If it's not trying to provide the best gearset given the priorities, then you are definitely correct, ha.
I just did a level 15, aasimar scourge, THF, no-crafting loadout. I clicked the melee preset, then added true seeing, freedom of movement, and ghostly (it doesn't have Lifesealed available, or else I would've added that as well):
- I left the 3 affects at the bottom of the priority list (out of 13) to see what would happen: It didn't fill ghostly or freedom of movement, but did fill True Seeing with the PoTF set
- I moved FoM up to priority 7, and put ghostly/true seeing at 9/12 (out of 13) respectively. This time, it filled ghostly/true seeing but not Freedom of Movement, despite FoM moving up higher and the other two being lower.
- Next, I moved FoM up to 5, same deal. Filled ghostly/true but not FoM.
- Moved FoM up to 3, same deal. Filled ghostly/true (at 9 and 12) but not FoM.
- Moved FoM up to 1, and it finally filled it (Flightfoot Greaves, which I was expecting from the start)
I figure it's just filling ghostly/true (even though those were at a much lower priority) as a kind of byproduct of using other pieces of gear to meet other priorities (PoTF set, for instance, has true seeing).
I still might be too dumb to understand what the optimizer's goal is or what it's optimizing. If it's not meeting player-set requirements, it's not really optimizing, since -- to meet the requirements -- the other numbers/gear might have to change to fit in gear that meets the requirements, like it did when I forced FoM to be the top priority and switched stuff around to slot in the Flightfoot Greaves.
Also, I don't mean to sound unappreciative if I am coming off that way. This is like, one of the main things I'd love for DDO to have. Sometimes I just can't wrap my head around gear tetrising + (or min-maxing character buildings, for that matter), so it'd be awesome to have a thing do it for me.
Also as a suggestion, an option to exclude all augments would be pretty helpful. I don't see something like that available? Only a way to exclude individual augments. I don't fully kit out a whole leveling gearset with augments if I am just leveling some random past lives, I feel like a lot of people must be that way too?
All good, and THANKS for the incredible detail in this response. I found it quite helpful. For the record, I appreciate people pointing out problems, so no worries! Keep it coming....its the only way things will get better.
I dug into this, and the solver is doing what it's designed to do. But the way it explains the result needs work. Flightfoot Greaves costs exactly one point of Deadly. That's the whole trade. I'll explain!
Deadly is #5 in the Melee preset. With FoM below it, the optimizer first locks Deadly at its maximum of 13. Every loadout that reaches Deadly 13 needs Coldlight Runners in the boots slot, so Flightfoot Greaves and FoM are no longer available. Move FoM above the stat that's blocking it and the result flips.
I reproduced the same behavior, although not at exactly the same rank. My test flipped around rank 5; the reported build had more priorities plus Aasimar/Scourge constraints, so its blocking stat landed higher. Same mechanism, different crossover.
The observations about Ghostly, True Seeing, and PoTF are also correct. Those were essentially free byproducts. The optimizer didn't sacrifice anything to get them. Items that already won their slots for higher-ranked stats just happened to carry those effects too.
The confusing part is what "priority" means
A priority list can look like:
FoM is #7 of 13, so it's reasonably important.
But strict lexicographic optimization doesn't work that way.
Priority 1 is protected before priority 2 gets anything. Priority 2 is protected before priority 3 gets anything, and so on. This is what I meant ealier about "not understanding what its trying to do." I need to work on the UI and the messaging so thats clearer....I've been focused on the engine mechanics.
So if getting FoM at rank 7 requires losing even one point of Deadly at rank 5, the optimizer refuses the trade. That's intentional. It's the guarantee behind the optimizer: a lower-ranked priority can never make a higher-ranked priority worse. So the list is a preference order, not a requirements list.
Requirements do exist though!
This is what the Min field under Advanced is for inside each affix listed. For a yes/no effect like Freedom of Movement, setting:
Min = 1
means "this build
must have FoM."
I tested exactly that with FoM still below Deadly:
| Scenario | FoM | Boots | Deadly |
|---|
| Rank 7, no minimum | 0 | Coldlight Runners | 13 |
| Rank 7, Min 1 | 1 | Flightfoot Greaves | 12 |
So the optimizer absolutely can make that trade. It just needs to be told that FoM is a requirement, rather than something to maximize after the priorities above it.
Where I do think the tool is wrong
It explained none of this!!!! Boooo!
FoM simply came back as 0.
Meanwhile, lower-ranked Ghostly and True Seeing appeared as satisfied, which makes the result look backwards unless you already understand the solver.
The tool should have said something like:
Freedom of Movement was not selected because gaining it would reduce Deadly from 13 to 12. Set Min = 1 if FoM is required.
That's the real defect here.
The optimization is correct. The disclosure is bad.
A correct answer that makes someone wonder whether they understand the goal of the optimizer is still a product problem, so I'm going to fix that explanation path.
The "no augments" request is valid too
That option does not exist today.
"Don't build around niche crafting" intentionally still allows regular augments. You can block individual augments, but there isn't currently a global:
Don't use augments switch.
For leveling and past life builds, that's a very reasonable use case. Nobody wants the optimizer designing a perfectly augmented gearset they're replacing four levels later.
So there are really two useful takeaways from this report:
- The solver made the correct lexicographic choice, but did a poor job explaining why FoM lost.
- A global no-augments option would be useful for leveling builds.
The report was valuable because both are cases where the math can be technically right while the player experience still needs improvement.
As a reward, I'll have ALLLL augments get turned off as an option shortly. =)
New: What may the solver assume beyond the printed item?
New: Bundled Enchantments on the Sets tab
Fixed: Dinosaur Bone gear counts toward Legendary Dread Isle's Curse
