A detailed description of the mess that is the current upgrade system

[Baraz]

11 hours ago, Boeroer said:

"Character builds, Strategies [...]"

Waiting to even look at unique items until I get higher quality gear sounds like a strategy to make the game easier to me. At least it's a strategy this info will lead to. 

In the PoE and Deadfire forums this would be the subforum where I would look for stuff like this. The report on the "loot uniques" mechanic immediately leads to behavior how to play the game in order to make the character better. Essentially it's the same as discussions about random loot tables, Strand of Favor, Attack Speed, Lash mechanic, PEN vs. AR etc. in PoE and Deadfire. 

In addition to that it also helps that this subforum permits spoilers. Discussing these thing in the General subforum (which is supposed to be spoiler free) is therefore not ideal for users who don't want to be spoilered. 

If it helps I would've no objections to rename the subforum to "Character Builds, Strategies and Mechanics - as well as a lil' bit of the Unreal Engine".

The discussion began as trying to understand the upgrade system in relation to the massive debuff players are hit with if they do not have an item of the proper tier.  I maintain this is about a basic game system that will hit all players alike. 

Yes, though, the secondary topic of trying to get a Unique of a higher tier is meta-gaming (not in a pejorative sense) ; which is your true argument for placing this under character builds. 

The notion of spoilers is not an argument relevant to this thread, unless we discuss which Unique weapons are the best and where to find them (not the case).