Game Mechanics Drop-rate "chaining"

[ZarroTsu]

I've noticed a few threads intent on alleviating drop rates, and this is another method I've had on the back-burner.

"Chaining" drops would be the act of killing a monster with the same loot repeatedly and exclusively. As the 'chain' gets longer, the drop rate of the item you're looking for would become more and more likely. When the item is dropped, the chain would be reset to zero.

Killing a monster that does not drop the same loot would "break" (zero) the chain, resetting the odds to default, and forcing the hunter to start over.

Saving/exiting would also "break" (zero) the chain.

Spoiler: Technobabble

On a basis of coding this, the item code(s) and chain count would simply be stored on the Character entity as a 2D or 3D array, and checked/added/changed as necessary.

I assume enemy kills and the character entity are connected in a way that this could work, since the banner drops per 50 kills goes to the specific player that dealt the 50th kill. So implementing this shouldn't be difficult, in theory.

Upon saving the character, the chain can simply be neglected from being saved, and initialized as {null} for item values and {0} for each chain count.

If I recall correctly, enemy drop rates are based on rand({odds}), so the act of subtracting the chain's value from {odds} would be the simplest method.

 

[anbun]

Sounds a tad cheaty. But I like!

 

[AlphaGamer1803]

How would the game know which drop you're looking for? How much would each hit up the rate by? You can't stop yourself from hitting a different enemy when there's a big crowd of nasties. More detail needed.

 

[ZarroTsu]

See OP spoiler for details. However, I'll try to explain it step by step:

It would increment per kill, not per hit.

If there's a large group of enemies, that's a part of the 'balancer'. Having to kill just one enemy exclusively. If your equipment is too unwieldy, then you'd be reliant on the current way drops are handled (give or take a few points, if you kill two or three in a row).

As for 'which item', it simply checks what's already on your character's array and +1's. If one item is different, it removes it and resets to 0. If all items are the same, but a new one is included on the previous enemy kill, then it's added to the array.

Let's assume you're hunting Skeleton Archers.

Marrow and Magic Quiver would be added to your table like so:

{Marrow} [ 1 ]
{Quiver} [ 1 ]

Now, let's say while killing a few you wander into a crimson biome. As most would know, the Crimson Key is a universal drop here. Since the previous two are still on the enemy you're exclusively killing, they still go up. But now the CK is added, like so:

{Marrow} [ 4 ] (we'll assume the fourth kill is in crimson)
{Quiver} [ 4 ]
{CrimKy} [ 1 ]

Now, let's say while still in crimson, you accidentally kill another monster. Marrow and Quiver would be removed from the table, but Crimson Key would still +1 since the universal drop is still in effect:

{CrimKy} [ 2 ]

That's all there is to it. If existing drop rates are untouched, this wouldn't affect players who just go full Rambo on everything. The only concern might be universal drops, but their odds can be reduced as needed. Players probably kill exclusively in the relative biome when looking for Keys anyway, so this wouldn't affect much.

So the latter half: What do these numbers mean?

Well, let's assume Crimson Key is what you're after. Odds of a Crimson Key drop is 1/2500, in the crimson.

If you kill 1000 enemies, your internal drop tally would look like this:

{CrimKy} [ 1000 ]

This number would be subtracted from the previous drop odds like so:

1 / (2500 - 1000)

Turning the drop odds into this on the next kill:

1/1500

If this trend continues, and you kill 2499 enemies:

{CrimKy} [ 2499 ]

Then the drop odds for the 2500'th enemy would be:

1/1

Meaning, finally, you're guaranteed to get the key after this kill, if your previous luck has been awful.

After you finally do get the key, the {CrimKy} is removed from your array, and your next kill resets it to:

{CrimKy} [ 1 ]

 

[L0tech]

I like this idea. On Expert, drop RNG screw is mitigated rather nicely as a reward for the higher difficulty (or annoyance, depending on your opinion of it), but I remember farming certain areas for DAYS trying to assemble the ankh charm in Normal, and there are a handful of items I was never able to obtain (looking at you, Black Belt). The "cheatiness" is balanced out by the fact that, sooner or later, you're going to have to deal with at least one of those other pesky mobs and break the chain, whether accidentally or on purpose.

Edit: I guess I'd do it a little differently for the rates though. Maybe [Base Drop Rate + 20%] per kill, with a ceiling of [4x Base Drop Rate], never greater than 20% overall? This would basically give you the Expert drop rate after 5 kills, double that after 10, but never giving more than a 1/5 chance. Expert Mode would only gain the benefit of kills 5-10. I can't see how you would be in an area that is at all challenging and be able to abuse this, but I might be overlooking something. Once you're farming an area that you CAN ignore all the mobs, who cares?

 

[AlphaGamer1803]

Aaaahhhhh..... I get it now! Just a quick question though... Would this count for traps? Because if it does, it would be OP. I also like your idea, LOtech. Small tweek: every time you kill an enemy with the same drop chance, it's +0.1% chance (+1/1,000). It should have a cap of 10% (1/10). Whatcha think?

 

[ZarroTsu]

Aaaahhhhh..... I get it now! Just a quick question though... Would this count for traps?

I don't know how traps factor with tally kills. Don't they not count the kill unless the player hit them first?

I've no comment on making it percentage-based. If it makes it function better, then w/e; but a tally-based increase makes it fairly easy to understand. Expert mode drop rates seem mostly halved (1/2500 -> 1/1250 ?) so the tally version should work either way. Expert could give +2/kill if that makes it more 'fair', but expert's fairly young.

Capping it at 1/5 or 1/10 kind of defeats a secondary purpose: Making bosses eventually drop their uniques more reliably (I have two The Axe's and a Seedling, but still have never found Binoculars I swear).