Rda crystal

[Tantreghan]

Is the rda crystal worth paying the mil for? Or is it not with the recent changes to the rda system. I'm tempted to buy one but I've heard mixed reactions on the crystal so thought I'd open a thread to discuss it a bit.

Also hadn't been much talk about rdas lately from what I've seen so any other topics please bring up and share thoughts.


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[Messremb]

I would say spending 2 mil (for crystal and the what rdas are up upgrade) is a must if you want to do rdas now. But the 2 mil upgraded drop i hear has been deactivated so no on that.

The only issue with the current rda system is their needs to be increased spawn time if one is completed. Other than that I love it.

Oh and if you don't have at least 2 mil to spend on it, the crystal is not worth it.

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[Dig'em]

Did the disable the extra loot upgrade? @eppy

 

[ProdigyOsi]

I agree with @Messremb but I will add to it by posing the following question...

Are you realistically going to get enough use out of it?

Let me put RDA hunting into perspective for you:
In the current system they spawn one at a time, anywhere in the world, about 1 every 3 hours. If you don't find them within an arbitrary and unpredictable amount of time, poof, it is gone, and you have to start over. This is a tremendous amount of work and there is very little chance of actually being "Paid out" for that effort. Relics seem to drop something like 1-in-30 to 1-in-50 RDAs and 3 of 6 possible relics sell for less than a mill. The only thing you are guaranteed is 1/5th of another RDA (in the portal fragment) and 35k for the power scroll.

Now it is true that 1 in 3 (aprox) are faction portals and you can just port to them from the faction base that controls the sigil. But to compete in those you have to be quick and you have to be ready for a fight.

So, do you have a guild or a small group of friends with you that are willing to go through that grind with you in the quest for phat lewt?

If so, go for it and welcome to the club. If not, it's probably a waste of gold TBH.

 

[Young Star]

I agree wil ProdigyOsi. It really depends on what you plan to do with it once you get the crystal AND the upgrade. The crystal by itself is just a 1mill scoreboard. So buying the upgrade to know if a portal is even up will help save you from wasting time tracking when they are all closed. Finding them takes a lot of work though without help. Even with a half dozen or more looking we've missed some or finished them right before the deadline.

 

[Tantreghan]

Yeah I think I would definitely want to know if an rda is up or not so I don't spend hours looking for nothing.

Does the crystal really help narrow down the search area?

I have never used one so I don't know how it works.

I plan on getting the crystal with the upgrades. Will probably hold off on the %increase drop upgrade till it's working again.


Sounds like people prefer the changes to the rda system so far then? Sounds like it's balanced out a lot so it's just as hard for everyone to find.

Reds/blue pks can't come in last min and take over so easily but harder for pvmers to track also


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[Young Star]

The crystal with the upgrade to know when one is up is pretty much a must to get in the RDA tracking game. It does not narrow the search area. There is an increased tracking upgrade since the default is only ~30 tiles. The upgrade goes to ~40 tile radius. It is only 250k but not necessary.

I do have one suggestion i wish they would consider for the current system. I would like them to make it so if a gate closes without being finished that the next gate opens as well. The previous gate would still be open or it could move to a new location.The number of gates open would still cap at 3. Each gate gets one respawn then closes or could keep respawning with a hard cap at 6 hours.

 

[ProdigyOsi]

Sounds like people prefer the changes to the rda system so far then? Sounds like it's balanced out a lot so it's just as hard for everyone to find.

I haven't heard this from anyone, but certainly not from those who try to do the RDAs. The new system makes it harder to track because you're doing the work you would've done to find the three portals to find only a single portal and way more often (~ 3x the work). The only benefit to the community is that you are slightly more likely to stumble upon one and complete it before it is found and done. If I were to guess though, I think more close now without being found than are stumbled upon and completed by non-RDA guilds.

 

[Tantreghan]

I haven't heard this from anyone, but certainly not from those who try to do the RDAs. The new system makes it harder to track because you're doing the work you would've done to find the three portals to find only a single portal and way more often (~ 3x the work). The only benefit to the community is that you are slightly more likely to stumble upon one and complete it before it is found and done. If I were to guess though, I think more close now without being found than are stumbled upon and completed by non-RDA guilds.

Right that makes sense. I have been talking to a few other players now about it and they share the same view as you for the most part. To hard to find and then a long wait for another to spawn and find it in decent time so you can finish.

I think young star had some good ideas in the post above too.

If one is not found in 3 hours it could re spawn somewhere else. I also think that if you find the rda that once you enter it the 3 hour timer stops. I mean if you spend 2 hours looking for one, you may only have 1/2 hour to finish it. Some guilds can make that work, but lots don't have enough high end tamers or player base to do so.

Maybe there could be a separate timer in the rda once found (say and hour) to finish that rda. Time starts when you kill the first monster or enter.

Also maybe since we only get one rda at a time that the 3 hour timer for the new rda is combined with the timer to finish the current rda. Basically if I find an rda, enter, and it takes me 45min to complete. The next rda would be ready to spawn in 2hours and 15min.


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[Young Star]

Right that makes sense. I have been talking to a few other players now about it and they share the same view as you for the most part. To hard to find and then a long wait for another to spawn and find it in decent time so you can finish.

I think young star had some good ideas in the post above too.

If one is not found in 3 hours it could re spawn somewhere else. I also think that if you find the rda that once you enter it the 3 hour timer stops. I mean if you spend 2 hours looking for one, you may only have 1/2 hour to finish it. Some guilds can make that work, but lots don't have enough high end tamers or player base to do so.

Maybe there could be a separate timer in the rda once found (say and hour) to finish that rda. Time starts when you kill the first monster or enter.

Also maybe since we only get one rda at a time that the 3 hour timer for the new rda is combined with the timer to finish the current rda. Basically if I find an rda, enter, and it takes me 45min to complete. The next rda would be ready to spawn in 2hours and 15min.


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There is a 1 hour extension on the RDA once someone inflicts 1hp of damage to any monster inside. So if you find it you essentially have 1 hour to finish it minimum to finish it, assuming some random player didn't start that window earlier and left for whatever reason.

I preferred having the 6 hour cycle more then this staggered one. There really is no breaks in between if you really want to try to get to as many RDA's as possible. The 6 hour cycle you usually had 3-5 hour break to do other things. I understand that the old way became too systematic and often all three gates were found and completed within an hour. That doesn't really lend too many opportunities for people to stumble upon them.

The new system does lend to higher chances, in theory, of someone stumbling upon one. In practice a lot of RDAs close without being finished and those actively looking spend a lot of time and resources to find them. On occasion there are smaller groups that find them. It's hard to say if that number is higher with this system or not. I think my suggestion compromises on the two systems and will lower the uncompleted rate of the RDAs, and still allows for organic discovery.