Building a Map Pool

I'm in TaliSC right now and I am having a brutal time trying to progress through maps. I'm finding it extremely difficult to move past t5-6, not because I can't clear the maps but because I can't get maps to drop.

In Darkshrine and Flashback I didn't have any issues with this at all, in fact in darkshrine I had a very good map pool. I've not done anything different between the leagues. Over the past few days I've been following Zizaran's video on how to build a map pool but it's not helped. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC0Eq7cUcDM)

I've even started to chisel/alch t5/6s but am not having much luck. I bought 6 t9 maps and ended up getting 1 t11 and a few t7 but they didn't last. I've pretty much effectively killed my level 88 ranger because I have no maps to do, well at least no maps that give xp.

Any suggestions anyone has besides buy maps would be much appreciated.

No real suggestion now. But you should have been alching to begin with. Also when did you decide to move up in map tiers on the way to 88? Did you continously run the highest maps you have? Building a map pool is all about building up a base, stay on a tier until you know you have enough of the next tier to never fall back (until tier ~12)

No this way of thinking won't make you stay high on the ladder, but slow and steady will prevent you from being in the position you are in now.

I also wouldn't use chisels before tier 10, unless you are flush in them.

That's the nature of random map drops. For every 1,000 players that have absolutely no problem, there's 1 player that can't seem to run out of T10s even doing them blue, and 1 player that's constantly falling back to T4.

I had to drop back to T4 a couple of times before the pendulum went back around and I refilled my map pool. But again, the problem with RNG is, there's no guarantee the same will happen to you. It's entirely possible that you'll spend another week mulling around T4 and T5 before finally giving up when you end up having to fall back to T3.

I've also been having a difficult time getting maps to drop.

I know it's just rng but it doesn't make me feel better knowing that.

I had same problem last league.
This league I can sustain 8-10 range, all alched, tier 10 and above chiseled. But I cannot move to a stable pool of tier 11 and above.

I farmed lake until 71-72. I started t1 maps running them white/blue and built up a base of at least 7 2s/3s before I moved onto them. I probably had 10 4s before I began them and always ran the 4s blue. I began 5s when I had 7-10 of them and was stuck on 5s for a long time because I had barely any 6s drop. I began alching 5s until I had roughly 10 6s, ran 2 blue 6s and have been alching them ever since because I can't get out of them.

My 88 ended up running ~5 7s all alch'd/chisel'd but didn't get anything in return. At this point I bought the 9s (rolled all of them to over 100 quant) and did them with a group. I still have the 11 and ended up having to use a friends map to get 88 because I ran out.

I think alching anything 5 and below is kinda wasteful, even when I alch 5s I don't feel like I get returns on them. I usually don't chisel anything 9 and below (sometimes I'll do 8s early on.)

Mostly what is amazing to me is how much I'm struggling this league. I've never had this bad of an issue before and it's pretty annoying.

I don't understand why maps don't drop more often and why it's so difficult to move up in tiers. I'm fine with 15s being rarer, but it shouldn't be too difficult to hit 9-13 maps assuming your character can do them.

IMO the problem is how RNG the whole map system is. Character and player skill should be the gate; not RNG. What's the point of a good build and player skill if at the end of the day map progression is simply RNG?

"

IMO the problem is how RNG the whole map system is. Character and player skill should be the gate; not RNG. What's the point of a good build and player skill if at the end of the day map progression is simply RNG?

I agree on this, but it's the whole game.

While it was very nice to find a near perfect LC under a rock in the Old Fields Merciless (about the lowest level area that can spawn it), I would much prefer to have acquired it by killing an act boss. This would have given me a much greater degree of satisfaction. In reality, I have rarely seen bosses drop anything worthwhile. In theory there is an elevated chance for bosses to drop better loot, I struggle to believe it. If you can chase a tormented spirit into a rare, boss or act boss, then the fun really begins, and then the rewards are usually good.

In terms of maps, same thing. I have six or seven characters stuck in the mid 70's to mid 80's level wise, all waiting to do some even medium tier maps, but I just cannot find anything T5+ despite doing T4's constantly. All I get are bunches of T1-T3's, barely if at all break-even on T4, and extremely rare T5's.

The T1 - T3's are of limited value in leveling, as once you finish grinding Dry Lake at L75, you have at most 5 levels per character before these low maps stop generating EXP as well. I read people recommending vendoring maps to get higher level ones, but it would take 81 T1 maps to get 1 T5 (81 T1 > 27 T2 > 9 T3 > 3 T4 > 1 T5). A glorious pyramid of waste. I could use these maps for MF, too bad my only MF character lost all MF after the respec (yes, I know, I did that!)

Of course there needs to be a major element of RNG in the game, but currently it seems to be tweaked on the negative side, for maps in particular. You should be able to break even on maps and have a reasonable chance of improving your map pool.

"

nethervvoid wrote:

IMO the problem is how RNG the whole map system is. Character and player skill should be the gate; not RNG. What's the point of a good build and player skill if at the end of the day map progression is simply RNG?

good build/player can clear maps faster -> faster getting to high maps.

map guide in 2 steps:
1.
t1-5 do blue maps
t6-10 alch and go
Allow you to stay in t8-10 maps
You can't fall under t8 because you get more currency from maps than it cost to buy t8 map.
2.
play more

"

good build/player can clear maps faster -> faster getting to high maps.

My clear speed is fine thanks. The problem is getting the maps to clear. Clearing T1-T3 maps will not generate T5+ maps.

"

t1-5 do blue maps

Out of desperation, I am alching all T1-T4 maps. Actually, I have always done this, to give a bit of challenge and to generate more loot. No T5+ maps. Next step chiseling + alching, even though it is a waste of currency. I sort of break even on the alchs, no way I will do so on chisels.

"

play more

I play lots. No T5+ maps. There is a limit to how many hours one can play. Of course I could play 24/7, but naaaah.