Item decay information collection thread

[shrike]

There has been some confusion about the sometimes occuring high item decay rates - some people don't have them at all, while others have to buy new armor/weapons every 2 days. There's a threat about this in the german forum with info which could interest some people here.

Basically, it seems this decay is possibly triggered by 2 situations: groups or fighting with mobs far above your own lvl (which usually happens in groups).

This fits quite well with the stories I heared so far - people of my guild who are usually soloing don't experience these high decay rates while a bunch of my mates who are fighting the kinchers at the roots entrance in ~7 people parties have them.

The question is if this is a bug or design - if design it's IMO a bad one, since it's discouraging grouping.

Would be appreciated if someone could confirm or deny these theories.

[andymon]

I have been told that the more special attacks you do (inc dam, ect) the faster the sword, ect decays.

[goken]

I have been told that the more special attacks you do (inc dam, ect) the faster the sword, ect decays.

warriros solo use ic damage 95% of the atatcks and decay rate seems ther same, so i dont think its that.

[shrike]

Also, mages basically only do "special attacks". Decay rate has no connection to skill usage.

[jokque]

the q20 2h sword i got at lvl 4, which i used to lvl 31 has 90/115 durability left, ie lost 25 only, and ive ONLY been using increased dmg

While lvling 31-37 in a group my q50 pike went from 57/143 to 39/143 durability, and my 4-31 lvling spree = about 1k enemies i guess, while the grouping was about 40-50 enemies, but then again i hit each enemy alot more
We were 5-7 ppl in group all the time
which can mean either :
-item decay increases while grouping
-item decay is related to number of hits (as i had about half the hits 31-37 and the weapon lost haf as much durability as lvl4-31)

[ariaki]

Rotting Decay rates like we have are a game killer to me and totaly takes the fun factor out of the game.

[pcheez]

Heh ,i realised that my staff decays,disentigrates is more like it, at incredible rates when i am grouping.my ql 90 and ql 100 staves withered away the very next day while hunting frahar in groups. my old ql 80 zorai staff that i used for over a week, while hunting solo mostly, is still alive and kicking....
Do the devs have any idea how rare ql 100 staves are atm and how much they cost? i mean plz. spare the little magi a thought .....

[jokque]

Rotting Decay rates like we have are a game killer to me and totaly takes the fun factor out of the game.

yeah, nothing more fun than having your incredibly nice raid sword just vanish cuz of some stupid crap like decay, i mean its not like any MMORPG is even remotely realistic so why have decay in the game ?!

[cjhsb]

The imbalances appear to be inherent in the items themselves.

I've tested group and solo over numerous weaps and staves, with no appreciable difference in my decay rates whether solo or grouping.

However, my q80 staff decayed 2 points soloing 2 vicious Kiz - equally my q70 staff took 4 days to drop 75 odd points (roughly 24 hours of fighting).

At the time of use my ql 70 staff was way above my level needs and upto and including my lvl needs, wheras my q80 has been soley at my level needs, so clearly theres no relation from char level v item level differentials.

Perhaps it is based on the ql of the item v the ql of the mob it is being used on - someone will have to test it further. However my experiences put paid to the group/solo theory IMHO.

[enlil]

When killing incensed kipees (lvl 145) or nettled kipees (133) my staff drop about 1-2 points per kill if I'm nuking and healing (lots of casting, 20+ per mob). When using stun or blind (5 casts per mob) it's much slower but still fast.

My interpretation is:
higher level of the mob compared to caster (in this case close to 2x my lvl) - faster decay
more spells cast (in this case I got to keep my group alive and also kill the mob) - faster decay

combination - q70 staff in 26 hours (my personal record on a 144 HP staff), 8 hours of sleep included (had the day off ).