12 Oct 2006 at 03:16 - 12
its 100% subjective.
though, ive come up with a graduated system, with more than 3 categories, simply because its more accurate. i plan on giving the whole spectrum, from the bottom, to the top (or close to it). note, that i'm speaking on terms of NET WORTH.
by this i mean, if you totaled up every gold coin youve ever spent/accumulated and piled it into 1 big lump sum, this is what you'd be worth.
0-50k as the poor class, this probably makes up the vast majority of the GW player base (to be fair we dont know how often they play).
51-100k not exactly poor, but not quite middle class yet either. these players proabably have 1 set of 15k, or are considering getting a set of it. they may posses a higher level green or two. the average guildwars player who plays regularly and consistently is probably in this or the next category.
101-500k now we're the middle class, probably at least 1 or 2 characters in 15k armor, though some in this level tend to be conservative with funds. may have a perfect gold or two, if not, certainly a number of greens. chances are they've done some lower level farming, trading or green hunting.
501-1000k. we're now exiting the middle class and entering the foothils of the wealthy.
this category has increased percentage wise considerably over the past year and a half, most people in this category did not get here by accident. they've done soem degree of farming, trading, or HA. though, a few in this level got there by "lucky drops," but thats by far not the norm.
1001-5000k.
we're now entering the body of the wealthy.
not many players get to the 5 million net worth, though there are a higher percentage of people here than there have been in the past. most people in this area got there by farming, or some trading. unfortunatly, many of the people in this category didnt use legitimate means (an intelligent person can usually tell by talking to them for a while).
in reality the normal categories stop here, as past this point, there are exponentially fewer players. mostly because to get into the upper 3 levels of wealth, is not easy.
5001k+. now you're hitting the area of wealth where VERY few people reside. across over a million or 2 players, probably only a few hundred are at this point. whether or not most of them got here legitimatly is a matter for debate, but chances are most have been playing for a long while and own at least 1 or 2 higher level golds.
10,001k+ most of the "older wealth" players are here. very, very, very few of the people at this stage who got here legitimatly, have been playing less than a year. to get to this point requires a considerable penchant for trading or farming.
and once you hit people with 15,000k-20,000k+ in net worth its a whole different ballgame. probably less than 100 people have accumulated this kind of wealth. most people in this range are powertraders, or very successful PvPers with a number of valuable drops. people at this level, usually posses item collections, stacks of ecto, or vast material storages. they almsot certainly have multiple accounts. so very, very few people are this far though, at this point and above, the percentage drops almost daily, as the ability to get this far is not easy, and most people who do get this far, end up getting bored and quitting. most of the older, popular, wealthy guru members fall in this area or the one below.
heck, i'd hazard a guess at less than 50 people have gotten this far, and further than this, i will not go. since past this point we're talking about wealth classes so beyond most peoples comprehension its ridulculous, but with people numbering in the half dozens, its such a small amount of players that the absurdly wealthy dont warrant a classification to be honest.