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Post by Nails on Jun 24, 2017 14:15:55 GMT -5
Hello, Tavvy has been working on some customized air/cave drop loot tables which were added a few days ago. I'm opening this thread to post any opinions, bugs, overpowered/underpowered findings and even just plain odd loot drops you might have seen. There's always room for improvement and we knew there would likely be some additional balancing needed. The more feedback we get from the community the better we can adjust these loot tables. I personally have come across drops with a saddle and odd resources like thatch, a few consumables in the caves, an app theriz saddle. While I would have of never of found a theriz saddle otherwise, this is nothing game-breaking IMO. However, some of it might be considered a tad weak--personally, I hope to still find a torch BP  and have yet to see any BPs at all. I know some have found several metal walls (yellow), an ASC ptera saddle (special red), MC hatchet. None were BPs. Now, these are not a big of a deal, however, ptera saddles were orginialy only found in yellow drops and never an ASC. Again, not terribly OP but some might disagree with me. Generally speaking, they appear to be okay, but we need a larger sample size.
Now's your chance to help us make sure these loot tables are balanced enough for this server. Thanks for your help!
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Post by islander1 on Jun 24, 2017 14:56:30 GMT -5
I think we definitely need a big sample size, but on balance I gotta say, I even look in blue beacons now. One time I got 4 cooked lamb. 95% of beacons were completely worthless - red and yellow included.
I welcome reasonable level of improvements, with the rare OMG check this out.
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Post by Tavvy on Jun 24, 2017 16:44:30 GMT -5
I will be creating a thread later this week with a detailed explanation of the loot changes. Will remove the need of having a sample size  I may lower the amount of drops from the non-ring'd beacons to only have 1-2 drops instead of 1-3. The Ring'd drops should be set to give 2-4 drops which is similar to ARK's actual config. EDIT: BTW Scorched does not have custom beacons yet. The only beacons that have modified loot tables are above-ground beacons and the lower-level cave drops. |
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Post by Tavvy on Jun 24, 2017 16:51:15 GMT -5
I know some have found several metal walls (yellow), an ASC ptera saddle (special red), MC hatchet. None were BPs. Now, these are not a big of a deal, however, ptera saddles were orginialy only found in yellow drops and never an ASC. Again, not terribly OP but some might disagree with me. Ya all of the drop configs don't have any asc gear configured. However, there is no way to guarantee that an item level will be a specific quality. For example if you spawn in a ptera saddle of quality 6 you could get Jman, MC, or ASC. The code I used to generate these configs uses a lower number (offset by -1) to try to help lower the chance of getting item qualities above whats configured, but due to how ARK represents item quality it's impossible to make it perfect. Yes, ptera saddles (I believe) arent in red loot table drops but the goal of the modified drops is to fit a "progression"-esque style of loot. For red drops I stuck in saddles of useful dinos and increase the ability to get higher item qualities, because those dinos are useful. |
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Post by Dino Dave on Jun 24, 2017 18:51:46 GMT -5
I made a short, detailed powerpoint thing for you Nails, proposing the changes to the old map lol. It never saw the light of day when tavvy and I were discussing teh changes a month or two ago, but if you want to see our theory behind the changes, here it is. This was meant to convince Nails, but it still works as an explanation (click the "present" button in the upper right to watch). docs.google.com/presentation/d/1sHItKG39wSXrlPsicLaL7GQwzMnBk8jJo9T5eb6gt6c/edit?usp=sharingSummary: DO NOT make loot lists any more OP at all. Remove: - Engram-point saving bps. They're pointless for AAH, we have plenty of points. - Cloth/leather/stone tier items from cave drops. They are not rewards, they are stupid. Replace with: - Updated saddles from new dinos(that otherwise wouldn't drop at all) - Valuable, but limited time items like organic poly, mutton, healing brews, or leech blood to promote immediate use(game play) - Novelty or seldom crafted items to add some variety (if subtle) to everyone's play, grapple hooks, magnifying glass, scissors, etc. again, DO NOT make loot lists any more OP at all. |
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Post by islander1 on Jun 24, 2017 22:53:53 GMT -5
I don't know where people are getting all these "OP" items. I am camping every spawn I can and not only am I almost never seeing yellow and red beacons, but when I do, I'm not getting anything remotely OP. I've gotten a green ankylo BP, and a couple of green flak armors.
that's it, and I'm already level 70.
edit: I wanted to update this post to clarify something. Because I'm not buzzed now.
I am NOT at all complaining. In fact I love the changes. Even blue beacons typically have something useful. My intended point above was that I've gotten nothing remotely considered OP.
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Post by carrie on Jun 25, 2017 22:53:47 GMT -5
We have also been looting beacons all week and have not gotten anything really OP either. However we have got a lot of the typical throw aways (water jar bps, metal bps, the usual) We have got some useful things (cooked lamb, some green and blue saddles for common dinos (raptors, etc), but definitely nothing super OP. Also not complaining or anything like that, just sharing findings =)
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Post by Tavvy on Jun 26, 2017 6:42:25 GMT -5
We have also been looting beacons all week and have not gotten anything really OP either. However we have got a lot of the typical throw aways (water jar bps, metal bps, the usual) We have got some useful things (cooked lamb, some green and blue saddles for common dinos (raptors, etc), but definitely nothing super OP. Also not complaining or anything like that, just sharing findings =) That's cause Scorched beacons aren't done yet. Possibly also Ragnarok, but I'm unsure. Needs testing. The code effects Beacons on TheIsland and TheCenter for sure. |
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Post by islander1 on Jun 26, 2017 9:33:05 GMT -5
My input is from the Island. Updating, I think I got a blue doed blueprint...and one blue flak helmet. Those are my best to date. I've probably hit 100 or more now.
and not the weak beacons either. I am hitting the ones in the northeast. Carno Island, Hidden Lake region too. My new base is being built this week up where "The Pack" used to be on the old server. Far north, just east of the Snowy Biome beginning.
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Post by Nails on Jun 26, 2017 17:37:28 GMT -5
I made a short, detailed powerpoint thing for you Nails, proposing the changes to the old map lol. It never saw the light of day when tavvy and I were discussing teh changes a month or two ago, but if you want to see our theory behind the changes, here it is. This was meant to convince Nails, but it still works as an explanation (click the "present" button in the upper right to watch). docs.google.com/presentation/d/1sHItKG39wSXrlPsicLaL7GQwzMnBk8jJo9T5eb6gt6c/edit?usp=sharingSummary: DO NOT make loot lists any more OP at all. Remove: - Engram-point saving bps. They're pointless for AAH, we have plenty of points. - Cloth/leather/stone tier items from cave drops. They are not rewards, they are stupid. Replace with: - Updated saddles from new dinos(that otherwise wouldn't drop at all) - Valuable, but limited time items like organic poly, mutton, healing brews, or leech blood to promote immediate use(game play) - Novelty or seldom crafted items to add some variety (if subtle) to everyone's play, grapple hooks, magnifying glass, scissors, etc. again, DO NOT make loot lists any more OP at all. Few things: I simply implied that an ASC anything in a land drop could be considered OP. I perfectly understand the challenge Tavvy had using the spawn codes and how random they are. If anything the majority of the drops I've found are more useless than before and underpowered. Other then a few cave drops I've pretty much just gotten very few items I could use right off the bat, no point in putting items in loot drops with the idea that someone can put it in a grinder for resources. The grinder is a one of the last crafting structure most people build. I'd disagree with this: "Remove: - Engram-point saving bps. They're pointless for AAH, we have plenty of points." Engram points are standard until level a certain which is fine, so keeping some of these items BP drops is useful, just not doubles. I wholeheartedly disagree that BPs are not needed. I have yet to find a single BP in any loot drop (though I think some have), which is vastly disappointing (I need my torch BPs) Getting drops with a set of cloth armor, a torch, or a full thatch hut was great at lower levels, with few engrams to start these were nice. These seem to of been replaced with 17 thatch and flint, which I can get with stone tools in 10-secs. Ultimately my point is that some people seem to think these loot tables are already fine, I don't believe they are. Most appear to be rather underpowered while a few have the potential for being overpowered. I knew that they would need some testing and tweaking after we tested them a bit and I still believe that. I was hoping for more a balance between the vanilla loot drops and our custom drops. Not an easy task. |
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Post by Tavvy on Jun 26, 2017 20:58:47 GMT -5
Engram points are standard until level a certain which is fine, so keeping some of these items BP drops is useful, just not doubles. I wholeheartedly disagree that BPs are not needed. I have yet to find a single BP in any loot drop (though I think some have), which is vastly disappointing (I need my torch BPs) Getting drops with a set of cloth armor, a torch, or a full thatch hut was great at lower levels, with few engrams to start these were nice. These seem to of been replaced with 17 thatch and flint, which I can get with stone tools in 10-secs. Ultimately my point is that some people seem to think these loot tables are already fine, I don't believe they are. Most appear to be rather underpowered while a few have the potential for being overpowered. I knew that they would need some testing and tweaking after we tested them a bit and I still believe that. I was hoping for more a balance between the vanilla loot drops and our custom drops. Not an easy task. Engram point awards are mostly vanilla until level 75, which several people have gotten in 5 days. It's not hard to get to the point where you have enough points to unlock everything. (We can change that though ) While I can see your point and am open to tweaking drops, I need some specifics. I'm bad with turning the word "balance" into loot tables  Feel free to open up some ideas (this goes for anyone else) and I'll see what I can do. Perhaps we should open up a thread for drop improvements? |
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Post by Nails on Jun 26, 2017 22:31:16 GMT -5
I'll do what i can to simply report what i find as i open it
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Post by islander1 on Jun 27, 2017 9:44:30 GMT -5
Yeah, although I've gotten to level 74 now in 5 days, it definitely slows down after 70. I suspect I'll be creeping along the rest of the way. Not complaining, just another observation. I killed an alpha raptor outside my base this morning - low level - and it barely registered on my exp bar |
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deny
Intern
Posts: 7 
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Post by deny on Jun 27, 2017 15:34:49 GMT -5
I'm loving SE drops so far. I think I've gotten pretty lucky with few items like ASC whip, JOR chainsaw\flamethrower and some good quality saddles. However, the main thing I like about SE drops is the continued usefulness of green+ drops regardless of my level. I find a decent amount of adobe structures in there and wind turbines\oil pumps that I disassemble for materials. Evey now and then the loot gets weird with a halo-ed crate. I've had like 2 flamethrowers and two flamethrower BPs in one crate(in addition to other items).
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deny
Intern
Posts: 7
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Post by deny on Jun 27, 2017 15:40:48 GMT -5
But as a suggestion for SE drops, maybe put a lower-ish chance of the drop containing materials that are harder to come by on SE? Like cementing paste(or just chitin\keratin), rare flowers\mushrooms, tree sap. Quantities don't have to be large but every bit helps.
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and have yet to see any BPs at all. 
Feel free to open up some ideas (this goes for anyone else) and I'll see what I can do. Perhaps we should open up a thread for drop improvements?