Drop rates. What and how.
Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 3:22 pm
I am writing this article to explain the concept of drop rates in MMOG's which applies to our A3 also.
What are drop rates?
There is an in-built mechanism which determines the chance of you getting a particular item from any monster. This is built on the basic laws of probabilty and the chance of you getting a particular item in the game is dependend on the drop rates.
How are they calculated?
Let us consider a Monster M. It can drop four different items A,B,C,D. Then the drop rates for this monster can be defined as
A - 20 %
B - 5 %
C - 0.1 %
D - 0.002 %
Chance of No item Drop = 100 - ( A + B + C + D) = 74.898 %
Who sets these drop rates?
The drop rates are set by the game developers. They do this after extensive calculations to ensure the game has a sustainable economy.
How does it affect the game ?
Coming back to our example, if you are hunting this monster M then the chance of you getting an item is simply the percentages mentioned above. When you hit every monster,
You have 74.898 % chance of finding nothing.
You have 20 % chance of finding item A which will be like a stone piece or something.
You have 5 % chance of finding item B which is little bit rare like a skill scroll.
You have 0.1 % chance of finding item C which like a UJ.
You have 0.002% chance of finding item D which is like a very rare item such as a unique.
The above mentioned happens for each and every kill. Thats why you can find an item in the first kill itself or never find it for days.
Another important point i need to make is that the item will drop based on the item drop rate. The drop rate is not directly the rate of you finding an item. It does not imply that if you kill 100 monsters you will get 20 of item A and 5 of item B and so on. For each kill and every person the counter runs and decides the drop.
So why cant you change it?
We cannot change the item drop rates as we please. Its the developer who decides how his game should be. It is also wise to let the developer decide simply because however hard we may try we can never get the complete picture of the game economy. There are many layers to it.
Even if there were a change it cannot be on the drop rate of 'a' particular item. It has to be a proportional change on all items and monsters across the game. This result of such a modification will be highly magnified and is never done as a permanent change to the game. Moreso in our game since Quest drops will mean much faster levelling.
So the next time you cry low drop rate, spend a moment and think. An MMOG is highly realistic and a vast and beautiful creation. It attempts to come near reality and has managed to get closer than anything else. It has caputured the stability and the instablilty that life offers. Everyday at work may not be a good day. What is the chance of you having a good day at work. What is the chance that you will hit a date with a pretty girl the next time you go to your favourite Pub. What is the chance you will find the best fitting jeans when you walk into a Branded Jeans shop. What are the chances of not getting to the voice mail box when you call a number.
Its a game of endurance and it tests your endurance and rewards you for the same. It given you challenges in the form of quests, it gives you competetion against other players. Take up the challenge, face the competetion and play it.
What are drop rates?
There is an in-built mechanism which determines the chance of you getting a particular item from any monster. This is built on the basic laws of probabilty and the chance of you getting a particular item in the game is dependend on the drop rates.
How are they calculated?
Let us consider a Monster M. It can drop four different items A,B,C,D. Then the drop rates for this monster can be defined as
A - 20 %
B - 5 %
C - 0.1 %
D - 0.002 %
Chance of No item Drop = 100 - ( A + B + C + D) = 74.898 %
Who sets these drop rates?
The drop rates are set by the game developers. They do this after extensive calculations to ensure the game has a sustainable economy.
How does it affect the game ?
Coming back to our example, if you are hunting this monster M then the chance of you getting an item is simply the percentages mentioned above. When you hit every monster,
You have 74.898 % chance of finding nothing.
You have 20 % chance of finding item A which will be like a stone piece or something.
You have 5 % chance of finding item B which is little bit rare like a skill scroll.
You have 0.1 % chance of finding item C which like a UJ.
You have 0.002% chance of finding item D which is like a very rare item such as a unique.
The above mentioned happens for each and every kill. Thats why you can find an item in the first kill itself or never find it for days.
Another important point i need to make is that the item will drop based on the item drop rate. The drop rate is not directly the rate of you finding an item. It does not imply that if you kill 100 monsters you will get 20 of item A and 5 of item B and so on. For each kill and every person the counter runs and decides the drop.
So why cant you change it?
We cannot change the item drop rates as we please. Its the developer who decides how his game should be. It is also wise to let the developer decide simply because however hard we may try we can never get the complete picture of the game economy. There are many layers to it.
Even if there were a change it cannot be on the drop rate of 'a' particular item. It has to be a proportional change on all items and monsters across the game. This result of such a modification will be highly magnified and is never done as a permanent change to the game. Moreso in our game since Quest drops will mean much faster levelling.
So the next time you cry low drop rate, spend a moment and think. An MMOG is highly realistic and a vast and beautiful creation. It attempts to come near reality and has managed to get closer than anything else. It has caputured the stability and the instablilty that life offers. Everyday at work may not be a good day. What is the chance of you having a good day at work. What is the chance that you will hit a date with a pretty girl the next time you go to your favourite Pub. What is the chance you will find the best fitting jeans when you walk into a Branded Jeans shop. What are the chances of not getting to the voice mail box when you call a number.
Its a game of endurance and it tests your endurance and rewards you for the same. It given you challenges in the form of quests, it gives you competetion against other players. Take up the challenge, face the competetion and play it.
