though. Note that it does not convert typed damage, because of a very dumb bit of errata. For a fire elemental converter refer to the paragon section. Tiefling, Daily.
Subtle Weapon (Level 3+, AV): An OK enchantment. There's much better ones out there, but this one's easy to use so it has that going for it. Striker.[/sblock]
Paragon Weapon Options
[sblock]Radiant Weapon (Level 15+, AV): Weapon property is basically 'you get your arms slot back'. Also one of several common ways for an implement user to get an item bonus to damage, and it enables use of radiant dragonshards. While not as easily applicable as Frost, it has the advantage of enabling one of, if not the biggest damage boosts you can get out of a weapon alongside freeing the eternally chained Arms slot, by utilizing Morninglord and Pelor's Boon from the DMG2. Elemental (Radiant), Striker, Augmentable, Multi-Role.
Blade of the Eldritch Knight (Weapon, Level 15+, AV2): Heavy Blade that increases your melee reach to 5. Great if you want to attack stuff in melee, but don't actually want to stand next to it, or simply want a range increase (Warlords come to mind here). Also lots of fun if your melee attacks slows your target in some way. Part of the Eldritch Panoply set. Set.
Thunderbolt Weapon (Level 13+, AV):
Lightning Weapon, except in a cheaper bracket and with a better daily. The only downside is that it only works with Ranged weapons...but that includes Daggers and Drow Long Knives for instance, as a FYI, so Sorcerers in particular are really, really happy about their existence. Elemental (Lightning), Augmentable, Daily, Sorcerer.
Jagged Weapon (Level 12+, AV): Want to double your crit range? This is the earliest way you'll be able to achieve it. Potentially scary as hell if you have enough bennies that trigger on-crit - expanded crit range is deceptively powerful, particularly if combined with the Five Stars Five Strikes boon. Do note, however, that this item is superseded entirely by the option below. Striker, Avenger, Barbarian, Augmentable.
Melegaunt's Darkblade (Level 12+, Dungeon 177):
Like Jagged, except it adds a ton more damage via extra dice that deal cold damage. Essentially the same, but more. Lots more. Striker, Avenger, Barbarian, Augmentable, Elemental (Cold).
Battlemaster's Weapon (Level 14+, AV): Salve of Power in weapon form. Recharging an encounter power once per day is an interesting option for almost any (non-power point) class. One interesting detail is that the encounter power doesn't have to be an attack power, or even class power. Daily.
Weapon of Summer (Level 15+, Dungeon 160): If you're using a Flaming weapon for some reason, chuck it for this toy as soon as you are able. It's the only way to get fire conversion out of weapon enchants too. Tiefling, Multi-Role, Daily.
Captain's Weapon (Level 13+, MME):
Not only does it offer a nice bonus to damage rolls as a minor, it offers Hail of Steel as a daily power. Let me repeat this, for emphasis: It offers Hail of Steel as a daily power, no need to swap any powers out. One of the definitive Leader weapons, bar none. Leader, Warlord, Encounter, Daily.
Wind Weapon (Level 14+, MME): Do you have allies who like Agile Opportunist and either a free hand or no pressing need for another enhancement? Congrats, here's an at-will slide effect for any move action you weren't using. And it helps you get your allies into flanking positions or out of danger. Leader.
Withering Weapon (Level 13+, AV):
In a party with a bunch of meleers? Hit a target once (or twice, or thrice if you can swing it) on your turn with this weapon and paint a gigantic 'FOCUS THIS GUY' sign all over him. Being easily ended by a save kinda sucks, but in the worst case scenario, this should still be a turn of focus fire made simpler and more profitable. Combine with a Crown of Equilibrium for outstanding save granting capability, if your enemies don't die first that is. Leader, Augmentable.
Thundergod Weapon (Level 13+, AV): Trash in the paragon tier because it is strictly inferior to the Vanguard Weapon. Strictly superior in Epic, when the bonus it gives climbs up from 1d6 to 2d6. Good on people spamming the charge package. Augmentable, Striker.
[/sblock]
Epic Weapon Options
[sblock]None yet![/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Armors of the Unbroken: Armors of Legacy List
Heroic Armor Options
[sblock]Rebuking Armor (Level 4+, PHB2):
A nifty, reliable boost for the defense-challenged people in the audience. If you're stuck with Chain, this is a nice way to patch up your defenses. Cleric, Invoker.
Healer's Armor (Level 5+, AV2):
Healing more with each healing surge spent can be really handy, for obvious reasons. Healing.
Shared Valor Armor (Level 8+, PHB2): Normally rather unremarkable even for constant THP granters, this armor's worth absolutely skyrockets if you're an Artificer, and is a major contributor to the power of the Resistive Formula. Artificer, THP.
Shadow Warlock Armor (Level 10+, AV2): Nearly eternal combat advantage against whatever target you're trying to kill is amazing for any striker, and Warlocks are no exception. Nobody but a warlock can use this, but they certainly love this puppy. Note that melee warlocks and Hybrids don't care one whit for this armor, however. Warlock.
Dwarven Armor (Level 2+, PHB):
Even as a daily power, you just don't say no to surge-free, action-free healing. One of the two de facto choices for heavy armor users. Surgeless Healing, Daily, Multi-Role.
Bloodiron Armor (Level 8+, AV2):
The other default for heavy armor. You were going to beat the snot out people anyway, why not become defensively tougher in the process? Multi-Role.
Armor of Resistance (Armor, Level 2+, AV): Hate typed damage? Then this armor will grant you resistance against one out of a wide range of damage types. Not as good as other armors which grant resistance to two types of damage, but a lot more customizable. Resistance scales with tier. Common.
Armor of Adaptable Resistance ( Level 4+, PP):
Like the Armor of Resistance, this only provides you resistance against one damage type (out of a wide range of types), but the daily power that lets you change resistance until the end of the encounter makes it a lot more versatile. And if you have at least one power point, it will make you practically immune to all typed damage one encounter per day. Psionic.
Black Iron Armor (Level 4+, PHB, HotFL): This armor lets you resist fire and necrotic, the two most common damage types. Resistance scales with tier. Only comes in Scale and Plate. Common.
Inner Warmth Armor (Level 9+, PHB2):
This armor lets you resist cold and necrotic. One is the most common damage type, the other... not so much. The daily power however lets you win one encounter per day, that is if your DM is shortsighted enough to use only necrotic or cold damage after he's given you this armor. Resistance scales with tier. Only comes in Hide. Daily.
Runic Armor (Level 3+, AV2):
For all you Sages of Ages out there, this armor gives you the item bonus to your Arcana check you've been looking for. The bonus to damage rolls if you Second Wind is just gravy. Skill, Augmentable.
Battle Harness ( Level 4+, Dragon Magazine 368): Don't have a Warlord in your party but still want that power bonus to initiative? Then take this as your light armor, stack it with an item that gives an item bonus to initiative, and Team Monster can eat your dust. You also get Quick Draw for free with this Armor, which is a deceptively good bonus.
Time Link Armor (Level 4+, AV2): Need an item bonus to initiative? Wearing Chain Armor? Then look no further. You also get a daily initiative reroll, which combined with the right background (Trained From Birth for a Specific Prophecy) and Danger Sense will make sure you always go first. Daily.
Armor of Sudden Recovery (Level 3+, AV2): A +1 item bonus to saving throws against ongoing damage, and the ability to once per day turn your ongoing damage into regeneration that lasts until the end of the encounter. Practically gold for Lair Assault. Daily.
Moon Armor (Level 3+, AV2):
This armor is mostly entirely unremarkable and wouldn't merit mention in this guide...were it not for the existence of the Enshrouding Candle and Ringmail. It costs a feat and some gold, but that's a small price to pay for an always-on +1 to AC. An oft-overlooked piece of the unhittable light-armor Striker/Defender puzzle. Augmentable.
Bloodthread Armor (Level 5+, PHB1): Another piece of the Battlecrazed puzzle, this one is much better for Avengers and Hybrid Swordmages who want to get a cheap, potent bonus to AC early on. Doesn't stack with Elven Chain Shirt, but until level 20 it's a very easy way to boost your AC up and save money. Not too shabby. Augmentable, Swordmage, Avenger.
[/sblock]
Paragon Armor Options
[sblock]Champion's Hauberk (Level 13+, AV2): Part of the Champion's Flame set, this armor can be handy on occasion. Say, for a Radiant Mafia Cleric who wants to use Favor of the Gods AND Solar Enemy to shorten fights. Set, Encounter, Cleric, Invoker.
Feytouched Armor (Level 12+, Manual of the Planes): Need an item bonus to initiative? Wearing Leather or Hide Armor? Then look no further. It also allows you to become invisible once per encounter as a standard action. Be aware that this competes with Battle Harness for the same slot, although the bonus types differ. Encounter.
Bonegrim Armor (Level 14+, AV): This armor lets you resist necrotic and poison. One is the most common damage type, the other... is useful when fighting Drow I guess. It does have some weird properties though. The resistance only scales correctly with the level 19 and higher armors, and releases you from the need for food (and at level 29, even sleep). The problem stems from one little line, which says that you cannot remove the armor without a ritual to remove afflictions...problem is, this armor applies a penalty to it equal to its level. Yes, you read that right: not enhancement bonus, level. This means it's more or less flatly impossible to take it off, which means the only way to upgrade it is with Enchant Magic Item (as you can't take off a lesser Bonegrim Armor for a better one)...which means you cannot upgrade it at all in an LFR game. Cursed.
Greater Armor of Eyes (Level 14+, MME): Can't be blinded and you get darkvision. This doesn't pop up often...unless you're a Demonskin Adept, that is. Then you really, really
want this. Sorcerer, Multi-Role.
Armor of Dark Deeds (Level 14+, AV2):
Hit an enemy granting CA to you, gain concealment against everyone until the end of your next turn. In other words, be aggresive and you gain big bonuses to defend against non-burst/blast attacks. Where do I sign up? Warlock, Sorcerer, Striker.
[/sblock]
Epic Armor Options
[sblock]Armor of Shared Health (Level 30, AV2): Surgeless healing is surgeless healing, even if it only kicks in for three fights, tops. Would have been a much more powerful and interesting property ten or twenty levels earlier. Surgeless Healing.
Soulwarding Armor (Level 24+, AV): This armor lets you resist necrotic and psychic. The resistance is 5 lower than it should be at this level, but you're compensated with the fact that it's one of the few items that lets you resist psychic damage, and that you can't lose healing surges from enemy attacks anymore. Not bad eh?
[/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Talismans of The Mystics: Charms of Legacy List
Heroic Neck Options
[sblock]Amulet of Life (Level 5+, Dragon 381):
Access to extra healing is never bad, especially if you get beat on a lot. Even better if you have a reliable way to generate saving throws so it doesn't compete with other neck slot items that grant saves. It shines on classes that have a lot of healing surges, because after a few fights surge management tends to become an issue. Defender, Encounter.
Cloak of Distortion (Level 4+, AV):
If you're in doubt as to what neck item to pick, go with this one. The ever-increasing bonus against distant attackers is bound to come up once in a while, and likely to be a life-saver when it does. Multi-Role.
Healer's Brooch (Level 4+, AV):
Needless to say, a nice and big bonus to heals like that is pretty nifty, even if it does chew up an important slot. Worth taking into account if you're gonna toss out lots of heals. Healing, Leader.
Medic's Amulet (Level 4+, AV2):
If you have no access to Mark of Healing or other save granting effects, you can use this to compensate, somewhat. Only pick this up if ongoing damage is a thing in your campaign, though. Leader.
Steadfast Amulet (Level 8+, AV):
Grants you an II save against daze or stun once per day. Best part is, if you fail the save, the power is not expended. Daily.
Cloak of Translocation (Level 9+, AV2): Great if you expect to teleport at least 3 times an encounter, and the daily is top-notch if you have a teleport attack encounter power, of which there's a surprising amount. Sorcerer, Swordmage, Teleport, Daily.
Elemental Ward Cloak(Level 9+, Dragon 408): This item becomes available in late heroic, but it really starts shining around mid-high paragon. By that point, it gives a truly immense item bonus to all defenses against any attacks with an elemental keyword (acid, cold, fire, lightning, and thunder). It also helps offset the need for a lot of resistances for these damage types, except to avoid auto-damage. If you get another part of the set, then you also get a little resistance to a damage type of your choice. Bottom line: if your DM does elemental damage, GRAB THIS.
Set.
[/sblock]
Paragon Neck Options
[sblock]Timeless Locket (Level 14+, AV2): Need an item bonus to initiative? Then look no further. The daily power lets you trade a minor for a standard, albeit one that you can't use for an attack (but a creative player like you can surely find a way to get around that). Daily.
Tenebrous Shroud (Level 13+, Dragon Magazine 380): Major resistance to the most common damage type on a neck slot item, for when you want to save your armor and head slot (Skull Mask) for something else. The daily power lets you become invisible as a reaction when you get hit. Daily, Resistance.[/sblock]
Epic Neck Options
[sblock]None yet![/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Implements of Power: Implements of Legacy List
Armisael's Note: Because implements are divided into lots of categories that don't mesh with each other, I have chosen to split them into further spoiler blocks beyond the usual Heroic/Paragon/Epic split. This has been done to reduce the messiness of this particular section to a minimum.
Heroic Implement Options
[sblock]Holy Symbols
[sblock]Symbol of the Champion's Code (Level 8+, AV2): An item tax for paladins. If you don't take it, you're failing in your duty as a paladin. The daily power helps take the sting off the tax though, as it's really damn good. Paladin, Element (Radiant), Daily.
Symbol of Victory (Level 9+, PHB1):
An unbelievably powerful item, and a reason to get holy symbol proficiency all by itself. You don't even need to use it to trigger its property - just be proficient and carry it around. So strong, it inches close to Gold
value. Multi-Role, Daily.
Symbol of Divine Reach (Level 8+, AV):
A nice way to take 'long-range bombardment' to a whole new level. Wanted to hit even the farthest reaching enemies from outside their maximum range? Now you can. Multi-Role, Divine.
Sun Disk of Pelor (Level 8+, AV):
A radiant converter for the implement users out there. The possibilites are immense: a good idea is to become a Morninglord and get Pelor's Boon to dish out massive amounts of extra damage via vulnerabilities. Elemental (Radiant), Augmentable.
Symbol of Daring (5+, AV2):
Underappreciated Holy Symbol. Expensive due to its level, but has a very nice property: An untyped bonus to damage for your allies' AP attacks. A nice way for the Cleric to play at Warlord, or a good symbol for those divine characters who usually stick to weapon attacks, like the Avenger or Paladin. Cleric, Leader.
[/sblock]
Staves
[sblock]Staff of the Traveler (Level 5+, PHB3):
Not all builds have reasons to want this item, but for those that do, it's absolutely invaluable. An inordinately powerful item for all teleporters and speedfreaks. Teleport, Multi-Role, Warlock, Bard.
Staff of Sleep and Charm (Level 3+, AV2): Scaling item bonus to attack with Charm and Sleep powers that works in the offhand, on a staff, and you only ever need the cheap version per tier, since it scales at 3, 13 and 23. Did I mention it's common yet? An incredibly good item for Wizards, Bards and anyone else with a heavy lean to Charm based powers. Wizard (Enchanter), Bard, Psion, Common.
Staff of Ruin (Level 3+, AV):
Need to get damage done as an implement user? Look no further than this staff. You'll be hard pressed to find something better. Striker, Sorcerer, Wizard, Invoker.
Architect's Staff (Level 5+, AV):
Walls aren't that common, but this item can increase their value to potentially enormous levels. Certainly worth considering, and the daily allows you to sculpt the battlefield, quite literally. Wizard, Daily.
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Rods
[sblock]Blast Scepter (Level 7+, Halls of Undermountain): One hell of an odd item. It's very versatile, providing resists, two powers, and a good crit die, but suffers due to not doing anything extraordinarily well. A nifty item nonetheless, however. At-Will, Daily, Rare.[/sblock]
Orbs
[sblock]Orb of Ghostbane Triumph (Level 9+, PP): Tired of being ineffective when fighting ghosts? Then get one of these, which will let you ignore the insubstantial quality as long as you have at least one power point remaining. The daily power provides this benefit for your allies too if you hit an insubstantial creature with it. Psionic, Daily.
Orb of Nimble Thoughts (Implement, Level 3+, PHB3): Need an item bonus to initiative? Proficient with Orbs? Then look no further. You don't even need to use this Orb to get the bonus, just hold it at the start of combat. Int-classes and power point users (Psions in particular) also get a nice shifty movement mode out of it. Psion, Psionic, Encounter.[/sblock]
Wands
[sblock]Nein.[/sblock]
Totems
[sblock]Pure Spirit Totem (Level 5+, PHB2): Mostly here to be used for their daily power to get people up on the cheap. Beware, your DM might protest if you buy or make ten of them.
Surgeless Healing, Daily, Shaman.[/sblock]
Tomes
[sblock]Tome of Undeniable Might (Level 8+, MME): Tired of being ineffective when fighting ghosts? Then get one of these, which will let you ignore the insubstantial quality when you attack a target with certain elemental powers. Common, Elemental.[/sblock]
Ki Foci
[sblock]Ghost Strike Ki Focus (Level 2+, PHB3): Tired of being ineffective when fighting ghosts? Then get one of these, which will let you ignore the insubstantial quality when you attack a target that grants you combat advantage.
Shadow Master Ki Focus (Level 3+, Dragon): Any permastealth or rich regular stealty build should look at this item for one of the highest damage boost from a single item, especially at lower levels. Necrotic can backfire, and moderate scaling let's other items catch up, but since it's untyped, and ki focuses can be turned on and off, it may keep it's use late game. Striker, Assassin, Rogue.
[/sblock][/sblock]
Paragon Implement Options
[sblock]Holy Symbols
[sblock]Ain't nuthin' here, boss.[/sblock]
Staves
[sblock]Jeeze, you're thick-headed.[/sblock]
Rods
[sblock]What part of 'no items to showcase yet' didn't you get?[/sblock]
Orbs
[sblock]Dammit, you're persistent. Stop bugging me![/sblock]
Wands
[sblock]Oh c'mon, really? You must be the same kinda guy who clicks on Blizzard RTS units to get their hidden quotes.[/sblock]
Totems
[sblock]Alright, fine, you found the hidden quotes. Can you leave me alone now? Please?[/sblock]
Tomes
[sblock]That's it. I'm gonna start ignoring you. I won't even stare at you![/sblock]
Ki Foci
[sblock]*Ignores*[/sblock][/sblock]
Epic Implement Options
[sblock]Holy Symbols
[sblock]*Ignores*[/sblock]
Staves
[sblock]*Ignores*[/sblock]
Rods
[sblock]*Ignores*[/sblock]
Orbs
[sblock]*Ignores*[/sblock]
Wands
[sblock]...Dammit, I can't keep this up. Alright, you win.[/sblock]
Totems
[sblock]Being honest...heh. I gotta say, I admire your persistence.[/sblock]
Tomes
[sblock]We're getting close to the end of the line, though. This silliness will have to end soon, so...[/sblock]
Ki Foci
[sblock]...Goodbye.[/sblock][/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Bracers and Bulwarks: Armbands of Legacy List
Heroic Arms Options
[sblock]Iron Armbands of Power (Level 6+, AV): The most powerful arms slot item, bar none, because it's a math fix. It's not a question of why you'd want to use them, but why not, and this earns the Armbands a coveted gold rating. Unless you have some sort of plan, stick to these on all melee characters. Striker, Multi-Role.
Bracers of Archery (Level 6+, AV):
The less-often applicable version of the Iron Armbands. Still a math patch though, so what goes for them goes for these bracers too. Striker, Multi-Role.
Bracers of Mighty Striking (Level 2+, PHB, HotFL):
Yes, Iron Armbands of Power are better. Now that we've got that out of the way, these are available 4 levels earlier and common. Problem is that they only work on melee basic attacks, but there are enough classes out there that are just fine with that restriction. Striker, Multi-Role.
Bracers of the Perfect Shot (Level 3+, PHB): Yes, Bracers of Archery are better. Now that we've got that out of the way, these are available 3 levels earlier and common. Problem is that they only work on ranged basic attacks, but there are some classes out there that are just fine with that restriction. Striker, Multi-Role.
Bracers of Mental Might (Level 6+, AV): Not everybody can get an Item bonus from elsewhere and has a power they want to swap for, but for those that do, this is an outstanding item. Leaders in particular adore it, because it lets them savagely poach from the Warlord powerlist to get whatever power fits their fancy that can end encounters in a hurry. Leader, Multi-Role, Encounter.
Hammer Shield (Level 6, AV2): An untyped +1 to defenses when you hit is pretty nifty, but there's two drawbacks: One, you have to use a hammer to get the bonus, and two, you're sacrificing Iron Armbands for it. Defender.
Floating Shield (Level 1, AV): Not your everyday shield, but worth sticking in your pack if encumbrance and purchase access to uncommon items isn’t an issue. For a cheap price, you can bypass certain skill checks entirely. One of these and a rope will get an entire party across that river. On some rare maps, the ability to walk on water will be strictly better than the damage bonus you might get from your arms slot. However, use only as needed. Skill (Athletics), Magic Mart.
Preservation Shield (Level 2, AV2): The first fight of the day is frequently a warm up, surge drain appetizer fight. Blow your daily on this shield immediately in the first fight to save some of those surges, then trade it out for your Iron Armbands in the short rest. Useful for high surge count characters, but quickly loses luster as you progress up the tiers. Defender, Daily, THP
Battleforged Shield (Level 4+, AV): Big daily surgeless heal, fairly easy to trigger, limited range. Good for paladins as an emergency nova heal with Lay on Hands, or for short rest surge preservation (you never really have to wear this in combat if you prefer). Daily, Healing, Leader, Defender.
Throwing Shield (Level 6+, AV): Let’s be honest. This power is Standard Action, Ranged 10, you mark the target if you’re a fighter, or engage him if you’re a paladin. Still, when you’re an immobilized defender…meh, get something to escape immobilize instead. That it uses an outdated math formula doesn't help its case, either. Fighter, Defender, Paladin
Healer’s Shield (Level 10+, AV2): Depending on how much variable healing dice you’re throwing out there, the daily on this can be ridiculous. Can be used during a short rest if you like. Leader, Healing.
Coutures of Second Chances (Level 5+, AV): The extra damage bonus of the Iron Armbands is almost always going to be better than the daily reroll offered by these bracers. If you really, really don't care about damage or do absolutely none of it yourself though, these might be worth considering. Controller, Daily.
[/sblock]
Paragon Arms Options
[sblock]Bloodhound Bracers (Level 13, AV2): If you or one of your party members specializes in ongoing damage and you desperately want combat advantage, I guess this is a decent option. Works well for Slashing Kama Style Monks, for example. The daily power lets you inflict a pitiful 5 ongoing damage when you bloody an enemy. Daily, Augmentable.
Shield of Fellowship (Level 15, AV2):
You need to not care about damage and have an easy source of THP to pick up this item (and the number of characters who fit that bill is smaller than it looks), but properly used this item can be a way of giving the party a big source of THP turn after turn. Part of the Arms of Unbreakable Honor set. THP, Set.
Rapidstrike Bracers (Level 16, AV): Use a single target at-will attack instead of a basic attack once per encounter. Can be useful for some characters who get granted RBAs. An item bonus to initiative makes it sweeter to boot. Encounter.
[/sblock]
Epic Arms Options
[sblock]None yet![/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Boots of Seven Leagues: Boots of Legacy
Heroic Feet Options
[sblock]Acrobat Boots (Level 2, PHB):
Who likes to spend their move action standing up from prone? No-one, that's who. This lowly level 2 Feet slot item forever saves you from having to worry about this. This effect is also obtainable by taking the level 2 Acrobatics utility power Agile Recovery, but why spend a precious utility on it when these boots do the same? At-will.
Boots of the Fencing Master (Level 7, AV): This kind of mobility is usually reserved for Monks, so making it available as a Feet slot item is great. There are so many uses for a minor action shift 2 it's not even funny. And that's not mentioning the item bonus to AC and Reflex when you shift. One of the top heroic picks for Feet slot items. Encounter.
Goblin Stompers (Level 6, AV): Shifting as an immediate reaction when missed by a melee attack as an encounter power. Not bad for getting out of a tight spot, not bad at all. Encounter.
Rushing Cleats (Level 7, AV): They need preexisting forced movement to use properly, but when deployed intelligently, these boots can provide a valuable, very important boost to many builds, such as Lightning Furies looking to up their damage, Deadly Drawers and more. Augmentable, Multi-Role.
[/sblock]
Paragon Feet Options
[sblock]Greaves of Maldeen (Level 12, Dragon 364): +2 bonus to speed, regardless of armor, and even a daily power to make sure your enemy won't get away from you as an immediate reaction, and the only limitation these boots have is that you must move closer to an enemy to get the bonus. When aren't going to be doing that? One of the default choices for the boot slot. Daily, Multi-Role.
Butterfly Sandals (Level 12, AV): There are few classes that benefit from a static bonus to fly speed, but for those who do this is a huge increase. If you have a way to consistently take to the skies, this lets you do a decent Neo-impression. Common.
Boots of Dancing (Level 11, AV): A tame benefit in not granting CA when Dazed, but it's something any character can make use of. The bonus to reflex pushes this item up further to the point where it's worth taking.
Battlestrider Greaves (Level 12, PHB): Speed is king on the approach and on big battlefields, and heavy armor users are constantly gimped in that department. This item lets them get some of their speed back.
Oceanstrider Boots (Level 14, AV): A bonus to speed regardless of armor type is good already. Being able to take advantage of terrains that would normally be harmful to you is godlike.
Eladrin Boots (Level 16, PHB): These boots enhance any of your teleports, even if the teleport isn't from a teleportation power. This comes in handy for paragon paths and epic destinies which give teleportation as a movement mode, as well as the teleportation granted by the epic feat Fey Shift. The daily is underwhelming if you already have at-will teleportation, but it's ok until then. Daily, Teleport.
Earthreaver Stompers (Level 17+, AV): A bit of Tremorsense. Not the most amazing thing in the world, but handy on occasion.
Phantom Chaussures (Level 18, AV): A big bonus to defenses when moving is already pretty good, emulating Shadow Walk, but the daily power is nothing short of outstanding, giving you a colossal defensive buff once a day on the approach (AKA the most dangerous round). Daily.
Planestrider Boots (Level 18, MotP):
A big jolt of mobility makes these boots attractive to anyone, but it's the ability to split teleports that truly earns these boots its rating. Warlocks, and Evermeet Warlocks in particular, love these boots. Warlock, Encounter, Teleport, Augmentable.
[/sblock]
Epic Feet Options
[sblock]Boots of Speed (Level 22, AV): +2 to Speed and a daily power for extra movement sure looks tempting...until you realize you could get an identical effect with the Greaves of Maldeen much earlier. Pass. Daily.
Zephyr Boots (Level 24, AV): Flight in light armor, with no other caveats. I don't have to explain how this is incredibly good, do I?
Boots of Teleportation (Level 28, AV): You now teleport at-will instead of moving. Pretty much the de facto choice at ultra high levels, with a bit of competition from some scattered boots here and there. At-Will.[/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Gloves of Silk, Gauntlets of Steel: Handguards of Legacy
Heroic Hands Options
[sblock]Strikebacks (Level 10, AV): If you have a serviceable melee basic attack and don't use your immediate action literally every round, there's no reason to skip this. Combats where these don't trigger are few and far between, so take these and be happy with them. Additional benefit: you finally don't have to remember those annoying Gauntlets of Blood anymore. Encounter.
Resplendent Gloves (Level 5+, AV2): A powerful damage bonus when you hit with an attack that targets will, and possibly CA too. Absolutely worth picking up if you target Will and are interested in damage. It's part of the Resplendent Finery set, to boot. Set, Striker.
Claw Gloves (Level 4, AV):
Damn near an autopick for Druids, and the same goes for Lycans...especially for Lycans. Strikers need not apply without level 10 and that particular theme. Part of the Skin of the Panther set. Striker, Druid, Set, Augmentable.
Babau Gauntlets (Level 10+, Dragon Magazine 408): Once per turn, you can make a melee basic attack using Dex instead of Str. Useful for Dex-strikers that otherwise wouldn't have a functional MBA, even if it's just for an OA. The encounter power deals damage to one attacker equal to half the item's level when you're bloodied. Monk, Bladesinger, Slayer, Striker, Encounter.
Antipathy Gloves (Level 10, AV): The daily power is pretty much whatever, but you're not here for it anyway - you're here for the gigantic stickiness boost these gloves provide to most defenders, making the process of escaping them or moving around them a living hell. Daily, Defender.
Gauntlets of Blood (Level 4+, AV2, HotFL):
A scaling untyped bonus to damage against bloodied targets. The one drawback about these is remembering that you even have the damn things. Striker.
Gloves of Eldritch Admixture (Level 8+, AV): The ability to add a damage keyword to any warlock attack by way of warlock's curse allows a warlock to get around immunities and resists. Though Cold and Fire are common damage types and are often resisted, adding them to another attack makes it unlikely it will be resisted. And you can always use the gloves to add cold. For an Elemental Warlock, Gloves of Eldritch Admixture become Gold due to the increased likelyhood that you will have a vulnerability that matches what the gloves can do which increases your damage by 5/10/15. Warlock, At-Will, Augmentable.
Lancing Gloves (Level 7, AV): If you're not a lycan, not using a frost weapon, and can't prone targets easily, this is a good source of extra damage so long as you're mounted. Striker.
[/sblock]
Paragon Hands Options
[sblock]Gloves of the Healer (Level 12+, AV): That much bonus healing can stack up, and stack up fast. It can be equivalent to a half-tier or tier jump for your Leader healing ability! Healing, Leader.
Gloves of Transference (Level 14, AV): Increases the range of utility powers by 2. This can have some interesting, if niche uses.
Hero's Gauntlets/Great Hero's Gauntlets (Level 17+, AV2):Technically two items, but they have exactly the same purpose, so...in any case, a major boost of THP and a bonus to attack rolls n an Action Point are both neat little features to have. No reason not to give these items a look if you can generate APs often. THP.
Gauntlets of Destruction (Level 18, PHB):
Pseudo-brutal on melee weapons. Decent enough but unremarkable normally, better if you're using Carnage weaponry, quite good if you're using a Falchion, and outstanding if you're charging and chucking lots of dice at people, as it adds up to +4 effective damage or more. Striker, Slayer, Barbarian, Rogue, Scout, Thief, Augmentable.
Gloves of the Wandering Star (Level 19, AV2): A range booster, albeit a lesser one, and a compensation attack on a miss with terrible scaling. Eh, not the best for sure, but it can have its uses. Part of the Offerings of Celestian set. Set, Daily.
Many-Fingered Gloves (Level 20, AV2):
Get an extra ring slot in exchange for your Hands slot. While not for all characters, this item is overwhelmingly powerful for those who can use an extra ring (if nothing else, an extra Champion's Ring is always welcome). Augmentable.
Gloves of Ice (Level 11+, AV2):
Another untyped bonus to cold damage for Frost Weapon wielders. Alternatively, this lets you ignore 5/10 points of cold resistance, which still is a net gain of 3/6 damage. Element, Augmentable.
[/sblock]
Epic Hands Options
[sblock]Foe Caller Gauntlets (Level 22, D381): While these gauntlets are only available in an epic variety, their encounter power can effectively cancel one attack at range each encounter for any character that can mark. Most useful for battleminds and swordmages who have persistent marks which work at range, but still useful for other defenders for dealing with enemies who can teleport or otherwise move without provoking opportunity attacks. Defender, Encounter, Teleport.[/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Crowns and Circlets: Helmets of Legacy
Heroic Head Items
[sblock]Casque of Tactics (Level 4+, AV): An easy way for everyone to boost their initiative a bit with an item bonus. Gets a lot better at higher tiers, where the difference really becomes noticeable. The daily power is deceptively powerful. If you're a Dex-striker and your controller or defender rolled badly on their initiative, this will let them set up the battlefield for you, after which you can come in and kill what's left. Daily.
Fey-Blessed Circlet (Level 8, AV2): CHA in THP at the start of each fight. Not an amazing bonus, but one that any CHA primary or secondary character can use to decent effect. THP.
Horned Helm (Level 6+, PHB): The lynchpin of the so-called Charge Package, based upon doing lots and lots of damage while charging. This lets you add 1d6 per tier to the damage of any charge attack, which quickly results in a lot of extra dice thrown on the table. To enhance the pain further, there's even ways to make multihit attacks usable on a charge, such as the Avalanche Boots and being a Gnoll Reincarnate Champion. All of this combines for frankly silly amounts of damage. Unless you've got a plan, this should be your default Head item as a Striker with MBA access. Striker, Augmentable, Barbarian, Slayer, Scout.
Eagle Eye Goggles (Level 2+, AV): It's a scaling bonus to attack rolls. Elementalists simply have no reason, no excuse, and no way to hide from the fact that they want and need this item. Fail to take it, and fail utterly. Elementalist, Striker.
Circlet of Indomitability (Level 8+, AV):
A scaling untyped bonus to Will, on a common Head slot item no less. If you have any need at all for some extra Will, pick this up and be happy with it. Common, Defender.
Skull Mask (Level 5+, AV):
Want scaling resistance against the most common damage type, but don't want to sacrifice your armor slot for it? Then get this scary thing, which also gives you an item bonus to Intimidate checks. Enemies take a -2 penalty to saving throws against Fear effects, which are pretty rare. Ardent, Wizard, Skill.
Helm of Heroes (Level 10+, PHB):
It's pretty much a daily with a small bonus attached, but what a daily it is. Combine this with, for instance, Death From Two Sides and a Barbarian and you're looking at absolutely unbelievable amounts of carnage. An absolutely prime pick for Warlords and Divine-Oracle'd Enablers alike. Warlord, Leader, Daily.
[/sblock]
Paragon Head Items
[sblock]Eyes of the Eagle (Level 11+, MME): Strict upgrade compared to the Headband of Perception. Not the strongest possible option in a slot with a lot of competition, but a solid option for those who need a perception boost.
Helm of Able Defense (Level 14, AV2): The best way to survive is to not get hit. And this helm facilitates that, a lot. Defenders should be careful though not to become too hard to hit, because monsters will go looking for your allies otherwise. Oh, and a +1 item bonus to Will is just gravy. Part of the Panoply of the Shepherds of Ghest set. Defender, Set.
Crown of the Brilliant Sun (Level 14, AV2): Provides type conversion for elemental abuse? Check. Doesn't take up your weapon enchant? Check. Is a part of the Gifts for the Queen set, which means it gives you a damage bonus? Check. If you're a Lightning or Radiant user, this item deserves serious consideration. Set, Striker, Elemental (Lightning, Radiant), Augmentable.
Circlet of Arkhosia (Level 14+, Head, PHR): Being dazed or stunned sucks hardcore. Saving against dazing or stunning at the start of your turn, so you can get your full action, is excellent. If you're not a warden and don't have the Wis or Cha for Superior Will, and don't have any other head slot commitments, you will want this helm. Especially mandatory for defenders, who can't punish when they're debilitated. The level 24 version also gives you a start-of-turn save against dominated. Set, Defender.
Golden Crown of Battle Command (Level 14, AV2):
Perhaps the single most powerful item in the game for its price, this item takes arguably the most powerful and game-changing class, the Warlord, and kicks it into overdrive by turning its enabling abilities into a well of free buffs that stack with every other boost they bring to the table. This is such a dominant choice for them that the only, and I do mean only other item they should consider is a Helm of Heroes...and even then, the smart move is to carry the Helm, use its power, and then instantly switch to the Golden Crown. Perhaps the only item that carries an absolutely magnificent name and actually lives up to it. Warlord, Set.
Crown of Equillibrium (Level 12, AV2): Combine this with a withering weapon and you essentially have an at-will saving throw grant. Still pretty OK otherwise, too, assuming you use (save ends) effects at all. Leader, Augmentable.
[/sblock]
Epic Head Items
[sblock]None yet![/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Sashes of Gold, Cinctures of Diamond: Belts of Legacy
Heroic Waist Options
[sblock]Diamond Cincture (Level 10+, AV2):
The default waist option. Only few builds want another item. A bonus to fortitude AND extra healing is almost more than anyone would dare to hope for. Healing.
Belt of Vim (Level 8,18,28, AV):
Completely overshadowed by Diamond Cincture. Its only saving graces are that it's 2 levels lower and common. Common.
Cincture of the Dragon Spirit (Level 6, AV):
It's a sad fact of D&D that Strength focused characters tend to...well, be utterly useless in social challenges. Not so with this belt. Combine it with the cheap skill power Try The Stick, and your big bulky barbarian or fighter will be as charming as that sly rogue or bard!
Viper Belt (Level 4, AV): Not worried about your Fortitude defense (i.e. don't need a Diamond Cincture) and want some protection in case you run into Drow? Then get this belt, which protects you from poison damage with resist 5 and a daily power that lets you save against ongoing poison damage. Daily.
Belt of Sonnlinor Righteousness (Level 6+, Dragon 385):
The infamous Belt of Brokenness, this monster turns any Revenant willing to invest in sub-zero optimization (read: Superior Will and enough save boosters to make the save against daze automatically) into a ridiculous, unkillable beast. Not applicable for everyone, but for those who can use it and don't mind utilizing the biggest and most broken exploit still in the game, this is gold.
Daily, Augmentable.
[/sblock]
Paragon Waist Options
[sblock]Belt of the Witch King (Level 18, AV2): Awesome belt for any Arcane character - not only does it give you roughly the benefit of the regular Fort belt, but it gives you free action significant surgeless healing as a daily. Arcane, Surgeless Healing, Daily.
Cord of Divine Favor (Level 13, AV): While awful for surge efficiency (you want to stack as many boosters on top of a healing surge to make sure you spend as few of them as possible), it's impossible to deny how useful this belt is when you need heals NOW. Leader, Encounter, Healing.
Totemic Belt (Level 11, AV): It's a daily power, but how many powers are '+1 to attacks for a fight'? Potentially great for people who already want to charge as a matter of course. Daily, Striker, Barbarian, Slayer.
Waistband of the Grappler (Level 13, AV2): Not for everyone, but if you can push yourself off the d20, this belt provides a meaty bonus to damage rolls. Just make sure to kill everything before they can make use of the CA you're granting them. Striker, At-Will.
Belt of Mountain Endurance (Level 18, Dragon 365):
At higher levels, equivalent to having taken Toughness three times for the purposes of surge values. Even on a dinky seven-surge Striker, that's close to two bonus healing surges, and can reach absolutely silly levels if you have enough surges to burn (five surges' worth of healing just from this belt? Don't mind if I do!). A defensive bonus on spending an Action Point is awesome icing. Daily, Defender.
General's Belt (Level 15, AV2):
Unimpressive by itself, this belt becomes a really good way to get a good to outstanding Will Defense when combined with the Golden Crown of Battle Command from the same item set. If you're using that item, consider picking this one up, as it's not too shabby and it's not that easy to boost your most important NAD by 2 points. Daily, Warlord, Set, Healing.
Cinture of Vivacity (Level 14, MME): A mid-paragon Common item, you'd expect this to be useful, but not amazing, and it is. Its function is simple: healing above you maximum becomes THP. Now, in most parties, that might not be a big deal, because healing is a limited resource that you don't want to waste. But it becomes sky blue or even gold for the right parties and characters. Simply put, if you want to be proactive about healing or you have to be (thanks, for instance, to a PP feature such as Champion of Corellon's AP, or a class feature such as a Knight's 19th and 23rd), this lets you make the most of it. However, it's at its best with a Warlord or other leader who hands out significant buffs with his encounter healing powers. In that situation, you really want this item - or the Warlord needs to carry one around to deck his friends out with. Healing, THP, Augmentable.
[/sblock]
Epic Waist Options
[sblock]Belt of Titan Strength (Level 25, PHB):
For when something absolutely, positively has to die, accept no substitutes. Striker, Daily.[/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Bands of Platinum and Wishes: Rings of Legacy
Paragon Tier Rings
[sblock]Ring of the Radiant Storm (Level 17, AV2):
Not only does it give you roll-twice-take-better damage rolls, not only does it let you recover powers on a miss (any miss - multiattack and multitarget powers recharge even if they hit the primary target if you miss a secondary one!), but it's part of the Gifts for the Queen set, which means just one more item will provide a +2 bonus to damage rolls or higher. Damn near an autopick for lightning or radiant characters. Set, Daily, Striker.
War Ring (Level 16, AV): An extra die of critical hit damage and a daily of two extra critical hit dice over and above the property (maxed after a milestone). Not bad for people who like to fish for crits and are properly geared to do so. However, this pales in comparison to the next ring, to the point you should only use it if your DM rules that you can't stack two of them. Striker, Daily.
Ring of Giants (Level 13, Dragon 378): +2 critical hit damage per enhancement pointof your weapon. Beats out the War Ring by the time you are using a +4 weapon and is competitive when you have a +3 weapon. The daily push + prone is excellent icing on the cake if you're primal, but every Striker should give this serious consideration if they can get close to a 10% crit chance per attack. If they can go higher than that reliably, don't even hesitate. Pick this up and go wild. Striker, Primal, Avenger.
Ring of Circling Fangs (Level 20, Dungeon 181):
Unimpressive on the surface, until you realize there are builds that use Battlecrazed and Bloodfury Weapons, that those builds attract incredible amounts of monster aggro, and that the damage is dealt per hit. This can stack up to an extra attack or two of bonus damage, which is pretty damn good...just make sure you can take the heat before you put this on. Rogues can stay out. Striker, Barbarian, Augmentable, Encounter.
Iron Ring of the Dwarf Lords (Level 14, PHB): A healing surge is always useful, if a bit unremarkable. Meanwhile, the power can be a lifesaver, though you're probably not gonna get to use it that often.
Ring of Fury (Level 14, Dragon 366): An utterly ridiculous punishment for getting bloodied, which stacks with the Backlash Tattoo. Essentially, this makes your bloodied value a timebomb. Enemies will just flatly not want to attack you once you get close to it, because a triple out-of-turn wallop will be enough to down everything that isn't a Solo for daring to hit you. This would be broken if it was per-encounter, and is just merely really good once it triggers as-is. Daily, Striker.
Ring of the Dragonborn Emperor (Level 15, AV):
The only way for close burst abusers to get their item bonus to damage on before Epic, and also a good way to boost dragonbreath for rebreathers. Trying to use close bursts for damage is mostly a sucker's bet, but the option is there...and more importantly, that daily power is excellent and makes the ring worth picking up. Rare, Daily, Sorcerer.
Foe-Binder Ring (Level 19, Dragon 381):
Damned if you do, damned if you don't. No matter what the enemy does, he really does always lose now. Hysterical on defenders who focus on defending via penalties instead of punishment, but any type of defender can use it to good effect. Defender.
Champion's Ring (Level 17, Revenge of the Giants):
Super dirty trick: get your entire party to pitch in and get Champion's items, plus one of these rings for each of you. Proceed to automatically win battles as you gain a +5/+6 item bonus while bloodied. It does cost item slots and party cooperation, but few things are as satisfying as knowing you can't ever lose a fight unless you're actively trying to do so. The fact that you get to apply elemental vulnerability on top is super nice icing, as is the initiative bonus you're going to get if you follow this strategy. Augmentable, Striker, Daily, Set.
[/sblock]
Epic Tier Rings
[sblock]Ring of Tenacious Will (Level 21, AV):
Go from scrawny to beefy in the span of a single slot. This can easily cause your surges to double, or even more than that. If you're a charisma character, you better have a damn good reason NOT to take this ring. As a reminder, Comrade's Succor exists to make sure the entire party will benefit from your being beefier. Augmentable, Multi-Role.
Luminary Ring (Level 22, AV): Some really wonky wording makes this ring a pretty decent pick to grant yourself hilariously overlarge reach with powerful leader powers. It comes in a bit late and only provides a direct bonus as a daily, but the tactical uses of it are potentially immense. Leader, Daily.
Ring of Free Time (Level 29, AV2): All damage you take is reduced by 5...and that's the nifty little bonus of this ring, amazingly enough. Having an extra minor action is just off the charts. If there is one Rare item worth considering for every character, this is it. Rare, Multi-Role, Encounter.
Opal Ring of Remembrance (Level 29, AV):
Do you use intelligence as your attack stat? Yes? You want this ring. A bonus to your attack rolls AND your best skills, and you regain a utility power if you're Arcane? The only possible competition for this is the Ring of Free Time. Wizard, Psion, Swordmage, Artificer, Daily, Rare.
Ring of Traded Knowledge (Level 21, AV2):
Psionic characters can use this ring to get a complete, fully augmentable power of a higher level than the ones they can actually get for an entire encounter. Post milestones, it even comes with an accuracy buff, too! Definitely worth considering for them. Ardent, Battlemind, Psion, Daily.
Golden Ring of Teros (Level 24, AV2):
Part of the Rings of the Akarot set, and an amazing way to ensure you will make it through a fight intact. This ring exponentially increases your survivability, because enemies won't attack someone they can't hit...thus ensuring the trigger will never come to pass. The daily also happens to be an outstanding buff, which is tasty, tasty icing. Defender, Daily, Set.
Shadow Band (Level 27, MME):
An upgrade on the Golden Ring above for the most part. It loses value against enemies who can pierce concealment and the daily is worse, but on the other hand it DOES provide a bonus to all defenses instead of just some...your call on which one's better, really. Defender, Daily.
[/sblock]
Weapons of Legacy: A Compendium of Magic Items
Let's admit it: it's about time we got a decent magic item compendium going. Probably the biggest hurdle handbook writers face is dealing with the gigantic mass of items D&D has spawned and discerning the treasure from the trash. This compendium aims to rectify this. Before we begin, allow me to set some ground rules:
-I'm not doing this alone. I will set up the handbook, provide the layout, add the occasional item and update it regularly, but I have no intention of doing all the work by myself. This will be a community effort, and will either pull through on the strength of CharOp's work ethic or fail because nobody cares enough to lend a hand.
-With that caveat in place, it should be obvious that I'm looking for feedback. Lots and lots of feedback. Your feedback. If you think an item merits inclusion, feel free to present it! But as a note, please try not to just give me a name and maybe a book to search through. This really doesn't help the community any, because it means somebody else has to go through the book after you did it, track the item down, and then spend precious time working on a writeup. If you can just mention an item, provide a brief description of it and explain why it's good, that'll be greatly appreciated.
-On that note, if you're putting items forward, try to do so clearly. A fifty item list, all bunched up together with no line breaks, will be summarily ignored unless I have no other choice because my eyes will bleed and roll out of my sockets in the process of going through it. If you can put items in spoiler blocks, that's good. If they can also be neatly arranged at the same time, that's even better. Thank you for paying attention to these guidelines!
---
Ratings: Read this before commenting!
Because there's so many items and so many are applicable in a wide, wide variety of situations, the usual Red-Gold scale is so meaningless as to be worthless here. It is, however, a very convenient shorthand, so I am stealing it and repurposing it, as seen below:
Gold:
The same as it's always been: a dominant choice, or even the dominant choice for an item slot. Don't expect to see this a lot, and if you do see it, expect it to show up only for specific builds for which it is unmatched. If it's mentioned as being applicable to a very wide range of characters, it's almost certainly broken or a math patch.
Sky Blue:
The item is versatile and has little opportunity cost - many characters can use it without devoting significant build space to making it fit.
Blue:
An item that is just as powerful as the option immediately above, but has more opportunity cost or a barrier of accessibility compared to similar items.
Black: An item that is potentially not top of the line, but widely accessible, or top of the line but only for certain builds.
Purple:
A very niche item. Only a handful of builds can use it properly, but it's still a powerful option for them.
Red:
Trash. Don't expect to see many of these except to clear up noob traps.
Beyond Ratings: The Item Glossary
It ain't always easy, providing useful feedback for a project of this kind. I understand this, and for this reason I have constructed a submission template. If you think an item deserves to be listed here, use this template! You have been warned. (In truth, I'll look at submissions that don't use the template, but please, PLEASE take advantage of it - it makes my life much easier.)
[ItemName] [Slot (Source)]: [Description]. [Keywords].
So, what does this mean? Let's use an example to clear things up.
Frost Weapon (Weapon, PHB1): The gold standard all weapon enchants are compared to. A cheap, easy way to obtain up to fourteen points of damage and constant CA, and all it asks of you is a pair of feats you'd be taking anyway if you were planning on using this element. It even converts pre-typed powers too, so even implement users can join in on the fun. Elemental (Cold), Striker, Augmentable, Multi-Role.
See how nice it looks? This is why I want everybody to use this template. Now, you might have noticed the part that read [Keywords]. What that bit is there for is as a way to help people browse through this compendium with ease. Say I want to find items that suit Avengers. I can Control+F Avenger-marked items, then Striker marked items, and go from there, probably finding what I want very easily. The keywords this compendium uses are:
[Class]: This keyword indicates that a specific class benefits a lot from this item. This keyword always shows up as a class name, never as itself. So you'll see 'Avenger', 'Rogue', 'Barbarian', but never 'Class', for obvious reasons.
[Role]: As above, but for roles! Items that have such a huge impact all or most members of a role should consider them tend to be enormously valuable.
[Elemental (Element)]: This item plays with elements in some way or another. If it just affects elements in general, skip the (Element) bit, which is used to list what specific element it toys with.
[Source]: Power sources, such as Martial, Arcane, etc.
[Skill]: This item provides a bonus to one or more skills.
Consumable: Items that are consumed after use.
Boon: Slotless items that grant special capabilities or mimic normal slotted items. They fade after five levels as a rule, but many, many campaigns consider them permanent once acquired.
Augmentable: This item has notorious synergies with other items and/or feats. Note that this does not mean that the item will increase its effects with power points! For that, see below.
Psionic: This item's effects increase if you funnel power points into it.
Set: This item is part of an item set.
At-Will: This item has some sort of at-will power. For the sake of avoiding keyword bloat, use this keyword only for the items that have actual powers that operate on an at-will frequency. Something like type conversion doesn't count, but something like a Shadow Mite does.
Encounter: This item has some sort of encounter power.
Daily: This item has some sort of daily power.
(Surgeless) Healing: This item has healing powers or properties, possibly even surgeless ones. Big surgeless heals tend to be very valuable!
THP: This item provides Temporary Hitpoints. Generally, not nearly as good as the previous keyword, except if they're long-lasting or it's a very large amount of them, in which case they powerfully ablate damage.
Teleport: This item either facilitates teleportation, enhances it, or provides it in some way.
LFR Reward: This item is obtained as a reward for an LFR Module and thus, not normally obtainable in LFR.
Magic Mart: An item that you wouldn't wishlist, but would definitely craft yourself if you could. Generally applies to lesser pickups and cheap items. Obviously not really applicable in rarity-enforcing games for the most part.
Common: This item can be crafted by PCs under the Rarity system. Note that this guide will mostly concern itself with the pre-essentials system, but rarity can be convenient to know about for certain campaigns and LFR. Because it is the default rarity, Uncommon rarities should not be listed.
Rare: Only one item of this type can be found per tier, and they cannot be crafted.
To-Do List:
-Add more keywords. Suggestions are welcome!
-Find a good quote for the first post.
-Include all items of note.
Acknowledgements:
To be filled later as submissions are posted.
Originally posted by Armisael:
Mastering The Blade: Weapons of Legacy List
Heroic Weapon Options
[sblock]Frost Weapon (Level 3+, PHB1): The gold standard all weapon enchants are compared to. A cheap, easy way to obtain up to fourteen points of damage and constant CA, and all it asks of you is a pair of feats you'd be taking anyway if you were planning on using this element. It even converts pre-typed powers too, so even implement users can join in on the fun. Really takes off once you have a Shard of Merciless Cold and Gloves of Ice, but is still mighty decent with just the core kit of Wintertouched and Lasting Frost. Elemental (Cold), Striker, Augmentable, Multi-Role, Daily.
Staggering Weapon (Level 2+, AV): One of the best enchantments for flail using fighters. Adding the enhancement modifier to a slide is extremely powerful. It also knocks the target prone on a crit in addition to doing extra damage on a crit, which helps. Combines very well with status effect stacking tricks, such as those obtained through flail weapon feats. Fighter, Augmentable.
Rending Weapon (Level 4+, AV):
The more ways you have to increase your chances of scoring a critical hit, the more this becomes a mandatory weapon. Not only does this add 1d6 per plus to your critical hit damage, it also grants you a no action melee basic attack. There's nothing more a striker could ask for. Only drawback is that it only comes as an axe, but that's just more incentive to wield a Gouge. Avenger, Striker.
Unforgettable Cudgel (Level 8+, AV2):
A reliable, simple enchant for Clerics, and also very, very tasty for Avengers too. Pity it's Mace only, but you can't have everything, right? Avenger, Cleric.
Sunblade (Level 4+, AV):
The first of the lightsaber line, and actually one of the best because of its lower price bracket. Not as great as Radiant, but cheaper and available in the Heroic tier, so that's something. Striker, Elemental (Radiant).
Mace of Healing (Level 8+, AV):
A great weapon for healers to carry around in their offhand. You don't even have to attack with it! Healing.
Flail of Winds (Level 3+, Dragon 391): Its a nifty little enchantment for flails which increases any forced movement effects created by the flail by 1. What is important to note is that it says "any attack made with the flail" meaning it is also implement friendly which is something it has over Staggering along with being a common item. Common, Defender.
Battlecrazed Weapon (Level 4+, AV):
The other contender for the 'biggest damage boost' throne, Battlecrazed has the advantage of not requiring as many pieces as a Radiant Weapon to get you there. Unfortunately, what pieces it does require have a great opportunity cost: This weapon only truly shines with Bloodfury Weapons in ample supply to keep it going (I recommend Gauntlet Axes, which take up no slots), which makes it minor-action heavy, and just like Radiant it requires a Paragon Path to truly get its damage to the stratosphere (the Paragon Path being Winter Fury to effectively double up your weapon slot). Still, while pricey, that investment has appropriately huge returns. Striker, Augmentable, Daily.
Bloodfury Weapon (Level 4+, AV2):
The other piece of the Battlecrazed puzzle. Normally not worth your time by itself, but being able to kick bloodied boosts to 'always on' status is amazing for certain characters. Best used on Gauntlet Axes to maintain your hands open for weapon-carrying. Striker, Augmentable, Encounter.
Frost Fury Waraxe (Level 3+, AV2):
The less well-known cousin of Battlecrazed. What's better than a Frost weapon? Why, a Frost Weapon that adds even more extra damage on top of the frost package! Real pity that not that many classes use CON, it's Axe only and it requires Bloodfury to shine, because this is one heck of an enhancement. Striker, Augmentable, Elemental (Cold).
Githyanki Silver Weapon (Level 9+, Manual of the Planes): Two amazing properties on this one. The first lets you turn all damage done by this weapon into psychic damage, which works amazingly well for defenders that want to use Psychic Lock, for example. A Headband of Intellect also gives you a +1 item bonus to all attacks, although the Headband is a rare item these days. The second property lets you banish a creature (save ends) when you hit with the weapon, which is a pretty rare and very powerful ability. Element (Psychic), Daily, Augmentable.
Feyslaughter Weapon (Weapon, Level 9+, AV): If you hit something with this, it can't teleport for a round. A great property for defenders who want to keep everything adjacent to them, and almost mandatory for Brawler Fighters. Defender.
Vanguard Weapon (Level 3+, AV): Part of the 'charge kit', along with (among others) the Horned Helm. This weapon adds 1d8 to the damage of any succesful charge attack. The daily power lets you boost your allies' attack and damage rolls for a round, although the amount of damage depends on how good your Charisma is. Striker, Augmentable, Daily.
Rhythm Blade (Level 3+, AV2):
When you wield this in your offhand, your shield bonus to AC and Ref increases by 1. Which means you need to have a shield bonus in the first place (Battle Cleric's Lore and shielding implements say hi), and you need your offhand free. If you qualify for that, there's not much that beats this if you want to boost your defenses cheaply. Augmentable, Common.
Shielding Blade (Level 4+, Dragon Magazine 391): Want more AC but no room for a shield? Take this and be happy with it. Nothing fancy, but it serves a purpose. Swordmage, Common.
Lightning Weapon (Level 5+, PHB):
Gets this rating for the synergy with Mark of Storm. Now any attack you make with the weapon lets you also slide the target 1 square. There are countless things that benefit from that, notables being Flail Expertise and Polearm Momentum for easy proning. The daily power lets you do some more damage on a hit. Elemental (Lightning), Augmentable, Daily.
Quicksilver Blade (Level 2+, AV2): Need an item bonus to initiative? Proficient with any light blade and have a hand free? Then look no further. You just need to hold the Blade at the start of combat to get the bonus, so there's nothing stopping you from dropping it and Quick-Drawing another weapon on your first turn. The daily power gives you an additional move action on a hit. Daily.
Harmony Blade (Level 4+ AV2): Non-action attacks on a crit for dual-wielders and you lay down attack penalties to enemies if you hit them twice. Beautiful on characters who specialize in multiattacking, such as Whirlybarbs and Rangers, and part of a set too. Striker, Ranger, Avenger, Set.
Farbond Spellblade (Weapon, Level 2+, AV2): The default thrown weapon option for most characters. Shouldn't be your main weapon enchant, but never leave home without one. Multi-Role.
Hungry Spear (Weapon, Level 2+, AV2): Another passable weapon option for throwing, though the main draw here is the Encounter power and long range. Immobilizing an enemy at range helps with closing in and downing fliers, which is handy. Encounter, Multi-Role.
Dwarven Thrower (Level 2+, Dragon 385): Mandatory for throwers, as it's one of the few ways to get a decent item bonus to damage, though it's a paltry substitute for true Bracers of Archery r Iron Armbands. Also a passable throwing option, I s'pose. Striker.
Totemic Spear (Level 2+, AV2): Only a Shaman needs bother with this item, which does have the really nice perk of boosting your Spirit Companion's range. Still, it's quite niche. Is reach really worth that much to you? Shaman.
Totemic Warclub (Level 2+, AV2): Adds a fair amount of versatility to Shaman power deployment. Doesn't really make you more powerful, but you might not need it if you can get the right powers off at the right time. Shaman.
Chieftain's Weapon (Level 3+, Dragon 381): Overrated, I think. It's easy enough to boost MBAs into overwhelmingly powerful forces of nature without having to rely on burning a Weapon enchant. There's almost always something better out there. Leader, Common.
Defensive Weapon (Level 2+, AV):
For most characters, sacrificing their weapon enchants is an impossibly bad proposition...but not so bad that Wardens and other Second Wind users can't carry an outdated version of this weapon around to draw for that round when they need to Second Wind and screw enemies hard. Warden, Defender, Magic Mart.
Weapon of Defense (Level 4+, MME):
Pitiful bonus for a primary weapon...but who said this was going to be primary? Particularly good for Thri-Kreens due to the wording (says 'holding', not 'wielding'), but still good for anyone who can spare a hand. Defender, Magic Mart, Daily.
Firewind Blade (Level 4+, HotEC):
At long last, fire has an answer to Cold and Radiant's elemental shenanigans. Thanks to this outstanding little item, every time you strike an enemy with fire damage, they take 1 + Enhancement bonus damage. Needless to say, this works with vulnerabilities, which means that if you can reliably generate fire or general vulns, the target will be quickly fried. The only catch is that you have to make your attacks fiery without the aid of a weapon enchant, which isn't so easy...but not impossible either. The PPs Soaring Blade and Malec-Keth Janissary can provide a source of fire damage, and so can a certain nifty little slotless item (that all Desert Wind Monks should carry). Speaking of which...Desert Wind Monks
must take this item as their implement. It's how they keep up with the big boys. Lastly, this item gets very stupid if you have Radiant One and Morninglord. Striker, Monk, Augmentable, Daily.
Hidden Weapon (Lvl 3+, DSCS):
Need an item bonus to initiative? Proficient with light blades or maces? Just keep one of these guys in your hand when you roll initiative and then drop the sucker when you're done with it to go quickdraw your weapon of choice. If you do feel like using it, it comes with its own quick draw ability, and once you sheathe it only you can find and draw it, making it a useful and stylish way to go undercover. Now, you can have that swordcane you always wanted. Multi-Role, Magic Mart.
Flaming Weapon (Level 5+, PHB): Mostly not worth your time - passable for Tieflings though. Note that it does not convert typed damage, because of a very dumb bit of errata. For a fire elemental converter refer to the paragon section. Tiefling, Daily.
Subtle Weapon (Level 3+, AV): An OK enchantment. There's much better ones out there, but this one's easy to use so it has that going for it. Striker.[/sblock]
Paragon Weapon Options
[sblock]Radiant Weapon (Level 15+, AV): Weapon property is basically 'you get your arms slot back'. Also one of several common ways for an implement user to get an item bonus to damage, and it enables use of radiant dragonshards. While not as easily applicable as Frost, it has the advantage of enabling one of, if not the biggest damage boosts you can get out of a weapon alongside freeing the eternally chained Arms slot, by utilizing Morninglord and Pelor's Boon from the DMG2. Elemental (Radiant), Striker, Augmentable, Multi-Role.
Blade of the Eldritch Knight (Weapon, Level 15+, AV2): Heavy Blade that increases your melee reach to 5. Great if you want to attack stuff in melee, but don't actually want to stand next to it, or simply want a range increase (Warlords come to mind here). Also lots of fun if your melee attacks slows your target in some way. Part of the Eldritch Panoply set. Set.
Thunderbolt Weapon (Level 13+, AV):
Lightning Weapon, except in a cheaper bracket and with a better daily. The only downside is that it only works with Ranged weapons...but that includes Daggers and Drow Long Knives for instance, as a FYI, so Sorcerers in particular are really, really happy about their existence. Elemental (Lightning), Augmentable, Daily, Sorcerer.
Jagged Weapon (Level 12+, AV): Want to double your crit range? This is the earliest way you'll be able to achieve it. Potentially scary as hell if you have enough bennies that trigger on-crit - expanded crit range is deceptively powerful, particularly if combined with the Five Stars Five Strikes boon. Do note, however, that this item is superseded entirely by the option below. Striker, Avenger, Barbarian, Augmentable.
Melegaunt's Darkblade (Level 12+, Dungeon 177):
Like Jagged, except it adds a ton more damage via extra dice that deal cold damage. Essentially the same, but more. Lots more. Striker, Avenger, Barbarian, Augmentable, Elemental (Cold).
Battlemaster's Weapon (Level 14+, AV): Salve of Power in weapon form. Recharging an encounter power once per day is an interesting option for almost any (non-power point) class. One interesting detail is that the encounter power doesn't have to be an attack power, or even class power. Daily.
Weapon of Summer (Level 15+, Dungeon 160): If you're using a Flaming weapon for some reason, chuck it for this toy as soon as you are able. It's the only way to get fire conversion out of weapon enchants too. Tiefling, Multi-Role, Daily.
Captain's Weapon (Level 13+, MME):
Not only does it offer a nice bonus to damage rolls as a minor, it offers Hail of Steel as a daily power. Let me repeat this, for emphasis: It offers Hail of Steel as a daily power, no need to swap any powers out. One of the definitive Leader weapons, bar none. Leader, Warlord, Encounter, Daily.
Wind Weapon (Level 14+, MME): Do you have allies who like Agile Opportunist and either a free hand or no pressing need for another enhancement? Congrats, here's an at-will slide effect for any move action you weren't using. And it helps you get your allies into flanking positions or out of danger. Leader.
Withering Weapon (Level 13+, AV):
In a party with a bunch of meleers? Hit a target once (or twice, or thrice if you can swing it) on your turn with this weapon and paint a gigantic 'FOCUS THIS GUY' sign all over him. Being easily ended by a save kinda sucks, but in the worst case scenario, this should still be a turn of focus fire made simpler and more profitable. Combine with a Crown of Equilibrium for outstanding save granting capability, if your enemies don't die first that is. Leader, Augmentable.
Thundergod Weapon (Level 13+, AV): Trash in the paragon tier because it is strictly inferior to the Vanguard Weapon. Strictly superior in Epic, when the bonus it gives climbs up from 1d6 to 2d6. Good on people spamming the charge package. Augmentable, Striker.
[/sblock]
Epic Weapon Options
[sblock]None yet![/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Armors of the Unbroken: Armors of Legacy List
Heroic Armor Options
[sblock]Rebuking Armor (Level 4+, PHB2):
A nifty, reliable boost for the defense-challenged people in the audience. If you're stuck with Chain, this is a nice way to patch up your defenses. Cleric, Invoker.
Healer's Armor (Level 5+, AV2):
Healing more with each healing surge spent can be really handy, for obvious reasons. Healing.
Shared Valor Armor (Level 8+, PHB2): Normally rather unremarkable even for constant THP granters, this armor's worth absolutely skyrockets if you're an Artificer, and is a major contributor to the power of the Resistive Formula. Artificer, THP.
Shadow Warlock Armor (Level 10+, AV2): Nearly eternal combat advantage against whatever target you're trying to kill is amazing for any striker, and Warlocks are no exception. Nobody but a warlock can use this, but they certainly love this puppy. Note that melee warlocks and Hybrids don't care one whit for this armor, however. Warlock.
Dwarven Armor (Level 2+, PHB):
Even as a daily power, you just don't say no to surge-free, action-free healing. One of the two de facto choices for heavy armor users. Surgeless Healing, Daily, Multi-Role.
Bloodiron Armor (Level 8+, AV2):
The other default for heavy armor. You were going to beat the snot out people anyway, why not become defensively tougher in the process? Multi-Role.
Armor of Resistance (Armor, Level 2+, AV): Hate typed damage? Then this armor will grant you resistance against one out of a wide range of damage types. Not as good as other armors which grant resistance to two types of damage, but a lot more customizable. Resistance scales with tier. Common.
Armor of Adaptable Resistance ( Level 4+, PP):
Like the Armor of Resistance, this only provides you resistance against one damage type (out of a wide range of types), but the daily power that lets you change resistance until the end of the encounter makes it a lot more versatile. And if you have at least one power point, it will make you practically immune to all typed damage one encounter per day. Psionic.
Black Iron Armor (Level 4+, PHB, HotFL): This armor lets you resist fire and necrotic, the two most common damage types. Resistance scales with tier. Only comes in Scale and Plate. Common.
Inner Warmth Armor (Level 9+, PHB2):
This armor lets you resist cold and necrotic. One is the most common damage type, the other... not so much. The daily power however lets you win one encounter per day, that is if your DM is shortsighted enough to use only necrotic or cold damage after he's given you this armor. Resistance scales with tier. Only comes in Hide. Daily.
Runic Armor (Level 3+, AV2):
For all you Sages of Ages out there, this armor gives you the item bonus to your Arcana check you've been looking for. The bonus to damage rolls if you Second Wind is just gravy. Skill, Augmentable.
Battle Harness ( Level 4+, Dragon Magazine 368): Don't have a Warlord in your party but still want that power bonus to initiative? Then take this as your light armor, stack it with an item that gives an item bonus to initiative, and Team Monster can eat your dust. You also get Quick Draw for free with this Armor, which is a deceptively good bonus.
Time Link Armor (Level 4+, AV2): Need an item bonus to initiative? Wearing Chain Armor? Then look no further. You also get a daily initiative reroll, which combined with the right background (Trained From Birth for a Specific Prophecy) and Danger Sense will make sure you always go first. Daily.
Armor of Sudden Recovery (Level 3+, AV2): A +1 item bonus to saving throws against ongoing damage, and the ability to once per day turn your ongoing damage into regeneration that lasts until the end of the encounter. Practically gold for Lair Assault. Daily.
Moon Armor (Level 3+, AV2):
This armor is mostly entirely unremarkable and wouldn't merit mention in this guide...were it not for the existence of the Enshrouding Candle and Ringmail. It costs a feat and some gold, but that's a small price to pay for an always-on +1 to AC. An oft-overlooked piece of the unhittable light-armor Striker/Defender puzzle. Augmentable.
Bloodthread Armor (Level 5+, PHB1): Another piece of the Battlecrazed puzzle, this one is much better for Avengers and Hybrid Swordmages who want to get a cheap, potent bonus to AC early on. Doesn't stack with Elven Chain Shirt, but until level 20 it's a very easy way to boost your AC up and save money. Not too shabby. Augmentable, Swordmage, Avenger.
[/sblock]
Paragon Armor Options
[sblock]Champion's Hauberk (Level 13+, AV2): Part of the Champion's Flame set, this armor can be handy on occasion. Say, for a Radiant Mafia Cleric who wants to use Favor of the Gods AND Solar Enemy to shorten fights. Set, Encounter, Cleric, Invoker.
Feytouched Armor (Level 12+, Manual of the Planes): Need an item bonus to initiative? Wearing Leather or Hide Armor? Then look no further. It also allows you to become invisible once per encounter as a standard action. Be aware that this competes with Battle Harness for the same slot, although the bonus types differ. Encounter.
Bonegrim Armor (Level 14+, AV): This armor lets you resist necrotic and poison. One is the most common damage type, the other... is useful when fighting Drow I guess. It does have some weird properties though. The resistance only scales correctly with the level 19 and higher armors, and releases you from the need for food (and at level 29, even sleep). The problem stems from one little line, which says that you cannot remove the armor without a ritual to remove afflictions...problem is, this armor applies a penalty to it equal to its level. Yes, you read that right: not enhancement bonus, level. This means it's more or less flatly impossible to take it off, which means the only way to upgrade it is with Enchant Magic Item (as you can't take off a lesser Bonegrim Armor for a better one)...which means you cannot upgrade it at all in an LFR game. Cursed.
Greater Armor of Eyes (Level 14+, MME): Can't be blinded and you get darkvision. This doesn't pop up often...unless you're a Demonskin Adept, that is. Then you really, really
want this. Sorcerer, Multi-Role.
Armor of Dark Deeds (Level 14+, AV2):
Hit an enemy granting CA to you, gain concealment against everyone until the end of your next turn. In other words, be aggresive and you gain big bonuses to defend against non-burst/blast attacks. Where do I sign up? Warlock, Sorcerer, Striker.
[/sblock]
Epic Armor Options
[sblock]Armor of Shared Health (Level 30, AV2): Surgeless healing is surgeless healing, even if it only kicks in for three fights, tops. Would have been a much more powerful and interesting property ten or twenty levels earlier. Surgeless Healing.
Soulwarding Armor (Level 24+, AV): This armor lets you resist necrotic and psychic. The resistance is 5 lower than it should be at this level, but you're compensated with the fact that it's one of the few items that lets you resist psychic damage, and that you can't lose healing surges from enemy attacks anymore. Not bad eh?
[/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Talismans of The Mystics: Charms of Legacy List
Heroic Neck Options
[sblock]Amulet of Life (Level 5+, Dragon 381):
Access to extra healing is never bad, especially if you get beat on a lot. Even better if you have a reliable way to generate saving throws so it doesn't compete with other neck slot items that grant saves. It shines on classes that have a lot of healing surges, because after a few fights surge management tends to become an issue. Defender, Encounter.
Cloak of Distortion (Level 4+, AV):
If you're in doubt as to what neck item to pick, go with this one. The ever-increasing bonus against distant attackers is bound to come up once in a while, and likely to be a life-saver when it does. Multi-Role.
Healer's Brooch (Level 4+, AV):
Needless to say, a nice and big bonus to heals like that is pretty nifty, even if it does chew up an important slot. Worth taking into account if you're gonna toss out lots of heals. Healing, Leader.
Medic's Amulet (Level 4+, AV2):
If you have no access to Mark of Healing or other save granting effects, you can use this to compensate, somewhat. Only pick this up if ongoing damage is a thing in your campaign, though. Leader.
Steadfast Amulet (Level 8+, AV):
Grants you an II save against daze or stun once per day. Best part is, if you fail the save, the power is not expended. Daily.
Cloak of Translocation (Level 9+, AV2): Great if you expect to teleport at least 3 times an encounter, and the daily is top-notch if you have a teleport attack encounter power, of which there's a surprising amount. Sorcerer, Swordmage, Teleport, Daily.
Elemental Ward Cloak(Level 9+, Dragon 408): This item becomes available in late heroic, but it really starts shining around mid-high paragon. By that point, it gives a truly immense item bonus to all defenses against any attacks with an elemental keyword (acid, cold, fire, lightning, and thunder). It also helps offset the need for a lot of resistances for these damage types, except to avoid auto-damage. If you get another part of the set, then you also get a little resistance to a damage type of your choice. Bottom line: if your DM does elemental damage, GRAB THIS.
Set.
[/sblock]
Paragon Neck Options
[sblock]Timeless Locket (Level 14+, AV2): Need an item bonus to initiative? Then look no further. The daily power lets you trade a minor for a standard, albeit one that you can't use for an attack (but a creative player like you can surely find a way to get around that). Daily.
Tenebrous Shroud (Level 13+, Dragon Magazine 380): Major resistance to the most common damage type on a neck slot item, for when you want to save your armor and head slot (Skull Mask) for something else. The daily power lets you become invisible as a reaction when you get hit. Daily, Resistance.[/sblock]
Epic Neck Options
[sblock]None yet![/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Implements of Power: Implements of Legacy List
Armisael's Note: Because implements are divided into lots of categories that don't mesh with each other, I have chosen to split them into further spoiler blocks beyond the usual Heroic/Paragon/Epic split. This has been done to reduce the messiness of this particular section to a minimum.
Heroic Implement Options
[sblock]Holy Symbols
[sblock]Symbol of the Champion's Code (Level 8+, AV2): An item tax for paladins. If you don't take it, you're failing in your duty as a paladin. The daily power helps take the sting off the tax though, as it's really damn good. Paladin, Element (Radiant), Daily.
Symbol of Victory (Level 9+, PHB1):
An unbelievably powerful item, and a reason to get holy symbol proficiency all by itself. You don't even need to use it to trigger its property - just be proficient and carry it around. So strong, it inches close to Gold
value. Multi-Role, Daily.
Symbol of Divine Reach (Level 8+, AV):
A nice way to take 'long-range bombardment' to a whole new level. Wanted to hit even the farthest reaching enemies from outside their maximum range? Now you can. Multi-Role, Divine.
Sun Disk of Pelor (Level 8+, AV):
A radiant converter for the implement users out there. The possibilites are immense: a good idea is to become a Morninglord and get Pelor's Boon to dish out massive amounts of extra damage via vulnerabilities. Elemental (Radiant), Augmentable.
Symbol of Daring (5+, AV2):
Underappreciated Holy Symbol. Expensive due to its level, but has a very nice property: An untyped bonus to damage for your allies' AP attacks. A nice way for the Cleric to play at Warlord, or a good symbol for those divine characters who usually stick to weapon attacks, like the Avenger or Paladin. Cleric, Leader.
[/sblock]
Staves
[sblock]Staff of the Traveler (Level 5+, PHB3):
Not all builds have reasons to want this item, but for those that do, it's absolutely invaluable. An inordinately powerful item for all teleporters and speedfreaks. Teleport, Multi-Role, Warlock, Bard.
Staff of Sleep and Charm (Level 3+, AV2): Scaling item bonus to attack with Charm and Sleep powers that works in the offhand, on a staff, and you only ever need the cheap version per tier, since it scales at 3, 13 and 23. Did I mention it's common yet? An incredibly good item for Wizards, Bards and anyone else with a heavy lean to Charm based powers. Wizard (Enchanter), Bard, Psion, Common.
Staff of Ruin (Level 3+, AV):
Need to get damage done as an implement user? Look no further than this staff. You'll be hard pressed to find something better. Striker, Sorcerer, Wizard, Invoker.
Architect's Staff (Level 5+, AV):
Walls aren't that common, but this item can increase their value to potentially enormous levels. Certainly worth considering, and the daily allows you to sculpt the battlefield, quite literally. Wizard, Daily.
[/sblock]
Rods
[sblock]Blast Scepter (Level 7+, Halls of Undermountain): One hell of an odd item. It's very versatile, providing resists, two powers, and a good crit die, but suffers due to not doing anything extraordinarily well. A nifty item nonetheless, however. At-Will, Daily, Rare.[/sblock]
Orbs
[sblock]Orb of Ghostbane Triumph (Level 9+, PP): Tired of being ineffective when fighting ghosts? Then get one of these, which will let you ignore the insubstantial quality as long as you have at least one power point remaining. The daily power provides this benefit for your allies too if you hit an insubstantial creature with it. Psionic, Daily.
Orb of Nimble Thoughts (Implement, Level 3+, PHB3): Need an item bonus to initiative? Proficient with Orbs? Then look no further. You don't even need to use this Orb to get the bonus, just hold it at the start of combat. Int-classes and power point users (Psions in particular) also get a nice shifty movement mode out of it. Psion, Psionic, Encounter.[/sblock]
Wands
[sblock]Nein.[/sblock]
Totems
[sblock]Pure Spirit Totem (Level 5+, PHB2): Mostly here to be used for their daily power to get people up on the cheap. Beware, your DM might protest if you buy or make ten of them.
Surgeless Healing, Daily, Shaman.[/sblock]
Tomes
[sblock]Tome of Undeniable Might (Level 8+, MME): Tired of being ineffective when fighting ghosts? Then get one of these, which will let you ignore the insubstantial quality when you attack a target with certain elemental powers. Common, Elemental.[/sblock]
Ki Foci
[sblock]Ghost Strike Ki Focus (Level 2+, PHB3): Tired of being ineffective when fighting ghosts? Then get one of these, which will let you ignore the insubstantial quality when you attack a target that grants you combat advantage.
Shadow Master Ki Focus (Level 3+, Dragon): Any permastealth or rich regular stealty build should look at this item for one of the highest damage boost from a single item, especially at lower levels. Necrotic can backfire, and moderate scaling let's other items catch up, but since it's untyped, and ki focuses can be turned on and off, it may keep it's use late game. Striker, Assassin, Rogue.
[/sblock][/sblock]
Paragon Implement Options
[sblock]Holy Symbols
[sblock]Ain't nuthin' here, boss.[/sblock]
Staves
[sblock]Jeeze, you're thick-headed.[/sblock]
Rods
[sblock]What part of 'no items to showcase yet' didn't you get?[/sblock]
Orbs
[sblock]Dammit, you're persistent. Stop bugging me![/sblock]
Wands
[sblock]Oh c'mon, really? You must be the same kinda guy who clicks on Blizzard RTS units to get their hidden quotes.[/sblock]
Totems
[sblock]Alright, fine, you found the hidden quotes. Can you leave me alone now? Please?[/sblock]
Tomes
[sblock]That's it. I'm gonna start ignoring you. I won't even stare at you![/sblock]
Ki Foci
[sblock]*Ignores*[/sblock][/sblock]
Epic Implement Options
[sblock]Holy Symbols
[sblock]*Ignores*[/sblock]
Staves
[sblock]*Ignores*[/sblock]
Rods
[sblock]*Ignores*[/sblock]
Orbs
[sblock]*Ignores*[/sblock]
Wands
[sblock]...Dammit, I can't keep this up. Alright, you win.[/sblock]
Totems
[sblock]Being honest...heh. I gotta say, I admire your persistence.[/sblock]
Tomes
[sblock]We're getting close to the end of the line, though. This silliness will have to end soon, so...[/sblock]
Ki Foci
[sblock]...Goodbye.[/sblock][/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Bracers and Bulwarks: Armbands of Legacy List
Heroic Arms Options
[sblock]Iron Armbands of Power (Level 6+, AV): The most powerful arms slot item, bar none, because it's a math fix. It's not a question of why you'd want to use them, but why not, and this earns the Armbands a coveted gold rating. Unless you have some sort of plan, stick to these on all melee characters. Striker, Multi-Role.
Bracers of Archery (Level 6+, AV):
The less-often applicable version of the Iron Armbands. Still a math patch though, so what goes for them goes for these bracers too. Striker, Multi-Role.
Bracers of Mighty Striking (Level 2+, PHB, HotFL):
Yes, Iron Armbands of Power are better. Now that we've got that out of the way, these are available 4 levels earlier and common. Problem is that they only work on melee basic attacks, but there are enough classes out there that are just fine with that restriction. Striker, Multi-Role.
Bracers of the Perfect Shot (Level 3+, PHB): Yes, Bracers of Archery are better. Now that we've got that out of the way, these are available 3 levels earlier and common. Problem is that they only work on ranged basic attacks, but there are some classes out there that are just fine with that restriction. Striker, Multi-Role.
Bracers of Mental Might (Level 6+, AV): Not everybody can get an Item bonus from elsewhere and has a power they want to swap for, but for those that do, this is an outstanding item. Leaders in particular adore it, because it lets them savagely poach from the Warlord powerlist to get whatever power fits their fancy that can end encounters in a hurry. Leader, Multi-Role, Encounter.
Hammer Shield (Level 6, AV2): An untyped +1 to defenses when you hit is pretty nifty, but there's two drawbacks: One, you have to use a hammer to get the bonus, and two, you're sacrificing Iron Armbands for it. Defender.
Floating Shield (Level 1, AV): Not your everyday shield, but worth sticking in your pack if encumbrance and purchase access to uncommon items isn’t an issue. For a cheap price, you can bypass certain skill checks entirely. One of these and a rope will get an entire party across that river. On some rare maps, the ability to walk on water will be strictly better than the damage bonus you might get from your arms slot. However, use only as needed. Skill (Athletics), Magic Mart.
Preservation Shield (Level 2, AV2): The first fight of the day is frequently a warm up, surge drain appetizer fight. Blow your daily on this shield immediately in the first fight to save some of those surges, then trade it out for your Iron Armbands in the short rest. Useful for high surge count characters, but quickly loses luster as you progress up the tiers. Defender, Daily, THP
Battleforged Shield (Level 4+, AV): Big daily surgeless heal, fairly easy to trigger, limited range. Good for paladins as an emergency nova heal with Lay on Hands, or for short rest surge preservation (you never really have to wear this in combat if you prefer). Daily, Healing, Leader, Defender.
Throwing Shield (Level 6+, AV): Let’s be honest. This power is Standard Action, Ranged 10, you mark the target if you’re a fighter, or engage him if you’re a paladin. Still, when you’re an immobilized defender…meh, get something to escape immobilize instead. That it uses an outdated math formula doesn't help its case, either. Fighter, Defender, Paladin
Healer’s Shield (Level 10+, AV2): Depending on how much variable healing dice you’re throwing out there, the daily on this can be ridiculous. Can be used during a short rest if you like. Leader, Healing.
Coutures of Second Chances (Level 5+, AV): The extra damage bonus of the Iron Armbands is almost always going to be better than the daily reroll offered by these bracers. If you really, really don't care about damage or do absolutely none of it yourself though, these might be worth considering. Controller, Daily.
[/sblock]
Paragon Arms Options
[sblock]Bloodhound Bracers (Level 13, AV2): If you or one of your party members specializes in ongoing damage and you desperately want combat advantage, I guess this is a decent option. Works well for Slashing Kama Style Monks, for example. The daily power lets you inflict a pitiful 5 ongoing damage when you bloody an enemy. Daily, Augmentable.
Shield of Fellowship (Level 15, AV2):
You need to not care about damage and have an easy source of THP to pick up this item (and the number of characters who fit that bill is smaller than it looks), but properly used this item can be a way of giving the party a big source of THP turn after turn. Part of the Arms of Unbreakable Honor set. THP, Set.
Rapidstrike Bracers (Level 16, AV): Use a single target at-will attack instead of a basic attack once per encounter. Can be useful for some characters who get granted RBAs. An item bonus to initiative makes it sweeter to boot. Encounter.
[/sblock]
Epic Arms Options
[sblock]None yet![/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Boots of Seven Leagues: Boots of Legacy
Heroic Feet Options
[sblock]Acrobat Boots (Level 2, PHB):
Who likes to spend their move action standing up from prone? No-one, that's who. This lowly level 2 Feet slot item forever saves you from having to worry about this. This effect is also obtainable by taking the level 2 Acrobatics utility power Agile Recovery, but why spend a precious utility on it when these boots do the same? At-will.
Boots of the Fencing Master (Level 7, AV): This kind of mobility is usually reserved for Monks, so making it available as a Feet slot item is great. There are so many uses for a minor action shift 2 it's not even funny. And that's not mentioning the item bonus to AC and Reflex when you shift. One of the top heroic picks for Feet slot items. Encounter.
Goblin Stompers (Level 6, AV): Shifting as an immediate reaction when missed by a melee attack as an encounter power. Not bad for getting out of a tight spot, not bad at all. Encounter.
Rushing Cleats (Level 7, AV): They need preexisting forced movement to use properly, but when deployed intelligently, these boots can provide a valuable, very important boost to many builds, such as Lightning Furies looking to up their damage, Deadly Drawers and more. Augmentable, Multi-Role.
[/sblock]
Paragon Feet Options
[sblock]Greaves of Maldeen (Level 12, Dragon 364): +2 bonus to speed, regardless of armor, and even a daily power to make sure your enemy won't get away from you as an immediate reaction, and the only limitation these boots have is that you must move closer to an enemy to get the bonus. When aren't going to be doing that? One of the default choices for the boot slot. Daily, Multi-Role.
Butterfly Sandals (Level 12, AV): There are few classes that benefit from a static bonus to fly speed, but for those who do this is a huge increase. If you have a way to consistently take to the skies, this lets you do a decent Neo-impression. Common.
Boots of Dancing (Level 11, AV): A tame benefit in not granting CA when Dazed, but it's something any character can make use of. The bonus to reflex pushes this item up further to the point where it's worth taking.
Battlestrider Greaves (Level 12, PHB): Speed is king on the approach and on big battlefields, and heavy armor users are constantly gimped in that department. This item lets them get some of their speed back.
Oceanstrider Boots (Level 14, AV): A bonus to speed regardless of armor type is good already. Being able to take advantage of terrains that would normally be harmful to you is godlike.
Eladrin Boots (Level 16, PHB): These boots enhance any of your teleports, even if the teleport isn't from a teleportation power. This comes in handy for paragon paths and epic destinies which give teleportation as a movement mode, as well as the teleportation granted by the epic feat Fey Shift. The daily is underwhelming if you already have at-will teleportation, but it's ok until then. Daily, Teleport.
Earthreaver Stompers (Level 17+, AV): A bit of Tremorsense. Not the most amazing thing in the world, but handy on occasion.
Phantom Chaussures (Level 18, AV): A big bonus to defenses when moving is already pretty good, emulating Shadow Walk, but the daily power is nothing short of outstanding, giving you a colossal defensive buff once a day on the approach (AKA the most dangerous round). Daily.
Planestrider Boots (Level 18, MotP):
A big jolt of mobility makes these boots attractive to anyone, but it's the ability to split teleports that truly earns these boots its rating. Warlocks, and Evermeet Warlocks in particular, love these boots. Warlock, Encounter, Teleport, Augmentable.
[/sblock]
Epic Feet Options
[sblock]Boots of Speed (Level 22, AV): +2 to Speed and a daily power for extra movement sure looks tempting...until you realize you could get an identical effect with the Greaves of Maldeen much earlier. Pass. Daily.
Zephyr Boots (Level 24, AV): Flight in light armor, with no other caveats. I don't have to explain how this is incredibly good, do I?
Boots of Teleportation (Level 28, AV): You now teleport at-will instead of moving. Pretty much the de facto choice at ultra high levels, with a bit of competition from some scattered boots here and there. At-Will.[/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Gloves of Silk, Gauntlets of Steel: Handguards of Legacy
Heroic Hands Options
[sblock]Strikebacks (Level 10, AV): If you have a serviceable melee basic attack and don't use your immediate action literally every round, there's no reason to skip this. Combats where these don't trigger are few and far between, so take these and be happy with them. Additional benefit: you finally don't have to remember those annoying Gauntlets of Blood anymore. Encounter.
Resplendent Gloves (Level 5+, AV2): A powerful damage bonus when you hit with an attack that targets will, and possibly CA too. Absolutely worth picking up if you target Will and are interested in damage. It's part of the Resplendent Finery set, to boot. Set, Striker.
Claw Gloves (Level 4, AV):
Damn near an autopick for Druids, and the same goes for Lycans...especially for Lycans. Strikers need not apply without level 10 and that particular theme. Part of the Skin of the Panther set. Striker, Druid, Set, Augmentable.
Babau Gauntlets (Level 10+, Dragon Magazine 408): Once per turn, you can make a melee basic attack using Dex instead of Str. Useful for Dex-strikers that otherwise wouldn't have a functional MBA, even if it's just for an OA. The encounter power deals damage to one attacker equal to half the item's level when you're bloodied. Monk, Bladesinger, Slayer, Striker, Encounter.
Antipathy Gloves (Level 10, AV): The daily power is pretty much whatever, but you're not here for it anyway - you're here for the gigantic stickiness boost these gloves provide to most defenders, making the process of escaping them or moving around them a living hell. Daily, Defender.
Gauntlets of Blood (Level 4+, AV2, HotFL):
A scaling untyped bonus to damage against bloodied targets. The one drawback about these is remembering that you even have the damn things. Striker.
Gloves of Eldritch Admixture (Level 8+, AV): The ability to add a damage keyword to any warlock attack by way of warlock's curse allows a warlock to get around immunities and resists. Though Cold and Fire are common damage types and are often resisted, adding them to another attack makes it unlikely it will be resisted. And you can always use the gloves to add cold. For an Elemental Warlock, Gloves of Eldritch Admixture become Gold due to the increased likelyhood that you will have a vulnerability that matches what the gloves can do which increases your damage by 5/10/15. Warlock, At-Will, Augmentable.
Lancing Gloves (Level 7, AV): If you're not a lycan, not using a frost weapon, and can't prone targets easily, this is a good source of extra damage so long as you're mounted. Striker.
[/sblock]
Paragon Hands Options
[sblock]Gloves of the Healer (Level 12+, AV): That much bonus healing can stack up, and stack up fast. It can be equivalent to a half-tier or tier jump for your Leader healing ability! Healing, Leader.
Gloves of Transference (Level 14, AV): Increases the range of utility powers by 2. This can have some interesting, if niche uses.
Hero's Gauntlets/Great Hero's Gauntlets (Level 17+, AV2):Technically two items, but they have exactly the same purpose, so...in any case, a major boost of THP and a bonus to attack rolls n an Action Point are both neat little features to have. No reason not to give these items a look if you can generate APs often. THP.
Gauntlets of Destruction (Level 18, PHB):
Pseudo-brutal on melee weapons. Decent enough but unremarkable normally, better if you're using Carnage weaponry, quite good if you're using a Falchion, and outstanding if you're charging and chucking lots of dice at people, as it adds up to +4 effective damage or more. Striker, Slayer, Barbarian, Rogue, Scout, Thief, Augmentable.
Gloves of the Wandering Star (Level 19, AV2): A range booster, albeit a lesser one, and a compensation attack on a miss with terrible scaling. Eh, not the best for sure, but it can have its uses. Part of the Offerings of Celestian set. Set, Daily.
Many-Fingered Gloves (Level 20, AV2):
Get an extra ring slot in exchange for your Hands slot. While not for all characters, this item is overwhelmingly powerful for those who can use an extra ring (if nothing else, an extra Champion's Ring is always welcome). Augmentable.
Gloves of Ice (Level 11+, AV2):
Another untyped bonus to cold damage for Frost Weapon wielders. Alternatively, this lets you ignore 5/10 points of cold resistance, which still is a net gain of 3/6 damage. Element, Augmentable.
[/sblock]
Epic Hands Options
[sblock]Foe Caller Gauntlets (Level 22, D381): While these gauntlets are only available in an epic variety, their encounter power can effectively cancel one attack at range each encounter for any character that can mark. Most useful for battleminds and swordmages who have persistent marks which work at range, but still useful for other defenders for dealing with enemies who can teleport or otherwise move without provoking opportunity attacks. Defender, Encounter, Teleport.[/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Crowns and Circlets: Helmets of Legacy
Heroic Head Items
[sblock]Casque of Tactics (Level 4+, AV): An easy way for everyone to boost their initiative a bit with an item bonus. Gets a lot better at higher tiers, where the difference really becomes noticeable. The daily power is deceptively powerful. If you're a Dex-striker and your controller or defender rolled badly on their initiative, this will let them set up the battlefield for you, after which you can come in and kill what's left. Daily.
Fey-Blessed Circlet (Level 8, AV2): CHA in THP at the start of each fight. Not an amazing bonus, but one that any CHA primary or secondary character can use to decent effect. THP.
Horned Helm (Level 6+, PHB): The lynchpin of the so-called Charge Package, based upon doing lots and lots of damage while charging. This lets you add 1d6 per tier to the damage of any charge attack, which quickly results in a lot of extra dice thrown on the table. To enhance the pain further, there's even ways to make multihit attacks usable on a charge, such as the Avalanche Boots and being a Gnoll Reincarnate Champion. All of this combines for frankly silly amounts of damage. Unless you've got a plan, this should be your default Head item as a Striker with MBA access. Striker, Augmentable, Barbarian, Slayer, Scout.
Eagle Eye Goggles (Level 2+, AV): It's a scaling bonus to attack rolls. Elementalists simply have no reason, no excuse, and no way to hide from the fact that they want and need this item. Fail to take it, and fail utterly. Elementalist, Striker.
Circlet of Indomitability (Level 8+, AV):
A scaling untyped bonus to Will, on a common Head slot item no less. If you have any need at all for some extra Will, pick this up and be happy with it. Common, Defender.
Skull Mask (Level 5+, AV):
Want scaling resistance against the most common damage type, but don't want to sacrifice your armor slot for it? Then get this scary thing, which also gives you an item bonus to Intimidate checks. Enemies take a -2 penalty to saving throws against Fear effects, which are pretty rare. Ardent, Wizard, Skill.
Helm of Heroes (Level 10+, PHB):
It's pretty much a daily with a small bonus attached, but what a daily it is. Combine this with, for instance, Death From Two Sides and a Barbarian and you're looking at absolutely unbelievable amounts of carnage. An absolutely prime pick for Warlords and Divine-Oracle'd Enablers alike. Warlord, Leader, Daily.
[/sblock]
Paragon Head Items
[sblock]Eyes of the Eagle (Level 11+, MME): Strict upgrade compared to the Headband of Perception. Not the strongest possible option in a slot with a lot of competition, but a solid option for those who need a perception boost.
Helm of Able Defense (Level 14, AV2): The best way to survive is to not get hit. And this helm facilitates that, a lot. Defenders should be careful though not to become too hard to hit, because monsters will go looking for your allies otherwise. Oh, and a +1 item bonus to Will is just gravy. Part of the Panoply of the Shepherds of Ghest set. Defender, Set.
Crown of the Brilliant Sun (Level 14, AV2): Provides type conversion for elemental abuse? Check. Doesn't take up your weapon enchant? Check. Is a part of the Gifts for the Queen set, which means it gives you a damage bonus? Check. If you're a Lightning or Radiant user, this item deserves serious consideration. Set, Striker, Elemental (Lightning, Radiant), Augmentable.
Circlet of Arkhosia (Level 14+, Head, PHR
): Being dazed or stunned sucks hardcore. Saving against dazing or stunning at the start of your turn, so you can get your full action, is excellent. If you're not a warden and don't have the Wis or Cha for Superior Will, and don't have any other head slot commitments, you will want this helm. Especially mandatory for defenders, who can't punish when they're debilitated. The level 24 version also gives you a start-of-turn save against dominated. Set, Defender.Golden Crown of Battle Command (Level 14, AV2):
Perhaps the single most powerful item in the game for its price, this item takes arguably the most powerful and game-changing class, the Warlord, and kicks it into overdrive by turning its enabling abilities into a well of free buffs that stack with every other boost they bring to the table. This is such a dominant choice for them that the only, and I do mean only other item they should consider is a Helm of Heroes...and even then, the smart move is to carry the Helm, use its power, and then instantly switch to the Golden Crown. Perhaps the only item that carries an absolutely magnificent name and actually lives up to it. Warlord, Set.
Crown of Equillibrium (Level 12, AV2): Combine this with a withering weapon and you essentially have an at-will saving throw grant. Still pretty OK otherwise, too, assuming you use (save ends) effects at all. Leader, Augmentable.
[/sblock]
Epic Head Items
[sblock]None yet![/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Sashes of Gold, Cinctures of Diamond: Belts of Legacy
Heroic Waist Options
[sblock]Diamond Cincture (Level 10+, AV2):
The default waist option. Only few builds want another item. A bonus to fortitude AND extra healing is almost more than anyone would dare to hope for. Healing.
Belt of Vim (Level 8,18,28, AV):
Completely overshadowed by Diamond Cincture. Its only saving graces are that it's 2 levels lower and common. Common.
Cincture of the Dragon Spirit (Level 6, AV):
It's a sad fact of D&D that Strength focused characters tend to...well, be utterly useless in social challenges. Not so with this belt. Combine it with the cheap skill power Try The Stick, and your big bulky barbarian or fighter will be as charming as that sly rogue or bard!
Viper Belt (Level 4, AV): Not worried about your Fortitude defense (i.e. don't need a Diamond Cincture) and want some protection in case you run into Drow? Then get this belt, which protects you from poison damage with resist 5 and a daily power that lets you save against ongoing poison damage. Daily.
Belt of Sonnlinor Righteousness (Level 6+, Dragon 385):
The infamous Belt of Brokenness, this monster turns any Revenant willing to invest in sub-zero optimization (read: Superior Will and enough save boosters to make the save against daze automatically) into a ridiculous, unkillable beast. Not applicable for everyone, but for those who can use it and don't mind utilizing the biggest and most broken exploit still in the game, this is gold.
Daily, Augmentable.
[/sblock]
Paragon Waist Options
[sblock]Belt of the Witch King (Level 18, AV2): Awesome belt for any Arcane character - not only does it give you roughly the benefit of the regular Fort belt, but it gives you free action significant surgeless healing as a daily. Arcane, Surgeless Healing, Daily.
Cord of Divine Favor (Level 13, AV): While awful for surge efficiency (you want to stack as many boosters on top of a healing surge to make sure you spend as few of them as possible), it's impossible to deny how useful this belt is when you need heals NOW. Leader, Encounter, Healing.
Totemic Belt (Level 11, AV): It's a daily power, but how many powers are '+1 to attacks for a fight'? Potentially great for people who already want to charge as a matter of course. Daily, Striker, Barbarian, Slayer.
Waistband of the Grappler (Level 13, AV2): Not for everyone, but if you can push yourself off the d20, this belt provides a meaty bonus to damage rolls. Just make sure to kill everything before they can make use of the CA you're granting them. Striker, At-Will.
Belt of Mountain Endurance (Level 18, Dragon 365):
At higher levels, equivalent to having taken Toughness three times for the purposes of surge values. Even on a dinky seven-surge Striker, that's close to two bonus healing surges, and can reach absolutely silly levels if you have enough surges to burn (five surges' worth of healing just from this belt? Don't mind if I do!). A defensive bonus on spending an Action Point is awesome icing. Daily, Defender.
General's Belt (Level 15, AV2):
Unimpressive by itself, this belt becomes a really good way to get a good to outstanding Will Defense when combined with the Golden Crown of Battle Command from the same item set. If you're using that item, consider picking this one up, as it's not too shabby and it's not that easy to boost your most important NAD by 2 points. Daily, Warlord, Set, Healing.
Cinture of Vivacity (Level 14, MME): A mid-paragon Common item, you'd expect this to be useful, but not amazing, and it is. Its function is simple: healing above you maximum becomes THP. Now, in most parties, that might not be a big deal, because healing is a limited resource that you don't want to waste. But it becomes sky blue or even gold for the right parties and characters. Simply put, if you want to be proactive about healing or you have to be (thanks, for instance, to a PP feature such as Champion of Corellon's AP, or a class feature such as a Knight's 19th and 23rd), this lets you make the most of it. However, it's at its best with a Warlord or other leader who hands out significant buffs with his encounter healing powers. In that situation, you really want this item - or the Warlord needs to carry one around to deck his friends out with. Healing, THP, Augmentable.
[/sblock]
Epic Waist Options
[sblock]Belt of Titan Strength (Level 25, PHB):
For when something absolutely, positively has to die, accept no substitutes. Striker, Daily.[/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Bands of Platinum and Wishes: Rings of Legacy
Paragon Tier Rings
[sblock]Ring of the Radiant Storm (Level 17, AV2):
Not only does it give you roll-twice-take-better damage rolls, not only does it let you recover powers on a miss (any miss - multiattack and multitarget powers recharge even if they hit the primary target if you miss a secondary one!), but it's part of the Gifts for the Queen set, which means just one more item will provide a +2 bonus to damage rolls or higher. Damn near an autopick for lightning or radiant characters. Set, Daily, Striker.
War Ring (Level 16, AV): An extra die of critical hit damage and a daily of two extra critical hit dice over and above the property (maxed after a milestone). Not bad for people who like to fish for crits and are properly geared to do so. However, this pales in comparison to the next ring, to the point you should only use it if your DM rules that you can't stack two of them. Striker, Daily.
Ring of Giants (Level 13, Dragon 378): +2 critical hit damage per enhancement pointof your weapon. Beats out the War Ring by the time you are using a +4 weapon and is competitive when you have a +3 weapon. The daily push + prone is excellent icing on the cake if you're primal, but every Striker should give this serious consideration if they can get close to a 10% crit chance per attack. If they can go higher than that reliably, don't even hesitate. Pick this up and go wild. Striker, Primal, Avenger.
Ring of Circling Fangs (Level 20, Dungeon 181):
Unimpressive on the surface, until you realize there are builds that use Battlecrazed and Bloodfury Weapons, that those builds attract incredible amounts of monster aggro, and that the damage is dealt per hit. This can stack up to an extra attack or two of bonus damage, which is pretty damn good...just make sure you can take the heat before you put this on. Rogues can stay out. Striker, Barbarian, Augmentable, Encounter.
Iron Ring of the Dwarf Lords (Level 14, PHB): A healing surge is always useful, if a bit unremarkable. Meanwhile, the power can be a lifesaver, though you're probably not gonna get to use it that often.
Ring of Fury (Level 14, Dragon 366): An utterly ridiculous punishment for getting bloodied, which stacks with the Backlash Tattoo. Essentially, this makes your bloodied value a timebomb. Enemies will just flatly not want to attack you once you get close to it, because a triple out-of-turn wallop will be enough to down everything that isn't a Solo for daring to hit you. This would be broken if it was per-encounter, and is just merely really good once it triggers as-is. Daily, Striker.
Ring of the Dragonborn Emperor (Level 15, AV):
The only way for close burst abusers to get their item bonus to damage on before Epic, and also a good way to boost dragonbreath for rebreathers. Trying to use close bursts for damage is mostly a sucker's bet, but the option is there...and more importantly, that daily power is excellent and makes the ring worth picking up. Rare, Daily, Sorcerer.
Foe-Binder Ring (Level 19, Dragon 381):
Damned if you do, damned if you don't. No matter what the enemy does, he really does always lose now. Hysterical on defenders who focus on defending via penalties instead of punishment, but any type of defender can use it to good effect. Defender.
Champion's Ring (Level 17, Revenge of the Giants):
Super dirty trick: get your entire party to pitch in and get Champion's items, plus one of these rings for each of you. Proceed to automatically win battles as you gain a +5/+6 item bonus while bloodied. It does cost item slots and party cooperation, but few things are as satisfying as knowing you can't ever lose a fight unless you're actively trying to do so. The fact that you get to apply elemental vulnerability on top is super nice icing, as is the initiative bonus you're going to get if you follow this strategy. Augmentable, Striker, Daily, Set.
[/sblock]
Epic Tier Rings
[sblock]Ring of Tenacious Will (Level 21, AV):
Go from scrawny to beefy in the span of a single slot. This can easily cause your surges to double, or even more than that. If you're a charisma character, you better have a damn good reason NOT to take this ring. As a reminder, Comrade's Succor exists to make sure the entire party will benefit from your being beefier. Augmentable, Multi-Role.
Luminary Ring (Level 22, AV): Some really wonky wording makes this ring a pretty decent pick to grant yourself hilariously overlarge reach with powerful leader powers. It comes in a bit late and only provides a direct bonus as a daily, but the tactical uses of it are potentially immense. Leader, Daily.
Ring of Free Time (Level 29, AV2): All damage you take is reduced by 5...and that's the nifty little bonus of this ring, amazingly enough. Having an extra minor action is just off the charts. If there is one Rare item worth considering for every character, this is it. Rare, Multi-Role, Encounter.
Opal Ring of Remembrance (Level 29, AV):
Do you use intelligence as your attack stat? Yes? You want this ring. A bonus to your attack rolls AND your best skills, and you regain a utility power if you're Arcane? The only possible competition for this is the Ring of Free Time. Wizard, Psion, Swordmage, Artificer, Daily, Rare.
Ring of Traded Knowledge (Level 21, AV2):
Psionic characters can use this ring to get a complete, fully augmentable power of a higher level than the ones they can actually get for an entire encounter. Post milestones, it even comes with an accuracy buff, too! Definitely worth considering for them. Ardent, Battlemind, Psion, Daily.
Golden Ring of Teros (Level 24, AV2):
Part of the Rings of the Akarot set, and an amazing way to ensure you will make it through a fight intact. This ring exponentially increases your survivability, because enemies won't attack someone they can't hit...thus ensuring the trigger will never come to pass. The daily also happens to be an outstanding buff, which is tasty, tasty icing. Defender, Daily, Set.
Shadow Band (Level 27, MME):
An upgrade on the Golden Ring above for the most part. It loses value against enemies who can pierce concealment and the daily is worse, but on the other hand it DOES provide a bonus to all defenses instead of just some...your call on which one's better, really. Defender, Daily.
[/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Priceless Jewels and Hidden Techniques: Wondrous Items of Legacy
Armisael's Note: Because of its massive size, this list has been split by types into wondrous items, boons, and oddball items and mounts.
Wondrous Items
[sblock]Heroic Wondrous Options
[sblock]Enshrouding Candle (Level 7, AV):
It fuels the Moon Armor if you're using that, it grants nigh-unpierceable invisibility if you need it and oh, it sets up traps and surprise rounds. Always pack one with you. Always. Daily.
Zaarani's Solitaire (Level 10, Seekers of the Ashen Crown): Adventure item, so normally not that easy to obtain, but super handy for every character after other solitaire's got nerfed. Why say no to free proning and forced movement? Encounter.
Power Jewel (Level 5, AV):
A strong incentive to keep good lowbie powers throughout your entire career. Just picture the carnage if a Sorcerer gets to cast Flame Spiral twice in one fight, for instance. Daily.
Backlash Tattoo (Level 9, AV2):
Get hit, hit right back. A classic choice for all strikers, who really like getting counterattacks without burning their class powers in the process. Striker, Encounter.
Demonskin Tattoo (Level 3+ AV2):
Never fear elemental damage again. If you action point, this tattoo gives you scaling resistance to acid, cold, fire, lightning or thunder damage until the end of the encounter. One of the default tattoo choices.
Eager Hero's Tattoo (Level 10+, AV2): Wants THP? This is one of the easiest ways to get them. At the end of each short rest, you get THP = 5/10/15 + the amount of expended healing surges/x2/x3. Gets a lot better if you've invested in Con. One of the default tattoo choices. Defender, Warlock.
Curse Eye Tattoo (Level 8, AV2): Builds who deal in save ends effects shouldn't leave home without one. A -2 penalty to all saves for one target when you action point. To add insult to injury, this is also a save ends effect. Augmentable.
Fleet Hero Tattoo (Level 8+, AV2): A scaling speed bonus until the end of your next turn when you action point. For when you need to move, RIGHT NOW.
Tattoo of Shared Vengeance (Level 10, AV2): Unreliable, but assuming your entire party gets in on the action of this tattoo, the damage potential is just magical. Not gonna work often, but when it does hilarity will ensue.
Vistani Buzuq (Level 7, Dragon 380):
Free surge rearrangement, for the low, low price of a level 7 item. Not only should you get this, you probably should buy spares. Daily, Magic Mart.
Magic Scabbards (Level 5/15/25, 10, 12, AV & Dragon 381): Enjoy light or heavy blades and keeping your hands free while you walk, but don't want to spend an action pulling them back out or spend a great deal of money? Then buy a scabbard, which basically lets you Quick Draw any light or heavy blade you sheathe in it. The Ruby/Sapphire/Diamond scabbards from the AV grant a not-really-that-important per-encounter power bonus to the damage roll of the next attack you make after drawing the weapon, while the Scabbard of Sacred Might is a level 10 item with an encounter power that converts your damage into radiant damage (perfect for that hero who kind of wants to be in the Radiant Mafia but is apparently too damn cheap to buy a real lightsaber?), and the Diplomat's Scabbard from Dragon 381 provides a bonus to Diplomacy when you're not stabbing people, and has an emergency defensive daily for when someone gets the drop on you. For those of you who either don't want or can't afford things like Battle Harnesses, at higher tiers dropping 1000 gp on a Ruby Scabbard is a dirt cheap way of ensuring that your sword will always be close at hand.
Bridle of Conjuration (Level 4, AV): Free horse once per day for the next twelve hours. It says it disappears when reduced to 0 HP or fewer, but it's a conjuration, so maybe it's invincible and ignores terrain. Check with your DM before use. Daily.
Bag of Holding (Level 5, PHB): Don't leave home without extradimensional storage. There's just too many fun things to do with it. 200 pounds of weight and 20 cubic feet of space in this one.
Deepfarer's Pouch (Level 5, AV2): Are you a perma-stealth character who's sick of your loud and clumsy party members? Well, if you stick them in extradimensional storage, they can come with you and not make a sound. If they're not constructs or undead, give them one of these so they have an hour of fresh air in their little bags. In fact, have more than one and rotate them during breaks.
Decanter of Endless Water (L7, MME): Encounter power to give 1, 5 or 30 gallons of water as a standard action. If you can't think of fun things to do with water, ring up an engineer friend and ask him to explain hydraulics to you. Super useful item. Encounter.
Battle Standard of the Hungry Blade (L9, D381): Close burst 3, pulls enemies 2 squares towards the center and slows them until the start of your next turn and does that every time your turn starts. If the enemy attempts to pull the standard out of the ground, everyone gets to make an OA on the enemy. Translation: Plant this item, bunch enemies up and if they try to get away your meleers will pulverize them. Seriously worth the standard action to plant it in a bunch of cases. Defender, Encounter.
Echo of Ty'h'kadi (L7+, HotEC): Item bonus to lightning and thunder damage, which is not so easily obtained. There are better options, but how many are slotless? Encounter, Sorcerer, Rare.
Pale Tooth (L7+, HotEC): Item bonus to cold damage, ice walk, and the daily ability to immobilize creatures and make them vulnerable to cold if you're hit by cold. If you can't use Iron Armbands or Bracers of Archery, pick this baby up. Daily, Sorcerer, Rare.
Pitted Flowstone (L9+, HotEC): Can you shift two squares or more reliably? If yes, this turns all minor and move actions you'd normally use purely for repositioning into a source of damage and minion killing. Not bad, eh? Striker, Encounter, Rare.
Elven Chain Shirt (L10+, MME):
The question isn't if you're picking this item up as a light armor user. It's when, and how far up you'll push the item bonus (most characters should stop at the level 20 version, the level 30 version isn't worth sacrificing that much cash for). Multi-Role.
[/sblock]
Paragon Wondrous Options
[sblock]Seed of War (Level 15, AV2):
A bit cumbersome to use, but just look at that absolutely silly damage boost. That's got to be worth something. Daily, Leader.
Exodus Knife (Level 12, AV):
The return of Rope Trick, in more balanced form. Can't quite cheese dungeons as hard as before, but if you can't find a use for an extradimensional storage you're not really trying. Daily.
Breakchain Tattoo (Level 13+, AV2): Don't like being hindered in your movement? Then use an action point and mimick the level 10 Fighter's Grit utility to ignore immobilize, slow and restrain for a turn. The Epic version lets you outright end one of those effects.
Solitaire, Citrine (Wondrous, Level 11, AV):
Once per day when you crit, you can spend a healing surge. Can be invaluable for turning a difficult fight around. Get a few if you can. Healing, Daily.
Solitaire, Aquamarine (Wondrous, Level 16, AV):
Once per day when you crit, you get to make a free action melee basic attack against the target (if it's not dead already). Extra attacks are pretty good on slotless items, I hear. Shame that you can only get one free action attack per round, so it won't work with striker class features like Rampage. Striker, Daily.
Stone of Earth/Flame/Light/Shadow/Spirit/Storms/Wind (Level 12, AV2): A daily slotless reroll would be good by itself. The fact that it also gives you an initiative bonus if the party collects these items (and they should) and on top of that tack on a humongous power bonus to the reroll (!!!!!) means you have absolutely no excuses not to get one. What a set of items this is. Set, Daily, Multi-Role, Rare.
Dice of Auspicious Fortune (Level 11, Dragon 381):
Three known results per day. Let me repeat that: Three known results per day. This means three potentially confirmed crits, three guaranteed hits, or three convenient misses if needed. The uses for this item are simply staggering, and it's your goal, nay, your duty to obtain it. Encounter, Rare.
Broom of Flying (Level 15, MME): Flight is good. This is Fly speed 8 and hover, all day, every day. The catch? -2 to attack rolls, but this is still ridiculously powerful out of combat, and even in combat it's a gimme for Lazylords. Warlord, Daily.
Greater Flying Carpet (Level 20+, MME): Got a reflex defense so bad that you don't care if you make it worse? Not really getting attacked against AC much? Don't care because you can soak HP damage like a boss? Get this item then. Flight is an absolutely precious commodity and it helps obviate many encounters. Rare.
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Epic Wondrous Options
[sblock]Mummified Hand (Level 27, AV):
Comes in really late and requires extra items to work, but can you really say no to a bonus ring slot? Everybody can use an extra ring, pretty much.
Solitaire, Violet (Wondrous, Level 26, AV): Once per day when you crit, you get an action point which you have to spend before the end of your turn. Doesn't let you get around the "one action point per encounter" limit unfortunately, but still very useful for every other encounter, especially since it's slotless. Get a few if you can. Daily.
[/sblock][/sblock]
Boons
[sblock]Heroic Boon Options
[sblock]Blessing of Blazing Fangs (Level 4+, DSCS):
Fire is a very common element, so you should get this cheap bonus that stacks with itself and is obtained from enemies' attacks reasonably often...and if you're a Desert Wind Monk, this is a core item
you should never let go of, because it lets you trigger your Firewind Blade by flurrying yourself, turning you into an actually effective single-target striker. Really damn good boon, honestly. Striker, monk, Augmentable, Boon.
Pelor's Sun Blessing (Level 3+, DMG2):
Are you a Morninglord or Solar Enemy abuser? Then this boon is broken and you should abuse it to high heaven. It also has a nifty daily, to add insult to injury. Augmentable, Avenger, Strike, Daily, Boon.
[/sblock]
Paragon Boon Options
[sblock]Five Stars Five Strikes (Level 13, Dragon 404):
Do you have access to boons? Are you a melee character? If the answer to both of those questions is yes, you're taking this boon, period. That's four extra chances to score a crit on an attack, a lot of good extra damage on a nova round if you're a striker (18 damage if all attacks hit is quite a bit of bonus punch - comparable to applying Weapon Focus six extra times), and it all comes with movement on top, too. There's very, very few items that are usable by a wide variety of classes and builds. This is one of them. Striker, Multi-Role, Encounter, Boon.[/sblock]
Epic Boon Options
[sblock][/sblock][/sblock]
[sblock=Mounts and Other Items]Heroic Miscellaneous Options
[sblock]Ornithopter (Level 8, AV):
Easily shot down and kinda slow, but this is unlimited flight. Repeat: UNLIMITED FLIGHT. A complete steal, and it's worth sacrificing item parcels to stick the party in flying machines.[/sblock]
Paragon Miscellaneous Options
[sblock]None yet.[/sblock]
Epic Miscellaneous Options
[sblock]None yet.[/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Reserved 12: Consumables, Lair Items, Miscellaneous and Mundane.
Originally posted by Armisael:
Reserved 13: Rich Lucky Thirteen, just in case.
You may post now!
Originally posted by thespaceinvader:
Very interesting. I will surely be contrinuting at some point.
For the record, I'm intending to write up Staggering Weapon shortly, probably Cinture of Vivacity (the one that gives you overheal as temps, which is hilariously good with a nice buffing Warlord's heals) - on which note, as THP keyword would probably be useful - and probably others as take my fancy.
Originally posted by Koshinuke:
Staggering Weapon (Weapon): One of the best enchantments for flail using fighters. Adding the enhancement modifier to a slide is just ridiculous. It also knocks the target prone on a crit in addition to doing extra damage on a crit. If you want to really add distance to a slide or make flail expertise and dragging flail insane, get a staggering flail and rushing cleats. That being said, I do not see this enchantment being good for most other classes or weapons without taking dragging flail and MC fighter unless you are only looking to position them and not prone them.
I know you don't want to abuse gold but being able to slide a target 8 squares at L30 with two items is kind of ridiculous.
Lashing Flail+Dragging Flail+Flail Expertise+Staggering Flail(+6) = Every MBA you make, especially OAs and Combat Challenge, now has prone+slide8
If you really want to go for distance, it is possible to hit slide 10 along with a prone at L30. You would be able to do this to all targets in a close burst2 as a fighter.
Scattering Swing(L13 encounter, close burst1) = slide1
Flail Expertise = prone on the slide1 from Scattering Swing
Spiked Chain
Bludgeon Expertise = +1 slide/push(affects spiked chain through arena training)
Rushing Cleats = +1 slide
Dragging Flail = +1 slide on prone
Polearm Master PP = +1 forced movement with reach weapon(spiked chain)
Reaching Whirlwind(Epic Tier) = close burst1 becomes close burst2 with a reach weapon
Staggering Spiked Chain +6 = +6 slide distance
At the end of it all, with a single attack, every enemy within close burst2 is either prone/slide10 on a hit or push 3 on a miss.
Gloves of Eldritch Admixture (Hands): The ability to add a damage keyword to any warlock attack by way of warlock's curse allows a warlock to get around immunities and resists. Though Cold and Fire are common damage types and are often resisted, adding them to another attack makes it unlikely it will be resisted. And you can always use the gloves to add cold. For an Elemental Warlock, Gloves of Eldritch Admixture become Gold due to the increased likelyhood that you will have a vulnerability that matches what the gloves can do which increases your damage by 5/10/15.
Originally posted by Armisael:
Can you prove that a Staggering Weapon is the unbeatable dominant choice for flail users, Koshi? I'm very, very hesitant to rank things gold without extremely good reasons for it, because it paints the wrong picture of 'get this or die', if you get what I mean. Iron Armbands of Power and Bracers of Archery would earn gold, for instance, because they are mathematical necessities to keep up with the game's expected damage per tier for most characters. An item like Claw Gloves, while overwhelmingly powerful for most Strikers post Lycan, would probably still land a Sky Blue rating because it is not so dominant a choice compared to Gauntlets of Brutality and Gloves of Ice that there's no reason for somebody to pick another item.
---
@TSI: Added a Healing and THP pair of keywords. Thanks for the suggestion!
Originally posted by thespaceinvader:
Staggering's also very good for buffing forced movement to trigger PM. It's a dominant weapon choice for Berserkers who want to defend, too. And for Knights, albeit they have a lot of options.
I wonder, also, if there's room for sub-items - i.e. Shard of Cold and Gloves of Ice are pretty much gold for permafrost users, pretty much terrible for most others.
Originally posted by Dzance:
Do you intend to include Rare items including artifacts? I only mention because Hammer of Thunderbolts is very VERY good for strikers who focus on thrown weapons, but as an artifact it's extremely DM-dependent. Otoh, if you want to role play Thor...
Originally posted by DarthPotater:
I think this keywords can be very useful.
[skill] when the item add a bonus to one or more skills
[initiative] when the item add a bonus to initiative
[teleport] there is a teleport handbook but...
A question: When the item is very good for one purpose and bad for others, how are you rating it? I cant see stagering being gold, if only is mandatory for one build.
Maybe you can do ratings in the keywords? Not sure....
Btw good luck, this can be a very useful guide.
Originally posted by Armisael:
If it's actually worth it, an artifact would go under Miscellaneous. It would really have to be borderline broken to even make the cut though, because c'mon, it's an artifact. I expect something really stupid out of unimaginably plot powerful items. It should be an Excalibur or Durendal to even merit notice.
---
As for Staggering, I don't think it is as dominant as you guys think. Very good? Sure. But you're gonna have to convince me that it's better than a Mark of Storm Lightning Weapon (AKA, 'your attacks don't happen'), Feyslaughter weapons (Or 'you're locked down. Completely.'), and so on. It really needs overwhelming evidence in its favor to get a gold rating, and I don't think it has it even for flails.
And sub-items will be listed, TSI - they will receive ratings appropriate to the item they're augging or lesser. So sky blue is the limit for shards and gloves of ice for instance.
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[MENTION=7314]darth[/MENTION]Potater: It's only going to be gold if it is an overwhelmingly powerful item for at least one very popular build, and likely a subset of them. Staggering does not make the cut until further evidence in its favor is presented. If you want an example of something I'd consider gold worthy, think of pre-nerf Reckless Weapons. Also, I question the need for an initiative and teleport tag, but I've added a Skills tag because it makes sense to mention it. Thanks for the suggestion!
Originally posted by DarthPotater:
I usually make compendium searches for initiative items, because all the builds (or near all) want initiative. Teleport not many times because is not so common. Maybe its only me, but i never remember the core-initiative items
Item level(s) can be usefull too
Lets rate 2 items:
Shield of Fellowship (arms) Any shield. This is the only item that can be used for transfer THP. Mandatory for massive THP generators (battleraggers, valorous bards...).
[THP] [Level 15]
Rushing Cleats (feet): This is one of the cheapest way to get the second square push or slide on polearm momentum builds. Usually better than spend a feat.
[Fighter] [Level 7]
Originally posted by thespaceinvader:
You're hard pressed to rate any Arms slot other than item bonuses to damage as sky blue. I'd limit the shield to blue, given that it's not THAT often you want to transfer temps around in my experience.
Similarly, there's enough other forced movement boosters that I wouldn't make the cleats higher than blue either.
Originally posted by Armisael:
Out of curiosity, what would those boosters be? As someone who basically doesn't really bother with Forced Movement beyond getting that Slide 1/2 for Lightning Weapons, the Cleats are amazing at getting me to the amount of movement I need on my hits, and the opportunity cost of all other options is too big to consider. Maybe there's something I'm missing here though.
Originally posted by Jugulator007:
If I wasn't at work doing this on my phone, I'd write up staff of ruin and the periapt of cascading health.
Also, as more of a niche item, Jolting guard weapons, if you have some II or IR to make the monster miss (weakens as an OA)
Originally posted by thespaceinvader:
At least 1 feat (battering Shield), at least 1 weapon (staggering, cf above). It depends on what combos you're trying to build, I suppose.
Originally posted by Armisael:
Right. As I thought, this is kind of an issue if you're building more offensively because you surrender a minimum of 5 points of damage, and likely 7 compared to the MoS Lightning Weapon, which adds up quick. What I'm seeing is that the Staggering Weapon is pretty great...as a build lynchpin. But if you're picking it up for more general utility it is really, really terrible, because you need to stack up several resources to get the good times rolling. What I'm thinking right now is a blue rating for it, because it's not widely applicable enough to merit sky blue and not powerful enough for gold.
Originally posted by Mommy_was_an_Orc:
Why don't you make a group password of some kind, similar to the collective, where say only 10-20 CharOp regulars who do this kind of thing a lot have access to it? That way, people can still post here to submit ratings, but that cuts out a lot of cutting and pasting for you...
Originally posted by Mand12:
This isn't how resistance works, fyi. Adding extra damage of a type does not change the type of the base damage. The power has the full set of keywords, yes, but that doesn't extend down all damage done in all circumstances by the power.
Originally posted by Armisael:
Tons of paranoia about it degenerating into a cluster****, mostly. Also, I'm not convinced that I, or anybody else, is qualified to designate those 10 or 20 CharOp regulars who can rate items because they are the One True Group of experts. I don't mind the C&P either, I just think it's a really bad idea to try to tackle a gargantuan project such as this alone. Hence, asking people to lend a hand with the submissions.
Originally posted by GelatinousOctahedron:
It would probably be useful to include links to things like my weapliment guide and mellored's holy symbol guide. Maybe in your last post.
Symbol of the Champions Code [Paladin] [Radiant] Scaling boost to the radiant damage of both your challenge and sanction.
Originally posted by Mommy_was_an_Orc:
Tons of paranoia about it degenerating into a cluster****, mostly. Also, I'm not convinced that I, or anybody else, is qualified to designate those 10 or 20 CharOp regulars who can rate items because they are the One True Group of experts. I don't mind the C&P either, I just think it's a really bad idea to try to tackle a gargantuan project such as this alone. Hence, asking people to lend a hand with the submissions.
I'm not actually saying that you won't do the ultimate ratings - at a certain point, you just change the password once most of the basic work is done. But there are thousands of magic items...
Also, you should consider stealing...um praising through copying...Soulliard's item thread, just so you have things to quickly edit.
Originally posted by DarthPotater:
Diamond Cincture (waist):
The default waist option. Only few builds want other waist item. Bonus to fortitude and free heal.
[Surgeless healing] [Level 10,20,30]
Baldric of Shielding (waist): Only for shielding swordmages (except Coronal Guards), but gain THP equal to the amount of damage you prevented with aegis, is nice.
[THP] [Shielding Swordmage] [Level 19]
Originally posted by Armisael:
I'll think of it. Could be a good idea, actually!
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[MENTION=12749]MwaO[/MENTION]: Hmm...probably worth a shot if things go slowly, though I disagree with a ton of the ratings there. There'd be lots to change...still, something to keep in mind.
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EDIT: The Diamond Cincture isn't surgeless anymore, DP...
Originally posted by svendj:
DarthPotater already did this in some of his posts, but item level needs to be included somewhere in the description.
Great initiative, I'll definitely contribute.
Originally posted by svendj:
Rending Weapon (Weapon):
The more ways you have to increase your chances of scoring a critical hit, the more this becomes a mandatory weapon. Not only does this add 1d6 per plus to your critical hit damage, it also grants you a no action melee basic attack. There's nothing more a striker could ask for. Only drawback is that it only comes as an axe, but that's just more incentive to wield a Gouge.
Avenger, Striker. Level 4+
Amulet of Life (Neck):
Access to extra healing is never bad, especially if you get beat on a lot. Even better if you have a reliable way to generate saving throws so it doesn't compete with other neck slot items that grant saves. It shines on classes that have a lot of healing surges, because after a few fights surge management tends to become an issue.
Defender, Encounter. Level 5+
Strikebacks (Hands, level 10, AV): If you have a serviceable melee basic attack and don't use your immediate action literally every round, there's no reason to skip this. Combats where these don't trigger are few and far between, so take these and be happy with them. Additional benefit: you finally don't have to remember those annoying Gauntlets of Blood anymore.
Encounter.
Acrobat Boots (Feet, level 2, PHB):
Who likes to spend their move action standing up from prone? No-one, that's who. This lowly level 2 Feet slot item forever saves you from having to worry about this. This effect is also obtainable by taking the level 2 Acrobatics utility power Agile Recovery, but why spend a precious utility on it when these boots do the same?
At-will.
Boots of the Fencing Master (Feet, level 7, AV): This kind of mobility is usually reserved for Monks, so making it available as a Feet slot item is great. There are so many uses for a minor action shift 2 it's not even funny. And that's not mentioning the item bonus to AC and Reflex when you shift. One of the top heroic picks for Feet slot items.
Encounter.
Butterfly Sandals (Feet, level 12, AV): There are few classes that benefit from a static bonus to fly speed, but for those who do this is a huge increase. If you have a way to consistently take to the skies, this lets you do a decent Neo-impression.
Common.
Helm of Able Defense (Head, level 14, AV2): The best way to survive is to not get hit. And this helm facilitates that, a lot. Defenders should be careful though not to become too hard to hit, because monsters will go looking for your allies otherwise. Oh, and a +1 item bonus to Will is just gravy. Part of the Panoply of the Shepherds of Ghest set.
Defender, set.
Casque of Tactics (Head, level 4,14,24, AV): An easy way for everyone to boost their initiative a bit with an item bonus. Gets a lot better at higher tiers, where the difference really becomes noticeable. The daily power is deceptively powerful. If you're a Dex-striker and your controller or defender rolled badly on their initiative, this will let them set up the battlefield for you, after which you can come in and kill what's left.
Daily.
Originally posted by Armisael:
Good point about the template, I missed some fundamental things. Edited them in, should be better now.
Originally posted by Koshinuke:
The biggest thing I was thinking about is that staggering weapons are legal in all games unless the DM specifically bans magic items, magic weapons, or staggering weapons themselves. They do not have the restriction of being from a particular world, like mark of storm is, which is required for that combination to run. While it is easier to add damage with a lightning weapon, the basic ability you are aiming for, sliding to prone, can be accomplished without using possibly restricted feats. Also, when you can prone a creature and slide them beyond charge range I think that is a good thing. You can do that starting mid paragon.
Pick up repel charge and you could prevent them from hitting you because you get charged, you get an OA, you slide them and prone before they get their attack.
You stated gold was the best item for a niche build. I could see you downgrading it to sky blue but it is at least sky blue because it is one of the best options for a flail using controller.
Originally posted by Armisael:
Gold doesn't mean just 'best' item. It means 'unarguably best', to the point there's absolutely nothing to argue about it being best (so doing the best damage by two points for a specific build doesn't qualify you - doing the best damage by twenty does, for instance). There are control tools that a flail user wants besides Staggering, so it's not gold, and as mentioned before, it has a major opportunity cost, which keeps it from sky blue.
Originally posted by Mand12:
I'd argue that for things like items, the Gold category really has different meaning. It's not that Staggering Weapon is inarguably the best for flail fighters, but it is the core item in the builds that use it. Sure, I can build a fighter that doesn't use Staggering Weapon, but for the ones that do, it's absolutely critical. Is it really helpful to give a general, across-the-board rating? It's entirely possible that a general rating of Sky Blue for one item and a general rating of Black for another may be appropriate in general, but character builds aren't general. For my build, maybe that Black item is so stupidly crazy important that it becomes Gold, for that build. Alfsair Spear is a perfect example. As a spear enchantment, it's pretty meh. Nice, I guess, but no better or worse than dozens of other mediocre spear enchantments. In the hands of a Polearm Druid, though, it is the item that makes the build, and you have absolutely zero choice in the matter. Which is the definition of Gold.
What I fear, though, is that in recognizing the semi-uselessness of the general rating, we just have a list of Gold items for popular builds. Which rapidly just turns into a list of our favorite items, which isn't the point of handbooks like this. If anyone's got an argument for why general ratings are helpful, I'd love to hear it. I'm at a loss right now. The only use I can think of is for the truly generalist items. Things like Iron Armbands of Power. There's no one specific build that they're the key linchpin of, they're just generally good for everyone who uses melee attacks. But that's a pretty slim set of the item base, and to be honest it's the most boring set. The interesting items, in my opinion the ones that you can make a build around, aren't the sort of things that lend themselves well to ratings. Either they're all going to be purple-black as a general rating, or they're all going to be Gold (or, if you're overly humble, sky blue). Neither of which is particularly useful.
Originally posted by Armisael:
Build enabling items aren't going to have a gold rating. They'll have a purple rating, most likely. Gold isn't about being critically important, it's about being an overwhelmingly dominant choice. If the build is enabled by the item but isn't the most powerful build by a mile, then it's not gold.
Originally posted by Armisael:
Mastering The Blade: Weapons of Legacy List
Heroic Weapon Options
[sblock]Frost Weapon (Level 3+, PHB1): The gold standard all weapon enchants are compared to. A cheap, easy way to obtain up to fourteen points of damage and constant CA, and all it asks of you is a pair of feats you'd be taking anyway if you were planning on using this element. It even converts pre-typed powers too, so even implement users can join in on the fun. Really takes off once you have a Shard of Merciless Cold and Gloves of Ice, but is still mighty decent with just the core kit of Wintertouched and Lasting Frost. Elemental (Cold), Striker, Augmentable, Multi-Role, Daily.
Staggering Weapon (Level 2+, AV): One of the best enchantments for flail using fighters. Adding the enhancement modifier to a slide is extremely powerful. It also knocks the target prone on a crit in addition to doing extra damage on a crit, which helps. Combines very well with status effect stacking tricks, such as those obtained through flail weapon feats. Fighter, Augmentable.
Rending Weapon (Level 4+, AV):
The more ways you have to increase your chances of scoring a critical hit, the more this becomes a mandatory weapon. Not only does this add 1d6 per plus to your critical hit damage, it also grants you a no action melee basic attack. There's nothing more a striker could ask for. Only drawback is that it only comes as an axe, but that's just more incentive to wield a Gouge. Avenger, Striker.
Unforgettable Cudgel (Level 8+, AV2):
A reliable, simple enchant for Clerics, and also very, very tasty for Avengers too. Pity it's Mace only, but you can't have everything, right? Avenger, Cleric.
Sunblade (Level 4+, AV):
The first of the lightsaber line, and actually one of the best because of its lower price bracket. Not as great as Radiant, but cheaper and available in the Heroic tier, so that's something. Striker, Elemental (Radiant).
Mace of Healing (Level 8+, AV):
A great weapon for healers to carry around in their offhand. You don't even have to attack with it! Healing.
Flail of Winds (Level 3+, Dragon 391): Its a nifty little enchantment for flails which increases any forced movement effects created by the flail by 1. What is important to note is that it says "any attack made with the flail" meaning it is also implement friendly which is something it has over Staggering along with being a common item. Common, Defender.
Battlecrazed Weapon (Level 4+, AV):
The other contender for the 'biggest damage boost' throne, Battlecrazed has the advantage of not requiring as many pieces as a Radiant Weapon to get you there. Unfortunately, what pieces it does require have a great opportunity cost: This weapon only truly shines with Bloodfury Weapons in ample supply to keep it going (I recommend Gauntlet Axes, which take up no slots), which makes it minor-action heavy, and just like Radiant it requires a Paragon Path to truly get its damage to the stratosphere (the Paragon Path being Winter Fury to effectively double up your weapon slot). Still, while pricey, that investment has appropriately huge returns. Striker, Augmentable, Daily.
Bloodfury Weapon (Level 4+, AV2):
The other piece of the Battlecrazed puzzle. Normally not worth your time by itself, but being able to kick bloodied boosts to 'always on' status is amazing for certain characters. Best used on Gauntlet Axes to maintain your hands open for weapon-carrying. Striker, Augmentable, Encounter.
Frost Fury Waraxe (Level 3+, AV2):
The less well-known cousin of Battlecrazed. What's better than a Frost weapon? Why, a Frost Weapon that adds even more extra damage on top of the frost package! Real pity that not that many classes use CON, it's Axe only and it requires Bloodfury to shine, because this is one heck of an enhancement. Striker, Augmentable, Elemental (Cold).
Githyanki Silver Weapon (Level 9+, Manual of the Planes): Two amazing properties on this one. The first lets you turn all damage done by this weapon into psychic damage, which works amazingly well for defenders that want to use Psychic Lock, for example. A Headband of Intellect also gives you a +1 item bonus to all attacks, although the Headband is a rare item these days. The second property lets you banish a creature (save ends) when you hit with the weapon, which is a pretty rare and very powerful ability. Element (Psychic), Daily, Augmentable.
Feyslaughter Weapon (Weapon, Level 9+, AV): If you hit something with this, it can't teleport for a round. A great property for defenders who want to keep everything adjacent to them, and almost mandatory for Brawler Fighters. Defender.
Vanguard Weapon (Level 3+, AV): Part of the 'charge kit', along with (among others) the Horned Helm. This weapon adds 1d8 to the damage of any succesful charge attack. The daily power lets you boost your allies' attack and damage rolls for a round, although the amount of damage depends on how good your Charisma is. Striker, Augmentable, Daily.
Rhythm Blade (Level 3+, AV2):
When you wield this in your offhand, your shield bonus to AC and Ref increases by 1. Which means you need to have a shield bonus in the first place (Battle Cleric's Lore and shielding implements say hi), and you need your offhand free. If you qualify for that, there's not much that beats this if you want to boost your defenses cheaply. Augmentable, Common.
Shielding Blade (Level 4+, Dragon Magazine 391): Want more AC but no room for a shield? Take this and be happy with it. Nothing fancy, but it serves a purpose. Swordmage, Common.
Lightning Weapon (Level 5+, PHB):
Gets this rating for the synergy with Mark of Storm. Now any attack you make with the weapon lets you also slide the target 1 square. There are countless things that benefit from that, notables being Flail Expertise and Polearm Momentum for easy proning. The daily power lets you do some more damage on a hit. Elemental (Lightning), Augmentable, Daily.
Quicksilver Blade (Level 2+, AV2): Need an item bonus to initiative? Proficient with any light blade and have a hand free? Then look no further. You just need to hold the Blade at the start of combat to get the bonus, so there's nothing stopping you from dropping it and Quick-Drawing another weapon on your first turn. The daily power gives you an additional move action on a hit. Daily.
Harmony Blade (Level 4+ AV2): Non-action attacks on a crit for dual-wielders and you lay down attack penalties to enemies if you hit them twice. Beautiful on characters who specialize in multiattacking, such as Whirlybarbs and Rangers, and part of a set too. Striker, Ranger, Avenger, Set.
Farbond Spellblade (Weapon, Level 2+, AV2): The default thrown weapon option for most characters. Shouldn't be your main weapon enchant, but never leave home without one. Multi-Role.
Hungry Spear (Weapon, Level 2+, AV2): Another passable weapon option for throwing, though the main draw here is the Encounter power and long range. Immobilizing an enemy at range helps with closing in and downing fliers, which is handy. Encounter, Multi-Role.
Dwarven Thrower (Level 2+, Dragon 385): Mandatory for throwers, as it's one of the few ways to get a decent item bonus to damage, though it's a paltry substitute for true Bracers of Archery r Iron Armbands. Also a passable throwing option, I s'pose. Striker.
Totemic Spear (Level 2+, AV2): Only a Shaman needs bother with this item, which does have the really nice perk of boosting your Spirit Companion's range. Still, it's quite niche. Is reach really worth that much to you? Shaman.
Totemic Warclub (Level 2+, AV2): Adds a fair amount of versatility to Shaman power deployment. Doesn't really make you more powerful, but you might not need it if you can get the right powers off at the right time. Shaman.
Chieftain's Weapon (Level 3+, Dragon 381): Overrated, I think. It's easy enough to boost MBAs into overwhelmingly powerful forces of nature without having to rely on burning a Weapon enchant. There's almost always something better out there. Leader, Common.
Defensive Weapon (Level 2+, AV):
For most characters, sacrificing their weapon enchants is an impossibly bad proposition...but not so bad that Wardens and other Second Wind users can't carry an outdated version of this weapon around to draw for that round when they need to Second Wind and screw enemies hard. Warden, Defender, Magic Mart.
Weapon of Defense (Level 4+, MME):
Pitiful bonus for a primary weapon...but who said this was going to be primary? Particularly good for Thri-Kreens due to the wording (says 'holding', not 'wielding'), but still good for anyone who can spare a hand. Defender, Magic Mart, Daily.
Firewind Blade (Level 4+, HotEC):
At long last, fire has an answer to Cold and Radiant's elemental shenanigans. Thanks to this outstanding little item, every time you strike an enemy with fire damage, they take 1 + Enhancement bonus damage. Needless to say, this works with vulnerabilities, which means that if you can reliably generate fire or general vulns, the target will be quickly fried. The only catch is that you have to make your attacks fiery without the aid of a weapon enchant, which isn't so easy...but not impossible either. The PPs Soaring Blade and Malec-Keth Janissary can provide a source of fire damage, and so can a certain nifty little slotless item (that all Desert Wind Monks should carry). Speaking of which...Desert Wind Monks
must take this item as their implement. It's how they keep up with the big boys. Lastly, this item gets very stupid if you have Radiant One and Morninglord. Striker, Monk, Augmentable, Daily.
Hidden Weapon (Lvl 3+, DSCS):
Need an item bonus to initiative? Proficient with light blades or maces? Just keep one of these guys in your hand when you roll initiative and then drop the sucker when you're done with it to go quickdraw your weapon of choice. If you do feel like using it, it comes with its own quick draw ability, and once you sheathe it only you can find and draw it, making it a useful and stylish way to go undercover. Now, you can have that swordcane you always wanted. Multi-Role, Magic Mart.
Flaming Weapon (Level 5+, PHB): Mostly not worth your time - passable for Tieflings though. Note that it does not convert typed damage, because of a very dumb bit of errata. For a fire elemental converter refer to the paragon section. Tiefling, Daily.
Subtle Weapon (Level 3+, AV): An OK enchantment. There's much better ones out there, but this one's easy to use so it has that going for it. Striker.[/sblock]
Paragon Weapon Options
[sblock]Radiant Weapon (Level 15+, AV): Weapon property is basically 'you get your arms slot back'. Also one of several common ways for an implement user to get an item bonus to damage, and it enables use of radiant dragonshards. While not as easily applicable as Frost, it has the advantage of enabling one of, if not the biggest damage boosts you can get out of a weapon alongside freeing the eternally chained Arms slot, by utilizing Morninglord and Pelor's Boon from the DMG2. Elemental (Radiant), Striker, Augmentable, Multi-Role.
Blade of the Eldritch Knight (Weapon, Level 15+, AV2): Heavy Blade that increases your melee reach to 5. Great if you want to attack stuff in melee, but don't actually want to stand next to it, or simply want a range increase (Warlords come to mind here). Also lots of fun if your melee attacks slows your target in some way. Part of the Eldritch Panoply set. Set.
Thunderbolt Weapon (Level 13+, AV):
Lightning Weapon, except in a cheaper bracket and with a better daily. The only downside is that it only works with Ranged weapons...but that includes Daggers and Drow Long Knives for instance, as a FYI, so Sorcerers in particular are really, really happy about their existence. Elemental (Lightning), Augmentable, Daily, Sorcerer.
Jagged Weapon (Level 12+, AV): Want to double your crit range? This is the earliest way you'll be able to achieve it. Potentially scary as hell if you have enough bennies that trigger on-crit - expanded crit range is deceptively powerful, particularly if combined with the Five Stars Five Strikes boon. Do note, however, that this item is superseded entirely by the option below. Striker, Avenger, Barbarian, Augmentable.
Melegaunt's Darkblade (Level 12+, Dungeon 177):
Like Jagged, except it adds a ton more damage via extra dice that deal cold damage. Essentially the same, but more. Lots more. Striker, Avenger, Barbarian, Augmentable, Elemental (Cold).
Battlemaster's Weapon (Level 14+, AV): Salve of Power in weapon form. Recharging an encounter power once per day is an interesting option for almost any (non-power point) class. One interesting detail is that the encounter power doesn't have to be an attack power, or even class power. Daily.
Weapon of Summer (Level 15+, Dungeon 160): If you're using a Flaming weapon for some reason, chuck it for this toy as soon as you are able. It's the only way to get fire conversion out of weapon enchants too. Tiefling, Multi-Role, Daily.
Captain's Weapon (Level 13+, MME):
Not only does it offer a nice bonus to damage rolls as a minor, it offers Hail of Steel as a daily power. Let me repeat this, for emphasis: It offers Hail of Steel as a daily power, no need to swap any powers out. One of the definitive Leader weapons, bar none. Leader, Warlord, Encounter, Daily.
Wind Weapon (Level 14+, MME): Do you have allies who like Agile Opportunist and either a free hand or no pressing need for another enhancement? Congrats, here's an at-will slide effect for any move action you weren't using. And it helps you get your allies into flanking positions or out of danger. Leader.
Withering Weapon (Level 13+, AV):
In a party with a bunch of meleers? Hit a target once (or twice, or thrice if you can swing it) on your turn with this weapon and paint a gigantic 'FOCUS THIS GUY' sign all over him. Being easily ended by a save kinda sucks, but in the worst case scenario, this should still be a turn of focus fire made simpler and more profitable. Combine with a Crown of Equilibrium for outstanding save granting capability, if your enemies don't die first that is. Leader, Augmentable.
Thundergod Weapon (Level 13+, AV): Trash in the paragon tier because it is strictly inferior to the Vanguard Weapon. Strictly superior in Epic, when the bonus it gives climbs up from 1d6 to 2d6. Good on people spamming the charge package. Augmentable, Striker.
[/sblock]
Epic Weapon Options
[sblock]None yet![/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Armors of the Unbroken: Armors of Legacy List
Heroic Armor Options
[sblock]Rebuking Armor (Level 4+, PHB2):
A nifty, reliable boost for the defense-challenged people in the audience. If you're stuck with Chain, this is a nice way to patch up your defenses. Cleric, Invoker.
Healer's Armor (Level 5+, AV2):
Healing more with each healing surge spent can be really handy, for obvious reasons. Healing.
Shared Valor Armor (Level 8+, PHB2): Normally rather unremarkable even for constant THP granters, this armor's worth absolutely skyrockets if you're an Artificer, and is a major contributor to the power of the Resistive Formula. Artificer, THP.
Shadow Warlock Armor (Level 10+, AV2): Nearly eternal combat advantage against whatever target you're trying to kill is amazing for any striker, and Warlocks are no exception. Nobody but a warlock can use this, but they certainly love this puppy. Note that melee warlocks and Hybrids don't care one whit for this armor, however. Warlock.
Dwarven Armor (Level 2+, PHB):
Even as a daily power, you just don't say no to surge-free, action-free healing. One of the two de facto choices for heavy armor users. Surgeless Healing, Daily, Multi-Role.
Bloodiron Armor (Level 8+, AV2):
The other default for heavy armor. You were going to beat the snot out people anyway, why not become defensively tougher in the process? Multi-Role.
Armor of Resistance (Armor, Level 2+, AV): Hate typed damage? Then this armor will grant you resistance against one out of a wide range of damage types. Not as good as other armors which grant resistance to two types of damage, but a lot more customizable. Resistance scales with tier. Common.
Armor of Adaptable Resistance ( Level 4+, PP):
Like the Armor of Resistance, this only provides you resistance against one damage type (out of a wide range of types), but the daily power that lets you change resistance until the end of the encounter makes it a lot more versatile. And if you have at least one power point, it will make you practically immune to all typed damage one encounter per day. Psionic.
Black Iron Armor (Level 4+, PHB, HotFL): This armor lets you resist fire and necrotic, the two most common damage types. Resistance scales with tier. Only comes in Scale and Plate. Common.
Inner Warmth Armor (Level 9+, PHB2):
This armor lets you resist cold and necrotic. One is the most common damage type, the other... not so much. The daily power however lets you win one encounter per day, that is if your DM is shortsighted enough to use only necrotic or cold damage after he's given you this armor. Resistance scales with tier. Only comes in Hide. Daily.
Runic Armor (Level 3+, AV2):
For all you Sages of Ages out there, this armor gives you the item bonus to your Arcana check you've been looking for. The bonus to damage rolls if you Second Wind is just gravy. Skill, Augmentable.
Battle Harness ( Level 4+, Dragon Magazine 368): Don't have a Warlord in your party but still want that power bonus to initiative? Then take this as your light armor, stack it with an item that gives an item bonus to initiative, and Team Monster can eat your dust. You also get Quick Draw for free with this Armor, which is a deceptively good bonus.
Time Link Armor (Level 4+, AV2): Need an item bonus to initiative? Wearing Chain Armor? Then look no further. You also get a daily initiative reroll, which combined with the right background (Trained From Birth for a Specific Prophecy) and Danger Sense will make sure you always go first. Daily.
Armor of Sudden Recovery (Level 3+, AV2): A +1 item bonus to saving throws against ongoing damage, and the ability to once per day turn your ongoing damage into regeneration that lasts until the end of the encounter. Practically gold for Lair Assault. Daily.
Moon Armor (Level 3+, AV2):
This armor is mostly entirely unremarkable and wouldn't merit mention in this guide...were it not for the existence of the Enshrouding Candle and Ringmail. It costs a feat and some gold, but that's a small price to pay for an always-on +1 to AC. An oft-overlooked piece of the unhittable light-armor Striker/Defender puzzle. Augmentable.
Bloodthread Armor (Level 5+, PHB1): Another piece of the Battlecrazed puzzle, this one is much better for Avengers and Hybrid Swordmages who want to get a cheap, potent bonus to AC early on. Doesn't stack with Elven Chain Shirt, but until level 20 it's a very easy way to boost your AC up and save money. Not too shabby. Augmentable, Swordmage, Avenger.
[/sblock]
Paragon Armor Options
[sblock]Champion's Hauberk (Level 13+, AV2): Part of the Champion's Flame set, this armor can be handy on occasion. Say, for a Radiant Mafia Cleric who wants to use Favor of the Gods AND Solar Enemy to shorten fights. Set, Encounter, Cleric, Invoker.
Feytouched Armor (Level 12+, Manual of the Planes): Need an item bonus to initiative? Wearing Leather or Hide Armor? Then look no further. It also allows you to become invisible once per encounter as a standard action. Be aware that this competes with Battle Harness for the same slot, although the bonus types differ. Encounter.
Bonegrim Armor (Level 14+, AV): This armor lets you resist necrotic and poison. One is the most common damage type, the other... is useful when fighting Drow I guess. It does have some weird properties though. The resistance only scales correctly with the level 19 and higher armors, and releases you from the need for food (and at level 29, even sleep). The problem stems from one little line, which says that you cannot remove the armor without a ritual to remove afflictions...problem is, this armor applies a penalty to it equal to its level. Yes, you read that right: not enhancement bonus, level. This means it's more or less flatly impossible to take it off, which means the only way to upgrade it is with Enchant Magic Item (as you can't take off a lesser Bonegrim Armor for a better one)...which means you cannot upgrade it at all in an LFR game. Cursed.
Greater Armor of Eyes (Level 14+, MME): Can't be blinded and you get darkvision. This doesn't pop up often...unless you're a Demonskin Adept, that is. Then you really, really
want this. Sorcerer, Multi-Role.
Armor of Dark Deeds (Level 14+, AV2):
Hit an enemy granting CA to you, gain concealment against everyone until the end of your next turn. In other words, be aggresive and you gain big bonuses to defend against non-burst/blast attacks. Where do I sign up? Warlock, Sorcerer, Striker.
[/sblock]
Epic Armor Options
[sblock]Armor of Shared Health (Level 30, AV2): Surgeless healing is surgeless healing, even if it only kicks in for three fights, tops. Would have been a much more powerful and interesting property ten or twenty levels earlier. Surgeless Healing.
Soulwarding Armor (Level 24+, AV): This armor lets you resist necrotic and psychic. The resistance is 5 lower than it should be at this level, but you're compensated with the fact that it's one of the few items that lets you resist psychic damage, and that you can't lose healing surges from enemy attacks anymore. Not bad eh?
[/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Talismans of The Mystics: Charms of Legacy List
Heroic Neck Options
[sblock]Amulet of Life (Level 5+, Dragon 381):
Access to extra healing is never bad, especially if you get beat on a lot. Even better if you have a reliable way to generate saving throws so it doesn't compete with other neck slot items that grant saves. It shines on classes that have a lot of healing surges, because after a few fights surge management tends to become an issue. Defender, Encounter.
Cloak of Distortion (Level 4+, AV):
If you're in doubt as to what neck item to pick, go with this one. The ever-increasing bonus against distant attackers is bound to come up once in a while, and likely to be a life-saver when it does. Multi-Role.
Healer's Brooch (Level 4+, AV):
Needless to say, a nice and big bonus to heals like that is pretty nifty, even if it does chew up an important slot. Worth taking into account if you're gonna toss out lots of heals. Healing, Leader.
Medic's Amulet (Level 4+, AV2):
If you have no access to Mark of Healing or other save granting effects, you can use this to compensate, somewhat. Only pick this up if ongoing damage is a thing in your campaign, though. Leader.
Steadfast Amulet (Level 8+, AV):
Grants you an II save against daze or stun once per day. Best part is, if you fail the save, the power is not expended. Daily.
Cloak of Translocation (Level 9+, AV2): Great if you expect to teleport at least 3 times an encounter, and the daily is top-notch if you have a teleport attack encounter power, of which there's a surprising amount. Sorcerer, Swordmage, Teleport, Daily.
Elemental Ward Cloak(Level 9+, Dragon 408): This item becomes available in late heroic, but it really starts shining around mid-high paragon. By that point, it gives a truly immense item bonus to all defenses against any attacks with an elemental keyword (acid, cold, fire, lightning, and thunder). It also helps offset the need for a lot of resistances for these damage types, except to avoid auto-damage. If you get another part of the set, then you also get a little resistance to a damage type of your choice. Bottom line: if your DM does elemental damage, GRAB THIS.
Set.
[/sblock]
Paragon Neck Options
[sblock]Timeless Locket (Level 14+, AV2): Need an item bonus to initiative? Then look no further. The daily power lets you trade a minor for a standard, albeit one that you can't use for an attack (but a creative player like you can surely find a way to get around that). Daily.
Tenebrous Shroud (Level 13+, Dragon Magazine 380): Major resistance to the most common damage type on a neck slot item, for when you want to save your armor and head slot (Skull Mask) for something else. The daily power lets you become invisible as a reaction when you get hit. Daily, Resistance.[/sblock]
Epic Neck Options
[sblock]None yet![/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Implements of Power: Implements of Legacy List
Armisael's Note: Because implements are divided into lots of categories that don't mesh with each other, I have chosen to split them into further spoiler blocks beyond the usual Heroic/Paragon/Epic split. This has been done to reduce the messiness of this particular section to a minimum.
Heroic Implement Options
[sblock]Holy Symbols
[sblock]Symbol of the Champion's Code (Level 8+, AV2): An item tax for paladins. If you don't take it, you're failing in your duty as a paladin. The daily power helps take the sting off the tax though, as it's really damn good. Paladin, Element (Radiant), Daily.
Symbol of Victory (Level 9+, PHB1):
An unbelievably powerful item, and a reason to get holy symbol proficiency all by itself. You don't even need to use it to trigger its property - just be proficient and carry it around. So strong, it inches close to Gold
value. Multi-Role, Daily.
Symbol of Divine Reach (Level 8+, AV):
A nice way to take 'long-range bombardment' to a whole new level. Wanted to hit even the farthest reaching enemies from outside their maximum range? Now you can. Multi-Role, Divine.
Sun Disk of Pelor (Level 8+, AV):
A radiant converter for the implement users out there. The possibilites are immense: a good idea is to become a Morninglord and get Pelor's Boon to dish out massive amounts of extra damage via vulnerabilities. Elemental (Radiant), Augmentable.
Symbol of Daring (5+, AV2):
Underappreciated Holy Symbol. Expensive due to its level, but has a very nice property: An untyped bonus to damage for your allies' AP attacks. A nice way for the Cleric to play at Warlord, or a good symbol for those divine characters who usually stick to weapon attacks, like the Avenger or Paladin. Cleric, Leader.
[/sblock]
Staves
[sblock]Staff of the Traveler (Level 5+, PHB3):
Not all builds have reasons to want this item, but for those that do, it's absolutely invaluable. An inordinately powerful item for all teleporters and speedfreaks. Teleport, Multi-Role, Warlock, Bard.
Staff of Sleep and Charm (Level 3+, AV2): Scaling item bonus to attack with Charm and Sleep powers that works in the offhand, on a staff, and you only ever need the cheap version per tier, since it scales at 3, 13 and 23. Did I mention it's common yet? An incredibly good item for Wizards, Bards and anyone else with a heavy lean to Charm based powers. Wizard (Enchanter), Bard, Psion, Common.
Staff of Ruin (Level 3+, AV):
Need to get damage done as an implement user? Look no further than this staff. You'll be hard pressed to find something better. Striker, Sorcerer, Wizard, Invoker.
Architect's Staff (Level 5+, AV):
Walls aren't that common, but this item can increase their value to potentially enormous levels. Certainly worth considering, and the daily allows you to sculpt the battlefield, quite literally. Wizard, Daily.
[/sblock]
Rods
[sblock]Blast Scepter (Level 7+, Halls of Undermountain): One hell of an odd item. It's very versatile, providing resists, two powers, and a good crit die, but suffers due to not doing anything extraordinarily well. A nifty item nonetheless, however. At-Will, Daily, Rare.[/sblock]
Orbs
[sblock]Orb of Ghostbane Triumph (Level 9+, PP): Tired of being ineffective when fighting ghosts? Then get one of these, which will let you ignore the insubstantial quality as long as you have at least one power point remaining. The daily power provides this benefit for your allies too if you hit an insubstantial creature with it. Psionic, Daily.
Orb of Nimble Thoughts (Implement, Level 3+, PHB3): Need an item bonus to initiative? Proficient with Orbs? Then look no further. You don't even need to use this Orb to get the bonus, just hold it at the start of combat. Int-classes and power point users (Psions in particular) also get a nice shifty movement mode out of it. Psion, Psionic, Encounter.[/sblock]
Wands
[sblock]Nein.[/sblock]
Totems
[sblock]Pure Spirit Totem (Level 5+, PHB2): Mostly here to be used for their daily power to get people up on the cheap. Beware, your DM might protest if you buy or make ten of them.
Surgeless Healing, Daily, Shaman.[/sblock]
Tomes
[sblock]Tome of Undeniable Might (Level 8+, MME): Tired of being ineffective when fighting ghosts? Then get one of these, which will let you ignore the insubstantial quality when you attack a target with certain elemental powers. Common, Elemental.[/sblock]
Ki Foci
[sblock]Ghost Strike Ki Focus (Level 2+, PHB3): Tired of being ineffective when fighting ghosts? Then get one of these, which will let you ignore the insubstantial quality when you attack a target that grants you combat advantage.
Shadow Master Ki Focus (Level 3+, Dragon): Any permastealth or rich regular stealty build should look at this item for one of the highest damage boost from a single item, especially at lower levels. Necrotic can backfire, and moderate scaling let's other items catch up, but since it's untyped, and ki focuses can be turned on and off, it may keep it's use late game. Striker, Assassin, Rogue.
[/sblock][/sblock]
Paragon Implement Options
[sblock]Holy Symbols
[sblock]Ain't nuthin' here, boss.[/sblock]
Staves
[sblock]Jeeze, you're thick-headed.[/sblock]
Rods
[sblock]What part of 'no items to showcase yet' didn't you get?[/sblock]
Orbs
[sblock]Dammit, you're persistent. Stop bugging me![/sblock]
Wands
[sblock]Oh c'mon, really? You must be the same kinda guy who clicks on Blizzard RTS units to get their hidden quotes.[/sblock]
Totems
[sblock]Alright, fine, you found the hidden quotes. Can you leave me alone now? Please?[/sblock]
Tomes
[sblock]That's it. I'm gonna start ignoring you. I won't even stare at you![/sblock]
Ki Foci
[sblock]*Ignores*[/sblock][/sblock]
Epic Implement Options
[sblock]Holy Symbols
[sblock]*Ignores*[/sblock]
Staves
[sblock]*Ignores*[/sblock]
Rods
[sblock]*Ignores*[/sblock]
Orbs
[sblock]*Ignores*[/sblock]
Wands
[sblock]...Dammit, I can't keep this up. Alright, you win.[/sblock]
Totems
[sblock]Being honest...heh. I gotta say, I admire your persistence.[/sblock]
Tomes
[sblock]We're getting close to the end of the line, though. This silliness will have to end soon, so...[/sblock]
Ki Foci
[sblock]...Goodbye.[/sblock][/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Bracers and Bulwarks: Armbands of Legacy List
Heroic Arms Options
[sblock]Iron Armbands of Power (Level 6+, AV): The most powerful arms slot item, bar none, because it's a math fix. It's not a question of why you'd want to use them, but why not, and this earns the Armbands a coveted gold rating. Unless you have some sort of plan, stick to these on all melee characters. Striker, Multi-Role.
Bracers of Archery (Level 6+, AV):
The less-often applicable version of the Iron Armbands. Still a math patch though, so what goes for them goes for these bracers too. Striker, Multi-Role.
Bracers of Mighty Striking (Level 2+, PHB, HotFL):
Yes, Iron Armbands of Power are better. Now that we've got that out of the way, these are available 4 levels earlier and common. Problem is that they only work on melee basic attacks, but there are enough classes out there that are just fine with that restriction. Striker, Multi-Role.
Bracers of the Perfect Shot (Level 3+, PHB): Yes, Bracers of Archery are better. Now that we've got that out of the way, these are available 3 levels earlier and common. Problem is that they only work on ranged basic attacks, but there are some classes out there that are just fine with that restriction. Striker, Multi-Role.
Bracers of Mental Might (Level 6+, AV): Not everybody can get an Item bonus from elsewhere and has a power they want to swap for, but for those that do, this is an outstanding item. Leaders in particular adore it, because it lets them savagely poach from the Warlord powerlist to get whatever power fits their fancy that can end encounters in a hurry. Leader, Multi-Role, Encounter.
Hammer Shield (Level 6, AV2): An untyped +1 to defenses when you hit is pretty nifty, but there's two drawbacks: One, you have to use a hammer to get the bonus, and two, you're sacrificing Iron Armbands for it. Defender.
Floating Shield (Level 1, AV): Not your everyday shield, but worth sticking in your pack if encumbrance and purchase access to uncommon items isn’t an issue. For a cheap price, you can bypass certain skill checks entirely. One of these and a rope will get an entire party across that river. On some rare maps, the ability to walk on water will be strictly better than the damage bonus you might get from your arms slot. However, use only as needed. Skill (Athletics), Magic Mart.
Preservation Shield (Level 2, AV2): The first fight of the day is frequently a warm up, surge drain appetizer fight. Blow your daily on this shield immediately in the first fight to save some of those surges, then trade it out for your Iron Armbands in the short rest. Useful for high surge count characters, but quickly loses luster as you progress up the tiers. Defender, Daily, THP
Battleforged Shield (Level 4+, AV): Big daily surgeless heal, fairly easy to trigger, limited range. Good for paladins as an emergency nova heal with Lay on Hands, or for short rest surge preservation (you never really have to wear this in combat if you prefer). Daily, Healing, Leader, Defender.
Throwing Shield (Level 6+, AV): Let’s be honest. This power is Standard Action, Ranged 10, you mark the target if you’re a fighter, or engage him if you’re a paladin. Still, when you’re an immobilized defender…meh, get something to escape immobilize instead. That it uses an outdated math formula doesn't help its case, either. Fighter, Defender, Paladin
Healer’s Shield (Level 10+, AV2): Depending on how much variable healing dice you’re throwing out there, the daily on this can be ridiculous. Can be used during a short rest if you like. Leader, Healing.
Coutures of Second Chances (Level 5+, AV): The extra damage bonus of the Iron Armbands is almost always going to be better than the daily reroll offered by these bracers. If you really, really don't care about damage or do absolutely none of it yourself though, these might be worth considering. Controller, Daily.
[/sblock]
Paragon Arms Options
[sblock]Bloodhound Bracers (Level 13, AV2): If you or one of your party members specializes in ongoing damage and you desperately want combat advantage, I guess this is a decent option. Works well for Slashing Kama Style Monks, for example. The daily power lets you inflict a pitiful 5 ongoing damage when you bloody an enemy. Daily, Augmentable.
Shield of Fellowship (Level 15, AV2):
You need to not care about damage and have an easy source of THP to pick up this item (and the number of characters who fit that bill is smaller than it looks), but properly used this item can be a way of giving the party a big source of THP turn after turn. Part of the Arms of Unbreakable Honor set. THP, Set.
Rapidstrike Bracers (Level 16, AV): Use a single target at-will attack instead of a basic attack once per encounter. Can be useful for some characters who get granted RBAs. An item bonus to initiative makes it sweeter to boot. Encounter.
[/sblock]
Epic Arms Options
[sblock]None yet![/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Boots of Seven Leagues: Boots of Legacy
Heroic Feet Options
[sblock]Acrobat Boots (Level 2, PHB):
Who likes to spend their move action standing up from prone? No-one, that's who. This lowly level 2 Feet slot item forever saves you from having to worry about this. This effect is also obtainable by taking the level 2 Acrobatics utility power Agile Recovery, but why spend a precious utility on it when these boots do the same? At-will.
Boots of the Fencing Master (Level 7, AV): This kind of mobility is usually reserved for Monks, so making it available as a Feet slot item is great. There are so many uses for a minor action shift 2 it's not even funny. And that's not mentioning the item bonus to AC and Reflex when you shift. One of the top heroic picks for Feet slot items. Encounter.
Goblin Stompers (Level 6, AV): Shifting as an immediate reaction when missed by a melee attack as an encounter power. Not bad for getting out of a tight spot, not bad at all. Encounter.
Rushing Cleats (Level 7, AV): They need preexisting forced movement to use properly, but when deployed intelligently, these boots can provide a valuable, very important boost to many builds, such as Lightning Furies looking to up their damage, Deadly Drawers and more. Augmentable, Multi-Role.
[/sblock]
Paragon Feet Options
[sblock]Greaves of Maldeen (Level 12, Dragon 364): +2 bonus to speed, regardless of armor, and even a daily power to make sure your enemy won't get away from you as an immediate reaction, and the only limitation these boots have is that you must move closer to an enemy to get the bonus. When aren't going to be doing that? One of the default choices for the boot slot. Daily, Multi-Role.
Butterfly Sandals (Level 12, AV): There are few classes that benefit from a static bonus to fly speed, but for those who do this is a huge increase. If you have a way to consistently take to the skies, this lets you do a decent Neo-impression. Common.
Boots of Dancing (Level 11, AV): A tame benefit in not granting CA when Dazed, but it's something any character can make use of. The bonus to reflex pushes this item up further to the point where it's worth taking.
Battlestrider Greaves (Level 12, PHB): Speed is king on the approach and on big battlefields, and heavy armor users are constantly gimped in that department. This item lets them get some of their speed back.
Oceanstrider Boots (Level 14, AV): A bonus to speed regardless of armor type is good already. Being able to take advantage of terrains that would normally be harmful to you is godlike.
Eladrin Boots (Level 16, PHB): These boots enhance any of your teleports, even if the teleport isn't from a teleportation power. This comes in handy for paragon paths and epic destinies which give teleportation as a movement mode, as well as the teleportation granted by the epic feat Fey Shift. The daily is underwhelming if you already have at-will teleportation, but it's ok until then. Daily, Teleport.
Earthreaver Stompers (Level 17+, AV): A bit of Tremorsense. Not the most amazing thing in the world, but handy on occasion.
Phantom Chaussures (Level 18, AV): A big bonus to defenses when moving is already pretty good, emulating Shadow Walk, but the daily power is nothing short of outstanding, giving you a colossal defensive buff once a day on the approach (AKA the most dangerous round). Daily.
Planestrider Boots (Level 18, MotP):
A big jolt of mobility makes these boots attractive to anyone, but it's the ability to split teleports that truly earns these boots its rating. Warlocks, and Evermeet Warlocks in particular, love these boots. Warlock, Encounter, Teleport, Augmentable.
[/sblock]
Epic Feet Options
[sblock]Boots of Speed (Level 22, AV): +2 to Speed and a daily power for extra movement sure looks tempting...until you realize you could get an identical effect with the Greaves of Maldeen much earlier. Pass. Daily.
Zephyr Boots (Level 24, AV): Flight in light armor, with no other caveats. I don't have to explain how this is incredibly good, do I?
Boots of Teleportation (Level 28, AV): You now teleport at-will instead of moving. Pretty much the de facto choice at ultra high levels, with a bit of competition from some scattered boots here and there. At-Will.[/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Gloves of Silk, Gauntlets of Steel: Handguards of Legacy
Heroic Hands Options
[sblock]Strikebacks (Level 10, AV): If you have a serviceable melee basic attack and don't use your immediate action literally every round, there's no reason to skip this. Combats where these don't trigger are few and far between, so take these and be happy with them. Additional benefit: you finally don't have to remember those annoying Gauntlets of Blood anymore. Encounter.
Resplendent Gloves (Level 5+, AV2): A powerful damage bonus when you hit with an attack that targets will, and possibly CA too. Absolutely worth picking up if you target Will and are interested in damage. It's part of the Resplendent Finery set, to boot. Set, Striker.
Claw Gloves (Level 4, AV):
Damn near an autopick for Druids, and the same goes for Lycans...especially for Lycans. Strikers need not apply without level 10 and that particular theme. Part of the Skin of the Panther set. Striker, Druid, Set, Augmentable.
Babau Gauntlets (Level 10+, Dragon Magazine 408): Once per turn, you can make a melee basic attack using Dex instead of Str. Useful for Dex-strikers that otherwise wouldn't have a functional MBA, even if it's just for an OA. The encounter power deals damage to one attacker equal to half the item's level when you're bloodied. Monk, Bladesinger, Slayer, Striker, Encounter.
Antipathy Gloves (Level 10, AV): The daily power is pretty much whatever, but you're not here for it anyway - you're here for the gigantic stickiness boost these gloves provide to most defenders, making the process of escaping them or moving around them a living hell. Daily, Defender.
Gauntlets of Blood (Level 4+, AV2, HotFL):
A scaling untyped bonus to damage against bloodied targets. The one drawback about these is remembering that you even have the damn things. Striker.
Gloves of Eldritch Admixture (Level 8+, AV): The ability to add a damage keyword to any warlock attack by way of warlock's curse allows a warlock to get around immunities and resists. Though Cold and Fire are common damage types and are often resisted, adding them to another attack makes it unlikely it will be resisted. And you can always use the gloves to add cold. For an Elemental Warlock, Gloves of Eldritch Admixture become Gold due to the increased likelyhood that you will have a vulnerability that matches what the gloves can do which increases your damage by 5/10/15. Warlock, At-Will, Augmentable.
Lancing Gloves (Level 7, AV): If you're not a lycan, not using a frost weapon, and can't prone targets easily, this is a good source of extra damage so long as you're mounted. Striker.
[/sblock]
Paragon Hands Options
[sblock]Gloves of the Healer (Level 12+, AV): That much bonus healing can stack up, and stack up fast. It can be equivalent to a half-tier or tier jump for your Leader healing ability! Healing, Leader.
Gloves of Transference (Level 14, AV): Increases the range of utility powers by 2. This can have some interesting, if niche uses.
Hero's Gauntlets/Great Hero's Gauntlets (Level 17+, AV2):Technically two items, but they have exactly the same purpose, so...in any case, a major boost of THP and a bonus to attack rolls n an Action Point are both neat little features to have. No reason not to give these items a look if you can generate APs often. THP.
Gauntlets of Destruction (Level 18, PHB):
Pseudo-brutal on melee weapons. Decent enough but unremarkable normally, better if you're using Carnage weaponry, quite good if you're using a Falchion, and outstanding if you're charging and chucking lots of dice at people, as it adds up to +4 effective damage or more. Striker, Slayer, Barbarian, Rogue, Scout, Thief, Augmentable.
Gloves of the Wandering Star (Level 19, AV2): A range booster, albeit a lesser one, and a compensation attack on a miss with terrible scaling. Eh, not the best for sure, but it can have its uses. Part of the Offerings of Celestian set. Set, Daily.
Many-Fingered Gloves (Level 20, AV2):
Get an extra ring slot in exchange for your Hands slot. While not for all characters, this item is overwhelmingly powerful for those who can use an extra ring (if nothing else, an extra Champion's Ring is always welcome). Augmentable.
Gloves of Ice (Level 11+, AV2):
Another untyped bonus to cold damage for Frost Weapon wielders. Alternatively, this lets you ignore 5/10 points of cold resistance, which still is a net gain of 3/6 damage. Element, Augmentable.
[/sblock]
Epic Hands Options
[sblock]Foe Caller Gauntlets (Level 22, D381): While these gauntlets are only available in an epic variety, their encounter power can effectively cancel one attack at range each encounter for any character that can mark. Most useful for battleminds and swordmages who have persistent marks which work at range, but still useful for other defenders for dealing with enemies who can teleport or otherwise move without provoking opportunity attacks. Defender, Encounter, Teleport.[/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Crowns and Circlets: Helmets of Legacy
Heroic Head Items
[sblock]Casque of Tactics (Level 4+, AV): An easy way for everyone to boost their initiative a bit with an item bonus. Gets a lot better at higher tiers, where the difference really becomes noticeable. The daily power is deceptively powerful. If you're a Dex-striker and your controller or defender rolled badly on their initiative, this will let them set up the battlefield for you, after which you can come in and kill what's left. Daily.
Fey-Blessed Circlet (Level 8, AV2): CHA in THP at the start of each fight. Not an amazing bonus, but one that any CHA primary or secondary character can use to decent effect. THP.
Horned Helm (Level 6+, PHB): The lynchpin of the so-called Charge Package, based upon doing lots and lots of damage while charging. This lets you add 1d6 per tier to the damage of any charge attack, which quickly results in a lot of extra dice thrown on the table. To enhance the pain further, there's even ways to make multihit attacks usable on a charge, such as the Avalanche Boots and being a Gnoll Reincarnate Champion. All of this combines for frankly silly amounts of damage. Unless you've got a plan, this should be your default Head item as a Striker with MBA access. Striker, Augmentable, Barbarian, Slayer, Scout.
Eagle Eye Goggles (Level 2+, AV): It's a scaling bonus to attack rolls. Elementalists simply have no reason, no excuse, and no way to hide from the fact that they want and need this item. Fail to take it, and fail utterly. Elementalist, Striker.
Circlet of Indomitability (Level 8+, AV):
A scaling untyped bonus to Will, on a common Head slot item no less. If you have any need at all for some extra Will, pick this up and be happy with it. Common, Defender.
Skull Mask (Level 5+, AV):
Want scaling resistance against the most common damage type, but don't want to sacrifice your armor slot for it? Then get this scary thing, which also gives you an item bonus to Intimidate checks. Enemies take a -2 penalty to saving throws against Fear effects, which are pretty rare. Ardent, Wizard, Skill.
Helm of Heroes (Level 10+, PHB):
It's pretty much a daily with a small bonus attached, but what a daily it is. Combine this with, for instance, Death From Two Sides and a Barbarian and you're looking at absolutely unbelievable amounts of carnage. An absolutely prime pick for Warlords and Divine-Oracle'd Enablers alike. Warlord, Leader, Daily.
[/sblock]
Paragon Head Items
[sblock]Eyes of the Eagle (Level 11+, MME): Strict upgrade compared to the Headband of Perception. Not the strongest possible option in a slot with a lot of competition, but a solid option for those who need a perception boost.
Helm of Able Defense (Level 14, AV2): The best way to survive is to not get hit. And this helm facilitates that, a lot. Defenders should be careful though not to become too hard to hit, because monsters will go looking for your allies otherwise. Oh, and a +1 item bonus to Will is just gravy. Part of the Panoply of the Shepherds of Ghest set. Defender, Set.
Crown of the Brilliant Sun (Level 14, AV2): Provides type conversion for elemental abuse? Check. Doesn't take up your weapon enchant? Check. Is a part of the Gifts for the Queen set, which means it gives you a damage bonus? Check. If you're a Lightning or Radiant user, this item deserves serious consideration. Set, Striker, Elemental (Lightning, Radiant), Augmentable.
Circlet of Arkhosia (Level 14+, Head, PHR
): Being dazed or stunned sucks hardcore. Saving against dazing or stunning at the start of your turn, so you can get your full action, is excellent. If you're not a warden and don't have the Wis or Cha for Superior Will, and don't have any other head slot commitments, you will want this helm. Especially mandatory for defenders, who can't punish when they're debilitated. The level 24 version also gives you a start-of-turn save against dominated. Set, Defender.Golden Crown of Battle Command (Level 14, AV2):
Perhaps the single most powerful item in the game for its price, this item takes arguably the most powerful and game-changing class, the Warlord, and kicks it into overdrive by turning its enabling abilities into a well of free buffs that stack with every other boost they bring to the table. This is such a dominant choice for them that the only, and I do mean only other item they should consider is a Helm of Heroes...and even then, the smart move is to carry the Helm, use its power, and then instantly switch to the Golden Crown. Perhaps the only item that carries an absolutely magnificent name and actually lives up to it. Warlord, Set.
Crown of Equillibrium (Level 12, AV2): Combine this with a withering weapon and you essentially have an at-will saving throw grant. Still pretty OK otherwise, too, assuming you use (save ends) effects at all. Leader, Augmentable.
[/sblock]
Epic Head Items
[sblock]None yet![/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Sashes of Gold, Cinctures of Diamond: Belts of Legacy
Heroic Waist Options
[sblock]Diamond Cincture (Level 10+, AV2):
The default waist option. Only few builds want another item. A bonus to fortitude AND extra healing is almost more than anyone would dare to hope for. Healing.
Belt of Vim (Level 8,18,28, AV):
Completely overshadowed by Diamond Cincture. Its only saving graces are that it's 2 levels lower and common. Common.
Cincture of the Dragon Spirit (Level 6, AV):
It's a sad fact of D&D that Strength focused characters tend to...well, be utterly useless in social challenges. Not so with this belt. Combine it with the cheap skill power Try The Stick, and your big bulky barbarian or fighter will be as charming as that sly rogue or bard!
Viper Belt (Level 4, AV): Not worried about your Fortitude defense (i.e. don't need a Diamond Cincture) and want some protection in case you run into Drow? Then get this belt, which protects you from poison damage with resist 5 and a daily power that lets you save against ongoing poison damage. Daily.
Belt of Sonnlinor Righteousness (Level 6+, Dragon 385):
The infamous Belt of Brokenness, this monster turns any Revenant willing to invest in sub-zero optimization (read: Superior Will and enough save boosters to make the save against daze automatically) into a ridiculous, unkillable beast. Not applicable for everyone, but for those who can use it and don't mind utilizing the biggest and most broken exploit still in the game, this is gold.
Daily, Augmentable.
[/sblock]
Paragon Waist Options
[sblock]Belt of the Witch King (Level 18, AV2): Awesome belt for any Arcane character - not only does it give you roughly the benefit of the regular Fort belt, but it gives you free action significant surgeless healing as a daily. Arcane, Surgeless Healing, Daily.
Cord of Divine Favor (Level 13, AV): While awful for surge efficiency (you want to stack as many boosters on top of a healing surge to make sure you spend as few of them as possible), it's impossible to deny how useful this belt is when you need heals NOW. Leader, Encounter, Healing.
Totemic Belt (Level 11, AV): It's a daily power, but how many powers are '+1 to attacks for a fight'? Potentially great for people who already want to charge as a matter of course. Daily, Striker, Barbarian, Slayer.
Waistband of the Grappler (Level 13, AV2): Not for everyone, but if you can push yourself off the d20, this belt provides a meaty bonus to damage rolls. Just make sure to kill everything before they can make use of the CA you're granting them. Striker, At-Will.
Belt of Mountain Endurance (Level 18, Dragon 365):
At higher levels, equivalent to having taken Toughness three times for the purposes of surge values. Even on a dinky seven-surge Striker, that's close to two bonus healing surges, and can reach absolutely silly levels if you have enough surges to burn (five surges' worth of healing just from this belt? Don't mind if I do!). A defensive bonus on spending an Action Point is awesome icing. Daily, Defender.
General's Belt (Level 15, AV2):
Unimpressive by itself, this belt becomes a really good way to get a good to outstanding Will Defense when combined with the Golden Crown of Battle Command from the same item set. If you're using that item, consider picking this one up, as it's not too shabby and it's not that easy to boost your most important NAD by 2 points. Daily, Warlord, Set, Healing.
Cinture of Vivacity (Level 14, MME): A mid-paragon Common item, you'd expect this to be useful, but not amazing, and it is. Its function is simple: healing above you maximum becomes THP. Now, in most parties, that might not be a big deal, because healing is a limited resource that you don't want to waste. But it becomes sky blue or even gold for the right parties and characters. Simply put, if you want to be proactive about healing or you have to be (thanks, for instance, to a PP feature such as Champion of Corellon's AP, or a class feature such as a Knight's 19th and 23rd), this lets you make the most of it. However, it's at its best with a Warlord or other leader who hands out significant buffs with his encounter healing powers. In that situation, you really want this item - or the Warlord needs to carry one around to deck his friends out with. Healing, THP, Augmentable.
[/sblock]
Epic Waist Options
[sblock]Belt of Titan Strength (Level 25, PHB):
For when something absolutely, positively has to die, accept no substitutes. Striker, Daily.[/sblock]
Originally posted by Armisael:
Bands of Platinum and Wishes: Rings of Legacy
Paragon Tier Rings
[sblock]Ring of the Radiant Storm (Level 17, AV2):
Not only does it give you roll-twice-take-better damage rolls, not only does it let you recover powers on a miss (any miss - multiattack and multitarget powers recharge even if they hit the primary target if you miss a secondary one!), but it's part of the Gifts for the Queen set, which means just one more item will provide a +2 bonus to damage rolls or higher. Damn near an autopick for lightning or radiant characters. Set, Daily, Striker.
War Ring (Level 16, AV): An extra die of critical hit damage and a daily of two extra critical hit dice over and above the property (maxed after a milestone). Not bad for people who like to fish for crits and are properly geared to do so. However, this pales in comparison to the next ring, to the point you should only use it if your DM rules that you can't stack two of them. Striker, Daily.
Ring of Giants (Level 13, Dragon 378): +2 critical hit damage per enhancement pointof your weapon. Beats out the War Ring by the time you are using a +4 weapon and is competitive when you have a +3 weapon. The daily push + prone is excellent icing on the cake if you're primal, but every Striker should give this serious consideration if they can get close to a 10% crit chance per attack. If they can go higher than that reliably, don't even hesitate. Pick this up and go wild. Striker, Primal, Avenger.
Ring of Circling Fangs (Level 20, Dungeon 181):
Unimpressive on the surface, until you realize there are builds that use Battlecrazed and Bloodfury Weapons, that those builds attract incredible amounts of monster aggro, and that the damage is dealt per hit. This can stack up to an extra attack or two of bonus damage, which is pretty damn good...just make sure you can take the heat before you put this on. Rogues can stay out. Striker, Barbarian, Augmentable, Encounter.
Iron Ring of the Dwarf Lords (Level 14, PHB): A healing surge is always useful, if a bit unremarkable. Meanwhile, the power can be a lifesaver, though you're probably not gonna get to use it that often.
Ring of Fury (Level 14, Dragon 366): An utterly ridiculous punishment for getting bloodied, which stacks with the Backlash Tattoo. Essentially, this makes your bloodied value a timebomb. Enemies will just flatly not want to attack you once you get close to it, because a triple out-of-turn wallop will be enough to down everything that isn't a Solo for daring to hit you. This would be broken if it was per-encounter, and is just merely really good once it triggers as-is. Daily, Striker.
Ring of the Dragonborn Emperor (Level 15, AV):
The only way for close burst abusers to get their item bonus to damage on before Epic, and also a good way to boost dragonbreath for rebreathers. Trying to use close bursts for damage is mostly a sucker's bet, but the option is there...and more importantly, that daily power is excellent and makes the ring worth picking up. Rare, Daily, Sorcerer.
Foe-Binder Ring (Level 19, Dragon 381):
Damned if you do, damned if you don't. No matter what the enemy does, he really does always lose now. Hysterical on defenders who focus on defending via penalties instead of punishment, but any type of defender can use it to good effect. Defender.
Champion's Ring (Level 17, Revenge of the Giants):
Super dirty trick: get your entire party to pitch in and get Champion's items, plus one of these rings for each of you. Proceed to automatically win battles as you gain a +5/+6 item bonus while bloodied. It does cost item slots and party cooperation, but few things are as satisfying as knowing you can't ever lose a fight unless you're actively trying to do so. The fact that you get to apply elemental vulnerability on top is super nice icing, as is the initiative bonus you're going to get if you follow this strategy. Augmentable, Striker, Daily, Set.
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Epic Tier Rings
[sblock]Ring of Tenacious Will (Level 21, AV):
Go from scrawny to beefy in the span of a single slot. This can easily cause your surges to double, or even more than that. If you're a charisma character, you better have a damn good reason NOT to take this ring. As a reminder, Comrade's Succor exists to make sure the entire party will benefit from your being beefier. Augmentable, Multi-Role.
Luminary Ring (Level 22, AV): Some really wonky wording makes this ring a pretty decent pick to grant yourself hilariously overlarge reach with powerful leader powers. It comes in a bit late and only provides a direct bonus as a daily, but the tactical uses of it are potentially immense. Leader, Daily.
Ring of Free Time (Level 29, AV2): All damage you take is reduced by 5...and that's the nifty little bonus of this ring, amazingly enough. Having an extra minor action is just off the charts. If there is one Rare item worth considering for every character, this is it. Rare, Multi-Role, Encounter.
Opal Ring of Remembrance (Level 29, AV):
Do you use intelligence as your attack stat? Yes? You want this ring. A bonus to your attack rolls AND your best skills, and you regain a utility power if you're Arcane? The only possible competition for this is the Ring of Free Time. Wizard, Psion, Swordmage, Artificer, Daily, Rare.
Ring of Traded Knowledge (Level 21, AV2):
Psionic characters can use this ring to get a complete, fully augmentable power of a higher level than the ones they can actually get for an entire encounter. Post milestones, it even comes with an accuracy buff, too! Definitely worth considering for them. Ardent, Battlemind, Psion, Daily.
Golden Ring of Teros (Level 24, AV2):
Part of the Rings of the Akarot set, and an amazing way to ensure you will make it through a fight intact. This ring exponentially increases your survivability, because enemies won't attack someone they can't hit...thus ensuring the trigger will never come to pass. The daily also happens to be an outstanding buff, which is tasty, tasty icing. Defender, Daily, Set.
Shadow Band (Level 27, MME):
An upgrade on the Golden Ring above for the most part. It loses value against enemies who can pierce concealment and the daily is worse, but on the other hand it DOES provide a bonus to all defenses instead of just some...your call on which one's better, really. Defender, Daily.
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