Arlen

In the Argos lobby, you see raid timer tick down. The last boss crumbles away into light. An engraving book appears. It is legendary. It is tradable. And eight folks sits there silently staring at it. Ultimately, Lost Ark progression are about social economy: Who will get this? Is it worth bidding on? Will I … Read more

Old School RuneScape’s Delve interface has an inviting look but it’s hard to run the numbers. I spent three hours digging deep and getting killed often, only to come up with one scrap of fabric. That barely covers supply costs. And yet that anger is not strictly due to bad luck. Most of the time, … Read more

Dark Souls 3 is very much a game about farming. It’s not just about being good at it. It’s about having enough stamina left after standing around hacking silver knights to death over and over until some random item drop onto your screen. And you wonder, “Am I doing this right? Or am I barking … Read more

You get that Legendary item you don’t want instead of the one you’re saving for. It’s personal but there’s no collusion against you. There’s just probability at work, and it doesn’t care about your collection plans. For most players, Apex Packs are slot machines. Throw some money in, pray for a jackpot. That won’t last … Read more

Diablo 4’s RNG feels like a bottomless pit. Farming legendary aspects can be like staring helplessly at a void of randomness. Kill the same elite packs over and over again. Run through the same nightmare dungeon for four hours. And yet, all you have to show for it is common junk. It’s maddening; the game … Read more

If you’re running out of resources, you might be tempted to rush through upgrading a Town Hall. You notice someone has a weak-looking base. Before he can stock up on more loot, you think: Attack! But how much do they realy have? What’s displayed above their storage buildings isn’t the whole total. It doesn’t count … Read more

Every run of a R.E.P.O. Exists to meet its quota. It’s about banking enough surplus before time runs out. If you can spend the night hunting for rare items but don’t have at least three grand surplus in your truck when the clock ticks down to zero, then you’ve failed this run. That kind of … Read more

When you begin the raid, you’re thinking about your prayer pots and Olm’s phase transitions. Three hours later, when the loot window pops up, all that math about how much gold per hour come to mind. Time is the true currency here so most players end up losing “money”. Which is to say, they waste … Read more

It’s satisfying to hear Telos break apart, until you remember that all you have in your chest is absolute garbage. That’s why we have drop rates, though; it isn’t because people are spreadsheet addicts, but rather because losing out on hundreds of hours to variance makes it feel personal. Once you put in your preferred … Read more

Maybe you’re trying to complete a prayer set; you’re missing the Dexterous scroll, and you might want to get into Chambers of Xeric. Or maybe you want more damage; you see that someone’s running around with a Twisted bow on their back and you think, “I’d love one of those.” You head in there with … Read more

If you’re like most gamers, there’s nothing more frustrating then farming mobs for six hours and never seeing the one thing you wanted to pick up. You got all the right buffs, you’re wearing the right gear, you’re patient enough, but still, no item drops. It’s so infuriating it feels personal, except then you remember: … Read more

There is psychological tension as you are three packs away from an heirloom drop. It’s a combination of statistical anxiety and a sense of gambling addiction, where you might’ve wasted two hundred credits on duplicate skins but this next click might be what fixes it all. When you get your mythic weapon skin, there’s a … Read more