Stat squish

Stat squish  or downscaling values   refers to the practice of game developers, mostly in the MMORPG segment, that reduces many numbers in games, most frequently on items.

In DDO history, player power gradually grew over time. General reduction was not necessary; even though they might have been some targeted nerfs every now and then. With items, the power creep seemed to escalate with the release of later expansions, presumably (as perceived by a portion of the player base) to increase sales.

In Update 50, DDO experienced its first major downscaling of power on endgame items, combined with a reduction of legendary monster power. This was intended to make the implementation of levels above the original cap of 30 easier to scale into - previously, legendary content was a significant leap in power from epic content of a similar level, and the items were levelled to compensate. Since the content had been made easier so it was more accessible, the items were now extremely overpowered.

Item changes

 * Legendary named items have the same enchantment level as items created via Cannith Crafting. Raid items and artifacts keep a minor bonus over level-appropriate stats.
 * Legendary cannith crafted items (effective enchantment level 31-34) are reduced to enchantment level 30.
 * (Undocumented change) High-end random loot received a similar power reduction.

Essentially, regardless of item type (named, crafted, random), the enchantment level should be the same.

Note: In many banks and guild chests, an item can continue showing old stats until you take out of the bank.

Monster changes

 * Epic monsters lose their Epic Resilience buff.
 * Legendary monsters lose 25 AC and 25% HP.
 * Legendary monsters (Sharn or later) lose their Legendary Tier 2 buff.