Are Episode/Patrols Mission Loot Drops REALLY Better On Elite?

grayfoxjames

I have a T5U Science Odyssey all Mk XIV Ultra Rare/Gold gear. Four Tier 6 ship traits unlocked and level 60, +4 levels above that in the Specialization Tree. I've always played the game on Elite and today I ran the episode "Enemies in All the Usual Places"...started the mission around 5:00 p.m. and finished it around 6:30 p.m.

Before Delta Rising I was parcing around 8,000 DPS with Mk XII, I don't know what it is now but all I know is that the mission on Elite basically took my whole gaming time with what seemed no better drops. I never felt threatened by the enemies they still could barely break my shields, all I would do is stand still and spin my Oddy to have all weapons fire on the enemy.

So all it was, was just time consuming because these ships just have massive hulls. So the question is, is there any real benefit to playing the game on Elite mode other than bragging rights (been there, done that). Are the loot drops REALLY better or more frequent? Any proof on this because I don't seem to see it or feel it.

Does anyone know if you get more XP per ship and if so how much more. Right now I need to make a decision to either commit the time to play on elite for more XP and "better drops" or just go play Normal mode and have time to do more missions.

This post is not referring to the queues, just story missions and such. Thanks for any replies.

grayfoxjames

Wow 102 views and no one has an answer to this question or any confirmation of better drops? I guess playing in Elite mode just isn't worth it anymore except for the queue missions.

ashkrik23

Greens and blues are more frequent. There is a higher chance for purples, but the rates are so low it does not really matter.

grayfoxjames

That's what I thought I just needed some opinions. Because honestly I think you can run 3 normals in the time it takes to run one elite for minimal to no better rewards. Elite just finding out not worth it.

sheldonlcooper

I've got 4 or 5 superior upgrades so far. Makes it worth it to me to have a little fun shot at something useful to find.

grayfoxjames

sheldonlcooper wrote: »

I've got 4 or 5 superior upgrades so far. Makes it worth it to me to have a little fun shot at something useful to find.

Well that's not bad. I do want to play in elite but the time it takes to complete for me is just so much longer now. I do like less then half the missions I was able to before during my gaming time.

sheldonlcooper

grayfoxjames wrote: »

Well that's not bad. I do want to play in elite but the time it takes to complete for me is just so much longer now. I do like less then half the missions I was able to before during my gaming time.

Yeah I watch my friend play last night. She was struggling with the delta story patrol missions in a T6 escort. For me it's ok, a little too much hp maybe. Not enough enemy damage. But my ships are supertanks.

szim

It's not worth it in my opinion. One superior tech upgrade once in a while cannot compensate for the long tedious battles. The last story mission took me almost 1:30 hours to complete. Especially the last wave of Vaadwaur ships was extremely annoying. And the reward? A rare mk xiii Vaadwaur Pulswave Pistol.

sheldonlcooper

szim wrote: »

It's not worth it in my opinion. One superior tech upgrade once in a while cannot compensate for the long tedious battles. The last story mission took me almost 1:30 hours to complete. Especially the last wave of Vaadwaur ships was extremely annoying. And the reward? A rare mk xiii Vaadwaur Pulswave Pistol.

I just did that one this morning. I got VR pistol! Totally worth it - haha.

I am enjoying it on elite to an extent, though I will probably do my other characters in normal.

ralphgraphite

I remember reading somewhere that drop rates for good rewards on Advanced and Elite story mode were going to increase with DR.

I bumped up my difficulty 2-3 weeks ago in preparation, and have run some story mode missions before, and after DR dropped.

I'd say no - drop rates of good loot aren't much better, or if they are, it isn't obvious. As it isn't obvious, is there really a point to the more HP. Some of the enemies show some good AI, but the Kazon carriers are just HP sponges.

Mindscape on Advanced - dropped solely Mk X gear of various quality at level 51. Very disappointing.

The next story mission on Elite - I got a battery. To be fair, it is light on combat.

The first patrol 4 pack on Elite, I got a few green Mk XIs, I think one blue from a boss ship.

I did get one superior beam upgrade BEFORE DR dropped on Advanced.

So yeah, not seeing much of a point (at least on Elite).

Since mission rewards are now handing out purples it seems, and Mk XII Very Rare is the new Mk X Uncommon (2 levels back from Mk XIV and 2 rarities down from Epic), should boss ships not hand out Mk XII rare or very rare gear more consistently in Elite? I'd say yes. Before arguing about power creep - that's the whole thing - we have gone up two Mks and introduced two new rarities (as ultra rare was really only a Fleet thing before). Better loot drops (perhaps some with interesting mods etc) would make me consider using some of them, instead of just vendoring the whole lot of it.

I'm probably going to go back to Normal, or at the very least Advanced. I was hopeful that Elite would be worth the effort for the drops, but I don't see the fun in taking 2-3 times as long to kill the same enemies with the same AI. The Kazon carriers weren't threatening my ship anymore than on a lower setting, they just took a lot longer to knock down.

donowick

No you don't need to run in elite for drops in advance I get plenty of drops that are blue mk 12 and get very rare upgrade drops also.

grayfoxjames

I'm glad most of the community agrees. My ship is extremely tanky and can withstand anything on Elite and while I haven't parced I'm guessing I probably do around 10,000-12,000 DPS on my Oddy.

But I think I'm going to play on Normal setting if anything to save on my gaming time and be able to do more missions.

lowy1

I had been running on elite but switched to normal for space, it's just too tedious for the lack of rewards. Ground, I keep it on elite because I don't get bogged down in fights.

dragonsbrethren

The increased skill points make it worth it, was pretty funny seeing people complaining about having to grind levels to get to the next mission while I could've skipped a couple of the patrols if I wanted to.

Drops, I'll agree with everyone else. I had one mission drop 4 superior tech upgrades, but nothing like that before or since, so it was a total fluke.

tigeraries

No loot is not any better... they say you have a chance to get higher quality drops... maybe if you kill hundreds of mobs.

but in space battles, it is a slog. HP and Resists are insane for an regular mission episode.

Only thing you can count on is that if you kill/blow up a mob you will get more exp/skill points.

darkjeff

I had been grinding Tau Dewa, so I had my difficulty accidentally set to Elite when I did a story mission (not the patrols, but a mission). It was a massive PitA where I was in no danger, but still took way too long.

I'm in a JHDC that averaged 26k (30k max) pre-DR. Now I'm level 60, with a few spec points past that, and the masteries from the Phantom, Eclipse, and Dauntless - and it still took way too long on Elite. Not recommended.