User blog comment:Kitahara/Recording drum expedition success rates/@comment-25779449-20150117021945/@comment-25832576-20150117102313

Ah you ended up reading this, haha :v

I have these two sources, I know the sample sizes are rather small, but if additional drums do make a difference then we should be seeing some sort of increase by this stage, but there is little or even no improvement at all. In any case I've ensured equipped drums were kept to a minimum, so there's always the option for you or anyone else to test the rates with additional drums equipped, like the 4 sparkle + 1 extra drum = 100% GS rumor.

I haven't heard much about levels making a difference in receiving Great Success, but I've taken your suggestion on board anyway, since theres no harm in it (I'll update this shortly!). My only concern is this adds another variable, which means needing to record another set of 100 sorties for different level ships. Considering it already takes something like 2~3 weeks to get those sorties done, this would stretch the time needed by too much for me alone, and would need several other people to see if it is relevant, within a decent timeframe. I welcome/encourage you and anyone else to take part, although I think its best to test different aspects (i.e Sparkle #, Drum #, Flag/Total Lv.) for the time being, so we can get a general idea on a wider range of stuff.