January 2013 New Years Advice, Comments, Etc.

I am sorry I was unable to get here to wish you all happy holidays and a merry new year... But here we are, another year gone where I don't know, but let's hope time slows down a bit so we can enjoy life. I swear, the clock starts spinning any faster might as well hook a generator to it... That's just about how bad time seems to fly any more.

There are a few issues I want to touch on.

A. Yes, the Android app is working from what I am told. I hear people might be having issues with it but it is working. As of now, you do not need to have your blueprints in books to be able to use them at the crafting terminal. This may change, who knows. And from what I see, it doesn't seem to matter what planet my prints are on, I seem perfectly able to use them, which makes sense. An app like this needs global access to all your items if it is to work. But who knows where things will end up after a while with the way MA tinkers with stuff.

B. Mining is inexplicably volatile and high risk. EVEN ON CALYPSO, you can go 50 bombs without a claim. This is ridiculous. And the software doesn't exactly do anything to balance it out either. If I didn't know any better I would say MA fubared the mining grid and won't come forward and admit to it. On the other hand, I visited FOMA. Please, don't be foolish enough to go there. Do so at your own risk. I paid 150 peds for a V oil before I realized why I vowed never to go back to FOMA, but I decided it couldn't have stayed that bad forever... Ummm yeah right. FOMA is definitely having issues. If you do go, you are going to want at least 10,000 drops for it to average out. I have done 1,000 drop amped runs without so much as a global, so it is forseable that 10K drops MIGHT give you a shot at something. But if you ask me, it's not worth the stress. There are a few things I can tell you... 1. You cannot buy a hof. 2. You cannot buy a global. They seem to happen on their own accord. So don't plan on being able to hit anything just because you are running big amps.

C. ROCKTROPIA: Loot is infinitely better balanced for me on RT. That said, it may not be for you or the next guy. Instead of 25% returns like is normal for me on Caly no matter what I do these days, RT actually keeps me around the 80% and up range on a run, doesn't matter if I craft, mine, or hunt. So I want to applaud the RT team for keeping a fair and balanced planet.

Mining advice: The F103 seems to be golden in Hell, and it is definitely doing better than the 105 on the surface for me. In general the ores on RT are shallower than elsewhere... Not saying you won't hit well with a deep finder of course... But I've tried most finders on RT, and the F103 is the one I keep going back to when I am there. If you are not doing well on RT, try either the Demonic or the F103, I think you will notice a big difference. And I still have not hit a SOOTO on RT.

Crafting: The RT armor prints, and tool prints available at the technician are quite cheap per click to craft, and I notice I gain more skill on RT than elsewhere. If you want to cheaply skill, clicking these prints on RT might be the answer. It certainly seems to be for me, and even on full condition crafting I can usually break even or profit even on a short run.


If there is ANY resources you need, and you are on RT... Please do us a favor and place orders for it... I mean, when we don't see anything listed on the AH, and we don't see orders, we don't tend to know someone needs it unless we advertise in Lagoon and someone speaks up. If we know something is in demand we are less likely to TT it or "give" it to a trader for peanuts.

Hunting: I can definitely say that my loot is best with ARK weaponry... Who knows why, but I see a huge difference in loot between various guns... And Arkadia guns always give me the best % return so far of anything.

D. ARKADIA: Treasure hunting was good to me last year, I know it's been a while already since I been there doing that, but, the only SOOTO's I've had in about two years came from ARK, and were vases.

The keys, I did try last winter. I am happy with how it works... But I had just ran through all the mobs to get to the end and fight the boss... Apparently... All those little mobs on the way, loot from the goes into one of the treasure chests. The other treasure chest just has the boss item and what not... So as it turns out I didn't end up having much of a haul on my attempts. Now, I guess they changed things so you can't really just bypass the mobs on the way... At least is what I heard, and I am not uber enough to bother doing another key... Well I just don't have good enough gear for hunting. I am a miner, crafter... Hunting is a joke... Anyone want a good laugh, look me up on entropialife... Hunting is the biggest damn joke I ever did see.

E. HELL: I am impressed with my hit rates in hell. They are reminiscent of the hit rates I had on the asteroid before Foma ended up with it... i.e. I can hit at least once in 10 to 20 drops, instead of 50/50 chance of hitting one claim with 200 drops on FOMA :P Seriously, that is literally how bad FOMA is for me. Beginning to think the only way to hof there would be to have someone at MA tell you where to bomb.

One thing I have noticed... If you can't hit a claim fairly close to the TP, you probably won't in the rest of the dome, at least for many drops. If you are doing badly, just drop a few bombs around each TP and see what happens. You have nothing to lose if you are losing already!

MISC:

They are practically giving Marber Bravos away now... +90 peds mu! Seriously! At least thats the most recent one I seen... I heard of them selling even cheaper. Used to be +200 for one. It makes me wonder what other opportunities are out there.
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I am not sure if there is a way out of the Prison on RT now or not... The TP was there, then it wasn't, and I don't honestly know if it is back yet... But before you go to prison on RT.. Just make sure you have some Mind Essence and a TP chip so that you can TP out even if someone hid the TP!
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I know officially there are no personal loot pools... But I don't see how. It is obvious something is personal with us and MA... My loots seemingly are "capped". In 6 years time... Of running big amps, small amps, no amps, full condition crafting, quantity crafting... Hunting big mobs, little mobs... I have ONLY broken through the 1,000 ped level ONCE. I have only gone past 500 peds, three or four times. What is keeping me capped? I have plenty of skill... I've deposited plenty... The fact I have an invisible glass ceiling above my loot must in and of itself indicate my loots are tied to my avatar. Whether they want to call it a personal loot pool or not, it has the same effect.
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 I dunno, I thought I had more stuff to report, but too many things on my mind to sort out. I have one more post to do for today, and then after couple days I will get back to quality posts on specific issues and advice. I know a few recent posts have been quite general and nothing really special... It is time we get back to business and help you all prosper a bit more easily. Which,, interestingly enough has a lot to do with my next post!