Two New Currency Proposals - Reforge Hammer & Ascendancy Orb

It can sometimes prove difficult to find an item better than what you've discovered, and sometimes you find something midlevel that just plain has great rolls but won't carry well into late game. As well, sometimes you find a unique drop only to discover it'd be useful in Cruel or Normal rather than late or end game. I propose two new currencies that should help with the leveling process and help players complete late game or begin end game. I believe these would only help to improve players' enjoyment and make gear grinding a touch less tedious at times.

Reforge Hammer - Reforge a weapon or armor into another of the same type and tier.

Let's say you've got an Awl claw weapon. It has really nice stats, but you're out growing it. Ideally, you'd like a Fright Claw or Sparkling Claw instead for better base stats and innate. You use a Reforge Hammer and randomly reforge the Awl into any one of the normal difficulty claws. You might get a Fright, you might get a Cat's Paw, or a Blinder, and so on. You'd reforge and hope for the preferred base type and keep going if you don't get what you wanted. I'd picture these slightly more common than Chaos Orbs. You cannot use a Reforge Hammer on a Unique. You can only reforge items that contain equivalents in their tier. The Awl is let's say "Tier 1" which would constitute Normal difficulty gear, but a Nailed Fist has no Cruel or Merc equivalents and would be a "Tier 0" item and such gear can't be reforged. Rapiers and Swords as well as Maces and Scepters would be considered, of course, different base types. Maraketh items would either not be able to be reforged or would be a rare reforge. Base level and stat requirements would change appropriately.

Ascendancy Orb - Promote a weapon or armor to the next tier.

You've got your Awl weapon. The mods are quite good despite the ilvl and you've been unable to find a decent replacement now that you're in Cruel. You use an Ascendancy Orb and you now have a Gouger. I'd see these comparably rare to Divine or Exalted. Ascendancy Orbs DO work on uniques. Only gear with a tiered upgrade can be ascended, so using the above example again you couldn't ascend a Nailed Fist as it has no tiered upgrade but the Awl does. Base level and stat requirements would change appropriately.



I can foresee no real problem with this regarding high powered rares or early/mid game uniques compared to what is used for late end game gear. I only see this adding to build diversity potential by ascending normal/cruel uniques and by helping you to maximize gear potential with a reforge or ascendancy on a good rare. This would primarily help players (especially SSF) with poor loot luck simply upgrade an existing piece of good gear. However, there could certainly be a market for Ascended uniques, as many have very interesting mechanics, stats, or other attributes that can't keep up in late or end game content like a high ilvl well rolled rare which would also be a great addition.

No, finding has never been easier already, no need to make it even easier, what you are proposing would make it significantly easier to gear up, very significantly.

The Acendant's orb sounds nice in theory, but there is one fundamental issue with it. Who exactly benefits from this? The top players who reliably take care of Uber Lab and so on who do have lots of currency anyway. If the Ascendant's orb is not a reference to the lab, it sounds nice, but the drop rate would have to be low.

the problem becomes dried lake farming for end game items basically. most items in dried lake really only have 1 or 2 more item tiers to go, so you could just run dried lake / act 10 to say and make huge bank.

no need to deal with silly maps at all.

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Slicer9875 wrote:

The Acendant's orb sounds nice in theory, but there is one fundamental issue with it. Who exactly benefits from this? The top players who reliably take care of Uber Lab and so on who do have lots of currency anyway. If the Ascendant's orb is not a reference to the lab, it sounds nice, but the drop rate would have to be low.

Nothing to do with the Labyrinth. And certainly Shaper geared characters aren't going to get much out of these. However, there are many instances in which you might get real good rolls on something yet it's suboptimal, great rolls on a mid-level helmet for example but its base mitigation is trash. Reforge and Ascend, and you might have yourself an upgrade.

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keeperofstars wrote:

the problem becomes dried lake farming for end game items basically. most items in dried lake really only have 1 or 2 more item tiers to go, so you could just run dried lake / act 10 to say and make huge bank.

no need to deal with silly maps at all.

End game would be atlas. Keep in mind you're not getting an improvement to ilvl on this stuff. It's just a way to help min-max or assist with the occasional upgrade to tide you over until a more proper drop. I've had numerous instances of one piece or gear or another where I can't seem to find the right upgrade and it begins to severely hamper my progression. If I could just upgrade the tier of the gear, or make it an improved version of the current tier, I'd be much better off. Gear good enough, excepting maybe a few uniques (which if I am not mistaken they want to do something about so more are useful more of the game), to start carrying you through early maps is NOT going to get you much farther. But, one thing that seems somewhat common is finding a lower tier with a good ilvl that pops great mods, but its base is too weak. Reforge and Ascend it, you've actually got something. This is another thing that frustrates me when I get something with good rolls but it's a suboptimal piece so now it's not an upgrade.

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CPTBRUMBL3Z wrote:

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Slicer9875 wrote:

The Acendant's orb sounds nice in theory, but there is one fundamental issue with it. Who exactly benefits from this? The top players who reliably take care of Uber Lab and so on who do have lots of currency anyway. If the Ascendant's orb is not a reference to the lab, it sounds nice, but the drop rate would have to be low.

Nothing to do with the Labyrinth. And certainly Shaper geared characters aren't going to get much out of these. However, there are many instances in which you might get real good rolls on something yet it's suboptimal, great rolls on a mid-level helmet for example but its base mitigation is trash.

It's intended, and that's the whole point, the whole droprates are balanced around this, virtually remove it and GGG will need to nerf droprates to compensate so that the market would not get flooded too quickly.