Weapons and armour are organised into five tiers. Higher tiers have better stats and need more advanced materials to craft. You can read an item's tier at a glance from the colour of its icon outline — it's also noted in the mouse-over tooltip:
| Tier | Colour |
|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Gray |
| Tier 2 | Green |
| Tier 3 | Blue |
| Tier 4 | Purple |
| Tier 5 | Orange |
Each nation has its own gear set in every tier — and because stats are standardised within a tier, you can collect, craft and wear any nation's gear regardless of your own. The look changes from nation to nation; the numbers don't.
Tier is separate from quality (+0 to +7). Tier is the item's base power band; quality is the small bonus rolled on top when it's crafted or reinforced.