Should companion/mount drop rates from parcels be reduced in the future

katamaster81899

Every year, the market has become more and more flooded by the companions, mounts, and other goodies that drop from parcels. This is, of course, to be expected. However, the market was nowhere near recovered from last years saturation before this years festival hit, dropping prices even further. There is no longer any reason to farm CTA or any of these events because I can buy the best reward the event drops for a mere 3k AD.

While I love the goodies and stuff from the event, I think the drop rate should be halved, or even more for the green companions and mounts that are dropping. I believe the drop rate for the epic and rare stuff like the forgehammer, gond mount, twisted scroll case, chicken egg, etc. is fine, but the more common drops from the parcels are just dropping too often. The economy (in my opinion) is totally out of equilibrium, and I think we should consider the ramifications that it has on other events throughout the year

Just for new players, I'll take the example of the Swashbuckler - before the winter fest started dropping parcels, the swashbuckler would sell for a meaty sum of 130k AD on the AH while the event was running, way back when the ZAX was around 250/1 (in other words, AD was worth twice as much as it is now). Now the swashbuckler sells for 3k AD

litaaers

No, I don't think that the drop rate on companions and mounts should be reduced (keep drop rate the same)

This game's main focus is NOT the marketplace. People SHOULD be able to obtain most items, and relatively cheap.

I say this as someone who sells anything I can get my hands on. If prices drop due to a glut in the marketplace, either save the item until the time is right, or sell it for what you can get, and move on.

If you have the bank space, save it for the right time, such as the summer, before the next big event.

regenerde

No, I don't think that the drop rate on companions and mounts should be reduced (keep drop rate the same)

Last year, there was an exploit, which lead to those massive amounts of companions/mounts/whatever on the market.
This year, there was a bug, which also lead to a higher amount of companions/mounts/whatever on the market.

Exploits and bugs are an issue, but the drop rate itself is probably just fine.
And i'm so sure about that example either, since i have seen the Swashbuckler for around 10k AD in the AH way before this event.

Not to mention, this is a perfect time for new players, since they can get their hands on some rather decent companions, mounts and more, without having to pay an arm or a leg for it.
And as mentioned above, if any new (or "old"...) player decides to bank those boe drops now, they might even be able to get some extra AD through sales over the year too.

oldbaldyone

I would say those rewards are on the AH not because they are to common...they are there because they aren't very useful. It still costs WAY to much to upgrade a pet, and the companion tokens are way to rare.

Give pets an update like they did for mounts - allow you to customize them and mix and match abilities and skins, and the game gets 500 times more visually appealing. Instead of seeing 8-9 Fire Archons in SVA, you'd see 10 different pets most likely.

I'd love to use my Paranoid Delusion all the time, but I can't get past the fact that its n effectiveness loss. But if I could have the fire archon with the PD skin...Awesome!

Outside the event, you can get a rare Frozen Polar Bar now for about 70k. This is a rare drop from the hardest boss in the game currently....a drop most people dont even know about and dont check for. 70K is a lot for a new players, but not much for an advanced player that can make that with a leadership RP army in a day.

katamaster81899

Decrease the drop rate from parcels, but leave the drop rate from starlight bags the same (decrease drop rate of unbound items, leave bound drop rate the same)

regenerde wrote: »

Exploits and bugs are an issue, but the drop rate itself is probably just fine.
And i'm so sure about that example either, since i have seen the Swashbuckler for around 10k AD in the AH way before this event.

I'm talking several years ago, before there were any gifts or starlight parcels in the winter fest - the original winter festival didn't have these, they were an addition the second or third year. Way back when, CTA was something that all of the hardcore players would form premades for and farm for hours on end in hope of getting a companion drop. They were that valuable, and now the CTA events are just "meh, maybe I'll run it once for old times sake". That's really my issue.​​

loboguild

No, I don't think that the drop rate on companions and mounts should be reduced (keep drop rate the same)

Typical issue of high end vs. low end. Big accounts and seasoned players would like to reduce drop rate to maximize wealth and resell value. Low end players like the drop rates because they can get a substantial amount of progressions because they do not own most items yet.

The only way to solve this would be to introduce a full new set of items each event. As long as this is not the case, I'd rather cater to low end than high end.

btairborne

No, I don't think that the drop rate on companions and mounts should be reduced (keep drop rate the same)

Yes let's make a knee jerk decision based on a flooded market DURING THE EVENT itself. Get a grip. This is really about the space in your bags and not being able to sell all your loot fast enough, admit it.

katamaster81899

Decrease the drop rate from parcels, but leave the drop rate from starlight bags the same (decrease drop rate of unbound items, leave bound drop rate the same)

btairborne said:

Yes let's make a knee jerk decision based on a flooded market DURING THE EVENT itself. Get a grip. This is really about the space in your bags and not being able to sell all your loot fast enough, admit it.

Not at all, this is me having watched the market not recover from last years festival. The prices never rose back up after the companions flooded the game, and now they've dropped once more. I'm a hoarder, I love saving stuff for 8 months and selling for profit, I have 3 personal guild banks so that I have space to do it. Do us all a favor, and try not to assume stuff before finding out the facts. I won't be selling any loot I get until May or June at least.​​

ghoulz66

Why complain about non-BiS companions and some mounts becoming cheaper...? Are you upset that you can't make a profit or something? What about new players? Maybe it's a nice break for them to be able to afford something to help them along the way.

It's not like forgehammers are raining from the sky. Stop being a baby about crappy Powries and other companions with crappy bonuses not being worth 200k+.

It's like complaining that level 70 blue gear only costs 200 AD, giving lowbies an UBER advantage.

katamaster81899

Decrease the drop rate from parcels, but leave the drop rate from starlight bags the same (decrease drop rate of unbound items, leave bound drop rate the same)

ghoulz66 wrote: »

Why complain about non-BiS companions and some mounts becoming cheaper...? Are you upset that you can't make a profit or something? What about new players? Maybe it's a nice break for them to be able to afford something to help them along the way.

It's not like forgehammers are raining from the sky. Stop being a baby about crappy Powries and other companions with crappy bonuses not being worth 200k+.

It's like complaining that level 70 blue gear only costs 200 AD, giving lowbies an UBER advantage.

It has nothing to do with that, I'm complaining because the cheap companions defeat the point of farming any other event throughout the year.​​

sonji

No, I don't think that the drop rate on companions and mounts should be reduced (keep drop rate the same)

Now although i believe the drop rate should stay the same (and as someone who has opened hundred upon hundreds of parcels and even more bags i can say this) Because its not that high to begin with. and everyone who thinks the bags should stay the same ill agree with you only if they remove the BtC items and change them to BtA. I'm currently sitting with 60 BtC companions/mounts my inactive companion slots are full on my main, and i have to keep destroying 10s of the same companion. Mounts are hilarious because there are certain ones you can get you cant sell, cant destroy, and once you have 1 you cant equip. so i have 2 slots that are permanently taken because its impossible to remove these. heck make companion drops lower sure...but then what about people who do this for collections? I did over 3 thousand runs in a CTA to get that stupid lizardfolk shaman with no success. i have 2 now from event. I do agree with the "More options or just a new set of rolls" idea.

litaaers

No, I don't think that the drop rate on companions and mounts should be reduced (keep drop rate the same)

katamaster81899 said:

farming ​

The key word in this thread. The whole concept of farming implies that one is only playing to get loot for resale. While it has become a side effect of the playerbase, I don't believe it was ever part of the game design. Hence, it will never be catered to.

Sure, everyone gets extra things and sells them, but farming is the idea taken to extremes.

tvcity

I think every parcel should drop a companion or better (increase drop rate)

increase!! they should increase the pet drops from all the stuff...everyone should be able to complete their companion collection cheaply and easily

mysteriasdrassa

No, I don't think that the drop rate on companions and mounts should be reduced (keep drop rate the same)

Hamster no, I rarely ever get a drop of anything,, decreasing the rate would effectively make it just another lockbox to me with my <font color="orange">HAMSTER</font> luck

ilmenira

No, I don't think that the drop rate on companions and mounts should be reduced (keep drop rate the same)

no, god, no!
leave us, and especially newer players, have fun during these holidays and get presents we normally dont get!

diloul31

No, I don't think that the drop rate on companions and mounts should be reduced (keep drop rate the same)

Is this a joke ?

i opened every parcel and bought a few on my 3 toons...

My best rewards is preservation seal x10 and 2 respec tokens...
Oh and well, hamster garbage transmut...

So no, from my point of view, they need to INCREASE drop rate.

But to be fair, many people got awsome rewards from their gift, me i got hamster and hamster again like in every hamster gift or chest i opened since the release on ps4 exept one compagnion pack one day.

arabatur

No, I don't think that the drop rate on companions and mounts should be reduced (keep drop rate the same)

For someone who mainly just invokes due to the horrifyingly dull content, the drop rate is ideal. One day I might even use the rewards I've gained.

katamaster81899

Decrease the drop rate from parcels, but leave the drop rate from starlight bags the same (decrease drop rate of unbound items, leave bound drop rate the same)

Maybe I was wrong about the way I approached.

Just for stats, I'll tell you how much UNBOUND I've gotten on 17 chars, 11 of whom missed the first day because I was so sick I couldn't make it through them all. Remember that I have a week left, and all of my characters have hit the 20 parcel minimum, so I should be getting a lot more epic drops.
- 37 green companions
- 10 green mounts
- 1 bound blue mount (think it was bugged, ive seen posts about it)
- 180x Pres Wards
- 16 Retraining Tokens
- 6 Epic Companions
- 1 Apparatus of Gond
- 3 Twisted Dwarf Cases
- 1 Chicken Egg
- A lot of Mass Revive Scrolls (I'm not counting those)

Now this is me, only running it on 17 characters. Now some people might argue I have god RNG, but the people I know running it on 20ish characters like me have gotten about the same quantities of epic loot, so I'd say it's safe to assume that this is somewhat standard. So for people with one character, that odds are that you maybe get one epic drop, and a couple of green drops, maybe a stack or two of pres, and one or two retrain tokens.

Think about those players that are running it on 50 characters (Trust me, I know a LOT of people that are). That's the issue. There are so many drops entering the game that it's devaluing them, and makes it pointless to farm any other event in the year (except for the summer fest).

Maybe I was wrong in thinking about nerfing the drop rate, maybe we need to evaluate the binding of drops from parcels, and make it so all drops are bound to account, or maybe after opening X number of free parcels on an account each day, make the rest bound. Or, we can drastically increase drop rates in all tiers (2x-4x), and make it so you can only get one or two free parcels a day per account.

I think it's great that free players can get cool drops, I just think that it devalues the companions and items so much to the point that I have no motivation to run the events that drop them at other times in the year.​ And while older players with lots of alts from the old leadership army days might make a killing off of this event every year (I know I do), is it really fair? As much as I love the effortless free AD (Last years winter fest made me probably 5m AD or more from selling some of the drops over the year, I didn't get around to selling all of them. Don't worry, I'm pretty sure I wasted the AD on useless stuff, like HP and HV gear that doesn't work anymore :P), I really am starting to wonder if the drops from this event are a good thing.​​

urabask

No, I don't think that the drop rate on companions and mounts should be reduced (keep drop rate the same)

katamaster81899 said:

I'm talking several years ago, before there were any gifts or starlight parcels in the winter fest - the original winter festival didn't have these, they were an addition the second or third year. Way back when, CTA was something that all of the hardcore players would form premades for and farm for hours on end in hope of getting a companion drop. They were that valuable, and now the CTA events are just "meh, maybe I'll run it once for old times sake". That's really my issue.​​

No one would farm CTA anyways. The companions are garbage and nothing else of value drops from it. They'd need to add more RP and improve the companions before people would farm it. The problem isn't the drop rate or the winter festival; it's that the rewards themselves have no intrinsic value so their market value is dependent on scarcity. They would need to do something like make Archons and wheel of the elements start dropping in CTA for people to start farming them.

mamalion1234

No, I don't think that the drop rate on companions and mounts should be reduced (keep drop rate the same)

we need new poeple to improve and this event every year and is their chance to improve. Astrals diamonds for me is something to keep improve my characters and help friends and the guild nothing more nothing less. IF you want rare loot go open lockboxes

polaris1986

hello.

I think drop should be a little better.
The main reason why companions sell for 3k AD is it because they aren't good even for non 70lvl players.

I tell it's a trash,

if there where a companions with +2% AP or 5% CA or something else usefull the price was better. Because more people need it and noone would to take it just for 5k AD.

maybe it will dropped more rare but it will be needed.

sorry for my english.

voidgift

No, I don't think that the drop rate on companions and mounts should be reduced (keep drop rate the same)

Why? The events themselves are more then capable of flooding the market in hours. They are easy way beyond any kind of ridiculousness. If you don't have movement speed increased, you'll have trouble reaching the final boss before he is dead in 99% of any single q pug. It is the events, and maybe the level scaling that needs fixing. It also needs new rewards added to most of them.

krymkac

No, I don't think that the drop rate on companions and mounts should be reduced (keep drop rate the same)

You must be HAMSTER kidding me with this poll? I have 12 characters, 1 of each class i actually play + alts for different paragorns i had to abandon cause recent modules are so "alt-friendly". No army of characters just for parcels/leadership/whatever. With compensation parcels we got after the fix each character is over 20 parcels now. 22-24 smth like that. Like 80-90% of those gave me either r5-r6s or blue unidentified gear aka pointless worthless trash. Rest- 60 green wards, 4 worthless green companions, 2 green mounts, 12 respec tokens (oh so useful that i had 5 from last year in bank), a blue mount i cant even discard now without CS help, battlefield medic & Lillend (best drop, doesnt make them any less worthless). No gond artifact, no epic mounts or somewhat useful companions. As others said before worthwhile loot keeps the high price & demand the junk well just being junk. With current drop rates at least those who care about collection can get some points, new players - new toys to play with. Also designing stuff around smartasses with 50 chars per account or rather allowing that many chars is the reason we got into this rng mess in the first place. If someone can troll the loot tables with army of alts obviously drop chances cant be any good. And now you basically saying "lets screw legit players & newcomers of what little fun they still have cause some Joe has 50 characters". No thanks. All the loot i got might look too good but i been playing the game since 2013 creating & gearing up all my characters along the way, Same goes for you. But plenty of ppl have 3-4 chars. For them drop rates dont look that awesome.

mysteriasdrassa

No, I don't think that the drop rate on companions and mounts should be reduced (keep drop rate the same)

Seriously? 20-50 alts,, no wonder cryptic keeps nerfing the <font color="orange">HAMSTER</font> out of everything,, most recently maps in bottles... I barely have time to run my main, let alone the 4 alts I have just to putz around with,,, the best thing I got from winter fest was a meh doohiky after opening about 100 gifts,, I wouldn't call that a superb drop rate,, quit trying to ruin the game for those of us that barely have the time to enjoy it as is. And btw,, yes I could run to the AH and buy one of those super cheap things that uber farmers like you are flooding it with,, but then I loose the surprise and joy when I actually DO win something,, what fun is that? Sounds to me you are just unhappy that you can not make tons of AD off the AH since you flooded the market... JMO

katamaster81899

Decrease the drop rate from parcels, but leave the drop rate from starlight bags the same (decrease drop rate of unbound items, leave bound drop rate the same)

mysteriasdrassa wrote: »

Seriously? 20-50 alts,, no wonder cryptic keeps nerfing the <font color="orange">HAMSTER</font> out of everything,, most recently maps in bottles... I barely have time to run my main, let alone the 4 alts I have just to putz around with,,, the best thing I got from winter fest was a meh doohiky after opening about 100 gifts,, I wouldn't call that a superb drop rate,, quit trying to ruin the game for those of us that barely have the time to enjoy it as is. And btw,, yes I could run to the AH and buy one of those super cheap things that uber farmers like you are flooding it with,, but then I loose the surprise and joy when I actually DO win something,, what fun is that? Sounds to me you are just unhappy that you can not make tons of AD off the AH since you flooded the market... JMO

I haven't posted a single item to the market. I like collecting all of these items to either resell later in the year, or give away to new players and friends as gifts. Most of the other players I know farming on lots of alts do the same thing - I find that the players posting the companions are people who don't farm the event on many characters, and need the AD more.​​