Quote Originally Posted by Jinko View Post
^ Exactly before this patch HQ was very easy to obtain, people have just got used to that and now they feel self entitled to get a HQ every 3-4 synths.

HQ's are supposed to be special not 2 a penny.

SE probably saw the marketwards flooded with HQ items and thought wait up we need to correct this before it gets out of hand.
If this was the reasoning, HQ items need a good buffing, at the moment there is just a slight amount of defense buffed, and maybe a bit more of one of the stats.
The best thing about HQ is the 5% buff to double melding... And that's still a real crap shoot.