Elder Scrolls Online Crafting

Crafting in Elder Scrolls Online is convoluted at best.  ESO-Sets may be helpful.
https://eso-sets.com

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Guild Wars 2: Weapon and Armor Stats Explained

http://www.guildwars2junkies.com/2012/08/23/guide-weapon-and-armor-stats-explained/

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Kingdom of Amalur: Armor Sets

A list of various armor sets.
http://www.ign.com/wikis/kingdoms-of-amalur-reckoning/Armor_Sets

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Kingdom of Amalur: Accessories, Armor and Weapons Locations

Lists of locations for the following items:
Accessories (Amulets and Rings)
http://segmentnext.com/2012/02/10/kingdom-of-amalur-reckoning-unique-accessories-locations/

Armor
http://segmentnext.com/2012/02/10/kingdom-of-amalur-reckoning-unique-armor-locations/

Guide to Armor Sets, detailing the bonuses, etc.
http://segmentnext.com/2012/02/10/kingdom-of-amalur-armor-sets-guide/

Weapons
http://segmentnext.com/2012/02/10/kingdom-of-amalur-reckoning-unique-weapons-locations/


Note that some items are not where the lists say.  It may be some loot is random or the lists may just be wrong in places.


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Skyrim: Dragon Armor versus Daedric Armor

Which armor is best?  The stats are better on Daedric armor but dragon armor is made from more easily found items and it is also lighter in weight.
http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Dragon_Armor

Here's an in-depth discussion of this issue.
http://forums.techarena.in/video-games/1439475.htm

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Skyrim: Crafting Daedric Armor

Apparently most Daedric armor must be crafted by high level characters.  Here is a list of the different types you can make along with their raw materials and stats.
http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Daedric_Armor_(Skyrim)

There appear to be two kinds of Daedric armor, regular and Legendary.  This article has a video on the process.
http://justforgamer.blogspot.com/2011/11/skyrim-daedric-armor-how-to-create.html

Here are a list of Daedric weapons.
http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Daedric_Weapons_(Skyrim)

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Rift: What the heck are Synergy Crystals?

Patch 1.3 has introduced a new slot for synergy crystals.  So what the heck are synergy crystals?  They are Rift's fix to the problem of armor sets.  Normally in MMOs there are sets of armor that are visually related in some way which give bonuses to the classes.  In other words, your helmet and leggings and shield and such are all the same color, have the same symbols on them, etc. and when you collect the whole set, it provides stat bonuses for this or that character type.  In Rift there are so many character types possible through mixing souls, developers haven't been able to produce an armor set for each class.  The armor bonuses that work for one type of mage will mean nothing to another type.  Synergy crystals provide a way around this problem.  I'm going to quote from the article in the link below to explain.
http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/06/22/rift’s-1-3-patch-adds-set-items-to-telara/

"In order to avoid this potential problem, Trion found a clever workaround: Rift’s Armor Sets are still defined by your class, but the extra bonuses given for collecting multiple pieces of gear in that Set aren’t on the items themselves. Instead, those meta-bonuses will be applied through a new, compeltely separate item that will show up in the Character pane when 1.3 launches. They’re called a Synergy Crystals, and each one (there will be 32 different ones at patch launch) gives bonuses to different stats–but only once you’ve collected enough pieces of your Armor Set. Alone, the Crystal doesn’t do anything, but with each Set Item that is equipped, it provides more and more stat bonuses.

For example, a Warrior Riftblade will want to get a Crystal that gives bonuses to Crit, Hit, and Damage, while a Warrior Warlord will be searching for one that enhances his Health and Armor. They’ll both be rolling on the same Plate armor pieces to collect the same Armor Set when they drop from the new Hammerknell content, but the two players will be using them to activate and empower their own, distinct Synergy Crystals–getting completely different bonuses out of the Armor Set. There’s a Snyergy Crystal for each Soul in the game, so there should be at least one good option for every single combination of Souls.

UPDATE: To help clarify, we asked Krausnick if we’ll be able to swap out Synergy Crystals and he confirmed: 'Synergy Crystals work like any other item in the game, too, meaning players can switch them out to get different benefits if they wish. That way, when a Warrior changes from his DPS Role to his Tank Role, he can change the bonus his set gives.'

Naturally, more Armor Sets and Synergy Crystals will be added with future updates, expanding on the foundation laid in tomorrow’s patch. In the meantime, having only four sets (and 32 Crystals) should make things much easier to start, while still letting players enhance their highly-customized characters."

So where do you get synergy crystals? The new armor sets come from the new Hammerknell content while at least the Transplanar synergy sets are purchased from vendors.
http://rift.zam.com/wiki/Synergy_Crystals_(Rift)

The bottom message on this forum posting talks about the various sets.
http://rift.zam.com/forum.html?forum=222&mid=13087559308393621&h=50

Since there are 36 souls if you count all the PvP ones, apparently there aren't any synergy crystals for PvP yet.

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More Effective Tanking Mechanics

The Solo MMO Player doesn't currently have a tank but has seen a lot of them in action in the dungeon finder.  They are a pretty pitiful lot who have replaced the standard idiot-standing-in-the-pretty-fire ethos with a let's-fall-off-the-cliff-to-our-death mentality.

In other words, tanks need help.  ThinkTank to the rescue!  First up is a forum posting that explains Effective Health, Effective Hit Points, Avoidance, and Time to Live (in ICC as of Patch 3.3.3).  This covers the math of hit points and defines a great many other terms but it will really help tanks understand these topics.
http://www.tankspot.com/showthread.php?66564-Why-We-Do-What-We-Do-(An-in-depth-explanation-of-EHP-and-ICC-3.3.3-tanking-mechanics)

Once you make it through the above, you'll want to read the followup article which explains the advantage armor has over stamina in many situations.  There's more math and more big words but tanking isn't easy!  Dig in and you'll--probably--never fall off a cliff again.
http://wowthinktank.blogspot.com/2010/07/generalthe-dirty-secret-about-armor.html

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Arena and Patch 3.3.2 News UPDATED

Apparently last season's arena points have been erased early by accident but they are to be restored since the start of Season Eight has been delayed until Patch 3.3.2 hits.  Details at WOW Insider.
http://www.wow.com/2010/01/27/arena-points-being-reimbursed-for-now/

While you wait for your points to reappear, you can look at the armor sets for Season Eight.
http://www.wow.com/2010/01/27/season-8-armor-sets-unveiled/

UPDATE:  Here's a comparison of gear from Seasons Seven and Eight.
http://bigredrhino.wordpress.com/2010/02/04/the-advent-of-the-wrathful-pet/

What changes Patch 3.3.2 brings are listed here in the Official Patch Notes.
 http://www.wow.com/2010/02/02/official-patch-3-3-2-patch-notes/

A detailed list of stats for the new Patch 3.3.2 strength rings for melee DPS is here, in case you have a paladin, death knight or warrior.
http://www.wow.com/2010/01/26/ashen-verdict-strength-based-melee-dps-rings-stats/

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Armor Penetration's Threat Value for Druids

Kalon of ThinkTank talks about armor penetration for feral druids (he plays a bear mostly).
http://wowthinktank.blogspot.com/2010/01/druid-threat-value-of-arpen.html

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Feral Druid (Bears) Armor List for Patch 3.2

Big Bear Butt has posted a list of what he calls Patch 3.2 Bear Gear Starter List (Armor) for New Level 80s on his blog.  The list doesn't contain gear from raids as BBB says he's not asked about that gear.
http://thebigbearbutt.com/2009/11/26/patch-3-2-bear-gear-starter-list-armor/

More from BBB
http://thebigbearbutt.com/2009/12/13/patch-3-3-starter-bear-gear-lists-armor/

More on bear strike and crit defense here.
http://thebigbearbutt.com/2009/09/23/questions-about-defense-and-survival-of-the-fittest/

Bear threat generation
http://thebigbearbutt.com/2009/09/23/questions-on-threat-generation/

Earlier bear threat generation
http://thebigbearbutt.com/2009/05/19/threat-generation-a-brief-discussion/

Tanking the lower levels as a bear (Part One:  Armor)
http://thebigbearbutt.com/2009/08/24/how-to-bear-tank-the-lower-levels-part-1-gear/

Tanking the lower levels as a bear (Part Two:  Miscellaneous Gear)
http://thebigbearbutt.com/2009/12/20/patch-3-3-starter-bear-gear-lists-miscellaneous/

More on bear gear
http://thebigbearbutt.com/2009/08/06/thoughts-while-studying-bear-gear/

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