That's a really good point.

As I believe I said in the item upgrades thread, I'm all for it.

See, item upgrades are actual depth. The interface shows you what you can do and when it will happen--no foreknowledge required (although if you don't know what you're doing, chances are you'll screw it up). Item recipes are artificial depth--they accomplish the same thing as item upgrades, but you have to know what plus what equals what. Memorization does not add real depth. Choices between clear benefits and not-benefits add depth.

i think several upgrade options for each item. i also think more expensive items such as all fathers ring should get no upgrades but something worth 1000 gets a ton. because right now i never get the cheap items because i can just get an awesome weapon too. I also think when  upgrading an item it takes time so yah it can become alot better than more expensive weapons it takes time and money to do so. furthermore only 1 item should be allowed to be upgrading at a time.

these ideas might need some tweaking just wrote stuff that came to mind.

We need a dev to see either this post or the other one. My suggestion is if we keep on replying than it will become a hot topic and they'll come and see what the fuss is about.

The devs do comb the forums, but I'm sure they're already aware of the concept of upgrades/recipes.

In considering the multitude of items in DOTA, there is also the fact there needs to be because the items, in most instances increase a specific attribute, such as STR, DEX, and INT, which gives different bonuses, they can be more useful to specific hero types.  With the current version of Demigod, there is no middle layer of attributes and items just directly impact the end results so they become generic in their own right.

If there isn't item drop or a concern about the enemy stealing something, this smaller more generic version of weapons does accomplish the same on the end game strategy.  The drawback is it is very bland with the lack of accomplishment to create your personal weapon, you are simply paying gold to get the end stats.

Also, considering at present we cannot see what the opponent is carrying, we cannot use the strategic value inherent to know what they might be from tiered building .  In Dota if you saw a hero with specific small pieces, you had an idea what they were building and could work on your own way to counter.  Again, it seems like a small thing, but it added more to the play and gave you alternative ways to counter.  So I guess it would be cool to have tiered building, but it would have to be more than just combining items to get the full benefit to the game play.

I am referring to items you purchase at the store being dropped or taken by the enemy.

Dude, stop misreading me and pulling out small statements, without keeping them in context.  This is about Item Recipes and my thoughts on how they could impact the game in a positive way.