Quote Originally Posted by Anasu View Post
Of course you are right. Across the "broad" base of this MassivelyMulti-playerOnlineRPG chances for loot in Sharn runs about 8%. Here is the thing though...why keep it RNG at all? So a few people on one end of the curve get the hell beat out of them on loot while the winners on the other end benefit from the misery that balances their benefit? Now to be clear, my luck is middling, but I understand the frustration. It IS needlessly complicated to follow a "grading on a curve" mentality, especially considering the nature of the GAME. So I will propose yet again, a universal token system where access to loot can be throttled by frequency and quantity of drop rate for tokens and cost of items in tokens. This can be done. The system is already in play; the "newer" raid loot menus. Eliminate the 1:12 common drops, and leave the chances for mythic/reaper intact, perhaps even adding incredibly slight chances to be hit by lightning twice in the same spot on the same day on normal for these drops.

Using your example of about 8% drop rate, calling it your 1:12, and pulling a token cost for an item from my behind...

Loot Item A from Sharn costs 120 UniTokens (set by Item Budget). 10 Unitokens for Sharn (Level Appropriate for Loot Item A) quest completion. 12 Completions nets 120 UniTokens. Go to quest giver, trade tokens for loot.

The item still has to be earned. There is still a chance at that .01% efficiency upgrade the "top tier" player desires from a mythic/reaper bonus, and there is light at the end of every tunnel for the "casuals." Not to mention, there would less desire to hammer one quest out repeatedly for the benefit of the loot. Have we not already had this problem with experience awards in quests? As long as there is incentive to play a particular quest for a particular item for your particular build this particular life...well you get the point. A token system broadens the options for play as well.

TLDR;

Fix with a Universal Token System for Non-Raid Loot, and one Universal Token System for Raid Loot.

That won’t happen.

The whole reward on a roll scheme apparently is better to mental hack us to run content more often. Pure casino level hacks.

They partially undid it for raids because I bet their data showed they aren’t run much.

That said, ddo removed some of the luck elements from grinds already with the whole xp based grind. I guess for some people the appeal of running relatively easy stuff to no end is enough of a mental hack to get the hooked. There is no denying that there is a grinder fraction of players across any mmo.

I am also surprised that lots of players tring to no end do so because they are optimizing for an end build, when it is clear there is no end game in ddo not there has been for many years. Whatever, it works and ssg rides it hard.

Loot chances are a gimmick to extend gameplay beyond the point of replay ability based on fun. Of course it is painful to have to wait for that drop, it is not a system designed to create fun by rather hook you.