Motif farming, I'm doing it wrong

PVT_Parts · May 2014

Lvl V1, decided to try the logging out and in motif farming tactic because I have not gotten a single motif...ever(except that one in beta) I just spent an hour farming and still no motif. I get that it is random, but that complete randomness should have at least swung in my favor at some point in the last 50 levels... What is wrong with my character?

Inkedbettie · May 2014

I think they made it so you can't do that anymore and be effective because it was becoming an illness.

PVT_Parts · May 2014

Then how do you even get motifs? How am I supposed to ever find a motif if 50 lvls of regular play gets me 0 motifs?

Mousmoula · May 2014

I think you are not the type of player who opens every wardrobe, chest, etc (No offence meant). If you tried to open more, you would find. For instance, I have found one motif every time I was in Coldharbour for the main quest. Every time, without an exception. I'm level 43 and already have all 10 basic, without ever buying one, of course.

Jadakin · May 2014

Logging in and out only works if there are tons of people in that area. You getting set into another instance which allows you to loot a whole new set of stuff from cabinets etc... When the game first launched, people were able to use that to their advantage. Not much the case anymore as people have all spread out throughout the game and well some have stopped playing all together.

PVT_Parts · May 2014

Mousmoula wrote: »

I think you are not the type of player who opens every wardrobe, chest, etc (No offence meant). If you tried to open more, you would find. For instance, I have found one motif every time I was in Coldharbour for the main quest. Every time, without an exception. I'm level 43 and already have all 10 basic, without ever buying one, of course.

You are correct that I don't open them all. However, I do open them. To go 50 lvls without getting one is sad. In beta I got out of the tutorial and opened the dresser across from the spawn and got one...oh well. I just bought the daedric one so forget every opening any of them again.

SadisticSavior · May 2014

PVT_Parts wrote: »

Lvl V1, decided to try the logging out and in motif farming tactic because I have not gotten a single motif...ever(except that one in beta) I just spent an hour farming and still no motif. I get that it is random, but that complete randomness should have at least swung in my favor at some point in the last 50 levels... What is wrong with my character?

There is no way to cheat the system. Just do it the way they intended...by looking into everything in every building. Do not look into the same building again the same day...just move on to another one.

I have gotten about 10 motifs this way. Think of it as a random number generator every time you open a trunk or a wardrobe or a desk. I have gotten them in everything before...trunks in Coldharbor, and a desk at a bank. I've gotten the Khajit one three times, Wood elf one twice, and I have the Imperial one as well. I did not do anything special. Just be patient and persistent.

Do not bother with sacks or small trunks or cupboards...the stuff that normally just drops food items. Focus on normal trunks, Wardobes, nightstands, and desks.

If the logoff thing was working before, I am glad they broke it.

Brennan · May 2014

The motif you're looking for is in the next container.

Beryl · May 2014

Mousmoula wrote: »

I think you are not the type of player who opens every wardrobe, chest, etc (No offence meant). If you tried to open more, you would find. For instance, I have found one motif every time I was in Coldharbour for the main quest. Every time, without an exception. I'm level 43 and already have all 10 basic, without ever buying one, of course.

Opening every single chest/dresser/urn what can be opened is not a guarantee for finding a motif. I am in the same boat as the OP with a minor difference - my character is V6 now, complete all not-bugged-for-me quests in two alliances, opened every single dresser and visited every house on my way even if there was no quest/bank/reason for that. I tried relogging and visiting houses in specific towns which other players were recommending. Not a single motif ever.

It is all about luck. I don't mind being a less lucky player when it comes to loot. But I do not understand why other players believe that the less lucky ones are just doing something different or wrong. We all play the same game and face the same random number generator. It is not possible to predict the result.

PVT_Parts · May 2014

Beryl wrote: »

Mousmoula wrote: »

I think you are not the type of player who opens every wardrobe, chest, etc (No offence meant). If you tried to open more, you would find. For instance, I have found one motif every time I was in Coldharbour for the main quest. Every time, without an exception. I'm level 43 and already have all 10 basic, without ever buying one, of course.

Opening every single chest/dresser/urn what can be opened is not a guarantee for finding a motif. I am in the same boat as the OP with a minor difference - my character is V6 now, complete all not-bugged-for-me quests in two alliances, opened every single dresser and visited every house on my way even if there was no quest/bank/reason for that. I tried relogging and visiting houses in specific towns which other players were recommending. Not a single motif ever.

It is all about luck. I don't mind being a less lucky player when it comes to loot. But I do not understand why other players believe that the less lucky ones are just doing something different or wrong. We all play the same game and face the same random number generator. It is not possible to predict the result.

I'm sorry, you have done more to earn a motif than pretty much any legit player. At least I didn't spend too much extra time opening dressers.

Shiaxi · May 2014

I've noticed that the motifs seem to drop most often in the bank buildings tho; I got the whole set of normal ones from the bank in vulkhel guard (sp?) with 2 doubles in the course of completing auridon by simply opening every nightstand, chest and cabinet on the ground floor.

edit: I did check every container in the building each time I went back there to drop of stuff tho

Cabot · May 2014

Shiaxi wrote: »

I've noticed that the motifs seem to drop most often in the bank buildings tho; I got the whole set of normal ones from the bank in vulkhel guard (sp?) with 2 doubles in the course of completing auridon by simply opening every nightstand, chest and cabinet on the ground floor.

edit: I did check every container in the building each time I went back there to drop of stuff tho

I agree. The first area after the starter island(s) in each fraction, looting the chest/trunks, backpacks, desk drawers, etc. in the banks netted me all the main motifs in a short time.

This worked so well, to the point I tend to log off for the day in the bank. Provision recipes are another good find in the bank containers.

Edit= typo fix

Kroin · May 2014

i found 3 motifs till now im vt 5.

joshisanonymous · May 2014

Beryl wrote: »

Opening every single chest/dresser/urn what can be opened is not a guarantee for finding a motif. I am in the same boat as the OP with a minor difference - my character is V6 now, complete all not-bugged-for-me quests in two alliances, opened every single dresser and visited every house on my way even if there was no quest/bank/reason for that. I tried relogging and visiting houses in specific towns which other players were recommending. Not a single motif ever.

It is all about luck. I don't mind being a less lucky player when it comes to loot. But I do not understand why other players believe that the less lucky ones are just doing something different or wrong. We all play the same game and face the same random number generator. It is not possible to predict the result.

That's really surprising. By level 26, I had found 4 motifs purely by checking every single trunk, drawer, crate, and barrel in every new town I visited. I didn't try relogging and all that. I didn't even bother to go around and check them again a couple days later. Just one very thorough run-through. I also tend to do the same when in dungeons, or anywhere really.

I will say that I've picked up the Nord motif 3 times. I ended up trading for different motifs after the 1st time.

Sorpaijen_ESO · May 2014

Something DOES sound wrong, there. I have eight characters and by necessity log them in and out to move inventory from one to another (thanks, Z)... and I check the desks and cabinets IN the bank since I'm there anyway and I've gotten the base nine motif books twice (two characters learned all) and I've got about three or four of every other motif book (except Orc and Breton for some reason are completely missing).

Granted, they are not ~commonplace~ but to have NONE in fifty levels? Sounds like something's wrong, somewhere.

Eris · May 2014

I find, on average, I get 1 motif every 3-4 days just looting as I play. Sometimes, I log in and out of my 3 characters with hirelings and loot the room that they happen to be in at the time, this doesn't really seem to improve the chances, but I'm sure it does a little because sometimes they do actually get a motif. One day I actually got 2 motifs back to back, so the randomizer can be generous when it wants to, but it's usually in a bad mood.

Cheatingdeath23 · May 2014

I haven't gotten a single motif since they nerfed the motif farming. Not sure what changed.

Previous to that, I believe that I found 1, maybe 2 racial motifs on my own. Luckily for me, my wife has insane luck (and is kind of a snoop, digging through peoples houses) and got the entire set twice over, so she sent me all of hers.

I've got all of the common ones, but again-- haven't gotten a new one in several weeks.

clocksstoppe · May 2014

nobody said you are supposed to find motifs

huntgod_ESO · May 2014

I too have had terrible luck.

At VR1, I have found 4 total, and none of the rare ones, luckily I am in a great guild and had no trouble getting all the base ones from other members who had extra.

I open damn near everything I can find...just crappy luck.

SunfireKnight86 · May 2014

I can't get a straight answer on this. Some people say they changed the drop rate even though it wasn't in the 1.06 patch notes.

I farmed Barbaric and Primal a lot by just porting from town to town and looting everything in my VR1-4 areas. I found at least 12. In my 1-50 journeys I found one of every motif and a few extras without farming at all. Switch to VR6+ and at LEAST 12 hours of farming and I have only found 2 Daedric and an Imperial. I don't even find rare motif crafting mats anymore, just Cloud Mist and Moonstone/Bone/Ec(rap)t. I've only found like 5 Daedric Hearts.

Did they change it early? Is my RNG just THAT bad ATM? What's going on?

Cheatingdeath23 · May 2014

SunfireKnight86 wrote: »

I can't get a straight answer on this. Some people say they changed the drop rate even though it wasn't in the 1.06 patch notes.

I farmed Barbaric and Primal a lot by just porting from town to town and looting everything in my VR1-4 areas. I found at least 12. In my 1-50 journeys I found one of every motif and a few extras without farming at all. Switch to VR6+ and at LEAST 12 hours of farming and I have only found 2 Daedric and an Imperial. I don't even find rare motif crafting mats anymore, just Cloud Mist and Moonstone/Bone/Ec(rap)t. I've only found like 5 Daedric Hearts.

Did they change it early? Is my RNG just THAT bad ATM? What's going on?

I don't know, but could you send that extra Daedric down my way?

Anastasia · May 2014

Sorpaijen_ESO wrote: »

Something DOES sound wrong, there. I have eight characters and by necessity log them in and out to move inventory from one to another (thanks, Z)... and I check the desks and cabinets IN the bank since I'm there anyway and I've gotten the base nine motif books twice (two characters learned all) and I've got about three or four of every other motif book (except Orc and Breton for some reason are completely missing).

Granted, they are not ~commonplace~ but to have NONE in fifty levels? Sounds like something's wrong, somewhere.

Well I think we have a fantastic community in TESO so far, and even on the forums a lot of helpful info being shared with others!

I hate to see folks insinuating the op is saying something not possible. Rng is Rng in every game I've played too. It has nothing to do with 'trying harder' aside from statistical numerical deviation.

I know this is anecdotal but here is my story:

I admit that I can remember in oldschool EQ days seriously joking around about believing that two of my 8 characters were just plain more 'lucky'. Those were my healer and my wizard alt. The others were just for fiddling around/bag space but after playing 6 years, most were leveled at least to 50 or so, and the other two maxed Raiding Healer and paper tiger. Yet my two casters were the ones that got an overwhelming amount of good drops/rng.
Of course I played them more. But I played the heck out of several of the others as I had a two-year period in there with a medical disability so lots and lots of enjoyable hours were available for a hobby at that time.

I started TESO pre-launch week/Imp Edi, and that includes two of the public beta's. No motif love for me o-0!

I've friends who have up to 10 of the motif's. I am doing two crafts. I am not doing Provi but have a friend who is so I've looked in literally every building I come across on my four alts, logging in an out of banks I always check...I doubt I miss more than 5% of all containers of any sort or any node I come across ;o).

I was watching chat and hadn't seen any of a particular motif being advertised for sale by players that day, so I asked for an appx. price for that one. A convo ensued by several players. Some super nice player later that day sent me a free motif! I tried to reply and send a thanks and some alchemy pot's I'd made but the name was not available then or the next day. Not sure if he was quitting or what, but it was fun to get a pay it forward gift from someone and I plan to do the same. As Murphy's Law would have it, later in my evening play that weekend I got a (*Nord and my main is Nord ;o)ha ha) motif in a small/irregular sized trunk on one of the tiny islands where you go to fight Doshia.

I am not above level 50 on my main. But I've been crafting and playing four alts actively at about 2 hours a night three weeknights and 4-5 hours on one of the weekend days and having an absolute blast. Still, compared to all the noise I've heard about logging in and out and exploits and all the continuing ones for sale in the chat channel I am curious as to how I've not found more than the one.

As a side note, I am one of the happy campers in TESO not only because it IS the game I've been looking forward to for about two years so far and its great gameplay, and I see the dev team is responding to player suggestion and bug-smashing. I also have literally only crashed out two times, and been unable to complete the final step of one quest. My fps is great, and I've felt lag 'spikes' on a few days but haven't come up against so many of the problems mentioned on this forum for the first month of launch. I do accept there are frustrations for other people though, and don't think they are just 'unlucky'.

May the mmo-newness gods smile down upon the thus-far-unequal-RNG for some of us and spread the Motif love around just a little bit more! ^-^

Inco · May 2014

Same at Cheatingdeath23 - I've not seen a SINGLE MOTIF drop since 1.0.6 nerfed/bugged it somehow. I even went out of my way to hit two major cities to validate (VR5-6) and nothing but empty and 3 times the drop in lockpicks.

PVT_Parts · May 2014

guess I just waited too long to try to get my motifs.

Moonchilde · May 2014

Inco wrote: »

Same at Cheatingdeath23 - I've not seen a SINGLE MOTIF drop since 1.0.6 nerfed/bugged it somehow. I even went out of my way to hit two major cities to validate (VR5-6) and nothing but empty and 3 times the drop in lockpicks.

I'd like to confirm this. The day before the last patch, I found 4 motifs in one day (mind you, I'm a compulsive furniture-looter. Since then, not a single one has appeared. And yes, way too many lockpics.

They changed something in the Matrix

Bollerlotte · May 2014

ghostpatch. thats not adult no to mention this in patch notes. even if its minor game mechanic and unpopular.

Locke_ESO · May 2014

They first tried a cap on how much an area could be looted but then people just figured it out and waited until after some server downtime for when the threshold was reset to farm them.

I suspect they have drastically reduced the drop rate or removed motifs from the loot table until they can make a proper solution to the log out/log out reset trick. To be fair I know people with over a million gold from farming them so it's probably the right choice... I also suspect a lot of people were setting up macro/bot commands to do it.

Shiaxi · May 2014

jp_antillb16_ESO wrote: »

They first tried a cap on how much an area could be looted but then people just figured it out and waited until after some server downtime for when the threshold was reset to farm them.

I suspect they have drastically reduced the drop rate or removed motifs from the loot table until they can make a proper solution to the log out/log out reset trick. To be fair I know people with over a million gold from farming them so it's probably the right choice... I also suspect a lot of people were setting up macro/bot commands to do it.

well they didn't remove em from the loot table completely; I got another high elf motif book yesterday.

VampiricOmen · May 2014

Motifs are still dropping, I've looted four (basic) motifs over a few different characters since the last patch with the most recent one being around 8 hours ago. If it makes any difference, three of these motifs were looted from banks when juggling items from character A to bank to character B. I don't have a Veteran Rank character yet so I cannot give my experience for the drop rates of motifs other than the basic 10, but they are still dropping. Granted, I have noticed the drop rate of both motifs and recipes are lower than what they were prior to the last patch. That, and more containers do contain air as opposed to the very few I came across prior to said patch.

To the OP/PVT_Parts: That is some insanely bad RNG luck. By then it would be reasonable to have looted at least one motif even if you aren't searching every container possible. I hope that RNG luck turns around for you soon, until then keep looking as surely RNG would eventually reward you for such patience. I realise seeing someone say to "keep looking" might not be at all encouraging especially if others have experienced decent drop rates with these, but RNG has to give somewhere... right?

Chryos · May 2014

You gotta check those hard to reach, nooks and crannies. I doubt they will be in chests and drawers that are easily seen or found. Make a concentrated effort to search in the far off areas. If I were to hide something special like that, it wouldnt be in the first chest or drawer as you walk through the door.

Mousmoula · May 2014

Beryl wrote: »

Mousmoula wrote: »

I think you are not the type of player who opens every wardrobe, chest, etc (No offence meant). If you tried to open more, you would find. For instance, I have found one motif every time I was in Coldharbour for the main quest. Every time, without an exception. I'm level 43 and already have all 10 basic, without ever buying one, of course.

Opening every single chest/dresser/urn what can be opened is not a guarantee for finding a motif. I am in the same boat as the OP with a minor difference - my character is V6 now, complete all not-bugged-for-me quests in two alliances, opened every single dresser and visited every house on my way even if there was no quest/bank/reason for that. I tried relogging and visiting houses in specific towns which other players were recommending. Not a single motif ever.

It is all about luck. I don't mind being a less lucky player when it comes to loot. But I do not understand why other players believe that the less lucky ones are just doing something different or wrong. We all play the same game and face the same random number generator. It is not possible to predict the result.

Look, I'm not saying that luck is not important. It is. But, having found one motif every single time I was in Coldharbour for my main quest (with my main and my 2 alts) is not luck. It's meant by the game developers to be this way, it's not a random number generator. It would be luck, if I have found one in the 75% of the times. Finding a motif in a wardrobe in a house is luck, though. This is a random number generator and you're right. Now, my luck [or not

] is that I'm a provisioner, so I somehow got used to open every single thing I find. Which is a pain in the ass, but in the same time gives me better chances in finding a motif.