Skill boost rings and their effect.

[Katie Chalmers]

Hi Guys!
So I have been running around with this little bugger on my finger. Summer 19 ring.

Normally when I get skill buffs, I don't question a good thing, and I just thank the Mindark gods for my supposed elevated progression. But seeing as this rings value is somewhat tied to these skill gain boosts it got me thinking about extracting the most value from it to get my moneys worth.
To clarify, I have not purchased this yet. I am having a lend from a very wonderful Soc member, who has given me option to buy.

So, I am aware that skill buffs work by increasing the frequency of skill gain events, not individual skill gain values, so I'll skip over that chestnut.

I have 2 questions, and for the sake of argument I will be referring to the "Blades" skill boost specifically.
1. With this ring active am I receiving a skill boost on all associated offensive skills tied to using a bladed weapon?
2. Assuming the above is true, do I have to be actively using said weapon to get these skills or can it work passively?
For example: using a blade skills perception, but I can also skill perception by wood chopping. Will my skill boost be applied? It is a skill gained by offensive use of a bladed weapon.

Oook That's about it, I hope I have explained myself properly. Any feedback or cookies will be appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[Legends]

So, I am aware that skill buffs work by increasing the frequency of skill gain events, not individual skill gain values, so I'll skip over that chestnut.

Actually, MA stated that both of those things will increase when you have a skill boost active; both the amount and the frequency (though this wouldn't be noticeable if you take a 10% skill pill...). I'm sorry I looked and looked on this forum to try to find where they said this but atm I can't seen to locate it. I will keep searching.

I can't really help you with your specific question but I wanted to share this:

Last week-end I spent a couple of days on CP in the Cave. The first day I hunted without the Summer Ring 2019 and then on the 2nd day I was using the ring. On the first day I was getting skill boosts which were all >100% (higher than 100%), a few even in the 200s. I noticed that while I was using the ring on the 2nd day, all the skill boosts I got were lower than 100%, around 45%. I thought this couldn't just be a coincidence since we are talking about hunting runs that lasted each almost 10 hours long, and every time I got a skill boost, I checked to see what the actual value of the boost was.

The only real difference other than the ring is that when I started using it, I had just maxed out the LP-45 (L) so switched from LP-40 to LP-45. Maybe that is what made the difference, who knows, but it just seemed really odd why all my skill boosts were suddenly much lower in value once I started using the ring.

So if you are considering this ring mostly for it's skill buffs, you should give it a test run to see it's really giving you what it promises, because I found this very odd and it raised some eyebrows for me.

Cheers,
Legends

 

[Katie Chalmers]

Actually, MA stated that both of those things will increase when you have a skill boost active; both the amount and the frequency (though this wouldn't be noticeable if you take a 10% skill pill...). I'm sorry I looked and looked on this forum to try to find where they said this but atm I can't seen to locate it. I will keep searching.

I can't really help you with your specific question but I wanted to share this:

Last week-end I spent a couple of days on CP in the Cave. The first day I hunted without the Summer Ring 2019 and then on the 2nd day I was using the ring. On the first day I was getting skill boosts which were all <100%, a few even in the 200s. I noticed that while I was using the ring on the 2nd day, all the skill boosts I got were lower than 100%, around 45%. I thought this couldn't just be a coincidence since we are talking about hunting runs that lasted each almost 10 hours long, and every time I got a skill boost, I checked to see what the actual value of the boost was.

The only real difference other than the ring is that when I started using it, I had just maxed out the LP-45 (L) so switched from LP-40 to LP-45. Maybe that is what made the difference, who knows, but it just seemed really odd why all my skill boosts were suddenly much lower in value once I started using the ring.

So if you are considering this ring mostly for it's skill buffs, you should give it a test run to see it's really giving you what it promises, because I found this very odd and it raised some eyebrows for me.

Cheers,
Legends

Interesting observation Legends.
I for one haven't seen any difference in the skill value being awarded with or without the ring. Maybe however it increases the likelyhood of a high value reward from occurring, (skill global as I call them), maybe I have to pull out a few chat logs and do some experiments on this.

Regarding your hunting experience its almost as if Mindark are secretly trying to shaft us in ways we normally wouldn't notice.
But lets holster our pitchforks for a quick minute here.
I can only refer to This as the only official data from mindark side regarding the skill boosts. It is heavily implied from the way I interpret it that the strength and duration of the buff is tied to your cycle intensity. But this could also be tied in to other KPIs such as damage dealt or, skill progression, which all tie in together mostly anyway.
Now by this statement we assume that the harder we cycle the better our skill buff reward will be, but it could also be argued that the inverse is true, and here is my argument. A player that is already maxing out his cycle intensity has no need for any additional motivation. But what is the best way to convince a player to up his kill rate if he is just lazily out there killing a few mobs between Soc banter? Give him a limited-time 200% boost. Carrot and stick mechanic.
So if the only change from the hunt was the ring equipped, depending on what you switched it from, this may of altered your cycle intensity or one of the other metrics that Mindark may use to evaluate "activity." If they use Skill gain as a metric (which would be pretty dumb programming I would think) that could of altered it.

Now I just pulled this straight out of my ass so take it at face value, but I do always seem to get these bonuses after a period of short inactivity, so I would not be totally bewildered if I was right. I admit it could just be my pattern seeking brain trying to come to conclusions. Sounds like some tests are needed.

Thanks for your reply.

 

[Legends]

Interesting observation Legends.
I for one haven't seen any difference in the skill value being awarded with or without the ring. Maybe however it increases the likelyhood of a high value reward from occurring, (skill global as I call them), maybe I have to pull out a few chat logs and do some experiments on this.

Regarding your hunting experience its almost as if Mindark are secretly trying to shaft us in ways we normally wouldn't notice.
But lets holster our pitchforks for a quick minute here.
I can only refer to This as the only official data from mindark side regarding the skill boosts. It is heavily implied from the way I interpret it that the strength and duration of the buff is tied to your cycle intensity. But this could also be tied in to other KPIs such as damage dealt or, skill progression, which all tie in together mostly anyway.
Now by this statement we assume that the harder we cycle the better our skill buff reward will be, but it could also be argued that the inverse is true, and here is my argument. A player that is already maxing out his cycle intensity has no need for any additional motivation. But what is the best way to convince a player to up his kill rate if he is just lazily out there killing a few mobs between Soc banter? Give him a limited-time 200% boost. Carrot and stick mechanic.
So if the only change from the hunt was the ring equipped, depending on what you switched it from, this may of altered your cycle intensity or one of the other metrics that Mindark may use to evaluate "activity." If they use Skill gain as a metric (which would be pretty dumb programming I would think) that could of altered it.

Now I just pulled this straight out of my ass so take it at face value, but I do always seem to get these bonuses after a period of short inactivity, so I would not be totally bewildered if I was right. I admit it could just be my pattern seeking brain trying to come to conclusions. Sounds like some tests are needed.

Thanks for your reply.

Intersting read that link you provided. It could be an inverse relationship, i.e. if your level of activity was (s)low, your skill boost will be bigger, if it was high, your skill boost would be smaller (is that what you were suggesting? Sorry I'm not sure if I understood fully what you were theorizing).

In my case I could see it since the 1% Life Steal on the ring allowed me to just keep shooting without healing, which would have resulted in an increase in my level of activoty, making the skill boosts smaller.