Diminishing Returns and the Silverwastes

[Hesacon.8735]

In the last two days I've gone to the Silverwastes twice for RIBA maps, having not gone there in months. Each time I noticed that within a half hour I would run into diminishing returns and have to either switch characters or accept the severe penalty. I don't feel like I'm doing anything different than other players, but it's obvious I'm clearing events faster than some intended rate.

Does anyone else experience this? Do I need to slow down to play the map more than a few minutes at a time?

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

What are your actual symptoms? "accept the severe penalty" suggests a number of other possibilities, besides diminished returns. What events are you clearing? And while it might be obvious to you that you are clearing events faster than "some intended rate," without describing which events or how quickly, it's hard to know if it's indeed different from other players or even whether there's an "intended rate" in the first place.

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If I suspected DR, then I would

• Start with a fresh character, empty of any mats etc, with zero "bouncies" waiting to be opened. Have another character ready.
• Take a snapshot of the wallet & inventory (whether screenies, via GW2 Efficience, Silveress' tools, etc)
• Do my thing in the zone, taking note of the time and which events (one should take notes via phone/tablet or pencil/paper; human memory is pretty bad at this)
• Keep track of XP, karma, and loot that drops upon receiving the star, at least for a few events initially and near the end of your session.
• Take the after snapshot.
• Get an approximate value of per event xp, karma, and loot based on number of events and difference between before and after.
• Compare that estimate against the early events and late events.

If it turns out that the differences are notable, write that down and repeat with the other character. This time, there's a baseline of comparison.

I'd also consider other possibilities, such as: am I bouncing all over Silverwastes? or am I returning to the same locus often? From the very beginning, if you defend the same fort (and its supply yaks), you're likely to stumble into DR. That's partly why it's important to keep rotating around, not quite too quickly for the game to think you're sticking to a single location-ish.