Brighter Shores: Can you use Episode 1 gear in Episode 2?
In Brighter Shores, every episode has its own combat Profession, so it's a soft reset of your combat level. Additionally, once you get to Hopeforest, you'll see that all of your gear gets slapped with an "Episode 1" tag. So, if you're wondering whether you can still use that gear for combat in Hopeforest, the answer is yes. Episode 1 gear is still useful, but its stats are weakened compared to their original value as long as you are anywhere outside of Hopeport.
Fortunately, the game also has a quality-of-life feature you can use to make juggling gear easier between Episodes. In this guide, we'll talk about what we know about cross-episode gear usability, and what you're intended to do with old gear.
What happens to Episode 1 gear when you get to Episode 2 in Brighter Shores?
Once you set foot in the Hopeforest area in Brighter Shores, all gear from the last area is considered weakened. The lore explanation has to do with how all gear is magically attuned to each area and its Obelisk.
The more functional explanation, however, is somewhat vague. The Strength stat on your weapons is blanked out, but the weapons still deal damage and proc their Elemental damage types with the same frequency. However, it's implied that the damage is lowered by an unknown amount.
Similarly, your armors also provide lower resistances across the board compared to their original stats. This means if you have 4-star (gold) rarity gear, this is still more effective than common-rarity starter gear from Episode 2. However, the scaling soft reset on Episode 2 gear means you should eventually switch to Episode 2 gear completely.
Episode 2 gear can be farmed from Hopeforest mobs, including the Level 0 Outlaws you face first.
How to auto-equip gear between Episodes in Brighter Shores
You should still hang on to your gear from Episode 1, as they are needed for leveling the Guard Profession further in Hopeport. Thankfully, you can do this without having to lug around two sets of gear at the same time.
Keep farming the Level 0 Outlaws in Foreset Clearing and Forest Path till you have some basic starter gear from Episode 2. Whenever you get the new gear to drop, open your Quartermaster Rift from the Spells menu and deposit the Episode 1 weapon or armor that occupied that slot.
Eventually, you'll have a full set of Episode 2 gear. At this point, you can open the Quartermaster Rift, and select the Auto-Equip button at the top to switch between Hopeport and Hopeforst Equipment easily.
Check out our other guides on the game:
- Should you buy Brighter Shores Premium Pass?
- All classes in Brighter Shores, explained
- Complete Brighter Shores Fisherman Profession guide: How to fish, leveling route, and more
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