Avatar Spawn System Detailed

Discussion in 'Zones and Populations' started by Kander, Aug 6, 2013.

  1. Kander Developer

    • ·Each day at a set hour (typically 3PM local time for that server), the avatar spawn system makes 1 to 3 independent random rolls to determine if 1 to 3 avatars will spawn that day on that server.
    • ·The chance for the roll to succeed depends on how many days have passed since the last avatar has spawned (for each day no spawn of any avatar occurs on a given server the chance increases). If no avatar has spawned in the last 4 days, the chance goes to 100%.
    • ·There can be no more than 6 avatars spawning on any given server in a 7 day period.
    • ·A given server will most likely get 6 avatars in any 7 day period, but this is not an absolute guarantee. It will average out to 6 per 7 days over time.
    • ·Avatars rarely spawn singly, it can happen but it’s far more likely that they will spawn in 2’s or 3’s on any given day.
    • ·All avatars who made their roll on that day spawn simultaneously, from 0-12 hours from the time of that days check (usually 3PM local time, meaning for the most part on most servers they will spawn at a random time from 3PM to 3AM)
    • ·Once an avatar is killed it will not spawn again for a couple of days, and its chance of spawning is lower than avatars that haven’t spawned for a while after that 2 day period.
    • Current Server Times [Changed as of 8/8/13]
    • Valor 3pm to 3am CET (Central European Time)
    • Splitpaw 3pm to 3am GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)
    • Sebilis 3pm to 3am JST (Japanese Standard Time)
    • Butcherblock 12pm to12am PST
    • Nagafen 12pm to 12am PST
    • Guk 12pm to 12am PST
    • Freeport 12pm to 12am PST
    • Everfrost 1pm to 1am PST
    • Unrest 4pm to 4am PST
    • Oasis 4pm to 4am PST
    • Antonia Bayle 12pm to 12am PST
    • Permafrost 12pm to 12am PST
    • Crushbone 4pm to 4am PST
    • Storms 3pm to 3am CET (Central European Time)
    • Harla Dar 3pm to 3am MSK (Moscow Standard Time)
    • Barren Sky 3pm to 3am MSK (Moscow Standard Time)
    Neiloch and Le Clown like this.
  2. slippery Well-Known Member

    Thanks for the information!

    Any chance that AB and Everfrost could be moved to 12pm to 12am PST to accommodate for the Euro time zone guilds that have killed Avatars on those servers? I can't really comment if other servers have Euro time zone guilds that have done anything. Good to see Unrest and Oasis accomidating to the late night and Asia/Australian time zone guilds that are heavy on those servers.
    Mindsway likes this.
  3. Maergoth Well-Known Member

    So now the Devs are catering only to the people who read official forums? Lol..

    Neat. Glad the times were included. Now any rumor that the system is broken can be dispelled relatively easily. Inb4 guilds miss avatar spawns and claim they are spawning outside the windows

    I also learned that Russians are bad at abbreviations. How is MSK Moscow Standard Time? Where did that K come from?
  4. Makya Active Member

    Appreciate the post Kander,

    Couple of questions:

    - So there is no weekly "reset" but rather a sliding 7 day window where you can't have more than 6 avatars, correct?

    - All avatars for the 12 hour window (2 or 3 of them) are supposed to spawn at the same time, right? Not sure if that's working as intended. We had 2 avatars spawn on 7/31. Sullon spawned before raid at 5pm PST but Drinal wasn't spotted until towards the end of our raid at 8:30pm PST. It's possible that we just missed Drinal since we don't know all the possible locations but we were searching quite a bit.
  5. Kander Developer


    Correct. We have made adjustments. It should be working as described as of today.
  6. Kander Developer


    We could do that if people think it is a good idea.
  7. slippery Well-Known Member

    I'd imagine Immersion and Transcendence think it is a very good idea so that they could actually have a shot at avatars :p Especially Transcendence being as they've actually killed every avatar prior to the GU.
  8. Zakry New Member


    How would we go about that?

    For example, Unrest raid times would be more indicative of 5pm to 5am PST.
  9. Maergoth Well-Known Member

    I imagine the guild leaders of said guilds being excluded would have to PM or post on these forums with their raid times. Obviously, short of a 24 hour window, some people would be excluded from a full window during raid time. It's just making the best of the system while still giving people time to sleep :p

    Maybe start with a mail poll about raid times.
  10. Frezzy Member

    In the interest of honesty, I should point out that Transcendence on Everfrost is not a Euro guild. They're Asian times. The way it's currently set up, Tranny will get about 45% of the avatars without contest (anything after about 12:30 a.m. EST), and the other guilds on server will compete for 55% of them. AD raids until midnight EST, but we can sometimes get enough people together if something spawns in the half hour after our raid ends (which is why I gave an extra 5% to the US guilds' split).

    So the way it's set up right now, it's pretty fair if you only consider AD and Tranny. That said, I think it should be changed. Two other guilds (Art of War and Kindred) have killed avatars during normal US raid times recently, but no one has killed an avatar during the Asian raid times in months (the last time AD did an early morning call). With the arena offering practice opportunities, there will probably be a couple more US guilds looking for avatars soon. The current spawn window would essentially gift wrap nearly half of all avatars for a single guild, while 3-5 different guilds have to compete for the rest.

    It doesn't need to be heavily weighted in favor of US guilds, but the number of guilds raiding in each time slot should be considered.
  11. Chronus Active Member

    Is there a point at which which avatar to spawn next becomes 100%? I say this because 2 particular avatars have not spawned on Splitpaw since the GU went live (well 1 certainly hasn't, the other we're 98% sure).
  12. s1l3ntst4lk3r New Member


    Everfrost "Euro" guild raids from 5:30am to 8:30am pst. Changing it from 3am to 12am end time would be a worse change I think.
  13. slippery Well-Known Member

    Well, at any rate on AB Immersion raids from 11am till 2pm PST. They have killed Avatars and do watch for them. Right now they don't even stand a chance
  14. Ge'Sar New Member


    How does it make sense to change to the times for the entire server to please one guild?
    Either open it up 24/7 or let the majority rule.
  15. Primaeval Active Member

    Declare one server an international server. Let the guilds that want to move there move. Let the guilds that want to move off move off.

    Right now, you are either screwing certain Euro/Aussie guilds or completely catering to them on other servers. Its pretty ridiculous all around.

    On Unrest, you implemented a system that effectively allows guilds to compete for 3 of 12 hours, while handing a single guild a period of completely uncontested avatars. How is that a better system?
    Karrane likes this.
  16. Makya Active Member

    On Everfrost we have 6 guilds that have killed 3 or more avatars (and I'm sure they'll kill more avatars as they spend more time in the arena). Five of those 6 guilds are all EST raid time guilds (raiding from 8pm to midnight EST) while one of them raids 8:30 to 11:30am EST. With the current time range set up for Everfrost, 83% of the avatar capable guilds will be competing for half of the avatars and one guild will be handed the other 50% of the avatar spawns to pull completely at leisure with no competition. If the goal of the arena and primetime window is to create a more competitive environment (which does sound fun) then the current time range fails most of the server's raiding guilds.
    Darrrex likes this.
  17. slippery Well-Known Member

    Or someone on Everfrost could use a call list and Transcendence would never get a single Avatar ever. It's all in perception. They are only getting Avatars handed to them because no one tries.
  18. Primaeval Active Member


    In agreement. Like I said, there just needs to be defined Euro/Aussie server since a 12-hour window could more reasonably cover those time zones. Just allow free moves for those guilds to move

    I don't even care if its Unrest. I'd be fine moving off and competing with some other American based server for spawns rather than having a good chunk of time on a server dedicated to the ONE non-American raid guild on the server. Its not a vibrant Aussie/Asian raiding community on Unrest. Its one guild.

    Alternatively, re-open it to 24 hours and eliminate any catering to anyone.
  19. Makya Active Member

    What SOE is obviously trying to do with sync'd spawning during primetime is get rid of ridiculous call times where a single guild with open schedules can monopolize all of the avatars. Fact is that most raiding guilds now are made up of normal people with families, jobs and can't do a midnight to 6am call time. I was fine with the old system and we'll adapt to the new one just fine. I was just giving feedback to Kander that his changes will not have the intended effect on at least one server unless the time range is adjusted to take into account more information about the guilds that are raiding on those servers.
  20. Drumstixx Active Member

    People in our guild work during the day, raid in the evening and then sleep at night (for a majority). Yet we still were able to make calls and kill them at night. In fact, the "prime time" window makes it harder for people who work during the day to be available for Avatar windows.