Windfalls... Not impressed.

Tiny chance for a few more random rewards for real cash.

I'll just stick with the standard random for free.

The problem with the data is that it is not uniform. You are using 4 different UGTs as your test. Did anyone DC during it? Did you kill the EXACT same amount of enemies? There are way too many variables and too small of a sample size to give an accurate reflection on whether the power is WAI. If you are truly trying to test Windfall you need to do it on a much smaller team (preferably solo) on the same map, with the same amount of enemies etc. As far as I can tell from your data Windfall is working in that it provided you with the promised inf gain...everything else is random especially with such a large player base absorbing the rewards.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paladiamors I love you, I Burnt the Toast!

I've used two windfalls and gotten a purple drop both times. I popped them before soloing -1x8 with bosses for the whole duration of the first one, and for the second about a quarter of the time solo -1x8, half the time doing 54x8 missions with 2 friends, and the last part of the time before it wore off doing a 3 person MoITF on +0. I think I got the second purple during the ITF but I'm not positive (it was a crappy one, the first one was a Hecatomb proc though.)

*tosses name in hat of not impressed with Windfalls* crank it to a 50% increase and I'll start using them again.

I also don't think WE are the people they are aimed at.

Has it occurred to anyone else that they may be focused at people who just started playing and don't even have access to the market. let alone the knowledge to earn money in it?

A 25% boost is pretty nice when you are totally reliant on what drops for you to fund your character.

How I would fix windfalls:

currently, as indicated upthread, they just multiply existing drop rates. I'd tag a solid n% add on to the end of that formula.

Pulling numbers out of the air for demonstration-sake and going with windfall=a % chance multiplier of 1.25 (or a 25% boost to existing percentages for drops):

Current formula:

<existing chance of drop>*1.25

Proposed formula:

(<existing chance of drop>*1.25) + <n value>

So using something like an inspiration, say that natively drops at 25% and putting n at a mere .5% value, you get a change from current windfall drop rate of 31.25% to 31.75% with the new proposed rate. Not much difference.

But where it would matter is the sort of stuff people are *expecting* to FEEL boosted when using a purchased consumable like a windfall--the much rarer drops. For demonstration sake, let's assume purples drop at a .3% rate. With the current windfall, you go from .3% to a meager .375% chance at getting a purple. A number so small that you will likely not see a purple regardless. (Though yes, some outliers report netting 5 purples on a very lucky streak.) But with the new formula, you'd go from .3% to .875%, or more than double the odds of getting the good stuff.

Additionally, I'd add a 0% or negative% chance that ALL mobs will drop the recipes that were once reserved for TF and trial random pools. These recipes, such as the Numina proc, currently have a tiny chance to drop from bosses. By adding a null or slightly negative percentage (say -.1%), when crunched through the new formula, all mobs are now imbued with a tiny chance to drop things like a Numina proc (if in level range) when using a windfall.

These two changes I believe could be balanced to make windfalls actually FEEL more like a windfall while not destroying the market. For good reason, the devs don't want to see purples become so entirely common. But as it stands now, I agree with sentiments in this thread that report being drastically underwhelmed (and as a result highly disappointed) when using these things in their current state.

I would also say that people aren't using them under ideal conditions for valuable drops. They can be claimed on any character, pick one with decent or better survivability and good AOE. Use Windfall when you have time to devote to drop farming, ie: beating the hell out of Council and the like on -1x8. Spend the duration of Windfall doing this, and you'll probably get something good out of it. Don't blame the power itself because you chose to be on a team or play a slow paced character when you used it.

To be fair - I have never bought XP Boosters or Windfalls from the market - I've only used my T9 Paragon Reward tokens to get them, so I feel they provide satisfactory benefit in that regard.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shubbie Im very good at taking a problem and making it worse.

I thought the way they tested these in house was to spawn a map full of baddies use the kill command and auto tally the results.

I'm sorry that a 50% increase to a random chance event isn't enough for you. Good thing they are optional.

I know the OP does not want to hear this...but i have a plant/thorns dominator, and i used a windfall this evening, and i got THREE PURPLES!!! Sadly, they were none of the big money makers, but i may just save them till i can get some of those converters i have heard about and make better ones...

Personally, I love Windfalls. I recognize that the drop rate of purples is so low that boosting it by 50% is not an immediately visible change (in fact I wonder how many test runs you would have to perform to get statistically significant evidence verifying its effect on purples), but for what it's worth I've gotten more purples than usual recently while under the effects of windfall.

The higher drop rate of good inspirations helps too because it helps me burn through enemies even faster, further reinforcing the increased reward rate. Suddenly, I can go through a mission with 2-3 medium/large reds active nearly all the time.

I wouldn't buy them outright, but since I freely admit that I am a sucker for super packs, I'm glad I have like... 40 of them.

I would probably be very disappointed with them if I didn't constantly play at x8 on a character with at least decent AoE DPS. However since my main is a plant/fire/fire dominator, I'm pretty pleased.