Drop rate research paints a general overview of the loot tables. And if the drop rates had been altered, it should show up in the research. Like the one linked by Xcorpdog.2840.
We have to recognize the delicate balance between incentivizing the effort spent to complete the fractal and exclusivity of the end reward.
In other words, if the tonic were a fairly common loot, it loses its uniqueness. And it is precisely because of this uniqueness that we continue to run higher scale fractals.
Personally, I think these are the two factors that throw high scale fractals’ reward into question:
- Mismatch between amount of effort spent and the reward at the end
- Limited access to roll for the reward more than once per day
For (1), if the party was able to clear the fractal within 30 mins, I suspect that there will be fewer suggestions to “correct” the loot tables.
For (2), we have similar items that are on “abysmal drop rates”, like the Queen Bee. But we have heard little to no feedback about it. Why? Because we can roll for it as many times as we want.
So how do we address this?
- Reduce fractal difficulty? – Re-balance the effort spent vs reward
- Leave it to the community to form specialized teams that clear fractals efficiently? – Keeps the exclusivity of the tonic but marginalizes a larger segment of the community
- Make the tonic accessible at lower fractal tiers but at even lower drop rates? – Opens up options but risks losing exclusivity of the tonic as there are more chances for people to roll for it
These are questions that ANet can consider as well. Fixing the reward specifically for the higher tiers is unlikely to result in a solution that satisfies everyone.
