Good game guide idea!

You need to factor in some additional elements:

(1)  It may be worthwhile choosing non-optimal items (say +/- 5%?) if other useful elements are boosted. For example, marching speed, or food (while working through dealing with that).

(2) It may be worthwhile choosing non-optimal items if they are on the way to something else. One less set of gear to destroy later when better gear is acquired.

The Terrible Mask you choose is an excellent example of both the above - they are inputs to the Amarian Tournament Flag, giving you their 22.6% bonus until you acquire these 33% Construction bonus items, twice even.

Your choice of Breastplate is another excellent example - for a different reason. Optimally, the Amarian Siege Cuirass gives 20% bonus to construction. However, once that is achieved, the Breastplate is the premiere non-troop specific fight armor - providing 9.2% Enhanced Defense and 7.7% Enhanced Health. No other armor, Arsenal, assailant or otherwise, gives such Enhanced percentages. Only troop specific items should be able to beat this - and only if your opponent happened to use that particular troop type. (All other things being equal.)

On these bases, the Riveted Shield (Paladin) at 15.6% is arguable over your Wolf Shield (20% above), being an input to the Amarian Reinforced Shield (31%). Or Sharpened Shield (standard) 11.4%, for the same reason as Breastplate above - 15.2% Marching, 5.9% Enhanced Health.

Long Sword (Paladin) at 16% is candidate over Dane Axe 20.7%.

The Mirror Armor (standard), at 17.7% over Breastplate's 18.2%, is arguable for the same reason. It is an input to the Amarian Siege Cuirass at 20%. Especially if you don't know that you will use the Breastplate as above as part of your fight gear. And additionally brings 17.7% studying for its duration, as well.

I am mindful of your excellent base premise of Standard gear. To that end, though, I think that really points to a prioritization of gear acquisition order - by the time the standard gear candidates are acquired, perhaps one will by then be able to hit assailants sufficiently to get assailant gear instead. Particularly if it is on the way to Arsenal gear. Less duplication of effort on the way to that, and less to destroy along the way.

Circumstances change. One may think Arsenal gear will be forever beyond their reach. Maybe not, and making non-optimal intermediate choices may serve one well in the unknowable long run. Just like one may be able to pursue other gear paths, while growing into being able to hit Paladins for weapon or shield.

It will also be worthwhile to point out Studies (Building II), and:

- game bonuses, +10%

- order store boosts, +10%, +30% (packs?), or +35% (assailant drops?)

- KvK/r boosts, +10%

- OvO Tower of Triumph Townscape boosts, +10%

- Fortifier Reputation, +10%

I am happy to read such a wonderful and detailed comment. Thank you!

And I totally agree with your idea that sometimes things need to be chosen based on future improvements.

But this set was assembled exclusively with the bonus "Construction speed", and the rest of the bonuses were ignored. So to speak, for the purity of the experiment.

Heard, and acknowledged in message. My point is, to leave things that way is to do a disservice to the reader, especially to a new player - things are not so simple as the articles implies possible. To follow it as it stands leads them to degrade their playing experience.

On the other hand, if you changed the article to say such things as "Although the best available construction % is {this}, a reasonable alternative is {that} which offers additional advantages in the mean time.", or, "You may want to build {this} before {that} as you may gain the ability to hit assailants sufficiently well by then to be able to pursue {the other thing}."

Building is a -really- important topic. All players have no choice but to wrestle with it, and has such complex interactions that anything such as your article that helps keep things straight becomes central. For example, central in the same way Test's Assailant guide is.

Four easy examples of the complexity and interaction:

- Building II study (which also reduces building cost) requires high Academy levels. (Therefore, less expensive building requires studies. So do you pursue study gear simultaneously with build gear - and in what order? )

- Assailant VI study is required to get legendary assailant material in a reasonable time frame. (Savage, Paladin, Nord, Renegade, Fugitive, let alone associated Alpha's, are all components to build reducing gear.) So, for example, do you pursue Building II study or Ass. VI study first?

- Barbarian Chief (Alpha) drops Variscite - Legendary = 10% Building Boost. Times 6 slots. When to pursue?

Thank you, you gave me food for thought. Maybe I'll update the set.