How to get good drops

Watch what the bots do, they dont port to random towns using a different merchant each time for nothing, if you watch in international districts of towns like bettletun you will notice a steady flow of bots using the merchant there and warping right back out to elona or droknars.

I was doing troll farming with my e/mo lately, i do it fairly fast arond 2 minites per run

5 minites if i want to take out the bosses

when i started the drops were stupid ....got like nothing every run...seemed the more i farmed the better they got....2 golds on a run the other day, and usualy get alot of shiverpeak keys (1-3 per run) so yeah its all good, i just think everythings random lol

When sample size is small, patterns can't not be conclusively draw since you don't see enough of the big picture.

Don't confuse luck or your attempt to find and describe a pattern with there actually being a pattern.

"or you can go on your first ever UW trip and get nothing but demonic remains" -- my first trip into UW long ago, I didn't even get that!

I haven't been to UW, FoW and the new tomb for over 6 months now. I wonder if i'll get some decent drops tonight?

Any data presented is not going to prove anything concrete, except that the drop system is random/crappy (depending on your definition).

Urgoz: 4 runs to date, got Shortbow on the second run.

Kanaxai: 2 runs, one complete to date. Got the Edge on the one completed.

Fissure: Solo, my first runs were crap. Then I borrowed 1k from a friend and got 5 shards, 3 from Driftwoods. Groups, I've played all different roles and had anywhere from 0-4 shards drop for me over the run.

UW: I soloed with a Me/Mo before I had my 55 and got nothing of value, ever. 55/SSing I've gotten maybe one to two ectos out of 5 or more runs each night I go.

Sskai: First run, got the sword. 20 runs later still nothing.

Chest runs: I've done Shiverpeaks, Raisu, and Fissure runs along with Elite mission chests, and gotten one gold worth more than merch food, a Req. 8 Halo Axe, one of the most hated skins in the game, and only sold for 30k because it was +5 Energy. No luck here.

Trolls: I've gotten perfect sundering and fortitude mods out here, along with 2 black dyes, but nothing else of value after like a month of doing it every day. (Made 100k doing this though, got me started on farming in general).

Sorrow's: First time in with a newb group I got Gordac's Needle (when it was in high demand for 50k) and a black dye. I've gotten 2 Drago's Flatbows, 2 more Needles, and assorted junk greens. Most runs I don't get a single drop above a blue item.

Basically, from my mixed experiences, it says to me that there isn't any concrete formula for drops, it's just randomly calculated.

Just be happy and stop thinking about it.

the last 4 runs (out of about 20 in a short time) my monk in fow netted 4-2-6-7 shards (usually just forgemaster to beach and back around at most but sometimes one other area.)
meaning: I think its random, and wanna pay me too much for shards

I admire how you have the ability to know where other players' characters are travelling to/from.

OMG A DEV! Everyone PM him for free ectos!

See, that's the kind of thing ANet employees can check, if the drop assignment program is programmed the way I'm guessing

How about you reply to my previous post, countering your argument, then?

What, about keeping it a secret?

If "beginner's luck" does exist, ANet's admitting they put it into the game on purpose will no doubt cause dissatisfaction among "frequent flyers" and possibly even more snobism than currently exists. Imagine if you knew for a fact that the first-time UW/FoW/elite mission party member would get the most benefit out of the run. Would you still take that party member along, or would you stick with your "farming buddies" to assure "normal" drop distribution?

As things stand (if they stand as I'm guessing), "beginner's luck" is an unexpected bonus, a subtle psychological tool to encourage continued gameplay. If ANet explicitly spelled out that "beginner's luck" exists, people new to high-risk high-reward areas would mostly be confined to groups of likewise inexperienced players due to forced exclusion, which would result in more party wipes and therefore negative reinforcement.

You've just countered your own argument. Congratualtions!

Get over it, please. You will either spending your lifetime trying to find some evidences, which will never come up, or proposing other theories about this random drop system, which will never be proved as true either.

Whatever theories you come up, if there's at least one player saying they don't happen in his gaming experience, then the theories are invalid. If the system is there, it should be true for everyone if he/she meets the requirement.

Randomness, however, is true for everyone.

/sarcasm on

Besides, it's time to move on to the RA system, don't you think?

/sarcasm off

How? My last post is talking about the implications of an outright confirmation of "beginner's luck" by ANet. The one you quote below it refers to the way things currently stand. If your first UW run nets you several Globs of Ectoplasm you'll want to come back for more. If your first UW run results in a party wipe because the experienced players didn't want to take you for fear of you "syphoning" their drops, you'll probably stay away (unless you're a masochist )

Somebody's getting a bit too heated up and missing all the emotes in my posts. You don't expect me to be completely serious about something I could never prove for certain, can you?

Hmm. I seem to remember that the drop system has been changed at least once. The reasoning - if memory serves me - was that while over the long run (meaning both in terms of time played and the number of players) drops were assigned fairly randomly, some players would consistently get bad drops. Randomness, as a concept, is universal, but no human design is capable of true randomness simply because that randomness has to be designed into the program.

There is no "naturally occuring randomness" in the field of computers. There are only programs that approximate randomness more or less closely. If you knew the precise parameters for a roulette spin - the force with which the ball is released, the speed of the wheel, the direction of the ball's release, the loss of momentum due to friction and air resistance, etc. - you could predict with a fair degree of accuracy where the ball will land, and the more variables you account for the closer your guess will be to the final result. In the case of a computer program, however, the parameters are already accounted for in the code. All the calculations have already been done for you. If you try to come up with an equation that determines with all possible certainty the outcome of a particular action, you'll arrive at the code.

Oooh! Thanks for the topic for my next controversial thread! I'll use another spamtastic topic and apply my reasonable arguments to that, too! I mean, I've got to use my brains to up my post count somehow!

what a load of tosh. drops are random. simple as.

i went as ss nec for a guildie in UW and after clearing the chamber and 3 groups of smites he had 3 ectos.
all he does is farm UW these days. 3-4 hours a day

I don't know if this stuff is true or not. Simply because I didn't go farming on my 55 monk for around 4-5 weeks. THen I decided to hit up all the locations I normally do, didn't even get a purple.

I cant help but suspect there is some method to ANET's drop rates, I dont believe they are as random as people say..

Unfortunatly this is nowhere near being any kind of proof or evidence, its just circumstancial.

I agree with this fact, i also think that peoples wants to believe that drop are not random and that there is a method behind this madness. Not to mention getting rare to great drops will basically make your day while getting bad to crappy drops will put you in a bad mood for a while.

It all depends on the combination of farming flags and the rolls.

1. Working way through Luxon territory quests/missions - which caused me to go over and over the same areas. Nothing but a few purples drop. Then for three days in a row, I got a green drop from dif bosses.

2. Finish Factions and decide to farm runes on ettin run with same char. For two days, nothing but whites, then third day - 2 golds (vigor & absorb), 3 purple (vigor, marksmanship, eng storage) and 2 blues (vigor & water).

So while farming flags can decrease your chances, it still mainly depends on the rolls.

Exactly. There undoubtedly is some formula to drops, but it's just beyond our knowledge. There's no way we could know short of being a Dev, and breaking NDA.

For all we know, it's

D=(x/a)/c+i

Where D is the drop quality on a scale of 1-10, x being hours played at the time of the drop, a being age of account, c being age of character, and i being a random integer between 1 and 9.

That sounds pretty nice, doesn't it? Doesn't mean it's true though. We just don't know

My reply to this bah, 12 ectos in 13 months, 13 shards in 13 months, SF now what a joke after farming other areas and doing side missions upto 57 runs and still counting no greens, Factions, 1 lousy green Tin Dao Staff since release, and they say everone is equal bah what a joke, or should I say maybe these guys who run the show for GW only look after m8s/ or is there a hacking program out there for the drops which steal others drops?
I was on a run(FOW) the other morning gr8 group it was I have to say one bloke died once and no other deaths, I was the necro with br/ss/ss/rh/de/pb/ss res sig, I would first cast my echos out then hit the monks and ele with br I thought that was a good idea, well everyone was happy apart from me no bloody shards or magic items drops for me and I stress not one(only from chest when I used keys), well there was very very lucky bloke/sheila in the group he got a perfect crystalline sword req8 15^50, others got shards or very close to perfect items from drops and chests and what do I get the absolute crap drops all white bah, anyway after approx 4hrs we all decide to call it out only 1 bloke offered me a shard I rejected the offer and said m8 you need it for later on in the game, while others said good job m8 with the ss/ss/br. The total of shards dropped on that run was an amazing 17 shards. Now if these are supposed to be fair drops where I see others getting 3-5 shards per run and I get none how is this fair??

Persistence is the key.

You can't do anything to ensure you get good drops because everyone would simply do whatever it is that would imporove your loot. Like they say, time is money, and if you keep at something you'll eventually get rares, ectos and shards.

Alternatively, you can become a bot or sweatshop farmer because they're never short of perfect fellblades.

I'd really love some kind of loot balancing. I know that it balances out over time but i'd rather have it balance out in a single instance. It's sometimes downright frustrating and can spoil the fun for days to come if all you get is a lousy shard while someone else is bathing in dozens of them. It's frustrating. You've put the same work and time into it after all :/

Well, I have to say that I just hit the luckiest point since I started playing GW 11 months ago. In 1 run in Tombs last night and 1 run in Sorrow's Furnace tonight I picked up the following greens:

Victo's Maul
Elswyth's Recurve Bow
Drago's Flatbow
Garbok's Cane
Vokur's Staff
Galigord's Stone Scroll
Grognar's Sword


Last night was the first time I've farmed in about 2 weeks so I have had a bit of a break from it, but this is insane. I know Drago's is worth much more, but since I play a lot of BP farming the Elswyth's Recurve bow was my favorite pickup. It's awesome when you combine barrage with a 5-1 vamp bow + Vigorous Spirit.

Of course, now I probably won't see another green for a long time now...

I was happy to get 5 greens in one SF run, although they were all around the 2k zone... A person gets Drago's Flatbows which was worth more hten all my drops combined and I get pisse doff

Well I agree it's not balanced at all.. I have a guildie who has A monk and A mesmer.. He goes out and plays with a full crew of henchman and he is constantly getting greens or rare golds ... Now if I go out with my ranger and warrior in the same areas with the same henchman.. I get squat.. I killed 10 bosses one night in various areas and most of them ( bosses) didn't even give me gold...

Safe to say it's not balanced well... And with the up and coming triple drop chance green weekend, which I have to work that weekend , but I will make time to test it.. Well shall see

2 days ago I go in the UW (first time this week) and I see 3 ecto drop in a total of 4 runs (1 was mine).

Yesterday I go in the UW and see 1 ecto drop in 4 runs (not mine).

I waited for a guildie and he got on 10 minutes later and we proceeded to get 5 ecto in 3 runs, not to mention 7 golds, money to pay my entrance fee (I paid the 1k) and a run where there were 2 chests, both gold.

Periods are your friend.

And... who ever said anything about fair? Random !=fair. Nothing is fair, anywhere... ever. If you're old enough to type, I'd assume you were old enough to have recognized that by now.

okay people love formulas. i'll toss in mine fresh from this morning.
Spader kills about 24 monsters in about 6 minuets. he spent 2 hours farming this morning among the drops 2 golds, 3 purples a couple of dozen blue, lots of whites, 1 dyes and a few no drops.

so it'd break down to
1/240 gold
1/160 purple
not quite 1 in 20 blue wasn't keeping track of them
1/480 no possible dye though i've heard its seprately random.

felt like 1 of the warrior types wouldn't drop anything randomly and there were about 6 in a mob.

Not officail numbers just what it seemed like on the mobs I use.

Had a different experience in UW this past weekend.

Took my main E/Mo in as a 55. Haven't entered with him for close to 2 weeks. Result = 2 ecto drops, 1 mine.

Right after, took my R/W into a 4-man trap team which turned into 3-man as 1 guy never loaded. Haven't entered with her in close to 5 months, as I believe I favored Tombs b/p over UW trapping to get the XP points my ranger needed for Factions skills. Result = 1 rare storm bow and 2 ecto drops, 1 ecto mine.

If my theory of "beginner's luck" is still true, it has to be based on account activity rather than character activity. I realize there's a lot of "contingent" provisions in the theory, but I just read this for my Educational Psychology class:

So this is the whole reason a change in the drop system would make sense when someone enters a zone for the first time in months. Continuous reinforcement makes repeating that behavior more likely, and drops "normalize" later to switch to intermittent reinforcement.

It's a matter of luck I think, as well it depends if you ever have been there and if you have, it depends what you did.
I never farmed and when I farmed in Kryta near Temple of the Ages, I got 3 black dyes in just killing 5 enemies. (have to commit, this were my first 3 black dyes ever found) Anyways, I got later on in FoW with my Rt/Me with a group to test builds and mess around, do some quests for armor crafting and stuff, and yes oure complete team were noobs and all of us got at least 3 Obisidian Shards included me for all of us 1st time FoW and btw we completed all quests.

I always get a gold / ecto when i enter Uw.
Usually i do 2/3runs. Stop. Comer back next day / hour or 2 later and i get good drops again.
More u farm repetitivley less uget

People eat more ice cream when there are many seagulls in the sky, so seagulls make people eat more ice cream

You get better drops after not having been there in a while, what proof do you have not having been there caused this?


Repeat after me, Correlation does not equal Causation

I used to Duo smite runs with my necro and a 55 monk and there were runs where we would not get one single ecto. Now I solo UW with my necro and I get anywhere from 2-5 ectos every run and it only takes me 15 minutes or a little more. Let me repeat that for ya. I never ever have a dry run. I always get ectos. The only thing that is random is how many I end up getting. The run does takes some patience when you are timing the nightmare pops, but once you can consistently kill the nightmares you are golden cause everything else is cake. When I say cake I mean it. You can literally tank EVERYTHING in the smite areas including all the colds at once.

I'm sure A-net coded ecto drops to specifically drop more often in necro solo runs than in duo runs. *sigh*

Gotta love the flawed logic people whip up to explain drop rates as something beyond random.

@Tainek's quote: Couldn't have said it better myself.

It is not flawed logic exactly. I just think that the code is designed to give better rewards for what it is preprogrammed to be a more difficult situation. Shouldn't there be an increased reward for someone able to kill 20-30 smites all at once by themselves or a group of 3-10 smites on a duo run? I would say that the code gives better drops when someone is soloing because of the difficulty involved in it. The general belief is that since the AoE nerf it is nearly impossible to solo UW and I am willing to bet that is included in the logic for the drops in UW. All I know is that if I make a trip to UW alone with my necro I can bring back several ectos and 5 or more gold drops. It just always works out that way. I am not gonna complain. I'll just continue to reap the benefits until something changes.