Increased Droprates of Alvin/Dodga Quest Parts

[Kuegen]

So I was farming the pieces on my baby fix today and thought I would share some information with you guys.

Time Spent : 24 minutes

Pieces Gathered:
tubes: 13
circuits: 4
conductors: 4
crystals: 3
scraps: 5
biotech: 5
lamp: 1
tetrahedral: 2

Total Pieces Gathered: 37

I killed mechdogs outside of rome blue for the pieces. I started off solo on a level 40 neutral fixer. After about 10 minutes I had every piece except the tetrahedral (only about 7 repeats at this point). Around the 15 minute mark i received help from a level 160 froob fixer, my own killing slowed down as i spent much more time tallying

I think that the droprate of tubes has been increased beyond the other pieces. I imagine this is to help make the fixer grid quest easier. Obviously more drops would be better proof statistically speaking, but even at 37, the fact that it got triple the rate of other pieces I think says something.

Oh, the tetrahedral was my last piece, but I got a double drop at the end. Anyways, cool change FC, even if my pads dont have as much epeen

EDIT: I shouldn't say that actually, it wasnt a double drop, 2 mechdogs just died really quickly and they eached drop it.

[Shareida]

Anyways, cool change FC, even if my pads dont have as much epeen

Of course, next patch beast pads will drop there too.

[heilt-do]

Thats the wrong side of epeen.

Epeen gotten by "time invested" is worth nothing. The one worth having is "Skill invested" Epeen.

[Kuegen]

Thats the wrong side of epeen.

Epeen gotten by "time invested" is worth nothing. The one worth having is "Skill invested" Epeen.

name one thing that takes skill yet is not based on time in AO

[geturmoney]

flaming

[Kuegen]

flaming

doH! i didnt think forums count

[Stormgiver]

I just wanted to say that I like this change.
It always has been a pain in the ... to farm those items.

[ManGarage]

I did that quest like 2 weeks ago and it took hours to get x1 of each piece :S

[Kuegen]

I did that quest like 2 weeks ago and it took hours to get x1 of each piece :S

That would make sense, as the change was more recent than 2 weeks ago.

[bhaela]

I think that the droprate of tubes has been increased beyond the other pieces.

I've noticed that too.

Good change FC! *thumbs up*

[Gimpynoob]

I dont agree with the change. Once again the developers make an easy to do change that favours only the jadded veterans and leaves the noobs out.

The first pad can be worn from level 30. The pieces can be farmed easily with a toon at that level. All it took was a bit of time. The pad was also pretty useless considering that the ToTW pads are better and not very difficult to equip.
The second pad can be equipped at level 40, the quest is doable by any toon at that level but requires investing in specialized imps and a Yalm, easily done by a veteran, very hard for a starting player. Running around is a big investment of time and can be tricky for a new player but it is possible. This pad is also not worth the effort.
The 3rd pad can be equipped at level 50 and is the only pad worth having because it is better then one of the ToTW pads and the only one who shows for the Epeen. However it can only be done easily by someone with an end game toon.

The Epeen of having invested time to acquire the pad is significantly reduced for veteran players and negated for new players and the use of the pad as a piece of equipment is reserved for those able to farm them with end game toons.

The quest should have been altered in a way that either made the pad usefull for endgame toons, or preferably, made doable for the intended level ranges. It should not be easy to acquire by a toon at that level but it should be possible. This could be achieved by reducing the level of the mobs for example. Instead we get even more easy mode for veterans who want phats and Epeen without putting any effort into playing the game.

The developers have been promising for years changes that will make the game more attractive for new players. Once again they do the opposite.

PS: For those using the "I did it a billion times and cant be bothered to do it again" argument.
If you have 50 accounts full of toons with the pads on and cant be bothered to do it again then dont. Just accept that the Epeen of someone who bothered to do it 51 times is microscopically bigger then yours.

PPS: For those using the "Join an org that helps you out or get some friends, louseeer" argument.
The last part of the quest needs killing several mobs all over RK. And the quest can be completed by only one toon at a time. Please tell me which server and which org you belong to and which toons you play. Cos Ima gonna bring alotses of tiny lowbie altses ready to get your halp. All is BFF in da org rite?

[Kuegen]

I dont agree with the change. Once again the developers make an easy to do change that favours only the jadded veterans and leaves the noobs out.

The first pad can be worn from level 30. The pieces can be farmed easily with a toon at that level. All it took was a bit of time. The pad was also pretty useless considering that the ToTW pads are better and not very difficult to equip.
The second pad can be equipped at level 40, the quest is doable by any toon at that level but requires investing in specialized imps and a Yalm, easily done by a veteran, very hard for a starting player. Running around is a big investment of time and can be tricky for a new player but it is possible. This pad is also not worth the effort.
The 3rd pad can be equipped at level 50 and is the only pad worth having because it is better then one of the ToTW pads and the only one who shows for the Epeen. However it can only be done easily by someone with an end game toon.

The Epeen of having invested time to acquire the pad is significantly reduced for veteran players and negated for new players and the use of the pad as a piece of equipment is reserved for those able to farm them with end game toons.

The quest should have been altered in a way that either made the pad usefull for endgame toons, or preferably, made doable for the intended level ranges. It should not be easy to acquire by a toon at that level but it should be possible. This could be achieved by reducing the level of the mobs for example. Instead we get even more easy mode for veterans who want phats and Epeen without putting any effort into playing the game.

The developers have been promising for years changes that will make the game more attractive for new players. Once again they do the opposite.

PS: For those using the "I did it a billion times and cant be bothered to do it again" argument.
If you have 50 accounts full of toons with the pads on and cant be bothered to do it again then dont. Just accept that the Epeen of someone who bothered to do it 51 times is microscopically bigger then yours.

PPS: For those using the "Join an org that helps you out or get some friends, louseeer" argument.
The last part of the quest needs killing several mobs all over RK. And the quest can be completed by only one toon at a time. Please tell me which server and which org you belong to and which toons you play. Cos Ima gonna bring alotses of tiny lowbie altses ready to get your halp. All is BFF in da org rite?

But improved droprates for the first part of the quest helps both noobs and vets. I never considered the level locks and accurate representation of when that quest was doable. I imagine they were put in place to prevent too much easy power to twinks. +250hp from a easy to put on shoulder item might be too much. The enhanced pads of dedication were always viewed and higher level gear because of the work it took to get them.

I don't think these pads should be obtainable by a level 50 at level 50, but I dont think the level lock should be raised.

[Xirayne]

I gotta agree with Gimpy , improved droprates do not help noobs. The low droprate bottleneck put both noobs and vets on the same page and often forced them to team up and interact/socialize to complete their quest efficiently. This also lead to more potential hours spent actually playing AO instead of being bored and afk. I used to like to do Org events, and even made a few friends while doing this quest in the past, which used to be a lot of fun.

The fact that it's been changed to be so easy and quick now, even for solo play, also means that noobs(if we ever get any) will be more expected to have completed the quest, rather than it being an optional or longer term goal. Luckily the reward is not something more significant or this could lead to further disasters with population imbalance such as what happened with the improved neleb rod...

In the end this is just another example, such as tokens and any kind of XP, where what used to be Gameplay has, in the years of neglect and poor design choices, been reduced to merely a grind, which now has once again been bypassed by shortcuts or removed instead of being improved upon.

[Kuegen]

In the end this is just another example, such as tokens and any kind of XP, where what used to be Gameplay has, in the years of neglect and poor design choices, been reduced to merely a grind, which now has once again been bypassed by shortcuts or removed instead of being improved upon.

Fair enough. But as a noob I remember having frustration with that quest. People would come with an NT or a really high level killing all the mechdogs. There was really never any need for teaming, I would shout out what I didnt need, incase someone else did. This change just means more shoutouts per minute, and less time spent. Farming parts was never more efficient in a team where everyone needed parts.

[MajorOutage]

I'm with Gimp and Xira on this one. The social experiences that go along with this quest are quite important and meaningful to players new and old. Often moreso than the reward of the quest itself.

Farming parts was never more efficient in a team where everyone needed parts.

At the very least, being teamed meant you didn't have to waste 2 minutes waiting for a corpse to go FFA.

[drainbamage]

Are people seriously complaining that FC made a quest that required excessive farming of trivial mobs less lame?

[Xirayne]

No, we're complaining about the loss of yet another thing that involved actually playing the game. Instead of an afternoon of fun with friends doing the quest together, here I am afk in bor, yet again

[drainbamage]

No, we're complaining about the loss of yet another thing that involved actually playing the game. Instead of an afternoon of fun with friends doing the quest together, here I am afk in bor, yet again

Oh yes, afternoon of fun, killing grey dogs and waste bots for hours.

Sometimes I wonder about the people who play this game.

[MajorOutage]

Oh yes, afternoon of fun, killing grey dogs and waste bots for hours.

Then skip it? The pads themselves aren't exactly worth that much, really.

Sometimes I wonder about the people who play this game.

Sometimes I wonder about people who avoid socializing in this game.

[Xirayne]

Oh yes, afternoon of fun, killing grey dogs and waste bots for hours.

Sometimes I wonder about the people who play this game.

To each their own While you may not find spending time playing and socializing in MMOs to be fun, some of us do! The more time I'm able to spend enjoying a game the better. I personally find sitting around with a finished toon to be quite boring and even a little depressing, but I can understand there are people who prefer to power through things, fortunately for those players this quest was completely optional and in no way hindering their game experience. A nerf like this means players have less game content to spend time on, and overall less game available to enjoy, and I really can't be happy about that.