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  • crosschancrosschan Posts: 920 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    Ello, I'm Cross. I break RNG Curves. My MMO RNG Luck is so bad(How bad is it?) that the devs use the term "Cross Luck." The supposed average drop for a costume unlock from Andrithal is 1 in 30. I went 0 in 193 on elite solo. I, more times than not, do not "win." I stubborn content until it "submits." I've been playing MMOs since MUD/UO/EQ so this concept isn't exactly new to me. There are some drops in this game which I do believe the rates are entirely too low(like .001 is an actual confirmed dev number for a few things and I find that ridiculous despite having those particular unlocks). I'm not one of those people who brags that I have something you do not have when it comes to unlocks. I'd much rather brag at how I used the unlock vs. how some blackredder hooded grimdark spawn knockoff misused it(never said I was a saint).

    Having said this I do think there is a distinction between "cosmetic fun" and "toon improvements." If you look at our neighbors they both have Campaign Zone Systems(which I hope we get..and pronto) which use a token system. CO has multiple token systems and, having played a few fresh toons to 40 recently, I have to say some of them are quite decent(Nemesis, for example) and some of them are kinda horrible(Rampage and some of the Recog like MCPD). I also feel that the drops for things like Westside, F&I, Kigatillik, Some Alert Bosses, and Cybermind are abysmal.

    The way I see it is this. These game have their "token/currency/whatever" systems but they are defined in concrete. You do X, you get Y so if you do the math it takes you Z days to obtain your objective. And in reguards to F&I, I'll freely admit I find the alert to be the right difficulty(barring contributions bugs and minor things). I'll also restate that I took my Celestial/Darkness toon into a PUG to see how hard healing was and the other 9 people were afraid to even hit the mobs so the Living Fire/Ice spawned, nobody hit them, and we died. 10s later 6 people left. So there is something to be said about the success levels on a PUG. This could correct itself in time when people learn the fight better like Gravitar. This will also get better when 1 know-it-all-but-not-really person says,"Ok, we all kill Kenina 1st," everytime I go into a PUG...and they're shocked when Frosticus annihilates them despite the enrage mechanics being explained to them and why this is a bad idea.

    For me, and I'll admit this post is a lil bit all over the place but I had things to say, I think some drops should be made eaiser to obtain because their drop rates boarder on the obscene side BUT others are just fine as being rare. When it comes to purely optional cosmestic options then I might complain about something like a Gunblade(187 runs) or the aforementioned Andrithal drops...but they're cosmetic. Now Justice is also purely optional but it's gear. To be honest, the LvL 1-36ish gear in this game is abysmal and not entirely fleshed out since On Alert. For the most part LvL 40 is Heroic, Optional, Optional, and "NEW" Optional but they're mostly the same stuff with minor improvements. Thing is, if people want to put in the time/work/effort/grinding/whatever to obtain Justice AND it has the extra headache of obtaining Salvage(which can be obtained via good old fashioned globals) then the tokens should be a garanteed drop because it fits the mold on such "currencies" ingame currently and I don't see an issue with that myself. That these drop rates encourage some kind of longer shelf-life to the new content may very well be true to an extent...but the burnout factor also has to be taken into consideration. Heck, Remok, you put in the grindcore effort and you're done now. How many times are you going to rush back into the grind to do it again?

    Again, it's just stuff to think about and me putting my opinions out there. Take them for what you will. :cool:
    2s9bzbq.jpg
    Join Date: Aug 2009 | Title: Devslayer
  • hyperstrikecohhyperstrikecoh Posts: 472 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    I did 175+ runs to get all 6. Did those between two days. I persevered.

    Again, the number of runs you did is IRRELEVANT to the number of tokens you earned.

    Basically all you did was keep rolling the dice until they came up in your favor.

    That's not perseverance, that's luck. Sorry.

    ORLY?

    And there's a very real possibility that you could go for HUGE swaths of time (days, weeks, months without the RNG coming up in your favor). Is it MATHEMATICALLY likely? No, but random is random.

    We have yet to see a case where it would take months to accumulate the said six token from Fire and Ice only because it has only been around for a few days.

    Obvious, but factual.
    If you were to play on a daily basis or even a semi-weekly and you land a token from that one to two hour of play, congratulations!

    Again, I'd still rather see a system that allows players to EARN them, rather than have them doled out through sheer, dumb luck.
  • hyperstrikecohhyperstrikecoh Posts: 472 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    Character progression comes from the almighty Justice Gear. If the DS requirement is such an issue, stick with the Heroic gear or obtain the G's for legion gear.

    The DS requirement has been talked to death and this particular debate is also reaching its end.

    If the gear was purely cosmetic, I'd agree with you.

    It's not, so you are bereft of my agreement.

    If people want SPECIFIC gear, set up to optimize SPECIFIC builds, they should have mechanisms in place to EARN the gear. No grinding away forever, and/or spending ridiculous amounts of REAL MONEY for a piddling "you have a tiny chance". Being unable to spec-buy, given appropriate (even extreme) amounts of specific resources is a major failure in the gear/enhancement systems of this game.
  • spinnytopspinnytop Posts: 16,450 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    If the gear was purely cosmetic, I'd agree with you.

    Sorry but, the gear is purely cosmetic. You think it's actually going to make a difference in what you can and cannot do in this game? It won't. Your numbers will be a little bigger, but that will only make things look different (and then only if you have damage floaters on)... you'll still succeed at the same things in the same ways as you did before, and you will not be significantly more able.


    I can't wait for the swath of complaint posts when people get this gear and realize it doesn't make a bit of difference.
  • hyperstrikecohhyperstrikecoh Posts: 472 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    spinnytop wrote: »
    Sorry but, the gear is purely cosmetic. You think it's actually going to make a difference in what you can and cannot do in this game? It won't. Your numbers will be a little bigger, but that will only make things look different (and then only if you have damage floaters on)... you'll still succeed at the same things in the same ways as you did before, and you will not be significantly more able.


    I can't wait for the swath of complaint posts when people get this gear and realize it doesn't make a bit of difference.

    If it changes the numbers, it is, by definition, NOT cosmetic.
  • blasphemouswordsblasphemouswords Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    If the gear was purely cosmetic, I'd agree with you.

    It's not, so you are bereft of my agreement.

    If people want SPECIFIC gear, set up to optimize SPECIFIC builds, they should have mechanisms in place to EARN the gear. No grinding away forever, and/or spending ridiculous amounts of REAL MONEY for a piddling "you have a tiny chance". Being unable to spec-buy, given appropriate (even extreme) amounts of specific resources is a major failure in the gear/enhancement systems of this game.

    I like to think I earned my six tokens by sitting at my computer, forming a grind team and playing the rampage for hours. I think I made my opinion/opposition clear so I rather not continue to bicker with you about just how unfair you find this system to be. Maybe something will change in regards to the RNG but I wouldn't keep my hopes up.

    I do however challenge you to grind the rampages and perhaps in the eyes of the RNG gods "earn" your gear. Playing the rampages for hours otherwise known as grinding is a form of "earning", I think.

    Feel free to reach me in game and tell me just how much you disagree with me though. I do agree with the design of lock boxes too so maybe I've been drinking the kool aid for too many years.
    ____________
    @Remok
  • spinnytopspinnytop Posts: 16,450 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    If it changes the numbers, it is, by definition, NOT cosmetic.

    The fact that changing the numbers doesn't make any difference is what leaves the gear cosmetic.


    In other games, you get better gear because you need it to run content that requires a higher gear level; getting that gear changes what you can do in the game, which has a significant impact on your play experience. That isn't the case here.


    The only thing that will happen for you when you have Justice Gear on all your characters is that you will no longer have a reason to do Rampages other than just for fun. Your ability to succeed in any content, pvp or pve, will remain unaffected. You can link the gear in chat to try to show off the fact that you have it, but since everyone else will have it too that won't really get you much either.


    It has no effect on the game other than making a few numbers look different; functionally, nothing will change. Cosmetic.
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  • theravenforcetheravenforce Posts: 7,138 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    I am in agreement with the OP regarding the randomness of token drops. That being said I haven't done Sky Command yet with this new system of rewards.

    However, I know people who have done a truckload of runs and not gotten anything substantial to show for it.

    I personally have done 5 runs and received two ice sheathes, an axe and a token. That is almost one reward per run, I am somewhat lucky with RNG, but that's besides the point.

    I do agree that a token should be guaranteed to someone in the alert, when they come to collect rewards.

    However, I do think it would be better to allow everyone to get a reward instead of basing it on scores. If it were up to me, I'd remove the scoreboard entirely and allow everyone in the team to get a reward.

    I think it's a pity that some players have the attitude that healers and tanks somehow detract from the gaming experience by them being required or playing an important role in the instance. If Superheroes were meant to not rely on anyone else, why on Earth do Super Teams exist?

    And before someone says: "What about leechers?" I will point towards the Private Queue system.
  • spinnytopspinnytop Posts: 16,450 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    FYI guys, tokens are guaranteed from Sky Command. I ran it with 7 characters, one time each, and got 7 tokens.

    Wish granted, see you in two days.
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  • blasphemouswordsblasphemouswords Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    If you were referring to the previous post about almighty justice gear, I was being sarcastic. Gear is almost always essential to character but not in the case of justice gear.
    ____________
    @Remok
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  • blasphemouswordsblasphemouswords Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    gradii wrote: »
    oh really? would you care to explain why you think justice gear counts as not actual gear and an "extra perk"?

    if heroic gear counts as regular gear so does justice gear, you can complete almost anything with lvl40 2 slot primaries.

    and there goes the argument for justice gear not being counted as "real gear" because its not needed.

    I would like to say that I never made the argument that justice gear doesn't count as gear. I made it quite clear that while it is the highest tier of equipment available, it also falls under the umbrella of being unnecessary. Same goes for various devices, costume pieces, etc as we discussed earlier (which you brought up). Unnecessary but also the best warrants a challenge, relative to the level/skill/etc of player. In this particular case of F/I, the challenge appears to be a relatively difficult rampage and a low drop rate (with a hint of DR).


    I would also appreciate if you stopped making assumptions from my numerous posts that I have posted on the subject(s). Feel free to pick through my previous posts and misinterpret them though.
    ____________
    @Remok
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  • blasphemouswordsblasphemouswords Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    gradii wrote: »
    well if you want to say justice gear counts as an "extra perk" then why not say that about heroic gear?

    because if you think heroic gear still counts for "normal" gear as in not being called "extra perk"
    by the same logic justice gear counts too. :cool:

    You are adding your own special and specific labels that have a specific meaning so I don't know where you're getting your retorts from because they certainly aren't coming from my posts. I'm calling justice gear unnecessary and since you have maintained that one can get through pve with post-alert gear with two slots, Heroic gear thus becomes unnecessary (and is, in your eyes). Comparing Heroic and Justice gear, Heroic gear is BoE, much more farmable and lackluster in comparison. I've been arguing against the majority on this thread because I think the RNG factor and the relative difficulty of the rampage works. Justice Gear is much better than Heroic gear and behind such a relatively challenging wall, a reward that includes gear that have greater benefits works. The system works.
    ____________
    @Remok
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  • blasphemouswordsblasphemouswords Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    gradii wrote: »
    I think you are misunderstanding what I'm trying to say then.

    to start with I have no problem with justice gear being hard to acquire. my issue rests with an RNG based method of doing so.

    and I mentioned heroic gear because you said justice gear is not necessary, and that applies to heroic as well.

    I don't think that Justice gear should be as easy to get as heroic gear, but it falls under the same
    "not necessary" category.

    I think you imagine parts of my "argument" or at the very least, misunderstood what I have been arguing against all along (at least for the past five to six posts). Now, you're agreeing with me on all points except for that the RNG works (for what Justice gear stands for) and this is just a little more than unnecessary complaining OR a want to change a system that appears to be unfair.
    ____________
    @Remok
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  • hyperstrikecohhyperstrikecoh Posts: 472 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    spinnytop wrote: »
    The fact that changing the numbers doesn't make any difference is what leaves the gear cosmetic.


    In other games, you get better gear because you need it to run content that requires a higher gear level; getting that gear changes what you can do in the game, which has a significant impact on your play experience. That isn't the case here.


    The only thing that will happen for you when you have Justice Gear on all your characters is that you will no longer have a reason to do Rampages other than just for fun. Your ability to succeed in any content, pvp or pve, will remain unaffected. You can link the gear in chat to try to show off the fact that you have it, but since everyone else will have it too that won't really get you much either.


    It has no effect on the game other than making a few numbers look different; functionally, nothing will change. Cosmetic.

    *Facepalm*

    So you're saying there's zero mechanical difference between some green gear and heavily modded purple gear?

    I'm just going to laugh at this notion as politely as I possibly can.

    Again, changing stat numbers doesn't mean that doing things was impossible before. Simply more difficult. Heavily bumping stat numbers allows you to overcome objectives at a given difficulty level more easily and/or raise the difficulty level without seriously endangering your chances of success.

    Again, this is NOT cosmetic.

    The costume creator. THAT is cosmetic. It has exactly zero influence on your character's performance.

    If you're trying to say that gear has zero influence on your character's performance you're either ignorant of how the game works or lying to try and somehow "win" this discussion.
  • hyperstrikecohhyperstrikecoh Posts: 472 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    I would like to say that I never made the argument that justice gear doesn't count as gear. I made it quite clear that while it is the highest tier of equipment available, it also falls under the umbrella of being unnecessary. Same goes for various devices, costume pieces, etc as we discussed earlier (which you brought up). Unnecessary but also the best warrants a challenge, relative to the level/skill/etc of player. In this particular case of F/I, the challenge appears to be a relatively difficult rampage and a low drop rate (with a hint of DR).


    I would also appreciate if you stopped making assumptions from my numerous posts that I have posted on the subject(s). Feel free to pick through my previous posts and misinterpret them though.

    The problem is, you're one of the few trying to discuss the necessity, or lack thereof, of this type of gear.

    NECESSITY IS IRRELEVANT.

    I honestly don't MIND if there are random or cash-shop avenues of obtaining the gear. So long as there's an avenue by which people can also EARN the gear.

    The current setup is random-only. Which is crap.
  • falchoinfalchoin Posts: 383 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    spinnytop wrote: »
    FYI guys, tokens are guaranteed from Sky Command. I ran it with 7 characters, one time each, and got 7 tokens.

    Wish granted, see you in two days.

    If only this were the case...

    About 40 perfect runs, some number of non-perfect PuG runs and I've only got 1 destreum bearing to show for it.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • blasphemouswordsblasphemouswords Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    falchoin wrote: »
    If only this were the case...

    About 40 perfect runs, some number of non-perfect PuG runs and I've only got 1 destreum bearing to show for it.

    Helps if they're perfect and if you alt. Did about twelve runs and acquired all six. All perfect runs except for one (when I had to PUG).
    ____________
    @Remok
  • jennymachxjennymachx Posts: 3,000 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    spinnytop wrote: »
    Sorry but, the gear is purely cosmetic. You think it's actually going to make a difference in what you can and cannot do in this game? It won't. Your numbers will be a little bigger, but that will only make things look different (and then only if you have damage floaters on)... you'll still succeed at the same things in the same ways as you did before, and you will not be significantly more able.

    I can't wait for the swath of complaint posts when people get this gear and realize it doesn't make a bit of difference.

    The fact that the gear outperforms current content is irrelevant. The fact that a player is still able to perform with or without the gear is irrelevant. The gear has obvious value and is obviously the highlight of rampage alerts. Before you decide to use the retort of "whatever happened to playing the game for fun?", realize that not everyone has the mindset of being content with just the reward of the experience while ignoring tangible rewards.

    The annoyance with the RNG reward system is well validated. Everyone involved in the alert who had done their best to contribute in getting a victory should be equally rewarded with a token. The requirement of also needing drifiter salvage to actually get the gear also works to make the RNG seem even more ludicrous.
  • lafury001200lafury001200 Posts: 567 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    This (at least too me) was marketed as a casual game, with the awesome caveat being one could build anything.

    That was in 2009 though. Even if times have changed.....

    /signed

    edit: restating my position-

    Argue all you want how fun is fun and bleh blah blergh. Powers that don't work and/or end up being ultimately useless are a COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME AND (CODE) SPACE.

    Find a gdam happy medium. Doing anything less is uber lazy nerfing because you nerf lot have zero imagination.
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  • spinnytopspinnytop Posts: 16,450 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    *Facepalm*

    So you're saying there's zero mechanical difference between some green gear and heavily modded purple gear?

    I'm just going to laugh at this notion as politely as I possibly can.

    Laugh all you like. I've played in the green gear, the purple gear, and everything in between. The difference is negligable. I've had times where I was changing mods in my gear and forgot to re-equip nearly half of my gear... I only noticed anything was up later on when I opened my bags and saw my gear sitting in there and realized I had run a mess of alerts without it on. That's how big of a "mechanical difference" the gear makes. That being the case, you can imagine how big the difference is between heroic and justice gear... i.e. even less significant.

    Do the math and you'll see how much improvement you get out of those 3 extra slots and the few extra stats you'll get from upgrading from Heroic to Justice. You'll wonder why you ever thought 1% was going to make a difference.

    Justice gear will not make a weak build strong. Green gear will not make a strong build weak.

    falchoin wrote: »
    If only this were the case...

    About 40 perfect runs, some number of non-perfect PuG runs and I've only got 1 destreum bearing to show for it.

    If you had done each of those 40 runs with a different character, you would have 40 bearings right now. Either that, or me and the many other people who got 1 bearing for each character we did 1 run with were all part of an extreme probability phenomenon.
    jennymachx wrote: »
    The fact that the gear outperforms current content is irrelevant. The fact that a player is still able to perform with or without the gear is irrelevant. The gear has obvious value and is obviously the highlight of rampage alerts. Before you decide to use the retort of "whatever happened to playing the game for fun?", realize that not everyone has the mindset of being content with just the reward of the experience while ignoring tangible rewards.

    The annoyance with the RNG reward system is well validated. Everyone involved in the alert who had done their best to contribute in getting a victory should be equally rewarded with a token. The requirement of also needing drifiter salvage to actually get the gear also works to make the RNG seem even more ludicrous.

    I agree that the drops shouldn't be based on RNG and have stated so many times. The argument you're responding to isn't about that though.
  • championshewolfchampionshewolf Posts: 4,375 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    gradii wrote: »
    every nerf patch should bring with it a buff to the underperforming powers. that's how you keep the playerbase.

    I don't see how buffing a power will fix an underlying problem, well several, except make it worse. Namely the games too easy and lack of content.
    Champions Online player since September of 2008, forumite since February of 2008.
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  • jennymachxjennymachx Posts: 3,000 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    spinnytop wrote: »
    Laugh all you like. I've played in the green gear, the purple gear, and everything in between. The difference is negligable. I've had times where I was changing mods in my gear and forgot to re-equip nearly half of my gear... I only noticed anything was up later on when I opened my bags and saw my gear sitting in there and realized I had run a mess of alerts without it on. That's how big of a "mechanical difference" the gear makes. That being the case, you can imagine how big the difference is between heroic and justice gear... i.e. even less significant.

    Do the math and you'll see how much improvement you get out of those 3 extra slots and the few extra stats you'll get from upgrading from Heroic to Justice. You'll wonder why you ever thought 1% was going to make a difference.

    Justice gear will not make a weak build strong. Green gear will not make a strong build weak.

    Regardless, there's still a mechanical difference.

    Think about this: Extra mod slots means opportunities to boost up a certain stat to compliment the build even if it isn't a superstat. One example would be to use an extra slot to boost up CON or END with the appropriate mods. If I'm already maxed out with my DPS build and can afford to use that extra slot to boost my survivability or to significantly benefit from more energy on my Legion or Justice gear, something that I wouldn't be able to do with my Heroic gear, then there's definitely a mechanical difference.

    With that considered, there's no way you can say that it's a cosmetic difference.
  • hyperstrikecohhyperstrikecoh Posts: 472 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    spinnytop wrote: »
    Laugh all you like. I've played in the green gear, the purple gear, and everything in between. The difference is negligable.


    Note: I did NOT say "negligible". I said "zero". If there's zero difference, it's cosmetic. If the difference is a non-zero sum, it is not, by definition, cosmetic.
  • championshewolfchampionshewolf Posts: 4,375 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    Note: I did NOT say "negligible". I said "zero". If there's zero difference, it's cosmetic. If the difference is a non-zero sum, it is not, by definition, cosmetic.

    I find it hard to believe that people believe the difference is negligible. Even on my test build in tank role my damage increase is easily an additional 10% and my bonus resistance goes up by nearly 30%. That doesn't include the boost to things like enrage that will be adjusted by a higher strength score either, or my increased critical severity.
    Champions Online player since September of 2008, forumite since February of 2008.
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  • falchoinfalchoin Posts: 383 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    Stolen from the PTS boards talking about guaranteed token drops:
    aiqa wrote: »
    I agree... but. To not (mostly) invalidate all the drops people got so far, I'd like a guaranteed token fragment, and then with 10 or 20 fragments or so you can get one normal token.

    I think Aiqa's idea would be a nice compromise.

    Now if only the devs would get behind it...
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • championshewolfchampionshewolf Posts: 4,375 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    Yea.... this entire system is bull****. 75+ runs on Gravitar since she started and still not one diamond, yet there are people already bragging they have enough not only to complete a full set on their main but have spares for additional pieces for alts.

    Yea, nice hearty **** you there with this gambling crap.
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  • hyperstrikecohhyperstrikecoh Posts: 472 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    Yea.... this entire system is bull****. 75+ runs on Gravitar since she started and still not one diamond, yet there are people already bragging they have enough not only to complete a full set on their main but have spares for additional pieces for alts.

    Yea, nice hearty **** you there with this gambling crap.

    Pretty much yeah.

    But look on the bright side! They'll start sticking the stuff in more lockboxes so you can spend more real money to gamble for them!
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  • ryogoethryogoeth Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited March 2014
    Totally agree with the OP.

    Lemurian Invasion's token drop rate is especially stupidly low for how long it takes to complete, what with all the unskippable cutscenes. There's just no other way to put it.
  • baroness1980baroness1980 Posts: 268 Arc User
    edited March 2014
    Totally agree with the OP


    Mandatory mention.


    Doing Incarnate Trials and finishing them assured me I'll get Astral or Empyrian tokens., while other rewards were RNG.

    There was always a sense of advancement


    Give us the tokens per completed run, and raise the price a bit to compensate, while leaving the costume drops and other stuff RNG.
  • stergasterga Posts: 2,353 Arc User
    edited March 2014
    Sadly, it looks like token drops are not only a low RNG, but once you get one, your chances of getting a second go down until the next rotation.
    As a side note, I'd like to clarify how the Justice Gear tokens work. They've got a form of diminishing returns, where once you get a token from a given Rampage, you've got less of a chance of getting another token. This dip goes away when the Rampages rotate, so the next time that Rampage comes up, you're back to the full chance.

    I suspect that the RNG won't go away and only get worse in the future. Please prove me wrong, Cryptic.
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