Spellweave: The burning continues

Armitas

I spent the entire weekend from 7am to 8pm farming COA1 for 3 things. Sharp inferno staff, sharp 1 hander, and a shield with impen or reinforced on it. I got 0 inferno staffs, hordes of resto staffs, 3 shields with bad traits, and all of the weapons I got were useless because sharp is so much better than anything else. I have 2.6million gold and yet I can't even buy a set that drops in a low class soloable dungeon. You have locked your players into an RNG nightmare. Guess what I have to look forward to next week? Double VMA drops so now I get to spend another whole weekend doing the same thing over and over again only it will be far worse because it's VMA. This really needs to change, it's not fun.

If anyone is farming spellweave it seems to be better to farm the chests. Just pop in pop two chests, jump out switch difficulty and reenter. Any chest can drop weapons and shields, and some of the higher level ones can drop jewelry just make sure you use treasure hunter. If you do it on a stealthy character you won't have to fight anything. Every once in a while the game jams up and you have to relog to get a fresh dungeon but it works for a long time. Here is a map of the chest spawn locations.


Ignore the very top section of the map, not worth it that way, just start from the left top and move your way down. Added some chests from memory as well as the non combat path I take. A lot of the tents on the south side of the map have chests so make sure you look in them on your way up. The last boss on the path, the warden, can drop a unique shield, ember or sunder, I forget. Not sure if his loot table includes spellweave for a unique named shield. GL, hope you escape the nightmare.

Lord_Wrath

This is why i dont bother doing dungeons, it's a waste of time.

brandonv516

Thanks for the guide anyways. Chest farming seems the way to go.

BlackSoulDruide

brandonv516 wrote: »

Thanks for the guide anyways. Chest farming seems the way to go.

Yes thanks for the guide. How long will it take, that zos remove the chests, cause its to easy?

Asardes

I can't stand running the same dungeon more than 2-3 times in a day, if I get a good group who can clear it in reasonable time. VCOA1 should be 10-15 minutes per run. I just run dungeons as they come up for pledge, since it's easier to group for it, and just be happy for whatever gear drops. I just keep the divines and sharps on my bank chars for later use, never farming anything on purpose. But I love it when they do. Incidentally I got the sharp BSW inferno staff on one of my 1st runs after the update and just gave it to one of my buddies because I don't have mature Magicka DK yet. I also gave him IA jewelry that I got in a trial because it was blue and my healer is a long way from doing trials (lacking experience and gear).

I reckon the pledge system has been implemented to make people run dungeons only once every week on average, to avoid some of the boredom and burnout that would make them give up on playing altogether. At the same time RNG keeps them running that content for a long time, because most never get all the gear they need, even after dozens of runs. It's just the way if the game is designed to work, and it works as designed from the developers PoV. Of course they make small adjustments over time, sometimes as a result of player feedback (adding/removing traits, changing/adding sets, organizing the drops in mobs/chests/bosses) but the principle remains the same - keep people online so you maximize the chances you sell something in the crown store.

DangerMan

I ran it like 50 times to complete my divines set. In all the runs there was only one destro staff drop - and it was a defending ice staff. And this isn't just for me, it's was just one destro drop for all 4 people in my group. So out of a possible 200 drops on the last boss, one was a destro, with a crappy element, and a crappy trait.. Safe to assume that I won't be farming for it anymore..

Can't wait for vMA to give me the double S&Bs during the event.. -_-

Ch4mpTW

It isn't too bad if you're farming for body pieces, but weapons and shields are the worst from what I've gathered by numerous people's opinions. I myself am missing a Burning Spellweave pair of pants in infused, and then I'm set for everything I need from that set. Luckily it's not a weapon, nor shield. So I believe I don't have too much to worry about. Best of wishes to you, and I hope yo have success farming for gear.

peatzaugh

75+ hours of farming for the inferno staff in sharp so far. Seen 2 drop, one of which to an RP'er who had no idea what he had and refused 100's of thousands of gold for it because I was "loot spying." 4 full sets of divines gear and countless divines pieces either given away or decon. Its making my eyes bleed but the last piece I need for my magdk so I wont stop farming till I get it. Guess its working as intended since ZOS is keeping me in game...

Armitas

peatzaugh wrote: »

one of which to an RP'er who had no idea what he had and refused 100's of thousands of gold for it because I was "loot spying."

ROFLMAO.

psychotic13

Ch4mpTW wrote: »

It isn't too bad if you're farming for body pieces, but weapons and shields are the worst from what I've gathered by numerous people's opinions. I myself am missing a Burning Spellweave pair of pants in infused, and then I'm set for everything I need from that set. Luckily it's not a weapon, nor shield. So I believe I don't have too much to worry about. Best of wishes to you, and I hope yo have success farming for gear.

This, body pieces aren't really a problem, it's the weapons ect that's a nightmare.

Rune_Relic

Asardes wrote: »

I can't stand running the same dungeon more than 2-3 times in a day, if I get a good group who can clear it in reasonable time. VCOA1 should be 10-15 minutes per run. I just run dungeons as they come up for pledge, since it's easier to group for it, and just be happy for whatever gear drops. I just keep the divines and sharps on my bank chars for later use, never farming anything on purpose. But I love it when they do. Incidentally I got the sharp BSW inferno staff on one of my 1st runs after the update and just gave it to one of my buddies because I don't have mature Magicka DK yet. I also gave him IA jewelry that I got in a trial because it was blue and my healer is a long way from doing trials (lacking experience and gear).

I reckon the pledge system has been implemented to make people run dungeons only once every week on average, to avoid some of the boredom and burnout that would make them give up on playing altogether. At the same time RNG keeps them running that content for a long time, because most never get all the gear they need, even after dozens of runs. It's just the way if the game is designed to work, and it works as designed from the developers PoV. Of course they make small adjustments over time, sometimes as a result of player feedback (adding/removing traits, changing/adding sets, organizing the drops in mobs/chests/bosses) but the principle remains the same - keep people online so you maximize the chances you sell something in the crown store.

Having fun in game with lots of options keeps me here.
Being frustrated with my game put on hold by a RNG deja-vu nightmare does not.
Ever wondered why people are on the forum between bouts of frustration ?

Challenging content is one thing.
You can come back better and overcome.
The frustration can be ended.

You cant improve and get better drops.
That solo 12 man vet hardmode clear will not give you that sharpened golden weapon.
No matter how epic your achievement was
You will just get a blue training resto staff with melee buffs

hedna123b14_ESO

Armitas wrote: »

I spent the entire weekend from 7am to 8pm farming COA1 for 3 things. Sharp inferno staff, sharp 1 hander, and a shield with impen or reinforced on it. I got 0 inferno staffs, hordes of resto staffs, 3 shields with bad traits, and all of the weapons I got were useless because sharp is so much better than anything else. I have 2.6million gold and yet I can't even buy a set that drops in a low class soloable dungeon. You have locked your players into an RNG nightmare. Guess what I have to look forward to next week? Double VMA drops so now I get to spend another whole weekend doing the same thing over and over again only it will be far worse because it's VMA. This really needs to change, it's not fun.

If anyone is farming spellweave it seems to be better to farm the chests. Just pop in pop two chests, jump out switch difficulty and reenter. Any chest can drop weapons and shields, and some of the higher level ones can drop jewelry just make sure you use treasure hunter. If you do it on a stealthy character you won't have to fight anything. Every once in a while the game jams up and you have to relog to get a fresh dungeon but it works for a long time. Here is a map of the chest spawn locations.


Ignore the very top section of the map, not worth it that way, just start from the left top and move your way down. There are a 2 chests in the river that spawn on either side of the great tree that are not saving to the map. GL, hope you escape the nightmare.

One weekend? Thats all? I spend at least 1 hour every day since the DLC dropped farming that place...pretty sure I am 100-150 hours in by now.

Cinbri

You forgot chests that spawning near waterfront. north of first sack.

ArvenAldmeri

Damn, man, I have been running the dungeon whole last week. I was already all shaking the second day from doing the one same thing... I always look for all chests but farming only the chest, now thats something that did not come to my mind. Might try my luck with that. I got only sharp resto staff so far. Nothing else but crap, not even anything usefull from the other sets.

VinyParsley2016

OMG! The COA 1 chest will be nerfed soon.

DRXHarbinger

You mean this?

http://xboxdvr.com/gamer/DR X Harbinger/screenshot/5167568

lynog85

I know its off topic, but could you provide a similar screenshot of fungal grotto please with potential chest spawns? would that be my best chance of getting a viper shield ?

Asardes

The probability of getting the right weapon is much smaller than getting the right armor piece.

There are 7 possible armor slots, with 8 possible traits, and there are 3 sets in a dungeon (7x8x3=168). So the probability of getting the right armor piece from each boss, bar the end one, is 1 in 168. Actually the drops are more constrained:

Dungeon bosses and mini bosses will now drop a set piece 100% of the time.
Mini bosses will drop either a hand, waist, or feet set piece.
Bosses will drop either a chest, shoulder, head or leg set piece.

So the probability of the right armor piece dropping from a boss is 1 in 96 (4x8x3=96) and from a mini-boss 1 in 72 (3x8x3=72). But in practice it's more complicated, because that probability is shared with the bosses' unique item. Not sure what the exact probability is for that one, but at least it has a guaranteed trait which might be desirable.

The final Boss of a dungeon will drop weapons or jewelry.

Here things get more complicated, there are 11 possible weapons and the shield and 2 possible jewelry slots, from all 3 sets. The traits for jewelry are fixed, so there are only 6 possibilities. The total number of possibilities is 13 x 8 x 3 + 2 x 3 = 318. So you've got a an 1 in 318 probability of getting the desired weapon, in this case sharpened inferno staff. Also, just like the other bosses, the final one has an unique item that further dilutes the pool. Additionally, in most dungeons you need to beat all the other bosses to get open the door to the final one. Some dungeons like Fungal Grotto and Wayrest Sewers have one skippable boss, but in City of Ash you need to do all.


Indeed chests have a chance to drop a set piece, the harder the lock, the higher the chance. Simple and intermediate rarely drop a piece, while advanced and master are basically guaranteed to drop one piece. Probably the probability is shared equally between sets/slots, so even for a master chest there's 1 in 486 (318+168=486) chance of getting what you want. For lower level lock chests that probability is diluted further by the probability of getting a non-set item. Also mobs have a slight chance of dropping a set item, probably with equal probabilities.

So overall the chests don't improve the odds much. In the end it's just simple maths. Farming for a specific item, especially a weapon, is frustrating by design, especially since the "intelligent drops" touted in the patch notes don't work as people thought they would. You can still get SPC shields - got a divines one in VWGT - even staves for stamina sets like DKS in FG1 - the dreugh boss actually drops such an unique item.

ArvenAldmeri

Asardes wrote: »

The probability of getting the right weapon is much smaller than getting the right armor piece.

There are 7 possible armor slots, with 8 possible traits, and there are 3 sets in a dungeon (7x8x3=168). So the probability of getting the right armor piece from each boss, bar the end one, is 1 in 168. Actually the drops are more constrained:

Dungeon bosses and mini bosses will now drop a set piece 100% of the time.
Mini bosses will drop either a hand, waist, or feet set piece.
Bosses will drop either a chest, shoulder, head or leg set piece.

So the probability of the right armor piece dropping from a boss is 1 in 96 (4x8x3=96) and from a mini-boss 1 in 72 (3x8x3=72). But in practice it's more complicated, because that probability is shared with the bosses' unique item. Not sure what the exact probability is for that one, but at least it has a guaranteed trait which might be desirable.

The final Boss of a dungeon will drop weapons or jewelry.

Here things get more complicated, there are 11 possible weapons and 2 possible jewelry slots, from all 3 sets. The traits for jewelry are fixed, so there are only 6 possibilities. The total number of possibilities is 11 x 8 x 3 + 2 x 3 = 270. So you've got a an 1 in 270 probability of getting the desired weapon, in this case sharpened inferno staff. Also, just like the other bosses, the final one has an unique item that further dilutes the pool. Additionally, in most dungeons you need to beat all the other bosses to get open the door to the final one. Some dungeons like Fungal Grotto and Wayrest Sewers have one skippable boss, but in City of Ash you need to do all.

In the end it's just maths.

The probability is even higher since prosperous, powered, training and such have much higher chance of droping...

Synozeer

I spent a week and a half of constant grinding of CoA1 for that destro staff. In that time, I saw 2 non-sharpened fire destros. I pretty much stopped and have given up - I am here to play a game, not grind tens of hours for the RNG gods to one day hopefully smile upon me.

Eleusian

I feel this way in COH1 farming Leviathan hands in divines. Farm 1st boss on Normal , then vet. Rinse repeat. Did 30 more of these last night. Everything but divines. The grind continues

Armitas

DRXHarbinger wrote: »

You mean this?

http://xboxdvr.com/gamer/DR X Harbinger/screenshot/5167568

Asardes

My long term strategy is to wait to mix dropped and crafted sets. For example I'm thinking about mixing 5 x Law of Julianos (lower body and/or weapon) with various magicka sets that now include jewelry - mathematically the chances of getting jewelry are much better than weapons and even armor pieces, and jewelry can't be crafted. That way I can control both the armor type and the traits I have on set pieces, and get maximum advantage from using the undaunted mettle and maximizing the resistance by making the chest always heavy and either the feet/shoulders/legs medium, then matching feet, hands, shoulders or even head (if I'm not using a monster set) from the dropped set. The problem with using just dropped sets if that you spend way too much time farming those sets with optimal traits than playing the harder content you want to play with those sets. IRL time is a precious resource.

altemriel

RNG is fun, I was farming Vaults of madness yesterday and got the whole Rattlecage set on first two runs, part was impen, some divines, some sturdy, all 5 armor pieces, but no weapon nor jewelry. then the 3rd and 4th time, I got only Warlock and some other sets.

Wollust

I got a one handed sword in sharpened. Perk of running dungeons with people that don't need stuff for PvP.
Though I still miss a sturdy shield.

alephthiago

peatzaugh wrote: »

75+ hours of farming for the inferno staff in sharp so far. Seen 2 drop, one of which to an RP'er who had no idea what he had and refused 100's of thousands of gold for it because I was "loot spying." 4 full sets of divines gear and countless divines pieces either given away or decon. Its making my eyes bleed but the last piece I need for my magdk so I wont stop farming till I get it. Guess its working as intended since ZOS is keeping me in game...

Omg im crying here, zos need to nerf these damn RPers >.<

Lexxypwns

I got an impen shield and sharpened sword after about 100 solo runs, more than 50 since then and still no neck

RNG is too stronk

timidobserver

peatzaugh wrote: »

75+ hours of farming for the inferno staff in sharp so far. Seen 2 drop, one of which to an RP'er who had no idea what he had and refused 100's of thousands of gold for it because I was "loot spying." 4 full sets of divines gear and countless divines pieces either given away or decon. Its making my eyes bleed but the last piece I need for my magdk so I wont stop farming till I get it. Guess its working as intended since ZOS is keeping me in game...

Yeh I have encountered the loot spying club. Some people are always looking for something to be offended by. It's always phrase it as an open-ended question even though I can clearly see what they got in my lootlog. " I could really use a sharpened BS Sword if anyone got 1."

code65536

If you had read this thread, you probably would not have bothered trying:
https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/300662

TL;DR: Don't ever plan a build with dropped weapons in mind, unless you can obtain them via named items.

Khaos_Bane

ZoS has a very bad loot system and people have been complaining for years. If one thing makes me quit this game it will be the loot system.

Investing so much time into a game and not knowing if you will ever get the gear pieces you want isn't fun at all. I have been farming SPC since Imperial City release and still haven't gotten all divines SPC yet. I think I am still wearing an SPC well-fitted chest, yep...

The-Baconator

I would love for someone to explain to me why dungeon sets shouldn't be bind on equip.