Proposed new Atma system

[Malzian]

No isn't fair tbh , creating a new ''atma'' system for players unwilling to actually grind it out wouldn't be fair to the countless hours others put in to obtain the weapon , stop trying to be spoon fed.
Most of the people actually complaining about atma probably farmed a area for a hr or so , maybe even did 5 fates and got pissed

My Ninja farm took ~380 fates. I don't find it too bad, grind is grind.

Now this is where I find the counter arguments get unreasonable. First off, I'll start by saying I've done the grind. I have an Animus, 2 Atma weapons and 7/12 to a third. I know what the grind is and I'm putting in the time as the system stands. However, that does not mean the system is, or ever was, reasonable and that this kind of "grind" is representative of any kind of actual work or effort on anyone's behalf.

People aren't asking to be "spoon fed" anything, they don't want stuff just handed to them. What they want is a reasonable expectation that if they put in x number of hours they will get result y. As it stands right now, gathering Atma is less like work and more like shooting dice. You can take two different people, have them put in the same amount of "effort" (supposedly time in this case) and they may end up with vastly different outcomes. It's not even in the realm of similar return rate for effort put in.

Imagine if your job or school worked like that... Complete a task and you get a spin on the wheel, with a tiny sliver of a chance that you'll get that promotion or passing grade, no matter how much work or time you put in. No one would accept that, but somehow "it's just a game" makes it fine for people who may have more free time to invest into that game to tell anyone else who doesn't that they should "suck it up and stop whining".

When the system actually rewards effort (which by the by is something that requires skill, not just time and blind luck), then maybe the complaints will stop. But don't think that people who want the system made into something reasonable are just being lazy because they don't have the time to devote every day that you might.


-Edit-
Oh, as an aside since I know it'll be brought up... raids and raid gear as well as the RNG there are a completely separate animal and issue. Raids require skill to complete and I believe rewards there should be in line with that even if they are still a form of shooting dice in the long run, it's expected that if you're running static raids that eventually you will get the drop.

[Mysteran]

The random nature of it isn't a big deal but the low drop rate. With smaller drop rates it's more likely you could farm for days and not get one. Bumping the drop rates so it takes hours per atma and not potentially days would be better when the content is no longer current.

You say that like it's still "current".

I'd argue it wasn't current when it was implemented as it did nothing to progress the weapon other than unlock the ability to start upgrading it.

So it went Regular -> Zenith -> Atma (Which was not an upgrade just a change) -> Animus - Novus.

That means Atma is now 2 ranks behind the current relic upgrade.

[HumsterMKX]

Did you only do one fate a day? o_O

If I did that that means 4 Atma is 30 FATES.

That is actually cool.

[Spetsnaz]

Too bad second coil isn't an option for many of us. I keep odd hours because I work nights. Most of my FC isn't on and the only thing that exists in PF nowadays is hunts

[Kuwagami]

how about waiting for 2.4 and the obviously coming nerf to Atma (gotta keep upgrading till i130 after all SE policy) before continuing these "So 2.2" (I liked the expression) threads ?

I'm sure it will end in a "grind 2-3 hours and get your weapon stuff", but heh, it'll be needed for the ninja herd

[Kiara]

Great idea Atticus.

Agreed that the Atma grind is horrendous (even though I have my Novus), and besides general "grind complaints," another issue is that FEWER people are doing FATEs, which means it takes even longer for those working on their Atma stones to get them (and some FATEs just aren't soloable). Here are 2 other ideas for Fixes to the Atma grind brought up a few months ago when it started:

1. Increase Percentage(%) Chance for Atma Stone drop for Every FATE in the Zone you've Completed, Until it Finally Drops.

Let's say the starting % Drop Rate is 1%. If you do a FATE and nothing drops, Square should add, say, +1% to your chance, so the NEXT FATE you do now has 2% chance. So at the most, you'd have to do 99 FATEs in the zone (+1% x 99 tries) to finally get your Atma Stone (if you had the worst luck).

This allows Yoshi P to keep that "Random Number Generator" / "Lottery" feel and grind (ugh), while providing a safety (and sanity) net for Players. So if you have bad luck, at least eventually you'll get the Atma to drop within a reasonable amount of time. The Actual # can be balanced to whatever feels fair (+2%, +5%, etc.).

2. Allow Any Player with an Atma, Animus or Novus version of the Weapon doing FATEs to still get a chance at Atma Drops.

This will *increase* the number of Players participating in FATEs around the world, since Animus / Novus players will want to farm for Alexandrite drop chances, *and* can work on their 2nd, 3rd+ Jobs' Atma Stones.

It's a Win-Win for everyone, and brings people back to doing FATEs a bit more than it is now.

Thanks.

[Exstal]

yes

I'm just saying the atma grind in this game is no different from grinding things in any other game with low rate chance to drop. The issue people take is the reward is generally not worth the effort. Which means it's a bad grind. However, maybe since I've played games like Aion Online and Ragnarok Online, I'm just too used to ridiculous and, quite possibly, unreasonable grinding.

[16bitBounty]

It's been 6 days since my last ATMA drop, yesterday I spent 7 hours farming between 3 different zones. 9/12 still.

If I wanted to pray to RNGesus I'd play Diablo 3, it's free.

[Malzian]

I'm just saying the atma grind in this game is no different from grinding things in any other game with low rate chance to drop. The issue people take is the reward is generally not worth the effort. Which means it's a bad grind. However, maybe since I've played games like Aion Online and Ragnarok Online, I'm just too used to ridiculous and, quite possibly, unreasonable grinding.

I've played Aion an RO as well, and yes there are grinds in every game, but you're right in the rewards aren't worth the effort. Atma is just a time-sink gateway to animus, where I would argue the grind is much more reasonable to complete 9 books. Personally, I loved the way Relics were first initially handled, a series of hurdles through specific dungeons/trials that got progressively harder. That was a true effort to reward balanced system.

Unfortunately I see a larger and larger push for content towards RNG, which is actually what really killed 1.0 since that was virtually all RNG content.

[Logo]

The lower lvl areas are deserted, why would someone even go outside of town/r.toll when u have the o-mighty duty finder?
The only way for zones to become more populated to them is through RNG, god do I wish SE had other thoughts on this.

Umm Duty Finder is dead.
The hills are alive with the hunt.