At 37% map completion, I have managed to acquire quite the hefty set of strong gear, and without making a single step forward in the story it is still possible to get further, though admittedly it will be tedious.

Out of the weapons, Teresa is the one I spent the most time making, as it required 3 separate drops to make. However it is far from reaching it's full potential, as when it comes to Great Swords, it is in fact possible to get a Damascus tier Nodachi, and possibly even Rune Blade on the first playthrough, which is definitely what I'm gunning for for that class.

I could probably get Deneve, which is currently a Tabar, all the way to the Crescent with a bit more work, same goes for Miria, which I can definitely turn into at least a Falchion if not a Shotel.

Isley is however at the limit, as there is only 1 piercing sword and that's the Rapier.

The Hoplite Armor, succeeded only by the Jazeraint and Dread Armors respectively, is one of the best armor tiers in the game, and thanks to VS' rather interesting stat functions, could even be THE best (Though this is mostly in regards to Damascus tier vs Leather tier armors). You get a few pieces of this set in a new game plus chest, the highest you get naturally in the game without crafting is the Fluted set in the very last dungeon.
The Heater Shield as well is endgame tier, though not to the extent of the Hoplite armor.

Rest of the gear is just the leftover scraps from smithing out the Hoplite, and I definitely could have taken it to the extreme, even more so, but this is a very good stopping point. Our first real line on the measuring scale.

свернуть