Mischief- consistent loot tables, or huge range?

Discussion in 'Time Locked Progression Servers' started by Stefen, Apr 26, 2021.

  1. yerm Augur

    There are currently loot tables and when a mob spawns it calls whatever table and generates loot. There is NO way they are going to do a ton of work redeveloping the wheel just for this server. So, there are 3 options which are possible and 2 that make sense:
    1. When a mob spawns, instead of simply calling its normal loot table, it calls from a list of all the potentially applicable loot tables. If the mob it calls drops multiple items it will drop multiple, if the mob it calls is one of the lootless duds it won't drop loot. If the mob is killed and respawns it should almost always have different loot (or dud) because it's randomly calling again. This is what I expect to happen.
    2. New mischief server loot tables are created that are all the potential item drops pooled into 1 table per level per expansion, then another set of tables for raid mobs. When a mob is supposed to drop loot, it calls an item from this massive table. My guess would be if this is used that group rares drop 1 item and raid mobs drop an arbitrary number, maybe like 3 or 4, of items. I do not think this is the method they will use, but, it's a possibility.
    3. They basically reconfigure where each mob's drop point towards. So basically each rare named and each raid mob has a new established loot table which would be identical to whatever used to call it. If Derekor the Vindicator calls Vulak's loot table, he's going to spawn with Vulak loot. If Vulak calls Sontalak's table, he now drops the necklace and a BP etc. I consider this WILDLY unlikely because while it probably would be less work than option 2 and it IS random, it is completely incompatible with the +/- level thing unless they do some serious overhauls. That is, unless there is a possibility that some mob loot tables don't get anything pointing to them anymore, then it's doable. Frankly though this is just an awful idea and I really don't think the devs are going to go with it.
    Mithra likes this.
  2. Mithra Augur

    I'm a bit curious if it's just going to be all of the NPCs with the - a rare creature - tag. There is a bunch of 'named' that aren't rare tagged like Zahal the Vile, High Shaman Grisok, The Ishva Mal, Emperor Crush, Lord Elgnub, an evil eye.
  3. Skuz I am become Wrath, the Destroyer of Worlds.

    It doesn't specify exactly, so there will some element of discovery involved.

    I'd expect any "named mob" to be considered as part of the loot-tables used and not every one of those will necessarily be flagged as a "rare-creature" when considered, though most probably will be.

    Worth noting the limitations of the loot tables as being level-based & expansion based.
    You won't be seeing mobs with a very large differential of level drop the same items*
    You won't see mobs from different expansions dropping the same items.*

    (*except perhaps general things like tradeskill stuff & things considered vendor loots)

  4. Orsenfelt Journeyman


    Isn't there a 4th possibility? My assumption would be that mobs can have multiple loot tables attached simultaneously, that's how I imagine things like defiant gear drops are done.

    It wouldn't make sense to go through every level 15-30 mob in the game and add the same list of ~50 simple defiant pieces into all of them. That's a lot of unnecessary duplication of data.

    Much more efficient to just have a single 'simple-defiant-15-30'' loot table and attach it to mobs in that level range in addition to their base loot. Like a primary and secondary loot table. Killing one of these mobs gets you a selection from both tables simultaneously, maybe with some ratio between primary & secondary tables then also a per-item drop rate.

    If that his how it works, then duplicating it for Mischief seems the easiest and most sensible option to me. Fairly simple script could merge existing rare mob tables and apply it back on to the mob as a secondary table, automated and just uses the existing probability of loot to handle the randomness, fulfilling the description of the server without actually changing anything fundamental about quest items, lore etc

    Of course it would mean a massive increase in the loot floating around the server but surely that's the idea when combined with free trade and 2x spawnrate? Cut the bot armies off at the knees because items like GEBS are just falling off mobs in every corner of the game
  5. Bewts Augur

    The logical and path of least resistance is a logical waterfall check:
    1. Check expansion;
    2. Check zone;
    3. Check upper / lower bound of level ranges
    4. Check mob table for quest item - positive check = drop that item; negative check move to random loot table.
    5. Check random loot table against the “roll”; for all items that fall into that roll range (rare, uncommon, common) are randomly selected from and then one is assigned as loot.

    For #5 this accounts for pre-existing rarities such that if some items have a 20% chance to drop and some have an 80%, you don’t override that by combining loot tables to make everything drop equally. Rare drops should still be rare - regardless of which mob it drops from. The only change should be that there are more mobs to kill which drop equally rare items.
    code-zero and Hdizzle like this.
  6. Bobbybick Only Banned Twice

    My money's on option #2.
    Skuz likes this.
  7. Tierdal Augur


    The new sweat mode is 24/7 spiroc farming in sky.

    Why anyone would play EQ in sweat mode at this point is beyond me. Its all be done. But to each their own i guess.
  8. sennel New Member

    "Rare NPCs will drop loot from other NPCs of a similar level within the same expansion."
    What I am reading is only rare NPC's dropping loot from other NPC's. Maybe should have read "Rare NPC'S loot will drop from other NPCs of a similar level within the same expansion."???
  9. Tierdal Augur


    No, normal mobs arent going to drop loot from rares.

    Rares are going to drop loot from any other rare of similar level.

    This isn't rocket science=/
    code-zero and Skuz like this.
  10. Skuz I am become Wrath, the Destroyer of Worlds.

    I'm expecting Spiroc lord to be an exception / special case and omitted from the level-spread random loot table since he can be endlessly respawned, it's just way too easy to abuse.