I’ve quickly learned that loot in this game doesn’t follow the standard (lazy) “item tier is the only factor” model. Instead of ignoring rares and epics, there are actually quite a few which are BiS for many builds.
That being said, I suppose only time will help me learn which epics are valuable or not, but is there any kind of relatively easy reference people use to identify which rares are worth keeping and which MI/affix combos are good and worth keeping?
Finally–and I can’t imagine this isn’t somewhere else, but I can’t find it–are affixes and MI base item level always calculated at the highest possible range available to the level of the item dropping? In other words, if I’m farming in a 75+ area for Trogs for a Bonescythe, is it possible whatsoever to obtain the level 52 or 35 version of the item and/or with a super low tier affix, or will I always get the 70 item with max affix tier (up to 75)?
For identification…My general trick is Names. If you have a Monster name, a Class name, or a “Hero” name, it’s worth taking a look at. For reference, that means things like Alkamos, Soldier, or Zolhan. Any name you see referenced in a skill, that’s a “Hero” name to me.
Over time, you’ll also notice some really good affixes like Stonehide or something like that. Few Monster Infrequents are so good that there isn’t a Epic/Legendary that’s better, so you’ll really not have to learn ALL the Infrequents…Just learn the ones that don’t have a name on it, that are really good.
This is just how I handle it though, and I’m not an authority. My only sick infrequent is a great pair of Solael Sect Legguards.
I save any green 50+ that has either 2 rare affixes or is an MI with at least 1 rare and 1 magic affix. I have a spreadsheet that is single page printable with the current MI and rare affix list. The list is pulled from Gracefuldusk and includes affixes I have never seen drop on any item ever (Stonefooting? Reptilian Resilience? Do these actually exist?)
AFAIK, Graceful Dusk includes every affix and item coded into the publicly available game…Even if those are not drop enabled. So it’s entirely possible that some affixes are disabled. There are also a few affixes that are only low-level, and if they are sufficiently rare, you might never see them.