These two ideas are already on the stickys.
Hero gear: collect/equip boots/gloves/armor/helm/belt/weapon(s) items like many other games
When heroes get defeated, they drop packages of Dark Elixir similar to tombstone process
Why not combine them?
Let's say when you're attacking someone and you defeat their Hero, they drop a shard, piece, whatever, that you can collect by tapping it. (If you don't collect it, it will be automatically collected at the end of the battle.) It would be a piece of a random armor item. (Helmet, gloves, boots). You would need two shards for a lvl 1 helmet, five for lvl 2, etc.
Just my two cents. :D
