Drop Rates in Hard Mode

Winterclaw

Winterclaw

Wark!!!

Join Date: May 2005

Florida

W/

I was wondering, hard mode is supposed to give better than normal drop rates but from what I've seen it isn't that much better. Post stats for the place you were at and about how many drops you got, if you feel like it, so we can see if it's any better or not.

Old Ascalon: 172 kills, 4 blues, 3 golds
Talus Chute: 128 kills, 2 blues, 1 white tome

Div

Div

I like yumy food!

Join Date: Jan 2006

Where I can eat yumy food

Dead Alley [dR]

Mo/R

Is this based on solo farming? Group of 8? If it's solo, then I can understand since the drops scale better for larger groups...I'd still say it's on the whole better than before.

shrift

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Apr 2007

E/Mo

Since I'm a complete poker junkie, I'll tell you a thing or two about odds. Hard mode is supposed to bring better drops and it does. But what you're trying to measure is the difference between 0.2% and 0.4% (i made up those numbers, but my point is that the chance is very low in both HM and regular mode). Thats tough. Thats like trying to measure the number of times you hit pocket aces with 4 aces in a deck compared to having 5 aces in the deck. It isn't noticeable, and its still based on luck.

Outside of reading that hard mode gives better drops, here is the other evidence that I have that hard mode truly does give more rares:
- I see groups being formed that say "hard mode farming."
- In "Great Northern Wall" (the first HM mission I did), I got 3 rares. Of course, I could have gotten lucky.
- Hard mode is meant to give extra benefits and there should be an incentive to play it. That is why an extra experience boost it given. But who cares about experience? We're all level 20 and have a bunch of extra skill points right? (At least I have over 100 points sitting around). The extra incentives are better drops, and the new titles.

Patrick Smit

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Nov 2006

NiTe

Quote:
Originally Posted by holymasamune
Is this based on solo farming? Group of 8? If it's solo, then I can understand since the drops scale better for larger groups...I'd still say it's on the whole better than before. The drop scale ensures that u get on average the same amount of drops that do scale, whether u go in with 1 or 8 persons. So u dont get better drops when going in with 8, u are still are entirtled to only 1/8 of the amount of drops. For non-scale items however drops are better when u solo.

And I agree on the statistics, it needs quite some experimental data to confirm or not whether drop rates are different.

Blue man

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Jul 2006

solo farmed fire imps twice first time 27 kills 4 purples 2 golds second time 22 kills 2 purples no golds. then farmed ice imps a few times first time was around 30 kills 2 gold 3 purples second time i got jack squat third time was same as second. maybe its a first time is good sort of thing? idk. this was all solo farm by the way

Gaia_Hunter

Academy Page

Join Date: Oct 2006

The farm modifications are pretty simple.

Lower money creation, either by selling white/blue items or pure gold coins.

Hard mode offer better chance of rare items drops, to make you need less money.

But still, if you play in parties of 8, you will see more gold items, but your actual share will be small and most of them are crappy anyway.

Solo hardmode farmers, get less money per hour from junk then before (used to be around 10-12k hour, now is 5-7k hour), but have better chances of rare items, so if they farm zones where rare skins drop, they actually will make more money than before.

So in conclusion, if you are expecting to get richer and/or better equiped alot faster by playing stuff in hardmode, you are wrong. Dont get me wrong, you will get more stuff than you used, but thats because playing PvE in party mode before was completly non-rewarding, and the chances of you getting that rare skin perfect mod item were close to nill, and thats why a item like that would cost your eyes, your soul and your family.