Lockboxes need balance

reddmanne

Is it just me or are there way way way to many alchemist boxes in the chests. I am so sick of getting them and I'm wondering has anyone else noticed it. I opened 40 boxes and got 32 alchemist, WTF is up with that. Isn't there some kind of balance to how many of one thing over another. What I mean is why can't I get more planer idols and why is it a <font color="orange">HAMSTER</font> ton of alchemist. I don't even use alchemist, what about the other trades, you don't get those at all. Last night I seen in chat someone got 6 beetle mounts in a row at the same time and all I get is these stupid alchemist boxes which are <font color="orange">HAMSTER</font>. So, I guess my question is "Does it depend on your level or something and/or is the boxes bugged". Otherwise this needs to be fixed or something and until I see some sort of balance I don't think Ill be buying them to much. So who agrees about a fix, I know I do. FIX IT. THX.

ironzerg79

The person getting six beetles in a row is probably opening up hundreds of boxes in quick succession.

And yes, the boxes are a big gamble. It's like rolling the dice at a casino, then complaining that you didn't win the jackpot. You're not suppose to win the jackpot. You're suppose to keep throwing money at it, hoping you do.

Unknown

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ironzerg79

magenubbie wrote: »

@IRonzerg: Probably more xD

Probably. Once you have the ability to buy hundreds of keys at a time, then you can smooth out the randomness and make money on the boxes. Which then feeds itself. I use to think it was a bug, but then caught on to the fact that it's the same people getting lots of items over and over again, but you always see it happen in quick bursts. Then they'll go silent for a couple days, then quick bursts.

lewstelamon01

Welcome to the world of the RNG, where you don't always get what you want no matter how much money you throw at it. Sometimes it's easier to buy the item you want outright off the auction house because yea, sometimes you can get it for less, but more often than not you'll be better off burning huge wads of AD in the middle of PE.

sasageru

I dunno whats up with the rates for the unearthed lock boxes xD I've opened only a couple dozen, certainly not the hundreds i hear some talking about, and have come away with two emperor beetles and bunch of stuff i had no real use for. But that said, i've had better luck with these than the previous lockbox types and have opened roughly the same for each (actually probably opened more feywild than unearthed and got nothing 'decent' from them).

At the end of the day it is gambling, so i guess you could get 5 awesome finds in a row, or get 500 useless finds in a row, it just depends on the luck of the draw :c for example, I'm still trying to get the artifact from the unearthed box's... *facedesk* would have been better off selling the keys and buying it from the auction house at this point lol.

beelzebubbanw

I wonder if these chain openings are part of the video glitch that I see in crafting. When I craft something like a shirt and get the gemmed exquisite shirt, if I open another crafting task that is completed for a split second I see the gemmed exquisit shirt again.

So with that said, if you click boxes really fast, can you get the super prize multiple times if you are a really fast clicker simply due to a video display issue? I just asked in another thread about this video display issue. I wonder if these are connected?

loboguild

People claim to profit in a big way off the lockboxes and while I find that, considering my own math, a bit implausible (at least at the moment), it's true that you can nearly break even on larger samples. The Rusted Iron Lockbox returns 41k on average including AH fees and a key costs roughly 50k. But that's for a high ZAX and without sale.

During the sale over the weekend keys were only 42k AD and the ZAX was at 330 a few weeks ago, which would translate to only 37k AD per key. So it's not unreasonable to squeeze a minor profit out of the boxes if you buy the keys at a favorable rate. Retired lockboxes generally are more valuable, the contents of Nightmares currently sell for an average of 55k.

That said, stay away from the current Lockbox. Two very common drops, the Alchemy Special Pack and Priceless Thayan Antiquity, sell for way too less (people mostly open Unearthed boxes these days and flood the market = prices go down) to return fair value on average. What you should do right now is buy Thayan Antiquities while they are dirt cheap. With Mod3 there definitely will be a new lockbox and a new campaign, so you want to stockpile these either to progress faster with future characters or resell at a better rate.

The Mod1 campaign boost, Illefarn Relic Fragment, sells for 30k+ nowadays.

In conclusion, the lockboxes are well balanced in my eyes. Just don't land on the wrong side of demand and supply.

rashylewizz

ironzerg79 wrote: »

The person getting six beetles in a row is probably opening up hundreds of boxes in quick succession.

This.

I personally know some of these people always appearing on your screen and I can confirm that they do open hundreds of boxes in quick succession.

They don't always profit from it, but they spend real money from their jobs to have a little evening fun and there is nothing wrong with that. They are supporting the game.

postagepaid

Clicking speed has nothing to do with getting junk or not out the gambleboxes, it's the volume being clicked.

When a new box appears most will be opened by those with the funds to back up buying keys(boxes) and spamming through, those too stupid to realise what a waste they are and those who set a limit of 10 keys just to see. I fall into the last group but only if I have either AD's spare or picked up keys on the cheap.

The announcements you see are only there to persuade the slightly less gullible that it is possible to win "big", although with the lack of stables or mount storage there is very little draw to winning a random mount. Only good thing about that announcement is that unlike STO they don't include the players @handle, I got a ship out a box and thanks to the announce had a dozen whispers from people trying to buy it off me for next to nothing.

That said I was in a group when someone with the same character name as mine won something and another party member wouldn't let up about it as the message came in during a boss fight despite having the @handle aspect explained to them.

candinho2

rashylewizz wrote: »

This.

I personally know some of these people always appearing on your screen and I can confirm that they do open hundreds of boxes in quick succession.

They don't always profit from it, but they spend real money from their jobs to have a little evening fun and there is nothing wrong with that. They are supporting the game.

It's like casino u'll never win hahah, house aways win. and ur job is just toss ur coins.

ironzerg79

rashylewizz wrote: »

They don't always profit from it, but they spend real money from their jobs to have a little evening fun and there is nothing wrong with that. They are supporting the game.

I have a guildmate who just loves opening the boxes. She's spent a lot on keys, but it's fun for her. Some people go to movies, so people go out to the casino. Her? She opens magical boxes.