[New Users] Please note that all new users need to be approved before posting. This process can take up to 24 hours. Thank you for your patience.
Check out the v.254 - Midnight Carnival - Ludibrium Patch Notes here!
If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the Forums Code of Conduct: https://forums.maplestory.nexon.net/discussion/29556/code-of-conducts
«1

Low Symbol Drop Rate

JushiroNetJushiroNet
Reactions: 6,160
Posts: 748
Member, Private Tester
edited December 2017 in General Chat
As everyone knows the drop formulas and some base drop rates were adjusted in the tune up patch. It has been noticed by many many players that the drop rate of symbols is incredibly low. For that reason I wanted to bring to attention the line copied below from the update notes.

dropnerf.png

This is very likely the reason the symbol drop rate is so awful now. Not only were drop rate potentials nerfed but they also appear to have nerfed how much drop rate can even be applied to symbols.

You can demonstrate to yourself the lower drop rate benefit on certain event and quest items. For example, vanishing journey dailies will take just as long on 1x drop as they do on 12x drop.

So why exactly are we not allowed to farm symbols?

Drop rate still seems to fully apply to nodestones and droplets. They're both certainly lower but you very clearly gain more by being on higher drop modifiers such as 2x weekend.
Lunaaaaa

Comments

  • zz2020zz2020
    Reactions: 920
    Posts: 32
    Member, Private Tester
    edited December 2017
    my symbol farm rate dropped from 10/h on 4x drop to between 0 and 2/h on 8x drop (both with 180% drop rate gear and frenzy). It's completely unviable now to grind symbols to high level just from drops.
  • BooberpuppyBooberpuppy
    Reactions: 3,415
    Posts: 322
    Member
    edited December 2017
    I believe the reason that Nexon did this is because they don't want you just farming symbols to max in a few days. They want you logging in every day for the dailies, growth in small spurts at a time, over a span of months. It looks better for login statistics. I see a lot of the changes doing this, and many of the events now. The server population bars on Reboot have been sitting at 50%+ on every channel 24/7 since dragon pops started. Clever.
    DarkPassenger
  • kthxkthx
    Reactions: 320
    Posts: 13
    Member
    edited December 2017
    You know the funny thing is I was training for less then an hour on December 26th I ended up getting 2 Arcane River Droplets with a 2x event just using my Wolf and a 1 day drop coupon I bought for 2x on Monday.

    I mean really?

    Ohh and I get more Nodestones on normal rates with a Wolf and a 2x drop coupon then I do on 2x event with the Wolf and a 2x drop coupon...
  • JushiroNetJushiroNet
    Reactions: 6,160
    Posts: 748
    Member, Private Tester
    edited January 2018
    I really think this should be looked into. With the release of morass I'm sure many players have seen just now slow the symbol rate is through farming.

    To summarize:

    it appears as if drop rate effects are not being applied to symbols at all. This is a separate issue to the base rate of the symbols.
  • DaxterbeerDaxterbeer
    Reactions: 7,435
    Posts: 1,056
    Member
    edited January 2018
    Aside from the horrible drop rate in Nodestones, Arcane Symbols and Droplets, Arcane Symbols by far may be the most brutal one to farm. Nodestones are the easiest since they they stack and are very visible besides from just dropping more frequently. Droplets are a lot rarer and are smaller and not as visible but thankfully stacks. Arcane Symbols are small, rare and unstackable.

    The optimal way to farm is to have a pet with pet loot with mesos turned off (pet loot lag still not fixed yet.) The size and visibility of item doesn't matter since pet will automatically scoop up and items on floor you didn't put into ignore. The major concern is when the user has full EQUIP inventory and their pet is trying to pick up a symbol on the floor. Full inventories don't affect being able to pick up droplets or nodestones as long you have one in your inventory, but Arcane Symbols take a equipment slot. If similar Arcane Symbols were stackable, this would save a lot of headache freeing up space in your EQUIP tab.

    At the end, farming Arcane Symbols should be like farming Nodes and droplets (subtract your starting number of nodes/droplets from your total to determine your earnings for that particular grinding session.) If the drop rate of items were increased and Arcane Symbols were stackable, it would make farming less tedious.
  • SorrowSorrow
    Reactions: 2,780
    Posts: 314
    Member, Private Tester
    edited January 2018
    Arcane Symbols were always accessible through daily mission quests. I would like to see a daily added that gives Nodestones because for new level 200's that have low funding, it's difficult for them to progress and become stronger when they are only getting 1-2 Nodestones per hour.
  • JushiroNetJushiroNet
    Reactions: 6,160
    Posts: 748
    Member, Private Tester
    edited January 2018
    On the subject of nodestones it might be neat to add a level 200+ PQ area where the reward for clearing is 1-5 nodestones and low chance of arcane river droplet.

    Give them 200-250 scaling and lots of hp, entry limits probably.
  • PizzaaPizzaa
    Reactions: 1,591
    Posts: 92
    Private Tester
    edited January 2018
    Also we could have more event shops where arcane symbols are being sold. It would be nice to have more accessible stuff that gives, for example Morass symbols so we don't have to wait 6 months to get their dailies.
  • JacaruJacaru
    Reactions: 1,265
    Posts: 63
    Member
    edited January 2018
    Increase the damn droprates and you're done with it. Change some percentages in a directory. How freaking hard is that to do!?
  • TouchMyBeefTouchMyBeef
    Reactions: 310
    Posts: 3
    Member
    edited January 2018
    JushiroNet wrote: »
    As everyone knows the drop formulas and some base drop rates were adjusted in the tune up patch. It has been noticed by many many players that the drop rate of symbols is incredibly low. For that reason I wanted to bring to attention the line copied below from the update notes.

    dropnerf.png

    This is very likely the reason the symbol drop rate is so awful now. Not only were drop rate potentials nerfed but they also appear to have nerfed how much drop rate can even be applied to symbols.

    You can demonstrate to yourself the lower drop rate benefit on certain event and quest items. For example, vanishing journey dailies will take just as long on 1x drop as they do on 12x drop.

    So why exactly are we not allowed to farm symbols?

    Drop rate still seems to fully apply to nodestones and droplets. They're both certainly lower but you very clearly gain more by being on higher drop modifiers such as 2x weekend.

    It's not just symbols, even node stones and droplets got hit hard. Not to point fingers but I'm pretty sure they might have messed up an nerfed them a little to hard in GMS when translating the code. The fact that I can use 300%+ drop + 2x drop buff and can only get like 50 nodes in 3 hours during a 2x drop event and 0-1 symbol and 1 droplet is way worse then the rates of KMS drop change :thinking:?
  • SorrowSorrow
    Reactions: 2,780
    Posts: 314
    Member, Private Tester
    edited January 2018
    Also would like to see more 2x Exp/Drop Events!! :)
  • ShadEightShadEight
    Reactions: 3,110
    Posts: 381
    Member
    edited January 2018
    Booberpuppy wrote: »
    I believe the reason that Nexon did this is because they don't want you just farming symbols to max in a few days. They want you logging in every day for the dailies, growth in small spurts at a time, over a span of months. It looks better for login statistics. I see a lot of the changes doing this, and many of the events now. The server population bars on Reboot have been sitting at 50%+ on every channel 24/7 since dragon pops started. Clever.

    Or it will just make people quit altogether, as evident in the continual decline of consecutive players. At least with dragon pop we can AFK and get rewards. Most symbol dailies get annoying around lv 10-12, they should have never increased it to lv 20 its just a lazy way to preserve login numbers without adding new content.

    And now with the new KMS update they realise the damage and made it easier to get symbols from dailies with respect to your current level all because the player base became frustrated with the prospect of doing more of the same crap. I think I speak for everyone when I say that we do not want to keep doing boring repetitive dailies for months just so nexon can get away with corporate statistics. We want to play the game.
  • thrakkesthrakkes
    Reactions: 2,135
    Posts: 364
    Member
    edited January 2018
    I keep getting more symbols than droplet. Droplet is way more rare to get now x.x We should get another way to obtain these.
  • PizzaaPizzaa
    Reactions: 1,591
    Posts: 92
    Private Tester
    edited January 2018
    For most people it's the other way around. I would say that I have a ratio of 1/9 symbols/droplets.
    TouchMyBeef
  • JushiroNetJushiroNet
    Reactions: 6,160
    Posts: 748
    Member, Private Tester
    edited January 2018
    I just farmed for long enough to get my 250 festival boxes. Got 3 droplets, 0 arcane symbols.

    Farmed in my 160% drop gear + 30% HS + wolf familiar.
  • DaxterbeerDaxterbeer
    Reactions: 7,435
    Posts: 1,056
    Member
    edited January 2018
    JushiroNet wrote: »
    I just farmed for long enough to get my 250 festival boxes. Got 3 droplets, 0 arcane symbols.

    Farmed in my 160% drop gear + 30% HS + wolf familiar.

    Is Decent HS drop rate bugged with familars since I tried it with my drop familiars and the buff icon for familiar seems to disappear.
  • JushiroNetJushiroNet
    Reactions: 6,160
    Posts: 748
    Member, Private Tester
    edited January 2018
    I wouldn't know I'm a real bishop. :)
  • ArcoArco
    Reactions: 1,160
    Posts: 20
    Member
    edited January 2018
    Appears to be true based on the Maplestory wiki page for drop rate stacking on special items;

    "Drop rate boosts increases the chance which items drop. However, for some items such as Core Gemstones, Arcane Symbols, quest items and certain boss items, the drop rate increase is halved. (Example: Having +250% drop rate boost would mean only +125% will be applied on such items)"

    https://strategywiki.org/wiki/MapleStory/Formulas#Drop_Rate_Stacking
  • LolaBunnyLolaBunny
    Reactions: 2,785
    Posts: 301
    Member, Private Tester
    edited January 2018
    Daxterbeer wrote: »
    JushiroNet wrote: »
    I just farmed for long enough to get my 250 festival boxes. Got 3 droplets, 0 arcane symbols.

    Farmed in my 160% drop gear + 30% HS + wolf familiar.

    Is Decent HS drop rate bugged with familars since I tried it with my drop familiars and the buff icon for familiar seems to disappear.

    Decent HS and Familiars stack with each other. Using familiar and drop coupon does not stack. I haven't run into the decent HS being bugged.
  • JushiroNetJushiroNet
    Reactions: 6,160
    Posts: 748
    Member, Private Tester
    edited January 2018
    Did all 9 haste missions grinding the whole time through.

    0 nodestone
    0 symbols

    in full drop gear, wolf, hs

    What a fun and rewarding game.
    ArgentSlayerJ