The Chronicle and you

Alright, I guess we all know what the chronicle is by now but what you or I or all of us might not know is just how exactly it works and maybe more importantly how it doesn't work.

So with that, I figured let's just start collecting findings and things to keep in mind.

And to get us started, based on my testing so far:
- For a set or unique item to be eligible for the chronicle, it has to be a new, unidentified drop (so no trading for unid old gear).
- For you to be able to add that item to the chronicle, you must be there when it drops. The item tooltip will show a list of people eligible to add it: ("There" actually means literally anywhere in the game. Doesn't have to be the same zone. Doesn't even have to be the same act. So split MF games are highly encouraged now for chronicle purposes!)

- In order to actually add the item to the chronicle, it must be identified (scroll and Cain both work). The item merely dropping or being picked up is not sufficient.
- When identified, the item will be added not just for you but for EVERYONE who is eligible (see above). This means you can let others do the looting and identifying and you still get credit for your chronicle: (I didn't touch a single item in the game that added those two, confirmed this to work multiple times)

- This identification has to happen IN THE SAME GAME. So if you drop an item, pick it up, leave the game, enter a new game and then ID the item, it will NOT be added. Not only will it not be added for everyone else who was eligible but it won't even be added for yourself. I confirmed this multiple times. This is also visually hinted at by the fact that in a new game, the tooltip's mention of the chronicle and eligible folk is gone. So be sure to identify your new drops in the same game you found them in or you'll never get anywhere!
- The chat message letting you know the item was added can be delayed or in some cases not appear at all. This seemed especially true when identifying multiple items in rapid succession. Even when the chat message was not shown however, the item was still added to the chronicle.
- Chronicle progress is shared across characters.
- Runewords get added to the chronicle once you create them.
- For runewords, unlike set and unique items, neither the runes nor the base have to be from that game but you can simply craft them whenever, including with pre-RotW bases and runes.
- Runewords are only added for the person crafting them and noone else in the game.


Still to be tested:
- If an eligible player leaves the game in which the item dropped but someone still in the game then IDs the item in that same game, does the player who left still get credit?
- Is progress shared across different game modes (HC/SC, L/NL)? And if so, which?

Based on my situation, I found that the current Chronicle system may only record the process of one day.

Yesterday I found some uniques and set items playing through Normal (SC, NL), and I was told that they were added to Chronicle via system message in chat. As of today, the progress of yesterday has completely lost. Only new progress of today is recorded.

Another one; I’m guessing single player chronicle is separate from online, buuut someone should probably test that out.

Grillz9909 wrote: 6 hours ago

Another one; I’m guessing single player chronicle is separate from online, buuut someone should probably test that out.

I only play SP, got little more than 5 items in my chronicle there. I specifically created an online character to check it, and his chronicle was empty.

Schnorki wrote: 11 hours ago

- Is progress shared across different game modes (HC/SC, L/NL)? And if so, which?

HC and SC are separate, at least in single player but I assume it goes for online as well. Ladder and non-ladder, I highly assume are separate too, although I couldn't test that yet for obvious reasons. And will the ladder chronicle reset every time then?

- This identification has to happen IN THE SAME GAME. So if you drop an item, pick it up, leave the game, enter a new game and then ID the item, it will NOT be added. Not only will it not be added for everyone else who was eligible but it won't even be added for yourself. I confirmed this multiple times. This is also visually hinted at by the fact that in a new game, the tooltip's mention of the chronicle and eligible folk is gone. So be sure to identify your new drops in the same game you found them in or you'll never get anywhere!

That's very good to know, thanks. I was wondering if I had any unidentified uniques in my stash, but they wouldn't have worked anyway.

Am I the only one who finds this system a tad bit ridiculous? Especially considering you get the item in your chronicle even if another player finds and identifies it, as long as you are in the same game. So, even when you enter the game, sit in town for a minute, and then leave again - you get the credit if anyone finds and identifies an item in that game during that minute. And yet, perfectly legit, self-found items are not eligible if not identified right away in the same game.

I wonder how that is for SP. Leave the game, and boom, not eligible anymore? I don't want to test this since I want to fill up my chronicle, or maybe I can do so with a very common item.

What would be the reasoning behind it? Not getting chronicle items through trade?

Snowieken wrote: 4 hours ago

[..]
What would be the reasoning behind it? Not getting chronicle items through trade?

A grail has traditionally always been something you have to achieve yourself for it to be considered valid.
So not allowing folks to just trade to fill in the gaps does make sense.

The in-the-same-game thing is a bit annoying, yes, but I wouldn't be surprised if that's just a limitation forced onto them by not reworking even more of the game for it (temporary local data vs. cross-session data and all that).

The "anyone in the game" thing might've been an active choice specifically to make split MF games more appealing to people. Though realistically, it really should've been "anyone nearby", same as gaining XP from other people's kills. That way, you still wouldn't be punished by playing together by having to fight over everything when you discover it as a group but you also wouldn't be able to just AFK your way through it in other people's MF games.

Grillz9909 wrote: 6 hours ago

Another one; I’m guessing single player chronicle is separate from online, buuut someone should probably test that out.

Yes, single player and online have separate Chronicles

Rei25 wrote: 9 hours ago

Based on my situation, I found that the current Chronicle system may only record the process of one day.

Yesterday I found some uniques and set items playing through Normal (SC, NL), and I was told that they were added to Chronicle via system message in chat. As of today, the progress of yesterday has completely lost. Only new progress of today is recorded.

That's definitely a bug. My chronicle progress from yestersday is still there.

Schnorki wrote: 2 hours ago

A grail has traditionally always been something you have to achieve yourself for it to be considered valid.
So not allowing folks to just trade to fill in the gaps does make sense.

I get that, and I completely agree that trades should not be part of a grail. That just increases my frustration that you can basically just AFK in a game and get credit for every drop and ID that's being made, while there are currently several ways how perfectly self-found and legit items are not eligible.

It is somewhat frustrating to own a couple very rare items already, which are not recognized by the Chronicle system: IK armor, couple of low level very rare uniques - and I can only imagine what the

Tyrael's Might owners are going through. I would have preferred a system where these previously found items are being added retroactively, maybe with some sort of legacy tag or something like that. And for the purists, I support an option to empty your current Chronicle and start over manually.