Alphabet Soup: Part 2

The entire week of farming was fairly simple for the most part, though it seems the longer this event draws on the more drama the spikes up from it and malicious gameplay arises. People first complained of spinelles and bms, and later reports of pkers has arisen since then. Given Orpesia is a non-baron server pk isn't something often seen unless it is between warring clans (previously, before the feature was removed) or now between the factions of Sahasrha and Dronarati. Unfortunately, squadding with an opposing faction will make you red, even against your own faction. Not something I was particularly thrilled with at all, but, eh, if someone wants to kill you/your faction/clan/whatever for whatever reason or purpose, they will find ways to do it.

..Anyway, I'll leave that topic for another time.

Over the week the afk farming netted near 500 boxes resulting in juuust eeking by to acquire 30 tokens just in time to buy Punisher from the token shop before Maint began. (Much thanks to a dear friend for helping me with those last three Rs!). The purchase was none-too soon as post-maint Punisher was increased in price from 30 to 40 tokens, and all UPCs' prices rose from 10 to 15 tokens each. In addition, the original words were rotated out in favor of new ones, Orion, Stars, and Queen. I was pretty excited about this move as I had enough letters from the previous week to buy 10 tokens as soon as I could access the shop, and did so with relish.

An additional change was to the Alphabet Basket which I had ignored/skipped over in my previous post. With the Alphabet Basket a player can put in 1 letter (doesn't matter what one) and get back a random item. Previously they weren't of much interest, as half of the prize list consisted of Lollipops. The other items were Elite Treasure Boxes, Swampangler Spinelles, Amrita, AMs Boost, and Teleport Scrolls. Pretty mediocre stuff, well, maybe sans the boxes. Over maint this received an uber boost to also drop every Raiden's Angel series box from I to X. Previously cash shop boxes that have been since removed, they are known for having a chance to drop Angel Series (33 AR) and Draconic Series (32 AR) weapons. A complete list of what box drops what item is available here.

Currently the Raiden's Angel VII box is bugged and refuses to drop anything when opened, so it's generally advised people hang onto them until they can be fixed.

Another little perk added after maint was the addition of an absolute ton of Parasols dotted across Gigante Beach.

Sit back and relax for a nice buff...

If you move your characters beneath and use the 'Sit on the floor' pose, the posing characters will all gain a buff that grants 50% exp for two hours. It makes for an excellent boost to any vesping expedition, for similar powerleveling task.

Utilizing the new words after maint, I traded in enough tokens for Emilia the Sage, Pose Guide Book 11, and a Black Dragon Pet. In addition to a Master Explorer Pack I snagged last week to help with farming (and for SA access) this brings the total to 52 words turned in thus far, and as of writing this nearly 1.1k boxes farmed. Oh, that was another thing over last maint - box drop rate was increased 50%, however due to my now casual farming endeavors, I still gain boxes about the same rate per hour this week as I did last week. (5-6/hr)

Should my more favored maps ever open up at some point, it would be interesting to try farming there once more and seeing how effective the 50% boost is. While some players have reported an increase in drops, some still complain that their drop rates are mediocre to pathetic at best. Personally, I'm of the opinion it's due to area set-up/team composition, but I'm sure it makes things no less frustrating for the affected parties. Currently I'm leveling my Vets and maxing their stances as I farm, which means I have to use different teams than I prefer. I'll keep track of how different team combinations affects my box farming, and post on it later. Until then..

~Alze