I'd like my shield please

[pgm152]

Dear Turbine,

I've run Haunted Halls of EveningStar so many times I can no longer see straight. Although blessed with many of the named items I have yet to receive the Purple Dragon Shield. I will run this quest until I get the shield so you may as well bless me with it now.

At the moment when I show up the ghosts scream "oh no!", the kobolds cry tiny tears (too tiny to see), and the zombies shamble into one another in a futile attempt to escape. Last time the dragon used a Mirror of Glammering to disguise herself as a chair but that didn't save her either.

Please, for the love you bear your digital children don't make them go through any more of this. Just hand me the shield now and no one else needs to get hurt. Better for them, better for me.

[Livmo]

Dear Turbine,

I've run Haunted Halls of EveningStar so many times I can no longer see straight. Although blessed with many of the named items I have yet to receive the Purple Dragon Shield. I will run this quest until I get the shield so you may as well bless me with it now.

At the moment when I show up the ghosts scream "oh no!", the kobolds cry tiny tears (too tiny to see), and the zombies shamble into one another in a futile attempt to escape. Last time the dragon used a Mirror of Glammering to disguise herself as a chair but that didn't save her either.

Please, for the love you bear your digital children don't make them go through any more of this. Just hand me the shield now and no one else needs to get hurt. Better for them, better for me.

Drops in the Giant Skeli chest or white dragon chests (3x). If you're on Sarlona and have a high search ( I don't atm) we can speed farm it, or do all the options in about 20 min ish each run. However, I've only pulled them from the Giant Skeli chest. Of course if I pulled one I would pass it you.

[Krelar]

Update 24 is increasing the named item drop rate (https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/451858-Update-24-Drop-Rate-Increases) in Haunted Halls (and several other places), so you may just have to wait a bit longer. ;)

[IronClan]

Dear Turbine,

I've run Haunted Halls of EveningStar so many times I can no longer see straight. Although blessed with many of the named items I have yet to receive the Purple Dragon Shield. I will run this quest until I get the shield so you may as well bless me with it now.

At the moment when I show up the ghosts scream "oh no!", the kobolds cry tiny tears (too tiny to see), and the zombies shamble into one another in a futile attempt to escape. Last time the dragon used a Mirror of Glammering to disguise herself as a chair but that didn't save her either.

Please, for the love you bear your digital children don't make them go through any more of this. Just hand me the shield now and no one else needs to get hurt. Better for them, better for me.

The problem with a random percentage drop chances in all MMO's is always that you'll go through long streaks (probabilistic clustering) of not getting drops; on the bright side you'll also get streaks of abnormally high drops... however you'll likely be getting items you don't care about or aren't specifically after so our normal "selection bias" will ignore the items we didn't want and only consider those ones we did want as "good luck". This selection bias problem actually means that the random drop static loot system in DDO and most MMO's is inherently likely to make players frustraited and unhappy. It promotes rote "farming" or "grinding" of the same content over and over.

The problem with not having a random drop chance (as I'm sure I don't really need to explain to anyone but it leads into the next logical consequence so bare with me) is that static content is easily mastered and meta gamed via memorizing where everything is and what challenges you'll face, so you can "meta game" the challenges by avoiding them, bringing perfect items or twists or ED's to face them as fast as possible.

So in fact the reason you must suffer through random chances to get your loot; is that static content MUST have a low drop rate or no one will ever play the content more than once or twice. The random chance to drop is a substitute for actual challenge, because you WILL become proficient at farming the items as quickly as possible. In an ideal RPG setting the loot would ALWAYS be there... but this idea system of 100% loot chance would require releasing content at a weekly pace. and it would require a level spread and progression curve so big that we would need to have the equivalent of THOUSANDS of levels and tiers of gearing and itemization.

This problem does not exist in a procedurally generated/random affix game like Rogue-likes (most famous of which are Diablo, 2 and 3 (3 to a lesser extent)) where not only do you not get to know ahead of time whats in every chest, you also don't know where the chests are, nor what is guarding them, or how challenging they will be or how to face those challenges in other words you don't farm, you play. you also do not get static items that are identical and thus you also can not meta game your ideal gear setup ahead of time. This makes all gear worth looking over and the entire process of developing your character is more interesting.

Sadly DDO has static content and thus you must suffer through low drop rates.

All that said HH has very good drop rates you'll get that shield, probably on the next run the only item that seems to have a very low rate in that quest is the neck.

[Enoach]

If you have more than one character who is able to run Haunted Halls, pick the one that would never have a use for the Shield. The loot gods will think you gave up and this character will pull the shield.

[Chai]

This problem does not exist in a procedurally generated/random affix game like Rogue-likes (most famous of which are Diablo, 2 and 3 (3 to a lesser extent)) where not only do you not get to know ahead of time whats in every chest, you also don't know where the chests are, nor what is guarding them, or how challenging they will be or how to face those challenges in other words you don't farm, you play. you also do not get static items that are identical and thus you also can not meta game your ideal gear setup ahead of time. This makes all gear worth looking over and the entire process of developing your character is more interesting.


I once suggested this, probably back in 2008 and 2009, and used EQ as a reference. The reason I used EQ is because it has examples of both. Some items drop off one specific mob and you have to camp that mob in order to get the item In other cases, highly desired items drop off nonspecific mobs. The example was the RBG (rune branded girdle) - which dropped off froglock krups which were a trash mob located all over the zone. People could play the game, in whatever part of the zone they wanted to and still have the same chance of getting that specific item, rather than completing the same exact objective over and over again to do so.

[Texlaw1992]

I bought one in the ASAH (Orien server if it matters). Fairly cheap actually, as were the 150 black stones to upgrade it. Make it easy on yourself.

[Paleus]

If you have more than one character who is able to run Haunted Halls, pick the one that would never have a use for the Shield. The loot gods will think you gave up and this character will pull the shield.

Doesn't work. The loot gods are wise to the deceitful ways of mortals. This may have worked in the past when loot was btc and the gods blessed many a barbarian with torc drops. The only sure way to get them is to sacrifice halflings on their altars. And even that I believe rarely satisfies them anymore. Our only hope is for Turbine to release gnomes so they too can be laid out on the altar.

[Miow]

trade all the other wonderful items you pulled there for your shield

[pgm152]

trade all the other wonderful items you pulled there for your shield

Oh I've used the other items as well but the shield would be the icing on the cake for me. That dragon SWEARS there's no shield lying around in that cave but I know better.

Glad to hear the drop rate is increasing. I'll still make those kobolds cry their tiny kobold tears in the meantime, cause why not, but perhaps they won't need as much long term therapy after this drop rate change.

[Powskier]

the shield is bugged and they will nerf it at month end

[IronClan]

the shield is bugged and they will nerf it at month end

Whats bugged about it?

[Scrapco]

Huh. That's actually the only thing I've ever gotten from there. Sorry, I'll put one back. :-/

[Rys]

Heh funny thing I've got four shields while hunting the necklace. No need to say I ended up buying it from ASAH :D


If you have more than one character who is able to run Haunted Halls, pick the one that would never have a use for the Shield. The loot gods will think you gave up and this character will pull the shield.
Yes.