Originally posted by DarthTanyon:

unfortunately upgrading armor and weapons in this game is VERY unsatisfying.. most armor and weapons if you max to T4 the next gen is literally just marginally better. In order to make these jumps feel better my friends and I only go to T2 on our gear.. that way when we get to the next set it actually feels rewarding. This game does not really respect your time in regards to material costs to upgrade gear. It's fluff grind disguised as content.

Very true. The quasi lateral move when getting to a new tier is a bit frustrating.

I like to think of it as "well if I die and lose my silver armor I have my fully upgraded iron as a spare to get it back".