The Cycle: Frontier is a massively online shooter that merges PvE and PvP into a hybrid science-fiction experience. You will not only have to worry about lizard-like alien creatures with claws and fangs but also other human players looking to beef up their inventories.
Looting is hence a major part of the game. The better the loot, the better chance you have of survival and domination. It becomes fairly important that you understand how the loot system of the game works and how to take advantage of the mechanics to farm the best loot possible.
The following guide will explain how the loot system works in The Cycle: Frontier.
How Loot System Works In The Cycle: Frontier
The Cycle: Frontier has several locations on its maps that spawn items but these locations run on a timer.
It is important to understand that the loot system of the game refreshes every in-game hour. If you loot an area, you will need to wait out a whole hour for the same area to respawn items.
Furthermore, an area will only respawn items when you leave. If you keep standing in the looted area, the loot will not refresh. If you really are bent on not abandoning an area, you will need to stand away at least 10 meters for the loot to respawn in that area.
Considering that there are other players running around on the maps, it is quite possible for you to reach an area that has already been looted by another player. In such a case, there is absolutely no way to know when an area has been looted. You will just have to move on and return at a later time to check if the area has respawned the items you are looking for.
Something else to note is that the loot system works on the same timer for quest-based items as well, not just random weapons and such.
For example; if a quest requires you to mine Veltecite Ore in a specific location that has already been mined by other players, you will have to wait out the one-hour timer for the nodes to respawn.
Loot Rarity Tiers In The Cycle: Frontier
Now that you are familiar with how the loot system works, you need to understand the type of loot you can find in the game.
There are five different tiers of loot in The Cycle: Frontier. Tier 1 items are the most common ones you can find in the game. Tier 5 items on the other hand are extremely rare.
The maps of the game are split between different regions that furthermore include named POIs. These regions are classified under different tiers that run in tandem with the difficulty level.
Hence, the higher the difficulty, the better the loot. You will need to keep an eye on what tier each region. A large portion of the Crescent Falls map, for example, comes under Tier 3. You hence not only have a higher chance of finding Tier 3 items over there but also upgraded monsters and creatures.
Lastly, there is another kind of loot that is separate from the maps. The Cycle: Frontier has a faction system that requires you to side with one of three factions. Each faction has its own assignments and missions that reward unique weapons and items.
The Cycle: Frontier Loot Changes On Full Launch
The Cycle: Frontier saw its loot system go through several changes following the beta. Bright Sands and Crescent Falls have both changed their loot rarity and distribution.
Bright Sands Changes
For the Bright Sands map, much of the Tier 2 loot areas have been downgraded to Tier 1 to give new players a good welcome.
The Jungle area on the Bright Sands has been expanded quite a bit to make it easier for newcomers to farm and get a feel of the game.
Furthermore, a massive change for Bright Sands is that its Tier 5 areas have been completely removed. The maximum tier to loot now is Tier 4.
Crescent Falls Changes
For the Crescent Falls map, there are no more Tier 1 and Tier 2 loot areas. The most common loot on the map is now Tier 3.
Those coming in from the beta will remember a lot of Tier 2 loot areas. They have all been upgraded to Tier 3 to guarantee much better loot alongside harder enemies to encounter.
Furthermore, Crescent Falls now features more Tier 5 loot areas than before.
Best Areas To Loot In The Cycle Frontier
In the Bright Sands map, as described above, there are looting areas for Tier 1 to 4. All around the map, there are many zones where you can commonly find Tiers 1 and 2 loot. For Tier 3 loot, the best area is the Basecamp, right in the center of Bright Sands.
Another area where Tier 3 loot can be found on this map is in and around the Jungle POI, in the top left corner of the map. Tier 4 items are very rare and can also be found around a few locations in the Jungle POI.
For the Crescent falls map, the most common loot is Tier 3 which can be found all around the map. For Tier 4 and 5 loot, you can head to the top right corner and bottom left corners of the map as they are most commonly present in these areas.
