Today we are interested in: How do you like your loot?
MMOs are changing: While the games industry produces few “classic MMORPGs” like World of Warcraft or Star Wars: The Old Republic, elements from these games are flourishing in new genres. Two years ago with Destiny and now with The Division, it is primarily the co-op and loot elements that provide the decisive kick.
But in both shooters, players have problems with the way loot is distributed: There is too little loot, and when they do get it, it’s terrible, as echoed in the forums.
The Two Paths to Loot
As a shining example of how to do it right, Blizzard’s Hack’n Slash Diablo 3 is frequently mentioned. The trick there: items of the highest quality drop frequently. However, they have variable values. It’s not as if all weapons of the same name are identical. Rather, the values vary within certain ranges.
This means: You constantly get “loot with the potential to be great”, but whether it is actually better than what you have equipped, you only see when you take a close look at it. The system also applies to The Division. Additionally, in Diablo 3, something good can drop basically anywhere. From “big bosses” with increased probability, but even the smallest trash mobs can drop great items.
This is a different concept than what classic MMORPGs like WoW practiced. In those, strong items are found only in certain places, in raids, but when they drop, it is a fixed item with fixed values. In Destiny, they rely on this system in the exotic area: an exotic weapon always has the same values. When you read the name of the drop, you immediately know that it’s good.
However, this leads to the fact that players are “rarely” rewarded with these items. Otherwise, players would have the best items shortly after and would not feel the need to keep searching. Whoever had the “Gjallarhorn” in Destiny didn’t need another one that might be 0.3% better. Rather, they had the weapon, and there was no more variance.
Now both Division and Destiny are saying: They want to become “more rewarding”. In Division, it was announced yesterday that all named bosses now drop “yellow” items. They want to move away from crafting, where players forged their high ends until a great item came out.
For years, Destiny has been talking about increasing rewards, usually referring to the pure frequency, the number of times you are rewarded.
Our question today: How do you like your loot system? Do you want to receive items constantly like in Diablo and then compare the exact values? Or do you prefer being able to tell from the name whether you need the item or not?
Which game do you think does it right?
