What if sockets could roll white?

But only very rarely, like 1 in 1000 odds. I don't think it would be gamebreaking in any way but it would be a really fun thing.

Just for kicks, let's talk numbers! Hypothetically, say the chance of getting a white universal socket (by drop or chromatic) would be 1 in 1000, per socket. With a 6-socket item the chances of getting white sockets are approximately as follows:

1 white socket: 1 in 167 (a little rarer than a 5-link)
2 white sockets: 1 in 67,000 (probably around Mirror of Kalandra rarity I'm guessing)
3 white sockets: 1 in 50 million
4 white sockets: 1 in 67 billion (about the odds of winning the lottery)
5 white sockets: 1 in 167 trillion
6 white sockets: 1 in 1 quintillion (you're about 5 billion times more likely to win the lottery than roll Tabula Rasa links)

Having a white socket would never be required for a build (because trying to swap gems mid-combat is silly) but getting one along with other favorable socket colors would be pretty exciting and fun. A lot like a portal gem really; rare and nifty but not a forced requirement.


SPREADSHEETS AND CALCULATIONS

This is the spreadsheet I made to calculate these odds. You can see the odds of rolling a white socket for any number of sockets, edit the probability to your liking, and even enter your desired socket colors and calculate your probability of rolling them with chromatics (and see how the possibility of white sockets improves your odds).

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Av_TJOcEEQlIdFBSY0pxRFJNQ3BfWmlBbU1JNkE4UGc#gid=0

chrome orbs arent that expensive tho.

Handy if you change skills between areas/maps/bosses...

Its a great idea that creates a heavier sink for chromes and also an additional 'tier' of gear.

Now, not only can your shavs have 250% ES and 6 linked sockets, but it can also have multiple white sockets for masochist who would otherwise try to GGGRRR it.

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Nephalim wrote:

Its a great idea that creates a heavier sink for chromes and also an additional 'tier' of gear.

Now, not only can your shavs have 250% ES and 6 linked sockets, but it can also have multiple white sockets for masochist who would otherwise try to GGGRRR it.

true, although OP's numbers are a bit exagerated. maybe 1/100 chance to roll per white slot. That means 100^6 or 1/1000000000000 for 6 white slots. (1000^6 is 1/1000000000000000000)

I added a spreadsheet to the op if you want to check it out

personally I think 1/1000 is a nice rare number that makes multiple white appropriately astronomical, but try other numbers if you'd like to see the results :)

also I'm not entirely sure how to link google docs, but I think it works?

hm nice idea, just get the numbers right and implement it already :D

Also I was thinking about the odds, and yes, with 1/1000 odds getting two whites is unfathomably rare and getting 3 or more is virtually impossible, but personally I think it should be that way. I mean, with 1/100 odds for example, getting 3 white sockets would be about 1/50,000 probability, which is around the realm where it WILL happen, and will probably generate the most insanely desirable item out there. I think it would make it too much of a Mirror target, taking value away from a lot of other items because with 3 whites you are likely to not even need to reroll the colors before you mirror it. Of course you never know for sure, but it's interesting to think about how something like this would affect the game.

You have to count eternal orbs into the math. So chance of having multiple whites on godlike gear would be way higher.

Yup this sounds like a great idea.