Skill Tomes or Skill Trainer?

Melon

Melon

Academy Page

Join Date: Apr 2005

I've seen elite tomes go for 10-30k a piece and normal ones somewhere between 5-10k or something. Now, shouldn't these tomes be CHEAPER than the 1k at the skill trainer to be useful or am i just RED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GOing stupid?

Maby im missing something here, with a tome you can unlock a skill on your toon that your account already has, so if you start a new guy you don't have to go to annoying places k, but it aint worth 30k? maby it is.


I thought these tomes were supposed to help us poor pvp people but apparently not.

bye.

MSecorsky

MSecorsky

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Jun 2005

So Cal

The Sinister Vanguard

Me/

Wait for reality to set in. At most, a skill at the trainer costs 1,100 gold (including changing secondary), so that should be the absolute cap on the price. It makes even more sense for regular tomes to be less than that... they have less value. The skill trainer can unlock locked skills, the tomes cannot.

Elites... that price will be a bit higher simply because of the effort required to cap the skill. Maybe at most 3 to 5K would make sense.

Bankai

Bankai

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Sep 2006

Bubblegum Dragons

Mo/E

Tomes are just things that look nice, so everybody wants them. Indeed, it makes no sense.

Just use tomes when you find em.

Theus

Jungle Guide

Join Date: May 2005

W/Mo

The tomes are only good for Skills that are in retarded areas.

See:Realm of Torment.Go PvP for a bit,Unlock the skills you want,go onto your PvE and unlock them that way.

Sub Frost

Sub Frost

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Aug 2005

Portugal

R/

Well like all newly introduced items, the prices will always be high in the beginning, and the tomes are no exception (sadly)

But i guess that in a month or two the price will drop to a more "friendly" value, i personally only use the ones that drop for me

Nekretaal

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Mar 2007

Quote:
Originally Posted by Melon
Maby im missing something here, with a tome you can unlock a skill on your toon that your account already has, so if you start a new guy you don't have to go to annoying places k, but it aint worth 30k? maby it is.
(1) Supply and demand. Hard mode just released, the craze for these items is high, the new skill hunter counts as 4 titles for kind of a big deal, and they are still relatively rare.

(2) The Elite tomes save you the 1k for the capture signet and the trouble of defeating the boss, who might be out of the way (Feast of Corruption; Life Barrier), or hard to beat in his own right (Power Flux, Second Wind, certain other elementalist bosses). Saving the hassle of actually having to capture the skill is worth a premium price.

(3) Anybody paying more than 1k for a regular tome is an idiot. Regular tomes only grant you skills that you already have unlocked on your account, and skills you already have unlocked on your account can be purchased at any skill trainer (in the right game) for 1k.

WildmouseX

WildmouseX

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Jun 2005

N/R

i can see the normal tomes being cheeper then 1k, because youcan go and buy the normal skillsat that price... the elites are a different matter altogether - you have to go andcap those off the boss's - many of which are hard enough that there are pugs regularly gathering to go get em. i can see it being worth more to just buy a tome then spend the time and frustration to attept to go cap it again.

remember just because people are asking those kinds of price's, dosen't mean their finding buyers... usually when new items are introduced the asking prices start high because no-one knows what their worth, and there's not alot of them out there on the market -- i'd expect the prices for the elites to level off around 5k after a few months.

zerulus

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Oct 2005

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nekretaal

(3) Anybody paying more than 1k for a regular tome is an idiot. Regular tomes only grant you skills that you already have unlocked on your account, and skills you already have unlocked on your account can be purchased at any skill trainer (in the right game) for 1k.
The non-elite tomes do not require skill points to use. I've never had problems with running out of skill points on my chars, but I'm guessing some people do and in those cases they could be quite useful.

Mr_Cynical

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Aug 2006

Scotland

Region of Chosen Kings [R.O.C.K]

E/Mo

Quote:
Originally Posted by Melon
Maby im missing something here, with a tome you can unlock a skill on your toon that your account already has, so if you start a new guy you don't have to go to annoying places k, but it aint worth 30k? maby it is.


I thought these tomes were supposed to help us poor pvp people but apparently not.

bye.
Em.. PvP characters just unlock with Balthazar faction. Besides that, I can see the value of an Elite skill tome (although 30k seems a bit steep - way to 'kill inflation' with that update Anet) because it doesn't have to be a skill your account HAS, it just has to be UNLOCKED.

Let's say you own all three campaigns, and you have a Factions Necromancer. Let's say you want Feast of Corruption for your Curses build. Instead of having to:
  • Go to Tyria
  • Either get a Droks Run via Beacon's Perch or get a Sanctum Cay Run and then do the desert
  • Find Maw the Mountain Heart
  • Beat Maw the Mountain Heart (possibly having to repeat the above step several times before achieving this one successfully)
  • Capture skill
all you have to do is:
  • Go to Guild Hall
  • Go to Priest of Balthazar
  • Use Elite tome
  • Learn skill
Now that seems like a worthwhile item to me!

crimsonfilms

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jun 2005

Does using a skill tome require to you to spend a skill point?

If not, then that is another bonus above skill trainer. Of course, many of us have a lot of skill points to spend so it is of little concerned. Casual players may not have that luxury.

.02

Bankai

Bankai

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Sep 2006

Bubblegum Dragons

Mo/E

Quote:
Originally Posted by zerulus
The non-elite tomes do not require skill points to use. I've never had problems with running out of skill points on my chars, but I'm guessing some people do and in those cases they could be quite useful.
Quite a good point actually.

MMSDome

MMSDome

Raged Out

Join Date: Sep 2005

Say some dimpy bimpy necro wants to play the tyria or NF campaign but they say "Aww balls! I have to go all the way to some smelly place in cantha for Flesh Golem!"

BINGO! Ill pay a ton of gold for a elite necro tome and get flesh golem that way!

Fortunate for me ive been selling tomes for at least 15k and i just cap my skills because im not lazy like some people. I dont see sense in buying them but if people will thats more gold in my pocket.

HawkofStorms

HawkofStorms

Hall Hero

Join Date: Aug 2005

E/

You are not "retarded." It is the common masses of idiots who pay that much who are. Since the masses set the market, they are expensive, for now. Prices will drop as reality sets in.

achilles ankle

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Feb 2006

USA

The Primevil Spartans

A/

Well here's my first experience with skill tomes. Came on the guru buying section and saw a majority of elite tomes selling for 10-20k. I got on my monk and decided to start playing hard mode back in the begining of prophecies, but, since i have been pvping for the little time ive played in the past months, i had barely any monk elites unlocked. I had beaten prophecies and factions on my monk, but in nightfall i got a lvl 6 hero(thats a whole nother issue) and im on the noob island. Needed ZB cuz thats a staple monk skill now and what i was used to playing, so there was no way in hell i was playing thru nightfall.........alll the way to where ever in the middle of nowhere ZB is capped so that could be a reason why tomes are going to be sought after. I went to lions arch d1 and dropped 10k on one within 10minutes. as for tomes in general...i think they are going to cost alot because hey, this is guildwars and everyone exploits sumthing so they can make alot of cash.

achilles ankle

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Feb 2006

USA

The Primevil Spartans

A/

double post.

YunSooJin

YunSooJin

Pyromaniac

Join Date: Aug 2005

Mo/W

The tomes offer the advantage of starting a new character, or a new campaign and unlocking skills without ever having to step outside if you have them unlocked on your account.

The tomes should and always will be worth more than the 1k.

You are stupid (as per the choices you gave us).

Sir Skullcrasher

Sir Skullcrasher

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Jun 2005

California

15 over 50 [Rare]

W/Mo

Where do you go to get Elite SKill Tomes?

Melon

Melon

Academy Page

Join Date: Apr 2005

Quote:
Originally Posted by YunSooJin
The tomes offer the advantage of starting a new character, or a new campaign and unlocking skills without ever having to step outside if you have them unlocked on your account.

The tomes should and always will be worth more than the 1k.

You are stupid (as per the choices you gave us).

elites perhaps but not regular ones, no way. But if that is not the case then i am stupid.

Splatter Mcnasty

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jul 2005

Utah

W/Mo

I was in Kamadan yesterday when I saw a player who wanted to buy an elite ritualist tome.

I replied saying: I have one, meet at storage.

He opened a trade screen.

I put my elite ritualist tome into the window.

He put a complete gem set in the trade screen.

I accepted.


Some people need to think these things through, but if they want to offer extraordinarily high payments for items that should be fairly inexpensive, who am I to argue?

Another Felldspar

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Sep 2006

Alchemy Incorporated

Mo/E

Quote:
Originally Posted by MMSDome
Fortunate for me ive been selling tomes for at least 15k and i just cap my skills because im not lazy like some people. I dont see sense in buying them but if people will thats more gold in my pocket.
Lazy... That's one way to put it...

People have many different motivations for spending pretend money. Personally, I've entered the Abaddon's Mouth mission 3 times for the sake of collecting one of the last eight elites that I need for Tyrian skillhunter, from a boss along the bonus path at the very back of the map. Unfortunately, the particular boss that I need doesn't always spawn. It may very well be that I decide to buy a tome to acquire that specific skill, out of neither idiocy nor laziness, but because I am unlucky enough to be the victim of the random spawn one time too many.

Aye

Painbringer

Painbringer

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Jun 2006

Minnesota

Black Widows of Death

W/Mo

Prices will drop over time but there are many examples of usefulness – Current character has builds you love but not Survivor title. Delete Character start new toon get tomes and use them. You now have a level one character with an elite skill bar retrying for the survivor title. Or if you are a bizillionair and one of your characters has the title track for skill hunter spend money buy as many tomes as you can get and Bam 2 characters have it. Many possibilities

MSecorsky

MSecorsky

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Jun 2005

So Cal

The Sinister Vanguard

Me/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sir Skullcrasher
Where do you go to get Elite SKill Tomes?
Either bosses or locked chests, Skull.

Navaros

Forge Runner

Join Date: Apr 2005

Mo/Me

There are many reasons why elite tomes should be expensive.

Ie: A Warrior character who's only purpose is to solo the UW. He doesn't wanna play through Factions. Maybe he doesn't even wanna use a Factions-based character appearance. Without the elite tome he'd have to play through most of Factions to cap VwK, but instead with the elite tome he just saved a huge amount of hours not having to do that.

Skyy High

Skyy High

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: May 2006

R/

The normal tomes should not be worth more than 1k, maybe 1.5k, period. If you can learn a skill from them, you can learn it from any skill trainer, because they teach unlocked skills; therefore, the only thing you're saving is 1k and a skill point. To people collecting every skill in the game, maybe a skillpoint is worth 500g...to everyone else, the sole purpose of a skill tome would be to save the 1k the skill would cost.

jon0592

jon0592

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jan 2006

N/

I for one am very happy with elite tomes, and now I can finally get skills like Healer's Boon, Prepared Shot and Savannah Heat just to name a few. They are so far in NF and I honestly do not want to kill the same kournans, stop the same Nightfall and kill the same mobs with the same henchmen.

Series

Banned

Join Date: Aug 2006

I remember when I went to buy an elite tome. "How much?" "30k" "...no thanks"

It was only after I realized that he wasn't trying to scam me that the grave truth sunk in.

Sir Skullcrasher

Sir Skullcrasher

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Jun 2005

California

15 over 50 [Rare]

W/Mo

So only those bosses in Hard Mode will drop this tomes for you?

Gli

Forge Runner

Join Date: Nov 2005

Quote:
Originally Posted by Skyy High
The normal tomes should not be worth more than 1k, maybe 1.5k, period. If you can learn a skill from them, you can learn it from any skill trainer, because they teach unlocked skills
Not true.

I just visited the Kamadan skill trainer to prove my point. I was on my ranger, and even though I have an UAX account, I'm looking at no more than 10 Beast Mastery skills. Ten, that's the core skills plus the Nightfall skills. I'm going to have to travel to Lion's Arch to buy Prophecies skills, and to Kaineng City if I want some Factions skills.

If you want your newborn Elonian Elementalist to kill those pesky level 2 juvenile blade termites on the Plains of Jarin with Meteor Showers, you're going to draw a blank at the skill trainer in Kamadan. You'll need an Elementalist Tome.

MSecorsky

MSecorsky

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Jun 2005

So Cal

The Sinister Vanguard

Me/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sir Skullcrasher
So only those bosses in Hard Mode will drop this tomes for you?
They also come from the hard mode chests. That's where I got a dervish one.

Ecklipze

Ecklipze

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Feb 2006

R/

Surely going out and having to battle your way to get an elite skill cap is the fun part of getting elites...

..or is that just me?

Ritual del Fuego

Ritual del Fuego

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Jan 2007

CA

Frogs in Winter [FiW]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ecklipze
Surely going out and having to battle your way to get an elite skill cap is the fun part of getting elites...

..or is that just me?
"Getting" elites and "having" elites are two different things. Some people like capping the skills which is where the fun part of "getting" comes in. Some people just want to "have" an elite for a particular build so the tomes cut out grinding if, as other people have stated, it is located in another chapter.

Alleji

Alleji

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jan 2006

Elite skill tomes costing 15k+ is reasonable and I quite honestly expect it to stay that way. You can save hours going through areas you're not interested in just to cap a skill.

Normal skill tomes 1.5-2k IMO.

"I need [skill] for the build? Gimme a minute, I'll go get it."
*map from HA/Guild Hall to Kamadan*
*run to skill trainer*
*discover that [skill] is from Factions, not from Nightfall*
*map to Kaineng*
*run around half of the bloody city looking for the skill trainer*
*map back to HA/Guild Hall*
*reorder party*

Yeah, I'd say normal tomes are well worth 2k.

englitdaudelin

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Jul 2006

East Coast

Soldier's Union [SU]

N/Me

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ecklipze
Surely going out and having to battle your way to get an elite skill cap is the fun part of getting elites...

..or is that just me?
Nope, not just you.

I can understand the tome, if you want a skill, or need a skill, and let's face it, just don't feel like going out and capping it--all the way out in realm of torment, or the back end of Mineral Springs, or the middle of the Arid sea, especially if (like me, and many others) you have kids, wives, mortgages, classes, jobs, and so on, which unfortunately intrude on important gaming time.

And the nice thing about the tome--and perhaps what you're paying 15-30k for-- is the ability to put it on not only yourself, but any hero you like.
So now you can arm possibly four "people" with the same skill.
\

Trylo

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Jan 2006

[Here] | CKOD

E/R

a whole gem set?!? i got a 2 rit elite tomes for 18k... (i didnt wanna go through NF to get reclaim essence and weapon of remedy)...

anyways i dont expect more than 1k for normal tomes (i sold an ele one for 3k... but thats not outrageous)

got a mes elite tome for 6k and 3 normal tomes for 1.5k for mes... obviously they are going to be less money though

just wait a bit... remember how mini wallows were 120k?

BladeDVD

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jul 2006

Hawaii

Clan Of Elders

N/

Quote:
Originally Posted by englitdaudelin
And the nice thing about the tome--and perhaps what you're paying 15-30k for-- is the ability to put it on not only yourself, but any hero you like.
So now you can arm possibly four "people" with the same skill.
\
FYI, you have to have the skill unlocked on your account already. And if it was unlocked, your heroes would already have access to it.



I agree that the current rarity and newness is driving the prices. I was thinking that they would settle down to around 2k a piece, but rethinking the ease of use factor, especially for a new character or an elite from a campaign different from the one a character was created in, I can see them settling to 5 - 10k depending on the profession.

My only complaint is that they are profession specific. It would have been much neater if the tomes ignored professions. I say this because I think the way most people would use them is to unlock an elite/skill they need for a new build they've never tried. As such, you'd want to hold on to a few of each so you could be ready to go pretty quickly. But being profession specific means you'd need 20 slots to be "ready for anything."

Curse You

Curse You

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Apr 2006

South Pole

The Magus Order

N/Mo

Quote:
Originally Posted by MSecorsky
Wait for reality to set in. At most, a skill at the trainer costs 1,100 gold (including changing secondary), so that should be the absolute cap on the price. It makes even more sense for regular tomes to be less than that... they have less value. The skill trainer can unlock locked skills, the tomes cannot.

Elites... that price will be a bit higher simply because of the effort required to cap the skill. Maybe at most 3 to 5K would make sense.
It costs 500g to change your secondary. Also, you need to be the corresponding class in order to use a Skill Tome, you would need to switch secondary anyways.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nekretaal
(2) The Elite tomes save you the 1k for the capture signet and the trouble of defeating the boss, who might be out of the way (Feast of Corruption; Life Barrier), or hard to beat in his own right (Power Flux, Second Wind, certain other elementalist bosses). Saving the hassle of actually having to capture the skill is worth a premium price.
Life Barrier is hard to get now is it? That's news to me. I got it from a boss right outside Beacon's Perch.

ichigo_panty

ichigo_panty

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Nov 2006

Exiled And Forsaken[EnF]

Lv 5 in cantan or nf.
Lv 5 Nuker Lfg, all skills unlocked, just pm me the build.

But this is help those UW/FoW farmer. They do not need to travel all 3 campaigns just to get the required skills to farm. The time saved is worth that high price on certain tomb.

But once the economy settled in, tombs will go for around 5-10k for elite and 1-2k for normal tomb.

rohara

rohara

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Nov 2006

Rt/

i've been selling my non-elite tomes for 1k a pop without a second thought. honestly, they're worth no more than that, as 1k is precisely what the skill costs from a trainer. sure, there is the benefit of not needing a skill point, and for new chars it means you don't have to ferry/run to other trainers. however, new characters probably haven't reached the 1k skill cost yet so it seems wrong to charge more.

i gave a rit tome away for free to a new rit because i didn't want to sit around and spam all night to make a measly 1k

elite tomes, however, i can see them being worth 5k. saves a bit of trouble capping from difficult bosses and adds to the skill hunter title. i've used all the elite tomes i've found so far, and i'll buy from others when the price drops. 30k for an elite skill is insane, and i'm not that desperate.

Sniper22

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Apr 2005

The normal tomes should cost from 1-2k for new characters who may start in ascalon, and dont wanna wait till they get to the desert to get a skill they want to try out.

Skyy High

Skyy High

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: May 2006

R/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sniper22
The normal tomes should cost from 1-2k for new characters who may start in ascalon, and dont wanna wait till they get to the desert to get a skill they want to try out.
So they can unlock it with 1k faction and buy it at any trainer. Or, if it's a Canthan/Elonian skill, get a run to LA and then go to Kaineng/Kamadan. The whole "skills are only available at trainers of their campaign" thing is a bit vexing, but ultimately a non-issue, as your builds before you can get to other continents generally don't matter at all.