How Atma Grind Should Have Been Handled

[ReplicaX]

Oh look, your 3rd Thread regarding Atmas.

[Kirosuu]

Why don't you be quiet.

bec i love how you guys keep whining and open new thread ofcoz
arent you guys want attention?

[Errors]

After all these Atma complaining threads, I finally see one where someone is giving possible suggestions. OP I'll give you a "like" for providing a solution instead of just complaining. I'd like to share my feedback to the solutions and hopefully provide one myself through my feedback. Thank you.

I think SE's biggest concern is market saturation of equipment. I've mentioned in another thread that I think the player base was spoiled on how easy it was to get their current Zenith weapons (including myself). However, to the dismay of a lot of 1.0 players that had to go through hell trying to get their relics during 1.0, (we'll just not talk about the grindfest that was). The relic progression I personally see as a long term goal. You have the option to grind FATEs or you can do it leisurely.

Maps instead of FATE's.

While Treasure Maps would be a good alternative, I would say don't let it be a 100%. The limitation for maps is only 18 hours if you yourself mine/fish/gather a map. You can still go to the market boards and buy maps until you run out of gil. It could be the same drop rate as some of the minions. That way you can't just buy your relic. I'm sure people would love to just buy their relics since it would be little effort.

Drop rate fine , but they should have had other options , like 30k company seals you can buy a atma of your choosing with a lock out of 24hrs till can buy another one.

Personally I agree the drop rate is fine, however there are very vocal people who are complaining that they dislike the random number game. Which surprises me because I'm honestly trying to come up with an example (other than tome grinding for gear) where it isn't a random number game. Coil, CT, dungeons, primals, treasure maps, all drop loot that is random.

The 30k company seals would be interesting with a timer lock out, since you'd have FATEs, supply turn in's, levequests, etc to do to get company seals. People love options. Then again it's just another token system essentially. I honestly, can't come up with a good/bad scenario around this other than my personal view of token purchases (it feels cheap).

Other Option like one dude said if get all the fates in the area gold get a 50% chance for the drop that day, with out warping. It would be find have a RNG, but make it so, you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It should be hard,but john,jane,joe, and jen. The casuals team. That started in a few days should not also get all the luck and get them in 6hrs. With out a way for the rest of the people to see a goal also.

It nice to get people in the world of the game instead of just camping in the city for the dungeons. Yet would have been a little clearer to have more then one direction for the atma option from over powering the fates none stop with out no goal till the really man stuff.

50% doesn't sound like much on a micro level but SE is looking at much larger scale when it comes to loot. They don't want the server to be instantly upgraded only a couple days after a patch. It extends the content, it gets people out and about in the game world. People complained that their was no reason to be anywhere but a town/city because the game was all instances. Now you have a reason as a player to see the game world. I do agree that a certain sense of progression would be great. However, that comes with the books you have to purchase after collecting you Atmas. The upgrades to the Atma weapons is your progression trial/test/path. The FATE's is almost testing your resolve of wanting to force/push/grind your way to the next step. It's a love/hate relationship.

Also it lame to do low man fates at a massive amount of people with the design since we can not get to them fast enough before there finish and if make them to hard down the road no one will do them.

Yeah, I think this is an inherit problem with the FATEs system. They seem more designed around small/medium groups or even passer-bys joining in. With a new shiney being added in the game everyone and their dog is trying to rush to the FATEs. Which makes the FATEs seem more like a mad house rather than feeling like you are actually doing anything. Then again this isn't really a surprise, as the weeks go by the amount of participants in FATEs will dwindle.

[LineageRazor]

You guys are overlooking the OBVIOUS solution:

Atmas in the Mog Station store! A steal at only $1.99 per Atma!

*Gets pelted with thrown rotten tomatoes.*

[SendohJin]

Which surprises me because I'm honestly trying to come up with an example (other than tome grinding for gear) where it isn't a random number game. Coil, CT, dungeons, primals, treasure maps, all drop loot that is random.

iLv 90 EX Primal weapons. that was the perfect system with a weekly lockout that didn't exhaust the content in a week and didn't subject us to terrible Range.

[Errors]

iLv 90 EX Primal weapons. that was the perfect system with a weekly lockout that didn't exhaust the content in a week and didn't subject us to terrible Range.

Ah good catch. Thank you.

While agree it's a good way to get folks to complete content and gear gear with a feeling of progression (via quest log). I don't really agree with your statement about it not being exhausted, it had a time gate associated to it, you can't grind it. I know many that did them each week until they got the BiS or weapons for their non-primary jobs. The limitation for this method of course is the weekly lock out. So, you could only get 1 weapon per week. People have been very vocal about time gates and loot gates. What options are left for SE?

However, lets go with this idea anyhow and see how we can apply that to getting Atma. So we'll go this route of thinking, "Once per week you can get a Atma of your choice for completing specific goals."

So, in best case scenario it would take 12 weeks (roughly 3 months) to get a single Atma relic. Hmm..can you imagine the out cry compared to now? Ugh. That's a bit extreme or perhaps a step back from how you can get Atma now. Some people are getting lucky and get enough Atma within the first 24 hours of the patch release, others aren't so lucky. However, I seriously doubt that if someone is grinding FATE's (I'm not talking one or two FATEs every so often), it's going to take them 12 weeks to get their Atma drops.

The benefit however of time lock outs is that SE has better control how fast loot gets into the hands of the population. Even with random number generator the current Atma system has, they control the percentage the population gets just at a different level as Atma gets spread randomly to individuals. We as players of course want things now, sooner, with little effort and screw what other people are getting/not getting. It's your typical player mentality. We all want the new things. SE is looking at how they can find a balance of having people play for the first week, get all the new shineys and then have a problem of people only logging in 1-2 times a week and start complaining that there isn't any content to do.

So, how do we suggest a system that feels like progression, doesn't over saturate the market with the new gear within the first 24 hours, doesn't bore the player base, gets them to play outside of instances, doesn't have time lock outs, and isn't the random number game?

I don't envy SE's position at all.


Side note: I do have to bing up that relic progression isn't our only means of getting new shineys. If you are in a good group of folks for coil you can get new loot from the new turns of coil (which I assume many haven't even beaten turn 5), you have solidery gear route which is your dungeon grind progression path, and finally the new Leviathan extreme weapons which is your "beat a primal" grind progression. So, there are options, however people want their relics.

[Lucke]

I've seen a suggestion floating around that is something like "Adds drop chance per FATE done". So like, if Atmas have a 1% drop chance (just spit ballin' here), each FATE you complete adds 0.1% chance to drop up to a max of 5% if you don't log-out or leave the zone. If you do, the drop chance reverts to the 1% drop.

At least this way you are sorta affecting the RNG in a positive way. Would boost player morale I think, and they would be more willing to suck it up.

[Gesser]

When I suggest Maps over FATE's... Atma's aren't rolled on, they enter your or any participants inventories just as they do now upon completion, also players are welcome to party up for other players' maps & receive credit just as they do for FATE's.

The higher drop chance accounts for the fact every player can only decipher 2 maps per day & don't get the option of picking their zone.

[Myrhn]

I've seen a suggestion floating around that is something like "Adds drop chance per FATE done". So like, if Atmas have a 1% drop chance (just spit ballin' here), each FATE you complete adds 0.1% chance to drop up to a max of 5% if you don't log-out or leave the zone. If you do, the drop chance reverts to the 1% drop.

At least this way you are sorta affecting the RNG in a positive way. Would boost player morale I think, and they would be more willing to suck it up.

Maybe that is happening and you just dont know it.

[Gesser]

No atmas at all woud be ok. Just the tomes part of the quest is enough grinding to the reward we get.

Haha no kidding. I personally like the idea of the RNG farm (albeit I think the drop-rate is a bit too unforgiving)... I just don't like their implementation of it. More of my complaint however does land on the 13.5k myth afterward... that is absurd. Should've been 9k & let you buy the books prior to earning your Atma so you can at least prepare yourself. As it is, I'll prob hit a myth cap or two & have to spend on things I don't want before I have my Atma.