Gearing ideas

[Raeshka]

How the system works

No warforging/titanforging
Gearing is focused on sets and set bonuses, upgrading those sets, and customizing those sets with gems and ‘runes’
There’s a unique set for each type of available content-
PvP
Professions
Normal/Heroic Dungeons
Mythic+
Raids
Mythic Raids
World Quests and Rep
Warfront and Expedition style content
Each set grants bonuses unique to that set at 2/4/6/8 pieces to reward collection and use of a particular set
Sets have a base item level dependant upon their difficulty of acquisition- for example: High mythic+, Mythics raids, Arenas? > Heroic raids, Low mythic+, PvP > Normal raids, Warfront-type content > World Quest rep, Normal dungeons, Professions gear, LFR
Items within the sets can be upgraded a given amount of times- 0/5 to 5/5 for example. Each upgrade increases item level by 5,
Players control which pieces get upgraded- instead of ‘azerite’ going into a necklace without any input from the player, he/she may decide to focus down their helm or evenly distribute their upgrades across all items in their set (or even pieces from another set)
Azerite-type resource is gained by doing all types of content. More difficult content rewards more of that resource.
Set bonuses change depending on the current spec- if an Elemental Shaman switches to Resto, bonuses change to reflect that
Gear is further customized by gems and ‘runes.’ For the sake of argument, let’s say helms, shoulders, and chests have gems slots, while gloves, bracers, belts, legs, and boots have rune slots.
Runes are similar to gems, except they give benefits like +% movement speed, damage absorption shields, leech, out of combat healing, fall damage reduction, etc.
World Quests would not drop set pieces. The WQ set pieces would be tied to rep to make their acquisition more meaningful and rewarding. WQ would instead drop quest gear with no set bonuses that would scale in item level (as it does in live currently) up to a max item level. This gear could help boost item levels enough to clear requirements for heroic dungeons and such.
World quests could reward runes, lesser gems, and even item upgrade tokens. Even if you’re a raider or PvP player, it might be worth it to do a WQ for a rune or item upgrade token.
Runes could be crafted by inscription. They could also be earned by doing any type of content.
New raids would of course introduce new sets starting at a higher base item level. Same for dungeons, new WQ reps, PvP seasons, etc.- when a new raid tier comes out, all existing gear gets an increase in maximum upgrade level, so a player can choose to keep working on the set they have if they like the set bonuses better than the new gear’s bonuses, There’s no need to feel like you’ve wasted time or lost progress when new gear comes out. You don’t have to junk the gear you have because it won’t be made obsolete by new gear.
Let’s say I’m a heroic raider. I clear the first tier of content and get my full set of heroic gear. Over time, I max out my upgrades on all of my set pieces, from 0/5 to 5/5. Next raid tier comes out, and I start clearing that content. The base 0/5 item level for the new raid gear is 500, meaning I can upgrade it five times to 525. My current gear from the last raid it maxed out 5/5, and it’s item level is also 500. The upgrade cap on that gear gets raised to 10, so now I’m 5/10 with that older gear. I can choose to focus on the new gear and upgrade it to 525, or I can continue on my current gear at get it to 525. This makes new gear additive rather than exclusive. I can choose between set bonuses, and I lose nothing if I choose one set over the other.

How it would look in practice

Let’s say I’m a casual player who does normal/heroic dungeons, world quests, leatherworking, and warfront-style content. That gives me access to 4 gear sets. I can choose the set I like based on it’s bonuses, and if I never find a set I like better, I can work on that set exclusively throughout the life of the expansion. My item level will never be as high as a heroic or mythic raider or mythic+ player, but it will keep pace so that I’m gaining power relative to the content I like to do. Obviously, the more types of content I participate in, the more options I have available for sets.
Gear could become more memorable in this system. I can’t name a single piece of gear I am using currently, but I remember my artifact weapon, I remember Legiondaries like Prydaz etc., and I remember my Beastmaster Armor from running dungeons in Vanilla.
This system would give players clear targets and goals, provide another layer of power progression, and real customization options in my opinion.

I know this post is VERY TL;DR, but I wanted to get these ideas out of my head. If you made it this far, thanks for reading

[rohoz]

yea, got to the 2nd line and i'm here to tell you that it's not gonna work

"I CANT DO DAMAGE UNTIL I HAVE MY 4 SET" and "MAKE MY CLASS TIER GOOD SO I CAN BE COMPETITIVE" and "I HAVE TO RAID TO DO 5MANS?????"

There will always be a best.

[Gaidax]

Talk about a total mess. Profession sets? Come on man.