I have an issue with the non-exotic dungeon armor sets. (For clarity, this is the cheap armor set you can buy with dungeon tokens, not the expensive exotic level 80 set. The exotic sets are fine.)
The “basic” dungeon armor set is the same skin for all dungeons.
The “basic” dungeon armor set is not unique to dungeons. (For example, the light armor items also drop in 50-60 areas as “cabalist” armor pieces.)
This results in a number of problems:
Playing a dungeon in “story mode” awards an equipment piece from the “basic” dungeon armor set, and NO dungeon tokens. Because the same skin is also obtainable outside dungeon play, this reward is relatively lackluster. Especially if you are already well past the intended level for the dungeon, and already possess better equipment suited to your own level.
Conclusion: Playing a “story mode” dungeon is only worthwhile if you want to unlock “exploration mode” for that dungeon, and awards a non-unique piece of equipment that is only useful if you happen to be at the minimum level for the dungeon.
Playing a dungeon in “exploration mode” awards dungeon tokens, with which it is possible to purchase both “basic” and “exotic” dungeon armor pieces. However, there is NO INCENTIVE WHATSOEVER to ever save up for the “basic gear”, because saving up sufficient tokens for a complete set requires a number of dungeon runs that yields so much XP that you will already have outleveled the usefulness of the “basic” armor set. And because the skin is not unique, that is no reason to save up for it, either.
Conclusion: Playing an “exploration mode” dungeon in order to attain the “basic” dungeon armor set for that dungeon is not worthwhile. It is only worthwhile if you want to save up for the expensive “exotic” set.
It seems that this reward system is based on the incorrect assumption,that Rare (yellow) dungeon armor cannot be made obsolete by regular Fine (blue) and Masterwork (green) drops or karma items of a higher level. However, it can, and is.
I believe that the intended purpose of the “basic” dungeon armor set is to make it worthwhile to play (and repeat) dungeons without putting in the extreme effort required for an “exotic” dungeon set. However, as I have shown above, “basic” dungeon armor is NOT serving this purpose.
My proposed solutions are the following:
EITHER introduce a unique armor skin for each “basic” dungeon set;
This gives players an incentive to complete a “basic” set by playing and repeating each dungeon, as they are rewarded with an armor skin that is not obtainable outside of dungeons.
OR introduce a unique “basic” dungeon skin that is the same for all dungeons, but still unique to dungeons.
This gives players an incentive to play (and repeat) multiple dungeons, as they work towards completing a single “basic” armor set that is not obtainable outside of dungeons.
If you would choose to implement this latter option, please also consider to replace the reward for a dungeon’s “story mode” with dungeon tokens, so that players have the option to spend these on a part of their set they do not yet possess, in order to avoid players possessing multiple dungeon equipment pieces (e.g. headgear) with the same skin.
As a final remark, I would like to note that as long as the armor skin is unique, it is not really important if the equipment’s game stats become obsolete through leveling up. After all, that is what transmutation stones are for.
I hope you agree with me that this issue is deserving of further designer attention, even if you do not agree with my proposed solutions.