Seriously, VW loot system..come on.

[Camiie]

Because you can't balance something that is PURE RANDOM Luck.

But it's not really random is it? Can computers even technically do random?

It's sorta random what drops, but it's not like each item has an equal chance of dropping. The percentages are obviously skewed towards vendor trash or nothing at all in some cases. Those percentages are set in the program, right? So, they actually could be balanced. Am I nuts here? I'm sure someone will quickly tell me if I am.

[Nightfyre]

But it's not really random is it? Can computers even technically do random?

They can with the proper equipment, but that's more for high-security applications. I'd expect SE to use low-security pseudorandom algorithms instead. The difference is generally academic unless we're actually able to exploit the pseudorandom algorithms (in such a case as GG mentioned, or even out of stronger generators in certain environments).

Anyway yes, random drops can be "balanced". In this case, I would propose that balance corresponds to a reasonable expectation that you will obtain the drop by putting in a certain amount of effort. Obviously a non-100% value means we can't expect to get rewards within a reasonable timeframe every time (this is where considerations for a point system would come in to play), but you can still estimate an effort:reward ratio for an average case and adjust accordingly.