I don't like the current setup for weapon tiers. I'd like to suggest the following change.
Apparently, as I understand it, monsters get harder at each depth in a tier. A depth 7 monster is harder than the equivalent monster at depth 5, for example.
Equally, an in-tier equipment is supposed to get tougher -- so, that equipment gets tougher as well. This keeps the earliest levels from being pushovers.
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But this setup doesn't really make sense. The tier-2 equipment that you need for tier 2 doesn't get up to strength until the END of tier 2, and is out performed by high-end tier-1 equipment. I see no reason to think that tier 3 gear -- which doesn't reach full strength until depth 29 or so -- won't be outperformed by tier-2 gear at the start of tier 3.
So, I'd like to know how the setup is supposed to differ from the following::
Within the "target tier", equipment is at full strength the whole time. Monsters get a little harder, but only a little. Equipment that is intended for a weaker tier declines, and equipment that is intended for a harder tier is reduced to the "current tier" strength.
So, in tier 1, all equipment is as good as tier-1 gear -- this prevents high-tier gear from being a cakewalk. In tier 2, tier-2 and -3 gear is good, and tier 1 gear becomes worse than tier-2 gear immediately, instead of being better until near the end.
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Even more, why worry about tier-2 and tier-3 gear making tier-1 a cakewalk? You are still spending the full energy, and getting less crowns and heat. So what problem, exactly, was this whole mess intended to solve in the first place?
Once again, something I have been saying for months.
Tier segregation for equipment is just dimensionless progression.
Sort of a detour on your way to the Core.
This wouldn't bother me so much if weapons and gear were actually well balanced, but they're not.
I can clear Tier 3 stages with a 3-star Pepperbox at level 3 Heat.
And it's almost exactly the same as doing it with a 4-star weapon. Probably faster in most cases.
But every time I brought up these concerns I was told there was some grandmaster plan I didn't have the foresight to see, and am still not seeing.