Entropia Universe (Part Seven)

Gameplay (Continued)
The Paying Activities
By "Paying Activities", naturally what I am referring to here are the kinds of stuff that you may do within the game that requires PEDs. And precisely because it requires PEDs...that what we're gonna be dealing with from now on is even that much trickier to handle. So be prepared.

• Hunting
  Like hunting in regular MMORPGs, the hunting found within Entropia Universe isn't that much different to be honest. There's weapons for you to equip to hunt monsters with, armors to protect yourself with, faps to heal your HP as well as various sorts of attachments and upgrades for the aforesaid equipments.
  
  
  
  However, because it requires PEDs (or real money) to engage in hunting activities, you can't simply just slap on the biggest, hardest-hitting weapon that you can find, the toughest armor that you can afford, the highest healing fap that you can get and then head out thinking you can kill everything in your path, acquire loot and "profit" like mad.
  

  If your thinking about profiting from the game, please perish that thought. Afaik, breaking even from engaging in these paying activities is already hard enough as it is...let alone profiting from it.

  You will need to know all there is to know about these items. How they operate, their stats, the costs associated with using them, your proficiency with them, the efficiency at which your killing monsters and stuff like that. Else, you'll bleed PEDs like there's no tomorrow (and not knowing why it is so).
  
  • Weapons
    Within the game, there are a variety of different weapons that you can use for hunting purposes. But in general, they will inevitably fall into these three categories, "Range", "Melee" and "Mindforce".
    
    
    
    Ranged weapons are probably the most widely used kind...as they allow the player to immediately start attacking even from a distance away. It also allows you to "tag" monsters out one by one, thereby reducing your defensive costs as well as reduces your chances of being mobbed.
    
    Stuff like whips, axes, long swords, short swords and power fists form the bulk of your melee weapons. But because of the need to get up close and personal with the monster, their usage is less popular with the crowds.
    
    The only reasons for using them are to skill up and gain more HP, to increase your inventory weight limit as well as to purposely get hit and raise your "Evade" profession level (to prep your character for tougher, harder-hitting mobs).
    

    Usually, players will use a ranged weapon as a "tagger" to pre-damage the mob and then only switch to their melee once its close enough.

    For Mindforce, you can think of it as your "magic" in regular MMO terms. There's mindforce chips to deal fire, ice, electric and corrosive attacks. There's also chips that allows you to buff as well as heal up your avatar and those around you.
    
    However, due to a myriad of reasons...like availability of these chips, their markups (and hence their cost-effectiveness), their ability to deal sufficient damage hard or fast enough (at later stages of gameplay), their complexity to use as well as calculate the cost of using them or stuff like that, usage of these are mostly just down to the "rich/privileged" (those who can afford the rare or more useful chips) or people who simply don't care about cost-effectiveness and just wants to be different.
    

    To start using mindforce, players will need a mindforce chip, a mindforce implant as well as mindforce "ammunition" (like "Synthetic Mind Essence", "Light Mind Essence" and "Mind Essence").
    
    You will also need to acquire a Payn-Inc Implant Inserter from the Trade Terminal, attach (by dragging and dropping) the mindforce implant to this inserter, equip and activate it to insert the implant into your avatar's brain. (Using the inserter without attaching anything to it will result in the removal of any already inserted mindforce implant.)
    
    You can then equip and use any mindforce chips just as you would with a ranged weapon.

  • Weapon Stats Explained
    

    For the purpose of explaining this part, I will use the following picture as a reference example and from there, convey to you the various stats and their meanings as best I can.

    
    

    Condition	-	This bar tells you the condition of the item. At full condition (100%), this item is unused and "brand new". It is directly related to the item's TT Value stat.
    TT Value	-	Apart from relaying the current "TT Value" of the item, this stat also ties in directly to the condition of the item. At maxed TT Value, the item's condition bar will be full (at 100%).
    Condition Limit	-	This tells you the limit at which the item will break and become unusable. For instance, the Herman Ark-0 (L) will break once its TT Value reaches 0.09 PEDs (3% of max TT Value).
    Weight	-	This tells you the weight of the item.
    Item Points	-	This tells you how many item points it will occupy (towards the item limit). Note that this does not refer to the "size" of the item and how many "squares" (of space) it will take up in your inventory or storage areas.
    Tier	-	This tells you the "tier" of the item. The number before the decimal point (.) represents how many "tiers" you've unlocked for the item. For each tier unlocked, you may put in an "Enhancer" of the "appropriate tier" into the corresponding box (refer to Herman Ark-0 example). The number after the decimal point cycles from 0 to 9 through constant usage of the item. Once it reaches the value of 9, if its an unlimited item, you will need to manually unlock the tier via opening its "Tier Upgrade Interface" (right click on item) and putting in the necessary materials. If its a limited item, the tier will be automatically unlocked for free without you having to do anything.
    Profession Requirement (Damage/Hit)	-	This tells you the damage and hit professions that you need in order to use the item well (efficiently or to its "maximum potential"). The "Recommended Level" shown, however, is not a reflection of "WHEN" it is recommended for you to use the item in question, but rather indicates "WHEN" your character's corresponding professions will start to affect the item's stats. The Damage Profession will affect the item's damage interval stat (and perhaps Attacks per min) while the Hit Profession will affect the Hit Ability, Critical Hit Ability and perhaps Range.
    Skill Increase Bonus (SIB)	-	This tells you whether the item provides a skill increase bonus when you use them. "Not Yet" means that you've not yet reached the necessary profession levels (references to the item's "Recommended Level") for it to provide you a bonus. "Yes" means that it is currently providing the bonus. "Not Anymore" means that you've outgrown the weapon and it will no longer provide you with such a bonus. "Never" means that it will never offer you such a bonus.
    Ammo Type	-	This tells you the kind of ammo the item needs in order to function. You will need to have the stated types of ammunition (in your inventory) before you can use/fire the item.
    Ammo Burn	-	This tells you the quantity of the ammo that is consumed EVERY TIME you use/fire the item once.
    Durability	-	This tells you the durability rating of the item. Or rather, how much "decay" is incurred (to the item's TT Value) when you use/fire the item once. However, the rating only gives you a rough estimate. To obtain a more accurate value of the decay, you will either have to visit information sites such as "Entropedia" or resort to self-tests such as "Fruit Testing" or the like.
    Variable Weapon Stats (Attacks per Min, Damage Interval, Range)	-	These stats tells you the efficiency at which "YOU" currently operate the item at. It starts from a certain minimum value and will slowly increase to the maximum potential of the item (its max) as you gain levels in the appropriate professions. For items with SIB showing "Not Yet", this means that your corresponding professions are still below that of the "Recommended Level" of the item. In situations like these, you will be using the item at its minimum values (lowest efficiency level). For items with SIB showing "Yes", this means that your corresponding professions are in between the "Recommended Level" and "Recommended Level+5" range. In situations like these, you will be using the item at somewhere in between its minimum and maximum values. For items with SIB showing "Not Anymore", this means that your corresponding professions are at or above that of the "Recommended Level+5" range. In such situations, you can already use the item at its maximum potential ("maxed out" the item). Using "maxed out" items like these are very much advised...as you can operate them at its maximum values and hence obtain the best efficiency/value out of the item. For items with SIB showing "Never", you will be using the item at somewhere in between its minimum efficiency level and its maximum (just like in the "Yes" situation). However, these are typically known as your "Non-SIB" or "Old School" items and are stuff that you should always avoid using...because you will need your corresponding professions to be at or above LEVEL 100 in order to max out the item and use it at its maximum potential. (Unlike the SIB weapons which require only "Recommended Level+5" to max out.)
    Damage Type	-	This tells you what sort of damage (and the type) that the item deals. When up against NPC mobs, the type of damage being dealt is of insignificant consequence. However, once you are up against other players in PVP battles, it will start to matter because of the "armor" (and the kind of protection that it offers) that the player might be wearing.
    Hit Ability	-	This tells you your ability to hit stuff when using the item. The value shown here depends upon your current profession level for the stated "Hit Profession". Values here can range from "0.0" to the maximum of "10.0". At "0.0", your chances of hitting the target is at about 80%. At "10.0", your chances of hitting will increase to 90%.
    Critical Hit Ability	-	This tells you your ability to perform a critical hit when using the item. Just like for Hit Ability, the value shown here depends upon your current profession level for the stated "Hit Profession". Values here also range from "0.0" to the maximum of "10.0". At "0.0", your chances of doing a critical is almost non-existent (0%). At "10.0", your chances of doing a critical will increase to 2%. (By this, we mean that 2% of your attacks that "HIT" the target are criticals.)
    Tier Increase Rate	-	These here tells you the rate at which your tier values (the numbers "0" to "9" behind the decimal point) might "POSSIBLY" increase (at the various tiers). But none of this is certain. We can only speculate that the higher the numbers are, the "faster" the tier values might increase. But as there had been instances whereby an item with high tier numbers not even ticking up one bit after years of usage while some with low tier numbers ticking up twice within a mere couple of shots...that we suspect that there might be some hidden parameters and randomness at work here as well.

  • Costs of Using A Weapon (Range, Melee, Mindforce)
    The costs associated with using a ranged weapon is typically just the weapon's decay and its ammunition expense (on a per shot basis).
    
    Using the Herman Ark-0 (L) as an example, to calculate the cost of firing one shot of this ranged weapon, we will first need to know its actual decay value (per use), the amount of ammunition consumed (per use) and then add them altogether to find out the cost (per shot) of using it. (For convenience-sake, we shall consult Entropedia for the values.)
    

    Herman Ark-0 (L)
    Decay: 0.050 PEC
    Ammo Consumption: 240 BLP Pack or Universal Ammo

    Remembering that each BLP Pack is worth 0.01 PEC, we can easily calculate that the cost of firing one shot on the Herman Ark-0 (L) is 2.45 PECs or 0.0245 PEDs.
    
    The costs associated with using a melee weapon is typically just the weapon's decay. However, this decay is usually much higher than that of a ranged weapon's (of a similar damage capability)...so much so that it already includes the ammunition expense (of the ranged weapon) as a part of its cost, if you think about it carefully.
    
    Using the Bukin's Blade as an example, to find out the cost of using this melee weapon once, we will only need to know its actual decay value (per use). Again, visiting Entropedia for convenience-sake, this value turns out to be 1.70 PECs.
    
    The costs associated with using a mindforce chip is typically just the chip's decay and its ammunition expense (on a per shot basis). However, as it is further complicated by the fact that the mindforce implant "absorbs" a portion of the chip's decay, things actually become slightly more fuzzy and confusing to calculate in my opinion (with regards to finding out the "true" costs).
    
    
    
    Using the First Gen Electric Attack Chip III and NeoPsion 20 Mindforce Implant as an example, the cost of using this setup is actually...
    

    First Gen Electric Attack Chip III
    Decay: 1.780 PEC
    Ammo Consumption: 712 Synthetic Mind Essence or Universal Ammo

    found to be 8.90 PECs or 0.089 PEDs.
    
    However, what you will need to know is that the 1.780 PEC of decay isn't borne solely upon the mindforce chip. 2% of that decay (as shown in the stats above) is absorbed by the NeoPsion 20 Mindforce Implant and will be deducted accordingly from its TT Value. The First Gen Electric Attack Chip III's TT Value will only be reduced by 98% of the decay indicated.
    
    If you were to use other kinds of mindforce implants (with higher absorption percentages), then the decay values sustained by both the chip and the implant will also change accordingly...so please take note of that.
    

    To this effect, if the markup of the mindforce chip is immensely more than that of the implant, you can actually serve to "save" some of the costs by having the implant absorb more of the decay (rather than not).
    
    But you will have to understand that this is only if your seeing things from the "markup" perspective. From the "TT Value" perspective, there isn't actually much of a difference since the "total decay" sustained is STILL THE SAME.

  • DPP, DPS And The Importance Of Being "Maxed Out"
    Damage per PEC (DPP) and Damage per second (DPS) are two very important values that you must learn to read (and understand), for a weapon. DPP tracks how much damage output your getting for every PEC that is spent while using/firing the weapon. DPS on the other hand tells you how much damage your pumping out per second.
    
    Together, they will give you an idea of how efficient you are...at using a weapon (if not maxed) or how good a weapon really is (once maxed). Without these values, there really isn't much of a leveled ground to compare weapons with.
    
    Anyway, to demonstrate what I've just said, let us attempt to find out my DPP and DPS on the Bukin's Blade in the previous example and when maxed. However, to avoid opening a can of worms...we shall conveniently use the "Weapon Compare" Calculator found on Entropedia and just key in the necessary info. (Do note that the calculator might not be entirely accurate...so take it with a pinch of salt.)
    

    Bukin's Blade
    Decay: 1.700 PEC
    Attacks per Min / max: 63 / 78
    Damage Interval / max: 3.2-6.5 / 3.5-7.0
    Hit Ability / max: 6.6 / 10.0
    Critical Hit Ability / max: 3.9 / 10.0

    By ticking the "HA/Damage Input" box and keying in the necessary info, what we get is the following.
    
    
    
    And as you can see, with my unmaxed stats on the Bukin's Blade, my DPP and DPS is only 2.528 dmg/pec and 4.90 dmg/sec. This means that if I had used the blade there and then without me being maxed on it, I can only at most dish out 4.90 damage a second...but at a cost of 2.528 damage for every PEC spent. (Do note that my actual "Attacks per minute" is 63 and not the 68.4 as shown in the calculator...hence the DPS is actually lower than that.)
    
    Had I been maxed on the blade, I would be doing damage at a much higher output per second (6.32 dmg/sec) and at a much better cost-effectiveness (2.862 dmg/pec) instead. And that is why it is very important that you use weapons and items in which you are "maxed out" on. (Barring the starter weapons of course...cause you have to start somewhere right?)
    
  • Hunting The Right Mob
    Now this is also another "touchy" topic because you can't simply just grab any gun or weapon and head out killing the first mob that you see. Likewise, neither can you just go out and hunt any mob simply by looking at the "L Number" of the mob.
    

    Why not?

    Cause there's a good chance that you might be out hunting on the wrong mob...be it in terms of weapon compatibility/match, in terms of your PED Card size (amount of PEDs that you have to hunt with) or perhaps some other reasons entirely.
    

    You should always research the mob first, its HP, what sort of damage and how much it deals. Then arm yourself appropriately.

    
    
    For instance, let us take a look at the above mobs. Which do you think a fresh off the boat recruit (to the game) can seriously kill without a hitch using their low damage starter weapons?
    

    Answer? None of the above.

    The Kerberos Old has 240 HP, the Nusul Young has 330 HP, the Argonaut Young has 300 HP and the Bristlehog Young, 280 HP. And the recruit on the other hand, may have only 88 HP (if I remember correctly).
    
    Even if the recruit were to have (hypothetically) used a maxed out Bukin's Blade on them, he or she would still require at least 50 attacks to slay the Kerberos Old, 68 attacks to kill the Nusul Young, 62 attacks on the Argonaut Young and 58 attacks for the Bristlehog Young.
    
    The weapon is simply not packing enough firepower (DPS) to kill the above monsters (takes far too long). And we aren't even talking about missing attacks, HP regen (of the mobs) and how much damage these buggers can deal.
    

    Its a classic case of a weapon mismatch. Wrong choice of weapon on the wrong mob.

    However with that being said, one should also be mindful and not use a weapon that's too powerful for the mob. Why? For reasons of "overkill".
    
    Imagine you using a weapon that costs 20 PECs to fire a shot and deals on average 58 damage. If you use it to kill a 20 HP mob, don't you think that your overdoing it a tad bit? Surely you don't expect that the system would actually pay you back for the "lost damage" right?
    
    Finally, not only should one choose the right weapon for the job, one will also need to hunt monsters (with the right amount of HP) according to one's PED Card size.
    
    Due to the way the system works, the loot that you might get from killing a mob, isn't quite "fixed". It may be a "No Looter" (does not pay you anything), a "Fragment Looter" (remember those blazar and nova fragments worth 0.001 PECs each?), a "Bad Looter" (pays you back some loot, but not enough to cover your cost to kill) or a "Good Looter" (pays you back your cost to kill or perhaps even more...way more).
    
    Nonetheless though, although it may be random, but if you kill a "SUFFICIENTLY" large quantity of the mob and over a "SUFFICIENTLY" long period of time (consider "rationing" your PEDs to possibly "avoid" dry spells), you should reasonably expect to get back about 90% of your PED expenditure (it takes money to make and maintain the game too you know).
    
    That is if you are doing things efficiently. And by efficiently, it means that your not grossly spending more than the mob might loot..."On Average".
    

    So how do you know what's the right mob for your PED Card size?

    Well...a good rule of thumb is that ON AVERAGE, the system appears to pay back about 3 PECs (TT Value) worth of loot for every 10 HP that the mob has. (Might be more depending on how tough the monster is, its HP regen and damage capabilities.)
    
    And ON AVERAGE, it takes you slightly more than that to kill...maybe about 3.4 PECs for every 10 HP that the mob may have. (Might be more depending on your actual DPP and perhaps other unforeseen expenditures like armor or fap costs.)
    
    From then onwards, its just a matter of how many of the mob you will need to kill to get to this "expected outcome". And this...I can't really tell you for certain. Some say that you will need to kill hundreds, some say thousands and others...tens of thousands.
    

    The actual numbers needed? I'll leave that for you to decide.

    However, one thing that is for certain is that...as you progress within the game and start to hunt higher HP and tougher mobs, the amount of PEDs (or real money) that you will start to lose will also increase accordingly. (10% of 100 PEDs may be a small sum to lose...but what about 10% of 1000 PEDs, 10k PEDs or even 100k PEDs?)
    
    Hence, in my humble opinion, you should ought to tailor yourself and hunt mobs according to how much your willing to lose (as entertainment) for playing a game (on say...a monthly basis).
    
  • Weapon Attachments
    
    
    
    The above are typical examples of your "Amps", "Scopes" and "Sights" found in Entropia Universe.
    
    For Amps, there are BLP Amps, Energy Amps and Melee Amps. These are mostly attachments which you put onto a weapon to boost its damage capabilities (open inventory, drag and drop amp onto weapon). However, there's a catch to its usage.
    
    The Amps should only be placed upon weapons with a maximum damage of at least TWICE that of the amp. For instance, the Omegaton A105 does 16 damage (13 Burn, 3 Penetration). Hence, it should only be placed on a weapon with a 32 or above "maximum damage" (refer to item's damage interval).
    
    The reason being that if its below that value, then the amp will not be able to function at 100% efficiency...and yet will still consume the same amount of "decay" as well as additional ammo which may be needed by the amp (check its "Ammo Burn").
    
    Hence, you will have "lost damage" in this case as well...and incur a penalty to your DPP output.
    

    Another function of Amps is to "raise or improve" the DPP output of your weapon. However, this effect will have to depend upon the individual amp's DPP as well as the "Markup" at which you've obtained it.
    
    Additionally, the closer the weapon's maximum damage is to the amp's requirements, the heavier the amp's DPP effect will be upon the weapon's. So you will have to take note of this as well.

    For Scopes and Sights, the benefits of using them are fuzzy...as the game developers have refused to tell us anything.
    
    But from what tests and experiments that have been performed by the players, it appears that they are mostly used to improve your "hit ability". But only for weapons that are not "maxed" and also usable only upon ranged weapons.
    
    For "maxed out" weapons, these do not seem to have any effect at all. Attaching these will not allow you to improve your "hit ability" beyond the 90% that is already being offered to maxed weapons.
    

    Do note that although useful, it is still not recommended (in my opinion) to use unmaxed weapons even if you use these scopes and sights to boost your "hit ability".
    
    Firstly, you are actually spending additional "decay" (of the scopes and sights) in order to improve your "aim".
    
    Secondly, the benefit of being able to hit better only has a slight effect on improving your DPP using an unmaxed weapon (but might possibly just be cancelled out by the "extra" decay). The bulk of being able to use the weapon to its maximum DPP potential actually lies upon getting the "Damage Interval" (of the weapon) maxed.

    Useful Reads:
    Entropia Universe - Hit Ratio 2012
    Entropia Universe - Hit Ratio Conclusions
    
  • Armors
    Now armors are, quite frankly, not my forte...because, to me, they are simply just something that adds to unnecessary, additional expense on my cost to kill a mob. I'll usually try to avoid using them unless and until it becomes impossible to hunt a mob without wearing one. But nonetheless, I'll try to explain what I had grasped from reading up about it.
    
    
    
    Within the game, there are two kinds of armors that you can use, Limited and Unlimited. While both serves the same purpose, they somewhat function on slightly different sets of rules.
    
    Firstly, without me having to say it again, you ought to know by now that limited armors cannot be repaired while unlimited armors can. Hence, you can use unlimited armors to your heart's content while limited ones have to be discarded and replaced upon them breaking down to their condition limits.
    
    Secondly, while limited armors offer their full protection values regardless of the TT conditions they are in, unlimited armors don't...and will have their protection values reduced as their TT Values whittle (refer to armor above). You will need to repair unlimited armors regularly (and maintain them at close to their full TT Values) in order for them to operate at their maximum protection capabilities.
    

    Because of this, unlimited armors with higher maximum TT Values are slightly more desirable than those which have low maximum TT Values...as they have more TT Value to burn before their protection starts to decrease.
    
    However, that would also mean that you will end up having more PEDs which are trapped (within the armor) and unusable.

    Armors are then also divided into seven unique parts, Helmet/Face Guard, Arm Guards, Harness, Gloves, Thigh Guards, Shin Guards and Foot Guards.
    
    Each of them functions as a separate "entity" and their protection values do not stack together when considering damage reduction. It will all have to depend upon which part (of the armor) the mob actually hits.
    
    If the mob hits your head, its your helmet/face guard that will protect you (and decay accordingly). If it hits your body, then its your harness that will protect you...and so on and so forth.
    

    As far as I know, certain monsters also have the "tendency" of hitting certain parts. For instance, tiny monsters which can't reach anywhere above your legs will mostly end up hitting your shin or foot guards more often.

    With respect to damage reduction, from what I've read, it appears to be a simple subtractive approach.
    
    If the mob does 30 damage (10 Impact, 10 Cut, 10 Stab) on you and your armor (the one protecting you from that hit) offers 20 Impact, 5 Cut and 0 Stab protection, then the 10 Impact damage will be negated. The 10 Cut damage will be reduced to 5 while the Stab damage will totally pass through...resulting in the mob dealing 15 damage on your character.
    
    Decay-wise, I do believe that the more damage the armor absorbs, the more the decay that is incurred upon the armor's TT Value.
    
    
    Minimum Decay (in PECs) = Sum of Protection Points (on armor) / 100
    
    
    However, there also appears to be a minimum decay value being enforced. So long as even 1 damage is being absorbed by the armor will result in the minimum decay being applied.
    
    Hence, you will need to match your armor very carefully and according to the mob that you will be hunting...or risk getting a very "fat" decay bill at the end of the hunt.
    

    Never use armors with high protection values on monsters that hit very low damage.
    
    And be especially aware of mobs that deal "exotic" damages in which your armor might have some protection against, but are of very low protection values.

  • Armor Platings
    
    
    
    These armor platings are kind of like "attachments" which you can freely add onto or detach from armors. They help provide additional protection in situations whereby your armor simply cannot cope with the damage of a monster.
    
    Used correctly, they will not only enable you to survive, but may also help "save" your decay bill...as they can be more economical than using just armor (of similar protection values) alone. However, if used in the wrong situations, they will oftentimes cause you to be overprotected and will increase your expenditure instead.
    
    Damage reduction-wise, they function pretty much just like armors. They will also be exposed to the full damage of the mob and decay accordingly. It is only when counting the actual damage on your character, that is when the damage absorbed by both the armor and armor plating gets added together and deducted from the full damage calculations.
    
    Useful Read:
    Entropia Universe - Armor Decay
    
    
  • Medical Faps
    
    
    
    Medical Faps are tools which you will often need to use when out hunting...due to the "very slow" natural regen of the character. (Unless your willing to wait until your HP recovers, in between monster kills, to save costs.)
    
    Usage of these are pretty similar to when your using weapons. Just equip and use them. Their TT Values will decay accordingly, on a "per use" basis as well.
    
    Additionally, the regular rules also applies. One should always strive to use "maxed out" faps and avoid using "Non-SIB" ones. Likewise, you should also check and calculate the fap's "heal output", "heal/sec" and "heal/pec" when choosing a suitable fap for use.
    
    The "heal output" and "heal/sec" will help you determine whether it can be used within combat or strictly in non-combat situations. The "heal/pec", on the other hand, will help you decide whether it is economical to use the fap...or should you just chuck it aside and choose another one instead.
    
    Useful Link:
    Entropia Universe - Medical Faps
    
    
  
  
  

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