MMORPG: Martial Gamer

Chapter 1657 1657: System Update

Since the public beta of <<Rebirth>>, every update has taken at least a day, but this time, due to the limited changes, the game was updated in less than two hours.

As Fearless anticipated, this system maintenance targeted the blacksmith profession; it seems that the game company couldn't overlook Qiao Ba's continuous production of a hundred God-grade equipments.

After this update, the difficulty of upgrading all secondary professions to master level has significantly increased.

Additionally, the success rate for a master-level blacksmith, which used to be over 60%, meant that a highly skilled blacksmith like Qiao Ba could basically achieve a success rate close to 100%.

However, after the update, while the success rate for crafting at the master level remained unchanged, a new stipulation was added: the success rate for crafting ancient and higher-grade equipment was now only 10%, a drop of 50%.

In other words, from a previous success rate of six out of ten, it has now fallen to just one out of ten.

For the game company, probability is merely data, but for players, it's not as simple as going from six to one.

With a 60% success rate, Qiao Ba could fully leverage his skills to maximize his chances, but a 10% success rate is something that skills alone cannot compensate for.

Even a professional like Qiao Ba has to rely on luck...

Nevertheless, there were no objections from players regarding this update; in fact, most expressed that they welcomed the changes.

This reaction from players is completely understandable.

After all, the direct victims of this change were only two master-level blacksmiths, and it wasn't like it affected anyone else.

Moreover, the vast majority of players in the game cannot afford ancient-level equipment. Even if Qiao Ba could produce ancient-level gear in bulk, it wouldn't benefit ordinary players at all.

On the contrary, with the system targeting master-level blacksmiths, the quantity of ancient-level gear would be strictly controlled, ensuring that ordinary players would not be outpaced by top guild experts and wealthy players.

Therefore, it's only natural for players to feel a sense of schadenfreude.

As the direct victims of this update, neither Wang Yu nor Qiao Ba received any acknowledgment from the system...

After all, they are the ones who set the game rules. If someone affects game balance, a patch is issued, and the final say isn't in the players' hands; they can only accept their misfortune.

This clearly shows that the most powerful weapon in the game is a patch...

Of course, everything has two sides.

While the crafting success rate has indeed dropped significantly, the principle of rarity holds true in any world.

If ancient-level equipment were produced in bulk, it would lose its value; once other blacksmiths also reach master level, ancient gear would become commonplace.

After this update, although the crafting success rate has decreased, the threshold for master-level secondary professions has also been raised considerably.

The promotion of secondary professions has always been quite challenging, and now, with the difficulty greatly increased, advancement seems even more out of reach.

Thus, for a long time to come, there will only be Wang Yu and Qiao Ba with master-level secondary professions in the game.

What is called a technological monopoly? Clearly, this is it!

It is evident that while the game company's actions appear unsightly, they have still left some benefits for the two victims, Wang Yu and Qiao Ba.

After all, once a monopoly is formed, monopolists gain absolute power in that field.

It's just a matter of reduced success rates—crafting or equipment prices can be raised. What used to cost 100 gold to craft could now rise to 1000...

Equipment that previously cost hundreds of thousands could increase to over a million...

The resources in the game are limited. If large guilds want to craft or buy equipment, they will have to fiercely compete with ordinary players over resources. In the end, the ones who will suffer are definitely not the large guilds or the monopolists, but those who gloat over others' misfortune; after all, the wool comes from the sheep.

...

The next day, after briefly checking the update details on the official website, Wang Yu logged on early.

As soon as he logged in, he received a message from Sanguine Warflag.

"Brother Bull, take care! Be careful with your dealings from now on."

"???"

Seeing the message from Sanguine Warflag, Wang Yu was left puzzled.

What the hell does this mean? Is he threatening me? It doesn't seem like it… more like a warning; well, there isn't much difference between a threat and a warning.

Fortunately, Wang Yu is an open-minded person and rarely argues with others over a single remark, let alone with someone like Sanguine Warflag.

He didn't take Sanguine Warflag's message to heart and closed the message window casually.

Inside the Quan Zhen Sect's headquarters, everything was still bustling.

The reduction in the success rate for crafting ancient-level equipment after the system update did not deter the presidents of these large guilds; in fact, they seemed even more motivated than yesterday.

Large guilds typically have high-level blacksmiths on their payroll, so initially, everyone still held onto a glimmer of hope.

What if their guild's blacksmith managed to reach master level? That would save them a mining area!

However, after the update, all blacksmiths found themselves without hope of advancement, making master-level blacksmiths the exclusive domain of the Quan Zhen Sect.

The reputation of the Quan Zhen Sect is well-known in the guild circles; everyone knows that this group of people is notorious for their "never missing a chance to take advantage" mantra, and price hikes are just standard practice.

To prevent the Quan Zhen Sect from making even more outrageous demands, the presidents of these large guilds naturally want to craft their equipment as quickly as possible, lest they have regrets later.

Qiao Ba, a guy who has a passion for blacksmithing ingrained in his bones, started working hard early in the morning.

As a highly skilled blacksmith, even with the system lowering the crafting success rate to 10%, Qiao Ba could still leverage his skills to maximize the success rate; on average, he would succeed in forging one out of every three pieces of equipment, and each one came out as a top-tier item—such skill is truly astonishing.

Seeing that Qiao Ba was handling this small-scale operation with ease, Wang Yu simply left the headquarters of the Quan Zhen Sect.

"Where are you?"

With a flash of white light, Wang Yu appeared in Twilight City and sent a quick message to Fearless.

"At the tavern!"

Soon, Fearless replied.

"I'll be right there."

After closing the message, Wang Yu left the teleportation point and headed towards the tavern.

During this time in the morning, with students heading to school and workers heading to their jobs, there weren't many players online. Aside from some professional players, the streets were mostly empty, and the tavern was naturally quiet.

Pushing open the tavern door, Wang Yu quickly spotted Fearless, who was drinking alone. This guy always chooses the most conspicuous spot in the tavern.

"Drinking this early? What a heavy drinker you are!" Wang Yu couldn't help but tease, as every time he saw Fearless in the tavern, he was always drinking.

"Actually, I rarely drink in real life." Fearless smiled as he poured a drink for Wang Yu. "I'm just bored; what else can I do besides drink? I can't just sit around doing nothing!"