Weapon Upgrades

[TerrorBite]

Get multiple of the same items (eg 3x per upgrade), combine to upgrade into tempered, then masterwork or however it goes.
Each upgrade has the minor boost and may have slight cosmetic differences if people are willing to go to the effort.

* It should be unnecessary for the lower tier items, primarily to look different (worthwhile for some).
* Depending on the item boosts and number of items required for the upgrade, higher tier items could be used for cosmetics only, or to increase the number of viable items, decreasing magnitude of the item upgrade gaps, so you'll end up upgrading more frequently.
* Otherwise it could only be useful for the top tier items, making them much more expensive for that little boost.

This would also be consuming lots of the items/resources, so item nerfs shouldn't have to be used as often in the long run.

Spoiler