08-08-2003, 10:27 AM
adeyke,Aug 8 2003, 02:57 AM Wrote:The socket quest reward from Larzuk doesn't make anything magical. And there are recipes for adding sockets to white items (Ral, Amn, perfect amethyst in the case of weapons). It would seem quite a waste to use a socket quest on a white item just to make it possible to reroll it.Good point. It does seem kinda odd, doesn't it? I'll explain, as it seems logical to me (ymmv)...
The 3 regular gem recipe doesn't care whether the item is magical or normal, but it does require that the item have sockets. Regular gems are easy to come by (I have been in the habit of not bothering to cube up gems less than flawless, because I can make a reasonable argument that it is a waste of time and space). This 3 regular gem recipe produces, apparently, exactly the same output result as the more expensive 3 flawless recipe. Flawless Gems have value, as they can fairly steadily be cubed to perfects which do have value.
Ergo, I strongly prefer the 3 reg over the 3 flawless recipe.
Which brings us to the *first iteration only* problem of what if the item to be processed doesn't have sockets (yet) to allow it to qualify for 3 reg cubing. A recipe taking an Amn, Ral and perfect Amethyst to add sockets seems like a huge waste to me, since, for example, I value those at far more than the few minutes it takes to "promote" a nm hellforge rushee to a normal socket quest rushee.
While a normal hellforge rushee might seem like too much time investment compared to Countess runs (ignoring the gems factor) it is pretty clear to me that nm hellforge rushing, with all the neat rune needing recipes, is a huge win. I have been making a bit of a study of rushing techniques lately, and I'm inclined to guess at this point that hell hellforge rushing will also be worthwhile. Naturally this implies an abundance, not a shortage, of socket quests available for use, as, on average, a fair number of rushees will need to be processed before needing to put the runes thus gathered into a item that needs socketing.
As primarily a Single Player player I can tell you that, in the past, I've let innumerable socket quest rewards go unclaimed. If the 3 regular gem recipe is of any worth I could imagine rerolling a particular base item I like literally dozens of times from all the junk gems I now throw away, and I wouldn't mind using up one of my surplus socket quests for the privilege.
So I was curious if the ilvl/alvl of the reroll recipes was too low to be worth the bother (wow, what a lot of technical info in response--thanks all... I wish the game would just display or -debug log this stuff).
Of course it doesn't really matter much, but I thought it might be something interesting to do that could be mildly helpful. Sort of like knowing how to buy and sell in town and make a profit. Doesn't matter much (ultimately gold in small quanities is noise) but it is interesting that there are ways (yes, plural) to do it, and it might help a little bit when you start out poor.
I may make a post some time entitled: Entitlements--how to claim useful things that are your "right" in D2 (without going to jail!).
The game has evolved so much over time and is so complex I don't think most players are likely to learn what minimal goodies you can reasonably get, even if you don't trade or spend lots of time playing.
"He's got demons? Cool!" -- Gonzo, Muppet Treasure Island
"Proto-matter... an unstable substance which every ethical scientist in the galaxy has denounced as dangerously unpredictable." -- Saavik, Star Trek III
"Mom! Dad! It's evil! Don't touch it!" -- Kevin, Time Bandits
"Proto-matter... an unstable substance which every ethical scientist in the galaxy has denounced as dangerously unpredictable." -- Saavik, Star Trek III
"Mom! Dad! It's evil! Don't touch it!" -- Kevin, Time Bandits