Masterminds and Trial Rewards?

I'm pretty sure that the reward table system is borked, and another middle finger to MMs. At least it's seemed that way so far The fact it might not be counting pets at all just makes it all the worse.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zwillinger GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain_Photon NOTE: The Incarnate System is basically farming for IOs on a larger scale, and with more obtrusive lore.

Yeah, from anecdotes across the forums and other people's experiences with varying ATs, it sure seems like something is up with the reward system somewhere, and it's rather frustrating. Might end up transferringa fifty that can get more rewards to a higher-pop server or something, I don't know.

Though of course, anecdotes are still just that, anecdotal evidence at best. I wish we could prod the devs into revealing more, but that seems unlikely.

If people are really curious, it's going to take a good amount of data. So, here's what I noted last night:


lam:
(dom) uncommon
cont rare
cont common
corr uncommon

baf 1:
(dom) uncommon
scrap vr
scrap vr
dom rare

baf 2:
(dom) uncommon
scrap uncommon
def common

[edit: more:

l1:
(dom) uncommon
cont common
scrap vr
cont uncommon

b1:
(dom) rare

b2:
(dom) uncommon
blaster rare
dom common

b3:
(dom) uncommon
brute rare

b4:
(dom) uncommon

b5:
(dom) rare

b6:
(dom) uncommon

l2:
(dom) rare
blaster common

b6:
(dom) uncommon
def rare
scrap rare

b7:
(scrap) rare
]

I have a working theory, on how if I was a developer I would assess "contribution" to an event. I'd base it on how frequently a player uses the powers they have in their repertoire. However, for anyone with henchmen summons I'd also count the issuing of commands.

So, I suspect that as a Mastermind if you use all of the powers you have as well as issuing pet commands you'd get a better reward.

I suspect others like melee classes have an easier time of it, as they have their armour toggles on (i.e. in use) and are using all their attacks in sequence.

A lot of Masterminds build in powers that are "just in case" - like in my situation Power Boost and Detention Field, as well as using Deflection Shield and Insulation Field only when someone is losing HP's.

I'm going to try a run when I use everything, all the time, and see if that makes a difference in reward tables.

the trials are definitely random, my main is a mm and ive gotten 2 very rare tables, at least 4-5 rare tables, and a TON (meaning more than 50% of the tables i get) of uncommon tables, only gotten like 3 common tables

I've received 3 UR's several rares, lots of uncommon and commons, seems pretty random to me, but I have noticed the more successful the run, IE; if no prisoners escape, or if we unlock a badge condition, then I -tend- to get a better reward. I think it is more a function of how your league dose that may effect the chance for the rare pieces.

My findings so far- though not very scientific is also that masterminds get short ended by the trial reward system.

I've run maybe 25-30 trials BAF & Lambda mixed and only gotten 2 uncommon- the rest common.

I mostly have my demons on aggressive, but also single out enemies to attack. On the lambda it's very difficult to contribute with much damage on the glowie part, as the pets gets killed very fast.

I have no idea if faceplanting has any effect on the rewards, as I only die every other run, but sometimes many times on the same run (guess Im unlucky sometimes)

Anyway I would like to hear more from peoples experiences with other AT's as I only have one lvl 50 who is a MM

/Tom

They need to relook at reward tables since if someone is only getting commons with the odd surprise and someone else is getting only rares with the odd surprise, then there is something wrong. Luckily I have been able to craft a rare Destiny with just drops so I don't mind if I get a bunch of commons and uncommons at the moment since I still have places to slot and uncommons can be used to craft rares and very rares. Although, I am getting annoyed by people that keep on asking for a very reward when they already have 3 very rares and I have none.

Well, so far all I've managed to run Incarnate Trials with is my ill/cold troller. and after about the 20 runs I've done. I think I've pulled 1 very rare, 5 uncommons and the rest rares. Which is starting to make me think it's not based on contribution of team buffing because I generally refuse to shield people in a team that size. At most the only buff they get from me is Heat Loss, arctic fog and my AoE grant invis from the ill set.

Just to add yet another anecdote to the many: Overnight I got sick of seeing nothing good on the MM. So I pulled out my ancient fire/kin controller, with half-slotted enhancements and starting with no incarnate stuff except for a common alpha.

Even before she got enough to make the first level shift, she was consistently pulling better rewards than the MM. In probably 10 BAFs overnight and this morning, she never got worse than Uncommon, and got more Rares than anything else. She didn't fare as well on the two Lambdas I did, only scoring commons there. Still that would make sense with a contribution metric as the sabotage and final fight with Marauder are not terribly friendly to squishy control/aoe.

As always, I admit it's all personal experience and I still have no hard data, but it certainly does -seem- too weird to be random.

I'm definitely starting to feel let down by the reward table choices on my Bots/Traps.

Was along on a try at Mo Lambda, I was debuffing everything that moved (with my pets/Pseudopets), had my bots shooting the living thingy out of Marauder (pets again) and was popping my Ion and Rebirth Incarnate doodads when I could. I planted a few times, but that's a side effect of being a MM, so no big deal.

Eventually, we were running out of time so we had to pop a Pac Grenade and Marauder fell over like a sack of spuds.

What did I get offered for constantly putting myself in harms way to use Gas traps and get Acid Mortars/Triage.FFG's close enough to Marauder to be useful to the melee?

10 Threads or a single Super Insp.

Bah.

Did another try after that with my Dark/Dark Defender. Debuffing the snot out of everything that I could, shooting Marauder with dark blasts.

At the end? (again, Pac Grenade needed as we ran out of time)

Rare Salvage.

My Katana/Regen scrapper got enough stuff to make up Rares before he had opened up the Destiny or Lore slots.

<Insert standard caution about small sample size and statistical significance of such results>

This 'participation based' reward system, if it really is so and all MM's didn't just get slapped with a permanent 'bad luck on reward tables' debuff, frankly is <self censored>...

I'm not impressed by it, just like I was not impressed by running the same MM through the Praetorian Zone Events and having haemorrhaged endurance all through the event using my pets and traps as hard as I could ending up with the choice of an SO or Insp on the reward table at the end. No badge.

More anecdotal data:

My kat/da scrapper did not get a common drop until well after he had completed all his t3s - and that was the only one. He did not get a single VR.

My plant/fire dom (+2 incarnate shift) is all over the board. In the time it took him to get all t3s and 1 t4, he got a couple commons and 1 very rare as well as at least 7 rares - the vast majority are uncommons. The last 12 runs have been 9 UNC, 3 RARE.

I'll probably start my bots/dark tonight... fingers crossed that I can at least nab a few rares.

My personal data:

I've lost count of the number of trials I've done, but on my Mercs/FF all I've gotten is mainly the common table, the uncommon table twice (both on BAFs), and the thread/insp table twice (both on Lambdas). He has tier 3s across the board.

I decided to start working on my Elec/Fire brute. In 6 runs, 1 very rare table, 3 rares and 2 uncommons.

I had the same issue soloing the Praetorian Event badges. I couldn't get the higher tier tables because, according to a GM, I wasn't "participating" enough, even though I was solo and the only one participating. So I think this "participation" factor is somehow involved in the trial reward tables.

Masterminds do indeed have issues with trial Rewards, and changes are being made as per Redname confirmation...

http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=258308

Good work all! Job done.

Now to check the changes are good to go when it hits test/live.

Yep. Here's hoping for quick and useful changes. I don't expect a very rare every time, but it would be nice to at least get the occasional rare.

When I spammed my 2 holds as well as Twilight Grasp, I got rare on BAF and uncommon on Lambda today. Based on participation, it requires us MMs to spam powers that we won't use normally. Who actually uses a hold on an AV when the triangles are up.