Champion 8/8 is the same ilvl as Hero 4/6 since the introduction of new system of upgrades in DF Season 2. No changes there.
Was it possible to achieve portals with ilvl equivalent to Champion 8/8 or Hero 4/6? Yes, it’s was already enough to complete +20s or +10s in later seasons for portals.
Hero gear serves only as mid-season gear until you fill the slots with gear of Legend quality. Or if you’re unlucky and don’t get some BiS slots from vault - you just upgrade these slots to Hero 6/6.
The gear progress is also the same: you’re getting one item of Legend quality if you’re doing only M+ and able to fill vault slots with completed keys until weekly crest cap is removed in mid-season. By this time you’re usually have the required number of crests to upgrade all slots to the cap (at least, it was when Legend had 4 level of upgrades).
Only +9 I tried so far was yesterday in Grim Batol. We just stopped halfway through the key because we saw it was going to he a solid 5-10 min depleter. Got into a vicious cycle of someone dying during a pull, so they had to be ressed after, resulting in me losing all my bone shield charges and RP. Running into some of the packs there without any pre-built resources was brutal as BDK at least. I haven’t done any key on my bear this week, but I assume it will be a bit smoother.
Edit: Did a few +8 on time and a +9 mists as well on my Guardian. Not saying BDK is bad atm, as it’s represented in in the top runs, but playing Guardian legit felt like every dungeon was nerfed by 20%. Was the same for the healer in our group. His main is druid, but he had the same experience when swapping to resto shaman.
Champion 8/8 is the same ilvl as Hero 4/6 since the introduction of new system of upgrades in DF Season 2. No changes there.
And here you missed something VERY IMPORTANT.
Aspect crest came from +6 keys in DF.
Hero track gear could be upgraded BEFORE going into 19-20 key level range.
Hero gear serves only as mid-season gear until you fill the slots with gear of Legend quality. Or if you’re unlucky and don’t get some BiS slots from vault - you just upgrade these slots to Hero 6/6.
Mid-season gear that can’t be upgraded further then early(?) season gear → champion gear. While it could be done in DF.
The gear progress is also the same: you’re getting one item of Legend quality if you’re doing only M+ and able to fill vault slots with completed keys until weekly crest cap is removed in mid-season. By this time you’re usually have the required number of crests to upgrade all slots to the cap (at least, it was when Legend had 4 level of upgrades).
It’s not the same…
You need a +10 , first you need to GET THAT 10. In DF you needed a +18 ( or = +8 now)
It doesn’t matter if there’s crest cap or not. It has nothing to do with ANY point that’s being made.
But as it matter so much to you. DF gave players the chance to upgrade hero track with crest starting to drop in a +6. Crest cap during DF hold players back from going “to fast” but still let them progress. Which is totaly fine. Now you get bottlenecked and can’t progress because you can’t get them before getting into a +9.
Players are now"slowed" down differently, which is in a obnoxious way.
So… nothing that you pointed out is the same as DF. It’s a whole new system and the system failed.
Well they just adjusted them more towards what this post is conveying is the case.
Also just because it is “possible” to do +10 with 619 doesn’t mean that it needs to be held to that at the cost of potential progression for the rest of the player base.
Hope they move it down one more step so it drops with the hero track gear as it needs the gilded crests for further progression.
I am not the rest of the player base.
Neither are you there exist more people.
Also this is basic progression game design 101. the only function the hero track gear fills on the 7s currently is:
Try hards get to skip ahead to the hero track part in early weeks to save crests. that is good.
Save crests for alts or main when you get on a slot you have yet to upgrade via crests yet.
the 5/6 and 6/6 doesn’t get used there should be cases where the lower end players get to level up their gear and help them get numbers to push up their keys. There are a bigger part of the player base where this makes a positive difference than for the one it doesn’t.
M+ has no ceiling if it gets easier climb till it stops you again. if it be 12s or 18s
It’d be true if Hero gear require only gilded crests, but they don’t. Only last parts of their progression require gilded crest, key difficulty follows the same system: starting parts drops hero gear + runed crests, later parts - hero gear + gilded.
The same system works for lower gear below (champion gear and carved/runed crests).
