Developer Insight: The Divination Card Creation Process

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IceyDevil wrote:

But I agree most with what everyone already knows : the biggest problem with the cards is that there are cards for items worth 1c or less that take hours upon hours to farm. Rise of the Phoenix is worth like 5c tops, and each card is so rare that they are worth more than the whole item.

The biggest problem is probably that certain uniques are probably not that common, like rise of the phoenix, but still cheap because there is a relatively low demand for them.

Balancing around the players' opinion what an item is worth is very difficult, since the players could be "wrong" when it comes to price <> actual drop rate.

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KaiSong wrote:

I don't know about the creative space supporters get though still.

There is not a whole lot of creative space. If you are a good wordsmith, that's all the creative space you're allowed to have.

My card is still not done because I went back and forth with GGG on a dialect discrepancy. My art work was completed about a month ago but I can't see it for various reasons explained over email. None of this bothers me since the card didn't play a role in my purchase, but the process is only quick for those that agree to every suggestion.

Attempting to personalize the card - as I did - so that it fits both you and the game may be difficult. I think I've reached a happy medium with GGG, but for me the best part about the divination card is not the card: it's that they've allowed it to be used as the forum avatar. This benefit resembles an older - expensive - pack. You're not designing the avatar but you can take whatever their artist creates - and that's cool. If the card was to be more personal, I might have been more excited about it.

Who remembers how you could personalize items in D2? (http://classic.battle.net/diablo2exp/quests/rewards.shtml) That was awesome and Blizzard didn't care what the hell your character name was.

But here it definitely feels like the Gestapo is lurking in the world of Wraeclast - making sure the card papers check out for the exiles in question.

I like Divination Cards idea,but i aggree with some other people that there is drop rate fix needed for some lower tier cards...

I have an interesting idea for Card that gives Rare Map *corrupted* and cannot be identified,with high enough % for farmers but with question "Can i !?!"
Good luck to winners and stay safe!

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IceyDevil wrote:

But I agree most with what everyone already knows : the biggest problem with the cards is that there are cards for items worth 1c or less that take hours upon hours to farm. Rise of the Phoenix is worth like 5c tops, and each card is so rare that they are worth more than the whole item.

The biggest problem is probably that certain uniques are probably not that common, like rise of the phoenix, but still cheap because there is a relatively low demand for them.

Balancing around the players' opinion what an item is worth is very difficult, since the players could be "wrong" when it comes to price <> actual drop rate.

I've found 4-5 RotPs this league so far. Zero Sun cards. Even did a test 2-hour run through Solaris instances.

If PoE.trade was working right now you'd probably find >99 results searching for RoTP.

The balance is terrible for the card early-mid league and later, but by the same token they can't really adjust it because early league RoTP is 2-3ex or so when everyone wants it and you could make a killing off it just doing Solaris runs.

Edit:

@ArrowStar: This card basically exists

This was a great read! I feel like there's been a severe absence of news since 2.0 launched... I miss reading about anything and everything that happens at GGG :D Keep the news coming please! Thank you =)

Thanks for the insight! It's always interesting to learn "how things are made", especially when we're all so invested in this game. The artwork staying similarly styled is a solid move, and the level of creative input you allow is one of the reason that you'll continue to have loyal fans.

I'm sure I'm not the only one that hopes that you leave the "Create a Divination Card" option open indefinitely - as new items are released from patches and expansions, and people's financial situations change for the better, I can certainly see the value in letting supporters create Divination cards down the line in the future. It'd be a shame to have them feel "legacy" in new leagues.

For the people who get upset about cards they don't see the value in, do what you've always done.

Cheers, and keep up the great work, this game continues to astound.

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Serleth wrote:

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Perq wrote:

The Carrion Crow is not even worth picking up. Not sure what is design goal behind these.
The Scholar - do I have to say anything? :(

Carrion Crow can result in a 6S chest.

Scholar's a godsend for MFers. I do Archives runs now just to restock quickly.

Same! I'm running MF and with all my IIR, i find so many rares and not enough wisdoms, the Scholar let's me restock wisdoms really fast. It has actually become my favorite div card of all right now. It feels like what the div cards were meant to be: You're low on a currency, you can farm a certain area to get more of that currency.

I agree with you on the carrion crow and the hermit though... Maybe the C Crow could be useful if it had a drop rate similar or higher than Scholar so you could farm them until you found some sort of armour with a high enough life roll to be worth auging/regaling/crafting... but it would have to have a hella high drop rate!

P.S. Has anyone made a card for an Albino Rhoa Feather yet? if I had $1,000 That is definitly what i would do xD

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Since their introduction in The Awakening, Divination Cards have become one of our most popular features.

Really?

:/

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jugglereli wrote:

Maybe the C Crow could be useful if it had a drop rate similar or higher than Scholar...until you found some sort of armour with a high enough life roll to be worth auging/regaling/crafting

Don't think you did enough Aqueducts runs. I'd often find a full set in one sweep while leveling in A4M, and if I recall correctly the ilvl is = character level up to a max of ilvl 80. I know I've turned at least one set in with 100 life, which is an ilvl 73 affix.

Frankly, i just jug them into separate tab and don't care to check on. From time to time i check which ones i can sell, some go for an exalt (yay!).

Can't see people "self found" farming them.

They are just too rare to bother. Screw self found, rather pay those ~16 alts for that Lifespring...