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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!

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Interesting...

I don't know what to think of this as of yet, but if indeed the loot returns will be better then I'll be happy I won't get stuck with this 70% returns that I've been having since changing to low maturity mobs.

 

wow..

 

If it's everything they say, this will definitely shake up the economy quite a lot. Entropedia's stats will become useless overnight. Value of some items may drastically change. If they've revamped buffs to be less of an exploit, it could mean those 10-50k PED rings people have invested in will become drastically less valuable overnight.

One thing's for certain, it will be interesting.

 

It may very well end up as a totally "new" game, as people have to relearn all the changes in the mechanics.

Interestingly enough, they seem to be changing stuff in hunting only, as no mention is made of mining / crafting loot.

 

I am suddenly worried about the annual primary weapon and amp upgrade that I completed recently. If I knew this I would have deferred it for a few months. If this change drastically messes up the current weapons efficiency model I might be stuck with an expensive white elephant without the ped to resolve it, and with no resale value for next year. That could be a very long 24 months.
If it really goes bad I might have to join the RT AI hunt. Hmm. A 2 PED TT credit card reward which an actual trade terminal values at 0 PED. Perhaps not, there is always the option to swunt the last few K of carabok, gallards and hornets for the IFN mission chain. That should kill a lot of time and at least award some evade skill, if it will still matter.

With my 'glass nearly empty' hat on I see MA working on a way to get the ped that currently circulates in MU from the sale of lots of old weapons, and:

'A special hunting bonus pool' - less loot for mining and crafting as MA is not giving up profit.

'to incrementally increase net loot returns for dedicated and active hunters' - at the cost of loot for the rest of us for the same reason.

'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,' - choose whether you get the overkill penalty of your main weapon or the low damage penalty of your finisher.

'Avatar skills will play a role in loot calculations and this role will be expanded in future Version Updates. Imagine new professions' - and the penalty of hunting when new professions implement and you are at level 0.

Donning my 'glass closer to full' hat but too lazy to reread the developer notes thus far I see a lot of armour changes that looks excellent and probably indicate an imminent increase in armour MU. I might actually wear some in a lot more scenarios.

It looks like change is coming and it is not always a bad thing.

 

This one caught my eye as well. I am often using 3 different weapons on the same mob, I hope their new algorithm doesn't punish for tagging/finishing.

 

MA giving something? This smells like a trap.

 

^

I'm with this guy

 

I can at least say that MA has always liberally rewarded me with both Blazar and Nova fragments. Somehow that does not make me feel any better than a no loot.

 

'excessive time and cost to kill' - This looks potentially very bad for those of us who suffer from lag in game. I already need to survive lag spikes where I am somehow unable to do damage on auto for 2-20 seconds while the mob does not face the same problem and happily pummels me with impunity. Now I may also get penalised in loot for being forced to wait for the game to respond. I need to find an EU server closer to me. O wait, there isn't one.

 

Ammo is out of loot, but we will offer the new and interesting:

- Triton fragments
- Cosmic fragments
- L, M, N, O, P fragments AND adjusted shrapnel!

 

You know that would really suck! I'm running out, or have ran out of item points to place new items in my Apartment!!

 

when they do major shake ups like these they always cost me more USD. When they went to cryengine they reduced all my skills and in my mining I went from average lvl 15 in matter and ingots down to 7 and 8. I was told it was based on there overall calc's on why I was reduced.
It cost me around 1K USD to get those lvls back. Does anyone remember when they took one probe or bullet and made them .01 of what there value was. That didn't benefit any of us players either.
They will probably make more money on these changes than what they are willing to tell us about because after all its about them not us. Hold your cojones folks because I know I always loose when they do this to us.
Hope I didn't offend anyone with these minor examples.

 

I know the history as well Krossteck, I'm currently on Calypso and sell what I can/want to miss and focus on tt hunting once the update hits and then ride out the storm if there is one.
I'm going to take my time with the next update and low cost playing.

 

I've been focusing on the UL armour changes but I've just realised that reduced decay for all armour = less demand for my crafted armour. Bugger.

 

Loot 2.0 is not about content but about changing rules and game mechanic.
So nothing more fun, new events, new possibilities as we already have.
If ppl didn't got how rules could be done i will give an example.
Simple rule change about how scanner work fucked all investigator professions and killed MU on most scanners.
But with Loot 2.0 planet partners are free to create shitload of new blue prints regardless of their economy.
That mean if you use newly crafted scanner witch decay 500 peds or more in an hour you will be able to gain almost same amount of skills as with your old scanner pre ND scannergate and MA nerf witch decayed only 70 peds/hour.
Ofc example is without loot, for other items need to add loot to decay amount.

Example is a bit sarcastic but not impossible. Think about rings and other buffs - you don't think that MA will lesser their income or they will subtract ring decay and buff benefits from loot.

There is no personal loot pool?

 

Hey, nobody said scrapnel is gone, just ammo in order not to complicate loot calculations. I interpret this as saying only Weapon Cells and BLP Packs will no longer drop in loot.

 

Maybe. More economical armour decay may also leading to more people using it as they can now hunt bigger things.
I tend to hunt small things with no armour as excessive lag-inflicted armour decay limits my enjoyment of the game otherwise.
If decay was less I will hunt bigger things and wear armour again, and I suspect others will also hunt bigger things.
I suspect this is what MA is trying to achieve here as increased survivability will lead to more ammo expended and increased weapons decay for them and more kills for the player.

 

Its not clear if the health is total undamaged mob health or the "nearly dead" mob health at the time of shooting. If the latter, then use of a finisher won't be penalized.