Proposal: HQ mat-to-HQ mat conversion of 100%

[Peregrine]

"Every little bit helps" is like saying "everything happens for a reason."
Does it really, or does it just feel better saying it?

Every little bit doesn't help. That's the problem. I bet if I took off my dodore doublet and wore the velveteen vest again, and if I threw my +1's out and wore NQs, AND if I dropped all of my crafting abilitites AND took my MND and INT down to 50...there'd be no difference in HQ oucomes. Why? Because there'd be next to no difference in quality and given how many setups I've had and worked with, I realize that.

I would actually run that test if it wasn't likely that the design will change.

People think this is a system where every little bit helps and they'll be rewarded for getting all these abilities and traits and stat converts and HQ this and that...and it's just not the case. 90% of the quality, and thus 90% of the chance of HQ, is predetermined by three things. Starting quality, your level, and the dominatingly low chance of non-NQ results. What's the difference between a 1% chance and a 2% chance of getting a +3? Twice the chance, zomg? No, there is no difference. They're both abysmal. It's the difference between absolute and relative differences. 20% more means nothing if it doesn't DO anything.

In fact, many of the abilities meant to raise quality can often decrease it. Inspiration: increased chance of quality but reduces success rate. Really now...and what happens if you fail where you would have otherwise succeeded? You lose your chain. You lose progress. You lose durability. You lose quality. Increased chance of instability, so you could lose a heck of a lot of things. Inspiration is designed to do nothing, while making you squeal and clap and remember the time that you gained 61 quality points on that success. The biggest farce MMO developers ever pulled is to throw players meaningless numbers and convince them they mean something as incentive to level more and play more and stay longer. 2 is more than 1, they whisper. It all adds up, they say. And people repeat that over and over. They believe it makes them better, and with all the flaws the human brain has at really judging these things, they insist it makes them better.

Unfortunately both the 2 and the 1 mean nothing, and affect no real outcome. What is 4 more craftsmanship? 10 more? What is 20 more quality?

Nothing, in reality. Who here is pumping things to 700 quality? No one.