(In)Equality in loot drops - Guild Wars Forums

Dwiggit · Jun 07, 2005, 01:53 PM // 13:53

Has anyone noticed a character-dependent inequality in loot drops???

My primary character is a R/Mo and I play with two of my friends on a regular basis. For the longest time, it seemed that I was getting much less loot than my friends, so I decided to count it for a while to make sure it wasn't a bad perception. It turned out my R/Mo was getting loot at about half the rate of what the other two characters were getting, one of which was also a R/Mo.

Is there some sort of pre-determined "luck" level on each character that causes this?

I just wanted to see if anyone else had a similar experience.

On a tangent, all my yellow drops have been hammers, swords, and such for warriors. I have yet to see a yellow bow drop.

Dwig

FireFox · Jun 07, 2005, 01:57 PM // 13:57

Yes, being a monk I have had the same problem but after an hour of getting nothing I got 6 purples and a gold in about 15 min so I dunno lol.

LadyCallipyge · Jun 07, 2005, 02:28 PM // 14:28

Feels like that to me too.....so I go hunting on my own so I get ALL the drops.

Ripper · Jun 07, 2005, 02:37 PM // 14:37

Dwig,

I feel your pain. For a long time now I am convinced that I have been getting the short end of the stick with loot. It seems everyone gets twice the drops that I get. I started to think it might be because I use a lot of AoE's so my damage is spread over large groups instead of one target. I use stuff like barrage, poison (I usually poison a whole mob one at a time) traps, and my elemental AoE's.

I figured maybe it was because loot drops are loosely calculated by damage. I experimented by sticking with single targets until they are dead. It seems to have increased the amount of loot that I get, but is still far less than the other party members.

A support class thing maybe?

Dwiggit · Jun 07, 2005, 02:49 PM // 14:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ripper

I figured maybe it was because loot drops are loosely calculated by damage. I experimented by sticking with single targets until they are dead. It seems to have increased the amount of loot that I get, but is still far less than the other party members.

I've been thinking that too, but it still seems like something is broken. Even when I make the final killing blow, I usually just get money; only about 10% of the time I get an item dropped for me. As far as counting damage, I end up dealing out quite a bit with ignite arrows, dual shot, and apply poison.

What's really weird about this is that the OTHER R/Mo in the group gets much higher drop rates. It makes me think that it is not so much class/damage that affects the drops, but something character dependent. (I created a W/Mo who gets a LOT more drops.)

This even applies to opening chests. About 50% of the time I open a chest, nothing comes out. When party members open a chest, about 95% of the time something comes out. Once again, chest items only get assigned to me about 10% of the time. (My party has banned me from opening chests! They see the disparity too!)

Is my character just cursed???

Dwig

audioaxes · Jun 07, 2005, 02:58 PM // 14:58

no damage has NOTHING to do with it
im a monk, rarely deal damage and get a fair share of loot
heck sometimes i sit around and do practically nothing an entire mission and will still get the most drops

C-Tzar · Jun 07, 2005, 03:05 PM // 15:05

It is 100% random, it just feels like you're getting singled out.

Halaku · Jun 07, 2005, 03:06 PM // 15:06

There seems to be some kind of formula based on who knows what in getting loot. We were talking about this yesterday a bit in my guild. i've done missions where almost every drop has come to me, including gold and purple drops, then I'vedone missions where I've gotten nothing but a few collector worth items, and maybe a light blue item that is precious, and a few whites and that's about it.

I don't know if its totally random, and you can just go through a bad streak, or if its pre-gen'd prior to entering a instance, or a combination of both. I have noticed though that if one of my characters is going through a dry spell in loot, all my characters are going through a dry spell in loot.

Maegi · Jun 07, 2005, 03:11 PM // 15:11

This is just a theory based on my own play experience. When I am leader, which is most of the time as I either play with henchies , alone or with my wife, I get a decent amount of drops. On the rare occasions I join someone eleses group, the drops are rare or non-existent.

I do a lot of farming. Obviously solo you get a lot more drops, but even that isn't every kill. I'm thinking it also has something to do with how challenging the fight was. I don't think I've ever gotten a gold drop from something that gives 0 exp, but I could be wrong.

Ketch · Jun 07, 2005, 03:20 PM // 15:20

It is completely random, not pre-determined, it is calculated at the same time the drop is made.

When you join a group of lets say 5 other people.. you're going to get 1/6 of the drops roughly.

But you could get less, or more.

Here's something you can do..
Take a single 6 sided dice (die) and pick one number.
lets say there are 50 drops for a mission.
Roll the die that many times, and see how many times your number came up.
Was it rediculously high? Or Low? Or about 1/6 of the time?

When dealing with drops at such relatively low numbers (50) odds don't always act as accurately as you would like. Try rolling the dice 500 times, I bet you it will be closer to 1/6 for that number.

This suggest that over time it will even out.

Algren Cole · Jun 07, 2005, 03:21 PM // 15:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by C-Tzar

It is 100% random, it just feels like you're getting singled out.

everything in life feels like you're getting singled out. Guild Wars is so real

Dwiggit · Jun 07, 2005, 03:21 PM // 15:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by C-Tzar

It is 100% random, it just feels like you're getting singled out.

This is not my experience.

With six party members I should receive 1/6 (17%) of the drops.
I am AVERAGING less than 10%

Now I haven't performed a true, scientific study of the situation, I've just done some simple counting to make sure that I wasn't fooling myself. Also, how can it be 100% random if it continues on day after day???

When I switch over to my other character, he gets loot all the time. There is a distinct difference between the two. I just get tired of my friends going home with a few yellow items and a handful of blues, while I've got maybe 1-2 blue items. Remember, my friends saw that I've been "unlucky" with chests and won't let me open them.

It could be entirely possible there is a game bug involved, don't rule out that possibility. Unless you wrote the code for the game, you wouldn't know that it is 100% random. Even then, bugs unknown to the code writer occur all the time.

Dwig

Halaku · Jun 07, 2005, 03:22 PM // 15:22

I've gotten a gold drop from stuff that gives me 0 exp. Heck I've gotten purples off of mobs that gave me 0 exp. The level of the mob has to do with how good the drop is (you won't get a 20-25 bow off of a level 8 charr) but has nothing to do whether you get a drop or not.

One other thing I have noticed, is that henchman take a more then average amount of drops. So lets say all the players get x drops, it seems that a henchman gets x*2 drops.

Algren Cole · Jun 07, 2005, 03:27 PM // 15:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Halaku

I've gotten a gold drop from stuff that gives me 0 exp. Heck I've gotten purples off of mobs that gave me 0 exp. The level of the mob has to do with how good the drop is (you won't get a 20-25 bow off of a level 8 charr) but has nothing to do whether you get a drop or not.

One other thing I have noticed, is that henchman take a more then average amount of drops. So lets say all the players get x drops, it seems that a henchman gets x*2 drops.

that's because they have account for some way to 'pay the henchemen'....they get more drops because you need them to come along.

and drops are completely 100% random...it would require EXTRA code to get the game to decide what characters got what drops and when. You've just been unlucky

Night Daftshadow · Jun 07, 2005, 03:38 PM // 15:38

my character is also a R/Mo, and I get a fair share of the loot. Sometimes I don't. It's all randomness. You're lucky sometimes and unlucky sometimes. But I usually tend to get mostly blue items and regular weapons. In a week's play, I get probably 3-4 purples or sometimes even less. I don't play much, may be 2-3 hours each time I play or none at all. I rarely get gold items. So far I think I've only gotten 3 gold items.

Shamblemonkee · Jun 07, 2005, 03:40 PM // 15:40

R-A-N-D-O-M

someone used the die example which is a good way to think of it, but then someone misinterpreted it as meaning 6 party mebers meant a strict 1/6 chance of getting loot (i.e every 6th loot would be yours, or each person could get 6 in turn).

No.

It's a 1 in 6 chance on every drop, not cumulative. The chance is unique to that drop.
So you could be unlucky and get nothing all night while your mate gets everything bar one drop which goes to the henchie you brought along or something.

Altho i do like the amazing paranoia of each character having a luck stat. Makes me smile the things people dream up.

Poppinjay · Jun 07, 2005, 03:45 PM // 15:45

Some guild should really do a full scale study on this. Count up a large number of drops and distinguish rares, from collectors, from super-rares, to money for each different profession, and post the results. I am not part of a large enough or active enough guild to do this.

Or, of course, AN could just post the formula.

It is so stupid to keep these things hidden. They should be in the manual.

One should know the rules to the game one is playing.

From my experience there seems to be something askew as well. If I solo, I get a much higher rate of good items. If I take along JUST ONE henchman I end up with only a quarter of what I was receiving before, if that much. Often time many many more kills with nothing rare at all.

If this is part of the calculation it is unfair, and just one more way that warriors have an edge. Casters can not solo very well. They need a tank. When I try to solo with a caster it usually involved exiting a town, killing a few things by the gate. Dying when I am mobbed by several monsters at onece, then going back to the town though mapping and exiting again and killing the same monters. Fighters are much more resiliant and don't need to do this. But that is not a justification for them getting a larger share of the look. Frankly I think warriors can hit far too hard for the amount of damage they can take. Either lower the armor class for them or lower the amount of damage they can deal.

Poppinjay

Poppinjay

Shamblemonkee · Jun 07, 2005, 03:46 PM // 15:46

Not really, its a mechanism used to keep you playing.... same as slot machines....

Algren Cole · Jun 07, 2005, 03:47 PM // 15:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poppinjay

Some guild should really do a full scale study on this. Count up a large number of drops and distinguish rares, from collectors, from super-rares, to money for each different profession, and post the results. I am not part of a large enough or active enough guild to do this.

Or, of course, AN could just post the formula.

It is so stupid to keep these things hidden. They should be in the manual.

One should know the rules to the game one is playing.

Poppinjay

what would be the point in this? your results would be "The Drops are RANDOM"

ethornber · Jun 07, 2005, 03:52 PM // 15:52

Remember that 'random' in computer programming is not the same as 'random' in mathematics.

Jun 07, 2005, 01:53 PM // 13:53	#1
Dwiggit Frost Gate Guardian Join Date: Apr 2005 Guild: Heroes Unlimited (HaCK) Profession: R/Mo	(In)Equality in loot drops Has anyone noticed a character-dependent inequality in loot drops??? My primary character is a R/Mo and I play with two of my friends on a regular basis. For the longest time, it seemed that I was getting much less loot than my friends, so I decided to count it for a while to make sure it wasn't a bad perception. It turned out my R/Mo was getting loot at about half the rate of what the other two characters were getting, one of which was also a R/Mo. Is there some sort of pre-determined "luck" level on each character that causes this? I just wanted to see if anyone else had a similar experience. On a tangent, all my yellow drops have been hammers, swords, and such for warriors. I have yet to see a yellow bow drop. Dwig

Jun 07, 2005, 03:40 PM // 15:40	#16
Shamblemonkee Lion's Arch Merchant Join Date: May 2005 Location: UK, Bristol Guild: Gwen's Red Capes [Gwen] Profession: Mo/R	R-A-N-D-O-M someone used the die example which is a good way to think of it, but then someone misinterpreted it as meaning 6 party mebers meant a strict 1/6 chance of getting loot (i.e every 6th loot would be yours, or each person could get 6 in turn). No. It's a 1 in 6 chance on every drop, not cumulative. The chance is unique to that drop. So you could be unlucky and get nothing all night while your mate gets everything bar one drop which goes to the henchie you brought along or something. Altho i do like the amazing paranoia of each character having a luck stat. Makes me smile the things people dream up. Last edited by Shamblemonkee; Jun 07, 2005 at 03:45 PM // 15:45..

Jun 07, 2005, 03:45 PM // 15:45	#17
Poppinjay Frost Gate Guardian Join Date: Apr 2005	Some guild should really do a full scale study on this. Count up a large number of drops and distinguish rares, from collectors, from super-rares, to money for each different profession, and post the results. I am not part of a large enough or active enough guild to do this. Or, of course, AN could just post the formula. It is so stupid to keep these things hidden. They should be in the manual. One should know the rules to the game one is playing. From my experience there seems to be something askew as well. If I solo, I get a much higher rate of good items. If I take along JUST ONE henchman I end up with only a quarter of what I was receiving before, if that much. Often time many many more kills with nothing rare at all. If this is part of the calculation it is unfair, and just one more way that warriors have an edge. Casters can not solo very well. They need a tank. When I try to solo with a caster it usually involved exiting a town, killing a few things by the gate. Dying when I am mobbed by several monsters at onece, then going back to the town though mapping and exiting again and killing the same monters. Fighters are much more resiliant and don't need to do this. But that is not a justification for them getting a larger share of the look. Frankly I think warriors can hit far too hard for the amount of damage they can take. Either lower the armor class for them or lower the amount of damage they can deal. Poppinjay Poppinjay Last edited by Poppinjay; Jun 07, 2005 at 03:50 PM // 15:50..

Jun 07, 2005, 01:57 PM // 13:57	#2
FireFox Krytan Explorer Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Texas Guild: We Wear Sombreros [文文文], Ugly Ducklings [ugly]	Yes, being a monk I have had the same problem but after an hour of getting nothing I got 6 purples and a gold in about 15 min so I dunno lol.

Jun 07, 2005, 02:28 PM // 14:28	#3
LadyCallipyge Academy Page Join Date: May 2005	Feels like that to me too.....so I go hunting on my own so I get ALL the drops.

Jun 07, 2005, 02:37 PM // 14:37	#4
Ripper Frost Gate Guardian Join Date: May 2005	Dwig, I feel your pain. For a long time now I am convinced that I have been getting the short end of the stick with loot. It seems everyone gets twice the drops that I get. I started to think it might be because I use a lot of AoE's so my damage is spread over large groups instead of one target. I use stuff like barrage, poison (I usually poison a whole mob one at a time) traps, and my elemental AoE's. I figured maybe it was because loot drops are loosely calculated by damage. I experimented by sticking with single targets until they are dead. It seems to have increased the amount of loot that I get, but is still far less than the other party members. A support class thing maybe?

Jun 07, 2005, 02:58 PM // 14:58	#6
audioaxes Jungle Guide Join Date: May 2005	no damage has NOTHING to do with it im a monk, rarely deal damage and get a fair share of loot heck sometimes i sit around and do practically nothing an entire mission and will still get the most drops

Jun 07, 2005, 03:05 PM // 15:05	#7
C-Tzar Krytan Explorer Join Date: May 2005 Location: North AL, USA Profession: E/Mo	It is 100% random, it just feels like you're getting singled out.

Jun 07, 2005, 03:06 PM // 15:06	#8
Halaku Ascalonian Squire Join Date: Mar 2005	There seems to be some kind of formula based on who knows what in getting loot. We were talking about this yesterday a bit in my guild. i've done missions where almost every drop has come to me, including gold and purple drops, then I'vedone missions where I've gotten nothing but a few collector worth items, and maybe a light blue item that is precious, and a few whites and that's about it. I don't know if its totally random, and you can just go through a bad streak, or if its pre-gen'd prior to entering a instance, or a combination of both. I have noticed though that if one of my characters is going through a dry spell in loot, all my characters are going through a dry spell in loot.

Jun 07, 2005, 03:11 PM // 15:11	#9
Maegi Ascalonian Squire Join Date: May 2005 Guild: Game Dog Radio	This is just a theory based on my own play experience. When I am leader, which is most of the time as I either play with henchies , alone or with my wife, I get a decent amount of drops. On the rare occasions I join someone eleses group, the drops are rare or non-existent. I do a lot of farming. Obviously solo you get a lot more drops, but even that isn't every kill. I'm thinking it also has something to do with how challenging the fight was. I don't think I've ever gotten a gold drop from something that gives 0 exp, but I could be wrong.

Jun 07, 2005, 03:20 PM // 15:20	#10
Ketch Ascalonian Squire Join Date: May 2005 Location: Waterloo Profession: W/Mo	It is completely random, not pre-determined, it is calculated at the same time the drop is made. When you join a group of lets say 5 other people.. you're going to get 1/6 of the drops roughly. But you could get less, or more. Here's something you can do.. Take a single 6 sided dice (die) and pick one number. lets say there are 50 drops for a mission. Roll the die that many times, and see how many times your number came up. Was it rediculously high? Or Low? Or about 1/6 of the time? When dealing with drops at such relatively low numbers (50) odds don't always act as accurately as you would like. Try rolling the dice 500 times, I bet you it will be closer to 1/6 for that number. This suggest that over time it will even out.

Jun 07, 2005, 03:22 PM // 15:22	#13
Halaku Ascalonian Squire Join Date: Mar 2005	I've gotten a gold drop from stuff that gives me 0 exp. Heck I've gotten purples off of mobs that gave me 0 exp. The level of the mob has to do with how good the drop is (you won't get a 20-25 bow off of a level 8 charr) but has nothing to do whether you get a drop or not. One other thing I have noticed, is that henchman take a more then average amount of drops. So lets say all the players get x drops, it seems that a henchman gets x*2 drops.

Jun 07, 2005, 03:38 PM // 15:38	#15
Night Daftshadow Banned Join Date: May 2005 Location: In the forest Guild: Hidden Shadows Profession: R/Mo	my character is also a R/Mo, and I get a fair share of the loot. Sometimes I don't. It's all randomness. You're lucky sometimes and unlucky sometimes. But I usually tend to get mostly blue items and regular weapons. In a week's play, I get probably 3-4 purples or sometimes even less. I don't play much, may be 2-3 hours each time I play or none at all. I rarely get gold items. So far I think I've only gotten 3 gold items.

Jun 07, 2005, 03:46 PM // 15:46	#18
Shamblemonkee Lion's Arch Merchant Join Date: May 2005 Location: UK, Bristol Guild: Gwen's Red Capes [Gwen] Profession: Mo/R	Not really, its a mechanism used to keep you playing.... same as slot machines....

Jun 07, 2005, 03:52 PM // 15:52	#20
ethornber Ascalonian Squire Join Date: May 2005	Remember that 'random' in computer programming is not the same as 'random' in mathematics.