Level 20 Commando Gear Comparison
My Commando has reached level 20, I have the gear I want, time for numbers! Thanks to WhoIsThis for pointing me in that direction and thanks to MrsBerry for helping me farm lots of the gear!
Armor
First I compared three different sets. They are not really sets, but combinations of items with similar names :). There is no set bonus in SL yet.
I used the same weapon with all sets to focus on the other gear.
Set 1:
Veteran’s Ironite Helmet
Veteran’s Ironite Chest
Veteran’s Ironite Shoulders
Veteran’s Ironite Boots
Veteran’s Ironite Armguards
Veteran’s Beta and Beyond Sniper Rifle
Mega-Muscle Stat Amplifier
This is the set for a commando with an own credit card. All items are bought for platinum. And also, in my opinion, it's the best looking set. :D
Set 2:
Modified Mark IV DuraSteel Helmet
Mark IV DuraSteel Plate
Iridium Cover
Modified Mark IV DuraSteel Boots
Modified Mark IV DuraSteel Arms
Veteran’s Beta and Beyond Sniper Rifle
Mega-Muscle Stat Amplifier
This is the trash drop set. DuraSteel items are very common. As far as I know there is no DuraSteel back armor, so I used the Iridium Cover which is a quest reward.
Set 3:
Iridium Helmet
Iridium Plate
Iridium Cover
Iridium Stompers
Veteran’s Ironite Armguards
Veteran’s Beta and Beyond Sniper Rifle
Mega-Muscle Stat Amplifier
This seems to be the best set that drops at the moment. But I never have seen Iridium arm armor yet - so I used the ones from set 1.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6007/...6c352235c3.jpg
So I'd say, there is no need to spend a lot of platinum for a full Veteran's set. Only the significantly higher health and mana are real advantages. And the looks, of course :). So if you don't want to spend much platinum and are willing to use stimpack earlier, start with DuraSteel gear and replace items with Iridium drops and a few Veteran's for health and mana.
The differences in skill damage are pretty small, I wouldn't make a set decision based on that.
Weapon
In the next step I wanted to compare some weapons. I used all four weapons with set 3 to make them better comparable.
The Weapons:
Veteran's Beta and Beyond Sniper Rifle, 0.8 speed, from platinum store
Rumble, 0.9 speed, boss drop
Veteran's Pirate Cannon, 0.7 speed, from platinum store
The Foreman, 0.7 speed, boss drop
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6141/...fc4bdc98cb.jpg
If you have 5 platinum to spend, buy the Beta and Beyond Rifle. It looks good and seems to have the best stats for now. Pirate's cannon though is seriously overpriced. I was a bit disappointed by the Rumble, because most of the commandos I talked with assumed that the best weapon.
So my advise: if you don't care about a perfect set look and are willing to spend some platinum, combine Iridium gear with two Veteran's armor items and a Beta and Beyond Rifle. This should be a nicely balanced set. :)