Crafted and found items with sockets problem

#1 - Sept. 25, 2011, 8:48 p.m.

With the inclusion of the ability for the blacksmith to add sockets to any item, it seems as if any item that you craft or find with a socket already in it, is kinda underpowered. This is because that socket is taking up a magical property.

Unless somehow the socket that is created by the blacksmith has its own distinction, as to allow adding a socket to an item, even if it already has one (so one socket would become two); these items will always be less powerful then their counterparts.

The fact that a socket is taking up one of the magical property slots on an item can be seen in a crafting video by VesmarEntertainment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-WshUdul9E&feature=player_profilepage#t=393s

Bashiok

#3 - Sept. 26, 2011, 5:09 p.m.

Sockets are effectively customizable magical property slots, so in many ways sockets are better than just random affixes. You can choose the benefit you get on that item, and as you find better gems you can remove and replace them, allowing you to keep the item relevantly powerful without finding/crafting a complete replacement.

It's also worth noting not every item type can have gem slots, so crafting an item with a guaranteed socket is usually a nothing-but-positive bonus on that recipe. You get to choose the benefit for the socket instead of, in most cases, having it roll a random affix.

Raffoon

#5 - Sept. 26, 2011, 9:44 p.m.

So, if a particular item was found or crafted with a socket already in it, would that have an effect on the ability of the blacksmith to add a socket to that item? For instance:

Sword A
Found with:
2 magical properties

Can have a socket added

Sword B (same level and type of sword)
Found with:
1 magical property
1 socket (replacing the other magical property)

*Can it have an additional socket added?