Where is the ink?

MidniteOwl1913 · July 27

N00BxV1 wrote: »

reiverx wrote: »

The drop rate is the same for everyone. The RNG algorithm is the same for everyone. Obviously, I don't know how the game works under the hood, but typically an RNG generator takes an input (the seed) and then returns a number, or sequence of numbers, within a predefined range.

Using the same seed will always return the same sequence of outputs, which is why it's pseudo RNG and not true RNG.

ESO doesn't use true RNG because that's just way out of scope. It also doesn't need to.

I don't believe it's bugged. The drop rate is exactly what they want it to be.

Adding a drop to chests and heavy sacks is just throwing a bone. A very small bone.

Quote from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudorandom_number_generator:

"A pseudorandom number generator (PRNG) also known as a deterministic random bit generator (DRBG), is an algorithm for generating a sequence of numbers whose properties approximate the properties of sequences of random numbers. The PRNG-generated sequence is not truly random, because it is completely determined by an initial value, called the PRNG's seed (which may include truly random values). Although sequences that are closer to truly random can be generated using hardware random number generators, pseudorandom number generators are important in practice for their speed in number generation and their reproducibility."

Without knowing exactly how the Algorithm works there is no way of really knowing if it produces the same kind of results for everyone. If the Algorithm uses any personal identifiers (for its seed/initial value, or otherwise) like Account/Character ID, Account/Character Creation Date, Geo Location, IP Address, Hardware etc. then the Algorithm would absolutely produce different results for everyone.

It is not simply a roll of the dice, it is Pseudo Random and ZOS uses all sorts of checks and balances. And we are never told exactly how it works (why share trade secrets?) so it only leaves us to speculate. It is well known that there are bugs in different parts of their code, and an Algorithm is code, so it's not hard to think that there might also be bugs in their (P)RNG Algorithm.

Slightly off topic (but still related)... In my opinion, Scribing should have been made more enjoyable for the player, but instead it was deliberately made with the intention of extending our play time. If the content was good then people would engage with it and not feel like it's a hassle...

- Grimoires should have been account-wide unlocks. But instead we had to pay ~2 Million Gold (if you have 20 characters) to unlock them all on each character.

- Scripts should have been account-wide unlocks, or at least be guaranteed to drop from each source for each character that does the activities. But instead we only get 1 guaranteed drop from each source each day, and any additional drops have a very low drop chance. Might as well not even bother trying to get any additional Scripts to drop and just wait until another day.

- Scribing a skill should not have costed anything, or it could've just costed some Gold. But especially not a new resource that needs its own special category in our inventory (at least in Gamepad UI), that only drops from a few select sources, and has a very very very low drop chance. So even if you have ground out all of the Grimoires and Scripts, you still need to break away from whatever you're doing to go farm resource nodes for Ink, because that's the only realistic way to get any Ink.

I don't think we've ever had a new system in this game that was so problematic for so many people...

Yup! It was designed as a huge waste of time, most of the skills aren't even that great. When people on the FB group ask if it worth buying Gold Road because of scribing I always tell them to wait. They will still have to waste time to even begin using it, but at least they won't have spent $40 for the privilege.

Orbital78 · July 27

A way to access support buffs for 4 man hard modes is nice, when 3 dd. I replaced barb trap with bleed torch and heroism on the arc and like it. I'm looking forward to the U43 rebalancing.

Woozywyvern · July 29

Maybe the majority of people defending the ink drop are farming it and maybe that 'handful' of people who are complaining about the drop rate are playing the game and therefore seeing the real drop rate.

All I know is that I can't engage in the system in any meaningful way. I have also read (but not tested) that each time you use the armory, you have to rescribe the skills. Is this correct? My ink drop rate is nowehere near enough to support this, as I genertally swap between tank and solo build once per day.

Orbital78 · July 29

If you do trials, it seems I get a few per week from the trash mobs. I do around 3 trials a week usually. Not sure if normal and vet have similar drops. If you want ink, hit some nodes in Cyrodiil. I get quite a few inks but only one mourning dew. Last vLC I got two inks. Not great but if you just enjoy trials you should accumulate some.

Necrotech_Master · July 29

Woozywyvern wrote: »

Maybe the majority of people defending the ink drop are farming it and maybe that 'handful' of people who are complaining about the drop rate are playing the game and therefore seeing the real drop rate.

All I know is that I can't engage in the system in any meaningful way. I have also read (but not tested) that each time you use the armory, you have to rescribe the skills. Is this correct? My ink drop rate is nowehere near enough to support this, as I genertally swap between tank and solo build once per day.

it costs ink to change a scribed skill, though it costs less if you change it to a combination you have made before

but currently scribe skills are not included as part of armory builds (the skill itself is included, but if you wanted different scripts on it you still have to change it separately)

XSTRONG · July 29

For me scribing so far seems useless and I only collect Ink to earn gold, but I got tired of farming Ink so " GREAT CHAPTER ZOS"

Stafford197 · July 29

At the very least, scripts unlocked per grimoire should no longer cost Ink to swap back to.

This would let the Armory be used for Scribed abilities and get rid of most issues with Ink.

MidniteOwl1913 · July 30

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

Woozywyvern wrote: »

Maybe the majority of people defending the ink drop are farming it and maybe that 'handful' of people who are complaining about the drop rate are playing the game and therefore seeing the real drop rate.

All I know is that I can't engage in the system in any meaningful way. I have also read (but not tested) that each time you use the armory, you have to rescribe the skills. Is this correct? My ink drop rate is nowehere near enough to support this, as I genertally swap between tank and solo build once per day.

it costs ink to change a scribed skill, though it costs less if you change it to a combination you have made before

but currently scribe skills are not included as part of armory builds (the skill itself is included, but if you wanted different scripts on it you still have to change it separately)

Are you sure it's cheaper? I seem to remember just remaking a skill from my "archive" and it cost 3 ink.

EdjeSwift · July 30

MidniteOwl1913 wrote: »

Are you sure it's cheaper? I seem to remember just remaking a skill from my "archive" and it cost 3 ink.

It's 1 ink per changed script. If you rebuild it from scratch it'll be 3.

MidniteOwl1913 · July 30

EdjeSwift wrote: »

MidniteOwl1913 wrote: »

Are you sure it's cheaper? I seem to remember just remaking a skill from my "archive" and it cost 3 ink.

It's 1 ink per changed script. If you rebuild it from scratch it'll be 3.

Oh so if the saved script has things in common with the one that replacing it then only those changes cost? I see. Well for the most part all my saves scripts are completely different so for me it's 3 every time I swap.

BlueRaven · August 1

Just wanted to chime in. It’s now been several weeks now without a single in drop. Not one single ink drop at all.

OsUfi · August 1

I gave up. Wouldn't drop for me from nodes. My two from Imperial City a few weeks back is all I've gotten. I'll wait until it's either fixed, dropping from more sources, or 1k a piece on vendors in six months time.

Taggund · August 1

BlueRaven wrote: »

Just wanted to chime in. It’s now been several weeks now without a single in drop. Not one single ink drop at all.

Same for me. Though most of my play time is in Cyro, in my other play I am killing mobs, bosses. In all I am looting backpacks and such, and gathering nodes, along the way. Nothing.

For me, they need to add these to Rewards of the Worthy, and then my chances to get ink would improve.

TaSheen · August 1

There will be some in August Daily Login Rewards - Days 10-13, 3 per day:

https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/66439

So maybe this will be a thing going forward at least for a while.

barney2525 · August 1

I remember finding one once. not sure where it was... or when

Nharimlur_Finor · August 2

edited