16 replies to this topic

[Bane]

Hey,

 

So I know I'm not the only one feeling this way, but some items such as Azoic Armlet/Band of Duality/Keeshe/Sent Shield just feel unbelievably tedious to farm, almost to the point of just calling it quits completely. I know staff reluctance to mess around with drop rates, but please for the love of God end our suffering. Pretty PLEASE with sugar on top!

[Stig]

Those are some of the best drops in the game and you want them more common?

[Banishment]

I don't know how bad it is on main, but the low drop rates on 1a bosses is enough to turn anyone off of bossing or even playing at all.  I'm not sure there are many people who enjoy spending months killing the same boss every day hoping for whatever item to drop only to get a null every single time.

Edited by Banishment, 22 June 2022 - 03:19 AM.

[Bane]

Those are some of the best drops in the game and you want them more common?

 

Yes please, that would be incredibly helpful! As it stands we're lucky to get a single drop every few months (Gaddy can attest to this hunting down Band's of Duality). It's incredibly tedious and really sucks the fun out of the game when you're continuously killing a boss for a single drop, but it never comes.. :'(

[brewcrew]

I support the upping of drop rates and removing of nulls, considering people get jaded of bossing to get nulls, especially on 1alt where they have to sit in on a random just to do said boss. Quite a few players have decreased how active they were over this as well.

[Cadabra]

Bosses on 1-alt got really stupid since the levelling items got added to them. For a boss that's "once a day" (i know on 1alt it can be 2 days..) getting a levelling item is crazy and just kills all morale.

 

 

Some rates on main should be way higher anyway considering the amount of Characters you need to kit out!

[Stig]

Some drop rates on both servers were increased during the last update.

 

http://www.nightmist...showtopic=41267

 

As far as I know, the only levelling items where killing a boss is preferable to farming a monster is to obtain a Shadow Essence and Spirit Essence.

[brewcrew]

Some drop rates on both servers were increased during the last update.

 

http://www.nightmist...showtopic=41267

 

As far as I know, the only levelling items where killing a boss is preferable to farming a monster is to obtain a Shadow Essence and Spirit Essence.

 

Also mutagens at herric

[Gaddy]

Hey,

 

So I know I'm not the only one feeling this way, but some items such as Azoic Armlet/Band of Duality/Keeshe/Sent Shield just feel unbelievably tedious to farm, almost to the point of just calling it quits completely. I know staff reluctance to mess around with drop rates, but please for the love of God end our suffering. Pretty PLEASE with sugar on top!

 

As Bane mentioned, I can attest to these being part of why I play less now.

 

Azoic Armlet and Band of Duality were fun to chase at first. The first several times going through all of the rigor and challenges was neat gameplay. It put my party to the test, and it was cool to pass.

It stopped being fun as I realized I was sinking days of gameplay into no top-end drops. I don't find that fun or interesting. It is too much time requirement with very low odds.

 

I've said for years, I play Nightmist because it is still fun and the familiarity is calming. However, the high-end areas are demanding - not calming. That is absolutely fair and needed - we want tough challenges and bosses. However, those challenges are not fun after a dozen runs without winning the real prizes.

I realized it was just punishing grind-work. I was not finding rest through an old, familiar, soothing game - nor able to claim it was fun. So, I've stopped giving it time.

 

 

This is the case for almost all of Nightmist, but for me, the top-end takes it too far into extremes:

• Credenza & Ku'Nal - mostly stopped those almost a decade ago for this reason; started again late last year and already stopped again by March
  • This run requires chasing down and translating Drow Journal, killing bosses for keys, completing mazes and other bosses for seals, and then a run through death traps and Drow Rogue trolling...for what I think is the worst drop rate in-game. Maybe once per year if you are really consistent. That stops being fun pretty quickly for me.
• Marshall of the Inquisition & Grande Inquisitor - chased for months; got frustrated with chasing keys just for other keys (warrants) that I can hardly ever really use since they need duos and time - plus Gothmog dropped 3 Sentant Stones for me which was just toxic.
  • In the past 2-weeks, I've started hitting Marshall again, but 4 to 6 Steel Shard drops later, I really don't expect to last. Cause when he finally drops, it's just a key...to a boss that drops keys...seriously.
• Stone Dragon & Sarcophagus - I got real obsessed late last year and early this year, but hit a wall of just grind fatigue and drop frustration (/who Gladiator)
  • 35 kills: 17 Dragon Plate, 17 Mithril Circlet, and 1 Borealis Talisman --- 0 Band of Duality
  • Estimated 35 trips probably took me 30-40 hours....and that is a horrible time-sink when I started off hoping to get 14 Band of Duality
  • Have not bothered to go again since March

 

Edit - Other post reminded me of the actual WORST of high-end bosses - Resca.

• Resca's drops are not even good considering the time and party-quality needed to kill him. His only benefit is the huge XP boon. His drops need an overhaul, in my opinion.

 

 

To be clear, a single Band of Duality drop in that 35 kill streak would not fix it for me. I do not know what the drop rate needs to be for me to find the payoff matching up to the time investment, but 10% was the low-end for great drops in the past. That was a past with 10x or more the number of people playing - and I think most of us had WAY more time on our hands years ago. I really think 10% is too low or the absolute floor for drop-rates on long trips, and 10% may not get me going on those trips - not alone at least.

I appreciate nulls being replaced with at least something, and I am grateful for the kill-XP update that makes all bosses at least small wins. It just has not offset the grind-fest for me.

 

 

Main is setup well for long-term gameplay with several quality trips that take hours to setup and complete. However, to gear up a party requires hundreds of the exact same trips that take so long. I just don't want to do that with my time, especially when it feels like 1-Alt is the focus for gameplay and development and Main development is over.

In fairness, I have a 3-month-old firstborn. So, Nightmist was always going to get less of my time. Periods of less time for Nightmist have been normal for me over the years. I'm just surprised by how likely I feel the game is over for me.

[Stig]

I guess times have changed, but even if the player numbers suddenly increased, it would mean more drops required for everyone, so it balances out.  I agree with you that things should be increased, especially Gothmog.  I need to think carefully and not rush this one though, and also double-check what all the crafting recipes are with the drops.

[Stig]

I've started to implement this to an extent as of the latest update.

[Silver_Dragoness]

I want to add something... Bosses (malok, DG, SK, Lyz, Atrium etc) need a better spawn rate. Started playing again but once again, find myself unable to find bosses in. Not sure if it's just crappy luck like things not spawning like they should be or if the server needs to be restarted or something. But I check things hourly and have found Malok in 3 times, atrium twice and Giant sand wurm twice within the last week. It's stupid because I've not seen many people on. Gaddy doesn't get on much, I only see Fatality on weekends in the mornings, I don't see Bane on at all. Bosses need a better spawn and drop rate. It's what makes me keep leaving for extended period of time. It's a major turn off to the older players. The game is like 20 something years old and there's only like 5 of us that play.. and not even all day. I know it's a crazy thing to be whining about but when you need stuff and can't find any bosses in that drop said stuff... it gets frustrating and people stop playing. Oh and one more thing. I've killed cappy 200 times in the last year and I haven't seen a single spyglass drop. I know he's hourly but ffs it's annoying af.

 

I love the game. I keep coming back to it. But I hate that I love it. I hate that I love it so much that I'm constantly forgetting why I quit and then a week or month into playing... I get frustrated and quit again. It's a vicious cycle. It's a toxic thing. I want more things to do than just farm gold and kill mobs and train. I want to hit bosses and the game gets stale when there's no bosses to kill to get items for the characters you're training. I don't want to spend millions of gold buying items from other players. I'm saving up for other items/weapons/armor that I want/need. I can't buy them if I'm constantly having to buy items to level or trade for plat coins to gear up my characters.

 

/shrug

 

It's a stupid and frustrating choke in a 20 year game that was geared toward 200 players 20 years ago. No wonder it's dead.

Edited by Silver_Dragoness, 22 August 2022 - 10:30 PM.

[Stig]

Hopefully there's some improvement in this department now.

[Silver_Dragoness]

Thank you, Stig! You're very hard working and I appreciate the love, care and attention that you give to this game!

[Gaddy]

Id like to pile on there. Feels like I forgot how our input on this topic and the kill XP topic were heard and actually got all the time and energy dedicated to implement.
Thank you, Stig!


Id like to see some additional boosts for Main, but I hope these dont overshadow the gratitude for changes already made.
Roc Hatchling - increase rate for Roc Talon or increase spawn rate to hourly
Bodyguard - increase Mithril Sword drop to 10%
Captain Wylsen - increase Spyglass rate to 5-10%
Credenza - increase spawn rate; increase Azoic Armlet to 10%-ish
Stone Dragon - increase Band of Duality and Borealis Talisman to 15% each with Mithril Circlet reduced
Gardener - return Petal Key to 50-100% rate; this area having a sub-key made rare is silly
Giant Sand Wurm - add Wurms Tooth drop that sells for 100K and/or swaps for a Gold Sovereign

Id also suggest reducing the drop rate for Spider Venom and increasing the sell price to compensate. Currently, these seem to litter the desert on Main due to low-value and high frequency.

The Platinum Coin and Gold Sovereign systems work great to eat up excess drops, in my opinion. So, it feels very reasonable to allow more drops so there is less bottleneck frustration.

[Stig]

Some interesting ideas there.

[Gaddy]

Heh, re-reading my ideas are, "killing bosses should be rewarded consistently, and drops should occur pretty frequently compared to historical norms."

 

I could expound and try to justify a ton, but it is something I think all players have emphasized for years. Some adjustments have been made, and I feel like those have been working really well. I do appreciate that the feedback has been piloted and that there is openness from staff on taking feedback from players via the forum.

Thank you for reading and considering!