Quote Hey folks,



This is going to be a fairly lengthy post, so strap in. We really appreciate all of the feedback you have shared with us about loot acquisition. The majority of it has been highly detailed and very constructive so keep that coming! We mean what we said at the start of this process, we want to get everything on PTS and in your hands so that we can get your feedback and ensure that we have the time to make the necessary changes. Today’s set of changes may not cover everything or get it to perfection just yet, but we hope that you see it as a step in the right direction.



This thread’s format will cover a topic, the feedback we are hearing from you, and then what we are (or aren’t) changing, and why! Let’s dive in…



TLDR - Based on your feedback we are increasing loot drops, giving more mods and moddable gear, increasing tech fragments earned, and increasing the likelihood of side-grades and upgrades on drops.



The Quantity of Item Ratings / Tiers

We have seen concerns about the total number of item ratings that there are from the start of the expansion to best-in-slot. Although the quantity is high, that is not where the focus should ultimately lie. Our intention here is simple: you should be able to go from the start of level cap to max item rating fairly quickly. The goal is to make sure the speed of progression feels rapid and constant, regardless of the item ratings you need to go through to get there.



For now, we are not making any changes directly to the amount of item ratings, but we expect that due to the other changes we are making below you will find yourself progressing quicker than you did at the start of Phase 2.



Progression Through Item Ratings

Since the system now looks at your current item rating when determining loot drops, this is creating a friction point where you may be getting held back by one piece of gear. Ex: You are wearing full 270 except for one or two pieces which brings your avg iRating below that to 268. This situation will cause a lot of the gear that drops to be 270 instead of something higher, meaning a lot of drops aren’t actually upgrades.



We agree this can be a frustrating experience and so we are addressing this in two ways. We are adjusting the item ratings that can be dropped in some content so that you are more likely to get a side-grade or upgrade than you did previously. We also agree that you’re not getting enough loot to begin with, so we’re going to be increasing the number of drops you get from all content (so more chances for upgrades and more tech fragments).



Non-moddable items

We have seen a number of concerns around the amount of items that are dropping that are both non-moddable and/or do not contain mods. Since many players rely on mods for their current gearing we are making a few changes here.



In the short term we are making three changes. Moddable gear can already drop but it is pretty rare overall. We are increasing the drop rate for that gear across the board. Second, we are greatly increasing the frequency of mods dropping and the quantity that you will receive over time. Third, random mods can now be purchased from the random Tech Fragment vendor.



One additional change we are looking into (not in this build) is to convert more of the expansion gear to be moddable instead of the static gear it is today.



Higher Difficulty Content Not Rewarding Enough

That feedback is pretty self-explanatory so no need for extra detail here. We are making two changes to address this. First, as mentioned above, we are going to start dropping more gear across the board. Second, we are going to make sure there is a larger difference in the number of drops between the difficulties so that running Veteran, for example, feels more rewarding than Story.



Too Many Drops Not for Me!

In general we are seeing a lot of feedback that there is too much gear that is not dropping specifically for you. For example, you may feel like you’re seeing more tank drops than you would like to given that you are playing DPS. Or that the group drop at the end of your Flashpoint dropped for a Powertech and you were a group of four Sorcerers.



Some of this was intentional. In a system that can only look at exactly what you are playing we had concerns that it may really limit a players ability to gear for an alt. To alleviate that we set a % of all your personal loot drops that should not be tailored to your spec; while non-personal group drops don’t take the group composition into account at all. From your feedback, it sounds like we leaned too far in that direction…



Two changes for this PTS update. First, we have increased the % of personal items that are tailored to your character. You can still get items that are not for you as we do want some amount of items available for alts, but that % is quite a bit lower now. Second, the group loot drops will now look at your base class to determine what drops. This may mean you won’t get something for your currently assigned spec, but it will be relevant for someone in the group.



Kai Zykken Vendor

Some of the concerns we are seeing is that the Tech Fragment cost is too high, a desire to have expanded inventory to include left side gear and weapons, more items in general, or even a static inventory for purchase. Our intention is that Kai is meant exclusively as a supplementary system. If you feel like you need to look to Kai as a primary mechanism to get gear then we believe there are clear problems we need to work out in the rest of Spoils of War. That said, we are absolutely exploring a number of the great suggestions we have seen for Kai improvements.



For now, we are going to hold off on any changes to him. We want to see how he feels in a world where the rest of the system is being more generous with more loot drops, more Tech Fragments, and better odds at upgrades. We will keep monitoring though and may still make changes to Kai in a future PTS update so keep the feedback coming.



Random Tech Fragment Gear Vendors / Renown Crates

A lot of the feedback here was pretty similar to Kai (and our response is similar as well). However, one additional thing that was raised is that too often you would buy an item from the vendor only for it to not even be for you. We have greatly increased the likelihood that an item purchased from the vendor will be tailored to you. Also, as mentioned above, this vendor now has a much better chance of any item purchased from it being a side-grade or upgrade instead of being below your item rating (Renown is receiving this same update as well).



Amplifiers

We are hearing concerns around the randomness of the system and its cost being prohibitive. One clarification is that part of the design assumes that you may not get one single item and hold onto it forever (if you care about amps). Ex: if you get the set chest that you want, we would expect you spend some time and credits to reroll the amp until you feel it becomes too expensive. The system is going to give you a tremendous amount of loot over time which can likely include another copy of that same chest. That would give you a “reset” ability to roll amplifiers if you chose.



We do hear these concerns though and so we are going to monitor them along with the other changes we are making as we are completely open to making changes to all things Amplifiers. Keep in mind that amplifiers are also still working on being fully implemented and so we want to ensure that is the case before we make too many substantial changes.



PvP Rewards

We are increasing the rewards earned from playing PvP, details will be posted in the PvP Rewards feedback thread.



That should cover most or all of the changes coming in this next PTS patch. We hope that this shows our willingness to make changes to the system as a whole and your feedback is instrumental in getting us to the best place it can be! Stick with us on PTS and keep your feedback coming. Keep in mind that this in no way a comprehensive list of everything we are exploring. We know there are a number of changes we can make beyond what is listed above that we are actively exploring, just not for this PTS build.



Look for this PTS patch tomorrow or Friday. I will let you know when it is live.



Thanks!



-eric



PS - In "patch note" form You are now more likely to receive a side-grade or upgrade from Renown Crates and the Tech Fragment vendor.

Increase the number of loot drops received.

Players should see an increase in Tech Fragments earned overall.

Increased the chances of receiving mods from loot drops.

Increased the overall quantity of mods that drop.

Higher chance to get rare, moddable gear.

Random mods can now be purchased from the random Tech Fragment vendor.

Players will notice a larger quantity of loot at higher difficulties.

Personal loot now has a higher chance to drop for your current character.

Group loot will now take the current group composition into account.

Added completion rewards for winning an Unranked Warzone and playing Solo/Group Ranked.

Increased the Renown and Tech Fragments earned from completing a Warzone. Eric Musco | Community Manager

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