Too cool to loot? :0

[Dragon Moon]

I'm wondering if I'm too cool to loot now after I unlocked coolness 10 days ago. I'm at a loss about the things that are happening ever since.

And btw, this posting is not meant as complaint or whining. I'm just trying to figure out why things are how they are, or if they even are how I assume they are. I joined EU as part of a job, part of a project that I and two others are working on. Let's just say it's a series of articles for a computer mag that compares games and virtual worlds.

Since I unlocked coolness, every hunt is a loss, even with the few globals I got, and I'm not talking about "normal" losses, like 80% return. Most of the time it's not more than 50-60 % of my costs. I had just one good hunt run with a profit.

And, what's even more odd, I seem to miss more, I seem to get hit harder, with the same armor and guns as before, by the same mob. Where I had 2-3 misses at most with one mob before, I now have 5-6 and that while I have my gun literally up their a$$es.

I joined end of February this year and deposited about US$ 800 by now. My main profession is hunter, but I craft alot too and mine every now and then. I trade and sell on auction. I'm lvl 41 sniper, rifle and pistol are not far behind. Health is 125, agility is 62, lvl 15 evader. I use ghost amor and I own plates. I use Riker 2, P5a and Isis carabines or pistols that are maxed and appropriate for my levels. I go through 1000 PED ammo a night and even more on the weekends. I've gotten 200+ globals so far....well until I unlocked coolness 10 days ago.

Since that day, I have to deposit every day or every other day, to be able to hunt because of the bad loot. Now I hear you saying.."well go to the right places at the right time etc., do something else, like crafting or mining or chatting, then try again". Trust me, I do that, and I found the mob with "loot surges" often enough and did fine for days or even a couple of weeks without depositing. I progressed and looted just fine (for EU standards ) and only had to deposit every so often.

Lately I seem to be in the middle of the "right" mob and get nothing much, which is frustrating and discouraging enough already, but seeing the guys left and right (same spot and same mob) getting globals all the time really really gets old after over one week, especially when it's the same person in the same spawn getting 2-4 globals in one hour. Sure I've gotten a few globals during those days too...but you guess it, I had losses even with those.

Then I hit a 299 PED HOF the other day and was thinking that the unlucky streak came to an end. I was able to buy a bigger L gun again with low TT value tho, and I had some ammo for a few nice hunt runs. But not so.... it took me 3 runs and I was at point zero again. So I deposited again, only to get nothing in return. I switched to crafting between the hunt runs too. Same story, just losses. I sold most of my storage stuff to be able to at least buy a few rounds of ammo. Well...all gone. I went sweating at Nea's because I had some Nexus left, so I could make ME and sell that and buy ammo. All gone.

By now I think I know how EU works and that there are lucky streaks and losses, rinse...repeat, and that one has to deposit to keep playing.... but c'mon guys, what I experience now is almost unreal for such a time period, at least I've never seen this happen to me for longer than 2-3 days.

So my question: Did any of you had the same experience after they reached certain levels or unlocked new skills? I'm just trying to understand what's going on here. By now I almost want to believe it's a "feature", some algorithm in the software that makes one go downhill for quite a while after a certain time of playing, or after certain levels. So one either has to deposit more and does so more often (like every day or every other day), or one is fed up and chips out.

Does MA dangle a carrot in front of our nose for quite some time (especially when one is new and throws in some serious money) and then waits until we reach certain skill levels, or even a level of addiction and then messes with our loot and damage and gun performance, because they are pretty sure that we won't leave again at that point? Will things get better again by the power of the credit card or by the love of lootius? And just in case, can anybody point me to a forum thread or website that explains how to chip out and what the value of skills is? My research time will end after 6 months, and I'm not sure at this point if I want to keep playing. I know better ways to blow my money.

Sorry, this posting got longer than I intended, and plz don't mind spelling or grammar errors, English isn't my first language.

Any opinions, experiences?

[Cytheria]

I'm not sure what the coolness unlock is, but the loot has been very poor for most people as of late. So I don't think thats it.

[Ogulak'Da'Dragon]

From my experience on Every unlock (Except kill strike and commando) of mine I have had a lose for 2 weeks or so after it just VERY bad luck..
it usually goes away for me after 2 weeks on a new unlock. Only profitables unlock I had where I've done really well after unlocking were ks and commando.

could be entropia senses all your hunting skills then brings up an average.. and when unlocking ti adds a new skill at 1 so it lowers your average skill?

just a theory..

[eragon]

Dang thought it was mostly me.

That is why i am where i am... broke and mining. I used to get decent hunts. then it went straight to hell. Don't know what i did, but loot went down and i found myself selling my storage out to pay for hunting trips.

So yes, your not the only one. Rinse and repeat... industrial size!

[timmmers]

Did you chip skills? Maybe that's why?
Unbalanced skills?

t

[Thorn]

I am on a several month down streak after a good year or so of not needing to deposit. After my highest mining find of 1445ped MA took it all back and then some. But alot of that avatar value has been replaced in the mean time by markup on a few choice items. Maybe I have to sell one to break the stranglehold? The only thing that changed for me when it went sour was a vu.

[Gluepot]

Yep yep, loot sucks as of the last VU.
I think I'm going to stop hunting for a while and try to do some other stuff....

[Dragon Moon]

Thanks for your feedback so far, guys.

<waves at Daina> hey Gluepot I'm with you on the "doing some other stuff". I'm just not doing it in EU, the ESC button is my best friend lately. I used to craft, but that's not an option either right now, since I prefer to use material that I loot or mine myself. I'm so not going to deposit just for crafting or mining only. I just love to hunt! (...while I couldn't even kill a fly in real life...and I hate real weapons)

I can't say that loot went downhill for me after the last VU. Was quite the opposite at times. Well, it was an up and down, as it seems to be normal in EU.

@ Cytheria: I have no idea what this coolness skill does or the serendipity skill. I tried to find more info about those, but I'm still not getting it, I guess. I just seem to gain coolness left and right with everything I do. I'd say we all are cool enough already without that skill. Gimme loot, MA, shove the coolness.

@ Ogulak'Da'Dragon: Interesting theory, but wouldn't the average skill go higher too again after gaining coolness skills. I seem to gain coolness all the time, and it's over 600 already. Shouldn't that increase the loot again after a while and not make it even worse?

@ timmmers: I never chipped any skills, I wouldn't even know how to do that, have to read up on it. And I still don't understand why people seem to do it. What's the fun of it? For me it's more fun to accomplish things myself.

Thanks everybody!

[Johned]

I have had cycles like that, sometimes around an unlock. It is annoying sometimes seeing all the globals around when you are on such a cycle. When I get to them I slow down my hunting, do a bit more mining, heal in swamp camp, stand around in twin and PA just watching the world, or run a few noobs to tps.


As for what coolness does - it accelerates your Health at the start. You get 1 health point for every 400 coolness so is a very nice unlock in the beginning when the coolness points come at a nice speed.

[Dragon Moon]

Originally Posted by Johned

When I get to them I slow down my hunting, do a bit more mining, heal in swamp camp, stand around in twin and PA just watching the world, or run a few noobs to tps.

I do a few things of the above too. But I haven't figured out yet how to mine or repair a FAP without loot and depositing. Standing around observing and listening, and tp runs...now that's stuff I love to do too.

Originally Posted by Johned

As for what coolness does - it accelerates your Health at the start. You get 1 health point for every 400 coolness so is a very nice unlock in the beginning when the coolness points come at a nice speed.

Thanks alot for the explanation. That's why my Health shot from 123 to 125 in a very short time.