The armor rework, itemization rules, armor talismans
Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2026 5:57 am
It is possible that the formulas being used for the armor rework aren't quite perfected. When applying the formula to talismans, it seems that it was decided that the formula resulted in armor values and TTK that were much too low, so armor values on potions were increased to compensate. That temporarily mooted the issue, but the fundamental problem with the formula remains. Toughness talismans currently begin to outperform armor talismans when the attacker's armor pen exceeds 50%, and that's not even factoring in the damage types that armor doesn't even mitigate. As attackers armor pen increase, the relative value of the armor talismans plummet.
Toughness, wounds and initiative talismans are clearly superior defensive options at the moment, and in a vacuum, I would have already switched my talismans. However, I'm concerned (hopeful?) that the devs will keep tinkering with the formula and adjust armor talisman values. Considering the rarity of those talismans, swapping back and forth is prohibitively expensive. This also ties in with the extended delay on the armor sets rework. The playerbase has been left in limbo with gearing new characters because end-game armor sets are too expensive to realistically buy multiple sets. You don't want to buy sov/tri, only to have the armor patch drop a week later and warlord/onslaught (or whatever) is the new bis. Personally, I'm sitting in vanq or PvE gear on characters I've that I've started leveling after the armor patch was announced and are now 80--even though I have more than enough crests to buy end-game sets. I'm sure many others are in the same situation.
I guess my point is to ask if it would it be possible for the devs to shed some light on:
1) When (roughly) is the armor rework expected to come out?
2) Is the itemization formula finalized or will it be further adjusted? Especially regarding armor talismans.
3) Is the plan (roughly) to keep the same sets as BiS for the same classes or is it more of a total rework?
I understand that it's not necessarily a positive to share too many development details before patches are released, but in this case, I think an exception might be warranted.
Toughness, wounds and initiative talismans are clearly superior defensive options at the moment, and in a vacuum, I would have already switched my talismans. However, I'm concerned (hopeful?) that the devs will keep tinkering with the formula and adjust armor talisman values. Considering the rarity of those talismans, swapping back and forth is prohibitively expensive. This also ties in with the extended delay on the armor sets rework. The playerbase has been left in limbo with gearing new characters because end-game armor sets are too expensive to realistically buy multiple sets. You don't want to buy sov/tri, only to have the armor patch drop a week later and warlord/onslaught (or whatever) is the new bis. Personally, I'm sitting in vanq or PvE gear on characters I've that I've started leveling after the armor patch was announced and are now 80--even though I have more than enough crests to buy end-game sets. I'm sure many others are in the same situation.
I guess my point is to ask if it would it be possible for the devs to shed some light on:
1) When (roughly) is the armor rework expected to come out?
2) Is the itemization formula finalized or will it be further adjusted? Especially regarding armor talismans.
3) Is the plan (roughly) to keep the same sets as BiS for the same classes or is it more of a total rework?
I understand that it's not necessarily a positive to share too many development details before patches are released, but in this case, I think an exception might be warranted.