Exactly.  Give the player something shiney but not something that changes the game.  Give them a new skin, new spell effects, non-combat pets, emotes, etc.

The problem here is that you assume that specific items will make you better.  They will not.  All they do is bolster a specific build.  The only time it would become a factor in above said equal skill is if both players attempted to use the exact same build and one had unlocked a specific item that was better for that specific build.  Otherwise, all the player without the achievement has to do is use a slightly different build tailored to a different achievement item.  Perhaps even a simple build involving basic Favor Items.  As I said earlier, even the Swift Anklet (or whatever the speed item is called) is very useful and available from your first game.

I would argue that having more options available is an advantage.  While one option isn't necessarily better than another option, just having it can be advantageous.

Take for example a Pantheon game where you don't know your opponent's Demigod until the game starts.  You may choose your favor item based on what demigod he picked and having more favor items available opens up more strategies for you to counter with.  There may not be a favor item that makes Oak strong against Unclean Beast that you don't have unlocked but if you did have it unlocked then you may stand a better chance of winning the match.

Also, this thread originated on the idea of having more powerful and more expensive favor items available, not more favor items costing 100-300 favor each.

No, it originated on Achievement Items becoming available from achieving achievements instead of earning Favor.  They are not more expensive, they are just unlocked differently.

They were not more powerful, they were just more specific.  Instead of getting random stat bonuses, you would get a specific boost to a specific spell or an extremely weak universal boost to several key stats.

At no point were uber items suggested.  At no point was it suggested that they should be expensive.  You just assumed everything you took opposition to.

Hmm, maybe I'm in the wrong thread.  There was another thread where that was the suggestions, looks like I just got it mixed up.  None the less, the point still stands that unlocks (even balanced ones) leaves newer players with fewer options which means a disadvantage.

Not if you do it right.  CoD and TF2 have a beautiful system - I don't care how many unlocks you have a nubcake can still kill you.  Allowing experienced players more choices is ok as long as they aren't better choices.

I actually quit TF2 because of the unlocks.  I went back after a hack came out that allowed me to unlock all the items without screwing up my achievements.  In an even match (competative play) if one team had access to the unlocks and the other didn't then the team with unlocks had an advantage because they had more options available to counter our strategies with.

The obvious problem with TF2 is that the unlocks were the only other option.  Your weapons were either normal or they were unlocked.  There weren't multiple normal items to choose from in an effort to counter other strategies.

In Demigod, there would be a plethora of items to choose from outside of Achievement Items.

I agree with Ke5trel CoD's system worked well and was very similar to favor points. You could only have 1 acheivement  on in a game only 1 attchment per gun. Also I found thee more "advanced" weapons were defintly not always better just variing and perks wise they allowed things that noobs would not use that much, but maybe thats just me.

It was already said in other words before me.

Im 100% against it. Favor Items are the maximum to go. It brings a little bit more depth into the builds of DG's but are somewhat easy obtainable. You just have to spend some time. After 20-30 games you should be set and possess all items more or less.

But add additional achievement items to it would bring to much "out-of-game" resources into the a battle. A player who plays the game since 2 years already got a huge bonus against a newbie. So give him an additional Favor + Achievement item would make it impossible to win. To be more expirienced already is the biggest advantage you can have. No need for extra pewpew.

Edit: Favor Items already work like Achievments.. maybe make them more expensive and reset them after each Season? Would solve the problem Achievment should only be cosmetic things imo.

Firstly, I apologize for this post's epic quote fail.  I can't seem to get fixed.  The quote end tags [/quote] aren't working for some reason.  As you can see, I had to improvise to retain some level of respectability .

Quoting Aspartem:

But add additional achievement items to it would bring to much "out-of-game" resources into the a battle. A player who plays the game since 2 years already got a huge bonus against a newbie. So give him an additional Favor + Achievement item would make it impossible to win. To be more expirienced already is the biggest advantage you can have. No need for extra pewpew.

No.  Its Favor OR Achievement item.  You don't get both.  You get to pick one.  If you use an achievement item, you don't get a favor item.  if you choose a favor item, you don't get an achievement item.

And again.  The point is not for extra pewpew power!  The point is more options.  The achievement items would be highly specific.  They wouldn't carry builds, they would supplement builds the same way any given favor item might aid a specific role.

I greatly apologize for screaming, but this is the exact same thing I've been saying for the entire thread.  If you wish to make a comment and/or criticism, then please take the time to read the entire thread.  The first issue was addressed in my initial post when I described how achievement items would be integrated as options to favor items.

Quoting Random_Guy:

These Achievement Items would essentially be Favor Items that are unlocked through a different manner (would take up the same slot, would be used in the same way, etc...). 

The second point was the primary issue of debate in this thread.  I'll just pick a random post and quote myself.

Quoting Random_Guy:

...They were not more powerful, they were just more specific.  Instead of getting random stat bonuses, you would get a specific boost to a specific spell or an extremely weak universal boost to several key stats.

At no point were uber items suggested.  {...} You just assumed everything you took opposition to.

With that out of the way, you actually did say something unique in your post.

Quoting Aspartem:

Edit: Favor Items already work like Achievments.. maybe make them more expensive and reset them after each Season?

The way I see it, this would actually intensify the problem.  The people who play the game a lot would undoubtedly gain back every worthwhile favor item within a day or two of resetting favor.  On the other hand, the more casual players would be forced to continually play the game in order to stay ahead.  It takes a one time investment of effort to get all the items, after which you can relax and play the game intermittantly without a disadvantage.  If you made the items reset, then the only people who would consistently have all the favor items are those who play the game the most.  It would be even more difficult for the casual player to stockpile favor and get an array of items while just being a minor annoyance to the avid gamer.

Random, if the Favor items stay at their current cost, even the most casual player will have the ones he likes unlocked within a day or two.  The casual player doesn't need every favor item unlocked to enjoy the game.  He'll pick the ones that appeal to him and go.  But if you put items out there that he can't even get to, THAT is what chases him away.

Kestrel, I don't think it works using a couple FPS' to make the point about unlockable items.  In CoD a burst shot to your head kills you regardless of the gun, or how much awesome gear you have. DG relies a lot on a players stats, not twitch skills. Not to say there isn't skill involved, but the RPG side makes this a very different animal from an FPS in terms of what works. 

You can win in CoD with no weapons unlocked because skill is the most important asset in that game.  It's the exact opposite here.  Without a good build with good items you wont last long.

... me nervous. 

If the reward for pulling off these achievements was nothing more than fluff:

-fancy titles

-unlockable graphics (golden rook, new TB helmet, armor dyes, capes, etc)

- pets (ooh look, a mini-rook)

- These are crappy ideas off the top of my head, just to make the point 

Basically, none of these things impacts the actual balance of the game.  They just look cool, and this was the approach that a ...

Im all for unlockable graphics

It's a valid point.  It will be more difficult to balance items in Demigod than in CoD4.  However, it will be alot more rewarding as well, because build differences will matter much more in Demigod.  Crafting a large variety of "different, not better" items will make the game more interesting in the long run.

On "Crafting a large variety of different, not better items" making things more interesting, I couldn't agree more.  It's how these items are made available that concerns me.  I don't want to see "equal but different" items placed on a hard to reach pedestal.  I think it should all be equally accessable, and with the current favor point system they are.  I do think some kind of rewards should exist for high level players to set themselves apart, but again I think that should be limited to graphical fluff that does not impact the gameplay.

You know, one thing that CoD did that was interesting was the prestige mode.  I wonder how something like that would work in DG.  A truly awesome player could hit a certain point where they are givin the choice to 'start all over' and have all favor items locked out.  Perhaps at this go around favor items become considerably more expensive to unlock.  The player who makes it through all this should be rewarded in a way that lets everyone else know what they've accomplished, again without giving them exclusive gear w/ stats.  Just a thought off the top of my head, not fleshed out at all so Im not sure if this could actually fly or not.