I played on here a long time ago and never had this kind of trouble getting higher level techs to drop. Was there a nerf? I've been all the way through Ultimate Episode 4 with a Pinkal Force and haven't gotten anything higher than level 20.

I'm not complaining, I just want to know if I'm wasting my time. =D

It's honestly just random luck with tech drops. I've seen Dragon boxes drop 20+ discs while running TTF but the lower areas for episodes tend to stay in the 15-20 range from what I've seen usually. Your best bet is to try and find something you want to farm in Ep 1 or 2 from one of the later areas and go for it while keeping an eye out for discs. That might help you with higher chances at 20+ disc drops.

Thanks

I would suggest, doing Phantasmal World 3 and going for the box room. It gives you lots of money and high level disks (between 23-30)