Low req items: HM vs NM

Do Q8 max items drop more easily/exclusively in Hard Mode or Normal Mode? Do they drop from chests in both modes? Which is better for farming and/or chest running with the intent of getting Q8 maxes and/or rare skins? Same questions for Q6/14 and Q7/15 inscr shields. Discuss low req item discrepancies in HM and NM.

~Tru

My experience tells me that DoA HM is a pretty nice resource for q8 max Swords, Shield and Foci. Also q7/15, never seen q6/14 in HM DoA.

Chestrunning experience tells me that q8/12 foci only drop from NM chests at low lvl mobs (16-18). I think the same would be with shield.

Wait till Yawg reads this I guess

I got a blue 6/14 Strength shield from Kourna when fooling around in NM to time how long it takes me to complete the protector's title from a scratch account. (Was ~25 hours with 0 unlocks at the start.) It's a shame it wasn't tactics.

Your best bet is Mehtani keys or Kourna. I also got a R2 or3 tac +11 or something like that from the Lvl 8 Modiniir in Defending the eye (EOTN, http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Servi...nse_of_the_Eye). I suspect it is the same in http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Charr_Invaders

I see a lot of R5-R6 when lockpicking Mehtani Keys for the Lucky title. Corsairs are Level 10-16 there, compared to Kournans in Kourna which are level 16. I get R5s from level 14-15, so R6 being from level 16 seems reasonable.

I got req8 pre-NF (i.e. oni blades) at areas like Raisu Palace NM from chests. So what's of interest is r6-7.

Pre-NF I got r8 drops from Crystal Desert too.

EDIT: I think Istan HM would be a good bet as well, as mobs are barely level 20.

Also a quick look at the uniques gives you a hint of approximate reqs of mobs:
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Longtooth%27s_Shield (Requires 7 Strength)
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Emeju%27s_Longbow (Requires 6 Marksmanship)
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Ajamduk%27s_Staff (Requires 5 Earth Magic)
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Morrob%27s_Axe (Requires 5 Axe Mastery)
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Lonolun%27s_Staff (Requires 5 Water Magic)
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/The_Windcutter (requires 5 Swordsmanship)
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/The_Lifedrinker (Requires 4 Blood Magic)
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Lord_Onrah%27s_Sword (Requires 4 Swordsmanship)
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/The_Rockbreaker (Requires 3 Hammer Mastery)
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Hassin%27s_Shell Req0

Last night I was doing HM Bloodstone Caves (EotN dungeon) with a friend. I got a blue r7 9-35 dmg Raven Staff drop from a "First Inscribed" in the groups at the very end of level 3.

9-35 is not the max damage we've found so far for r7 scythes, but it seems like in the context of this thread it's the req. alone which is significant.

I did take screenshots, but it doesn't seem like there's any doubt that r7 items can and do drop in HM.


I thought the understanding was that HM foes can drop items in req as low as 7, but any chest with a key value of 600g or higher will not produce items with req below 9. I could be mistaken about the no r<9 from "high end" chests thing, though.

If you haven't seen it already, you should check out the discussion they had about r7 and r8 last Summer at this thread ...
http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/c...t10440385.html

Warning - maybe it's just me, but reading that thread it seems like some people say "r7" and mean "r7 and max" while others say "r7" and simply mean "the req. was 7." It gets a little confusing to me, and maybe it had some posters on that thread a little confused, too?

I have no idea if you've more, less, or the same chance of getting "max stats for min req" items in NM or HM. As far as I can tell, the stats (damage, armor, etc.) are generated independent of source. They're simply a random generation of the range allowed for the specific requirement level. I could very well be mistaken about this part.

Cheers & Happy Hunting!

I got a militia shield , a R5 13 shield from Glint's challenge so it must be from lvl 15 mobs.