Dedicated Lead vendor? (Or why do some leads never drop?)

Grendalism · February 3

Whilst I acknowledge that leads are now added to the Archives and Tel var merchants, there are sooooo many leads for so many th8 fs, the likelihood that a specific Lead will appear is low, or, if the6 are a loop, can take months (?year+).

I’m am at 9/10 leads for my second apocryphal jewellery station, and the 10th lead jus5 isn’t dropping at all in IA…I get black book, eye of mora lead etc, but not the one I actually need.

There is a significant amount of frustration around drop rates for second (or third) copies of an antiquity (made even more painful by having the “need x3 to unlock at achievement vendor”).

Can this not be solved by having an elusive, yet knowledgeable wandering seer (like Maiq, but in a pointy hat), that, each time you find has a random list of 10 leads for sale?

Ideally, list is randomised across all sources which are not from a dedicated boss drop or node harvest (i.e. they are from treasure chests, nymic chests, reward boxes, IA chests etc).

Node and boss drops can be harvested much, much easier…

Rufusstan · February 3

Have you got access to a transmute station? If you have then you don't need the second (or more set of leads; just reconstruct it from the stickerbook.

Maitsukas · February 3

Rufusstan wrote: »

Have you got access to a transmute station? If you have then you don't need the second (or more set of leads; just reconstruct it from the stickerbook.

If you reconstruct Mythics, they cannot be deconstructed and you will not get any Transmute Stones back from this.

AzuraFan · February 3

I'd love more ways to buy leads. Right now, you either have to PvP (or spend a lot of time doing repetitive quests in IC or killing mobs), or do the IA to get leads. Those are both combat-focused. And for players who don't PvP or can't do more than an arc or two in the IA at a time (due to skill or physical limitations), neither of those vendors is a real option.

Perhaps the idea was to give players who don't PvE a lot in overland a way to get leads, but we all know how painful it is to work on the codex even if you spend all your gaming time doing PvE. I'm actually working on the codex right now, and I'm at 1/3 for some leads that drop from mobs, mobs I've killed thousands of over the course of playing the game since antiquities were introduced. Drop rates are insanely bad.

Suggestions:

- let us buy leads using writ vouchers - provides another reason to do those master writs
- let us buy leads using some currency you get when you dig up antiquities (though frankly we don't need another currency - just trying to give people who obviously care about antiquities a way to buy them through digging up antiquities)
- have a leads store that lets us buy leads using any currency we want, and limit the number of leads you can buy per week - put ALL the leads into that store.
- have a vendor like the golden vendor in Cyrodiil, that appears once a week, but with a lot more leads for sale than just two, and more options for currency.
- when the new trade bars (?) are introduced, let us buy leads using those.

I could probably think of other suggestions if I spent time on it.

(Of course, they could raise the drop rates too.)

ETA: Added another suggestion.

DenverRalphy · February 3

While I understand the frustration, leads are supposed to be a challenge to get. Though in some cases the mechanic to aquire some of them are just over the top absurd. Ideally the solution should be to relax the raritiy rates on some, and just flat out resstructure (looking at you IA) the loot pools for others. But I don't think that's gonna happen any time soon.

Adding another lead vendor I think would be too extreme in the opposite direction though. Instead, I think the system would be better served if the two existing merchants weekly options are tweaked a bit. Of the two at the IA vendor, one should be a guaranteed IA sourced lead, and the other should be a completely random lead that can't otherwise be acquired by simply picking it up from the environment (ie.. no blackwood tapestry leads). And the Tel-Var merchant should get the same treatment, one guaranteed PvP zone lead, the other completely random.

metheglyn · February 3

AzuraFan wrote: »

I'd love more ways to buy leads. Right now, you either have to PvP (or spend a lot of time doing repetitive quests in IC or killing mobs), or do the IA to get leads. Those are both combat-focused. And for players who don't PvP or can't do more than an arc or two in the IA at a time (due to skill or physical limitations), neither of those vendors is a real option.

Perhaps the idea was to give players who don't PvE a lot in overland a way to get leads, but we all know how painful it is to work on the codex even if you spend all your gaming time doing PvE. I'm actually working on the codex right now, and I'm at 1/3 for some leads that drop from mobs, mobs I've killed thousands of over the course of playing the game since antiquities were introduced. Drop rates are insanely bad.

Suggestions:

- let us buy leads using writ vouchers - provides another reason to do those master writs
- let us buy leads using some currency you get when you dig up antiquities (though frankly we don't need another currency - just trying to give people who obviously care about antiquities a way to buy them through digging up antiquities)
- have a leads store that lets us buy leads using any currency we want, and limit the number of leads you can buy per week - put ALL the leads into that store.
- have a vendor like the golden vendor in Cyrodiil, that appears once a week, but with a lot more leads for sale than just two, and more options for currency.
- when the new trade bars (?) are introduced, let us buy leads using those.

I could probably think of other suggestions if I spent time on it.

(Of course, they could raise the drop rates too.)

ETA: Added another suggestion.

Yes, please to this! I would actually spend more time in game and with the antiquity system if I could get the leads in these ways. There is way too much rng in the antiquity system for me; it really kills my desire to chase leads and fill out the codex.

SerafinaWaterstar · February 3

The idea of buying leads with master writ vouchers is excellent!

I loathe IA; whenever I have ventured in there the drop rate is fecking awful. So I will just accept I won’t get certain furnishings rather than spend precious game time in the equivalent of pulling teeth. Much pain, no gain.

And there should be consistency - why require 3 x all leads before a crafting table can be bought? That’s just ridiculous.

And to someone up thread who said this <should> be hard, please discuss with whomever did the drop table for the Void crystal anomaly or Seat of the Snow Prince, for example, whose leads drop all the damn time.

AzuraFan · February 3

DenverRalphy wrote: »

While I understand the frustration, leads are supposed to be a challenge to get.

RNG isn't a challenge. What's challenging about spending hours killing trash mobs in Betnikh to get nothing in the end? Or opening hundreds of treasure maps to get bupkis? Challenge means you attempt something difficult, and you get rewarded when you succeed. That's not the case here. Someone can spend one minute and get a lead. Someone else can spend months chasing the same lead and end up with nothing to show for it. Frustration and tedium is not challenge.

Another vendor would be nice for the reasons I stated in my post. The two current vendors use PvP and IA currency. There are players who don't participate in those actitivies. Why do PvP and IA players have an easy way to get leads, when those who enjoy other activities don't? Adding another vendor just adds another option. Options are good in a game that has such a varied playerbase.

Alternatively, expand the currencies that can be used to buy the leads. It's not so much that the vendors are located in IC and the IA, but that you can only use telvar or IA fortunes. Let us use gold, writ vouchers, transmute crystals, the new trade bars (or whatever they're called).

madman65 · February 3

I`ve been after a lead in Coldharbour for a couple of weeks and no drop, WHY ZOS!

katanagirl1 · February 4

Being able to use another currency to buy leads would be nice.

Also, if the devs aren’t going to increase the drop rate of leads from treasure maps, then let us just buy the leads themselves. There are so many great furnishings locked behind a double dose, double layer of low rng. Even if you get the right treasure map the drop for the lead is still not high enough.

AllenaNightWood · February 4

Grendalism wrote: »

Whilst I acknowledge that leads are now added to the Archives and Tel var merchants, there are sooooo many leads for so many th8 fs, the likelihood that a specific Lead will appear is low, or, if the6 are a loop, can take months (?year+).

I’m am at 9/10 leads for my second apocryphal jewellery station, and the 10th lead jus5 isn’t dropping at all in IA…I get black book, eye of mora lead etc, but not the one I actually need.

There is a significant amount of frustration around drop rates for second (or third) copies of an antiquity (made even more painful by having the “need x3 to unlock at achievement vendor”).

Can this not be solved by having an elusive, yet knowledgeable wandering seer (like Maiq, but in a pointy hat), that, each time you find has a random list of 10 leads for sale?

Ideally, list is randomised across all sources which are not from a dedicated boss drop or node harvest (i.e. they are from treasure chests, nymic chests, reward boxes, IA chests etc).

Node and boss drops can be harvested much, much easier…

it took me months to get the leads for the jewelry station the drop rates on those leads are incredibly low

Tram2020 · February 4

I've been trying to get the Meteoric Beads lead for over three years. RNG is OP.