Best Method to Improving Gear Stats

[CrimsonKnight 1]

Hey,

Relatively new to the game, and am hoping for some advice on improving my gear. From what I understand, improving current gear can be done in the Cube by reforging a legendary, or upgrading a rare item, gambling with Kadala, and enchanting.

Due to the difference in blood shard prices, and item pools, I am thinking that the best way to get better armor pieces is through Kadala. Getting the weapon I want would be best through upgrading rare items to legendary, and then reforging to get better stats (trying to get fist weapons).

What would be the best way to get the jewellery I want, and then improving it stats? Would it be upgrading rares/kadala, and then reforging for better stats?

Also, when am i suppose to enchant? After I am happy with the item, less one stat? Does the stat i enchant remain if I then reforge the item?

 

Thanks,

Crimson

[Knutsanity 15]

It disappears when you reforge it, and you then get to change one stat again.  Of course it may make it worse, entirely random. Yeah, reforging and upgrading rares isn't for new players so much. You need so many supplies. If you have that already great, but it's best to grind away with drops and bloodshards for a while if you don't. If you are exhausting supplies continuously then 50 game hours from now you may kick yourself. I'd wait till I want to improve only a handful of items drastically. Or you'll end up maybe spending them all on something you ended up getting 4 better options for anyway, while still having 8 items you really want to improve. I mean that is bad luck but it happens. I also got 3 of my last 4 items I wanted improved on one of my characters, in a row, upgrading rares. In like 20 minutes, haven't gotten one since. This is up to you, one thing getting way better could put you ahead and start a streak of progression for all you know. 

You are entirely right about the bloodshard numbers. Try to stick to the 25's, but it's not a huge deal. I find weapons drop in the game most, so I'd leave those out. Amulets are of course way up there, I only spend on those when they are the last big improvement. Your correlation is correct, cheap bloodshards for armours and even prices for the cube recipes means those supplies in the cube should be spent on amulets and weapons, maybe rings. And those bloodshards should be spent on armours, maybe rings or because they are so important, weapons if you need. But of course go by need. If you need that 1 legendary ability to bring everything together go for it. Ancient weapons and legendary abilities are incredible upgrades. Progressing faster is a kind of stackable effect, especially paragon wise, even fun and accomplishment wise, the sooner the better. I just wouldn't spend those resources like mad in the cube if I still needed tonnes of pieces of much better gear. It's kind of an end game thing. You'll get millions of bloodshards over time. You could spend 1000 deaths breaths and get nothing. I like upgrade rare better than reforge for some reason. But weigh the resources by what you like farming for and odds and cost of getting what you want I guess. 

For enchanting. Ideally your gear is great if you only have 1 wrong or low stat. Then you re roll it. But depending on your supplies again, much cheaper here, I re roll anything I'm wearing to optimise it as best I can. 1 deaths breath, and if jewlery, a gem is no big cost. But if you don't have extra, and don't expect to wear it long, maybe don't. I can't help myself there. Even if I love all the stats I'll try to make 1 a little better. Certainly if I don't, even though that means I'll get a better one eventually. 1 trip to the enchantress with all new gear can add a tonne of stats to your build. I'd suggest it. Look to take advantage of the 10% crit chance possibilities on gloves, off hand and amulet, and the 100% crit dmg amulet. Doing that makes it easier to find an ideal balance and total for all the stats that help your build. You can only get 6% crit chance and 50% crit damage on the others, but can get the same 7% attack speed or 8% cooldown etc. Same for the 1000 main stat max items for sure, and vitality which i love, though I play on hardcore, that others don't seem as keen on. 

There is a caldessan recipe to add stats to ancient legendary items. it seems expensive at first. Once you are close to that many gems you start seeing them build up faster and faster though. Those are great stats to add. But like established with your thoughts on the enchantress, this is where you really want to use an item that came with only 1 stat you'd hope to be better. Once you add vitality or your main stat to it, you don't so much want to find a better one for a while. Don't over look that one, 4 months ago I figured I'd never get one, now I have probably 15+ between my 7 classes. 

For gems and money, always keep in mind having a build put together with the broken crown helmet for more gems, and some other gear with extra money. You'll want to have that for puzzle rings, those goblins with portals, maybe even bounties and regular rifts if you find yourself low on cash. Hopefully without sacrificing so much damage and toughness that you can't compete on your current lvl. That shot my gems and money so far up I was suddenly able to just do rifts for key stones and greater rifts for the last 5 months and never can't do a caldessan recipe when I get an extra legendary gem up because I have so many gems. You get one of those builds good enough for torment 13 and you are laughing. 

[CrimsonKnight 1]

Thanks for the in-depth reply.

I am only around paragon LV 70, so i think you are right in that I should wait until i farm more materials before really using the cube, but I will keep using blood shards due to their frequency, starting with armor, then weapons, and jewellery. 

thanks for the tips on enchanting. Since i have played, it has always confused me for when i should use it.

thanks again

Crimson

[Knutsanity 15]

Ok, yeah it will take awhile to even get the forgotten souls up there then, never mind the deaths breaths and gems. But it does all start coming faster and faster after a while. Keep in mind all the awesome builds on this site are for end game. Often they are in need of more balance at lower levels. So feel free to tweak them for more offence or defence to your liking as you progress. 
 

Even just getting all useful legendary items on your character can feel like it takes forever at first. Full sets even. Never mind ancient legendaries. But good luck to you, it will start piling up sooner or later. You'll have too many forgotten souls and death's breaths before you know it. The gem and money build capable of torment 13 might feel a ways away. But that would happen too. 

Feel free to ask class and build specific questions as well. Some items don't drop until T 13 or close too, I believe at least a couple for each class. Don't want to waste your time and bloodshards on them until then. Though I've thought about what would've happened had I switched to torment 13 just for the bloodshard spending in the camp and then switched back when I was early on in the game. As far as ancient rates and those items that need higher lvls. 

[CrimsonKnight 1]

I am currently trying to build Uliana Seven-Sided Strike Monk, (https://www.icy-veins.com/d3/uliana-seven-sided-strike-monk-bis-gear-gems-paragon-points), do you know if any of the items require torment 13? I never knew that was a restriction.

[Knutsanity 15]

Sorry buddy I do not. I can't seem to track down a list of them looking just now, sorry. Just know that at certain torments some new legendary items can drop. Like Karlies point dagger for the Demon Hunter, can't remember where I read it, likely in a build description or forum. Pretty sure a few others like the Band of Might and Krysbins Sentence. Not that that helps answer anything. Definitely the entire sets are available for every class at any torment. All I can tell you is what I remember from my monk. I think I had most of those in that 7 sided build before torment 13. For sure the 2 handed weapon for the cube weapon slot. I think the lions claw as well. The belt. When you click on them on the build page and they take you to the other site, the ones that say they are available at lvl 60 (character level) or lower are certainly available. 

The build is not up my ally either. Loved 7 sided strike early on in my d 3 life. But got pulled in a different direction. Didn't seem to grasp the exploding palm part of it and had an easier and more powerful tempest rush or Wave of light option, never went back to it. Was thinking of a seven sided build with the set rings instead of uliana's though. But yeah sorry, hopefully someone here could help with that build, and the question of where to find which items drop only at later torments. 

Edited March 6, 2019 by Knutsanity

[Guest]

A few years ago every item could drop at Torment, no matter the tier. (If I am not totally mistaken.)

AFAIK that hasn't changed. Admittedly I haven't paid that much attention in the last years, but I am very sure that drop-quality doesn't increase with Tormentlevel. Only drop quantity. 

Only one small thing: Primal Items can only drop, after you have completed one Greater Rift 70 solo-run in time. After that primal can drop on any Torment Level.

This discussion from 2017 confirms my point:

https://us.battle.net/forums/en/d3/topic/20759232795

I am 99% sure they didn't change that in 2018.

 

[Knutsanity 15]

10 hours ago, WedgeAntilles said:

A few years ago every item could drop at Torment, no matter the tier. (If I am not totally mistaken.)

AFAIK that hasn't changed. Admittedly I haven't paid that much attention in the last years, but I am very sure that drop-quality doesn't increase with Tormentlevel. Only drop quantity. 

Only one small thing: Primal Items can only drop, after you have completed one Greater Rift 70 solo-run in time. After that primal can drop on any Torment Level.

This discussion from 2017 confirms my point:

https://us.battle.net/forums/en/d3/topic/20759232795

I am 99% sure they didn't change that in 2018.

 

Thanks. Not sure where I got the information. Was looking for stuff on that and could only find similar to what you are saying. Think me and my buddy just read something that was either wrong, or we misread it, and have been assuming that this whole time. Some are rarer than others, have a smaller drop rate. Some are mostly in certain maps or game modes maybe. And just the overall higher quantity of leg drops, makes the rarest ones more of a possibility the higher difficulty you go. But that's it, no restrictions after torment 1. My apologies to you both, and thank you. 
This is also probably partially because the torment lvl selection states the amount of magic item find, gold find and that new legendaries become available or something like that, in the T lvl description for some of the difficulty lvls. Wonder what that is for. Also maybe just advice we read when it comes too the rarest ones. As opposed to hard prerequisites. So I mean totally wrong information sorry, but even if I took it wrong, it ended up good advice for me nonetheless. If you get 5 times the amount of legendaries, you get 5x the amount of odds that you get what you need.
So certainly still max your level at ever opportunity after progressing in play style, gear and stats. 

[CrimsonKnight 1]

Thanks for the correction, Wedge, and all good for making the mistake Knutsanity