So I've noticed so far that most chests in the game give me horrible loot.

Most will give ~9-15 gold, and maybe one or two weak potions or gem/herb/ore. Some occasionally give me 20-30 gold, thoug. But this is about 95% of the chests in the game so far.

Am I doing something wrong? I'm not "looking" at the chest before reloading for it, so it isn't like the contents are determined, but rather like the chest contents itself were severely nerfed from ED.

I think that's normal, especially earlier in the game - although I can't comment on it being nerfed since ED.

There are some chests that have really good loot, but they're usually involve a complex puzzle to reach (e.g. there's a cave in Orobas that has puzzles involving platform and fireballs, as well as candles and books - the chests that appeared had excellet loot items).

The gold chests scattered across the flying fortress platforms also usually gave pretty decent items. Also loot is apparently based on the character level as well as the level of the chest, so loot will improve as you level up.

Early in the game, you are not going to find much good loot because the loot you find gets better with your level. This is why I leave most of the broken valley chests alone until I am about to go to the Island, then go back and get them all. Even then, most of the really good loot comes from golden chests, chests you completed a puzzle for, and quests.

Well, chests that I'm encountering at level 10 stillhave the same crappy level 1 amount of gold + an ingredient or potion. I'm getting 10-15 gold per chest, and maybe 20-40 from locked chests (thus requiring skill points in lockpick).

I know character level affects loot, but it affected it MUCH more strongly, and there was actually more to find than just (almost no) gold and ingredients. With an average of 12 gold from most chests, it would take dozens to buy a single piece of equipment now.

Does the game "lock in" a chest to the level of your character when you first enter the area? I don't mean decide the contents (like if you looked at the chest), but the level the contents, when generated, will be? Because otherwise there's no reason I'm still finding 10 gold a chest at level 10.

Contents aren't determined until you are close to a chest and move your cross-hair over it. I don't think entering an area effects a chest because many people have returned to a chest like 10 levels later and found level appropriate loot.

I agree about the chests. I decided early on about which bonus set of equipment to wear and weild once I reached lvl 15, and sold the rest. I'm currently at 15 and still have 16,500 gold, and I choose the extra exp from quest.

Speaking of terrible loot... It's been 9 mths since I last played ED, and my memory is failing rapidly. Why are you stuck with Arben's Sword and unable to sell it? Is it bugged or is it quest related?

Arben's Sword is flagged as a quest item, and thus cannot be destroyed, sold, or even stored in your Battle Tower chest. The only way to get rid of "quest" equipment like it is to dispense with it via a quest or event. For Arben's Sword, the only way is to give it to the guy at the Slayer camp in Orobas Fjords in exchange for the key to get the Chalice of the Dragon (as part of the Orobas quest).

However, quest equipment (like quest items themselves) also don't count towards your item limit, so Arben's Sword isn't taking up a precious inventory space slot.

There is more luck involved that I expected.

I got this nice sword from a chest but the game crashed and I lost my item. I really wanted it again. When I reloaded and opened the chest a second time it gives me this killer legendary Axe. well i dont use axes, so I figure I could re-load to see what the next legendary item would be. Nope, that chest never gave me anything more than oranges no matter how many times I reloaded from that point. I should have taken the axe. Or at least SAVED to a different location so it was an option.

Its a lot of luck involved, I thought a chest that gave you something nice would always do so, but I found out differently.

Not luck. Malicious computer spirits. With a bad sense of humour.

I usually don't bother with the "reload and try again" trick when opening loot chests, since - if I do use it - I invariably beat a disproportionate amount of hours to death with it while trying to maximize. It is not good for me.

However, yesterday, while cleaning out Stone's Flying Fortress, I found not one but two golden chests standing only meters apart in the same court yard. And I have been looking for a level 9 melee damage protection formula for some time now. Once I got that, I could relax the whole loot routine. It was too good an opportunity to pass up.

After two hours of reloading and chest-opening, I had located at least five or six level 9 ranged or magic protection formulas, both of which I already own. On top of that, and this is the part that ticked me off, I had found two level 10 melee damage protection formulas - which I seriously don't want, because I'll never use up a malachite gem on defense.

Now I know that there really aren't any kind of malicious computer spirits. They ain't real.

But if they were, they would be having a ball.

I used the save/reload thing on the killer bunny, after taking him down to a breath from death, and landed a lvl 20 ax/w a +75 mag dmg enchant. Took that straight to west valley and removed the enchat, jacked up both my hammers and sold the ax.

That would have made a bit of a difference all at once, yes.

I experienced a power trip like that when I acquired two really good swords at the same time as getting those +75 enchantments for both magic amd normal damage. But that was at level 29 or so, so the +75 enchantments clicked a bit more with the resident opposition. But after that, most enemies who get close just keel over and die. Ah, the ennui of the dual-wielder...!

I can't remember having killed the killer bunny. Where do you meet him?

yea' well I wasn't impressed with the loot but that's my opinion

It shows up from a brief cutscene after you have dun in a given amount of little bunnies. It was around 20 I think, but I stopped counting after 20. Thats when I got junpped. BTW KB is a lvl 22, so it's ranged attack from elevation or water, otherwise death comes quick...

The "get enchantment when disenchanting" feels so much like a cheat... with easy access to lvl 8/9/10 improved (magic) damage.

For a lesser price than the enchantment in scroll form 0_0.

Just my opinion so No offense.
I can't agree disenchanting items is "cheating" because the game gives every player the possibility to disenchant items by Dreavan (or later on in your Battle Tower by your Enchanter! ).

And don't forget the "prize" you pay : (high) enchantments you DISenchant contains precious Gems and Ores you loose/don't recover !!
Plus : it is eating "time" to find out & search for items that contains enchantments you wish to disenchant etc etc ... I find that my "time & effort" may be rewarded well .
Plus: in my playthrough I don't find but a few Formula's for enchantments and the one I can buy by trader's cost a lot of money.

For me cheating is when you "change" something in the game via changing some program files or using special codes or something ...

Well, exploit then.
Sure... if it was an item you inchanted. I am more talking about finding items you don't use, disenchant them for it's enchantment to other items, then sell it.

For example a quest bow with +100 normal damage. Being a fighter, useless. Still I pick it, disenchant it, sell it, then use the new update I got to improve my actual weapon from 75 to 100. And, you know what, in the process I actually GAIN money (not items though).

EDIT:
Well, tried it. Disenchanting an item of lvl 10 and lvl 5 enchantment made it 430 gold less worth. If DKS didn't throw around money quite some, but for me not worth the inconvenience of having to keep notion of every upgrade you have.
And of course, enchantment scrolls are much more gold than 430 for even a single one...

Where is a good place to look for dragon tail piece? It's been a while since I played through and my burnt brain can't recall.

Don't say THE DRAGON CLUB...

Read my FAQ, assuming dragon armor pieces haven't changed locations in DKS (very possible).

DAAAMN DUDE... you logged everything didn ya...

You're right about the changed locations. Picked 2 pieces of the scorp set at sent island, sportin the briches right now, so that means there not just at Kali's. If they're there at all. Hope not cause I need'm. I'm sure it's the same w/dragon tail.

might check the bar anyway...

EDIT : Just noticed from your page (thanks BTW) that all the stats for the scorp set changed as well.

Oh, you mean armor sets? If you mean the sets like Archmage, Hunter, Scorpion, then yeah, their locatinos changed. I thought you meant the dragon armor sets (like bone, chainmail, crystal, plate). Though those may have changed, too.

I'll be releasing an updated version of the FAQ for the DKS version, but it is completed at the rate I play the game (and that means investigating EVERYTHING fully). Up to the end of Broken Valley is almost done. It'll have a list of quests and their rewards in addition to everything in the ED guide.

That was my orig Q. I just noticed the set thing and assumed the same for the dragon armor.

Thanks again and good luck with the FAQ..

I am in the fjords and so far, none of the dragon armor locations have changed.