Offline Drop Rates

So, I had been saving a couple yellow bundles offline for this release and finally opened them last night.

Between two bundles I must've gotten at least a dozen artifacts! Including several repeats. Now, that's quite a haul for a couple of yellow bundles.. I hate to say this but.. isn't that a little excessive?

I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest this is probably a bug? And it should be at least 1/10 of that? Or even 1/20?

Personally, I don't think a yellow bundle should always have an artifact. Don't get me wrong.. I think odds should probably be at least 50/50 by the time you start getting yellows. But a half dozen or more in 1 yellow bundle? I can only imagine what will be in a blue or orange bag!

Each bundle also gave me 1 recipe which felt decent..

Have not done any actual hunting yet so I'm not sure of the drop rate of bundles themselves.. but if those are higher I'd have quite the sizable arsenal of artifacts in no time.

Finding unique and rare gear was always a fun part of Ultimas.. I loved collecting those.. but let's not make it too easy to the point of 'oh I've already got a dozen of these.. guess I'll salvage it and see if anything needs repairs'

 

If you mean that you are in single player mode, then that is what they intended. They increased the drop rate for single player mode.

 

You don't think that 12 artifacts in 2 bundles is a bit excessive? I find it hard to believe that number of artifacts out of two yellow bundles is simple "as intended".

Also, there is a distinction to be made between single player and offline... you can play in a single player mode online.. which they now call 'private'.. where as offline is simply.. well.. offline. To simply say "single player" doesn't necessarily make the distinction.

 

I guess I missed the part about 12 in 2 bags. I zeroed in on the fact that there was an increase that I knew they mentioned in release notes.

 

Yeah in general loot offline has been doubled. I can also confirm coto drop rates have been increased quite a bit. Probably found about a dozen or so off mobs in a couple sessions. If feels like a bit much but I'm also technically in the 'end game' having finished the story so.. I don't think I have a really good sense for it yet. But the character in question is only in the mid-50s. I'm almost tempted to start a fresh character just to see what it's like in the lower tiers.. well then again I could just go hunt some tier 1-3 zones.

 

Of course it would be excessive for the online mode, but offline...... You are your own economy, so who cares other than you ?
Seriously.........

 

I hope that comment was made in jest. Every well-designed solo RPG carefully doles out what is available at every stage of the journey... it's not just a matter of adjusting a single probability which seems to be the case here. It is part of the larger issue... changing an open world MMO to work as a solo RPG is a lot more difficult that just adjust probabilities of loot drops. Although if the goal is simply to be an offline MMO, then heck, let players have the best gear right out of the gate.

 

In single player OFFLINE, no I don't think that is excessive. There is physically no other way to get all of those since no one else is out and about to trade with and you will loose the gaming audience if you require too much time to achieve anything.

The main reason I have 3000 hours put in is grinding through the quests, creating my own exploring adventures, and hanging out with you fine folks in multiplayer. In Single Player OFFLINE, one third of that experience is gone. Quests are about 40 hours and the rest gets old as you can explore only so much before you shelve the game if your progress is going nowhere fast.[/QUOTE]

 

Well maybe IF you plan on never playing past level 60 or so and devs want to eliminate any replay value out of the offline mode as quickly as possible. What if I want to actually experience end game content? Having things to do adds play value and that includes finding and collecting artifacts.

 

And you still have all of that replay ability and end game content.

 

but why reduce it? It makes no sense that a T5 is carting around a half dozen "rare" artifacts..

 

No! As a matter of fact that makes me even more eager to start my offline game. I want to get all the stuff I never get playing online and more. I own a single artifact that some kind soul gifted me. It’s almost broken now and I haven’t the means to repair it, so I put it on display in my house. In the offline game I want to wade in artifacts. I want to have so many that I don’t know what to do with them. I want to be the queen of artifacts. As soon as I get home from vacation I will start my offline game and darn you if this gets nerfed because of you before I can manage to get a yellow supply bundle.

I understand that not everyone shares my view (or challenges). That is why I have been pleading for an offline easy mode from the start.

 

lol fair enough. I guess to be fair / add perspective.. I want to be able to play games long term. Collecting certain types of stuff has always been fun but I want to feel like I've earned it. I don't want to feel like the game is throwing stuff at me.

 

This conversation reveals two very different preferences - those who desire a solo RPG (balanced, story-driven, requires replay to experience all content, challenging) and those who want a sandbox offline MMO (no need to make sense, balance less important, access to all content in one play, a way to enjoy MMO content more easily). Unfortunately, if past development is indicative of the future, we know where it will end up.

 

I don't know... I find I often don't agree with their overall approach to design. So I don't expect either online or offline to ever by my 'ideal' experience.

Back to drop rates though I will add that recipe drops seem to have increased also.. haven't opened a grey bag yet without a recipe in it. Though admittedly I've only opened 3 or 4 I think. Still, a recipe each time without have to save and load.

 

I opened 50 Grey bags on prod and got 2 recipies.