Stonedust Woes

[FreddyK]

So aside from how hard it was to get the stonedust handwraps in the first place, I think 8 runs of the Eyes of Stone quest and they didn't even drop for me only for someone in my group, I am now having to run the entire Attack on Stormreach quest arc to farm the Staff of the Shadow so I can upgrade them to vampiric wraps.

Does anyone know if the Staff of Shadow drops anywhere or is it really only an end reward for doing the entire quest arc? I've managed to get a hooked blade and a Gnollish War bow so far but I don't want cripling or maiming handwraps. Any help would be appreciated.

[Chubsta]

I can't remember if they drop from a chest or not, but they do pop as a chain reward often. I have three of them as of now(1 in use and 2 in the bank) and have passed up several since. You shouldn't have too much trouble pulling one.

[HellsChaos]

I feel your pain about the stonedust...I have completed 20 full runs of eyes of stone and have not had it drop once. Feeling alittle depressed about it actually. I have 5 blades of furies though lol.

I got the staff after my first arc completion...combined them with a blade of fury for a vampiric blade.

[Cairo]

You can think what you like about me, but Google is not a secret thing that only a select few know about.

Literally 4 seconds of typing wouldve answered his question, but he chose to be lazy and let someone else answer it for him. To me, that reeks of a player who, when joining a group for, say, Ringleader, BYOH, zerg, be self-sufficient, goes "SHARE PLZ" and runs around screaming for "HJEAL ME". They want someone else to do the work for them.

Lazy.

[nicro]

I feel your pain about the stonedust...I have completed 20 full runs of eyes of stone and have not had it drop once. Feeling alittle depressed about it actually. I have 5 blades of furies though lol.

I got the staff after my first arc completion...combined them with a blade of fury for a vampiric blade.

Were you running it on elite? I've heard the higher difficulty setting increases your chances for the handwraps to drop.

[Sal'vation]

First, ignore the haters posting above. These pages are for members to post questions on, so post away.

Second, while Stonedust wraps are a pain to get they are more than worth it. Of course if you hate the grind to finding them yourself they do show up on AH from time to time.

I hope you get to enjoy these wraps as they have definitly improved my solo abilities, and I now prefer them over my 'greater' handwraps on everything but bosses.

[FreddyK]

Thanks, I appreciate the replies. I had already checked the DDO wiki but always like to get the opinion of real players and what they might have seen. Wiki's can make mistakes too. Thanks for most of you being helpful. Unfortunately there are always people who seem to be upset with their own lives and feel the need to take it out on others.

The stonedust wraps are indeed worth it! I love them and can't wait to upgrade them. Funnily enough I once ran a group where 4 sets of stonedust wraps dropped in the end chest of Eyes of Stone on the same run. It was crazy! Thanks again.

[HellsChaos]

Were you running it on elite? I've heard the higher difficulty setting increases your chances for the handwraps to drop.

yeah, i run it randomly, but mostly elite. I have tried solo or group (for better odds).
I think the game has decided that it doesnt want me to have a pair lol

[Impatiens]

I ran the quest until ransack with a rogue friend so I could get the Coin Lord chest too and still no sign of them. I'd like to at least get them before I TR again. I'm either terribly unlucky or the drop rate is ridiculously low. Garments of Equilibrium on the other hand I have three of and so does my friend who I was running the quest chain with.

[78mackson]

You can think what you like about me, but Google is not a secret thing that only a select few know about.

Literally 4 seconds of typing wouldve answered his question, but he chose to be lazy and let someone else answer it for him. To me, that reeks of a player who, when joining a group for, say, Ringleader, BYOH, zerg, be self-sufficient, goes "SHARE PLZ" and runs around screaming for "HJEAL ME". They want someone else to do the work for them.

Lazy.

Ever thought of swapping server? sure there are new players everywhere, but if u lfm on Thelanis u usually average one or 2 helpfull players sometimes even the whole group.... On the 'other' server, and I quote Borat "not so much"..

[dunklezhan]

Wait, what? You have to run the whole arc to get a shot at the staff? I thought it was just an end reward from the last quest in the chain? Wow. Glad I have one in the bank already.

Mostly what I really want is a mark so I can do the crafting. I've run both chains several times on a number of characters, I've yet to see a single mark of any variety drop. /sigh.

[Jaid314]

Wait, what? You have to run the whole arc to get a shot at the staff? I thought it was just an end reward from the last quest in the chain? Wow. Glad I have one in the bank already.

Mostly what I really want is a mark so I can do the crafting. I've run both chains several times on a number of characters, I've yet to see a single mark of any variety drop. /sigh.

just to save you a bit of time, only the second chain drops marks. and mostly in the 'optional' chests (i say 'optional' because in at least one case, the chest isn't really very optional at all.)

so, for example... in 'assault on summerfield' you're more likely to get what you're looking for in the chests up on the wall, if i'm not mistaken. in 'blockade buster' the most likely spot i've seen to get a mark is in bash's chest. in 'undermine', the three optional elementals seem to be the most likely to drop marks. and in 'siegebreaker', the three medusas are the best for getting marks.

in fact, i don't think i've ever personally seen a mark drop in a non-'optional' chest (but i've heard that they do in fact drop from them... i've just never seen it happen. likewise with much of the named loot that drops in chests)

[TeacherSyn]

just to save you a bit of time, only the second chain drops marks. and mostly in the 'optional' chests (i say 'optional' because in at least one case, the chest isn't really very optional at all.)

so, for example... in 'assault on summerfield' you're more likely to get what you're looking for in the chests up on the wall, if i'm not mistaken. in 'blockade buster' the most likely spot i've seen to get a mark is in bash's chest. in 'undermine', the three optional elementals seem to be the most likely to drop marks. and in 'siegebreaker', the three medusas are the best for getting marks.

in fact, i don't think i've ever personally seen a mark drop in a non-'optional' chest (but i've heard that they do in fact drop from them... i've just never seen it happen. likewise with much of the named loot that drops in chests)

Turbine does allow you to buy the marks from the crafting cauldron using 5 Astral Diamonds, available at the DDO Store. They aren't expensive at all.

When one is impatient in grinding, you can throw money at the problem. The loot isn't too hard to gather if you have other characters to play, since I suspect drops are conditioned to the class, and luckily all items are BtA.

The Stonedusts upgraded to vampiric are a must-have for all monks, but dark monks particularly since healing is always more challenging than their light brethren.

[dunklezhan]

Turbine does allow you to buy the marks from the crafting cauldron using 5 Astral Diamonds, available at the DDO Store. They aren't expensive at all.

When one is impatient in grinding, you can throw money at the problem.

I am sensing a heavy dose of sarcasm there on the cost of ADs. I hope.

The other comment is, unhappily, pretty true. In my view good loot should be hard to get, which is not the same as 'grinding' for something random to drop which might take one quest, might take hundreds. If its a 'grind' it should be a fairly predictable amount of grind, if its not a grind it should be a proper challenge requiring skill. And in no case should you be able to buy your way past it.

However, while it's a choice between repetitions of a truly random nature, you ought to be able to sacrifice something to bypass it. I'd rather it wasn't real world cash and was instead experience, or serious amounts of plat, or trading in other items, or something like that. But it is what it is. I won't buy the ADs at those prices, and I won't grind a quest more than a few times unless there's noticable progression. Therefore I will do without.

The loot isn't too hard to gather if you have other characters to play, since I suspect drops are conditioned to the class, and luckily all items are BtA.

Not actually my experience, but I realise i'm in a minority given the number of people who seem to have the items in question.

The Stonedusts upgraded to vampiric are a must-have for all monks, but dark monks particularly since healing is always more challenging than their light brethren.

Agreed. Which means I'll do a little more grinding than I would for most other loot. But eventually, I'll give up on this too if it doesn't drop in a 'reasonable' amount of time (<10 runs).

[edgarallanpoe]

I had to run that quest a truckload of times to get it to drop. It got to the point where I had ransacked the chest multiple times and I was no longer receiving any experience running the quest. IMHO that is absurd. The wraps are cool and great to have but certainly not game changers and certainly not deserving of the stupid low drop rate.

[Puppetian]

That's just bad luck folks, nothing more. I've recently been grinding both chains for XP, and during the course of 4 or 5 repetitions of them I managed to build 2 sets of vampiric wraps along with some other assorted weaponry. I was running them solo and on normal, so yeah, bad luck in your cases indeed. A word of advice if you're having trouble pulling the marks or the base item: ask guildies to help you out, even if it will mean loss of xp. Having 6 chances of pulling them really makes a difference when opposed to 1. You might also want to check the AH or the trade channel if you're willing to cough up some plat.

As for the necessity of them, well, they are certainly useful for solo purposes, but that's about it really.

[Zildoran]

I'm really looking forward to using these wraps next life for the boost to healing, but it was a royal pain to get. Ran eyes of stone multiple times before (maybe 3-4) and then a few weeks later ransacked the chest with no drops for me. Finally got another player to pass to me who had been with me for a few runs. Staff took 2-3 completions of the second chain, which doesn't take long once you learn it.

[Drakos]

I ran the quest until ransack with a rogue friend so I could get the Coin Lord chest too and still no sign of them. I'd like to at least get them before I TR again. I'm either terribly unlucky or the drop rate is ridiculously low. Garments of Equilibrium on the other hand I have three of and so does my friend who I was running the quest chain with.

See I the total opposite here. I have 5 to 6 pairs of Stonedust wraps and only the one Garments. I have gotten I think 4 total Staff of Shadow though.

To the OP, yes the end reward for the chain is the only place to get the Staff, but it isn't that hard of a chain and you could always just do the quests on the lowest difficulty level if need be, it doesn't effect the chain end reward just the loot inside the quest. I'm just happy it isn't like the Sentinals chain where you can on;y get the end chain reward once / character.

Also, sometimes you can find a pair of the Vamperic Stondusk Handwraps on the AH. Last one I was was up for 1 mil buyout, and that was befor the birthday event.

[Impatiens]

See I the total opposite here. I have 5 to 6 pairs of Stonedust wraps and only the one Garments. I have gotten I think 4 total Staff of Shadow though.

Wow really? My rogue friend and I each have not one, not two, but three garments of equilibrium right now. No idea what I'm going to do with the extras. Time to roll up another monk!

I've seen vampiric ones up on the AH, but even though I have a lot of plat, I'm too cheap to buy them. I have the staff to upgrade the wraps if I ever get lucky with the drops. I'm focused on leveling now though. At level 18 I have plenty of other good wrap options. I'll just have to go back and try to farm them up again before I TR.

[Drakos]

Wow really? My rogue friend and I each have not one, not two, but three garments of equilibrium right now. No idea what I'm going to do with the extras. Time to roll up another monk!

Yeah, only the one set, but then again I haven't farmed for them like I did for the Handwraps. I have run Eyes about 25-27 times and only pulled like 6 pairs total (one I gave to my guildie). The last quest in the second chain is where the Garments drop and I've only run that about 5 times mabye 6. I have only once not been offered the Staff of Shadow as the chain reward, so I guess I was lucky there.

edit: Oh and I've found exactly 3 Marks, all are the purple one needed for the Vamperic Stonedust.