@#$% random ore...arrggghh!

[Tina Small]

Another reason was that in the old system, scripters (ok, and other legit miners too) kept mining out my val spots 8 out of 10 times before I could get to the spots. This way, miners don't need to compete for spots.

Bingo! This is my number 1 reason for liking the randomization change.

 

[ClayPigeon]

Another reason was that in the old system, scripters (ok, and other legit miners too) kept mining out my val spots 8 out of 10 times before I could get to the spots. This way, miners don't need to compete for spots.

Bingo! This is my number 1 reason for liking the randomization change.

And mine as well. Also I sort of like the fact that there are items in UO that after 7 years of playing I still haven't been l33t enough to acquire. That should tend to include these ore types. Having a valorite item was always intended to be a rare occasion, and for the longest time the only limiting factor was skill and a good runebook. Now its truly limited, yet competition for spots has been reduced.

I will reiterate that I think the system still needs a few tweaks. After giving it some thought, here are some suggestions I have come up with.

Make ore smelt 100% once you have the skill, just like logs to boards.
Make every spot truly random every time its mined.
Allow percentage boosts to the spot once mining begins, these could include:
- 1% for every skill point over the minimum requirement up to 5% (this makes +5 Mining gloves continue to be a useful commodity)
- 10% increase for Gargoyle pickaxe, including the normal upgrade and elemental spawn
- 2 or 3% * Ore Level, so that Valorite being level 8 gets a 16 - 24% bonus (so that the spot plays out longer for increased ore levels)
- Use Prospector Tool to pre-determine what a spot will provide, and allow an option to upgrade or not (similar to the way stone mining gump works now)
- 20% Casual Player bonus. Casual players get bonuses now, integrate this into the ore.

With these kinds of changes I think it would be far less frustrating to mine Valorite, yet keep it rare. It could become less frustrating than it is now, because you aren't worried about how much ore you are going to lose when you smelt, and when you do strike a vein, you are going to get a ton of it.

But I do agree with a previous post indicating that it really should just be fully random. No spot gives up the same ore type from pass to pass unless the RNG deems it so (which with the streakiness, might lead to a real run of luck on valorite ).

Anyway just a few thoughts.

 

[Harlequin]

Harlequin. You didn't think to use the gargoyles pick and prospect tools on agapite and verite the old way when your valorite spots were mined out?

I did, after they came out. I was very happy coz I had books for agapite and verite spots too. That's 1 reason why I was initially against this change. Unfortunately, other people soon realized the same thing and started to compete for the same agapite and verite spots as well. Granted, they don't do it as much as val spots.

For val spots, people literally camped the spot until it respawned. Sometimes at popular spots in guardzones, several people camped the same val spot and hide themselves (you can remain hidden while mining back then). One reason they hide is to avoid letting others see them start mining. If not, miners around the area will realize the spot has respawned and quickly run up to "help" the camper mine the same val spot.

I do that too I also constantly recall to the val spots to see if I am lucky enough to beat someone else to the ore. Hey, it saves charges on my pickaxe!

With the randomization change, it doesn't matter where you mine, and non scripters while getting less ingots overall, actually have an advantage with the higher level ores.

I'm not saying it's perfect, I am just saying that based on my experience, I prefer randomization over static spots.

I would be very happy if they tweaked it somehow to benefit normal players more than scripters, like a casual player bonus, increased % from gargoyle pickaxes, a random mini-game where you have to solve a puzzle to discover a richer vein of ore with double the ore (needs to be something impossible or hard to script, like getting the mutation core from plague beast lords) etc.

No blackrock elementals though. Those are too difficult to kill even for sammy archers, and it takes forever to dig up 2 in order to provoke them.

 

[Leeda]

I feel that way. I always enjoyed mining and lumberjacking. Now I just feel frustrated.

I wish they would make it back the way it was.

Leeda