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a humble subjugation to the uo rng system (just wondering)

Fizzleton

Seasoned Veteran
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
dear all,

I stated in another thread that I came back to uo as every year with the halloween content. And above all, I liked the idea of the hidden chests bearing rare relics of the cult. Nice thing, I thought, especially for my stealth mage. Played it not often in the years before, although I like this shady doing very much.

During days and days of completely focusing on this thing and investing every minute of my possible game time in working the chests, I had one magic half of an hour getting two relics of Lithos. I think this was mid of Oct. Since then - nothing.

I assume that we all have the same "luck" ingame, that is that the same probability for an event (= finding a relic of the cult in a hidden chest or puzzle chest) is given for all players. Also the so called "law of large numbers" should apply to an rng based event.

Given that, let us try to estimate the probablity of finding a relic: Due to job, family etc. I can spend a maximum of 3 hours a day playing uo. During this event, I played on a daily basis. Depending on the activity of other players etc. I estimate that I got about 50 puzzle chests and another 40 hidden chests done per day (I try not to push numbers, this is a low estimate). I started End of Sept, now it is the 19th of Nov, so maybe 55 days with 3 hours playtime per day were done. This gives a total of 90 chests/day = 4950 chests altogether, lets make it 5000. Having found 2 relics, for me the overall probabilty to find a relic is one in 2500. Or one in 27 1/2 days of daily playtime.

Some days ago, there was a call in chat that someone wanted to swop his double relic for a relic of Lithos. I happily agreed to swop my double, so that I would get at least a different one. Doing the trade, the player stated: "Nicee. Now I have 2 complete sets".

Ok. If probablities are equal for all players, I have to assume that he also has to bend to the one in 2500 probability. This would mean that he did 8 x 2500 = 20.000 chests, in 48 days (since the trade happened a week ago I think). Take 50 days, this equals 400 chests a day or 13,3 hours gametime per day that is only spent doing chests in khaldun :sad3:.

Devs: Do you really think that we should be full-time players to deal with uo goals? There were other possible tasks, eg. killing the boss and getting the masks, working graveyard spawn, not to mention the new crafting system, trick or treat etc... I think these numbers are far beyond resonable thought. I agree that some things should not be given away too freely and should therefore remain rare, but this type of "being rare" is nuts.

Regards, Fizzle
 

Danpal

Certifiable
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
UNLEASHED
I had a word with one of them there ment to be rare and if you want them he said you need to play more. At that point i just gave up. I have spent a few hrs a day down there and gotten not a one.

But then heard people getting them after only opeing a few.

I pretty much have to give up my job and and what little time i have to spend with my 2 kids to get them.

For about 2 weeks i been boycotting it.

At this point i think my 2 accounts are jinxed.
 

Akiho

Seasoned Veteran
Stratics Veteran
UNLEASHED
Same for me, did the hidden chests for 3 straight weeks starting from when they went live, sometimes up to 6 hours a day and maybe more!! I wouldnt even want to know how many chests I've popped both hidden and puzzle cos it would just be demoralising.

In that entire time I did not see a single relic and I've not gone back in there since. Stealing skill back on a soulstone remaining unused for another year... awesome...
 

Nereus

Journeyman
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
dear all,
I assume that we all have the same "luck" ingame
Regards, Fizzle
For what it's worth, my experience is since November 1 the Khaldun chests on Atlantic are basically broken.
Having much better "luck" in Khaldun on other shards not named Atlantic post October.
 

MalagAste

Belaern d'Zhaunil
Alumni
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
UNLEASHED
Campaign Supporter
I got one somewhere in the first week the thing opened... it was Stratos... since then I haven't gotten squat and I did a run down of chests... In 20 chests I got 3 cult items and one dried incense of the hidden chests in the puzzle chest of which I did 6 I got nothing in 5 and a pentagram wand in 1...

So IMO the odds of actually getting something "worthwhile... are few and far between... now maybe I'm just unlucky or the RNG hates on me which I think is normal... but yeah... I find that for someone who works and can't spend 16 hours a day picking chests the odds of getting anything at all are just not worth the time you invest.

One could seriously go hunting for gold and just buy the crap later at this rate... probably be more enjoyable... I don't know

Mostly I find most of the game to be a dull and boring grind anymore... nothing really interesting or fun most of the time... I enjoy doing the spawn but as soon as the drops dry up no one will want to be doing that anymore either so there goes that fun.
 

Eärendil

Legendary Mall Santa
Supporter
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Reminds me of the Smuggler's Trade Deals, I did about 1.5k of those deals in Occlo Fel, but I never got this Slim's Veil. Just a horrible, demoralizing waste of time.
 

Uriah Heep

Grand Poobah
Alumni
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
UNLEASHED
Made a similar post to this on the official forums, seems the fans over there think all is hunky dory with the drop rate
 

Cupid

Lore Keeper
Supporter
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
UNLEASHED
53 Paintings and no relics, I am not disappointed in the amount of cult items I get though via boxes.
 

Basara

UO Forum Moderator
Moderator
Professional
Governor
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Stratics Legend
Wiki Moderator
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53 Paintings and no relics, I am not disappointed in the amount of cult items I get though via boxes.
Only 53? I have 20 in my bank, and have dropped over 50, and STILL haven't seen a relic.

But, like you, the numbers of cult items from the box have been great otherwise. I've gotten 5 spellbooks, 2 bandage belts, all 3 titles, and a mask (that's 460 cult items, not counting the ones I've not turned in which would put me around 485), and more of them have come from puzzle chests and hidden chests than from the champ (and that's with having used around 180 tasty treats on my tamer, and doing enough spawns to get about 40 more costumes than I had before).
 

celticus

Crazed Zealot
UNLEASHED
Only 53? I have 20 in my bank, and have dropped over 50, and STILL haven't seen a relic.

But, like you, the numbers of cult items from the box have been great otherwise. I've gotten 5 spellbooks, 2 bandage belts, all 3 titles, and a mask (that's 460 cult items, not counting the ones I've not turned in which would put me around 485), and more of them have come from puzzle chests and hidden chests than from the champ (and that's with having used around 180 tasty treats on my tamer, and doing enough spawns to get about 40 more costumes than I had before).
WOW Basara! That is awesome! What character are you using to fight the spawn? Weaver-Mystic? I have one also but SDI not too hot..lol
 

Basara

UO Forum Moderator
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My two characters that have been getting 99% of my game play since September:

  1. Necro stealther/crate thief barely capable of killing stuff through spells. The hard part was improving his DH, but I'd been working on that since may, doing the Kotl hidden boxes. I finally hit GM DH today, because I don't use software more sophisticated than UOAssist for macros, and that means a DH training macro only lasts 5 minutes or so, and I'd rather be playing. He's been getting more than half his cult items from the puzzle boxes (90% of containers in Khaldun, even crates and boxes, work as puzzle chests now) because there's less competition for them, then hidden chests/crates, and the last few from killing stuff in self-defense. I stay out of the spawn area except in the gap between a boss dropping and it restarting.
  2. Tamer/Bard with a Disco Cu. Provo, plus both the Cu and I using Disco, works well. And, I can use either the Taming III mastery or the Provo mastery to try to keep the pet alive (along with its healing), but he has an annoying tendency to respond to Follow/guard commands by charging off-screen into a suicidal mass of enemies.
I just wish the new versions of the ambush items were worth points - Once I got 20 fake platinum I started dropping them on the floor (and probably had done that with 50 of them), and I'm almost to the point where I'm going to have to start throwing out excess cultist/ambush items, as I've gotten more of them from the chests than I did the entire ambush event (will have to sort them for their different messages, as last years read different than this year's).
 
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