On Skirmish III mechanics. . .

[Multiabuse]

So I've been doing the new skirmish quite a bit. Over 25 runs in, to be exact. Most of the time, the entry simulacrum has been 4/4/4. with a couple of 5/5/5 and 3/3/3 scattered. For the most part, the group is the same, yet our experiences are wildly different.

I get that gear should not be so easy to obtain as it was in Skirmish II. 3-4 runs through Yorcia Weald and most people were 5/5 on all sets or had enough wings to buy whatever didn't drop. When it's that easy, people just plow through it and never go back. The latest iteration, however, feels like an exercise in futility. In those 25 runs, I am the "lucky" one, having seen 3 KIs and 11 wings. One member is 0/25 and has gotten 5 wings in total. Is something broken with the drop rate of Key Item: Vial of Transmelange? It's not as if the +1 version obliterates the 113 gear, so why such a horrendous drop rate? The offensive stats are largely unchanged and the gains in defense and the 5 base stats are pretty slight. Wings are more common(ish) but the conversion rate for the KI is still pretty steep. You could get a full set of gear for 9 wings in Skirmish II, but now you have to fork over 6 just to upgrade a single piece ?


Now, I really love that the new gear is 119 and that you can get 3 augments (pdt, mdt. and 1 from the usual pool) but am disappointed in the execution. I wince to think about what the 113 set cost me in augments, but that was the stated price of admission. So away goes my hagondes with 25+ mab... for a white box and a few extra stats and the joy of playing the augment lottery again. I bit the bullet and have wiped 3 pieces of my set for the +1 versions only to find that the 3rd augment, mdt, is not guaranteed even with a +2 stone.

I don't mind putting in the time and effort to upgrade my character, but this Skirmish feels draconian. I really feel for the guy who still hasn't seen 1 KI in the ~18 hours we've spent in Outer Rak. The "unlucky" members of my group are discouraged and frustrated and at best it feels like it's just not worth the time. Please reevaluate the KI drop rate at the very least.



Edit: Grammar

[Selindrile]

The upgrade is so painfully minor, the upgrades sparse, and losing all my augments make me think I'll probably skip this content altogether.

[Karbuncle]

The problem is its not really about the armor and its minor upgrades, its more about the weapons, most of which are currently best in slot... even the Ninzas+2 outpace Oatixur. These weapons are incredibly powerful and useful.

That said, I really hate the key items drop rate. I haven't seen a single one, and only seen 1 Wing, in my ~7 or 8 runs now. I know its a small sample size, but the event itself is no easy task and requires at least competent players, especially since SE decided most of the NMs need some form of Physical Immunty "Phases" or Strip+Encumberance mechanic. Plain and simple i was waiting for someone to make this thread so i could give it all my likes.

The key item has in infuriatingly low drop rate :|

[detlef]

Definitely consider doing some more Yorcia Skirmish and obtaining duplicate pieces to upgrade and augment. Even if those suck you'll have the originals with your perfect augments.

[Bamph]

The problem is its not really about the armor and its minor upgrades, its more about the weapons, most of which are currently best in slot... even the Ninzas+2 outpace Oatixur. These weapons are incredibly powerful and useful.

That said, I really hate the key items drop rate. I haven't seen a single one, and only seen 1 Wing, in my ~7 or 8 runs now. I know its a small sample size, but the event itself is no easy task and requires at least competent players, especially since SE decided most of the NMs need some form of Physical Immunty "Phases" or Strip+Encumberance mechanic. Plain and simple i was waiting for someone to make this thread so i could give it all my likes.

The key item has in infuriatingly low drop rate :|

Wait......... they have mobs that strip and encumbrance you? Wasn't that something that they said they wouldn't do going forwards?

[Karbuncle]

They gave us some vague hint of "They won't use it if you don't use certain damage" or something, but yup, they have mobs that strip/encumbrance you just as they said they wouldn't.

Some effort is being done to figure out what damage needs to not be dealt but reports say with just MNK or SAM or DRG the move still goes off, so unless its random or they want us to use only mages, then theres something we're missing.

[FaeQueenCory]

Wait......... they have mobs that strip and encumbrance you? Wasn't that something that they said they wouldn't do going forwards?

They also said "Moving forward we will not be using the Rem Tales for relic and empyrean armor upgrades"...
And yet... that's EXACTLY what was used for the relic upgrades... so....
*shrug*
(That was almost a direct quote from Matsui himself too... if you can't trust God... who can you?)

[dragmagi]

Marcolith nm will strip u if u do WS on it. Only warning u get is when it collapses in its rest or rock pile mode u have maybe 4 - 5 secs to clear out .

[Demonjustin]

I always found it funny how they gave Maroliths, specifically the NM ones, the ability to Bind and Gravity players with AoEs, and yet they gave them the ability to strip us so nicely with Tectonic Shift with only a few seconds to escape.

It's kinda counterproductive to give us the time to run from it and at the same time, prevent us from moving with ailments which can not be quickly removed repeatedly without using a spell that removes some of the other ailments instead, such as Rasp, Defense Down, Evasion Down, and so on... I mean, they clearly mean for us to have a chance to escape, but unless you have the power to spam Accession Erase or a Yagrush WHM who can spam Erase, chances are someone is getting hit with it.

[Camate]

Greetings,

We’ve been seeing comments mentioning that some players have been getting Vials of Transmelange easier than others, so we checked with the development team to find out more.

They mentioned that the drop rate for Vials of Transmelange will increase if you complete the secondary objective versus just completing the primary objective. Also, the higher the rank of your Ra’Kaznar visage, the higher the drop rate for Vials of Transmelange and Pulchridopt Wings become.

With that said though, this new skirmish has been set to be slightly harder and have lower drop rates than the Yorica Weald skirmish. It was set like this based on the concept that anyone can become stronger right away by doing the Yorica Weald skirmish, and this time around the Outer Ra’Kaznar skirmish serves as content to be taken on by players who have cleared the previous skirmishes up to now.

Compared with other content where you can obtain item level 119 equipment, this content is geared towards casual play, and we hope you enjoy challenging it.