What's the difference between special and normal set pieces

SteveyP777

Hello all!

I've got the 'Swampbinder' and 'The Ring of Medusa'.

Both have exactly the same stats down to how much they sell for.

What's the difference?

Also - been grinding Arx Cronium for a long time now - I've read online there's an ACTUAL DEBATE about whether staves of the Medusa set ever drop. Lots of those discussions seem old - do they still drop? I'm guessing it's just a long-term grind lol

Thanks in advance,

SteveyP.

newtinmpls

As for the Medusa staves - I got my final one a few weeks ago, so they are still slowly dropping.

As for the named bits, I'm one of those weirdos who prefers them to the "regular" set pieces. Especially the older ones that were sorta grandfathered in, and don't have the same "look" as the rest of the set.

I really need more bank space

UntilValhalla13

Some select pieces of gear just have a unique name or only drop from a specific boss. That's the only difference. One just has a fancy name.

SteveyP777

UntilValhalla13 wrote: »

Some select pieces of gear just have a unique name or only drop from a specific boss. That's the only difference. One just has a fancy name.

Lol that's what I wondered - thank you

SteveyP777

newtinmpls wrote: »

As for the Medusa staves - I got my final one a few weeks ago, so they are still slowly dropping.

As for the named bits, I'm one of those weirdos who prefers them to the "regular" set pieces. Especially the older ones that were sorta grandfathered in, and don't have the same "look" as the rest of the set.

I really need more bank space

Thanks that gives me hope that if I keep persisting I will eventually get it lol

robpr

'Unique' set pieces have always the same stats and they have increased chance to drop from specific boss. They are made to lower the rng for a bit, but of course only for specific bits.
The great example is Argonian Muck-Minder Staff of Mother's Sorrow that is Infused lightning staff you get from the quest, or Maleficence, infused resto staff of Worm's Raiment.

Athan1

No difference in the effect, just flavour text. I'm also one of those weirdos that prefers the uniquely named items!

Sangwyne

I actually take great pains to try and make sure I get the named versions of items over the regular versions if I can. I've recently noticed though that ZOS seems to not be adding any new named items to sets, which is a shame- part of the reason I enjoy farming them is to see the little description at the bottom, and Generic Item 478579 kind of ruins the feeling of farming for the set. Might as well just reconstruct it in the trait I want at that point.

kringled_1

Named items may have a different trait than would normally drop; they can carry a different enchant (mostly seen on jewelry and weapons), and sometimes they can be in a different motif than the set normally drops in.

Dagoth_Rac

The problem with Medusa staves is that there is no guarantee of a weapon drop on a dungeon run. Simple chests often don't even have a set item, let alone a weapon. And final boss seems to drop jewelry 50% of the time and a weapon 50% of the time. And if you do get a weapon, you might get one of the other sets in dungeon, or if you get Medusa, an axe or bow or something. So:

50% chance of weapon
If a weapon, 33% of a Medusa weapon
If a Medusa weapon, I think there are 13 possible weapons, so like a 7.69% chance of flame staff.

0.5 x 0.33 x 0.0769 = roughly a 1.25% chance of a flame staff from final boss.

In other words, 98.75% of time, you won't get a flame staff. Chests and trading with group mates can make odds a little better, but odds are simply very low.

BXR_Lonestar

Special ones are named and sometimes come with unusual traits or glyphs when compared to the standard item. Also, they tend to be easier to obtain since they can drop from particular bosses (at least in regards to Overland items). It also used to be a thing that you could not equip more than one of a named item - I.e. if you obtain a named ring, you have to equip a normal ring from the set rather than another named wring - but I don't know if that is still true.

Brrrofski

My favourite is that necklace in one of the base game dungeons that drops in ornate lol.

Might be combat physician off top of my head from Wayrest.

Brrrofski

Dagoth_Rac wrote: »

The problem with Medusa staves is that there is no guarantee of a weapon drop on a dungeon run. Simple chests often don't even have a set item, let alone a weapon. And final boss seems to drop jewelry 50% of the time and a weapon 50% of the time. And if you do get a weapon, you might get one of the other sets in dungeon, or if you get Medusa, an axe or bow or something. So:

50% chance of weapon
If a weapon, 33% of a Medusa weapon
If a Medusa weapon, I think there are 13 possible weapons, so like a 7.69% chance of flame staff.

0.5 x 0.33 x 0.0769 = roughly a 1.25% chance of a flame staff from final boss.

In other words, 98.75% of time, you won't get a flame staff. Chests and trading with group mates can make odds a little better, but odds are simply very low.

People often say (both here and on game) that drop chance on a certain items seems low.

The simple fact is that there are like 32 weapons you don't want and 1 that you do. So of course the drop chance is low. Nobody counts how many times they get a dagger, just how many times they didn't get and inferno staff.

kringled_1

Brrrofski wrote: »

My favourite is that necklace in one of the base game dungeons that drops in ornate lol.

Might be combat physician off top of my head from Wayrest.

There's one from elden hollow 1 for the light speaker set, drops from the ancient spriggan. (the side boss that is frequently ignored)

Ippokrates

Dagoth_Rac wrote: »

The problem with Medusa staves is that there is no guarantee of a weapon drop on a dungeon run. Simple chests often don't even have a set item, let alone a weapon. And final boss seems to drop jewelry 50% of the time and a weapon 50% of the time. And if you do get a weapon, you might get one of the other sets in dungeon, or if you get Medusa, an axe or bow or something. So:

50% chance of weapon
If a weapon, 33% of a Medusa weapon
If a Medusa weapon, I think there are 13 possible weapons, so like a 7.69% chance of flame staff.

0.5 x 0.33 x 0.0769 = roughly a 1.25% chance of a flame staff from final boss.

In other words, 98.75% of time, you won't get a flame staff. Chests and trading with group mates can make odds a little better, but odds are simply very low.

I mean, there is probably reason for that. IMHO Medusa is very powerful set but because it is heavy any mpds who want to use it without losing bonuses from LA, can only do it through combination of jewels & weapon. But hey, 13% crit change + minor force are worth that

YandereGirlfriend

As others have said, it's a different name and the chance for a different item trait.

It would be much more interesting (and would give you more of a reason to farm them) if they instead provided a different set bonus altogether.

Like, say, if you wanted an item for PvP and its unique set piece provided a line of Physical Penetration rather than Weapon Critical Chance. That would give you a concrete reason to farm the piece and it would make existing item sets much more interesting and flexible for the type of content that you wanted to play.

Oreyn_Bearclaw

There is always going to be "debate" about whether something that is useful and hard to acquire actually drops. Medusa staffs drop just like any other item on the loot table in that dungeon. Full stop.

There is no difference between Swampbinder or a typical Medusa ring in terms of performance. The difference is in how it is acquired. Specifically named gear like this will always have a specific way in which it drops, often from a specific dungeon boss. That means if there is a gear piece you are after, and it also happens to have a named drop, its usually much easier to farm.

A great example from back in the day where Viper Daggers. People could just farm the Knife of Shadows, which drops like candy from one of the bosses in FG. Another obvious one is that you can get a lighting Mother's Sorrow staff, Argonian Muckminder, from doing a quest. Again, makes it easy for anyone to get a MS lighting staff.

Unfortunately, ZOS does not have the best track record of making named drops actually useful. Tons of examples of weapons that make absolutely no sense for the set in question.

Stannum

I was farming ebon 1h weapon a WEEK! And it did not drop to me, i got it from another player in group. I had tons of ebon jewellery, ALL other parts, but no 1H. And i needed any 1h so i did not matter to me if it would be sword or axe or even dagger. But i did not get any myself.

newtinmpls

Brrrofski wrote: »

My favourite is that necklace in one of the base game dungeons that drops in ornate lol.

Might be combat physician off top of my head from Wayrest.

Lost wedding Band. Yes, I have spent transmutes to make this one more useful because I like named bits so much.

newtinmpls

I'd like to see more "rewards" made into set items. Here are a couple I ran into that are not any sort of set currently: