MD Raid loot to upgrade unobtainable items...why bother?

torkz

Member
After realizing that I will likely never get any specific rare item that I might want, I looked at some of the upgrades obtainable with raid loot and lost all interest.

Since I do not spend shards (real cash) on gambling for game loot, I would literally have to make it my life to farm items that have well under a 1% chance of dropping on any given run. Hundreds (thousands?) of farming runs for a specific item is not really an option for me personally. (Note: I am basing the "well under 1% chance" on the comments in other forum threads. I suppose they could be wrong, but a lot of first and second hand accounts of farming suggest those chances are plausible.)

And if the base item is unobtainable (practically speaking), why bother running the raid for ingredients to upgrade stuff? (I am primarily interested in caster items, and nothing really stands out as all that useful for casters...I suppose some of the weapons may have value for DPS characters.)

I had hoped that MD would rekindle my raiding interest, but instead it has exacerbated my growing apathy.

Ironically...if SSG just put the base items in the store for cash, there would probably be a better chance of me buying one. I don't necessarily object to spending money on the game, but by nature I am not a gambler. Without the gambling (ie, shard rerolls), farming is really no longer an option.

I guess maybe I will run the raid a few times if it is fun (already paid for it...might as well), but I don't see any long term incentive as there was for some past raids. And I don't know if I will stick around long enough to see the next raid...whatever it might be...the time between new raids is a little too long if there is no reason to run the newest one.

Makes me sad.
 

Aelastiar

Well-known member
So basically agreed. I didn't buy the xpac because I didn't see the point in gearing for 34 when we're going to 40 anyway. I was hoping there'd be some cool raid items that would excite me enough to purchase it, but there isn't. Honestly, what's the point?
 

Bowserkoopa

King of the Koopa's
So basically agreed. I didn't buy the xpac because I didn't see the point in gearing for 34 when we're going to 40 anyway. I was hoping there'd be some cool raid items that would excite me enough to purchase it, but there isn't. Honestly, what's the point?
Unless some information spilled I don't know about you won't see 40 for at the least 6 years or so their current plan seems to be raise the cap do a 'mini' expansion the next year and rinse and repeat 2 levels at a time
 

erethizon1

Well-known member
Unless some information spilled I don't know about you won't see 40 for at the least 6 years or so their current plan seems to be raise the cap do a 'mini' expansion the next year and rinse and repeat 2 levels at a time
That's the thing about gear, it is always a waste of time to get because it all gets replaced. That is why I still don't wear anything above level 29 and just spend time focused on past lives and reaper points.
 

Aelastiar

Well-known member
That's the thing about gear, it is always a waste of time to get because it all gets replaced. That is why I still don't wear anything above level 29 and just spend time focused on past lives and reaper points.
This. I don't play enough to have a capped character so...I just ignore level cap now.
 

torkz

Member
takes 2 golden age weaps for any 1 of ur choice, that doesn't seem impossible
Yeah, I just learned about the turn in. While this will certainly help, farming still seems almost unreachable.

If I understand the drop rates, an R4 farm (the highest that I can efficiently do) will have a 37% drop rate for an item, only 3% of those will be rare. Assuming that any of the rares can be turned in (not sure if there are things that aren't part of the trade-in scheme), then that would mean instead of significantly less than 1% for a specific item, my chances are up to about 1.1% for any rare. Now I need two of them, so I am still looking at close to 200 runs to get a specific item I want. And to make it worth the effort to upgrade from my current equipment, I'd probably need 2-3 items, so say 400-600 farming runs.

I know different folks have different pain thresholds...but this is above mine.
 

torkz

Member
That's the thing about gear, it is always a waste of time to get because it all gets replaced. That is why I still don't wear anything above level 29 and just spend time focused on past lives and reaper points.
I don't necessarily agree with this under the old rules. I am in a guild that does a moderate amount of push raiding (well...we used to), and I did not mind (too much) farming the gear I needed before. The quest items could be obtained in a reasonable time (sometimes even getting lucky in a guild run of a quest for first-time bonus), and raid items are always achievable in a known quantity of time. I never got too worried about getting every item with max Mythic/Reaper bonuses...so it was do-able.

Under this new system, the only way to keep it down to a semi-reasonable number of runs is either to use the cash-driven gambling tool, or have a full party of willing hands for every farming run. I'm unwilling to gamble with real money, and I'm unwilling to ask guildies for this much of their time (assuming I can even find 5 guildies at cap at the time I'm ready to farm).

What is really disheartening is that even doing the TR grind on my alts seems pointless now. If I can't gear my main in a decent amount of time, then doing it for additional characters seems even crazier. And if I can't gear them at cap, why bother getting them past lives?

I realize this has become a doom-and-gloom rant that no one really cares about...but its cheap therapy to type it out. :)
 

Blerkington

Well-known member
SSG is doubling down on this new approach to loot and I see no reason to support it either through AS or raid timer bypass purchases.

I hope this strategy bites the company hard enough that they realise a course correction back to a less predatory model is needed.
 
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nix

Well-known member
takes 2 golden age weaps for any 1 of ur choice, that doesn't seem impossible
That's great if they would only drop. Seen plenty of fallen age (more on E compared to Rx) but starting to think golden age might get added eventually after the raid (or just after the MM fix happens because devs will be too busy on the next shiney thing)
 

Rusty_helmet

Well-known member
I think it is quite horrible that people who profess that they don't even have end game toons feel that they should even comment on end game loot. It's all over the place here. I don't jump on and comment on hard core or perma death or casual gaming because that's not my game style.
Here's a hint: Your comments cheapen the boards and diminishes the opinion and thoughts of those that actually do play that kind of game. AND that kind of gameplay actually creates the ability for you to freeload and play your style of gameplay.
 

Rage

Well-known member
Is the loot even that much of a power increase that it's worth it for all this hassle? that's my question.
 

Nickodeamous

Well-known member
SSG is doubling down on this new approach to loot and I see no reason to support it either through AS or raid timer bypass purchases.

I hope this strategy bites the company hard enough that they realise a course correction back to a less predatory model is needed.
100% agree.

I just don't see the point of farming for golden age items. I already have attuned dino bone, and the new ones (after you find them with many runs) will only be slightly better...actually dino bone has more customization, so I'm gonna say even at best. To me, its easier to get 1250 runes and buy the weapon you want form the raid...but in many cases, there is no weapon you want...so you are forced to look for golden age weapons...in quests you gave up running...due to low drop rates...among other things.

I am personally soured on the whole expansion and will think twice about buying the top pack next time. makes me sad. I really love this game.
 

Rusty_helmet

Well-known member
100% agree.

I just don't see the point of farming for golden age items. I already have attuned dino bone, and the new ones (after you find them with many runs) will only be slightly better...actually dino bone has more customization, so I'm gonna say even at best. To me, its easier to get 1250 runes and buy the weapon you want form the raid...but in many cases, there is no weapon you want...so you are forced to look for golden age weapons...in quests you gave up running...due to low drop rates...among other things.

I am personally soured on the whole expansion and will think twice about buying the top pack next time. makes me sad. I really love this game.
Coming next update: nerfing dino items... steel was quoted as saying, "that'll teach 'em."
 

Ryiah

Well-known member
I think it is quite horrible that
I mean if we're going to start talking about what's horrible we really should talk about the people who seem to think defending a company that is actively trying to screw them over is somehow the right choice. You don't need an end game character to understand the end game, and you certainly don't need an end game character to know that 0.33 * 0.03 makes for a bad time when the items you need are behind that math.

Is the loot even that much of a power increase that it's worth it for all this hassle? that's my question.
No. The augments are a side-grade offering identical power found elsewhere but with the option to customize exactly what you want rather than having to live with a set bonus that may only provide some of what you want. The items are mostly the same. Some of the effects are a point higher (eg Magical Sheltering +17 versus +16 found in Lordsmarch Plaza).
 
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rabidfox

The People's Champion
Is the loot even that much of a power increase that it's worth it for all this hassle? that's my question.
Nope, it's mostly just tiny numbers and tetris. If the gear was easy to get it would still be the issue that it's not much different than current gear for stats (as was pointed out by folks on lam when they could just grab it off the dojo vendors). Grinding for something like SoS or Jibbers is worth it since they feel rewarding, this is just incremental gear of going from ml32 to ml33; nothing really worth chasing.

SSG did fine designing the various gear, it's good enough for what's an incremental gear upgrade expansion. The HP shields that replaced LGS tanking setups are really nice from MD and the non-rare versions are easy to get (the rare gold shield versions and rare cloak aren't really needed for most folks). It's the slipping back to massive grind of the old s/s/s days that sours otherwise decent basic gear upgrades.
 

Blerkington

Well-known member
I mean if we're going to start talking about what's horrible we really should talk about the people who seem to think defending a company that is actively trying to screw them over is somehow the right choice. You don't need an end game character to understand the end game, and you certainly don't need an end game character to know that 0.33 * 0.03 makes for a bad time when the items you need are behind that math.
i've tried to avoid arguing with people on the other side of this issue so far, but their 'reasons' for their position are gobsmackingly bad.

Some of the most vocal have straight up admitted that they have an axe to grind with the endgame community, and that they are simply cheering on this approach to loot allocation because it doesn't affect them personally and because it is causing dissatisfaction to a group they dislike. It doesn't seem to be coming from anything other than a sense of grievance and it's also been accompanied by all manner of personal attacks about whales being stupid, endgame players being cheats, astral shard dupers, etc.

Tip: you may think you're a good guy, but if your motive is malice and your method is talking a bunch of unproven nonsense about people you've never even run with, you aren't a good guy.

Anyway, this seems like exactly the same stupid short-sightedness that affects forum posters who are happy to tell people with other views that if they don't like it they should leave the game. We all have a stake in the financial success of this game and as a result should be wanting to see the game keep players of all different types happy. Even if we don't agree with what they say on the forums or don't run with them in-game.

I think what we need now is a discussion about how SSG could better monetise endgame in a way that is more acceptable to the broader community. Not this endless schadenfreude we're seeing from a couple of particularly determined posters who just can't help themselves when they see an opportunity to rub a problem they don't see as their own in the faces of others.
 
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