Change the Lootsystem for landscape

[Oelle]

I rather have it possible to "exploit" (get faster loot) with a group than not getting anything because of griefing.

The reality is: for the first two or three months after each big upgrade, its possible to exploit and because of that, no one gets any loot later.

As you see ingame, its not about exploit versus "lootstealing", in present days (and for the last 5 years) its just: exploit fast or get nothing at all.

What you call "stealing loot" only applies if the respawnrate is too low for the amount of active players in the zone. Which is already countered by respawn rate changing depending on the number of players in zones in lotro. Otherwise, you just increase your killing time by the same or more than the number of loot per mob dimishes, which keeps the loot rate the same (and increased if grouped up due to synergies like group-buffs).

[Hurin]

Just want to clarify some fundamental misconceptions. . .

. . . sitting at their dozen keyboards. . .

He's done work (not play) and paid for it to boot with real money (multiple computers and multiple accounts cost money, especially multiple computers)

. . . "multi-box" is actually a misnomer now. They aren't using multiple computers. It's all done from one computer. And the computer doesn't even need to be all that powerful at all.

I hope you let this correction sink in rather than dismiss its importance. You seemed to think their expenditure on multiple computers relatively significant. So one would think that it not being the case would be significant in the "other direction."

As for knockon effects, ok some will argue that it affects the game economy, but I'm not sure that it does and if it did, it would be to lower prices (by increasing supply).

after all the farmer mainly wants to sell stuff

I think this is fundamentally incorrect. Most farmers clear their bags of anything they can't sell for 500-800silver per stack. . . leaving them with just the 50 stacks of vendor trash. This rules out most crafting items and such. They don't want to goof around in the AH selling because they accrue too much and can only get rid of it at fire-sale prices. Thus, they don't. They just sell the vendor trash and dump the rest (as they farm, making room for more vendor trash). Thus, they don't have much of an affect on supply of crafting materials or other common commodities.

he has no need to spend his vast amounts of gold buying stuff

But of course he does. To outfit his mains and non-farming alts with stuff that can't be farmed (Black Steel Keys, Starlit Crystals, Stat Tomes, Scrolls of Empowerment, Relics). You know, all those things that are extremely expensive on the AH. . . perhaps partially due to the very inflation that they themselves create by farming thousands of effortless gold.

So, yes, occasionally, a "boxing farmer" might accrue some crafting mats and decide to see if he can turn them over on the AH. And that might bring down the price on such a commodity marginally, and temporarily. But they do generate this gold for a reason. And that reason is to then buy the things that they can't farm. And that drives prices of those things up.

--H

[Hurin]

One aside. . . one truly bizarre bit of behavior I cannot wrap my head around. One of my toons appears to be "cursed" (by the RNG?). . . she was always in slot 2 of the fellowship and I noted that she always came up short in gold totals by the end of the run. If everyone else brought in ~40, she's bring in 27 gold. Every time. By the end, I even changed her slot in the fellowship a couple times, and she still brought in substantially less gold. Every time. This may be the only thing I continue to test with these toons after making this post.

I still can't explain this behavior. I decided to try yet again to not reproduce this. I logged this particular client in last (instead of second), and put her last in the fellowship (instead of second). . . and she still came in unmistakably and substantially below all others. Everyone else gathered 140g (give or take 3g). . . she brought in only 100g.

I can't stress enough that this has happened on every foray. I can reproduce it at will. Heck, I can't not reproduce it. The character is just "cursed."

Apparently, when there is a chance that a mob won't drop any silver/copper coins, this particular toon seems to get that result substantially more than all others. All the time. Despite her being functionally identical to the other characters. Things never even out.

There must be something going into the calculation of "do you get coin from this mob" that takes something in particular about this one character into account. Bizarrely. Inexplicably.

--H

P.S. Incidentally, I think I need to draw these experiments to a close. I was checked out by another GM today. And I just feel icky afterwards. Then, a while later, the spawn around my farming area was apparently turned off. . . so, this all may be more frowned upon than suspected. Which, actually, is encouraging!

[Palenen]

Thank you Hurin for this insight into Multi-Client gameplay. It's really great information especially to me who would never attempt it. That's due to my brain doesn't fire like it used too. heh

In conversation at work one time and with one of our Network Admins, I mentioned about multi-boxing and he quickly said "I used to do that." heh. He never has played LOTRO. His setup was two computer with two clients each. (or three im assuming) He mentioned the software but he also said it was a long time ago. Real life focus changes.

I tend to be on the 'I don't care' side of it now since 2010. When LotRO was more sandboxish, I believe it had more of an impact since f2p, the store and coming down with the chronic illness of alt-itis.