Basic Comprehension Problem

iontichy

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Jan 2008

Hi all,

after playing this game for some time, I'm experiencing a major drop in motivation. It seems that you need ridiculous amounts of monetary units to play this game in the long run, especially to get elite armor sets and other nice stuff.

Now for my basic problem. This is supposed to be a game, right? Which means: something you do in your free time to relax, have some fun, right?

So why do I find myself stuck with another job, grinding for money like an idiot in order to be able to enjoy whats left of the game? Why does ANet turn this into such a major pain in the @ss while it could be fun? Someone enlighten me on this point please. As much as I like GW, this aspect is pissing me off so massively, I'm headed for deinstall. Fast.

randomtime

randomtime

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Jun 2006

D/Mo

Guild wars is ment to be antigrind, you don't need high level armour, and it's not going to hurt if you don't. If you are playing WoW, this would be much worse, belive me.

Squishy ftw

Squishy ftw

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Aug 2007

Your backline

W/

You do not need that money. You can get max damage weapons and armor from collectors.

If all what's left of the game for you is to collect shiny armor and weapons but you don't want to do whatever it is to get that money, then I guess you have to deinstill already.


There's a lot to enjoy besides shiny stuff tho. HM? Elite areas? PvP?

The Sender

The Sender

Academy Page

Join Date: Sep 2006

Execution of War [EoW]

That's cool, man, but you don't need to grind all day long to enjoy the game. 15k armor is easy to get if you save up, the only 15k armor you would probably need to specifically farm for is Obsidian due to the price of ectos. Otherwise, you can use BMP/collector/drops for weapons.

You don't need to grind all day long for money, unless you're starting from scratch. Even then you should save money from quests/missions. You make a lot more money in hard mode, I always get at least a few plat from each HM mission/vanquishing expedition. It is easy to amass a few hundred plat over time by playing PvE without any farming.

Do some hard mode missions, man. You don't need to grind on monsters all day. If you require competition, farm something harder or do PvP/Elite Areas. There are a lot of things do to.

If you're wise you can trade high-end items to gain a lot of money, which is much faster than grinding all day long. You don't like spending hours in an outpost to sell an item? Use the community-provided auctions or trade forums.

GW has much less grind when compared to other online games. It is similar to a single-player game with online functionality. The grind is almost non-existent. Any grind is player-induced, there is no mandatory grind.

randomtime

randomtime

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Jun 2006

D/Mo

That said, feel free to take a GW break, we all do!

Quaker

Quaker

Hell's Protector

Join Date: Aug 2005

Canada

Brothers Disgruntled

Quote:
Originally Posted by iontichy
So why do I find myself stuck with another job, grinding for money like an idiot in order to be able to enjoy whats left of the game? .
I don't exactly know what you mean when you say "grinding for money". Are you out "farming" just to get money to buy fancy stuff?
If you are, that could be your problem. Personally, I've never found "farming" for anything (money or materials) to be either fun or even cost effective.
The simplest way to make money is to simply play the game - pick up all your drops and coins, sell the junk to the merchant and sell the good stuff to other people. Sell the good stuff in game if you don't mind standing around in Kamadan or L.A., or use the buy/sell forums or auctions here on Guru.

But at any rate, as has already been said - you don't need the fancy stuff to play the game. The fancy armor and fancy weapons are not any better than the plain ones, stats-wise.

Olim Chill

Olim Chill

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Oct 2007

USA

DMI

N/

Quote:
It seems that you need ridiculous amounts of monetary units to play this game in the long run, especially to get elite armor sets and other nice stuff.
As noted above, elite armor and "nice stuff" really hasn't much to do with actually playing the game. You can move just fine through the game with non-elite max armor - even less than max. If by "nice stuff" you mean good weapons, you can get those through collectors. The game does provide the essentials.

After that, if you still want "nicer stuff", then grind and bear it.

iontichy

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Jan 2008

The wisest suggestion so far, was to take a break. Maybe I should do that then.

Rothaga

Rothaga

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Mar 2007

D/W

As for Anet's perspective, they cant make everything really easy to get, then everyone will be running around with the coolest looking armor, and it will just be too bland, they have to make it somewhat hard to get.

Fril Estelin

Fril Estelin

So Serious...

Join Date: Jan 2007

London

Nerfs Are [WHAK]

E/

Hi there,

What are you trying to buy? All elite armors? I found no problem getting my first one and can probably get the 2 next ones quickly, but I've been buying minis instead. And all this time I've only been doing missions and quests, plus selling a few dozen alcoholic drinks, nothing really special and no farming. Maybe you're spending too much? Or not selling the right way?

Biostem

Biostem

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Oct 2007

Um... yeah...

You can get max armor and weapons virtually for free. If you want 15K armor or rare weapon skins, then you gotta work for them. Perhaps you are setting an unrealistic time frame for getting elite and/or rare items, and placing the blame on others instead of accepting that these things are fluff and pure vanity items. Getting the best level of armor or the maximum damage on a weapon is quite easy. The only grind is what you make of it.

strcpy

strcpy

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Jul 2005

One of Many [ONE]

I guess I would also say - why do you feel the need to get those items? They offer no advantage whatsoever and in many cases don't even look as nice as the common stuff. Are you perhaps also motivated by the rarity? If so, then just realize that you can not have rare stuff trivial to obtain - otherwise it isn't rare.

You don't need it at all, there is *no* need to grind for gold in this game. The only reason is for vanities sake and it will not have any vanity value if everyone can simply get it, there has to be *some* work in getting it. Heck, if you want to plunk down 10 (or is it still 5) dollars per campaign you don't even need to grind faction for unlocks in PvP - which was previously the only real required grind in the game (but then only if you played higher end PvP and again we were looking at "higher end").

ajmorgan25

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: May 2006

Koss Stole My [WIFE]

uninstall*

Not deinstall.

iontichy

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Jan 2008

Main motiviation for getting elites and stuff is to be able to transfer into GW2.

Etta

Etta

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jun 2006

Mancland, British Empire

No such thing as tranfer from GW1 to GW2. Those titles, minis, armors, weapons that you put on HOM will unlock something in GW2, but you can't just walk in the HOM in GW2 and use any of them.

As for the grind, GW has less of that than any other online rpg put there. Unless you want to max the titles or any of the flashy stuff, which is as always, an optional and entirely up to you to do so.

Don't like grind in an rpg? Play an FPS.

pamelf

pamelf

Forge Runner

Join Date: Aug 2006

Australia

Lost Templars [LoTe]

Me/Mo

Maybe try playing another game for a little while. I've taken GW breaks and one day i'll wake up and just have a sudden urge to play. It's a great re-motivator.

King Farquaad

King Farquaad

Academy Page

Join Date: Jan 2008

Farmington Hills, Michigan

The Angel Blades [TAB]

W/Me

Don't play every day because it gets boring to play evey single day. take a break then you will look forward to play it again xD

Commander Ryker

Site Contributor

Join Date: Jun 2005

R/

Moved to Riverside. This is not a question but more of a discussion.

Ctb

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Apr 2006

W/

Quote:
Don't like grind in an rpg? Play an FPS.
Most FPS games have ladders on them now.

Personette

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Feb 2007

IMHO, if you don't like the fantasy economy aspect of GW then it isn't the game for you. Games are all about playing at various kinds of real-life struggles only with all the scary stuff (risk, pressure, skill, etc.) drastically reduced.

And man, it is so much easier to afford the nicest stuff in Guild Wars than in real life! And it is so much less risky to spend all your gold in Guild Wars than it is in real life! So if you think to yourself, "I can't afford to buy that Prada dress and pay the rent - guess the dress will have to wait," it can be kind of satisfying to play a game and think, "In a couple of hours, I will be able to buy a new set of elite armor - ha ha, no rent, no rainy day to save for, no guilt!"

Just imagining a day when work = getting the perks you want instead of making ends meet is a kind of pleasant fantasy. If you don't think that way, try hiking or basketball or something.

netniwk

netniwk

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Mar 2005

Bellgium

W/E

I got enough money for prestige armor by just playing through the campaigns,then there is the extra money you can earn from the unlocked chest and xunlai agent house,you don't even have to work for that!

Rocky Raccoon

Rocky Raccoon

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Jan 2007

Massachusetts, USA

Guardians of the Cosmos

R/Mo

Prestige armor is just that, to make you look pretty. You can play the game with armor that has all the same stats for very little money. I have been playing for 2-1/2 years and still haven't bought any 15K armor, but it has had no affect on my game enjoyment.

TaCktiX

TaCktiX

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Oct 2006

The Order of Chaos Reborn [ToC]

The amount of pure farming I've done would number in less than 15 hours on my 2600+ hour account. I can't stand it. It's boring, repetitive, and there's always something else I could be doing that's more fun AND will get me some funds.

Yet I have FoW and 7 other elite armor sets across my characters. As other people have said, just play the game, set aside money as it comes and work up to that elite set. None of my armor sets have come quickly, I had to wait a goodly amount of time to get the cash. And the fact that I had fun doing this mission, capping that skill, vanquishing that area the entire time makes it worth it.

And if that just isn't doing it for you, take a break as still others have said. Guild Wars grows on you and you don't realize how much fun it is until you've had a break from the boring monotony you were doing.

Angelic Upstart

Angelic Upstart

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Mar 2006

South Coast UK

[SBS] [RETIRED]

W/E

Quote:
Originally Posted by Quaker
I don't exactly know what you mean when you say "grinding for money". Are you out "farming" just to get money to buy fancy stuff?
If you are, that could be your problem. Personally, I've never found "farming" for anything (money or materials) to be either fun or even cost effective.
The simplest way to make money is to simply play the game - pick up all your drops and coins, sell the junk to the merchant and sell the good stuff to other people. Sell the good stuff in game if you don't mind standing around in Kamadan or L.A., or use the buy/sell forums or auctions here on Guru.

But at any rate, as has already been said - you don't need the fancy stuff to play the game. The fancy armor and fancy weapons are not any better than the plain ones, stats-wise.


QFT

Then there is HM Solo farming which can be relatively rewarding not to mention challenging,but whatever floats your boat really.

garethporlest18

garethporlest18

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jan 2006

[HiDe]

W/

Some of you don't understand what he's saying. He doesn't want the armor to play the game, all that's fun that's left in this game is to get that armor.

This game is a very very very short game. If you take away the effort for titles and armor, you'd lose nearly every part of the playing Guild Wars population (PvE wise) and it'd become a 3D chatroom, it's just not that fun beyond that.

Farming used to be fun though, but it lost it's luster a while ago.

Ctb

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Apr 2006

W/

Quote:
This game is a very very very short game.
Maybe if you sit in front of it for hours on end, day after day...

garethporlest18

garethporlest18

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jan 2006

[HiDe]

W/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ctb
Maybe if you sit in front of it for hours on end, day after day...
Story wise no. Everyone has a day off work or school or life, some people like to spend those days playing games, sometimes you only need 2 of those days. Factions and Nightfall only required 2 of those days. Prophecies was longer for me, I was a noob then though. This guy sounds like he's no longer noob. Of course there's the lot that likes to take things slow as well and I'm sure the game will last longer for them than it did me. I was speaking from opinion though, not basing it as fact.

But see you missed the fact where I said remove the effort for titles/15k or Obsidian armor.

Rocky Raccoon

Rocky Raccoon

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Jan 2007

Massachusetts, USA

Guardians of the Cosmos

R/Mo

Quote:
Originally Posted by garethporlest18
Some of you don't understand what he's saying. He doesn't want the armor to play the game, all that's fun that's left in this game is to get that armor.

This game is a very very very short game. If you take away the effort for titles and armor, you'd lose nearly every part of the playing Guild Wars population (PvE wise) and it'd become a 3D chatroom, it's just not that fun beyond that.

Farming used to be fun though, but it lost it's luster a while ago.
I totally disagree, there is so much to do, and so many variations to do them.
If you only played 1 character and played all the way through it still wouldn't be short. With all the professions available it is far from being a short game.

Fril Estelin

Fril Estelin

So Serious...

Join Date: Jan 2007

London

Nerfs Are [WHAK]

E/

Quote:
Originally Posted by garethporlest18
But see you missed the fact where I said remove the effort for titles/15k or Obsidian armor.
And you seemed to miss the point that the game can be enjoyed in different ways. One can go quickly, one can go fast, one can go the easy way, another one the hard way. And so on. To many people this game is still a lot of fum (if not, there'd be no one playing it).

Torqual

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Mar 2006

W/Mo

Quote:
Originally Posted by iontichy
Hi all,

after playing this game for some time, I'm experiencing a major drop in motivation.
There's an easy solution to this. Try rebalancing by taking some points out of Leadership and, if necessary, Spear Mastery. Then buy a rune of Superior Motivation for 100g. Problem solved, surely.

Or do I misunderstand?

garethporlest18

garethporlest18

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jan 2006

[HiDe]

W/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Risky Ranger
I totally disagree, there is so much to do, and so many variations to do them.
If you only played 1 character and played all the way through it still wouldn't be short. With all the professions available it is far from being a short game.
My answer to this, well Fril said the gist of it. Also no, like I said, I completed Factions/Nightfall in 2 days with that 1 character, so yes it was short. And again I'm talking story wise here. If we were to make everything easy to get, and all there was left to do after beating a campaign would be killing monsters or chatting in towns. Furthermore I said that because the 15k armor brings him fun, but to get to that 15k armor he has to work and he doesn't feel he should have to work in a game that is suppose to be fun.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fril Estelin
And you seemed to miss the point that the game can be enjoyed in different ways. One can go quickly, one can go fast, one can go the easy way, another one the hard way. And so on. .
And to you I say, I did not miss that point, in fact I placed it in my post.

"Of course there's the lot that likes to take things slow as well and I'm sure the game will last longer for them than it did me. I was speaking from opinion though, not basing it as fact."

LeoX

LeoX

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Dec 2005

United Kingdom

Guildless Since 2005???

W/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Risky Ranger
I have been playing for 2-1/2 years and still haven't bought any 15K armor, but it has had no affect on my game enjoyment.
Really? I bow before you, how did you resist?

Yeah, i mean if you get bored, and de-motivated, it's generally a good idea to take a break, like a few weeks or a month.
I talk with experience from various games, including GW, when i've come back after a break i've always been much more motivated and had more fun.

Farming for me isn't really boring, i just enjoy it because i have that little thought in my head about the next drop which will give me that little bit more money. I naturally get bored after hours of farming, probably because i'm tired, or that i'm over annoyed at my internet connection disconnecting haha. Then i give it a break, go watch some tv or just browse the web, come back and be re-motivated to farm.. but yeah it's grind if you want the luxury items, and i understand it bores people to grind.

Dkraftwerk

Dkraftwerk

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Mar 2007

Me/Mo

Quote:
Originally Posted by Risky Ranger
I totally disagree, there is so much to do, and so many variations to do them.
If you only played 1 character and played all the way through it still wouldn't be short. With all the professions available it is far from being a short game.
I agree with you Risky. I have been playing my Mesmer for just under a year now and only just recently did I beat Prophecies, and I have all 3 campaigns along with EoTN. I also just got my first elite armor set this weekend, most of the money was collected from just running missions/quests. I did create a farming Monk to help boost my funds which made it all the more easier. It took some time but well worth it. I don't spend hours upon hours of farming either, I just hop on to him for a little while whenever I feel like it and pick a spot and kill stuff for a little while.

Kahlindra

Kahlindra

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: May 2006

England

Anthems to the Welkin at [Dusk]. 2 man guilds are king.

N/Me

The game may need a large amount of gold in the long-run (that's debatable, really), but you GET a large amount of gold if you play for the long haul. When I think about the oodles of plat I've spent during the past 2.5 years, I feel a bit dizzy. Doing nothing special but as everyone else above says- picking up, playing through the game, doing hardmode..... millions of gold.

All spent :-)

garethporlest18

garethporlest18

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jan 2006

[HiDe]

W/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dkraftwerk
I agree with you Risky. I have been playing my Mesmer for just under a year now and only just recently did I beat Prophecies, and I have all 3 campaigns along with EoTN. I also just got my first elite armor set this weekend, most of the money was collected from just running missions/quests. I did create a farming Monk to help boost my funds which made it all the more easier. It took some time but well worth it. I don't spend hours upon hours of farming either, I just hop on to him for a little while whenever I feel like it and pick a spot and kill stuff for a little while.
This is my point. If Anet had made it so money was not necessary for anything you wanted in game and could have every rare skin weapon/armor wise and every title you wanted for a very small sum (10-20g), would you still have had that much fun in this game?

When I said what I said up there about this being a very very short game (said it totally wrong and should have used a comma not a period) if none of this "after story" stuff was around, I meant just that. But length of a game is subjective and to me, if it doesn't last at least a month it's very very short. I might have over exaggerated some of the very's though.

Ctb

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Apr 2006

W/

Quote:
Factions and Nightfall only required 2 of those days.
I'm not going to argue with you. Even if it did take you some tiny amount of time, I seriously doubt your anecdotal evidence jives with the extreme majority of the community's experiences. Just to counteract your claim, it took me several months to play through all the Prophecies content. There, now we're tied 1-1.

Quote:
Really? I bow before you, how did you resist?
Pfft. My original Warrior's 1.5k armor doesn't even MATCH because I bought it back before you could add prefixes and just bought whatever pieces of it I had materials for. I found it annoying enough to have to go grinding to find my first sup vigor rune, "back in the day".

Not everybody who plays these games cares about being at the "top" or the "phat lewtz". Even if I did care about having that sort of thing, there's no way I'd have the time to grind out the money, materials and reputation anyway.

Aera Lure

Aera Lure

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Aug 2005

In Baltar's head

Bring Out Your Dead [BOYD], former officer [LBS]

Mo/

Guild Wars was never meant to be a long term PvE endeavor. Most of the money for things you speak of are skins - its all max armor and weapons actually are in this game. You dont need any of it. This was originally seen as a boon and something unique in the MMO arena. It still is. However, over an extended period of time, you do need things to accumulate and to do. When it later became a focus for many players, Anet added titles to "extend" this area of the game indefinitely.

Some would say this made Guild Wars the ideal balance - you can spend ages trying to get certain armor skins and certain rarely dropped weapons, or ignore the money market and go for titles, or do both - or you can not worry about it at all and just play. Fine and well - many have done that for years. Myself included. I'm not so sure now.

I was in the money accumulation track for a long time, then just tired of it when it felt like a job. Other MMOs I enjoy that, as I'm developing a character, but not so in Guild Wars. I took a long break and came back instead to simply play and work on titles. The gameplay ones (Protector and Guardian, Vanquisher, few others) are fun, at least to me. I then hit the brick wall when I got into the grindy ones and just decided Guild Wars wasnt for me anymore, much as I loved the game, much as I still do. Maybe I'll come back, but I first have to fix my PC, so I have an actual hurdle preventing me from coming back out of retirement this time.. anyway:

My advice is take a break. You'll then find at some point you want to come back and just play, with certain goals in mind for yourself, be it titles, skins, what have you. The fun mostly comes down to who you play with and the gameplay. Cant really go looking for more than that.

Dkraftwerk

Dkraftwerk

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Mar 2007

Me/Mo

Quote:
Originally Posted by garethporlest18
This is my point. If Anet had made it so money was not necessary for anything you wanted in game and could have every rare skin weapon/armor wise and every title you wanted for a very small sum (10-20g), would you still have had that much fun in this game?

When I said what I said up there about this being a very very short game (said it totally wrong and should have used a comma not a period) if none of this "after story" stuff was around, I meant just that. But length of a game is subjective and to me, if it doesn't last at least a month it's very very short. I might have over exaggerated some of the very's though.
If you are asking, I can honestly answer yes to that. Now that I have pretty, expensive armor it doesn't make much difference from before. I see what you are saying though about it being a "goal" to achieve. I never intended to get 15k armor, it just happened one day that I said "wow I have a lot of money...when did that happen?". So I just kept going until I had enough to get a full set. Truly the only reason I wanted the elite enchanters set is so he could look totally swanky when I quest and do missions, because let's face it, Mesmers kick arse in the fashion department

I still run missions, do quests that got forgotten, just started running Sorrow's Furnace, tried Tomb of Primeval Kings, still haven't seen the Underworld and Fissure of Woe, Domain of Anguish...the list goes on. I love to explore and experience these areas, so I'm slowly making my way to them. The game is no where near being over for me, and I don't expect it to be for a long long time. This is all forgetting PvP too.

Longasc

Longasc

Forge Runner

Join Date: May 2005

Quote:
Originally Posted by iontichy
I'm experiencing a major drop in motivation. It seems that you need ridiculous amounts of monetary units to play this game in the long run, especially to get elite armor sets and other nice stuff.
(...)
Now for my basic problem. This is supposed to be a game, right? Which means: something you do in your free time to relax, have some fun, right?

This is your personal problem, not one of the game. It is about your personal goals and expectations.

Your definition of FUN seems to be that you can get Obsidian Armor and all other 15k armors quickly, ideally today.

You do not need to get Obsidian armor at all, after 3 years I do not have a single part. Note, I am not poor, rather the opposite, I have a complete hall and almost all minis ever released and could fill several more halls with armor sets for my 10 PvE chars.

Still, nobody needs more than 500 gold or 2k at max to play the game, for id kit and sup salvage kit, and not even that at a very basic level.


I found vanquishing for the title quite boring after a while, but I considered it worth it and took my time...

You behave like someone is forcing you to play a game that bores you to hell.


My advice: take a break, ideally a longer break. play another game and come back later or not.

garethporlest18

garethporlest18

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jan 2006

[HiDe]

W/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dkraftwerk
If you are asking, I can honestly answer yes to that. Now that I have pretty, expensive armor it doesn't make much difference from before. I see what you are saying though about it being a "goal" to achieve. I never intended to get 15k armor, it just happened one day that I said "wow I have a lot of money...when did that happen?". So I just kept going until I had enough to get a full set. Truly the only reason I wanted the elite enchanters set is so he could look totally swanky when I quest and do missions, because let's face it, Mesmers kick arse in the fashion department

I still run missions, do quests that got forgotten, just started running Sorrow's Furnace, tried Tomb of Primeval Kings, still haven't seen the Underworld and Fissure of Woe, Domain of Anguish...the list goes on. I love to explore and experience these areas, so I'm slowly making my way to them. The game is no where near being over for me, and I don't expect it to be for a long long time. This is all forgetting PvP too.
Well I applaud you for being able to do all those things more than a few times, because I sure am not able to. Hence why the game is very very short for me, without the titles/armor/goals to grind for. (yes it is grind for me because I do and do not enjoy it at the same time).

So now that my explaining of my first post has been completed, I would say to you OP that, there isn't much you can do about it. If you want the armor you're gonna have to do some disgusting things. But as other people said, taking a break, going to a city and chatting will help it not seem as hard. Oh and don't forget the free chests in NF, they'll help you out somewhat. I would also recommend 1-2 nightly trips of FoW or UW. They will make you money, slow money but it won't be as boring then.

You can do farm runs the same way, that's how I do them because if I do more than 1-2 of anything I cry from the boredom.

Ah edit: This is the thing that's getting me..Longasc and others have said you do not "need" this or that armor to play this game. But he does, as that's his fun. If he doesn't have it, then the game isn't fun. He doesn't need it to be good or succeed at the game, but to have fun, for him, he does need it.

"You behave like someone is forcing you to play a game that bores you to hell." Haha there is, it's himself. I know that one all to well.