"Perfect" item?

I've heard this term "Perfect item" a bunch since I started playing, but what does it mean? I know there are items better than others, but how can I tell if an item is perfect? Is a gold item a "perfect" item?

If it helps, I could post the stats of a gold staff I found, someone could let me know what's good about it and what's bad about it?

Examples

Perfect Sword:

Low req (7, 8 or 9)
15^50
20/20
+30hp

That is considered perfect by a trader. Has to be gold, has to be max dmg.

In all honesty though, this subject is one big can of worms. One persons view of perfect is different from another's.

What does the 20/20 mean?

20/20 Sundering

It's a mod used on melee/ranged weapons.

So the 20/20 is a % based mod?

Sorry for the questions just trying to figure this out to

Yup, 20% chance of having 20% armor penetration on your attacks. It gets called 20/20 for short.

Ok cool and the 15^50 I take it is Min/Max DMG

Really, a perfect item depends on what you need it for, and what mods you prefer. Malice's example is pretty much what would be considered a perfect sword, though some might prefer a +5 energy (zealous) mod in place of the +30 HP mod. Others might prefer a vampiric blade instead of a sundering. It just depends on where your intrests are, and how you play.

And to translate the jargon;

Would be a sword with;

• 15-22 damage (max for a sword)
• A requirement of 7, 8, or 9 swordsmanship
• A 15% damage increase while health is above 50%
• A 20% chance of 20% armor penetration ( a best quality Sundering mod)
• and +30 health points (a best quality Fortitude mod)

To be considered 'perfect', it would probably have to be gold. Though really, I think that the term perfect just depends on having; max damage, a requirement of 9 attribute, and on Prophices and Factions drops a 15%^50% mod. Anything else can be modified, and with Nightfall introducing inscriptions all you're really looking for would be max damage and low requirements.

As far as a staff, you're looking for about;

11-22 damage
Requires 9 (or lower) attribute points
+10 energy, always.
Halves Casting time of attributes spells (20%)
Halve Recharge time of attributes spells (20%)

And then staff heads and Wrappings of various quality, such as +30 HP( I use a staff head and a staff wrapping that give me +60 hp), Items attribute +1 (20%), and other mods that give you more energy or more armor.

Thanks that really cleared it all up for me

I tend not to focus too much on how much damage a staff does, I focus on whether it gives enough innate energy. If both staffs give +10 energy, I could care less whether one does 11-22 damage or 9-13 damage

Perfect is generally considered to be a 'max' item/mod.
a 15^50 inscription would be a perfect one. There are also weaker inscriptions with 13^50, these arent considered perfect.

For instance, when one is selling a Sundering Long Sword of Fortitude, its mods can vary, it could only give +29hp, or maybe deal only 15-20 dmg innstead of the max 15-22.
But when he says Perfect Sundering Long Sword of Fortitude, he implies that all mods are max, it gives 20/20, does 15-22 dmg and gives +30 hp, this way he keeps his message short and free of clutter, while still giving all information.

So a staff that has these stats might be considered perfect?

No, sorry. That staff isn't max damage (22 is max for a caster weapon) and the recharge bonus isn't max, either (20%). So, whilst the mods are perfect and you might get something for the hale staffhead, the actual weapon is merchant fodder.

Hmm, dang. Thanks for the help.