I’m playing on Single Player and I’m honestly starting to get the idea that something is VERY seriously wrong with Essences’ drop chances.
So far, I’ve done about a hundred Diablo/Baal runs each, with those of Baal being slightly more… maybe 120.
Meanwhile, Meph and Andy I’ve run about 50 times each, with Meph slightly more, like 60.
In these runs, Andy has given me 4 essences, while Diablo 6.
So far nothing wrong with that, right?
Seems perfectly in line with the 1/14 chance that Andy has of an essence and the 1/17 that Diablo has.
Well, guess what: Meph has given me 1 Essence, while Baal…
Baal has given me…
Yes, that’s right… ZERO.
Man, I know that RNG is RNG, but that’s just not right.
Especially when I tune into some stream, and I see some guy getting 2 meph essences in 2 consequent runs (but on BNet)… and I’m like… “Wow, this guy probably has a buddy over at Blizzard HQ or something!”
Now, you might say a few things:
"You’re playing SP! Just add the -respec flag in the target launch options and you can reset your stats without the need of a token!"
But you’re missing my point:
If one item has its drop chancess skewed by such a significant margin, then many other items are probably like that also!
I am honestly considering that there MUST be some error within the coding of the droptables, particularly for Single Player.
Well… just do 1000 more runs, and the expected value of Essences you get will even out eventually!
Yeah, man… If I start walking at normal pace and head straight Eastward, I will eventually reach The Great Wall of China… some day…
So let’s NOT go down this line of thinking, shall we?
Obviously I’m not the only one having such issues…
Proposed fix:
I think I actually came up with something really smart: KEYS’ drop chances are tied to the /players x count, whereas Essences ARE NOT, i.e. they retain the same shiттy drop chance, regardless of the number of players.
Well… MAKE them like Keys too, where higher /players x equals better chances?
That may be a bug, and should rightly be flagged. And yes, it is possible that drop chances are different between offline and online. It is also possible that drop chances are controlled by one or more switches at Blizz’s headquarters. Even for offline since most of the time you are actually online. IYSWIM. Those, hypothetical switches, maybe used during holidays, special events days, when sales are low… Who knows.
However in offline NOTHING matters as it is a test system. It is like playing WoW on the PTR or on the beta. You make throwaway characters, you (almost) can equip any weapons and armour. Just edit the save files and make any character at any level with any stats. You can make 100 characters and go try all variations and combinations of skills and gear. It is like a test system.
You are right, of course, but I still abstain from any methods that might give me a boost. To me, the grind, exploration, and the solo sense of achievement are part of the enjoyment of the game, as long as they do not reach sadistic dimensions, as in the scenario outlined in OP.
(also, can’t stand the lag on Bnet; For some reason in Warcraft 3 it’s unnoticable, whereas on D2 it’s unbearable, even tho theoretically it’s the same server, and the pings are similar)
Usually Andy and Mephisto drop them like candy buuut Diablo and Baal can troll a loooot with their essences drops , usually I had to do at least 30+ runs to get one essence when I need them but the other day Diablo dropped me 3 yeeess you heard me right 3 of them at once . xD
You’re missing my point:
Even if we accept that this is just RNG, then this type of thing happening is still unacceptable.
There should be some correction to such items that have a fixed droprate, so that they are more reliably acquireable. (note, not “easily”, "reliably")
One idea would be to, like already stated, increase Essence drop chance with player count, just like keys.
Another would be that bosses would now guaranteed drop “mini-essences”, 10 of which can combine to craft a big Essence.
doesn’t prove anything. Could have just been Essences you had previously and dropped on the ground for the screenshot.
Compared to the OG, it does feel like the offline SP drops from the countess were somehow affected. I have never seen a multiple essence drop in D2R or D2LOD. Lots of youtube vids showing/talking about why it takes so long to get essences now. Feels like a 2x or 3x more time which means more runs required to get the same amount as previously. But hard facts, nope. I’ll guess it is a bug or unintended consequence of a different change. But it is offline sp, if I need to reroll a char, it is potentially much quicker in offline.
