Beakers. Do they exist?

[Jartrooper]

Is anyone else having an immensely difficult time finding beakers?  Did they lower the rate that they are found in loot?  This is making it difficult to get a Chemistry station. 

[Mahnogard]

They do exist. I saw one. Once. They did lower the drop rate. If you've discovered Trader Jen on your map, she sometimes has them for sale. I ended up buying a chem station on my current save.

[Whorhay]

So far every time I've completed my T3 quests I've been offered a chem station. I could just be getting lucky on the rewards though. I do seem to see completed stations as well as beakers sold pretty frequently.

[Whiteshark68]

I think in my play through on day 24 i have seen heaps of beakers for sale at the trader which i make sure i buy them sitting on about 8 in one of my boxes right now.

Trader Rekt was the first trader to have one for sale before i had found Trader Jen so by day 2 i think it seems to be a random thing for them to show up.

[Krougal]

9 hours ago, Whorhay said:

So far every time I've completed my T3 quests I've been offered a chem station. I could just be getting lucky on the rewards though. I do seem to see completed stations as well as beakers sold pretty frequently.

It's because it's a short list of reward choices so there is a good chance of it showing up, especially with DA. I forget exactly but I looked it up for 1 of the other threads. 

[Sydious]

Game stage 116 when I seen my first.  That being said I got a chemstation for Tier 3 - Tier 4 reward on like day 6 lol.

[Rince]

I got the chem station as reward, so I didn't worried too much about it.

 

But the only time that I actually saw one beaker was in the piles of chemical stuff in Dishong at day... 20 maybe?

[BFT2020]

I have seen beakers many times in trader stock, even saw one on Day 1 in a playthrough.

[seagas]

The first one I found was at a trader on day 22, I bought it and some acid and built my Chem Station, two days later the the same trader had a chem station for sale. LOL

 

[unholyjoe]

just for those who want to see:
 

Spoiler

 

<lootgroup name="groupQuestMedical">
	<item name="drugVitamins" count="2,4" prob="1.5"/>
	<item name="medicalFirstAidBandage" count="5" prob="1.5"/>
	<item name="medicalFirstAidKit" count="3" prob="1.5"/>
	<item name="drugAntibiotics" count="1,3" prob="1.5"/>
	<item name="drugHerbalAntibiotics" count="2,4" prob="1.5"/> 
	<item name="drugPainkillers" count="2,3" prob="1.5"/>
	<item name="drugSteroids" count="3,5" loot_prob_template="QuestT2Prob"/>
	<item name="drugRecog" count="2,4" loot_prob_template="QuestT2Prob"/>
	<item name="drugFortBites" count="2,4" loot_prob_template="QuestT2Prob"/>
	<item name="toolBeaker" loot_prob_template="QuestT2Prob"/>
</lootgroup>

<!-- *** A20_Chem_Pile_Groups -->
<lootgroup name="groupChem01">
	<item name="resourceGlue"/>
	<item name="resourceOilShale" count="25,50"/>
	<item name="resourcePotassiumNitratePowder" count="25,50"/>
	<item name="resourceCoal" count="25,50"/>
	<item name="resourceScrapLead" count="25,50"/>
	<item name="drinkJarRiverWater" loot_prob_template="med"/>
	<item name="drinkJarBoiledWater" loot_prob_template="med"/>
	<item name="resourceOil" loot_prob_template="med"/>
	<item name="resourceAcid" loot_prob_template="low"/>
	<item name="resourceTestosteroneExtract" loot_prob_template="low"/>
	<item name="resourceSilverNugget" loot_prob_template="veryLow"/>
	<item name="resourceGoldNugget" loot_prob_template="veryLow"/>
	<item name="toolBeaker" loot_prob_template="veryLow"/>
</lootgroup>

<lootgroup name="groupChemistryStationLoot03">
	<item name="toolBeaker" loot_prob_template="veryLow"/>
	<item name="chemistryStationSchematic" loot_prob_template="low"/>
</lootgroup>

<!-- *** Airdrop_Medical -->
<lootgroup name="airdropMedicine">
	<item name="drugPainkillers" count="1"/>
	<item name="medicalFirstAidKit" count="1,2"/>
	<item name="drugAntibiotics" count="1,2"/>
	<item name="toolBeaker" prob="0.4"/>
</lootgroup>

 

my daughter and i are on day 11 and she just got one from an air drop (RNG favored her i guess)

 

oh i guess i forgot to mentioned that it just dropped across the border of our forest biome into the wasteland biome.. so she may have been blessed with the biome bonus as well.

Edited January 4, 2022 by unholyjoe (see edit history)

[Tmodloader]

My guess is that it's on a high lootstage. I want that system to be changed a bit. What I think currently is that lootstage should scale with kills and be lowered on death. 

Edited January 4, 2022 by Tmodloader (see edit history)

[Boidster]

21 minutes ago, unholyjoe said:

my daughter and i are on day 11 and she just got one from an air drop (RNG favored her i guess)

 

oh i guess i forgot to mentioned that it just dropped across the border of our forest biome into the wasteland biome.. so she may have been blessed with the biome bonus as well.

 

Imma bring some knowledge we have been working on over in this thread on lootstage and biome modifiers and such as. I am pretty well convinced now that biome modifiers will have no effect on "mundane" loot probabilities like the ones in the Medial Air Drop.

 

<!-- *** Airdrop_Medical -->
<lootgroup name="airdropMedicine">
	<item name="drugPainkillers" count="1"/>
	<item name="medicalFirstAidKit" count="1,2"/>
	<item name="drugAntibiotics" count="1,2"/>
	<item name="toolBeaker" prob="0.4"/>
</lootgroup>

The probabilities for that group work out to:

 

Pain Killers: 29.4%

First Aid Kit: 29.4%

Antibiotics: 29.4%

Beaker: 11.7%

 

Which is, I think, by far the best odds for getting a Beaker in any single loot container. Also, since none of these are lootstage-scaled probabilities, neither biome nor POI modifiers (if it landed right on a POI) matter at all. Same probabilities no matter where it is. For tests theFlu and I did along with math to put you to sleep, see the other thread.

 

5 minutes ago, Tmodloader said:

My guess is that it's on a high lootstage.

 

Edit to add: for the quest loot group, it is tied to lootstage. For the other loot containers (chem piles and what not), lootstage will not enter into it. At least not yet - the XML is wired up to allow TFP to fine-tune their "very low" probability to break it out into different lootstages, but as of now it covers stage 1-999999. Same probability regardless of your lootstage.

Edited January 4, 2022 by Boidster (see edit history)

[unholyjoe]

my showing the xml is not about arguing about the percentages... as i noted.. it is to show they are still in game and we were fortunate enough to get one early in game.

[mr.devolver]

I'm level 90+, still no sign of acid and beakers... but while I was searching for them, I became a millionaire, so I didn't have to craft the chem station anymore, I just bought it. Go figure...

[Pernicious]

I kind of think that may be the point, and one that many players miss and get frustrated about. In many other games they talk about the "META", and so everyone goes straight for whatever the META is, does the grind, eventually gets the right combo of weapons and mods and is happy.

 

This is a survival game. While there may be a META, the point is

 

 

No kevlar plates? Stitch together some leather and cloth and call it padded armour. No AR-15? Duct tape some pipes together. No beaker? Stir chemicals in a cup, or just buy it from a trader. Or just do without.

 

Almost every problem has multiple solutions in this game, and part of the game is that some of the best ones are really difficult. 

[Boidster]

51 minutes ago, unholyjoe said:

my showing the xml is not about arguing about the percentages... as i noted.. it is to show they are still in game and we were fortunate enough to get one early in game.

 

Sure, I'm sorry I meant no offense and neither did I mean to argue. I used your comment, especially the bit below, to clarify some things people might have been asking themselves.

 

1 hour ago, unholyjoe said:

it just dropped across the border of our forest biome into the wasteland biome.. so she may have been blessed with the biome bonus as well.

 

It just so happened that theFlu and I have been working on that very thing so I thought it might be helpful to share.

 

For what it is worth to others, I put together really simple modlets to nudge the probabilities for both beakers and acid.

[pahbi]

On my first A20 map, it was day 30ish before I found a single beaker.

 

On my second map I found a beaker on day 3, I also went and bought a lottery ticket while my luck was good.  🙂

 

If it helps anyone, I have a modlet that adds a beaker recipie to the workbench.

 

https://community.7daystodie.com/topic/26048-a20-modlets-lotl-perk-fast-plant-growth-super-iron-pickaxe/

 

Edited January 5, 2022 by pahbi (see edit history)

[bloodmoth13]

for a second there i misread that as 'i added a beaker to the workbench recipe' and i just couldnt imagine what kind of evil would do that...

[pahbi]

3 hours ago, bloodmoth13 said:

for a second there i misread that as 'i added a beaker to the workbench recipe' and i just couldnt imagine what kind of evil would do that...

lol

 

That would be pretty hard core huh?

 

 

[Sjustus548]

We've found some in loot and Trader Jen has had 1-2 for sale every time as well.  Sucks that you haven't been able to find any yet.  Hopefully RNGesus will bless you with Beakers soon.

[Arthur Fuxache]

I was offered a Beaker as a quest reward...couldn't help but think what an awful crappy reward......oh how I wish I had taken it....not seen one since lol

[Roland]

[Star69]

I got two beakers yesterday, Day 8. One was a quest reward then the other was from an earlier air drop that I hadn’t got a chance to pick up. Now finding enough acid this seed has been an issue, only 2 thus far both purchased from the trader. Some day I will have a chem station.

[Boidster]

10 minutes ago, Star69 said:

the other was from an earlier air drop

 

The medical-type air drop has by far the best chance to give a beaker. I bet people who play with air drops on don't understand what the hubub is about. At least until TFP notices it and nerfs it a bit.  

[ricp]

Mentioned this before, in the last 2 playthroughs the first trader I went to (as part of the starter quests) had a beaker in their inventory. On both occasions I took the option and stashed it for later on in game.

 

The previous playthrough to that, I didn't find a beaker (either trader or looting) at all and nearly reached day 50 without seeing one.

 

In some ways I'm fine with this, especially as chem stations are a popular "end of tier" gift it seems, and the traders are happy to sell them fairly cheaply too. In fact, I've put absolutely no skill points into Advanced Engineering at all in A20. The trader has supplied me with everything I need, from benches to electrical traps.

Edited January 7, 2022 by ricp (see edit history)