Loot V2.0

[Justine]

Developer Notes #11 - Loot 2.0
Later this month, MindArk will be releasing a special Loot 2.0 Version Update that will overhaul the way in which hunting loot is calculated and distributed. Many of the features and systems added over the past few years have gradually led to this update, which will significantly improve overall loot returns for the vast majority (upwards of 98%) of participants.

The information in this Developer Notes article is intended to inform participants of the upcoming changes and to gather initial impressions and feedback to help ensure a smooth implementation of this exciting update. Please bear in mind that the changes described below are still being finalized and tested, so some specific details may be changed upon release, while other changes may require additional refinement or testing and therefore may not appear in the initial Loot 2.0 release, but instead in subsequent patches or Version Updates.

Loot Changes

• Loot calculations will be optimized and improved to better factor in the various costs associated with hunting activity, including: healing, ammo consumption, buffs, tool and armor deterioration, attachments, and more.
• A special hunting bonus pool will be implemented that will distribute funds from various sources, including skill misses, PVP, marketing and special events, which will improve overall loot returns for all participants.
• A new Economy rating parameter will be introduced, on a scale of 1-100, that indicates the efficiency of a tool and which influences loot calculations. This change from the once dominant damage/pec model will provide the design team with more freedom to release exciting and interesting items with a wider range of damage output and special effects. For example, our team will have the ability to create powerful new items that provide access to challenging and exciting content without dramatically increasing cost to play. Existing items will be assigned Economy values that reflect their relative efficiency to one another and to the entire array of items in the universe.
• Avatar skills will play a role in loot calculations and this role will be expanded in future Version Updates. Imagine new professions that offer hunting specialization opportunities and a way to incrementally increase net loot returns for dedicated and active hunters.
• MindArk has been monitoring the community discussions concerning so-called 'loot waves' and will implement changes in the Loot 2.0 and subsequent Version Updates that will address this issue by improving the distribution of resources and items, with the goal of ensuring that loot opportunities are more interesting, dynamic and fair for all participants
• Ammunition will be removed from hunting loot. This change has been requested by many participants over the years and will assist participants in more accurately tracking their results.
• Loot value calculations and the composition of the items in loot will be affected by properly matching avatar skills and gear to the creature being hunted, rewarding efficient kills with more interesting loot. For optimal loot, it will be important to avoid inefficiencies such as low damage output compared to creature health, excessive time and cost to kill, overkill damage, unmaxed weapons and other factors. This system is intended to reward game knowledge, which has traditionally been an important and unique aspect of success in Entropia Universe, and to provide opportunities for participants to improve their loot returns via experimentation, optimization and specialization.

Also in the Loot 2.0 Version Update will be a range of improvements to various other systems with a eye toward lowering costs and increasing enjoyment for all Entropians. An example of such are the following planned changes to armor:

Armor Changes

• Armor now decays significantly less per point of damage absorbed.
• Armor no longer has a minimum decay based on total protection, it will now always decay proportionally to the amount of damage absorbed.
• Armor can now absorb all incoming damage down to a minimum of 0.1 point of damage taken, instead of the previous 1.0 points of damage.
• Armor and armor platings now decay independently based on the amount of damage they each actually absorb, rather than both decaying as if absorbing the full amount of received damage.
• Armor decay is now linear per point of damage absorbed, rather than increasing in cost per damage absorbed.
• A profession level requirement will be introduced for non-(L) armors. Meeting the required level results in the armor offering full protection at all condition values. If the profession requirement is not met, armor works as before, with protection decreasing relative to condition.

Our design and development teams have been working very hard on these important changes for many months now, and MindArk looks forward to incorporating valuable feedback from our wonderful and passionate community leading up to the release of Loot 2.0!

Originally Posted Here

 

[Justine]

How that will affect Planet Cyrene ? Anyone have any idea ?

 

[Sub-Zero]

Most likely loot wave will impact cyrene, but current materials will remain the same except ammo will be removed, and shrapnel will take a bigger portion of loot.
Which is a good thing since shrapnel is worth liquid gold on cyrene.

 

[Justine]

Ok. But what about this part ?

For example, our team will have the ability to create powerful new items that provide access to challenging and exciting content without dramatically increasing cost to play.

Cyrene will be able to create new items too ? Or it is only for Calypso like always ?

 

[krasko]

Know your place, hunt on your level, no walk backs, no EST exploits.
Stay on your level be efficient be happy

 

[mastermesh]

when's the patch due? Looks like none of the armor has the level requirements yet.

I DO like the deflection thing though... or whatever it's called (I have some screen prints taken last night may post later)... you get zero damage when the armor gets that, so it sort of acts like an evade I think...

Not sure that the new bps are useful yet. Won't buy one but may try to loot one til prices stabilize. I have a theory that eventually the new prints will lead to craftable buff items but we'll see what happens.

I wish they'd removed old school blueprints temporarily from loot of crafting since I was looting nothing new and just a bunch of dupe bps last night, and suspect many others were as well...

Loot looks like there's a bunch more stackables going out and fewer items at first glance, but not sure if that's really what's going on or if there's something else... (i.e. did Mindark clean out the loot tables to make everything in there stackables for now or not?... just so that they can ensure that they didn't screw something up like letting mod merc show up in loot of something like a snable?)

Bought 10 bucks of summer boxes in hope for something interesting... got yet another kitty, and some more fireworks, yippee...

 

[HaKuRa]

Saw many people whining about the new update but so far i really like it. I also hope the almost no items drop isn't just temporar, if hunters (as me) stop looting tons of weapons/armor then crafters will finally leave EP and craft weapons and others items, witch will have for result to have oils & stuff that is no longer TT food. MU are you coming back ?

There's a lot of good things with this update, but we will see how it goes with the next mini patch. (probably next tuesday).

MA are doing obvious efforts, for obvious reasons, let's enjoy it And about planet cyrene, fix the few issues such as mining and keep going with the new content, i'm exited about it. Congratz C-team keep the good work going (i would like to see the booth content before hardlaunch though, we really need some shops over here

About the summer strongboxes, they're just ordinary strongbox with the possibility to loot the summerring witch isn't that good this year.

 

[Paul Jetman Masters]

Saw many people whining about the new update but so far i really like it. I also hope the almost no items drop isn't just temporar, if hunters (as me) stop looting tons of weapons/armor then crafters will finally leave EP and craft weapons and others items, witch will have for result to have oils & stuff that is no longer TT food. MU are you coming back ?

Agreed, most (L) guns are just TT food, so lets let the crafters come back and make whats in demend. one issue is melee, as no ammo is used 1% MU can kill the blade

but we need team cyrene to help us craft guns here, some crafting loot is far to rare, like jagged tooth

 

[Justine]

Agreed, most (L) guns are just TT food, so lets let the crafters come back and make whats in demend. one issue is melee, as no ammo is used 1% MU can kill the blade

but we need team cyrene to help us craft guns here, some crafting loot is far to rare, like jagged tooth

True, but be sure to put good BP. I mean, with all new weapons BP from caly with a good economy rate (best than 70% of UL weapons), Cyrene should do equal BP, if not, players will craft caly BP with caly components.
We need more weapons over level 35, up to level 80 (probably more?).