Christmas Festives... and BODs.

[EvilPixieWorks]

Okdoke...

So this is my first year doing this... so you know.

I only did maybe 10 on the first round... the results were disappointing. Maybe only 2 got gifts.

I dont normally collect BODs... because I dont like the new system, banking a small fraction of the total points... its a lame idea. Whoever invented that one needs a good swift kick. SO... I didnt have a stockpile when the event was told to me.

Second round... I brought in 20 to do the runs... and only 2 DIDN'T get a gift. More disappointed, I understand the bad Karma ones get the red gifts... and my Necro was one of the 2 that didnt.

Third round. I bring in 30 guys to collect. Only 3 get gifts. This time the necro got a gift! I had held higher level BODs just for her.

Now we have a new round... I have a theory and I want to see what everyone else thinks (less my stalker).

Before I say my theory... I have only 2 on Izumo collecting and every round they have gotten gifts... with the same rubbish BODs. So, I think its DIFFERENT a large shard like Atlantic vs. a small one. This was leading me to think, perhaps, its based on population. "The higher population, the less gifts." That's theory 1.

My main theory (for Atlantic)… is the gift rate based on value of BODs? Not in large BODs! Thats insane. Like, for bigger amounts 15 or 20... exceptional… higher woods, leathers, metals. Even a normal iron weapon, exceptional… 20 units, I see can be 250 points.

At least... thats my working theory.

 

[Uriah Heep]

If a tree is completed (has the star on top) Everyone who donates even one bod gets a gift, no matter how low the bod was.

Trees that arent completed, it all goes into a lotto drawing of sorts, as I understand it. But it seems that the bigger the tree, the more lotto winners there are.

And the number of points to get a tree finished is still way too damned high. Ridiculous.

 

[Pawain]

It is the bank points of the BODs so larges get more bank points.

It is funny how smaller shards get more stars than Atlantic does.

Put 1 Small BOD per toon and you are entered in the lottery if the tree has no star.

 

[Uriah Heep]

Legends has finished 3 trees, complete.

And will finish two more at least. Not sure Atlantic has even finished one yet?

 

[Zeke]

That's because Legends ROCKS!

 

[Dot_Warner]

Okay, I'll say this again:

Advancing the trees requires LBODs. Ignore the "now" points of a BOD, only banked point values matter. (This is why sBODs don't do anything.) You need ~25,000 banked points to get a tree to L5, at which point anyone can give the elf a trash sBOD and get a gift. (Siege/Mugen have lower point thresholds)

If a tree doesn't get to L5, then gift distribution becomes a somewhat random affair based on the quality (and the quatity) of the BOD given - but you still have a chance of getting squat.

It's really king of pathetic that the "elite" Atlantic shard hasn't managed all nine trees...ever. Great Lakes has done it every year and is gauranteed to do it again for a third time this year, thanks to @Shandara (Gov. Goldie of New Magincia).

Come to GL, we have the gifts.

 

[EvilPixieWorks]

Okay, I'll say this again:

Say it all you wish. I'm sure I just said I got a few dozen gifts with only SMALL, not Large, BODS. Not to mention on Izumo with only the smallest BODs.

Sorry to say insulting Atlantic is just sad from Great Lakes is a dead shard. ;-) As many times as I look for bargains to import back to Atlantic, its a fruitless quest.

HOWEVER... its hardly the point of my theory.

 

[celticus]

Yep..We got the gift bloat..

 

[celticus]

By the way.. I have never done this.. So how do we do it? Get a BOD from tinker/smithy/alchemist/cook etc then what? we fill the bod filled and drop it on the Elf near the tree? Thats it? And then we drop some more, sBOD's, lBOD's etc. and the more we drop the more of a chance for gift? What are the gifts? Anything useful or just deco items? TY in advance....Sry for my ignorance..

 

[EvilPixieWorks]

Well... the NPC Town Cryer is the best bet to know when the new Elf comes.

Then... yes. Just drop a filled bod on the Elf's head... and he/she will thank you.

I do it every day, after filling vendors for the morning. Then, when you come in that morning the tree POPs... gifts all over. Look for a big RED bag and double click on it.

You should get a gift... in a gift (what I dont understand at all), double click that... get your gift. Its a painting, pillow, or sculpture. All virtue. If you dont like them, sell them. 5k or more, each. So... gift am gift!

Or you get a message saying you didnt qualify. Its rude. Try next time. (It says that.)

 

[Dot_Warner]

Say it all you wish. I'm sure I just said I got a few dozen gifts with only SMALL, not Large, BODS. Not to mention on Izumo with only the smallest BODs.

Yes, You weren't growing the tree, you were farming gifts. LBODS advance the levels, but any sBOD can get you a gift. Reading is fundamental.

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[/bcolor]

​

Sorry to say insulting Atlantic is just sad from Great Lakes is a dead shard. ;-) As many times as I look for bargains to import back to Atlantic, its a fruitless quest.

Yeah, that' why GL consistently trounces Atl in events like this...

​

[bcolor=transparent]

[/bcolor]

​

HOWEVER... its hardly the point of my theory.

Your "theory" is wrong.

 

[Pawain]

At least... thats my working theory.

Yup your theory is wrong. Shard size does not matter, Its the size of the tree.

Go to a shard with a tree with a star and throw on 1 small BOD per toon and each WILL get a gift.

Atlantic has sucked each year for this. I wish it didn't since I use the gift boxes with my name on them when I have someone transfer stuff back home.

 

[EvilPixieWorks]

Yeah... and you know WE are Atlantic. And WE are alive and well.

And my theory... is my theory... and its correct. hehe

 

[MalagAste]

Your theory is flawed... GLs has advanced every tree every year... Alt...... not so much.

Now why Atl can't get together and get it done when GLs can dunno... one would think someone there could do it but my guess is no one there cares enough to help the rest of the shard... greed.. that's my theory...

they don't want to share with the rest of the shard... be it what it is who cares... truth is a small bod won't do squat but give you a snowballs chance in hades at a gift if that tree in that town you are dropping it on doesn't have a lovely star and decorations on it...

If you want the gifts... don't waste bods on trees that are inferior... or drop the required vast number of filled LARGE bods on the elf... and advance that tree yourself.

 

[Becca]

Okay, I'll say this again:

Advancing the trees requires LBODs. Ignore the "now" points of a BOD, only banked point values matter. (This is why sBODs don't do anything.) You need ~25,000 banked points to get a tree to L5, at which point anyone can give the elf a trash sBOD and get a gift. (Siege/Mugen have lower point thresholds)

If a tree doesn't get to L5, then gift distribution becomes a somewhat random affair based on the quality (and the quatity) of the BOD given - but you still have a chance of getting squat.

It's really king of pathetic that the "elite" Atlantic shard hasn't managed all nine trees...ever. Great Lakes has done it every year and is gauranteed to do it again for a third time this year, thanks to @Shandara (Gov. Goldie of New Magincia).

Come to GL, we have the gifts.

We are filling the trees on Siege and it takes 25,000 just like the rest of the shards. We make books for each town.

 

[kelmo]

*chuckles*

 

[THP]

Atlantic has always sucked at this...methinks not a team shard...more a ...one for me and all for me shard...whatever...

 

[Parnoc]

Well... the NPC Town Cryer is the best bet to know when the new Elf comes.

Then... yes. Just drop a filled bod on the Elf's head... and he/she will thank you.

I do it every day, after filling vendors for the morning. Then, when you come in that morning the tree POPs... gifts all over. Look for a big RED bag and double click on it.

You should get a gift... in a gift (what I dont understand at all), double click that... get your gift. Its a painting, pillow, or sculpture. All virtue. If you dont like them, sell them. 5k or more, each. So... gift am gift!

Or you get a message saying you didnt qualify. Its rude. Try next time. (It says that.)

Uriah and Dot told you exactly how it works and it works the same on every shard. If the tree isn't finished showing the star you ONLY HAVE A SLIGHT OR MEAGER CHANCE to get a gift, if the tree is finished to the star on top level EVERYONE will get a gift, even if you only put the lowest 10 piece BOD on it. Even our little shard of Sonoma has finished almost every tree every year except this year thanks to a loyal resident that pours the larges on the tree. Thanks Keith!

Just for your info, here's the link to the official website with the points and system explained, maybe you'll believe that page.
Artisan Festival – Ultima Online

 

[EvilPixieWorks]

What they "publish" and what actually happens are totally different things... in my experience.

I also said I have 2 shards going... 1 big, 1 small. Seams the odds of getting a gift on the small are insanely good vs. the big.

And yes… I believe Atlantic is void of grand "team" play... because most of us vets grew up being very independent. Helping others only goes so far before it becomes a pain in the backside. ;-) BUT... the newest tree is about to pop... maybe tomorrow morning. My newest test will get results... 1 way or the other.

According to Dot and those minded... everyone would just wait till the star pops... and that would cause the star to never come. See the problem?

 

[Lady Michelle]

only thing that matters is the star top of the tree for every player in the game to get a gift with a low bod deed.

 

[Parnoc]

Believe whatever you want, unlike you this is not our first season, we have done them since the very beginning.

Just for your peace of mind or maybe blow it, if you get rewards on every bod for one city and not for the other, just note the stage of the 2 trees and you'll see all of us here know from experience, not from a guessing game. This is one event where you can depend on the information posted by the devs without doubting it or wondering about it.

What they "publish" and what actually happens are totally different things... in my experience.

I also said I have 2 shards going... 1 big, 1 small. Seams the odds of getting a gift on the small are insanely good vs. the big.

And yes… I believe Atlantic is void of grand "team" play... because most of us vets grew up being very independent. Helping others only goes so far before it becomes a pain in the backside. ;-) BUT... the newest tree is about to pop... maybe tomorrow morning. My newest test will get results... 1 way or the other.

According to Dot and those minded... everyone would just wait till the star pops... and that would cause the star to never come. See the problem?

 

[Dot_Warner]

What they "publish" and what actually happens are totally different things... in my experience.

I also said I have 2 shards going... 1 big, 1 small. Seams the odds of getting a gift on the small are insanely good vs. the big.

And yes… I believe Atlantic is void of grand "team" play... because most of us vets grew up being very independent. Helping others only goes so far before it becomes a pain in the backside. ;-) BUT... the newest tree is about to pop... maybe tomorrow morning. My newest test will get results... 1 way or the other.

According to Dot and those minded... everyone would just wait till the star pops... and that would cause the star to never come. See the problem?

*sigh*

This is the third year we've done this, the way it functions hasn't changed. We know how it works. The devs did lower the point values last year, but other than that, the only "changes" are the addition of rewards. (Next year will bring 16 new items...)

The reason a smaller shard gives you a better chance of a reward, even a a non-fully-grown tree is simply the result of lower numbers. If fewer people give deeds to the elf, those who give more deeds (quanity) or better deeds (quality) have a higher chance of getting rewarded. If a lot of people give deeds to the elf, the pool of quantity/quality is likely to be dwarfed by those giving crap deeds. If a tree isn't fully grown, the chances of getting a gift aren't that great.

Your "tests" are moot. We already have three years of data backed up by the dev who created the system.

If you want to advance the tree to the point it has a star sto everyone gets a gift, LBODs are the ONLY things that matter. AFTER that is when every alt can drop a crap sBOD on the tree. This isn't an arcane system, stop trying to make it one.

 

[EvilPixieWorks]

 

[Dot_Warner]

You should really bother to actually read the wiki sometime, instead of continuing to ask questions and not accepting the answers you're given.

​

 

[EvilPixieWorks]

Go to post 23...

 

[Dot_Warner]

Clearly, I'm no match for your level of willful ignorance.

 

[celticus]

Easy guys! Ebery one is untitled to dar opinyons..Merry Xmas..**hickup** Dam booze..Xmas spirits und all..

 

[Basara]

BTW, when asked a few weeks ago, the dev that responded thought that the BOD's full points, not banked, were what were used. Which goes against everything most of us have seen doing the trees.

 

[Eärendil]

WE are SIEGE! And we manage to do ALL the trees with stars! Because WE are not many, but WE work together and know how it´s been done! WE know the reality, not theory. And my house is so full with artisan gifts that I got this year, that I am beginning to give them away.

WE have Magichands and Tanager from "United Workers of Siege Perilous", who organize getting ALL trees up to last level and OUR governors put a star on EVERY tree.

And we are ALL TIME VOID POOL CHAMPIONS!

So, if you want to see how HARD CORE UO-VETs get things done without talking/speculating but working together and just doing stuff, come here! We can do EVERYTHING - without insurance!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM SIEGE PERILOUS!

 

[TB Cookie [W]]

WE are SIEGE! And we manage to do ALL the trees with stars! Because WE are not many, but WE work together and know how it´s been done! WE know the reality, not theory. And my house is so full with artisan gifts that I got this year, that I am beginning to give them away.

WE have Magichands and Tanager from "United Workers of Siege Perilous", who organize getting ALL trees up to last level and OUR governors put a star on EVERY tree.

And we are ALL TIME VOID POOL CHAMPIONS!

So, if you want to see how HARD CORE UO-VETs get things done without talking/speculating but working together and just doing stuff, come here! We can do EVERYTHING - without insurance!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM SIEGE PERILOUS!

Respect to you all.

I was actually going to help... but then I didn't, work got too busy.

 

[Theo_GL]

BTW, when asked a few weeks ago, the dev that responded thought that the BOD's full points, not banked, were what were used. Which goes against everything most of us have seen doing the trees.

At this point - I don't believe anything the Dev's say. They literally don't understand the very code they are challenged to maintain. I'm 100% convinced.

 

[Uriah Heep]

So since we are this late into the month, does anyone think we will have time to get teh Britain tree done?? or will Jhelom be the end of it.
@Dot_Warner @MalagAste

 

[Dot_Warner]

So since we are this late into the month, does anyone think we will have time to get teh Britain tree done?? or will Jhelom be the end of it.
@Dot_Warner @MalagAste

We should be able to get it done (on GL I KNOW we will ), though people will probably want to collect the gifts quickly.

Edit: Assuming a shard goes through all nine cities in order, I believe that Britain should start ~ midnight on the 2nd.

 

[EvilPixieWorks]

RESULTS DO NOT LIE!!!

This experiment... my THEORY... that I'm being attacked, Trolled, and harassed... "GOD FORBID I HAVE MY SAY"....

100% RESULTS!!!!!

Not a single large BOD used or needed. I through them on the ground when I get them.

What I did?

2 BODS, each new day... of 250 points or higher... to result in 500+ points. EACH GUY.

Then, each day... a junk BOD of less then 100 points. More like 50 each.

EVERY SINGLE GIRL GOT A GIFT!!!!! Good... evil... no karma at all one way or the other.


When you have questions... testing works, one way or the other.

Happy Christmas Everyone!​

 

[Dot_Warner]

RESULTS DO NOT LIE!!!

This experiment... my THEORY... that I'm being attacked, Trolled, and harassed... "GOD FORBID I HAVE MY SAY"....

100% RESULTS!!!!!

Not a single large BOD used or needed. I through them on the ground when I get them.

What I did?

2 BODS, each new day... of 250 points or higher... to result in 500+ points. EACH GUY.

Then, each day... a junk BOD of less then 100 points. More like 50 each.

EVERY SINGLE GIRL GOT A GIFT!!!!! Good... evil... no karma at all one way or the other.


When you have questions... testing works, one way or the other.

Happy Christmas Everyone!​

You still don't get how it works. But that's okay.

 

[kelmo]

lol

 

[Uriah Heep]

Winning a gift and building a tree=two diff things. One depends on the total banked points, and the other depends on the ever famous and popular [/sarcasm] UO random award system.

Sounds like you scored-good for you. Some days you;re the bug, somedays you're the windshield. Today was your bug day.

 

[Uriah Heep]

I believe that Britain should start ~ midnight on the 2nd.

My bad, I just assumed (yeah I know *sigh*) that Dec 31 was the end of it all

 

[Uriah Heep]

RESULTS DO NOT LIE!!!

This experiment... my THEORY... that I'm being attacked, Trolled, and harassed... "GOD FORBID I HAVE MY SAY"....

100% RESULTS!!!!!

Not a single large BOD used or needed. I through them on the ground when I get them.

What I did?

2 BODS, each new day... of 250 points or higher... to result in 500+ points. EACH GUY.

Then, each day... a junk BOD of less then 100 points. More like 50 each.

EVERY SINGLE GIRL GOT A GIFT!!!!! Good... evil... no karma at all one way or the other.


When you have questions... testing works, one way or the other.

Happy Christmas Everyone!​

LOL

Yeah congrats, now for the other side of the coin, on a non developed tree- 20 chars turning in 5 sbods each.
20 chars did not receive a gift.
Ungrown tree=RNG awards

 

[Larisa]

LOL

Yeah congrats, now for the other side of the coin, on a non developed tree- 20 chars turning in 5 sbods each.
20 chars did not receive a gift.
Ungrown tree=RNG awards

THIS...is why I don't do the festival anymore....some nice elf dumped a whole ton of BOD books on Origin with filled small BODs.....(Thank you elf ) each book had around 45 filled BODs in them...I picked up 9? Maybe......actually was able to get the charlie brown tree in Trinsic and got a reward for that one...once that tree popped I stopped feeding the elf BOD's and saved them for the next trees....the later ones I threw 30-40 BOD's each on with 4 characters and did not receive a gift on any of them.

Now for a smaller shard that I think ONCE got a full-grown tree, this year it wasn't happening....and usually only reach the first stage so once the gift bag pops you MIGHT see one or two present boxes spawn :/ and if you don't get the full-grown tree, the RNG is a fickle mistress :/

 

[Pawain]

2 BODS, each new day... of 250 points or higher... to result in 500+ points. EACH GUY.

First the points are based on banking points. And what you did followed the way the devs made it work.

From Artisan Festival – Ultima Online

• As players turn in Bulk Order Deeds to the Elf, the holiday tree begins to grow and players are entered into the gift raffle held at the conclusion of the 3 day period. Players receive a number of entries based on the worth of the Bulk Order Deed they turn in.
• The greater the value of Bulk Order Deeds that are turned in, the bigger and better the Holiday Tree grows;
  stage 1 stage 2 stage 3 stage 4
  until it reached its maximum size at which time all raffle entrants receive a reward when the festival concluds in each city. Rewards are scaled to a percentage of total participants for each tree size below the maximum tree size.
• Values were calculated on the ‘banked’ value of the BoD, not the full value. ie 2% of the full value for small orders, 20% for large orders. Therefore several low level large BoDs gave more value than higher level small BoDs

My results: I also turned in a small BOD each day. Out of 20 characters I got this:



The other characters got this:


How does your THEORY explain my results!!!

 

[Pawain]

RESULTS DO NOT LIE!!!

Wait a minute. Did you turn these in on Atlantic?

That tree has a star! Of course all your pixies got gifts!!!

 

[Dot_Warner]

First the points are based on banking points. And what you did followed the way the devs made it work.

From Artisan Festival – Ultima Online

• As players turn in Bulk Order Deeds to the Elf, the holiday tree begins to grow and players are entered into the gift raffle held at the conclusion of the 3 day period. Players receive a number of entries based on the worth of the Bulk Order Deed they turn in.
• The greater the value of Bulk Order Deeds that are turned in, the bigger and better the Holiday Tree grows;
  stage 1 stage 2 stage 3 stage 4
  until it reached its maximum size at which time all raffle entrants receive a reward when the festival concluds in each city. Rewards are scaled to a percentage of total participants for each tree size below the maximum tree size.
• Values were calculated on the ‘banked’ value of the BoD, not the full value. ie 2% of the full value for small orders, 20% for large orders. Therefore several low level large BoDs gave more value than higher level small BoDs

My results: I also turned in a small BOD each day. Out of 20 characters I got this:

View attachment 91039

The other characters got this:
View attachment 91041

How does your THEORY explain my results!!!

Wait a minute. Did you turn these in on Atlantic?

That tree has a star! Of course all your pixies got gifts!!!

​

 

[EvilPixieWorks]

THIS...is why I don't do the festival anymore..../

Yeah... it seams amazingly pointless to a degree.... BUT as I said in post 1, I had never done this before. Its really cool to have special gift boxes with my guy's names on. Before gold went bye-bye, I had a special container for the gold and high end keepables in each bank. So, I can still keep special items (less gold)… and in these gift boxes? That's really cool to me.

I mean... not to mention I really dont (never did) see any value in items being named after staff. Its been really rare we have things named after our own team... like the candles from long ago. Or valentines. Or pumpkins. As much as I love the hard work our staff does, I'd rather have names of those I know.

On the other hand... some of the items are really cool, but 98% will be sold on vendors of the things I collect. Just, I can hardly stand up to the super-monsters to get really good things... we do what we can to trade items for gold... gold for rares we want. Old school merchant skills. ;-) Look at the Krampus stuff. I never win a thing. Thankfully I know the vendors to keep an eye on. hehe. A few BODs I normally refuse to collect, a few ingots, boards, whatever... without wasting my time on Large BODs? Its worth the effort. Zero deaths/murders.

 

[Eärendil]

If you do 3 trade runs in proper fashion and deal nuff damage to Krampus, you will 100 percent get a drop. I didnt believe it first, but I followed the hints the good folks on his board gave me and it worked - every time! Same with the Artisan stuff.

 

[Spartan]

Hey, @kelmo! Mind if I joins ya? This is fun!

 

[Tanager]

The Artisan Festival is a shard community event. It was not designed to be solo'd. However, it is not impossible for smaller shards to do. We all have an entire year to prepare for it - it does not need to be a frantic, overwhelming last minute headache. It just requires some community organization.

I believe that, technically, small BODs will grow the tree... very, very slowly. Their single bank point does count. But as others have said, it is large BODs that do the main work of growing the tree. And in the minds of most crafters, a large BOD equals a BOD reward, which equals gold in the bank. Bribing up, filling, and throwing 25,000 bank points worth of filled large BODs into the maw of a single Artisan Festival tree (let alone 9) therefor equates to throwing away a staggering amount of gold - which is why Atlantic, despite its population, fails. It is at heart a merchant shard.

The idea of working hard to make it possible for a total stranger to benefit is not something the merchant mind generally accepts with ease. To me, however, that concept embodies the very spirit of this entire holiday.

Happy Holidays, Sosaria!

 

[Eärendil]

Wonderful, Tanager! You are awesome!

 

[Basara]

The Artisan Festival is a shard community event. It was not designed to be solo'd. However, it is not impossible for smaller shards to do. We all have an entire year to prepare for it - it does not need to be a frantic, overwhelming last minute headache. It just requires some community organization.

I believe that, technically, small BODs will grow the tree... very, very slowly. Their single bank point does count. But as others have said, it is large BODs that do the main work of growing the tree. And in the minds of most crafters, a large BOD equals a BOD reward, which equals gold in the bank. Bribing up, filling, and throwing 25,000 bank points worth of filled large BODs into the maw of a single Artisan Festival tree (let alone 9) therefor equates to throwing away a staggering amount of gold - which is why Atlantic, despite its population, fails. It is at heart a merchant shard.

The idea of working hard to make it possible for a total stranger to benefit is not something the merchant mind generally accepts with ease. To me, however, that concept embodies the very spirit of this entire holiday.

Happy Holidays, Sosaria!

I just tested it last night - it took around 300 small BODs, a mix of normal & Exceptional, and about 30-40 of them colored material, from alchemy, carpentry, tinker and blacksmith, to get a CHARLIE BROWN tree in Minoc. Last year, the same number of BODs was enough to get a city to a plain small green tree.

 

[Pawain]

I just tested it last night - it took around 300 small BODs, a mix of normal & Exceptional, and about 30-40 of them colored material, from alchemy, carpentry, tinker and blacksmith, to get a CHARLIE BROWN tree in Minoc. Last year, the same number of BODs was enough to get a city to a plain small green tree.

Small BODs are not all the same bank value. The players who made the chart that shows points for each level, added the exact points up. 10 plain dough and 20 ex dough are not the same value.

I do agree that the needed points are too high. Usually we get 3 trees on LS to a star. This year we have only got lights on one tree. But, we are missing the BOD makers from past years and we are doing Krampus a lot.

I brought our Minoc tree from Charlie Brown to next stage with some Studded leather large BODs at 20 ex barbed. I put on 2 smalls on 20 toons yesterday a few more smalls today. I am hoping to get 2 rewards.