Item Decay- an approximate muling referenceDisclaimer : item decay as measured in-game is not an exact science. Values given are to be considered estimates, as in-game variables could probably affect the decay rates.Item Decay RateThe estimated time required for an item to disappear once dropped on the ground. In-game testing (1.11b) suggested the "decay timer" is reset whenever an item is picked up (onto the cursor) and dropped.
Below is a list of item types, divided into decay rate groups (10 minutes, 20 minutes etc.) Repeated testing returned the same decay rates to the accuracy of within 1 minute, which has subsequently led me
into believing that items may vanish after X to X+1 minutes at any second inbetween (randomly picked by the game server). I did not bother testing if it applies to the most enduring items (gold, quest items),
nor should I think it would be of much use, considering how large decay rates these items have.
Test EnvironmentAct I, Rogue Encampment (Normal)
Test character mostly standing still. Once in a while making sure the game did not drop, by routine movement, purchasing items from NPCs for further testing, or picking items from the stash (monster drops).
Rejoining and/or character swapping seemed to have literally no effect on the results. Approximately the same results whether the character was performing any actions in the Rogue Encampment or merely
stood still, waiting for the items to decay.
The test environment was chosen to resemble that of muling.
10 minutes Y seconds- Socketed ("grey")
- Ethereal ("grey")
- White (equippables)
- Rune Word
- chest keys
- Key of Terror / Hate / Destruction
- Organ (Mephisto's Brain / Diablo's Horn / Baal's Eye)
- Quiver (Arrows / Bolts)
- Potion
- Scroll of Identify / Town Portal
- Tome of Identify / Town Portal
20 minutes Y seconds30 minutes Y seconds- Crafted ("orange")
- Rare ("yellow")
- Set ("green")
- Unique ("gold")
6-12+ hours*) Different results obtained (~ 6-8 hours) using different pile sizes (large piles apparently vanishing faster)
**) Test objects: Horadric Cube, Gidbinn. Test terminated 12 hours 30 minutes later (I lost my patience ^^)
Yell if you see any errors or have any comments or relevant questions. Thank you.
This post was edited by Faelwen on Sep 27 2008 05:30pm