Ok simple question here. Do the Amps increase hit rate or is it size of the claim that is increased. Granted I am still a noob at mining only lvl 9 in everything except treasure which well lets face it not much of a market that I see right now for it. So I have been playing around with lvl 1 and 2 amps just to test and see what they do. I have gotten an increase in size of claim once or twice with them but nothing consistent. One thing that happened though was my hit rate went from an average of 30% to an average of about 37% which is why I am asking.
amps increase the size of the deposit you find. If you have are searching for ores for example with an amplifier that decays 1 ped and you would find something worth one ped, the size would be 1.5 ped if you use an amp that decays 50 pec 2 ped if you use an amp that decays 1 ped 11 ped if you use an amp that decays 10 ped Since you have to pay markup when using amplifiers you want to make sure that you find resources with a higher markup then the costs of the amplifier (which is pretty easy, unless you want really big amps).
Actually, the PED amount is multiplied by about a little more than 3. An amp that costs 2 ped decay (level 5 amp) will give you mostly average to ample claims (~10 ped) (3 ped from the probe plus 6 ped from the amp). Makes sense when you think that a hit rate for break even is about 30%, so it takes on average 3 drops worth of TT to equal one claim's TT value. Theoretically, your TT return from using amps should be the same ratio as without amps, as long as you are skilled enough to use them. Skill requirements for amps are a little vague. But a safe rule of thumb is one "level" of amp for every 4 to 5 profession levels.
This jives with my own limited experience. And for those of you who are wondering, his calculations are based upon dropping 60 probes for ore, energy, and treasure. I just need to nail-down the spawn rates and find an area that isn't over-harvested and drop away! I would love to get a triple-hit with a big amp!
(Because I didn't really understand what Neil was saying and harmony's reply wasn't clear to me either, I'm posting in language that I understand) Drops for each type of resource are treated as a separate event. The fact that finders now allow double- or triple-dropping doesn't change the underlying mechanics of an individual drop. So: Unamped, you're spending 0.5ped on one Enmatter drop, 1ped on one Ore drop, and/or 1.5ped on one Treasure drop. Amped w/an amp that decays 2ped per drop, you're spending 2.5ped on one EnMatter drop, 3ped on one Ore drop, and/or 3.5ped on one Treasure drop. Consequently, while amped w/an amp that decays 2ped per drop: If you hit an EnMatter claim, you're claim size (in ped value) will be (2.5/0.5 =) 5 times as large as it would have been unamped. If you hit an Ore claim, you're claim size (in ped value) will be (3/1 =) 3 times as large as it would have been unamped. If you hit a Treasure claim, you're claim size (in ped value) will be (3.5/1.5 =) 2.33 times as large as it would have been unamped. Whatever size (as in IV, V, VIII, XII, etc) is determined based on the ped value of the claim itself, so you can't just say a size III claim would become a size VII or whatever. Instead, a 1.8ped EnMatter claim (which is normally a size III) becomes a 9ped claim, which is a size VIII, while a 1ped claim (which is also normally a size III) becomes a 5ped claim, which is a size VI.
above posts = tl;dr All you need to know is: Amps = higher chances to HoF and ATH , like gambling! That's all they're used for. It's a chance to multiply a global or hof that you /think/ you're going to get, and make it hUUUUUUUUUUUGEee. ok enough trolling from me LOL, the above posts are correct, there's a formula (not sure how exact it is), that multiplies an unamped claim size depending on the amp decay. But this is what amps are really for: higher turnover. In the end, it's still the same 90% rule, but with amps, the cycle is longer and the time spent mining is less.
Its simple.. amping is for people who are poor at math. MA leaves too much to random to even try to figure out what they do. Bottom line is ..if your not one of the "Special" players amps only allow you to cycle ped faster which creates the illusion they work when a big catch up hit comes, and unless you have unlimited disposable income most people wont ever see the big one when using them.
