I hate Big Shell

[josephm]

If it's raining or sunny Excellent Big Shell pops..or doesn't pop in the jungle. Fog or no fog. The prospect times are jacked and the map information seems lagged/limited. I think it's obvious when it's stormie or raining. My windows for big shell in the jungle are relatively small. I can pull maybe 50-100 a game day.

I don't mind it really, so much as that other than my knowledge 100% that it won't be in that spot during night time...but the weather doesn't seem to be working properly.

[magick1]

Nothing much too add, as you hit my observations right on. I rarely bother with trying to find above choise anymore, only when I really need it.

Additional tracking is still borked, it can still lead to areas with not mats at all (not just empty) or areas with different mats.

[tetra]

tracking is still borked :( rather annoying.

Getting anything over choice outside of the PR is a crapshoot and silly at best.

[lyrah68]

I know of only ONE big shell location in Burning desert, it is limited to Q50 and under, and is CAMPED tight with agro mobs. You need to take a full group to keep the agros off you or forget it, since being attacked in mid harvest WILL exhaust the entire area for 30 minutes (I wish it was only ten, but this is what I have experienced).

I have NOT found an excellent node of Big shell, I have found a few excellent nodes of oil, sap, shafts, armor shell, fibers of various kinds, but Big shell. SIGH I gave up due to agro. I might come back in 100 combat levels (at roughly melee skill of 165 ish) when I can take on a FULL pack of five baying gingos and a gorai or two. But at this point, TWO baying will take me out.

It is sad really since, in my newbie days, I knew EVERY node of the best type materials and refused to use ANYTHING else. Sigh* never thought I would miss the newbie crafting days half as much as I do...but I do miss them. You could run between the northwest and south west city for one type of crafting and the two south cities for another. Amps were still a pain, since the amber was scattered to the wind, and using the highest quartered eyeballs often gained you a better nuking amp.

If you are making pikes, you can find either a different shell...OR...a quartered material that is close to Choice Big shell, but not exactly for speed and damage, but close enough to make braving a pack of ANGRY gingos and their pals the Gorais not worth the risk.

[turkka]

Want above choice? Go to Prime Roots.
Want above choice in Prime Roots? Wait for a server reset for deposit to regenerate.

[kraegor]

I might come back in 100 combat levels (at roughly melee skill of 165 ish) when I can take on a FULL pack of five baying gingos and a gorai or two. But at this point, TWO baying will take me out.


Did i read that correctly? Two baying gingos or two baying goari will take you out at lvl 165+/- melee? I'm just checking because I'm level 94 melee and I can handle two of them at once without hp jewelry or armor. In fact, I almost exclusivly wear focus jewelry and armor since I harvest more than I fight.

Getting back on topic, check out Thesos in the Fyros lands. At certain seasons and in certain weather conditions, it can be found near the Kami at up to Q200...

[basicart]

Excl Big Shell is day time and cloudy sky, thats why its rain or sun :D

[ahoga]

Some hints

You have to take into account some other factors, some sources appears only after rain or during night (or both) for example.

The weather indicator is very basic, it will start raining a little and only when it starts raining buckets the indicator will show bad weather. There is a critical time window between good and bad weather when specific sources can appear.

[lyrah68]

At level 165 (which if you read is 100 more than my current highest melee) I am sure I could take the WHOLE pile of them one, with my Live server weapons and armor (do NOT try this on ATS until you have made a full set of heavy armor at the best Q you can, and a GOOD weapon).

Trouble is at that spot, it starts with two bayings gingos, then two of the next step down join in (still not the end of the show, but getting close), then two Gorais add in, and then they tell two friends, and so on, and so on.

I have found SMART shell, and Horny shell in Thesos. I have NOT however found BIG shell (THE shell to use for damage and speed). I have prospected from the line of Palms, past the kami, past the "kittin corpse"(the one that never decays), past truly sane or safe foraging (had a group of 100s leveling there, so the safety was ifish, but if I died they would rez me, so I tried it).

I have not tried the other side of the river due to the same situation as Pyr, only an order of magnitude worse(instead of a group of 50's gaining xp for helping keep the mobs clear, a group of up to 125's is keeping them clear and they respawn twice as fast). There is a small safe spot on the way to Matis portal, I have found resin and a few other nodes (counter ballances, fiber, and armor shells, but NOT big shell...yet.)

Did i read that correctly? Two baying gingos or two baying goari will take you out at lvl 165+/- melee? I'm just checking because I'm level 94 melee and I can handle two of them at once without hp jewelry or armor. In fact, I almost exclusivly wear focus jewelry and armor since I harvest more than I fight.

Getting back on topic, check out Thesos in the Fyros lands. At certain seasons and in certain weather conditions, it can be found near the Kami at up to Q200...

[ozric]

At level 165 .....
Why dont you track it ?

[lyrah68]

I could go on for HOURS about how broken resource tracking is. I have tried everything but found that there is NO way to reliably track anything.

I have found that if I try to track JUST the type of material (shell), I can find shell...maybe...but I can also find resin, fiber, counterballance, you name it.

I have tried to track JUST the grade of the material. For instance, CHOICE only...I found choice, basic, fine, and excellent. In other words, my search for JUST CHOICE materials FAILED more often than it suceeded.

If don't DARE get fancy and try to track, Choice ONLY, BIG Shell (two seperate searches for kind of material and TYPE of material).

If I just plain track for ANY node, it is a TOTAL crap shoot. I could find ANY type, grade, or kind of material node...it could be FULL and in good condition, it could be excellent but not there at the moment I am so very sorry try back later but I sure as heck aint gonna tell you NA NA PP (sorry but that is what that message says to me), OR I could find the spot exhausted.

I find that using tracking is about as reliable as driving a car with a faulty gas gauge...I might make it to my destination...but then again...maybe not.

Why dont you track it ?

[bodywand]

The only thing I use tracking for is searching excellent only or supreme only.. sometimes with mat spec on em. Works fine 99% of the time :P.

[josephm]

Indeed Tracking works just fine for me. The only problem I have with a 300m+ track is that sometimes I have to find a roundabout way to get there. By this time it will be night or day or the weather will change. Once I'm at the node, I prospect and I get a bad weather/time message. This is fine, I know where it is. I still think it would be more fun if my prospect ended and I had to go back once I had a general idea the next day!

In Jungle I've found no superbs, however excellent is everywhere if you have the patience to look for it. I have almost every excellent node I need. Different areas will also yield same type node sources in both agro / peaceful spots. For example, in the Knot (q200), choice big shell is near agro. This is odd because the excell is realtively far off from everything else, and a wierd sap pops that has nothing to do with the other mats.

In the void (q250) and umbra(q200) I have spots where excell bigshell is not under agro. I also believe excellent beckers, when in season in Umbra, to be under Kincherkya. Might be Beng amber though. Think Beckers. However in haven 150 max level, not 200, I can get excellent beckers VERY easily.

Agro changes over seasons etc.

Thanks for the advice on clouds. I'll pay more attention to them when I hunt and see how things work out.