How does the PQI algorithm work?

[grimskallen]

[Sidestepper]

[Lujo]

[Berzee]

I suspect the race for PQI is selected entirely from a class-dependent subset of possible races (i.e. Warlords only being Halflings or Dwarves but choosing randomly between those two, as Lujo observed). I don't have much first-hand experience to draw on though because I have to be in a very particular mood to enjoy trying for certain badges (especially Hoarder) so I will only infrequently do a PQI.

[Lujo]

It's not even random for that, it'll streak the one you've done the least if they're close to each other, and if you do that one then you can be pretty sure the other one will crop up next. I'm a bit unsure if it's on a per-dungeon or a global system, but a per-dungeon system would be completely insane. Especially since things that indicate towards that (like all Human-Chemist PQI or the all Goblin Thief PQI) tend to very clearly not be choosen randomly, but streak one thing all over the map, obviously resultion in a mind-numbing reduction in variety. Because very soon you get good at it and probably insanely bored with it, and following the Chemist PQI, for example, would result in 25 Human Chemists played and not a single different one o.O

Also it results in endless cheeze-money in case you just avoid something like Orc Wizard or Orc Fighter in sub-vicious in general. Because the reason you haven't played them there is not that you're unfamilliar or uncomfortable with them but because they're imposible overkill, so you can end up with just tacking on the VT on every PQI and get heaps of cash by doing exactly the same thing as you'd be doing if you went to cheeze-grind the map. This in fact happened to me during the playthrough, made large sections of it a quite boring read because it looked like I was just spamming cheeze while I was just doing what the PQI said. And I was only really doing it to get that stuff out of my PQI hoping to get it to even out a little and give me more varied things, so it felt like a chore even though I was getting handed money (how do I get my PQI to work in a sensible way otherwise?)

But if you have to do every race/class combo everywhere before it starts goind random, that then adds... 5-7 X 15ish X 26ish runs before the PQI stops streaking? That's thousands of runs before it stops streaking stuff on you! That's what I mean when I use the harsh word insane, people burn out after way less. And you also get good/familiar with something after 5 runs at most, streaking things past that point loses all meaning - by the time I had the Goblin thief done everwhere I was casually warmongering things Vicious with it, you'd think it's a preppable front-page strat... And I'm now actually better with Dwarf Assassins than Goblin Assassins, the PQI still ocasionally thinks it's somehow a good idea to try to challenge me with them and only ever subs them for halflings

[dislekcia]

[Lujo]

Ok, what paramters? It's very regular over a large sample size for each particular class.

Me and Tinker are only getting Human Chemists in the PQI, was that intended, and if so why was that intended? A 21 same class-race streak isn't impossible, but it's highly improbable. Haven't herd anyone else have a different chemist PQI, so for all we know it's a rule rather than a random exception.

Also, I played through the whole game mostly by PQI (once it unlocked) and only maybe saw 3 PQI humans. Could be several reasons for this, but which ones? I'd like to even it out by just playing, but I've no real clue how to or what's governing it. Depending on the explantaion it could be doable, unnecessary or it would take years.

[Tinker]

Awesome! So I did a little data mining (thanks Lujo for the awesome playthru thread), and here's what I've found:

Tier 1
Fighter - Elf, Orc
Thief - Goblin
Priest - Elf, Gnome, Halfling
Wizard - Halfling, Orc

Tier 2
Berzerker - Gnome, Elf
Rogue - Goblin, Halfling
Monk - Goblin, Elf
Sorcerer - Goblin, Dwarf, Halfling

Tier 3
Warlord - Halfling, Dwarf
Assassin - Halfling, Dwarf
Paladin - Dwarf, Orc
Bloodmage - Halfling, Goblin

Explorers
Tinker - Goblin, Gnome, Dwarf, Orc
Crusader - Elf, Dwarf, Halfling, Gnome, Orc
Transmuter - Dwarf, Halfling, Orc

Audit Zeppelin
Chemist - Human

[Lujo]

Yep, that's basically all I ever got from the PQI, alternating regularly. I also used a lot of flames to play those combos but without the badge, which also alternated them except int he cast of Goblin thief which just streaked forever. Also, some of the "alternations" only started appearing after I've done several of the otherwise streaking variants.

It actually made for a rather lousy playthrough variety-wise, except for the fact that it helped me research generally underesearched stuff, but if my next playthrough would feature a PQI with that little variation I'd have a really hard time to justify playing the PQI - and playing the PQI is a large motivator to play the game at all. By this point I'm so good with most of those combos that the PQI giving money for playing them makes no sense as it's not a challenge anymore and I've forgotten how you play the ones that never show up...

Extra funny when you think "I'm tired of always playing the same old stuff, from now on it's just what the game sets me up with". Turns into new same old stuff rather fast

[Sidestepper]

Interesting. A canned pool approach isn't something that I had considered. I'll pay attention to my PQI and try to add some data points to that list.