User blog comment:Lykrast/CCC5 - Morma the craftsman/@comment-5686533-20140905143109/@comment-1330314-20140910063913

But that's what's causing you all of your problems: using items that "doesn't upgrade more" means that you're forced to include a legendary item in your recipe, and so are forced to create items that are both far too costly and slot-efficient to be reasonably included in the game. If you want an item that's not already in your Plastron recipe, there are better ways to achieve that:, for example, doesn't reuse items but manages to have a consistent set of stats. You also frequently have the same component in the recipes for both the top-tier item and the Plastron you're combining it with (Plastron of Durability and both include a  in their recipe, for example, whereas Plastron of Infamy and  both have an ).