Harvesting: Diminishing returns

[frostbit]

I have noticed a rather strange trend over the last week and was hoping to hear from anyone noticing something similar.

Right after patch 20 on Friday Night, I was able to get 10x100 pulls as a level 105 Forager. I was most happy.

On Saturday, I was only able to get ~9.5 using the exact same Prospect and Extraction Stanzas (I cannot remember what level I was at that time)

On Sunday, I must have been level 110 or so and was only able to pull 8.8x100.

Last night, I was level 115 and only pulling 8.3x100.

So, there are three explanations for this:

A) User error - Either I mysteriously changed my stanzas and then forgot doing so or my recollections of my productivity were hallucinations. I am highly confident this is NOT the case.

B) The devs are changing productivity via a DB that does not require a patch. Not even sure if this *is* possible, but if this is happening, I STRONGLY urge them not to continue this.

C) There is an inverted parameter in the productivity equation. My expectation is that as I become a better forager, my productivity should go UP, not DOWN. It appears that as my level increases (possibly relative to the quality of mat I am pulling) I should be able to harvest more per unit time, but in reality I am pulling LESS.

So, anyone have any input? Should I bug this?

[frostbit]

Whoops, forgot one important piece of info:

The reason I am getting less and less materials is that the Source Time bar is expiring. It has nothng to do with Source Life or my Focus pool.

Given that, perhaps the problem is that Source Time is dynamic and getting shorter as I increase level. If this was the case then my mats per unit time would still be the same, I would just be doing more shorter harvest actions.

Still seems counter-intuitive to me.

[parisg]

I noticed similar things. I was able to pull 6xq50 (simple mainland) after the big Patch I. Last time I logged I was only able to get 5. And I thought I was getting crazy...

[kahuna]

I haven't seen that problem. since patch1, when i re-did the various extraction time stanzas, i've been consistently pulling 6 mats per pull if I get a mode 1.

[angus858]

Could there be some seasonal variation to source timers?

[gecker]

I'm at lvl 78 harvest and I haven't noticed any changes in harvest since patch 20. I still pull the same number of mats now that I did when patch 20 first came out. It may be there is some seasonal factor that is affecting the number of mats your pulling. Are you harvesting in a different region/area?

[goldgiff]

I have noticed a rather strange trend over the last week and was hoping to hear from anyone noticing something similar.

Right after patch 20 on Friday Night, I was able to get 10x100 pulls as a level 105 Forager. I was most happy.

On Saturday, I was only able to get ~9.5 using the exact same Prospect and Extraction Stanzas (I cannot remember what level I was at that time)

On Sunday, I must have been level 110 or so and was only able to pull 8.8x100.

Last night, I was level 115 and only pulling 8.3x100.

So, there are three explanations for this:

A) User error - Either I mysteriously changed my stanzas and then forgot doing so or my recollections of my productivity were hallucinations. I am highly confident this is NOT the case.

B) The devs are changing productivity via a DB that does not require a patch. Not even sure if this *is* possible, but if this is happening, I STRONGLY urge them not to continue this.

C) There is an inverted parameter in the productivity equation. My expectation is that as I become a better forager, my productivity should go UP, not DOWN. It appears that as my level increases (possibly relative to the quality of mat I am pulling) I should be able to harvest more per unit time, but in reality I am pulling LESS.

So, anyone have any input? Should I bug this?

It may be the case that as your harvesting level progresses you can't get as much from a source when you are pulling mats that have a Q lower then your level. Try pulling 110 mats and see how many you can get.

[frostbit]

Re: Seasonal: Possible. My experience certainly shows a linear decrease in productivity. If it ever fluctuates the other way, this would reinforce a seasonal explanation. Not too confident on that note.

Re: Locational: Negative. All trials at the exact same spot. (Jewlery Craft grinding ATM so I basically move from Amber to Seeds, repeat).

Re: Quality: VERY possible. I cannot perform a Q110 test as my current extraction action is maxing out my Extraction Counterpart. The next one is so prohibitively expensive I run out of focus long before the 8 mat range. I think I may execute a trial using lower level speed and rate stanzas. I will try Gentle Rate 2, Gentle Speed 2, then Gentle Quality 80, 90, 100, 110, and 120. I think this is a very good avenue of investigation.

Thanks for the input, homs.

[nunyas]

I haven't noticed any "Dimishing returns" from my harvesting actions due to my source timer bar shrinking faster. the most i have ever been to pull from the ground is 10 and that is if i risked gassings or explosions. I have noticed that the source is slightly less stable depending on which rates, speeds, or quality stanzas that you use. In addition the use or lack of use of the terrain stanza in the prospection phase and the extraction phase makes a rather large difference in the quantity that i get (more so in the prospection phase). In a nut shell I find that I harvest less solo if i have to use any care plans, and rightfully so. But I've been consistantly pulling 7 to 10 mats from my sources since official patch 1 went live. I was 104 advanced desert forage at the time; I'm 110 advanced dessert forage now. Only real difference i have now versus then is I'm pulling QL120 mats instead of QL110 now.

[foreverb]

try pulling your level Q mats. i pull 10 70q with my 66 forest and 10 150q with my 148 desert. When i try to pull lower then my level i tend to get less with the same prospect/extraction.