Diablo 4 wants to avoid the ‘Destiny loot cave’ problem
Diablo 4 wants to avoid the ‘Destiny loot cave’ problem
Diablo 4 developer Blizzard is still working to make sure progression is as balanced as possible, as it wants to avoid the Destiny loot cave issue.
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Can’t find it anymore, but I watched a Warframe video way back in the day talking about how there will always be a loot cave. It’s nigh impossible to make a game that’s so perfectly balanced that nothing is more optimal than another thing and players will always gravitate towards more optimal.
Maybe you can say that one method produces just 1 more item per hour than the alternative, for example, but we’ll still all congregate there because it makes the experience just a little faster. Hell, even if you do optimize the loot cave out of the game, there will still be loot caves just because of human nature. Like even if there isn’t a difference, people will claim there will be and we’ll congregate there anyway.
Imo, the best way to handle loot caves is to just intentionally change it each season or so, or deliberately lean into it so there’s a different loot cave for different types of gear. You can’t avoid it by removing them, I think. Because you can’t really remove them.
Yeah, I agree. As a long time Warframe vet, the game has consistently changed locations that are primary farming locations for particular resources or drops. Ironically, though, with the sheer number of resources and drops. There are quite a few loot caves for individual objects, which helps vary the locations one might find themselves grinding away at for efficiencies sake.
Would be nice if the game itself adapted and dynamically increased the rewards at unpopular locations. Then it’s about what others are/aren’t doing, not what the game currently is.
Or maybe, different rewards per location per player, so everyone can find their own loot cave.
Black Desert had an interesting fishing mechanic which scaled loot rewards for fishing with player density. Higher density areas would diminish the larger return, forcing more players further out to find better spots. It was interesting, but I didn’t dabble in it much compared to my friends. I swear I’ve played a game in the past that had increased rewards for more deserted areas of the game but I can’t remember for the life of me
Mmmhmmm. Just imagine every few hours the game updated boosts to (for example) specific dungeons. If one has been popular then the nect interval you have a -10% loot and xp (number taken out if my arse). And these numbers posted clearly in and out of game. I think it wouldn't take too long before minmaxers have identified breakpoints for when each dungeon is "profitable". And not too long after that evegy dungeon would be about as profitable as every other.
I wouldn't mind at least trying such a system. Think it would be neat.