Why are elite hunts so valuable? What are the devs thoughts?

[ChiefCurrahee]

I'm pretty disheartened that SE didn't step up to the plate and do the right thing with this patch.

Elite Marks remain the single most valuable rewarded content in the game. It just boggles my mind that with such unbalanced rewards, that at least some adjustments weren't made. What are the devs thinking? Why step foot into a dungeon when I can collect more tomestones at a much faster pace by following the zerg from mark to mark? Why attempt coil when I can upgrade my gear without a challenge? Why queue for duty roulette?

So why allow such unbalanced rewards go unchecked? Can we expect similar unbalanced easily exploitable content in the future updates to the game? I'm seriously curious about the thought process that the devs allow this to remain in the game.

Do they have some data that shows hunts haven't effected other aspects of the game in the last 3 weeks? Does their tracking data show a lot of players are doing hunts and are afraid of some sort of backlash from balanced rewards? Do they just not care about the balance for 2.3?

Do the devs not think that giving players Allied Seals, Myth tomestones and Soldiery Tomestones doesn't devalue the rewards issued for dungeon clears? I want to know!

[kyuven]

I think it's more that they want more people geared for when they introduce the next wave of content. Apparently they had an issue with not enough people being geared for certain levels of content, so now they're giving the community a "push" to be able to reach that level in anticipation of the next "wave."

[Magis]

On one side I got something to do on coil off-days and since I have finished Animus, and hey free gear!

On the other side I think it breaks the game and turns gear absolutely worthless due to the ease of getting seals. I like the activity of finding mobs, but I feel like it cheapens the long term game.

[odintius]

To to be able to toss your gear faster for the next new gear set /shrug who knows.

[Dude]

I don't understand why some think it is broken. If you are doing the duty roulette, don't you want people to have at least ilvl 90 gear, as apposed to coming in with ilvl 58 or 60?

The next patch will cool people down on hunts (oils and sands will lose value), once they move to higher level gear. By then, it will feel perfect. it will let people jump from ilvl 45 -> 90 -> 110 and keep them close with the ilvl 120 -125 raiders. Soon all of the items received from hunts wont be an alternate to progression (ie the current problem), but only a means to catch up. That alone will fix most of it.

[KingAhmoseTheFirst]

I think it's more that they want more people geared for when they introduce the next wave of content. Apparently they had an issue with not enough people being geared for certain levels of content, so now they're giving the community a "push" to be able to reach that level in anticipation of the next "wave."

I totally agree. I was also thinking, what were the developer thinking?.. But I did realize that around this time people were clearing 1st coil t1-t4 way faster than 2nd coil t6-t8.. I mean at one time people had a problem with t2 because of passing rot and t7 can't be easily bypassed like t2 was. So, my guess also was because they are trying to prepare people for 2.4.. I mean sands and oils will not be that much relevant to the new content in 2.4 versus new gear so I'm not to worried anymore about what they have done with the rewards..

[NyneAlexander]

I don't understand why some think it is broken. If you are doing the duty roulette, don't you want people to have at least ilvl 90 gear, as apposed to coming in with ilvl 58 or 60?

The next patch will cool people down on hunts (oils and sands will lose value), once they move to higher level gear. By then, it will feel perfect. it will let people jump from ilvl 45 -> 90 -> 110 and keep them close with the ilvl 120 -125 raiders. Soon all of the items received from hunts wont be an alternate to progression (ie the current problem), but only a means to catch up. That alone will fix most of it.

I agree with The Dude.

[Iriadysa]

I don't know if it's "broken" from a systemic point of view. Perhaps it's intended so that people simply gear up to 110 and make gear irrelevant for the 2.4 patch, who knows. I can, however, tell you one thing: it has made gearing a pointless activity for me, to the level where I don't even bother doing it anymore.

At least I enjoy frontlines, so there's that.

[SendohJin]

I think it's more that they want more people geared for when they introduce the next wave of content.

I don't understand why some think it is broken. If you are doing the duty roulette, don't you want people to have at least ilvl 90 gear, as apposed to coming in with ilvl 58 or 60?

if they want more people geared and it's not broken, why is Sands of Time not already an ST drop? why is there a 1 item lockout for ST and why is the armor i100? why are Ramuh EX items i100?

shouldn't there be no lockout in ST if the armor is i100 anyway? shouldn't you get i110 rings from the "hardest" trial in the game?

why aren't there better Frontline rewards?

[Grizzlebeard]

I think it's more that they want more people geared for when they introduce the next wave of content. Apparently they had an issue with not enough people being geared for certain levels of content...

Then they need to seriously reconsider the direction they're taking this game. People aren't bothering to gear as much because they're aware their efforts will be marginalised with each update and now the hardcore crowd are not only faced with this knowledge but also having to accept their efforts count for squat in the face of everyone having the ability to gain max ilevel gear from zergfests.