[Claudius]

You'll get some experience as far as what item is best from playing. Another way to learn is to go to titanquest.net and read the 'knowledge' thread. That thread tells you what the stats on the item mean so you can know what effect each stat has. The reason it tells you this is not because the thread is about items but because the thread is about the mechanics of how the stats in the character affect what happens.

But I would just at first experiment. If you are a hunter piercing might be good. If you are a rogue poison could be good. Then read the knowledge thread and other threads on titanquest.net and you will learn certain things: example veterans items are good...aman ra relic is pretty crappy. You will also learn what skills are good both from experience and reading.

Crafting is pretty limited. You can find yellow and green items. Green items are usually better. Items with Both prefix and suffix are better than having just a prefix or just a suffix. Then you take the yellow/green item and you can put relics and monster charms into it. I usually wait until I have the charm/relic completed 5/5 or 3/3 to put it in. But not always.