Melee In Entropia Universe Is Cheaper Than You Think

Posted on November 23, 2019 by admin

This post was last updated on June 19th, 2022 at 03:53 pm

Why does melee seem so expensive in Entropia Universe? We all had that moment when we first started playing. You run out of ammo. Then your gun breaks. You decide that using ranged weapons is expensive. The logical thing seems to be to use melee weapons. But you soon realize that they decay so fast melee is even more expensive! Such is the first few days playing EU. But why does melee seem so expensive? And is it as expensive as it seems?

The truth is melee is actually CHEAPER than using ranged weapons. But you have to do things right. You also have to spend some time and PED to get there. Let’s take a look at why melee seems so expensive. Then we can look at ways to make melee work for us.

Melee Decay; The Game Killer

The largest reason melee seems so expensive is the decay on your weapons. When you first start you need melee weapons from the trade terminal. You have the choice of a knife, sword or a set of brass-knuckles. The weapons function much like you would expect. Equip the weapon, hit the target, end of story. And the best part (new players think) is no ammo burn! We quickly realize that no ammo burn is actually a bad thing.

Melee weapons that don’t burn ammo decay FAST. The increased decay rate is because of the fact that they don’t use ammo. When you use a ranged weapon you incur the expense of both ammo AND decay. Melee weapons without an associated ammo cost have increased decay. This is why we usually view them as “more expensive”. We get less use out of them. They need to be replaced or repaired more often. Psychologically it LOOKS like we’re spending more money.

Ying & Yang

The truth is there is likely not much difference in expense. A while back MindArk added an ammo cost to a lot of melee weapons. Once you get past the trade terminal you have more choices. The first weapon you will move onto is likely the ArMatrix LB-10 (L) or SB-10 (L). Both of these weapons require ammo burn every time you use the weapon. The LB-10 998 and 491 ammo for the SB-10.

It seems stupid for a melee weapon to have ammo burn. Your sword doesn’t start shooting bullets after all. But the reason for the ammo burn makes sense. Once ammo burn was put into melee weapons the weapon decay decreased. The result was decay that is more on par with what we are used to. The cost is the same because there is ammo burn. It just feel like a lot less because the weapon lasts longer.

When we think about this in reverse we see it’s all in our head. The higher decay from melee weapons that don’t use ammo is almost the same as a weapon that does use ammo + decay. We get used to how long ranged weapons last. Then we expect this from melee weapons. When they don’t last as long we associate it with higher cost.

Horrible Loot Returns

Another reason we associate melee weapons with higher expense is loot returns. We go out and burn a few swords. It seems like out loot just SUCKS. But again we have to realize the problem is with our logic. It’s just another psychological trap we fall into. When we use ranged weapons we are used to slaughtering mobs. Sometimes we tag with a rifle and finish with a pistol. Other times we run into a group of mobs and blast them.

With melee weapons we have to be close to attack. This means less time dealing damage and more time running. It may also take you significantly longer to kill each mob. When we mix this with the (perceived) added cost of melee we have shorter hunts. We get bored, we switch to ranged weapons or we log off.

It’s well known that you want a hunt of 500-100 mobs bare minimum. This gives you the best chance at a glocal / HOF. It may not get you to TT+ returns but it takes out some of the variance. The reason you have horrible melee returns is the length of hunt. You’re simply not killing enough mobs. Don’t believe me? Count them.

Efficiency Is Still King

The exception to this is if you have crap efficiency. With loot 2.0 efficiency is king. There are plenty of melee weapons that have HORRIBLE efficiency. If you decide these are the weapons for you I can’t help you. I have the old school UL TT set. But I don’t use it (often anyway) because of the horrible efficiency.

Since TT weapons have no MU there’s no reason to use lower efficiency weapons. As with ranged weapons be sure and add an appropriate amp. It will increase your decay cost (cost of amp). But it will also increase your DPS and efficiency. The higher the efficiency the better. If you have the right weapon and the right amp your efficiency should be decent. With appropriate hunt lengths and the correct mobs your returns should be fine.

Extenders And Melee Cost

Another reason melee can seem incredibly expensive is extenders. We are used to putting extenders onto our ranged weapons. After all, if we can make the weapon last longer we save paying MU. But remember that extenders absorb the weapons decay. Again with ranged weapons we have an ammo cost and a decay cost. The extender is absorbing part of that decay only.

If we use an extender on a melee weapon that has ammo burn we get about the same result. But if we use an extender on a melee weapon without ammo burn we have an issue. The only cost of using the weapon is decay. Adding an extender will help the weapon last longer. But it seems the extender burns faster. This is again due to the fact that we ONLY have decay cost.

Doing Melee Right

If this is your first day playing Entropia Universe stay away from melee. Learn the game, make some friends and earn some PED. Once you have a love for the game doing melee right can be fun. And profitable. If you have been playing with ranged weapons you have plenty of Anatomy skills. Anatomy makes up approximately 20% of the DAMAGE professions for melee. That means that you will be able to do close to the full damage intervals. However your hit skills will likely lag behind. This is because the Shortblades, Longblades etc. skills contribute the most to your HIT abilities.

STEP 1: TT Hell

You’re going back to your first day in EU. Go to the trade terminal and stock up on knives, swords and brass knuckles. Burn through them on your favorite lower level mobs until your HIT abilities grow. Once you have 10.0/10.0 Hit and Critical Hit abilities on the weapon you want to move onto; move on.

Step 2: Melee With Ammo Burn

Now that your DAMAGE and HIT professions are both on par we can get a new weapon. Most of us will use the ArMatrix SB-10 (L) or the ArMatrix LB-10 (L). Both of these weapons have ammo burn. This means the decay will be closer to what we are used to. From here on out the journey is similar to ranged weapons. Climb the ladder, move on to a new weapon when appropriate. Extenders are your friend.

Step 3: Look For The Cracks

Melee can actually be CHEAPER than ranged weapons. Why? They just aren’t as popular. This means they are harder to sell. You can often find Limited Melee weapons on auction at lower mark ups than their ranged counterparts. Paired with extenders this can be one of the cheapest ways to hunt in EU.

But there are other cracks you will have to find. I have already mentioned they MAY be easy to tier. Below is a video covering a lot of this information. In the video I say there may be good times to use economy enhancers. But did you know there are other ways to make using melee weapons even cheaper?

I still play Entropia Universe everyday. And I still make a profit playing. So obviously I can’t give away ALL of my secrets (though I tend to) but let’s suffice to say there are way’s to Make melee even cheaper (re-read that last sentence a few times). This means that for an experienced player melee can be a HUGE advantage.

Other Benefits To Melee

Melee has two distinct benefits. The first is that it is one of the only ways to easily increase Strength. Strength is an attribute; not a skill. The more you grow your Strength the more you can carry. This comes in handy once you start mining but can also help when hunting. Fewer trips to storage just makes the game more fun.

More importantly melee contributes to HP growth. There are 15 skills related to the melee HIT professions. Thirteen of those skills contribute to HP! As you grow your melee abilities your HP will also grow. And since you are doing close combat you will get hit by mobs more often. This means that you will gain my favorite skills; DEFENSE! (increased armor decay and more faping are also reasons melee seems more expensive)

Don’t take my word for it. Look to arguably the player with more experience than anyone: Messi. A few weeks ago I saw a recent pic of his skills. He had just crossed 500 HP. His Knife Fighter profession was over level 200! A few days later I got lucky and caught him hanging out in rookie chat. He happened to mention that he is currently using the Unique Sacrificial Dagger almost exclusively. Considering it has a mind blowing 94% efficiency I think it would be my go-to weapon also.

Melee For The Rest Of Us

In closing let me reiterate I think new players should stay away from melee. But if you’ve played for a while maybe it’s time to look at giving melee a shot. If you can get past those TT weapons needed to get your HIT abilities up you’re golden. We now have melee weapons with ammo cost bringing decay in line with what we expect. Chose the right weapon, amp, mob and hunt length for amazing results. You may even end up saving some PED! Even if there was a few PEC difference it’s worth it for the HP and Strength.

I’ve included a video below covering much of this material. As always feel free to reach out to me in game. If I’m not competing in Mayhem I’m always happy to chat. Also remember to check out all of the great Offers and Videos we have to help you earn PED! Remember that becoming a member is always FREE so be sure and JOIN US today!

From The Official EarnPED Youtube Channel: Using Melee Weapons In Entropia Universe

Strong Argonaut Claw FEN Edition

Posted on May 26, 2019 by admin

This post was last updated on June 19th, 2022 at 04:00 pm

The Strong Argonaut Claw FEN Edition is an extremely rare melee weapon. It was only available during the recent FEN event. You had to loot it and it’s one of the most sought after weapons in Entropia Universe. We now have this rare item among our inventory! Let’s take a look at this super weapon and see what we can learn before it’s gone!

Basic Stats

The Strong Argonaut Claw FEN Edition is a Power Fist Melee weapon. It weighs just 1kg and has a range of 5 meters. The DPS comes in at a whopping 85.5 HP! Damage per use is 67.5 HP with a base attack of 76 attacks per minute! That means the reload speed is just 0.8 seconds!

This impressive weapon has an incredible 81.4% efficiency. That’s almost unheard of for a melee weapon! Decay is 1.059 PEC per use. This is a melee weapon but it does use ammo. You can use either Weapon Cells or Universal ammo and it consumes 1305 ammo per use.

The max TT value is 125 PED with a minimum TT value of 3.75 PED before it needs to be repaired. That means there are 11,450 uses between repairs. This makes it an ideal melee weapon for extended hunts.

Other Stats

The Strong Argonaut Claw FEN Edition does 3.319 HP of damage per PEC. Of the 67.5 HP of damage each use delivers 16.9 HP is Cut and 50.6 HP is Impact. As if that wasn’t enough this weapon even has a SIB, or Skill Increase Bonus!

Since it’s a Melee Weapon it will require a Melee amp if you wish to use an amp. It’s recommended levels are level 60 Brawler (Hit) Profession and level 60 Brawler (Dmg) profession. No matter which metric you look at this is hands down one of the most impressive weapons in the game!

Strong Argonaut Claw FEN Edition Secrets

The base stats for this weapon are mind blowing. Rightfully so as it was only able to be looted during the Fifteenth Entropia New Year event which concluded in January 2019. It is of the highest rarity with only a few of these weapons existing.

One thing that should be noted is the high base attack rate. This is the perfect weapon to pair with a ring like the Ares Ring Improved or the Ares Ring Modified. Doing so would lower the reload speed and further increase the DPS the weapon is capable of.

You could also pair this weapon with special buff pills. You could use pills such as Devastim 10mg which would further increase the critical damage you could inflict by 40%. No doubt that pairing this incredible weapon with the right rings and pills could result in some serious hunting!

If you want to hunt some of the most serious mobs in Entropia and use a melee weapon to do it you want this weapon! It is only going to get rarer as people refuse to sell. We’ve already seen almost all examples of this weapon removed from the market. Who knows when another example will surface for sale.

Now Available For Rent!

We are super excited! We are now able to offer one of the ONLY Strong Argonaut Claw FEN Edition’s in game for rent! Through our Ninja Rental Program you can rent this amazing weapon without having to make the long term commitment to purchase it!

Don’t want to let this rare weapon go? We are also offering it for sale! Go Inside The Vault to find out more about becoming the proud owner of this prized weapon! You are unlikely to find another for sale for a very long time!

Remember EarnPED members may qualify for special discounts and rental rates! Being a Member is FREE and will give you Offers and Videos that can help you earn PED so Sign Up today!

Ares Ring Modified: When Good Isn’t Enough

Posted on May 26, 2019 by admin

This post was last updated on June 19th, 2022 at 04:00 pm

The Ares Ring Modified is a powerful weapon in Entropia Universe. When used properly it can help you in virtually every aspect of the game. If you read out previous article over the Ares Ring, Improved then you will be even more impressed by the modified version. Let’s take a look at this rare ring and see what we can find out.

The Ares Ring Modified: Basic Stats

Looking at the Ares Ring Modified we can see that the basic stats are similar to that of the Ares Ring Improved. These stats are slightly higher. This is what qualifies this ring for the designation Modified. The modified version has a 10% faster reload speed. It also gives you a 0.8% greater chance of inflicting a Critical Hit. When you do produce a critical hit you do 10% more Critical Damage. These are some VERY impressive buffs!

Much like the over versions of the Ares this is a right hand ring. It has a max TT value of 10 PED. The minimal TT value is 0.30 PED. Like all rings the Ares Ring, Modified decays 2.000 PEC when you take it off. In game it is considered jewelry, weighs 0.1 kg and is worth 1 item point for storage or shop purposes.

This ring is only available in Strongboxes and can not be looted or crafted. In addition the item description contains the statement: “IMPORTANT NOTE: This item currently does not deteriorate while equipped, but may have deterioration implemented in future Version Updates.”.

Modified Reload

The largest advantage the Ares Ring Modified can provide is the 10% faster reload speed. We know that reload speed helps with hunting, mining, sweating and repairing. Having a full 10% faster reload can be extremely valuable and save you a ton of time. Not only can you cycle more PED. You will also be able to gain skills faster. Time is money and this ring will definitely save you time!

If you want to get a job as a healer for hire this is the kind of ring you need. Having a full 10% faster reload will give you a huge advantage. This is the kind of reload speed that is needed to heal small hunting parties. It will also allow you to heal yourself faster. That means you can return to hunting more quickly. It also means you take less damage when healing mid kill. The faster you can heal the better!

If you are mining a 10% faster reload speed can mean less time drilling. Finding big mining claims is great. But you want to extract them quickly so you can find even more claims. This ring will help you do just that. You’ll be able to excavate 10% faster which means you can get back to dropping probes!

Why The Ares Ring Modified Is A Weapon

Much like the other rings of the same family everyone looks at reload speed. This great ring has two other buffs. It increases you chances of a critical hit by 0.8%. In addition you will do 10% more critical damage. These buffs are only useful when hunting. That means that this ring was designed primarily to aid in hunting.

In my eyes if it’s primary focus is hunting that makes it a weapon. This ring modifies three critical aspects of any weapon. While it may have other uses in other categories I believe it should be labeled as a weapon. That’s it’s primary function after all. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t look for opportunities to use it. Simply remember that it’s primary function will likely provide the most utility. In any other category you are not getting the full benefits the ring can provide.

How Do You Get An Ares Ring Modified

As with other rings of this family the Ares Ring Modified is only available in Strongboxes. It can not be looted or crafted. The good news is that it has been reported to drop from a variety of Strongboxes. It has been discovered in the Classified Strongboxes that you can get in the Webshop. You actually buy the key to open them and the Classified Strongboxes are included free of charge.

It has also been reported to drop from Easter Strongboxes, Summer Strongboxes, Halloween Strongboxes and Christmas Strongboxes. These event strongboxes are only available during the corresponding Mayhem event and must be looted or purchased from another player.

This ring will have a lower drop rate than the Ares Ring Improved. That means you may be better off buying it from another player or from the auction. It’s not cheap but it’s a great investment for serious players! Not only will it save you time it may help you earn PED!

Now Available For Rent

We manage one of the only rental services in Entropia. The Ares Ring Modified is now available for rent! This means you can save PED if you only need it for a short time and don’t want to purchase it outright! Be sure and check out our Ninja Rentals Program for more information!

Remember that EarnPED members may qualify for special rates and discounts! Becoming a Member is FREE and you can complete Offers and check out Videos that will help you learn while you earn PED!

EWE EP-38 Night Special: A Level 100 Weapon

Posted on May 23, 2019 by admin

This post was last updated on June 19th, 2022 at 03:58 pm

The EWE EP-38 Night Special was one of the first weapons I ever purchased. It was a huge mistake. One that a lot of newer players make. There’s a reason I’ve kept it but let’s take a look at this weapon and see what I did wrong. Avoiding the mistakes I made can save you some serious PED.

Basic Stats

The EWE EP-38 Night Special is an Unlimited Laser Pistol. This means it can be repaired and used over and over. It has a range of 24.2 meters, weighs 1.6 kg and has a DPS of 31.9. The weapon deals 58 HP of damage comprised of 5 HP penetration and 53 HP Burn. It’s capable of 33 attacks per minute giving it a reload speed of 1.8 seconds.

This weapon burns 800 ammo per shot while decaying 6.1 PEC per shot. With a Maximum TT value of 96 PED and a minimum TT value of 2.88 PED this pistol does 2.854 HP of damage per PEC. The total uses between repairs is 1,527 and it has an efficiency of 55.5% which is considered average. Note minimum TT is not a metric that should be quoted now.

Other Information

Since the EWE EP-38 Night Special is a laser pistol it uses either Weapon Cells or Universal Ammo. It can be equipped with energy amps to increase it’s damage output. This weapon does not have a Skill Increase Bonus, or SIB, and is maxed at profession level 100 Ranged Laser (Dmg) and Laser Pistoleer (Hit).

The EWE EP-38 Night Special is only known to be available if it is found in loot. You can not craft this weapon. It has not been reported to drop recently which means it either drops rarely or drops have not been reported but may happen.

Why The EWE EP-38 Night Special Was A Mistake For Me

Looking through all the information you may be able to spot why I shouldn’t have purchased the EWE EP-38 Night Special. Did you see it? Yup! It’s a weapon that maxes at profession level 100! Like most of the older Unlimited weapons this pistol is no exception. If you are not level 100 you are not going to be able to use it to it’s full capacity.

That mean’s you are going to do fewer attacks per minute than the weapon is capable of. You won’t be able to do the full amount of damage the gun could inflict. Worst of all, you’re using a weapon whose efficiency is average but with which your efficiency is poor. This means missed hits and wasted ammo.

Does this mean the EWE EP-38 Night Special is a bad weapon? Not at all. What it means is that it was a bad weapon for me to purchase when I did not have the proper skills to use it. This is a fact that is true of all weapons in Entropia Universe. I wrote an article about being sure you know if you have the skills to use a weapon. This is something I feel will save a lot of players a lot of money. It’s also something I wish I had when I first started playing Entropia.

Why I Still Have The EWE EP-38 Night Special

Why did I keep this gun knowing I can’t currently use it? Because someday I will be able to. I will eventually reach level 100 in the professions needed to use this pistol. When I do there will be times when it may be the superior weapon. I simply purchased the right gun at the wrong time. This is something that I see happen a lot and I hope you can learn from my mistake. There is a tool for every job. There is also a proper time to use that tool and an improper time when you should use a different tool.

Now Available For Rent

The EWE EP-38 Night Special is now available for rent through our Ninja Rental Program! If you have the skills to use this gun but only need it for a short time then our rental program may be the perfect opportunity for you!

Remember that EarnPED Members may qualify for special rates! Becoming a Member is FREE and you’ll be able to complete Offers and Videos that will help you earn PED! Be sure and Sign Up today!

A-3 Justifier Mk. 2, Adjusted: A Great Laser Rifle

Posted on May 22, 2019 by admin

This post was last updated on June 19th, 2022 at 03:57 pm

The A-3 Justifier Mk. 2, Adjusted is an awesome weapon. It’s also the secret to how I won Easter Mayhem 2019. If you play Entropia Universe you should have this weapon! Let’s take an in-depth look at this great Laser Rifle and see what secrets we can uncover!

Base Stats:

This is the Adjusted version so the stats are a bit different from the base version. As we’ve noted this is a Laser Rifle weapon with a range of 77 meters and a weight of 3.8 kg. The A-3 Justifier Mk. 2, Adjusted does 43 HP of damage. That damage is 4 HP Penetration and 39 HP burn. It’s capable of 44 attacks per minute. This gives the gun a reload speed of 1.4 seconds. The result is DPS of 31.5 HP.

It uses 1,000 Weapon Cells or Universal ammo per use. Decay is 0.396 PEC per use. It has a maximum TT value of 85 PED and a minimum TT value of 2.55 PED with 20,821 uses between repairs. It has an efficiency of 56.7% which is average. The Damage per PEC is 2.869 HP. Since it’s a Laser Rifle it can use Energy Amps. Note that minimum TT value is not a metric that should be quoted from now on.

A-3 Justifier Mk.2, Adjusted Leveling And SIB

Part of the secret to this weapon is in it’s leveling abilities. Most UL weapons require you to be level 100 before you can use them to their full capacity. The A-3 Justifier Mk. 2, Adjusted is a bit of a rarity in that it’s recommended levels are only level 18 Laser Sniper (Hit) profession and level 18 Ranged Laser (Dmg) profession.

The weapon does have a Skill Increase Bonus, or SIB, starting at about level 18. The A-3 Justifier Mk. 2, Adjusted is designed to max at level 23. However this can be manipulated if you manipulate your skill composition.

A Weapon For Most Lower Level Players

This is a great weapon for lower level players. It should really be most peoples first UL weapon. Add in the fact you can easily max it at level 23 and it’s a great weapon to take you from lower level to low-mid level play. As I said above you can manipulate your skill composition to make the weapon max faster. This is exactly what I did for Easter Mayhem 2019 so let’s take a look at how I did it.

Skill Composition

We know the A-3 Justifier Mk. 2, Adjusted maxes at level 23 Laser Sniper (Hit) and Ranged Laser (Dmg).

The biggest contributor to the Hit profession is the Laser Rifle skill. While the largest contributor to the Damage profession is Laser Weapon Tech. These clock in at a whopping 39% and 25% respectively.

By knowing the exact skill composition of both professions you can implant or remove individual skills. Doing this will not only change your over all profession level; it will also alter how the weapon handles.

In a future article we will look at this in detail. Using this information I was actually able to max on the A-3 Justifier Mk. 2, Adjusted at approximately level 22. This helped me save PED by not having to chip out as much during Mayhem while still using the weapon to it’s full capacity.

Hidden Opportunities

There are several hidden opportunities with the A-3 Justifier Mk. 2, Adjusted. The damage range is just right that it can be VERY slightly over amped. You don’t gain the overage but this allows you to get every bit of damage you can through using an amp. While this is not ideal for everyday hunting it’s useful during competitions.

In addition you can alter the weapon’s rate of fire with items such as the Ares Ring, Improved which will also increase the DPS the weapon is capable of. This will also increase the critical chance and amount of critical damage.

Tiering The A-3 Justifier Mk. 2, Adjusted

One of the hardest parts of competing when you’re low level is the lack of UL weapons that have been tiered. It’s simply not worth it to tier most lower level weapons.

The A-3 Justifier Mk. 2, Adjusted is one of the few lower level weapons that you will often find tiered. Each tier allows you to add a damage enhancer that increases the weapons damage, ammo and decay by 10%. This is another way to increase the abilities’ of this great weapon.

Lower tier examples tiers 1-4 are not uncommon. Tier 5 examples are rare. I believe there are only a few tier 6’s (currently 3-5 I believe) and one tier 7 that I am aware of in-game. These higher tier examples make it perfect for Category 1 Mayhem Annihilation. One of the few UL weapons capable of winning in Category 1.

The A-3 Justifier Mk. 2, Adjusted Is Now Available For Rent!

The A-3 Justifier Mk. 2, Adjusted is a player favorite due to its low maxing level. Add to this the fact that you can easily alter its rate of fire, DPS and damage the weapon is capable of it’s easy to see why this weapon is so sought after. It can be a bit more than some players can afford to spend on a single weapon.

Through our Ninja Rental Program you can now rent the Tier 6 A-3 Justifier Mk. 2, Adjusted that I used to win Easter Mayhem 2019!

Remember that EarnPED members who are actively completing Offers, watching Videos and earning PED may qualify for special discounts and rates! Registering as a Member is FREE and a great way to grow your PEDCard!

Summer Ring 2017: A Ring That Saves Ped

Posted on May 21, 2019 by admin

This post was last updated on June 19th, 2022 at 03:57 pm

The Summer Ring 2017 is an exceptionally rare ring with some amazing buffs! It will help you earn PED but more important it will help you SAVE PED! There are only a few of these rings in game. Let’s take a look at this rare ring and see what secrets we can uncover!

The Summer Ring 2017: Basic Stats

If we take a look at the Summer Ring 2017 we can see the basic stats for this item are pretty straight forward. The ring provides 22% increased run speed. It also increases both your Evade AND Dodge chance by 22%. The same effect is applied to your Jamming chance. If that’s not enough it increases your Health by 30 HP and provides you 1% Life Steal while decreasing critical damage you take by 22%! It’s quickly becoming obvious why this ring is so valuable!

This is a left hand ring. That makes it VERY rare as most rings are right hand. It has a max Trade terminal, or TT value, of 10 PED. It’s minimal TT value is 0.30 PED. The ring decays 2 PEC every time it is taken off. In game it is considered jewelry, weighs 0.1 kg and is worth 1 item point for storage or shop purposes.

In addition the item description contains the statement: “IMPORTANT NOTE: This item currently does not deteriorate while equipped, but may have deterioration implemented in future Version Updates.”.

Why The Summer 2017 Ring Is So Rare

This ring was only available if you looted it from a Summer Strongbox. You could only get the Summer Strongbox during Summer Mayhem. You either had to loot them yourself or you had to buy them from another player. Once you had the Summer Strongbox you had to purchase a Key in the Webshop to be able to open it.

There are VERY few event rings that drop from Mayhem Strongboxes. They are almost always exceptionally rare and overpowered. This makes event rings like the Summer 2017 Ring exceedingly scare and very valuable. In addition, once Summer Mayhem 2018 started this ring could no longer be looted. It will never be offered in game again and they rarely come up for sale.

The Defense Buffs

The Summer 2017 Ring increases your evade, dodge and jamming chance by 22%. That is an exceptionally valuable buff that will save you some serious PED. This buff works at all levels but has a small secret. The higher your Evader and Dodger Profession levels are the more valuable this can be.

If you are a level 10 Evader this ring essentially puts you closer to a Level 12.2 Evader. But if you are a Level 100 Evader/ Dodger it essentially makes you a Level 122 Evader or Dodger! This isn’t just important in finishing mission chains. Such a massive defense increase can be even more valuable in PvP situations. Often times these are the types of Buffs that are required to win competitions like Mayhem!

Most of you have probably read our article on Farming Free Defense Skills At Zychion Citadel so you know we are huge fans of defense. It’s one of the most important skill sets you can have. That makes this a must have ring for any serious player. Unfortunately only a few exist. A 22% increase in your defense means you spend less time stopping to heal. You also take less decay to any armor you are wearing. That means you save PED!

Life Steal

The Summer 2017 Ring provides 1% Life Steal. Very few items in game has life steal. They are almost all exceedingly rare. Often prohibitively expensive. Due to that life steal isn’t understood by many players.

If you have an item capable of life steal then you gain that much health when dealing damage to a mob. In the case of the Summer 2017 Ring that means 1%. So if you deal 100 HP of damage to a mob per hit then you will gain 1HP of health per hit. This only applies up to your total HP limit. This means that as you are Hunting you are constantly healing. You don’t have to stop and FAP which saves time. You also don’t have to pay for decay on a FAP which saves PED!

Increased Health Decreased Critical Damage

You may notice that the Summer 2017 Ring also increases your health by 30 HP. At the same time it decreases damage you take from a critical hit by 22%! You may be starting to see a theme. This ring is designed to make you stronger in every way. The increase in hit points means that the life steal will be more effective since you have higher total HP.

The 22% decrease in critical damage taken means that if you do take a critical hit it is less likely to kill you. Mix this with the increased defense stats and this ring can make even a player with mild defense skills an absolute beast to deal with. This comes in exceptionally handy in PvP situations!

Increased Run Speed The Overlooked Buff

It seems almost every ring has at least one buff that is often overlooked. In the case of the Summer 2017 Ring that buff seems to be the 22% increased run speed. It doesn’t seem to be as important as the other buffs the ring has to offer but let’s think about that for a second.

If you are in a PvP zone running 22% faster can mean the difference between life and death. If you are hunting you may need to try and out run a mob or a pack of mobs. This ring allows you to run fast enough that a lot of mobs will eventually stop chasing you! If you are mining you can drop more probes faster because you are covering more ground faster. This means that the Summer 2017 Ring can save you a ton of a time mining! What else do you need while mining? Great defense skills in case you find a claim in an area with large mobs.

Why I Consider The Summer 2017 Ring A Weapon

When you stop and think about each of this rings buffs individually and how they work together it is very well designed. Personally I feel that the ring is very undervalued. That’s because players fail to understand that its the perfect ring for PvP, Hunting and Mining! It has many different applications!

I classify it as a weapon because you are going to be using it mostly for hunting or PvP. Mining is only 1/3 of the things it’s used for. And then only about 1/4 as often. Add the fact that you have to be inflicting damage for life steal to work and that means the Summer 2017 Ring should be classified as a weapon.

Now Available For Rent

We manage one of the only rental services in Entropia. The Summer 2017 Ring is now available for rent! Why take months to try and find one only to have to tie up tens of thousands of PED? Now you don’t have to! Our Ninja Rental Program is the perfect way to make your PED go further!

Remember that EarnPED members may qualify for special rates when using our Rental Program! Becoming a Member is FREE and you can also complete Offers and check out Videos that will help you learn while you earn PED!

ArMatrix BP-20 FEN Edition: High Efficiency For Everyone

Posted on May 21, 2019 by admin

This post was last updated on June 19th, 2022 at 03:57 pm

The ArMatrix BP-20 FEN Edition was only available in the recent FEN event which wrapped up in early 2019. This is a very special weapon that a lot of players still don’t understand. Let’s take a loot at this Uber weapon and see if we can discover it’s secrets!

Purchasing The ArMatrix BP-20 FED Edition

The ArMatrix BP-20 FED Edition was a limited edition weapon only available during the Fifteenth Entropian New Year Event. You had to purchase it from the FEN token Trader. The Limited version could be purchased with FEN Gold Tokens. Like all Limited items the limited version eventually breaks and can not be repaired. You can occasionally find these on auction.

The Unlimited Version is the one we will be focusing on. You had to purchase it for 500 FEN Platinum Tokens + 45 PED. There were only 15 available and they have all sold out. This weapon could not be looted, crafted and will not appear in game again. The 15 that originally sold from the FEN token trader are all that will ever exist. That makes this a VERY rare weapon.

Basic Stats

To understand the weapons exceptional capabilities we must first look at it’s basic stats. The weapon is a BLP Pistol, weighs 2.1 kg and has a range of 27.5 meters. It has 41.8 DPS, 76 attacks per minute with a reload speed of 0.8 seconds.

Ammo burn is relatively low at only 646 ammo per shot. The efficiency is ridiculously high at 83.2%. We’ll look closer at this efficiency shortly.

The maximum TT value is 45 PED. Minimum TT value before needing repair is 1.35 PED with 8,331 uses between repairs. This means decay is 0.524 PEC per use. Damage per PEC is 3.278 HP. Note that minimal TT value is not a metric which should any longer be quoted.

Damage is 11 HP Impact and 22 HP Penetration for a total of 33 HP of damage per shot.

Other Important Weapon Information

Since the ArMatrix BP-20 is a BLP weapon it will use BLP ammo or Universal ammo. This means it will also use BLP AMPs.

This is a Skill Increase Bonus, or SIB, weapon. The recommended levels are level 20 BLP Pistoleer (Hit) and level 20 Ranged BLP (Dmg).

Depending on your skill composite it seems that the weapon is designed to be Maxed at about level 30. This puts maxing the weapon approximately 10 levels above the recommended use level instead of the normal 5 levels we would expect to see. Your skill composition can make maxing this weapon happen at a slightly higher or slightly lower level.

83.2% Efficiency

One of the main reasons everyone loves the ArMatrix BP-20 FEN Edition is the 83.2% Efficiency the weapon has. This is a super high, super rare, efficiency level. A weapon efficiency over 70% is usually considered Uber level. It makes the weapons extremely sought after and very hard to find. Combined that with the extreme rarity of only 15 of these weapons existing and it’s easy to see why this pistol is so valuable.

Remember that the higher a weapons efficiency the better your loot will probably be. Higher efficiency means a larger TT return of loot to begin with. In addition you are more likely to receive items in your loot instead of the usual hides and oils. These items generally have higher Mark Up and higher demand. That means that you are getting more loot and the loot is easier to sell. This all leads to more profit. It’s easy to see why this makes for a desirable weapon.

ArMatrix BP-20 FED Edition And Low Level Maxing

The fact that the ArMatrix BP-20 FEN Edition is exceedingly rare makes it desirable. Having a Uber high efficiency rate makes it desirable. But what people often overlook is the recommended level of 20. Also overlooked is that fact that it maxes at roughly level 30.

This makes it one of the ONLY high efficiency weapons in Entropia Universe that can be used by low level players. The majority of the best weapons can only be used by level 100 players. There are a few high efficiency weapons that work for mid level players. But even those players are typically level 40-70.

The ArMatrix BP-20 FEN Edition is unique in Entropia because it can be used by the newest of players. It only takes a few weeks to reach level 20. By the time you really learn the game you’re already there. And that is what puts this weapon in a class of it’s own. You no longer have to grind for years before having the skills to use an Uber weapon. Now there’s an option for the rest of us. It’s just exceedingly rare and expensive.

Overlooked Attack Rate

Many people also overlook attack rate. This pistol has 76 attacks per minute with a reload speed of only 0.8 seconds. While that’s a good attack rate to start with it’s only the base rate. You can use rings like the Ares Ring Improved to increase that attack rate by an additional 8%. You could also use reload pills to further decrease the reload speed and increase the attacks per minute.

This means that you can effectively alter the DPS of the weapon. Sometimes the base DPS may not be enough for some mobs you want to hunt. Remember it does 33 HP damage per shot. This number does not change. But by lowering the reload speed and increasing attacks per minute you will increase the damage per second the weapon is capable of. This means that you can hunt larger mobs than you could with a weapon of similar DPS but lower rate of attack.

ArMatrix BP-20 FEN Edition Now Available For Rent

Now we know why the ArMatrix BP-20 FEN Edition is such an amazing weapon. We also understand it a little better than most players. But how do you get your hands on one? Normally you would have to get lucky and find one for sale. Then you would have to be able to afford it!

Now there’s a better option! We are now offering the ArMatrix BP-20 FEN Edition for rent through our Ninja Rental Program! There’s only 15 of these amazing weapons in game and now you can use it for your hunting missions too! Our rental program is a great way to save some PED while you are trying to earn some PED! Be sure and check out our rental program for availability, terms and rates.

Remember that EarnPED members who are actively completing Offers and Videos may qualify for special rates! As always becoming a Member is FREE and is a great way to earn some PED and grow your PEDCard!

Ares Ring Improved: A Ped Earning Weapon

Posted on May 21, 2019 by admin

This post was last updated on June 19th, 2022 at 03:56 pm

The Ares Ring Improved is one of my personal favorite Entropia Universe rings. It can help you earn PED and it can save you a lot of time. I think it’s misunderstood and under-utilized. Let’s take a look at this rare ring and see what secrets we can uncover!

The Ares Ring Improved: Basic Stats

If we take a look at the Ares Ring Improved we can see the basic stats for this item are pretty straight forward. The ring provides 8% faster reload. Increases your critical chance by 0.6%. It also increases critical damage by 8%. Those are some very useful buffs! And that’s why I love the Ares Ring Improved.

Ares Ring Imrpoved Stats — Ares Ring Improved Stats

This is a right hand ring. It has a max Trade terminal, or TT value, of 10 PED. It’s minimal TT value is 0.30 PED. The ring decays 2 PEC every time it is taken off. In game it is considered jewelry, weighs 0.1 kg and is worth 1 item point for storage or shop purposes.

Reload The Obvious Buff

It seems everyone knows that the Ares Ring Improved provides an 8% faster reload speed. What is less obvious is that this buff works for more than just shooting weapons faster. This is a great ring to wear when you are repairing a mothership. You are able to repair 8% faster! It’s also great for when you are sweating as you sweat 8% faster.

The most overlooked reason this rings reload speed is so important? It helps you heal 8% faster! When players are looking for a healer-for-hire they will typically look at several things. They look at the players skill level, experience level and which FAP they use. But they also look at reload speed! This is because there are some people who need healers who can heal VERY quickly.

This reload speed also comes in handy when mining. If you are mining and hit a decent size claim you need to be able to extract it. Nothing can be more nerve racking than trying to get your claim out of the ground. Sometimes you have to worry about mobs killing you. Other times you have to worry about players killing you if you mine in lootable PvP areas. The 8% reload speed can help you excavate your claim 8% faster!

Why I Consider The Ares Ring Improved A Weapon

The Ares Ring Improved actually has three buffs. Faster reload is just one of them. The others, as noted above, are it increases your chances of a critical hit by 0.6% and critical damage by 8%. All three of the rings buffs are designed to help you hunt faster and inflict more damage while hunting.

In my mind that clearly makes the ring a weapon. True, by itself it can not inflict damage. But it was designed with hunting in mind. The reload buff has a vast many other applications. The increased critical chance and critical damage do not. Also notice that these apply to melee weapons as well as ranged weapons. This means that it will work regardless of the type of weapon you use.

This ring is a must have for any serious hunter. Anyone who spends a great deal of time mining or repairing a mother ship should have one as well. It’s very popular, rather rare and that’s why it is a bit costly to purchase.

How Do You Get An Ares Ring Improved

The Ares Ring Improved is only available in Strongboxes. It can not be looted or crafted. The good news is it has been reported to drop from a variety of strongboxes. It has been discovered in the Classified Strongboxes that you can get in the Webshop. You actually buy the key to open them and the Classified Strongboxes are included free of charge.

Most players find it is cheaper to simply buy the Ares Ring Improved from another player or from the auction. It is not cheap; but it can be a great investment. It will save you time and it may even earn you some PED!

Now Available For Rent

We manage one of the only rental services in Entropia. The Ares Ring Improved is now available for rent! We will often have the Ares Ring Improved in our inventory of items for sale as well! This means that you can decide which option is best for you! If you see value in purchasing this great ring out right that’s fine.

Others will find that they only need to use it for a short time and would rather not tie up all the PED it would take to purchase. In that case our rental program may be exactly what you are looking for!

Remember that EarnPED members may qualify for special rates when buying from our Inventory or when using our Rental Program! Becoming a Member is FREE and you can also complete Offers and check out Videos that will help you learn while you earn PED!

Choosing The Right Weapon For Your Hunt

Posted on May 8, 2019 by admin

This post was last updated on June 19th, 2022 at 03:56 pm

Choosing the right weapon to hunt with can be confusing. This is especially true when you first start playing Entropia Universe. I wanted to take time to be sure you understand how to pick the right weapon. It will save you time and PED so let’s get started!

What Is Efficiency?

A weapons Efficiency is a measure of how well the weapon performs. This is the metric that everyone always focuses on. It’s very important; but it’s not the single factor in determining which weapon is right for you.

The reason efficiency is talked about so much is because it has a large impact on your loot. The higher the efficiency the better the loot. You are also more likely to get loot that contains items instead of just oils, hides and shrapnel.

How Do I Know If A Weapons Efficiency Is Good?

I separate weapon efficiency into four groups. Anything below 50% efficiency is poor. Efficiency of 50%-60% is average. A weapon with 60%-70% efficiency is very good. An efficiency of 70%+ is super rare.

Weapons with an efficiency 70%+ usually cost 10,000 PED or more. There just aren’t many weapons that are that good. These weapons are highly sought after and very hard to come by.

Now that we’ve covered the part everyone talks about let’s get to the really important stuff.

Looking At Your Ability To Use A Weapon

A weapons efficiency doesn’t matter if you don’t have the skills needed to use it. The highest efficiency weapons in the game are designed to be used by the most experienced players in the game.

How do you know if you have the skills to use a weapon? By looking at the various information listed in the Show Detailed Information Tab. This is the information you really need to be able to decide which weapon is right for you.

Let’s look at an example so we can go through it line by line. This is the ArMatrix LR-10(L):

Recommended Profession For Damage

The first info you see is the efficiency followed by the weight and tier. Weight is unimportant and tiers we will cover in another article. After this is the Recommended Profession For Damage. This section has three factors: Name, Recommended Level and Skill Progress.

Name is the Profession the weapon is looking at. In this case the weapon is looking at your Ranged Laser (Dmg) profession.

Recommended level is slightly misleading. This is the level that this profession should generally be at before you start using the weapon. You will soon see that it’s not a good idea to use the weapon just because you reach this level. In this case it’s recommended that your Ranged Laser (Dmg) profession be level 10.

Below this is Skill Progress. This tells you how close you are to reaching the recommended profession level. In this case we are above a Ranged Laser (Dmg) Profession level 10 so it shows 100% of the recommended level has been reached.

Recommended Profession For Hit

This is the exact same information that we just went over but for your Hit related profession. Each weapon will have both sections because one relates to your hit ability and one relates to your damage ability. Hence the (hit) and (dmg) after the profession names.

These two professions are what determines whether or not you have the ability to properly use a weapon. Remember that just because you reach the recommended level does NOT mean that you can use the weapon properly. Let’s look at how we know whether or not we have the skills to use a weapon.

Attacks Per Minute

We can see that the Attacks Per Minute is 48/48. But what does this really mean? The first number is how many attacks per minute the weapon is capable of based on your Hit profession.

The second number is the number of attacks per minute the weapon is capable of by design. In this case our related Hit profession is high enough that we are able to use the weapon 48 times per minute which is also the most attacks per minute the weapon is capable of. This means that our Hit profession for the weapon is maxed.

If attacks per minute is anything other than the same number on both sides your hit profession is not high enough to use the weapon to its full potential. If Attacks per minute was 24/48 we would only be able to use the weapon 24 times per minute even though it’s designed to be used 48 times per minute.

Let’s scroll down on the Show Detailed Information Window and look at more important information for the ArMatrix LR-10(L):

Damage Interval / Max

Under Damage Interval / Max we have another fraction. In this case 17.5-30/17.5-30. Have you ever noticed when you use a weapon it does a range of damage to the creature instead of a consistent amount of damage? Each weapon has a damage range. This is where we can see the damage range we can inflict using the weapon with our skills and the damage range the weapon is capable of by design.

In this case when we use this weapon the damage interval we are able to get is 17.5-30 which is again the same as the damage interval that the weapon is capable of. This is because our (Dmg) profession is high enough that we are maxed out on the weapon.

If our skills were below the amount needed to use the weapon as designed we may only be able to do 7.5-15 damage even though the weapon is capable of 17.5-30 damage. In that case we would see a damage interval/ max of 7.5-15/17.5-30. If that was true we would definitely not want to use this weapon.

Range

This is a less important fraction but it works like the others. The first number is the range you will have with the weapon based on the skills you have. The second number is the max range the weapon can have if you have more than enough skills to use it.

Since we have plenty of skills to use this weapon we see that we can use it to hit targets up to 85.8 meters away which is also the max range the weapon is capable of. If it read 40/85.8 then we would only be able to hit targets 40 meters away when the weapons capable of hitting targets 85.8 meters away.

Hit Ability/ Max & Critical Hit Ability/ Max The Deceptive Fractions

People who are lazy or who may not know any better will tell you this is all you need to look at. They couldn’t be more wrong. The last two fractions you will see on the Show Detailed Information page are Hit Ability/ Max and Critical Hit Ability/ Max.

These fractions are both always in the form of 10.0/10.0. Again when the numbers match it means we have the skills to hit to the best of the weapons ability and provide critical hits to the best of the weapons ability.

When the first number is anything below 10.0 then we do not have the skills needed to hit a target or provide critical hits to a target to the best of the weapons ability.

Being able to hit a target and being able to provide a critical hit to a target are indeed important. Every time you use a weapon the weapon decays a small amount. If the weapon uses ammo the ammo is burned every time the weapon is used. This is true whether you hit the target or not. You want to be sure you hit the target to the best of your ability so having a Hit Ability/ Max which are both the best the weapon can provide is ideal.

The same is true with Critical Hit Ability/ Max. Being sure you can use the weapon to it’s full potential to inflict critical hits is very important. The problem is that these last two fractions can be very deceiving. Having 10.0/10.0 in these areas does not necessarily mean you are maxed on the weapon or that you will have a perfect damage interval or attacks per minute stat.

How To Know When You Are Maxed On A Weapon

If you are truly maxed on a weapon all of these values will be the same as the max amount the weapon was designed for. As you can see we are maxed on all the variables the ArMatrix LR-10(L) offers. We are able to do the full Attacks Per Minute 48/48, have the max damage interval of 17.5-30/17.5-30, use it to its full range 85.8/85.8 meters and we have the ability to hit and provide critical hits that are both 10.0/10.0.

This means that we are completely maxed on the ArMatrix LR-10(L). We can use it to it’s full potential. This is what you want in a weapon and this is how you need to decide if a weapon is right for you.

Wasting PED With Un-Maxed Weapons

When you use un-maxed weapons you are wasting PED. It’s that simple. More importantly there’s no need to use un-maxed weapons. There is either a weapon you are maxed on which will work or you are trying to do something that is beyond your skill level.

If you can’t use the weapon to it’ full potential you’re wasting money with every shot. The weapon is going to have the same amount of decay with every use. It’s going to have the same amount of ammo burn with every use. Why would you spend the money on decay and ammo if you can’t use the weapon properly?

If your damage interval is 7.5-15/17.5-30 then you are paying for ammo which should be inflicting 17.5 – 30 damage per shot but because it’s beyond your skill level you’re only inflicting 7.5-15 damage per shot. That’s a very expensive way to hunt.

You can have the highest efficiency weapons in the game but if you don’t have the skills to use them to their full potential you are going to lose a LOT of PED.

Take Time To Select The Right Weapon

Be sure and take the time to select the right weapon. The right weapon isn’t the weapon that does the most damage. It’s not the weapon with the highest efficiency. The right weapon is a weapon you have the skills to use that will do the job you need done.

In future articles we will talk about skill bonuses, tiering, enhancers and more. For now we hope that you are able to better understand how to select the right weapon and have a bit more information on how your profession levels relate to your ability to use a weapon.

Nothing makes weapon selection easier than having enough PED to get the weapons you want. As always you are welcome to Join Us and use our Offers and Videos to earn some extra PED. Weapons wear out and need to be repaired or replaced so a bigger PEDCard is always a good thing!