Skill gains and decay

[kingofaces]

This is just from the little bit of hunting I've done without any real in-depth tracking, but I always thought it seemed like the amount you get with skill gains is based solely on decay, not total cost per shot (assuming SIB is the same). Can anyone confirm if that's the case? It always seemed like I get less skill gain when I used a low-decay high ammo cost gun.

It could just be me as a miner too being used to pretty much decay only (outside pre-amped finders) increasing skill gains.

 

[Hijacker27]

Skill gain is related to the level of the mob. High hp low level mobs give less skills than high level low hp mobs

 

[Taldur]

This is just from the little bit of hunting I've done without any real in-depth tracking, but I always thought it seemed like the amount you get with skill gains is based solely on decay, not total cost per shot (assuming SIB is the same). Can anyone confirm if that's the case? It always seemed like I get less skill gain when I used a low-decay high ammo cost gun.

It could just be me as a miner too being used to pretty much decay only (outside pre-amped finders) increasing skill gains.

Theres two aspects of skill gains:
You're getting skills based on your cycle, e.g. when using your weapon.
There's bonus skill gains when you kill a mob, that are based on the skills you used killing it. Those gains are usually higher or more frequent when killing Mobs with a high LVL/HP ratio (high lvl, low HP = good)

 

[Ferial]

It's an interesting question. I've always assumed it was based purely on cost, but I've never actually tested it myself. Should be easy enough to test for instance with Imperium HK grunt (L) vs z12 barbarella which according to wiki has the same cost but differ quite significantly in ammo burn, and compare skill gains

 

[Daimon Frey]

L/HP ratio matters if you want to optimize skill gain per ped spent. Pick mobs like bank robber on rock or carabok on ark. But if you want to optimize skill gain per hour played then pick highest dps gun you can and dense spawn so you don't lose time running between mobs.

In general small mobs are more optimal in ped terms but slow to skill due to low DPS. Big mobs are faster to skill on but more expensive in skill/ped terms.

 

[LavaSparks]

L/HP ratio matters if you want to optimize skill gain per ped spent. Pick mobs like bank robber on rock or carabok on ark. But if you want to optimize skill gain per hour played then pick highest dps gun you can and dense spawn so you don't lose time running between mobs.

In general small mobs are more optimal in ped terms but slow to skill due to low DPS. Big mobs are faster to skill on but more expensive in skill/ped terms.

Good advice. I'll add: Small mobs are good when not running skill pills, while max DPS + dense spawn is good when using 50-100 % skill pills. The latter option does limit mob selection, so it's not MU-optimal, but it probably won't matter much for cost per skill.

 

[kingofaces]

Thanks all. Just to clarify, I'm skilling up longblades a bit, so I was focusing more on the per hit gain rather than the skills you get when you kill a mob. It seems like I've always noticed higher skill gains on higher decay only melee weapons compared to decay+ammo guns, but unlike mining, I don't really keep hard data on that.