You don't strictly need it, but it does increase damage ouput and thus exp reward. I would recommend using brawling gear just for that reason alone. Store bought is fine although crafted does improve things a bit more. Its hard to tell the difference between pieces because of the way the appraisal ranges for brawling gear are so I wouldn't splurge on the crazy expensive pieces.

Not all gear is equal too, depending on the moves you use. If you never KNEE something then knee spikes are useless to you for example.

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Brawling gear is odd.

If you're using anything but complete plate, I would say get some. If you are using complete plate, then I honestly don't know.

The appraisal ranges for brawling gear are HUGELY wide and nearly useless, on top of the fact there's two types of damage.

In general, you want to find pieces that give the most standard impact damage, as most brawling attacks are primarily impact. This is why I recommend plain knuckles over claws or spiked knuckles.

Steel forged gear is better than store bought stuff, though unless you've run out of other stuff to buy I wouldn't necessarily recommend rare metal.

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As I am a primary weapon brawler with over 600 skill...gear is useless.
Crafted gear is not worth the coin. There is no noticeable difference in using gear and not using gear.

This skill is completely broken and outdated compared to other 'weapon types'. It needs a massive overhaul.