Why no set items?

Why are there no set items in the game?

As stated by devs on few occasions, they wouldn't fit the game.

It's understandable, really, gear and gem setups in this game are very delicate, trying to match all that along with matching pieces of the set would be a tough cookie indeed. In games that have sets itemization is much simpler, weapons are more interchangeable because of restrictions enforced by class instead of skills, and you can also wear any armor without significant drawbacks (or any at all).

The clearest answer the Devs gave was that sets prevent you from finding upgrades for gear because if you find a better piece you lose your set bonus.

this was certainly true early in the game. It feels less true today, at least to me, because so much of what we do seems to involve specific uniques and farming/buying specific pieces with set stats, so the process of just 'finding an upgrade' to me seems a remote and archaic one, at least given where the game has evolved to.

I feel like they are going to have to introduce set items at some point in the games lifetime to keep things fresh. So what if you don't equip a good rare instead of completing a set? This happens with uniques too that you don't want to lose unique bonus so you don't equip a better rare. It's the exact same thing. It's not like all set item affixes are dependent on the set being complete. Any ARPG I've seen set items in has had just one or two additional set bonus in addition to the actual item affixes..

I think even better than sets would be "synergies." Create some uncommon affixs that grant bonuses based on the number of items with that affix.

E.g.

Synergy - Lightning Damage
- grants 5% more lightning damage for each item past the first with this synergy

Synergy - Additional Energy Shield
- Grants + 10% Energy Shield bonus for each item past the first with this synergy


Then you're not locked into predefined sets, but you can still get some of the advantages that sets offer. Plus you get the option to reroll items you like and try and get the synergies you want.

Instead of having green-colored set items, they would prefer to have items that share lore and complement each other (have natural synergy). They could resort to heavy-handed synergy bonuses, but that seems very unnecessary.

Ex. Voll's Armor and Voll's Devotion. Generate power charges, then turn them into endurance.

Overall, GGG would like to see more item diversity, not less. Sets tend to turn into "if you have this build, wear this set", which means that you have as many items in use as there are viable builds in use.

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Nemmerle wrote:

this was certainly true early in the game. It feels less true today, at least to me, because so much of what we do seems to involve specific uniques and farming/buying specific pieces with set stats, so the process of just 'finding an upgrade' to me seems a remote and archaic one, at least given where the game has evolved to.

This is true, and also just kinda sad. GGG got way too carried away with "Spike uniques", and now there's quickly becoming one for every role.

I feel a lot of that is also due to general misunderstanding about what this game was supposed to be about from the diamond/eternal supporters. People came here from other places where mega-powerful, mega-rare unique items were the full expectation, so they wanted items that matched that style of design.

It's night and day comparing player-created uniques like Ghudda's Shackles of the Wretched to Aux's Auxium.

... Of course, the supporter isn't fully to blame here. It was GGG that let them through, and they've done a number on itemization all by themselves (they created Kaom's, Shav's, CoE, Voltaxic, and so many others).

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Shmez wrote:

So what if you don't equip a good rare instead of completing a set? This happens with uniques too that you don't want to lose unique bonus so you don't equip a better rare. It's the exact same thing.

Why spend development time then?

Because this is not Diablo.
-gasp-

Another point from GGG was that sets would mean that everyone will be running in the same gear because of BiS status. Sadly PoE uniques are now, in itself, the same.

Kinda paradox.

There are set items - >

Set is called Shavs, CoE, Acuities, Auxium :D