Loot drop frequency and group size

Enchanted Warrior

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jul 2006

W/Mo

Many in game have stated that the more people in your group, the less chance there is for greens etc to drop. Is this true? I'm asking in the hopes of dispelling rumors, and/or learning a bit more about how things work.

My interest is as follows:

I head a guild of real life friends. We like to hunt etc together. That said if the rumor is true then by going in larger groups are we hindering some that cannot play as often to get there chance at in game perks (loot)? I'd like to speak to my group with the facts and not just guess or spread more rumors.

Thanks in advance.

MSecorsky

MSecorsky

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Jun 2005

So Cal

The Sinister Vanguard

Me/

The drop rate is the same, but the odds on it being for you are less.

Funk ee Monk ee

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Jul 2005

Legendary Adventurers Guild [LAG]

I have played for 14 months now, have farmed Sorrows Furnace hundreds of times and can tell you that there is no correlation of drop frequency to group size. You stand a better chance of getting the good drop in a smaller group (1/2 in a 2 man group, 1/4 in a 4 man group, 1/8 in a 8 man group) but that is as far as it goes.

Perhaps the better phrasing of your initial statement would be, "the more people in your group the less chance of a green to drop FOR YOU."

Enchanted Warrior

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jul 2006

W/Mo

Okay makes sense. See we don't have time to "farm" like some do. If we can hunt once a week, as a group, it's a lot. So to be honest to them I would have to say the chances of getting anything special would be reduced. Is that accurate? And by special I mean green. As they seem to have "perfect" stats.

MSecorsky

MSecorsky

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Jun 2005

So Cal

The Sinister Vanguard

Me/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Enchanted Warrior
Okay makes sense. See we don't have time to "farm" like some do. If we can hunt once a week, as a group, it's a lot. So to be honest to them I would have to say the chances of getting anything special would be reduced. Is that accurate? And by special I mean green. As they seem to have "perfect" stats.
No, the chances are the same. However, the odds on it being specifically for any one individual go down.

My Sweet Revenga

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Nov 2005

R/

Funny I solo'd ssskai quite a few times trying to get his sword for my tank. All I get are naga skins or...... nothing actually. I guess he's either been farmed to death or the game hates me =[

Enchanted Warrior

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jul 2006

W/Mo

My Sweet Revenga, I have hunted (I don't like the term farming lol) him approx 150 times (not exagerating) over the last month or so. I have gotten 2 swords. I share your pain. Lol Others swear they get em every trip. (I don't beleive them by the way ROFL).

Silver_Fang

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Aug 2006

Manchester UK

Rt/

dont farm too much or you might triggered the anti farming code.

Enchanted Warrior

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jul 2006

W/Mo

GW claims they have no problem with farming (except bots). Has that changed?

bigwig

bigwig

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Oct 2005

Nova Scotia

#Dismantle

i solod sskai a dozen or so times and never got the sword. i happened to be doing a quest with 7 henchies and it dropped for me. its all random

Enchanted Warrior

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jul 2006

W/Mo

Agreed it is somewhat random. BUT, if loot drops were truly random, we could loot an IDS outside ascalon. So there are rules, etc.. but in general it's random.

Angel Netherborn

Angel Netherborn

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Jun 2006

Lower Ward, Sigil

Goda Vos

Quote:
Originally Posted by Enchanted Warrior
GW claims they have no problem with farming (except bots). Has that changed?
Depends on your understanding of the issue. GW doesn't mind ppl farming, but they do mind if ppl farm too much, as it would mean spoiling the economy. You'll know if you farmed too much when a tooltip informing you of it comes up. It'll notify you that the drop rates have been reduced.

The drop depends on the monsters. I think each creature probably has a set of percentages on what can be dropped. Green items just has a very small percentage. Those who get them often are just plain lucky.

Snowman

Snowman

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Apr 2005

Wales, UK

Devils Scorpions

W/E

I a team of 8, when an item of note drops, there is a 1/8 chance of it being asigned to you.

That chance is always going to be 1 in 8 regardless of what your team is made up of.

Only by reducing your team size do you increase the chance of a drop being asigned to you.

The mis-conception occurs because in a full team of real players every member can SEE the drop, with a hench team you dont see the drop! so it seems as if the drop rate is less, when in fact its not.

If you are with a real team however, there might be a better chance of you aquiring someone elses drop.. they may give it away, sell it for cheap, trade it for cheap or they may simply forget to pick it up.

There is absoloutly no way for you to aquire a henchmans drop... (damn they must have SO much loot by now)

Valkyrian

Valkyrian

Academy Page

Join Date: Jun 2006

SouL

Mo/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Angel Netherborn
You'll know if you farmed too much when a tooltip informing you of it comes up. It'll notify you that the drop rates have been reduced.
Can anyone confirm this "tooltip" notification on excessive farming? Either with a screenshot or from ArenaNet? I have never heard of anyone seeing this.

Stockholm

Stockholm

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Feb 2006

Censored

Censored

R/

there is plenty of threads with screenshots of the farm code message.

If search was only working, I could find them too.

eternal pho

Banned

Join Date: Nov 2005

The Licious Fame Farmers {TLG}

W/E

Quote:
Originally Posted by My Sweet Revenga
Funny I solo'd ssskai quite a few times trying to get his sword for my tank. All I get are naga skins or...... nothing actually. I guess he's either been farmed to death or the game hates me =[
Thats exactly why I gave up on Sskai farming. =P

wilebill

wilebill

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Dec 2005

Mt Vernon, Ohio

Band of the Hawk

W/Mo

I never farm. Sometimes I take a full group of henchies through a map just for fun and take down all the bosses. I get a green maybe every fourth time I do that. If I don't need it, I trade it to some friend for something I do need. Same with chest stuff, nice gold, hang on to it and trade it for a gold that I need. As a result, I've got excellent quality weapons for all my characters.

This upcoming weekend, I might try a few chests, but I doubt I will find anything better than what I already have.

pepys

pepys

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Feb 2006

4rthur

R/Mo

I've gotten two green drops in Cantha. With hench - seven of them. I'm stunned because I've never picked up green with hench before.

Huntster

Huntster

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Aug 2006

NoD

Me/E

I think I must be one of the unluckiest players out there. I have only seen one green ever after playing for months now and it went to the other player I was with. It was a low level dagger set from shing jea island.

I must have killed a lot of bosses by now both with "real" people and henchies and never see greens. WTF?

Loviatar

Underworld Spelunker

Join Date: Feb 2005

Quote:
Originally Posted by Valkyrian
Can anyone confirm this "tooltip" notification on excessive farming? Either with a screenshot or from ArenaNet? I have never heard of anyone seeing this.
i have personally gotten BOTH the first message and the followup message going after exp and leaving the drops on the ground.

you have to work like a bot to get even the first message

Count to Potato

Count to Potato

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Feb 2006

Imagination Land

I Swear She Was Eighteen [Gwen]

W/

During the green weekend two canthan greens dropped in a time of 5 minutes in the same run with 7 henchies for me, later that wekeend i went to the same place with 5 no ai players and no green dropped for any of us out of the 12 bosses we killed, this doesn't make sense, but i still got Jacqui's Aegis

kazjun

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Aug 2006

HoVa

W/N

I've never seen the group size to change how much loot you get. Or I mean,
how much gets dropped. The more of you there are though, the smaller the share you get since you're splitting the drops with more people. Its pretty much random for greens. Sometimes you can farm solo for ages and get nothing, then another day while mapping areas you get greens dropping even with a full hench party.