Weapon Upgrades

[TerrorBite]

2 positive sounding comments so ill expand (kinda went overboard, but also keep in mind this may not be the best way to implement this feature, this comment is more of a detailed example).

It doesn't necessarily need to be implemented this way. There would be more control if the native system was not used, but if completely different items were used which look exactly the same (hardly any effort) with chosen stats and i don't think it'd take too long to slightly change the textures of the items slightly, such as an overlay over each new item, but this feature would still work without this.

Im sure that any other minor issue could also be addressed easily if you put your mind to it, such as the balancing;

I'm thinking 2 upgrades per items (3 different item kinds), with each upgrade requiring another item, so tier 1 is the individual item, tier 2 requires a second item, and tier 3 requires a third item
(t1 -> t3 consumes 3 base weapons for 1 mw/lordly... item)
eg. (only talking about head armour for simplicity)
head armour with let's say 70 protection (helmet A) costing 1m
72 protection for 2m
74 protection for 3m

Now the next best weapon available (helmet B) may be worth 3m and provide 73 protection, also increasing in increments of 2 protection or w/e keeps it balanced with the next item, but this is irrelevant.
The more the helmet A is consumed, the less there is of it available, so getting to tier 3 would cost more, and would automatically balance with helmet B's tier 1, which would then balance with Helmet C and so on.

Any item below t4 (class tier) hardly matters, because you don't use it for long, but they may as well have tiny boosts, mainly used for their appearance, eg
t1 helmet with neckguard (46) - 4k
t2 - 48 proctection for 8k
t3 - 50 protection for 12k

t1 great helmet (56) - 9k
t2 - 57 protection for 18k
t3 - 58 protection for 27k
(or just reduced weight [or requires more helmets] if that 58 is OP)
The idea is that as you increase in tier, it's still necessary to upgrade, but you'll get that feeling of getting that t2 and t3 helmet neckguard, that you're progressing more and look different.

Now with top tier items, let's say an item worth 10m that there are ~20 of in the game
Helmet X t1 - 90 protection - 10m
t2 - 92 protection - 20m
t3 - 94 protection - 30m

Then someone finds a new helmet in the game worth 50m or w/e people consider them to be worth;
Helmet Y t1 - 93 protection - 50m
t2 - 95 protection
...
In this case, the item newly introduced is not as good as the combination of 3 of the 2nd best of that item, as it should be imo, because the more people find Helmet Y, the value will rebalance with regards to helmet X, given the tiers.

Edit: XXX just posted, in response, you should also keep in mind that of the item you do have, you will be able to upgrade them to other tiers as well, so your focus will not be on those top legendary items until you are actually rich enough to afford them, which would be a smaller proportion than the community atm. Really, consider the entire scenario opposed to a single aspect, when getting a legandary t2/3 of slightly cheaper items would become more viable than they are now anyway, and when progressing through legendary's you will not be skipped to the next one unless you are lucky with your loot. Also, for people to consume many legendary's at this stage, they must be willing to sacrifice many potential upgrades unless they are maxed, DEPENDING ON IMPLEMENTATION! (if you find a flaw in my ^(doubt it), then just make it so legendary's can't be consumed, or the boost they provide is so minor that only maxed people use it on the top legendary at the time).

tldr: the item progression pathway will be moderated by those items which are 1 level below