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<blockquote data-quote="FireLance" data-source="post: 4048253" data-attributes="member: 3424">Here's where I start having problems. Often, it's not a case of useful or not. It's normally a case of more (or less) useful than another similarly-priced item, or useful at 4th level, but not so useful at 8th level, or extremely useful, but only in a very rarely encountered situation.While technically correct, this does not present the entire picture. The more critical question is how much of a PC's effectiveness relies on his magic items. If the game is designed so that magic items can increase a PC's effectiveness by at most 20% (due to body slot or activation requirements that impose limitations on how many magic items can function together, metagame guidelines such as wealth levels or magic item levels that limit how many magic items of what power a character is expected to possess, etc.), then a character with optimal magic items still will not be overwhemingly better off than one with no magic items at all. This to me is what is meant by a reduction (note: not elimination) of magic item dependency.Again, the key issue is the difference in power you get by trading one item for another. If the difference is a 1% increase in effectiveness, well, the dedicated min-maxers might still be determined to make the switch, but others might be willing to keep the original item because it suits their character concept or play style better, or because it has better flavor.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="FireLance, post: 4048253, member: 3424"] Here's where I start having problems. Often, it's not a case of useful or not. It's normally a case of more (or less) useful than another similarly-priced item, or useful at 4th level, but not so useful at 8th level, or extremely useful, but only in a very rarely encountered situation. While technically correct, this does not present the entire picture. The more critical question is how much of a PC's effectiveness relies on his magic items. If the game is designed so that magic items can increase a PC's effectiveness by at most 20% (due to body slot or activation requirements that impose limitations on how many magic items can function together, metagame guidelines such as wealth levels or magic item levels that limit how many magic items of what power a character is expected to possess, etc.), then a character with optimal magic items still will not be overwhemingly better off than one with no magic items at all. This to me is what is meant by a [U]reduction[/U] (note: not [U]elimination[/U]) of magic item dependency. Again, the key issue is the difference in power you get by trading one item for another. If the difference is a 1% increase in effectiveness, well, the dedicated min-maxers might still be determined to make the switch, but others might be willing to keep the original item because it suits their character concept or play style better, or because it has better flavor. [/QUOTE]

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