Milestones: DROPSHIP! COMBAT SENSE! Words are superfluous... Missions completed: Dromia Stage 4, Oratan Payback Mission IX; Cyrene: The Miner's Psyche Rank 2 (500 Drill Bots) Relevant skills/professions at month's end: Evader 28.9, BLP Sniper 50.0, Pistoleer 48.4, Dmg 50.8, Knifefighter Hit 39.0, Dmg 41.3, Health points 156, total skill points 161861.
Right, needed a break after this. Spent the entire month away on Cyrene, then Calypso, and now Cyrene again. But then... found what I'm doing is not much different, except not being stopped out at 100 mobs every day and free again to hop on or off the train depending on how returns behave. The accomplishment was worth it but it still doesn't make me an army guy . Loyalty is a currency like any other. Speaking of which, where is Ned? Not seen or heard of him in a while. Counting a total of about 13000 kills for the month, solely on Berycled Young (70 hp) and the Tree Dragons on Atlas Island (100 hp). Not much to show for it as it's not hitting the ticker so often (only one on Calypso for nearly 6000 kills, more on Cyrene but they're not always showing due to low number of trackers running). It always amuses me how some folks need to gauge your right to speak on certain forums (not this one) by checking you out on that. It just makes me grin. Missions completed: Iron Berycled III (12k) Relevant skills/professions at month's end: Evader 29.3, BLP Sniper 50.4, Pistoleer 48.8, Dmg 51.0, Knifefighter Hit 39.8, Dmg 41.5, Health points 157, total skill points 163076.
Back on Arkadia after finishing another chapter on Cyrene. Wanted to pay closer attention to returns under the new system and to maximize sample size, chose the smallest mob I've skipped so far: Monura. It went well, PEDs even growing... for a while. After another 5000 kills or so it started receding again. About mid-month, pretty much used up and unwilling to cannibalize on gear just to keep consuming, I retired for the moment and will probably going to be inactive for a bit. This RL ava sucks, to be honest. Not a very good provider. Might concentrate on exploring, there still is a mystery to solve... Missions completed: Monura Male & Female Stage 3; Cyrene: The Ultimate N00b Challenge (15000 * 100hp, choice of 4 species) Relevant skills/professions at month's end: Evader 29.7, BLP Sniper 50.8, Pistoleer 49.4, Dmg 51.3, Knifefighter Hit 39.8, Dmg 41.8, Health points 158, total skill points 164566.
Did I say "inactive"... Indeed nothing much happened during the first half of the month, except regular small forays to test the waters again. And very suddenly, it did get better. Turns out in hindsight, MA was experimenting and increased player returns (PCF dev notes). I won't complain about that. Kept at small(est) mobs though until patience was really exhausted. Had to have some variety and travelled around the last 10 days of the month, first Next Island, then Rocktropia. The returns on Monura had been tt-positive, as well as all the different Papoo races, while nothing else seemed to work for me. But after 3 out of 4 complete mission chains (Stage 5 of all hunting challenges on NI is currently disabled and cannot be taken) the monkey business trampled on my nerves so much even tt profit couldn't motivate any longer. Rocktropia was a loss again, but still managed inroads into Zombies. Tried out the AI mission, but this is outright unpleasant to do in its current form. This month has really shown that you got to pay for having fun, if you want to reverse the money flow you pay for it with enduring the opposite. The RL job is more efficient at that, at least. Finally landed on Calypso yesterday to a little Dropship bragging. Even provoked a comment from an official Advisor pointing out to the crowd how much work that is to get... Missions completed: Monura Male & Female Stage 4; Next Island: Red Papoo Hunting Challenge Stage 4; Brown & Yellow Papoo Hunting Challenges each Stages 2 through 4. Mostly used on mobs this level the tt knife and laser (HK110 & Sinkadus) to consume shrapnel for efficiency reasons, but will keep logging BLP progress as the main profession to develop. Relevant skills/professions at month's end: Evader 29.994 (duh), BLP Sniper 51.0, Pistoleer 49.7, Dmg 51.5, Knifefighter Hit 40.0, Dmg 41.9, Health points 158, total skill points 165476.
Back on Arkadia! After a good break in the sun and some dabbling here and there, Prospectors have finally found to their old form again and judging by a few days into Payback Mission X returns remain dynamic, but keep turning around literally at the last possible moment to end up positive again. Hope it stays this way. In the health points recalculation with this month's VU, I gained exactly 10 hp from 159 to 169 and was topped to a round number only a few knife swings later. Nice. Missions completed: Next Island: Grey Papoo Hunting Challenge Stage 2 through 4, Village Boar Hunting Challenge Stage 2. Relevant skills/professions at month's end: Evader 30.2, BLP Sniper 51.4, Pistoleer 50.0, Dmg 51.7, Knifefighter Hit 40.2, Dmg 42.1, Health points 170, total skill points 166384.
I spoke too soon. The joy lasted no more than 3 days, then it went back to unsustainable. I did manage close to 5k low-level kills with the remaining funds and two small top-ups, but they're totally depleted again and scaling it up is still out of the question. Oh, one tiny little success. Needed oil for the escape and got an 'ample' claim after only a few single probes on Windy Isle between the Nusuls after consulting LBML where the probability for it is highest, since Ark doesn't have a Lyst+Oil-only place. Thought wth, not too many probably go taxed mining and between mobs all the time, so the place at least should less likely be wiped just when I want to try it. With the last of my ammo anyway. At least the quad is now fueled up for a good while of aimless bumming around. Immediately fled to the NI sanctuary yet again and been doing absolutely nothing since. Well, there still is an enigma to be solved which shouldn't depend on wallet power. Been turning every stone in the ruins about a dozen times now, and staring at the steles in the museum to the wonderment of every passer-by who saw me standing there for extended periods pointing a gun at the exhibits... it was for studying the patterns with a scope, lol. The grey cells didn't quite grok it yet, though. Betting my time on everybody else remaining obsessed with the grind... meh I want, too, actually. It's so therapeutically mindless. Can't I get a prescription for it? Missions completed: Oro Stage 4. Relevant skills/professions at month's end: Evader 30.4, BLP Sniper 51.7, Pistoleer 50.2, Dmg 52.0, Knifefighter Hit 40.3, Dmg 42.2, Health points 170, total skill points 167161.
I believe it does, although haven't checked it for a few years. (haven't had the need ) The small portion of the coast north of Moshane's Legacy that doesn't fit into southern half of the server.
Missions accomplished: Pleak Ranger Rank 1 through 5 on Cyrene. Yes, that's all folks, 30,000 punies and then some into the next stage, in the end the total kill count reached about 43,000. Was on full strike during the first half of December since Lootius was eating peds like there's no tomorrow. Then the neighbours came up with this idea to pour some paint over their birdies and make them multiply and yours truly went into instant binge mode for no reason I can explain, other than the cost being moderate enough. Has another year just passed again? Did hardly notice. More than usual amounts of snow are covering the world outside. Postcard-perfect winter wonderland, while a few degrees of latitude further south chaos and mayhem are sprawling, telling by the news. Just as predicted and it's only the beginning. Hope y'all got a Plan B. Meanwhile baby steps forward, a little job to get by but not yet enough to fund an opulent virtual life. The Smugglers have to wait a little longer. I know, I've been nagging when there was prolongued silence and then it's the old cheapskate not following up. But things are as they are. I still want to get behind Dylan's mystery eventually. Seems not many are chasing it at all, who knows? Need a better approach than running in circles about the ruins and blindly turning every stone. Falling behind the curve again, now they're headed for... no, they're making a moon! Something to look forward to as long as the world going full retard doesn't tear down our infrastructure. Relevant skills/professions at month's end: Evader 30.7, BLP Sniper 52.0, Pistoleer 50.7, Dmg 52.3, Knifefighter Hit 40.4, Dmg 42.4, Health points 171, total skill points 168184.
Did a little crafting for a change. On Calypso. Picked up a few maxed/near-maxed blueprints on the odd occasion over time and had to try them out eventually. 500 clicks each to produce some meaningful numbers. All professions maxed where relevant, i.e. learning period = no more. Basic Sensor, 500 clicks, blueprint QR 100 Alicenies Gel-429-42.90 PEDBelkar Ingot-449-26.94 PEDTotal expenses.-69.84 PED...Basic Sensor+1228+29.47 PEDBasic Structure Blueprint+1+0.01 PEDEnergy Matter Residue+1471+14.71 PEDMetal Residue+721+7.21 PEDTotal returns.+51.40 PED...Result73.60%-18.44 PEDGlobals: none Basic Sheet Metal, 500 clicks, blueprint QR 100 Alicenies Gel-410-41.00 PEDNarcanisum Ingot-442-106.08 PEDTotal expenses.-147.08 PED...Basic Filters Blueprint+1+0.01 PEDBasic Sheet Metal+1822+71.42 PEDEnergy Matter Residue+2830+28.30 PEDMetal Residue+1923+19.23 PEDTotal returns.+118.96 PED...Result80.88%-28.12 PEDGlobals: none Basic Processor, 500 clicks, blueprint QR before: 99.1, after: 99.4 Lysterium Ingot-821-24.63 PEDMelchi Crystal-414-16.56 PEDTotal expenses.-41.19 PED...Basic Auxiliary Socket Blueprint+2+0.02 PEDBasic Processor+963+20.03 PEDEnergy Matter Residue+662+6.62 PEDMetal Residue+1354+13.54 PEDTotal returns.+40.21 PED...Result97.62%-0.98 PEDGlobals: none Didn't expect any better returns in the current environment. Main thing I wanted to know was the relationship between input and output of the actual product, i.e. the number of crafting attempts I have to plan for when I want a certain number of components for further use with blueprints that need them. Results: Itemitems/attemptsTT items/TT ingredientsBasic Processor1.9340.06%Basic Sensor2.4636.84%Basic Sheet Metal3.6442.01%Edit: This table corrected! For TT ingredients was wrongly used input expenses after the returns of partial successes instead of straight TT value times attempts.
Missions accomplished: Pleak Ranger Rank 6 (20,000 kills) on Cyrene; Boot Camp 5: Graduation (10,000 Zombies) on Rocktropia. A bit out of steam after that many Pleaks I went to Calypso for a little leftovers selling and decided to give my stuck Dailies a chance. Bad idea. Right, they lured me in first thing with a black zero in tt returns on Igni, really not the most attractive mob. I thought that is one positive surprise. Cat 2 then was Calypsocod, 80% and nothing with more than a pittance in markup. Didn't go for cat 3 (Fresqoquda) since I didn't have enough peds left to even repair the armour needed for them and trust was crushed again anyway. Okay, one more cat 1 the next day. Gradivore. Nice hides I thought and went for big maturity. 57%. Think I'm cured again for the time being. Intended to do some more crafting but got sidetracked when I was offered a free ride to Rocktropia by a little green alien. Scratch that, I was threatened with getting hit over the head with an RK-5 if I resisted. Resistance is futile Had unfinished business there anyway with Zombies, last part of the boot camp standing at almost 2/3 done. Numbers accumulated over time but I didn't push it since returns where nowhere near a reminder of the first time around. Turned out better now and I could finish it in one fell swoop without losing my shirt. And then the reward: "You have gained 416.3545 experience in your Dodge skill." Lifted my Dodger level over 25 at once, forgot to keep track but believe it was 23-ish before. Then Vixens for dessert. Was balking at the idea, not for being squeamish but after trying it out earlier for the outright annoying setting in connection with the AI mission. Making players compete over rare spawns inevitably brings out the worst in them. The income it is supposed to generate is not impressive enough to make me want to fend with them, so decided to let them have it. Concentrating on the Vixens instead after a friend motivated me to take another look. The mob is exceptional in that markup in its loots actually compensates for the tt penalty. With a bit of liquidity left I don't have to run to a trader as often as to the repair terminal, so might even have a chance of getting some reasonable deals. Will shoot for the mission (one stage only but it's 12800 kills) and see if it was worth the patience. Relevant skills/professions at month's end: Evader 30.9, BLP Sniper 52.2, Pistoleer 50.9, Dmg 52.5, Knifefighter Hit 40.5, Dmg 42.5, Health points 171, total skill points 169372.
Another crafting experiment. I wanted to know the effect of a blueprint's QR on the proportion of crafted items. My original Basic Filters blueprint had a QR of 49.3, almost exactly half way up. I wanted to compare it with a maxed one which are available for a small price from auction, and a fresh one which has never been worked. Location: Calypso. 1. Basic Filters, 500 clicks, blueprint QR before: 49.3, after: 52.5 Lysterium Ingot-447-13.41 PEDOil-426-8.52 PEDTotal expenses.-21.93 PED...Basic Bearings Blueprint+1+0.01 PEDBasic Filters+1010+10.10 PEDBasic Filters Blueprint+1+0.04 PEDBasic Sensor Blueprint+1+0.01 PEDEnergy Matter Residue+499+4.99 PEDMetal Residue+208+2.08 PEDTotal returns.+17.23 PED...Result78.57%-4.70 PED2. Basic Filters, 500 clicks, blueprint QR 100 Lysterium Ingot-439-13.17 PEDOil-447-8.94 PEDTotal expenses.-22.11 PED...Basic Filters+1115+11.15 PEDBasic Sheet Metal Blueprint+1+0.01 PEDComposite Plank Blueprint+1+0.01 PEDEnergy Matter Residue+593+5.93 PEDMetal Residue+354+3.54 PEDTotal returns.+20.64 PED...Result93.35%-1.47 PED3. Basic Filters, 500 clicks, blueprint QR before: 1.0, after: 20.9 Lysterium Ingot-445-13.35 PEDOil-446-8.92 PEDTotal expenses.-22.27 PED...Basic Bearings Blueprint+1+0.01 PEDBasic Filters+1084+10.84 PEDBasic Filters Blueprint+0+0.19 PEDBasic Screws Blueprint+1+0.01 PEDEnergy Matter Residue+242+2.42 PEDMetal Residue+666+6.66 PEDTotal returns.+20.13 PED...Result90.39%-2.14 PEDHad enough materials left for another round and decided to add a full condition run with the best blueprint just for the sake of comparison: 4. Basic Filters, 500 clicks full condition, blueprint QR 100 Lysterium Ingot-404-12.12 PEDOil-396-7.92 PEDTotal expenses.-20.04 PED...Basic Bearings Blueprint+2+0.02 PEDBasic Filters+719+7.19 PEDBasic Filters Blueprint+1+0.01 PEDEnergy Matter Residue+279+2.79 PEDMetal Residue+542+5.42 PEDTotal returns.+15.43 PED...Result77.00%-4.61 PEDGlobals: none Runitems/attemptsTT items/TT ingredients1. (QR ~50)2.0240.40%2. (QR 100)2.2344.60%3. (QR 1)2.1743.36%4. (QR 100 & condition)1.4428.76%Hm. Except for the expected punishment in no. 4 there is no clear trend visible. The fresh blueprint performed better than the middle one. Both higher-qr blueprints showed the maxed success rate of 90% (whatever the number means) in the interface, whereas the fresh one showed 84.4%. My only conclusion is that intraday variance is greater than the influence of quality rating. Sample size, the usual rebuttal. If 500 isn't any good then let this just serve as a warning to other hobby lootologists. Would have been the wiser from having had a beer instead.
Missions accomplished: The Color of Envy I (12,800 Shy Vixen) on Rocktropia; Test of Faith - Stage 3 - Boots (40,000 kills of anything) on Cyrene; Shoggoth's Solemn Tale I, II on Monria. Was still chasing the final goal with Pleaks on Cyrene and was hoping to make it this month, but at 2 days left and still over 3000 rare wings needed I had to concede it won't happen. Also noticed the drop rate slightly receding towards the end, thought it must have to do with MindArk's announced experiments. So I will leave this mission for another rainy day. Bummed around a bit on Caly and finally decided to pay Monria a visit which I hadn't done in quite a while. Sure enough I found 3 more teleporters I had missing, or were introduced in the meantime, don't know exactly. Gets one in the mood for another dark moon... Also finally tried out the Monrian daily crafting mission everybody talks about and yes, it's really that good. Doing it with Explo I should actually be called an exploit. On two rounds, the reward of 0.75 ped Engineering bumped me up first in 6, then 5 crafting professions at once. Okay, most of them are still under level 10 and moving fast, but it really makes a difference. Thinking of doing this the proper way one day. Now back on Caly upon invitation to a little Dropship owners gathering. We're trying to get something organized for a show of force. 3 dropships dropping on the rig already raised eyebrows, can we get more? If anyone reading is interested, please don't hesitate to get in touch. Relevant skills/professions at month's end: Evader 31.2, BLP Sniper 52.4, Pistoleer 52.3, Dmg 52.8, Knifefighter Hit 40.7, Dmg 42.7, Health points 172, total skill points 171031.
Happy New Year, no, Happy New Decade everyone! Well it became old eventually, not the game but the regular reporting. Never been one for writing diaries. It was useful as long as there was something to learn from it. Increasing pain in the ped card however mandated a change in paradigm: Sustainable playing. At last, one should say. It was in last February that I said to myself, enough with the throwing away of markup. From now on, every bit has to go through the market and yield before being thrown into the cycle again. I had tried this before and the experience was bad. Too many lost auction fees, and peddling your stuff in trade chat the ultimate exercise in frustration. Then I discovered some lessons from a miner. The stack size you offer plays a much bigger role than previously thought. So a new round was tried and we had immediate lift-off. Now this worked! Finally, markup could compensate for the dwindling. To an extent, that is... Kept it up ever since though and the results worked out as follows: Throughout the year 2019, 906 auctions were listed and 6 direct trades made for a total TT value of 21,482.52 PED in looted stacks and items, no equipment trades included; of the auctions, 726 were on Arkadia, 142 on Calypso, 1 on Cyrene, 34 on Rocktropia, 3 on Monria; 204 or 22.5% expired; total auction fees paid 620.74 PED; total profit after fees and including expired listings was 2,287.16 PED which means a 110.65% net return. The only unusual and high-yield items were 1 ESI sold for a 110 PED profit and some Christmas Strongboxes from the previous year for 219 PED profit. Without these, the total net return from sales was 109.15%. These numbers do look good on the surface, however there is a caveat: It does not seem to scale easily. There is only so much the market will absorb, and the total is shared between all who attempt the same. This is limiting the throughput which can be cycled. The progress in skills is therefore not that great, but the playtime for money got suitably extended. Some missions completed: Pleaks, yes all the way for 100 stamina tokens; Scavenger Wolves on Rocktropia up to the 5k stage, chosen for looting decent markup; Oratan Payback up to the rank of Major; Bokol stage 4; a few missions on Calypso after the change that introduced Codex and disabled further progress in the old Iron Challenges: 1k Armax, 1k Atrax, 1k Allophyl/Estophyl, 500 Warrior and some more already forgotten, also on Cyrene and Monria. A few are still in the pipeline because of attribute tokens in the rewards, but their loot being sellable has priority now. Only thing I'm not happy about is the state of my Looter professions. I could have registered well over 100k kills after their introduction instead with better timing, but who could have known. Will keep an eye on that. Relevant skills/professions at time of writing: Animal Looter 26.5, Mutant 21.2, Robot 13.4; Evader 33.6, BLP Sniper 55.6, Dmg 55.5; Knifefighter Hit 45.9, Dmg 47.0; Health points 181, total skill points 193194.
