xyz said:
This is very interesting and strangely familiar.......
Theories and pages of history of battle reports and trying to work a scheme.
The one fly in the ointment of this kind research is that we do not know when and if things change.
The game is in a state of flux at best of times, rather than static, which means results can be meaningless.
I had also noticed what I thought appeared to be trends .
I would also agree with you that the 20 % reduction or 10% now perhaps, isnt always beneficial to use when you talk about efficient use of energy.
Other ideas on these lines that I wanted to test never happened,and updates have changed test conditions and likely worthiness.
Critcal hits and high levels of sustained attack are supposed to help, but they appear to effect number of items dropping adversely at least at my level.
One thing I would say definately changed .
I remember a time months ago now, when I thought I had encountered a glitch.
A non simple item dropped from a level 1 invader, lately these are quite frequent, which would suggest something was tweaked.
I apologise in advance for what is likely to become an unfortunate manifestation of readable sleep deprivation complete with this unforgivable verbosity that insists on itself now that choosing one word from a bunch creates for me, some mental anguish in my weakened state. I am very sorry if what follows is difficult to read, long and drawn out, time consuming, a marathon for the literate, or redundant. I'll do my best to edit for grammar and any 'not sure that word goes there' phrases. Hopefully it adds up to something coherent. If not, I'll edit later ... Forgive me.
True that certain game mechanics seem to change frequently, but I don't think all the changes you're witnessing are the result of updates. Tweaking aspects of a game like this doesn't always have linear effects. Adjusting one seemingly isolated subject is like flicking the 'signal thread' of an intricately woven mathematical web designed to harness and control the peaks and valleys an active player experiences as they progress in the game. An example of this might be the observation you had regarding non-simple item drops from level 1 Invaders. I think this "change" would have more to do with your account growing than the game getting a generous tune-up.
The biggest variations in this game, and arguably the most obvious ones, are the result of different players interacting with the same subjects. That's what makes it so hard to give a solid structure to the 'energy cost vs material reward' conundrum. There's a lot of behind the scenes math involved. I would need a better rested brain, a crap load of "research" funding, and an embarrassing amount of time to pursue an accurate descriptive formula, as long as those figures remain dark. That said, you'd be making a wise bet guessing that something critical in the game would change the moment I started making progress. XD
However, in just this one subject, without daring to solidify any figures or wishing to over simplify the sophisticated system designed to feed Plarium's starving children and enable unfulfilled adults, such as myself, to get a leg up in the struggle to find instant gratification from avoidance and denial, I have reached a conclusion or two on how to get the best invader materials and I'm pretty satisfied with the way my "tests" have gone. It's been enough to convince me, anyway, despite being my own worst skeptic.
◉Unless you are just starting the game and haven't got access to more advanced knowledge, trying to get legendary material from level 1 and 2 Invaders is a great way to make sure you're spending more than ten times the amount of energy necessary to get the same rewards from a level 5 or 6 when employing a substantial SusATK.
◉ Building up a sustained attack on an Invader level 4, 5 or 6 will save you time and energy when your first priority is crafting the best gear.
-No matter what your exact invader stats are, as long as you can keep building your sustained attack until you are at least halfway through an invader's health, (Upper level invaders) you WILL receive some rare items + usually AT LEAST one epic, and occasionally even a legendary item. On the other hand, it could be considered lucky to get even unusual grade items from levels 3 and under. There is an exception... If you have a significantly low offense and can actually assemble a good SusATK bonus on a level 3 before killing it, then you may luck into rare items in low quantity.
◉Energy cost is dependent on your hero's skills, equipment, knowledge and bonuses. (Obviously)
*** "efficiency" is a relative term describing the relationship between the energy cost involved with using a specific method to reach your end goal.
These factors control efficiency: Whether event points or gear materials is your priority, how much time (patience) you have to accomplish your goal, availability of energy, availability of invaders, some stats vs Invaders
◉Getting the best materials is a matter of probability, but not chance, and there is no one size fits all formula. However, when in doubt, using single hits, building up a SusATK bonus one hit at a time until the invader is beat will reliably preserve more energy while offering a higher probability of receiving blue, purple and gold items than diving in headfirst against any invader with an enhanced attack.
-As your sustained attack goes up, so will the AVERAGE quality of the materials you receive. Don't mistake this with simply causing more damage per hit, it's actually much more. That said, avoid using a Hero's Offense boost when your hunting priority is gaining materials. Save those for crunch time in events and taking on the occasional Uber.
The bottom line is.. a high level invader provides the amount of 'workspace' that is essential for demonstrating your overall effectiveness against invaders. It's a necessary platform that the 3 low levels just don't have to offer.
