poll: the "like to trade" vs the "forced to trade"

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Pyrokar wrote:

It seems that, although rng based GGG is looking for ways to improve our gaming experience without having to rely that much on the trade factor, something John seems to overlook.

I disagree with you here, Pyro.

it seems that even when GGG start looking in the right direction - risk/reward - they still have that little demon on the other shoulder, whispering "but what about RNG?" and "ECONOMEEEE!" in their ears.

Strongboxes are a good addition, but spawning one is RNG, and rolling one is orbs which is double RNG and a big spoon of trade.
and they still didn't do a thing to address that "lag of death" and terrible desync, when opening a box.
knowing them, they must think it's all part of the "challenge".

they just can't seem to get over this strange obsession to put wild RNG and its godfather Economy, above all else.
why? I have no idea, and honestly I'm tired of asking "why" and never getting an answer.

here's another example: Atziri.
she's risk/reward. a crazy challenge you are guaranteed to be worthwhile, if you beat.
but getting to her? that's a whole new sickening level of RNG on RNG on RNG dependency.
as if we don't have enough of that fucking thing in the game already.

Look me in the eyes of my avatar and tell me that you did not find more loot with strongboxes than you would have found in the normal game and that they are not a step in the right direction.

I think that the popularity of ambush and the positive feedback about its drops will influence GGG in the decision making of further buffs to droprates.

Now, about atziri, what if i told you that i made 20ex worth of currency in less than a week just by sellling midnight sets. The rng is not that high as you imagine in those midnight drops.

Rest assured that, in the next league, i will be running
these sets myself. Even if i'll have to conform to an aura build. I did not want to do that in invasion. Cleave is still my poison.

Edit: Correct me if i am wrong , since i played ambush only till lvl 40, but i remember that strongboxes can spawn as rare unid ones. I also remember that most of them were transmute and ready. I think i only rolled arcanist and gemmcutters and that with alts, which are easy to farm.

Using biased antics to support a weak hypothesis. Love it :)

I don't like being forced to trade very often, almost in every stage of the progress of my character. This needs to stop or cease in effect at least. It's impossible to find appropriate for my class and my level range. This is ridiculous.

you know me, Pyro.
I'm a lot harder to please than just "buffed drop rates".
I want to kill something nasty for my loot. the nastier -> the better -> the better the loot.
risk/reward. that's my cup of tea.
don't screw me after a badass fight, and don't over-reward me for doing nothing.
so dropping something epic from a trash mob or a rock? I'd rather drop nothing at all.
and it has been months since I last dropped something epic.

Strongboxes are something the game should definitely have, no doubt about that. and I did drop some sweet loots from them, if not in quality then in quantity.
but they are still governed by far more layers of raw RNG than I feel they should, just like everything else in the game.

GGG don't know what it means to have risk/reward with no strings attached - because they keep thinking about what that would do to the economy, instead of thinking what's better for the players.
and honestly, I doubt they even know what "Action Role Playing Game" means.
hint: the definition does not include "economy" anywhere, nor does it say RNG has to dominate all.
RNG is a means, not an end.
economy is a feature, not the core of the fucking game.

having the skilled and devoted drop great loot? oh noes! that would surely mean they would drop/craft all BiS items within a week and leave, while making the fucking Exalted Orb be "worth" 47 fucking Chaos Orbs instead of 46! we can't have that! the fucking sky will fall as hell freezes over!

a way of thought, that makes me sick.
a popular bullshit white-knight argument, I'm starting to think GGG share as well.

I've tried to look into the eyes of your avatar, but Boiling Ambushers don't have eyes.
so ignore the fact my avatar doesn't wear pants, and riddle me this: why are GGG so obsessed with secondary things?

I feel like this is reverting to a similar conversation we once had in the past, where i told you that farming act bosses in merciless is what is considered as risk /reward since they have increased drops, so i am just gonna stop here since this conversation can be endlessly repeated without a conclusion.

Btw, what are Boiling Ambushers? I thought my avatar was some kind of skeleton. I should have said eyesockets i guess.

Edit : Screw, it. I'll be a goat then.

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Pyrokar wrote:

Btw, what are Boiling Ambushers? I thought my avatar was some kind of skeleton. I should have said eyesockets i guess.

Boiling Ambushers are basically Water Elementals with crab claws, that do nothing except basic attack + an occasional Ice Nova, or Lagtic Breath Of Screen Freeze, if boss version.
I wish they'd be reworked into something more interesting, than monsters with one skill (or none at all).

/end self off-topic

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johnKeys wrote:

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Pyrokar wrote:

Btw, what are Boiling Ambushers? I thought my avatar was some kind of skeleton. I should have said eyesockets i guess.

Boiling Ambushers are basically Water Elementals with crab claws, that do nothing except basic attack + an occasional Ice Nova, or Lagtic Breath Of Screen Freeze, if boss version.
I wish they'd be reworked into something more interesting, than monsters with one skill (or none at all).

/end self off-topic

Boiling Ambushers are the only water-elemental enemies that do more than basic attack and Ice Nova - they come with Cold Snap and Ele Weakness, too. You're probably thinking of Seething Brines.

forced to trade for sure.

I don't really understand how people can claim that trading isn't necessary...

I mean, have you ever played a character into maps without trading a single thing? Because I highly doubt you have. And yes, it can be done. But it's going to take two, three, maybe four times longer to reach the point where you are running maps than a guy who even just casually trades 5 chaos for some gear at the start of Merciless.

I will say this, though: Playing in a group of 6 people who are all abusing the most insane stuff at the beginning of a league (Searing Bond and Flameblast this past league) are going to lessen their need to trade by a lot. But I'd imagine that even the top players, by the time they reach Act 3 Merciless, are already eye-ing the trade chat for very particular pieces and resistances to keep up the momentum.

My major issue is the combination of not abusing 6 player EZ mode or trading. Someone who just wants to play through the game, organically, is going to have a much worse time. RNG is the prime reason here. I mean, I've blown over 25 fusings trying to 4-link a good armor before. It is very easy, if you get even slightly unlucky, to basically have nothing going for you by the time you reach the end of Cruel. What do you do then? Farm Cruel Docks for a few hours? How stupid.

I'm mostly just rambling, but I do think that quest rewards should be normalized more than they are. The gems and skill points are great, but I think the item rewards should all be shown to you identified. This would provide a much better chance of finding a good upgrade without completely breaking the game. Horrible RNG could still leave you stranded, but changing quest rewards to provide more reliable itemization would be a big help, I think.

Think of Diablo 2, in Act 5 there is a quest that awards you three runes that you can immediately use to create a super resistance shield. Stuff like that can be a great boon and would make people less likely to get so angry at feeling forced into trading.