[Bug] Current change to gathering has no effect on mining

Platform: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit.
ISP: Cox Cable
Type of Internet Connection: Fiber Optic
Internet Connection Speed: 31Mbps
Date & Time: Apr. 15, 2011 0630 CST
Frequency: Always
Character Name: Reika Shadowheart
Race: Miqo'te
World: Karnak
Class/Skill Rank: Miner R25
Physical Level: 50
Area and Coordinates: Camp Bloodshore (All mining points surrounding)
Party or Solo: Solo
NPC Name: None
Monster Name: None
In-Game Time: 2000

[dev1039] When the three below conditions are met in regards to the grade and difficulty of a gathering attempt, the "sweet spot" of the approach phase will be in a fixed location.

1. Class rank
2. Values of VIT for miners, STR for botanists, and DEX for fishers
3. Bait and lures (for fishing only)

ex.) At a certain grade and difficulty, having the appropriate rank, DEX value, and bait/lure will ensure that jigging the rod precisely in the middle will result in a black eel hit.

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Given the above, it is assumed that having the right rank, stat (VIT in my case) and bait (not in my case), aiming at the sweet spot of an item would most surely yield that Item. However, I have not noticed any change from mining prior to this change. It is still just as random as before. Aiming at the sweetspot for Limonite, I still constantly recieve Pyrite, Copper ore, Sunrise tellins, Miter shells, and often Iron Ore and Iron sand even tho their spots are elsewhere.

My stats when mining Grade 3:

R25 Miner
Vitality - 169
Gathering - 60
perception - 47
Output - 57
Attempts for grade 3 - 6

Hey there, Reika.

We appreciate you taking the time to fill out all the necessary information we need. We will gladly forward the concern to try and get it resolved. Any updates on the concern will be posted within the forums when available. Thanks!

Greetings again, Reika!
Thank you for your patience with the wait for a response to your report. Unfortunately, it seems that the development team needs more specific information to continue to investigate this matter. It would be very helpful if you could provide a step-by-step account of how you went about testing the sweet spot for mining. Please try to include as much information as you can, especially in regards to what equipment you had on at the time. After you submit this information, we will make sure that the development team receives it, and they will try their best to re-enact what you have done. Thanks again for your patience!

After discussion in the forums, it was determined that the dev's idea of the 'sweet spot' is the players idea of the 'hot and cold game'.

I (and others) were thinking that the sweet spot is the point you position the up and down slider on, And when aiming at a certain sweet spot, as in the place where you 'sense' X item right where you are gathering, we should most often get that item if you have the right stats and rank while gathering at the right grade. But, it is not the case. Instead when you aim at the spot where X item is sensed right at, you still get a various assortment of goods that the spot has to obtain, While with the 'hot and cold' game, the strike strength, location, or jig direction is always the same for each item if you have the appropriate stats and rank.

My mining gear:

R28 Miner
Iron Pickaxe
Leather Jerkin (Pink) +1
Canvas Work Gloves (Blue)
Leather Culottes (Blue)
Leather Workboots (Blue)
Fishing Hat (Yellow)
Tarred Voyager's Belt +1
Helidor Ring
Helidor Ring

Stats:

171 Vitality
62 Gathering
59 Output
53 Perception

6 Attempts per G3 Mining node

Steps:

1) Start Gathering at a Grade 3 mining point.
2) Move slider 2 spaces down from middle, 7 from top (Iron ore always sensed right here)
3) Begin striking
4) Strike at the place where, under the changes, will always yield iron ore 'IF' it is iron ore.
5) if not iron ore and nothing is obtained, srike somewhere else, often where it is 'Always' Copper, Alumen, Miter shells, etc.
6) Other times, near the exact same strike strength where iron ore is 'Always' obtained, Limonite, Pyrite, and Iron sand are obtained instead
7) Repeted all steps while focusing on different 'sweet spot' points. Copper ore, iron sand, all the way at the top, and all the way at the bottom. Still receive a various assortment of anything, especially getting Limonite all the way at the top when it is closer to the bottom is just wrong.
8) Repeted all steps with no clothes on (except my undies of course). Mining attempts dropped by only one (Down to 5), Aiming at Iron ore 'sweet spot' Received iron ore only once, and Pyrite, Limonite, and iron sand all other times (Even 3 Limonite +2, with only tool-stats to work off of).

Even though the place where these non-iron ore items are sensed are all different, they are still obtained in the same place as iron ore, commonly more often than iron ore itself. It should be that placing your slider in the right spot, you should recieve the 'sensed right at where you are mining' item far more often that other items, given that you have the right stats and rank vs the target grade.

Also. Stats from armor do very little for your gathering. As listed above in step 8, the only penalty was a loss of one mining attempt at Grade 3.

When moving up to G4 mining, the hot and cold game once again becomes random.

The patch merely took the randomness out of the hot and cold game if you meet the rank and stats vs grade requirements. No item is 'assured' as the patch states however.

Greetings once more, Reika!
Thank you for providing more specific information about this matter. As mentioned, I will make sure to submit this new information to the development team, so that they may be able to continue their investigation. I recommend watching this thread for any further developments. Thanks again for the information!