At what level should you have these?

[qwertyu63]

The question is quite simple: at what level does the game expect you to have certain items? The items I am asking about are as follows:

Weapon: +1 to +10
Armor: +1 to +10
Ability score items: +2, +4 and +6
Item for flight
Extra-dimensional storage

I have no idea, and I would like to know these things. Thank you in advance.

[OldTrees1]

I made a post about Ability enhancers and resistance bonus to saves.
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16416299&postcount=21

In general, with the exception of your primary item, I suggest waiting until something costs less than or equal to 25% of your wealth.

I usually have Weapons as my primary item but most enhancements are not worth the extra coin in my book. I usually get up to a +3-+6 weapon and then stop improving my weapon. My offense comes from me not my blade.

Armor is trickier since it does not match Attack unless you invest in it. Often I make a token effort at AC and then use Miss Chances (Minor Cloak of Displacement) to cover the rest.

Flight I acquire by 6th level but I usually do so via a Racial ability/Feats/Class Feature. However a 1min mount 1/day only costs 800gp. (Amber Amulet of Vermin: Giant Wasp [MIC])

[Emperor Tippy]

It really depends way too much on the specifics of a build (and even the play-style) to provide a general answer.

I mean take a caster. Most of them have native flight so while a flight item is nice its not remotely necessary (and is probably a waste of gold to buy most of the time).

Generally, get a Handy Haversack as early as you can as that should solve your storage needs until you can afford the better stuff.

For ability enhancers it really depends on the character. I mean if you are a SAD or DAD build that is really reliant on that/those ability scores in a big way then going for the highest item boosters you can get is usually a good idea but if you are MAD then multiple lower ones is usually as good or better for a given amount of gold.

Items are one of the most character and party dependent parts of the game, so anything beyond even the most general guidance requires a lot more detail about the character.

[OldTrees1]

Strangely the suggested cap on a primary item (50% of WBL) generally is only 2 levels ahead of the suggested cap on other items (25% of WBL).

[Skysaber]

I'm pretty sure most parties, especially casual ones, just rely on the basic standard of "use whatever is the best item(s) the DM has dropped on us as treasure."

Because of the *painful* "sell at half price" for magic items, virtually all groups I have been part of have sat around the table at treasure distribution saying things like, "Ok, we've got an item of +2 Dex, who here can use it most?" and the more important dex is to your build, the higher your priority if more than one want the item. We don't start selling until everyone has one. And once the top pick items have been distributed, lesser stuff gets passed out to bring people to roughly the same value for the haul.

By keeping magic treasure instead of selling/converting to coin, you don't end up with your ideal spread of items (not even remotely), but you do find you've got roughly twice your WBL. And there is always some coin to buy the really important items.

[CombatOwl]

The question is quite simple: at what level does the game expect you to have certain items? The items I am asking about are as follows:

Weapon: +1 to +10
Armor: +1 to +10
Ability score items: +2, +4 and +6
Item for flight
Extra-dimensional storage

I have no idea, and I would like to know these things. Thank you in advance.

Check the WBL guidelines. You can put up to half your WBL gold into a single item on a new character. Half your WBL is top-end gear for that level.

Consider that you probably want both a weapon, some kind of armor, and some stat boosting item. Really no more than 1/4 WBL in practice. 1/4 for weapon, 1/4 for armor, 1/4 for stat boosters, and the other 1/4 for misc. equipment (potions, scrolls, handy wondrous items).

[Emperor Tippy]

The "half WBL in a single item" thing is not actually a rule. It's a houserule that some DM's might choose to use if they have concerns about character items and don't feel like vetting those items on an individual basis, and it does a piss poor job of that.

[OldTrees1]

The "half WBL in a single item" thing is not actually a rule. It's a houserule that some DM's might choose to use if they have concerns about character items and don't feel like vetting those items on an individual basis, and it does a piss poor job of that.

IIRC those 50% and 25% of WBL were guidelines/suggestions[not rules] from the Books (DMG, PHBII or MIC would be my guess) to DMs.

I think it was intended to prevent weakness not to prevent early access to powerful items. It does a much better job of disincentivizing neglecting weaknesses that it does at preventing powerful items.

[Thurbane]

Isn't there tables in the MIC that rank items by "level"? This sounds like a decent base to start with, but it will be, at best, a rough guide.

It also focuses on specific items, rather than just "flight" or "extra dimensional space".

There's also the Equipment by Level section in PHB2 (p.217) that could also be a guide.

[Flickerdart]

Isn't there tables in the MIC that rank items by "level"? This sounds like a decent base to start with, but it will be, at best, a rough guide.

It also focuses on specific items, rather than just "flight" or "extra dimensional space".
Those guidelines are very inaccurate - the book assumes you'll spend something like 10% of your GP on any one item.

[AMFV]

Isn't there tables in the MIC that rank items by "level"? This sounds like a decent base to start with, but it will be, at best, a rough guide.

It also focuses on specific items, rather than just "flight" or "extra dimensional space".

There's also the Equipment by Level section in PHB2 (p.217) that could also be a guide.

Specific items is better though in some respects regardless of the list.

For example the level you need a 1/day or 2/day flight is different than the level you need flight continuously. It's also hard to measure since DM optimization plays a significant role. And not all monsters of equal CR are created equal.

I would just check in the monster manual for certain abilities, when they become prevalent, you will need a counter for them.

[Slipperychicken]

When I'm playing a martial character, I usually have a +1 weapon by level 5. Theoretically, one could get it earlier, but WBL at those times is usually tied up in other equipment.

If I'm playing a fullcaster, I can usually achieve all-day flight around level 9 (Extend Spell on CL 9 Overland Flight = 18 hours of flight per day). Remember that you only need a duration of ~15 hours to be "all day", since you need to spend 8 hours of your day resting plus 1 hour praying for/memorizing spells. Making the whole party fly usually won't happen until ~11, and even then only if you're trying. Some parties get to epic levels without realizing the wonders of flight.

You can get flight much earlier if flying mounts are available. They usually aren't, however.

Extradimensional storage could come online any time around 3-8, depending on how much of a priority it is. If you make effective use of mounts and party members, you should be able to get by without it for some time.