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Special Upgrades, something in MUCH need of repair

Hoenhiem17Hoenhiem17
Mabinogi Rep: 410
Posts: 5
Member
in General Chat
Every single time I go to special upgrade an item I spend roughly 80 stones and wind up around step 3, this time around I'm trying to blue step a celtic tribolt wand, I have spent thus far 50+ stones and I am at step zero. THIS system needs to change. this happens to ME everytime, while those who I talk to every day can walk up to the anvil and hit step 5 in a matter of 15 stones or less EVERY time. which leads to a hypotheses of targeting of certain accounts, such as who to drop what when opening gacha, like drop the rates for those who buy more nx in hopes of making them buy more simply due to the fact that you can see that they purchase more. CHANGE THE SYSTEM OR THIS GAME WILL CONTINUE TO DIE AND THERE GOES YOUR CASH COW.
Kimberly

Comments

  • BlissfulkillBlissfulkill
    Mabinogi Rep: 24,425
    Posts: 2,795
    Member
    edited April 28, 2017
    That certainly is a theory, and one requiring a rather complicated algorithm or something to filter out. I'd advise for you to wait until the special upgrade events that happen periodically, where failures don't result in the special upgrade step being lowered (5>6>7 will still destroy your weapons), or use Lucky or Protection versions of those stones. The peddler event introduce a version that was actually tradeable.


    It seems easier if they would just sell items in the NX shops that acted as protection or fulfilled the purpose of the Lucky and Protection stones, something they have not done. If anything, this is one of the few major systems in the game where cashgrabbing cease to exist for the most part.
  • AquasolAquasol
    Mabinogi Rep: 5,465
    Posts: 442
    Member, Volunteer Forum Moderator
    I usually suggest waiting for upgrade events as well, if it's making that much of a dent in your pocket.

    As for theories on NX spending leading to better rates, that's definitely not the case. I've spent a lot less than quite a few players out there and gotta a lot better returns at times, and I know I don't get any special treatment.
  • VenenatisVenenatis
    Mabinogi Rep: 1,255
    Posts: 78
    Member
    TinFoilHatArea.jpg

    Now that I have that on, I feel safe again. You're pulling data from a tiny group. Not to mention mabinogi has a weird almost karma feel to it. It is coincidence? Idk probably. But it's interesting to think it's not.

    Either way though if you do the math the average number of attempt to get step 5 is something like 40ish. You're not really that unlucky and stones are cheaper than ever before it's not a big deal. That and the protective/lucky stones get spat out every other month now too if you really feel that unlucky just wait.
    Autograph
  • NicheeNichee
    Mabinogi Rep: 915
    Posts: 62
    Member
    just be glad it doesn't destroy your weapon UNTIL +6-7.
  • RingabelRingabel
    Mabinogi Rep: 2,030
    Posts: 126
    Member
    > blue stepping a celtic tribolt.
    I hope that's a low MA roll on that, because otherwise you're... going to end up regretting using blue ups later.

    but uh,
    special upgrades, as much as I like to say that the % chance is complete bogus half the time, is intended as a money sink - and it's keeping the game alive by doing so. any online game with virtual currency needs several of those that are commonly used by the player base, otherwise inflation is bound to happen. just look at gaia online and neopets for that matter.
  • HarukariHarukari
    Mabinogi Rep: 8,470
    Posts: 836
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    I just use luck/protection stones whenever I can get my hands on them.
    Because I have the same luck as you.
  • ShaeliShaeli
    Mabinogi Rep: 3,430
    Posts: 359
    Member
    I won't even bother going past step 2 without lucky/protection stones. The random number gods are never pleased when you need it.
  • PolicromaPolicroma
    Mabinogi Rep: 6,730
    Posts: 564
    Member
    I've heard the thought that gacha stones work better before, and I'm still skeptical as I've never noticed any difference. (All but the lucky/protection stones are equally bad.) If Nexon wanted people to be more likely to buy gachas to get the stones, they'd probably make some sort of obvious indicator as gachas are probably one of those few situations in which people are almost disappointed to get upgrade stones.
  • BlissfulkillBlissfulkill
    Mabinogi Rep: 24,425
    Posts: 2,795
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    Policroma wrote: »
    I've heard the thought that gacha stones work better before, and I'm still skeptical as I've never noticed any difference. (All but the lucky/protection stones are equally bad.) If Nexon wanted people to be more likely to buy gachas to get the stones, they'd probably make some sort of obvious indicator as gachas are probably one of those few situations in which people are almost disappointed to get upgrade stones.

    I think they are both for protection purposes, with the difference between that protections work on 5>6?
  • TheNyanCatTheNyanCat
    Mabinogi Rep: 5,665
    Posts: 661
    Member
    I mean statistically speaking you really shouldn't get that far considering it's a 50% and even 45% chance. To get further you would need to be on a lucky streak and pretty much win multiple coin flips to advance.
  • HarukariHarukari
    Mabinogi Rep: 8,470
    Posts: 836
    Member
    edited April 30, 2017
    I remember when I got a volcano cylinder to r5 in one go.. Ahh good times..

    Never again. :'(
  • EllisyaEllisya
    Mabinogi Rep: 5,525
    Posts: 485
    Member
    edited April 30, 2017
    For some reason, it usually goes bad unless you success in a row (like r0->r5 without fail)
    So I just don't put too much attempt unless this happens then try it later days. And never do single attempt. Gather like 20-30 of them and try. Idk why but feels like single attempt has much lower success rate

    EX)

  • TsumukuTsumuku
    Mabinogi Rep: 1,610
    Posts: 96
    Member
    edited April 30, 2017
    If my account is anything to go by, Nexon isn't playing favoritism with the special upgrades.

    To clarify, my account is part of a program I don't think Nexon has anymore. I purchased enough that the account no longer has a purchase restriction through Nexon.com. All of my NX ends up in prepaid, even if purchased with PayPal or what-have-you, and it has been that way for years. I know that I used to hit the limit before they placed it on that program in like 2010. But there was a long period of time where I would spend more than $10k/year on Mabi alone.

    Still takes hundreds of stones to special up something. If you know someone that has given Nexon enough money to care about giving them a higher roll rate, please provide some kind of proof of that.
  • YellowBinYellowBin
    Mabinogi Rep: 1,320
    Posts: 52
    Member
    I remember someone created a simulation on the success and fails of special upgrading.

    I forgot the numbers but I do remember that the maximum amount it took to step 5 or something like that costs beyond what you're spending right now.

    It was like 1000 trials or so.
  • CrimsọnCrimsọn
    Mabinogi Rep: 65,165
    Posts: 9,158
    Member
    Because I have all 5 partners I get a fair share of lucky upgrade stones over time which I save up for whenever there is something I want to upgrade. They come in pretty handy and save me a lot of gold.
  • ZephyrsongishnotmehZephyrsongishnotmeh
    Mabinogi Rep: 750
    Posts: 36
    Member
    Tsumuku wrote: »
    If my account is anything to go by, Nexon isn't playing favoritism with the special upgrades.

    To clarify, my account is part of a program I don't think Nexon has anymore. I purchased enough that the account no longer has a purchase restriction through Nexon.com. All of my NX ends up in prepaid, even if purchased with PayPal or what-have-you, and it has been that way for years. I know that I used to hit the limit before they placed it on that program in like 2010. But there was a long period of time where I would spend more than $10k/year on Mabi alone.

    Still takes hundreds of stones to special up something. If you know someone that has given Nexon enough money to care about giving them a higher roll rate, please provide some kind of proof of that.

    10k a year on mabi....

  • GTCvActiumGTCvActium
    Mabinogi Rep: 7,125
    Posts: 661
    Member
    Just to give you an insight on special upgrading, using the percent success I made a program to simulate the process of special upgrading over roughly 10,000 items. From my simulation it was found that the average number of stones required to reach step 5 (the program did not perform step 6 upgrades) was 29 stones (rounded to the nearest whole). The lowest stones used was 5 and the highest number used in my simulation of 140. Simply put, your large expenditure of stones just happened to be probability, or for the superstitious, you just have bad luck.