Enhancement Catalyst drop rates.

[Razor Cure]

I have been wondering about this for some time, ever since I got a few toons up to lvl 50 and iTrial level. Doing BAF, I nothiced that almost every single time, fighting those mobs of multiple warwalkers at the start, I would get an EC dropping. Almost every time. I'd go to a new toon, run baf, and bingo, catalyst at the start again.

Now ToT has started, and I am seeing something even LESS random in the drop rates. Log a 'new' toon in, head to PI, join Tot team. Literally within under a minute of getting to the motel tot spot, I get a catalyst.

Now I have done the tot'ing on alts, and I am seeing this EVERY time. Eight toons in a row..log, go to PI, catalyst in 30 seconds.

It sorta makes sense, assuming higher mob classes have a higher drop rates, and the large volume of baddies (especially bosses in the BAF) that you'd have a better drop chance. But for that to happen every single time? Over 8 (at least 8, I only started taking notice of teh drops then) times, all in such a short time period seems way more than just luck or average drop rates.

More 'evidence.' All those toons stayed toting for around 30 mins, much longer (out to 3 hours) in some case. NONE of them got a catalyst beyond that first one. So if it really is just more bosses/drop rates..why didn't at least one of those alts get a second drop?

 

Thoughts: There is some kinda reset/lockout of catalyst drops. A new toon (one not logged for a few days) has teh drop chance reset to the full value, so when you hit an area FULL of stuff dying, you have a great chance of a drop. (although that still doesnt not explain 8/8 all getting a drop that fast)

After getting your catalyst, that toon goes into drop cooldown, and you can not get another one for a period of time. This makes sense, as pvp recipes drops in pvp had a similar cooldown, so it seems logical that something powerful like catalysts have something along the same lines.

 

But really, I am just speculating on this. However...I will be alting a LOT for tot!

[Lines]

I've noticed exactly this and wondered the same. I seemed to get ECs sometime in the first mission or two of TFs and then never again. It can't be a coincidence at this point.

[Veracor]

I can confirm, I run a lot of itrials and I always get a Catalyst within the first few groups killed in the first itrial that I run for the day.  Don't know what the cooldown is, though.

[Frostbiter]

This pretty much matches my experience too. If I had to guess I'd say it's on a daily 20 hour cooldown timer. 

[RubyRed]

What Frostbiter said. You can only earn one Enhancement Catalyst per day.

Edited October 6, 2019 by RubyRed

[Razor Cure]

One per day makes sense. But...that means, as in my examples, that we can switch toons and gets an almost 100% EC drop, within minutes of play. MINUTES! ANd yet, the person playing their most favouritest toon, for hours at a time..cant. Just cause. Even if they were doing the exact same thing.

In a similar fashion, what about AE farmers who can get multiple purples in very short periods? I assume Purples have the same higher droprates vs bosses, but no lock period at all. I know a few farmers who quite often get 1-3 purples in an hour or so...which I have never gotten, playing a single toon or alts.

[Mr. Vee]

1 hour ago, Razor Cure said:

One per day makes sense. But...that means, as in my examples, that we can switch toons and gets an almost 100% EC drop, within minutes of play. MINUTES! ANd yet, the person playing their most favouritest toon, for hours at a time..cant. Just cause. Even if they were doing the exact same thing.

In a similar fashion, what about AE farmers who can get multiple purples in very short periods? I assume Purples have the same higher droprates vs bosses, but no lock period at all. I know a few farmers who quite often get 1-3 purples in an hour or so...which I have never gotten, playing a single toon or alts.

Iirc on live, purples had a flat drop rate of 1/5000 independent of enemy class. I've not seen if that was changed for HC.

[Shred Monkey]

As a person who generally only plays their most favoritist toon and generally does not have a high number of alts, I can say with pretty good authority... "eeeh... no big deal...  i have nothing left to catalyze."

[Frostbiter]

It's not nearly as bad as it seems. By the time you're 50 the influence you gain from just running content should make up for the once a day drop rate. Catalysts aren't that expensive on the AH.

[SlimPickens]

4 hours ago, Frostbiter said:

It's not nearly as bad as it seems. By the time you're 50 the influence you gain from just running content should make up for the once a day drop rate. Catalysts aren't that expensive on the AH.

Exactly.

 

It takes far less time to just grind through mobs and make 3.5 million on an efficient character than it does to log in a new one set up somewhere Im likely to get drops and wait for the catalyst to drop, so as far as fairness goes, the one character person is actually probably able to make enough influ to buy catalysts faster than a multi alt person will be able to log in and out and farm them that way.

 

I see the daily drop as just a bonus method of getting an extra one here and there rather than the real way to get enough to catalyze a full set or 4 of ATO/winter IOs.  Buying them is still much faster and more efficient for me.

[Mansome]

I thought it was just me on this. It's usually within the first 2 minutes of the team. 

[Greeno34]

Yep I've said the same for a while now. Each day I log in and get one to drop within the first few mobs then don't see one again until the next day. I have not, however, noticed any drop on other toons if I switch over. 

[RubyRed]

Overall I think it's an okay system (not great, but okay). It keeps catalyst drops somewhat rare without just having you grind for a ridiculously low drop rate. As long as you play the character once per day, you'll get one basically for free.

 

Also you can get more from the reward merit vendor for 20 merits (or get them on the AH as others have mentioned), so there are other ways to get more.

[tidge]

Here is a conflicting anecdote: last night I logged in to a lvl 50 and immediately ran a new instance of an Ouro mission (Heather Townsend, DA1) to get a couple of incarnate components. It was somewhat early in the arc that a catalyst dropped. However, after the flashback, I then went to another mission I had previously queued (in Cimerora) and got an early Catalyst drop in that mission as well.

I didn't have much more time to play, so that is the extent of this anecdote.

[Mr. Vee]

You probably got them on either side of the reset time.