In the MMO shooter Destiny, a Redditor has completed a large-scale study on the Three of Coins. These are his results.
The reddit user wiggly_proof presented a significant community project back in April: He wants to shed light on how the Three of Coins work in Destiny. Because with this item, one only knows roughly how they function. However, Bungie has never revealed the exact details. Therefore, the Destiny player called for a comprehensive study. Some reddit users were immediately enthusiastic about this committed project and helped him gather the data.
The Three of Coins are consumables that Guardians can acquire from Xur since “The Taken King” or receive through the Nightfall strike. They increase the chances of obtaining an exotic engram from the next ultra-kill or through a completed Crucible match. The effect is stackable and is supposed to increase when the last “Three of Coins” usage did not drop an Exotic.
Here are the results of the “3oC Study”
wiggly_proof analyzed previous studies on the Three of Coins in the reddit forum and, with the help of volunteer supporters, collected additional data in a labor-intensive process. He proceeded methodically to obtain results on the “Cooldown” of this buff.
In his self-conducted study, he and 32 other users activated a total of 1660 coins and were able to obtain 167 Exotics. This group collected data for the “Three of Coins” speed-running: The Guardians used a coin approximately every 2-3 minutes, each time after swiftly defeating Draksis.
As a comparison, a study by the user GreenLego was referenced, who used a single coin every day for weeks while also eliminating Draksis. There were over 20 hours between each of his 3oC usages.
As wiggly_proof now claims to have proven: The Three of Coins have a “Cooldown”, during which the chance for Exotics is significantly lower. While in the speedrun, an exotic engram dropped every 9.94 coins, with the “One Coin Per Day” method, only 5.15 coins were needed. The chances for Exotics through the Three of Coins are therefore nearly twice as high when not used in rapid succession.
The exact cooldown of the coins, however, is not revealed here. It apparently lies somewhere between 3 minutes and 20 hours. Further investigations would be necessary to narrow down this timeframe until the Three of Coins regain their full effectiveness.
There are two theories: One says “This is a cooldown, the coins are weaker after a successful use, and after a certain time has passed, they are back to being ‘normally strong’.” And another theory says: This is not “black or white”, but follows a formula and becomes “slowly” stronger after a successful use.
Which theory is accurate will likely require further extensive studies.
The following graphic from the user shows the comparison in detail:
The blue curve shows the speed run, while the orange shows the slow method. On the right is the axis, indicating how many coins were used, and upwards is the probability of when an exotic drops. It is immediately apparent that the chances for Exotics per coin are significantly higher with the “One Coin Per Day” method.
What information can we take away from the Three of Coins study in Destiny?
What conclusions can we draw from this? If you want to get the most out of the Three of Coins, you should use them cautiously. However, if you proceed like GreenLego, it takes on average over 5 days to obtain an exotic engram.
Or you can spend the Three of Coins generously: You will only obtain an engram approximately every 10 coins, but it averages only about 30 minutes if you choose the speed run method.
In a side study, the user also found that there are no differences in the types of exotic engrams that drop. He could not identify any statistical anomalies among the various weapons and armor pieces.
You can view the study on the Three of Coins in detail on reddit here.
Caution: These results are not official but generated by dedicated fans of Destiny. Therefore, all information should be treated with caution. Furthermore, not all factors that influence the effect of the coins could be taken into account.
Nonetheless: What do you think of these findings?
