Question About Armor & Weapon Quality & Ratings...

A moongate? Oh cool, i didnt realise there was any others besides the one that originally brought us here. But where are the others? I remember seeing one now that you mention it but i didnt realise it was functional & have no idea where it might have been....unless it was in Vertas. I like the elves there, their honest & helping &.....yah helping

 

There’s a really handy site here to do Lunar Rift travel, and all towns that have them:

http://xi6.com/i/sotaclock.html

 

Oh awesome thx that'll help me time it right. I must admit im getting spoiled by you'all, lolz. After i posted about the rift i was getting ready to make lunch & all of a sudden i hear this in my head - "What the @#$* do you do when you want an answer from the internet?" Then just as suddenly i said..."oh **** thats right...i Google it....then again i hear this - "Well wtf are you wasting time asking someone else to do your leg work for? Go dummy go..." LMAO im getting to used to all the wonderful help, lolz, sorry ill be more independent now & yes i do really hear those voices...sometimes a bit to clearly, hahah....what?....no im telling them why i posted this...no they...."

 

First of all, the "Founders" and "Royal Founders" (and "Benefactor") stuff was exclusive item variations for early pledge backers. The reason you see "Eternal Pattern" on them is because they are only for the looks, and like most cash shop items, have no good stats. That is the basic principle of how the cash shop avoids pay-to-win on gear, by only being pay-to-pimp.

The pattern system lets you put the look of an item onto another item of the same type. An "Eternal" pattern means that you can always get it back when you salvage the item or apply a different pattern. There are also non-eternal pattern "packs" you can get from the cash shop, and single non-eternal patterns from the COTO vendors, but most patterns are a random drop from salvaging loot gear. Sometimes (but not often) the pattern may apply a special effect from the original, such as the Aetheric headphones being able to play a radio stream. (That one was actually added later.)

As for the + system, basically each plus is something special done to the item. If the initial crafting is exceptional, that's an automatic +1. If you use ingredients like cotton or iron to craft the item, those are +1 each. Then every enchant or masterwork applied is a +1. If there's a failure to enchant or masterwork, I think that adds a -1. NPC store items generally do not have a + because they aren't made with special ingredients like a player-crafted item. So an NPC would sell you a "Longsword", but just the process of crafting requires a hilt and blade, and it is impossible to make them without an ingredient, so a player-crafted long sword is always +2 or +3. Some mob-dropped gear is generated with ingredient parts. To see the entire detailed list, hold down the CTRL key when looking at the popup window for an item.

Until a few months ago, it only applied to enchants and masterworks, and was both confusing and sensible when they made the change.

 

Either that or actually apply the + as a bonus. I crafted a +16 short sword and expected something from the effort. Even if it yields a slight performance boost, it makes a great incentive for crafting.