Quick question - Quick answer

[Sodaboy]

Rare creature rate wasn't nerfed because of one person. It used to be 1/256, which was wrong and too high, now it's 1/512.

http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?t=86241

But you can Google PSO rare monster rate and most places will tell you it should be 1/512.

 

[Nikki]

Weird, but if it's at default now I guess that's ok...I'm curious what was scht at? Do you know? As it is now it's kinda sadistic. XD

 

[Sodaboy]

No idea

 

[Aleron Ives]

I'm curious what was scht at? Do you know?

I'm not sure how it can be 1/512 here, because the way Schthack implemented it, calculating such a rate was impossible. It's true that the GC rate should be 1/512 offline, but obviously that doesn't apply to BB.

The way we were told it worked was that the server would pick 8 (or was it 16?) rare enemy tags and then randomly distribute them across all the enemies in the game (across every floor). If the tag happened to land on an enemy with a rare form, you'd get a rare enemy. If all the tags landed on enemies with no rare form, you wouldn't get any rare enemies. You could calculate a rough rate by dividing the total number of enemies by the number of tags, but since maps are chosen randomly and each have slightly different monster counts, you can't have an exact rate (not to mention that since all the rare enemies are located in only the first two areas in Episode I and only the first area in Episode II, the chances of getting rare monsters are even lower, since 50 or 75% of the floors that can get tags have a 100% chance of never giving you a rare enemy).

 

[Sodaboy]

I'm curious what was scht at? Do you know?

I'm not sure how it can be 1/512 here

Of course you can't be sure, you don't know how our code works.

The rate here is 1/512 exactly, with the exception of Kondrieu who has a 10% chance.

PSO does have an array of rare monsters you have to fill in during the bursting process, but when we parse map data during a game creation and/or loading of a quest, we do a rare roll only on every monster that can have a rare type. If the roll beats the 1/512 odd, the monster becomes a rare. To dumb it down, say there are 10 Rag Rappies in a map, we roll 10 times (1 for each Rappy as the data is parsed) for the 1/512 roll. If any of those are successful, the mid for that monster is inserted into the rare monster array and becomes an Al Rappy.

Being that the rate is 1/512, we don't come close to filling that array (Which allows for 30 total rare monsters in a game). But, should we overfill the array, the code will stop trying to roll for rare monsters during the map load.

If I set the rate to 1/4, then 25% of the monsters in the game which have rare types would be rare.

So, yes, we can have an exact rate. Thank you very much.

Just because Schthack implemented things in a certain way doesn't mean other people do the same implementation.

Throwing rare tags at random mids that may or may not be a monster type that can have a rare monster is an inefficient implementation, IMHO.

We only do a 1/512 roll when the following monsters are encountered:

Hildebears, Rappies, Lillies, Slimes, Merissas, Pazuzus, Dorphons, and Saint-Millon/Shambertin.

When we see their base in the map data, the roll is done, if successful, their map id is put into the array of rare monsters. It's an easy way to implement a rare rate.

 

[Aleron Ives]

Of course you can't be sure, you don't know how our code works.

That, and I don't know how PSO synchronises the rarity of monsters between clients. It's easy to do a 1/512 roll when you're offline, but you have to have some way of making sure every client sees the same monsters as rare in an online game. I thought that Schthack implemented his method because the game didn't let you do rolls on individual monsters, but I take it that BB has some new way to let the server control and signal rare enemies that isn't present in previous versions. (Nobody really seems to know how rare monsters are determined and synchronised between clients on Ver.1/2/3, as the client controls it and probably tells other players about it in the mysterious team join packet.)

 

[Sodaboy]

Yeah, they're all synchronized, don't worry. It's a part of both what the server sends and in the mysterious join packet as well.

This is something I already figured out way back in 2008. Lol. You definitely can roll on individual monsters.

 

[Aleron Ives]

Would you happen to know if the server has the ability to send that information for previous versions? I'm guessing that's a new packet for BB, as rare monsters seem to work on previous versions without any server-side intervention.

 

[Sodaboy]

Would you happen to know if the server has the ability to send that information for previous versions? I'm guessing that's a new packet for BB, as rare monsters seem to work on previous versions without any server-side intervention.

I'm not sure, but I imagine something exists either for the party leader or the server in previous versions, because the rare monsters were sync'd online in GameCube. (I don't know who sent the data, though, in that version. Whether it was server or leader.)

In BB the packet is 0xDE. (Not a 0x60 packet, it's just 0xDE).

It's 40 bytes long with the data starting at 0x08. (8 bytes for the header, 32 bytes for the data. Data consists of 16 shorts which are the exact monster IDs you want to be rare. So yeah, I goofed up my first post, you can't have 30 monsters, only 16. )

 

[Nikki]

I'm curious what was scht at? Do you know?

I'm not sure how it can be 1/512 here

Of course you can't be sure, you don't know how our code works.

The rate here is 1/512 exactly, with the exception of Kondrieu who has a 10% chance.

PSO does have an array of rare monsters you have to fill in during the bursting process, but when we parse map data during a game creation and/or loading of a quest, we do a rare roll only on every monster that can have a rare type. If the roll beats the 1/512 odd, the monster becomes a rare. To dumb it down, say there are 10 Rag Rappies in a map, we roll 10 times (1 for each Rappy as the data is parsed) for the 1/512 roll. If any of those are successful, the mid for that monster is inserted into the rare monster array and becomes an Al Rappy.

Being that the rate is 1/512, we don't come close to filling that array (Which allows for 30 total rare monsters in a game). But, should we overfill the array, the code will stop trying to roll for rare monsters during the map load.

If I set the rate to 1/4, then 25% of the monsters in the game which have rare types would be rare.

So, yes, we can have an exact rate. Thank you very much.

Just because Schthack implemented things in a certain way doesn't mean other people do the same implementation.

Throwing rare tags at random mids that may or may not be a monster type that can have a rare monster is an inefficient implementation, IMHO.

We only do a 1/512 roll when the following monsters are encountered:

Hildebears, Rappies, Lillies, Slimes, Merissas, Pazuzus, Dorphons, and Saint-Millon/Shambertin.

When we see their base in the map data, the roll is done, if successful, their map id is put into the array of rare monsters. It's an easy way to implement a rare rate.

I actually greatly appreciate you explaining how it works here, gives me a little bit of hope. If it was 1/512 in the sense of how it was done on other servers it'd make finding rare creatures hard beyond any reasonability. Guess I'm just having really really bad luck.

 

[Nikki]

1) PSO world tells me to kill the pan arms to do min kill ttf. I can kill the shark instead, right? They both open the boss door, and they are both one enemy.

2) How do I kill the dubchick without getting completely fucking wrecked by the baranz?

The best bet is to follow the guide as PSO might be asking for specific enemies to be dead to satisfy certain conditions. As far as the baranz whats your setup, stats, weapons. If you're soloing there's no easy way for HUmar to handle that situation without a twins blast, and/or a decent charge/demons/hell weapon that can take the dubchich out fast before the baranz spam their missiles. OH and also, if you still get knocked down, just take out the center baranz and stand between them if you cant escape the missiles fast enough, they'll wipe eachother out for you.

 

[Matt]

Need an Orotiagito (or Syringe) to deal with the Dub easily as it can wipe out the switch without killing the Dub.

Not sure what to suggest otherwise.

 

[Nikki]

OH and also, if you still get knocked down, just take out the center baranz and stand between them if you cant escape the missiles fast enough, they'll wipe eachother out for you.

I don't get knocked down, and I'm not allowed to kill them if I want SS rank.

Even if I one-shotted the dubchick I still get surrounded by missiles.

Most likely the issue is your positioning/path. Not getting knocked down is a rather large problem as you get wombo combo'd by missiles but most of them can be avoided. Remember they shoot in a pattern. You can abuse that.

 

[Aleron Ives]

Even if I one-shotted the dubchick I still get surrounded by missiles.

Here's the poor-man's way to do it:

1. Buy a Telepipe in the shop.
2. Enter the Baranz room and run directly to the door for Vol Opt.
3. When you're in front of the door, set the Telepipe to go up and reset the Baranz. Don't use Ryuker, as it's slower.
4. When you reach Pioneer 2, go back down to Mine 2.
5. Don't move. Use a Handgun or Rifle to kill the Dubchich and make the Duvuik fall down. You're too far from the Baranz to wake them up if you're standing by the door to Vol Opt.
6. Shoot the Duvuik from as far away as possible to open the door to Vol Opt. Run like the wind to avoid the missles if you woke up the Baranz in the process.

Holy Ray would prove quite useful in this scenario, as it's one of the few rifles that HUmar and HUnewearl can use.

 

[Matt]

There's a blindspot on Dark Bringers -- stand under their arm on their right-hand side and they can't hit you. In Normal - VH, it is their left side that has this blindspot.

 

[Aleron Ives]

There's a blindspot on Dark Bringers -- stand under their arm on their right-hand side and they can't hit you. In Normal - VH, it is their left side that has this blindspot.

Somehow, I've never heard anybody ever mention this. :shock:

Are there any known bugs with the Episode II MA4 quests? For instance, it's known that the Ob Lilies in the corner of one room in Cave 2 are positioned over the water, so they never drop anything in MA4 B/C on Episode I. Does Episode II have any similar problems?

 

[Matt]

Somehow, I've never heard anybody ever mention this. :shock:

Me neither, I only discovered it myself because I was curious to see if there was a Bringer blindspot I could use like I had been taught in Challenge.

Are there any known bugs with the Episode II MA4 quests? For instance, it's known that the Ob Lilies in the corner of one room in Cave 2 are positioned over the water, so they never drop anything in MA4 B/C on Episode I. Does Episode II have any similar problems?

Nope, there are no issues like that.

 

[chrishnyc]

Is there Battle Mode on this server?

 

[Sodaboy]

Yes.

 

[chrishnyc]

Awesome, thanks.