GW's economy question

I guess I am kinda inbetween a casual player but less hardcore than many. I put in about 3hrs per evening in this game for the last year or so.

I have never bought any 15k armour, nor any rare skin weapons or rare minipets. (I did a trade for a Devourer once...don't ask.) I do not indulge in any of the goldsink titles such as Drunked and Sweettooth, nor the latest fireworks one. Hence, my expenditure is almost nil. The odd rune here and there, only ever bought one Superior Death (the rest I salvaged) and never bought a Superior Vigor (got two or three in my time).

I've got 6 characters and all their heroes are tooled out with max weapons, quite a few greens, and near-perfect golds of more common skins.

On the other hand, I have not farmed at all. The closest thing I have done to farming was the recent Canthan New Year quests, which I did on all the characters, but alas no rat. I did get about 20k of gold by selling the resulting fireworks.

I don't think I have farmed anything more than 10 times, thats how easily I get bored. The exception is probably SSLB wurm farming.

I've always been comfortable, if ever a 15k armour piqued my interest, I would be able to afford it. The Nightfall treasure chests put me up almost 100k, but I have only done it once or twice. Vanquishing and HM really did boost my savings up double or triple. Now I can afford FoW or Vabbian armour if I so fancy. But no, they don't look that great.

Comfortable middle class, I assume I am.

Well, you can replace Price with Time and Importance with Skill. Hey, it checks out - the time is now price, and important thing... Nah, whatever.

I'm average player - I have 15k sets on 4 of 6 pve chars. Few nice weapons (dead sword that I have gotten before they were overfarmed - worth 50k at the time), not many titles (they're IMO crap), 150k in storage and 850k fb.. Oh, wait, fail. Nevermind.

10 level 20 characters across all professions. 675k in vault. 31 months of play. not average?

The thing about teh GW world is that it costs you ZERO to live in the GW world. Absolutely nothing, in gold terms ($39.99 per campaign tho).

Transport is free, lodgings are free, weapons are free, armour cost 5k++.

You want a Salvage Kit or Identification kit? Grab your Monastery Credit or Kournan Coin or whatever and off you go. Skills kinda pay for themselves, by the time you get to a boss to get a cap, you've come close to paying that 1k for the cap signet. Or there's always Hero Skill Trainer.

Anet has gone out of their way to make the GW world completely cost-free, for the average joe. Gold was a little tight the first time you were crossing the Shiverspeak, but after that, you'll never need to worry ever again.

Anything that actually cost any gold are ornamental. The only circumstance where gold can improve your game is if you bought a kazillion Lunar game ticket things to pump up your Lucky title so that you can retail your lockpicks. No wait, the merchant weapon is just as good, better yet, the collector weapon.

GW gives you more than enough gold to swim in it, and occasionally splash out on a trinklet.

Hmm, I have to calculate after how much time the lucky title actually pays off...

I used to play GW to farm until I had nothing else I want in the game. Having everything you ever want is a big turn off to GW :/

I don't think people's wealth in the game is a meaningful measure of the economy, or the game.

THhere seems to be an over inflated importance of this quasi economy, and ANet have used "protecting the economy" as an excuse for nerfing some of the fun out of the game, that simply can't be wrong. I'd rather have a fun game with a mucked up economy than a good economy game which isn't much fun.

Im probabely casual player, dont do titles, dont have 15k armor(although im looking into it ), few chars, never did any elite areas, best drop ive got were a 20/20(made30k on that)swordpommel and 3 black dyes oh and a bonedragon for my bday......but im keeping that.Oh and a crap load of stuff,probabely worth 50k, just to lazy to sell it. Just not a expensive taste i guess.

But my cash never goes below 30k, i make money salvaging and selling materials(rare and commen) just surf trough the diffrent sales areas, make a few quick sales. For the rest pick up everything, merch it

Never had any problems with cash, although i never had more then 90k

mzzls

I used to swim in cash back in the SF days (before factions), then factions was released. After that I only played during big updates, new campaigns, or big events, usually able to earn a bit of money with each one. I can't farm anymore, though, it just bores me after 3-5 runs.

So now salvaged my 1 set of FoW, and 2 sets of 15k (Can't bring myself to salvage the other 4 15ks), bought a new 15k, and now I'm sitting on about 23k. I don't play enough to care though, GW has been dying since titles were released. It was made with great intentions, which is why I'm still here, but imho, it kind of drifted away from it's original design (Skill > Time played, for example). I just hope GW2 can redeem this game for me.

Gold, schmold, I want my pudding.

I roughly have 10-20k. Only time i save up is when there's something worth saving for. Then i buy that item and become broke again. My money is in itemz and titlez.

I am now officially broke.

I'm an average player i guess. I have 30k at storage, my main have 2 elite sets, some nice skinned caster swords/axes, nice choice of staffs etc. I'm not into titles so no money sink there. I like just spoil my necro (main), i buy new weapons and offhands/shields, I think I'm going to get some new elite armor set to him when i hit 100k etc.etc.

Absolutely. I personally love the fact that any player can be just as good as another with hardly any gold...between collectors, cheap armor, skill tomes, etal...it's insanely easy to be "totally pimped out".

People that normally whine about money are those that want some of the rarest skins or novelty items in game...which, for the most part, probably stems from the fact that they are the rarest items in the game.

By that, I mean the typical unconscious thought path could be...

1. I want a sword.
2. Hmmm...I like how that sword looks.
3. But wait...it's a very common sword skin.
4. I wonder what is a more uncommon skin.
5. Hmmm...people are saying the Crystalline sword is hard to get.
6. Gosh, if it is that rare, maybe it's worth having.
7. Wait...you're telling me that a good one costs 400K+?
8. Wow, that's expensive.
9. Wait - I really WANT that sword.
10. Why is the sword skin that I truly love have to be so expensive?
11. That's not FAIR!
12. That's it, I'm going to complain. It's ridiculous that I will never have the chance to get the one sword skin that I've always loved.

:sigh:

Ironically, everyone who owns Prophecy can get a non-max Crystalline sword from a quest.

http://gw.gamewikis.org/wiki/The_Prize_Moa_Bird

I mean, if all they want is the look...

QFT just because it's, well, true.


Having said that, getting enough money means (IMHO) either:

1. You know how to make money (trading/farming).
2. You put time into the game.

For me, it's 2. I make about 2k per hour, without trying. Really, it's easy. Go out in a max level area (everything after the Desert/Shing Jae/Istan) and do a quest or just randomly kill stuff in a full team. Picking up everything and sell it (after id'ing it all, even the whites) and including the gold that just drops you have about 2k (low guesstimate I think). If you play on average 1 hour a day (probably less during the week, more in the weekends if you have a normal day job) you have 1 piece of 15k armor (more or less) at the end of the week. That means you have a full 15k set in 4 weeks (or a month).

Personally I play, give and take, 15 hours a week. So that means I can get, just from drops, a full 15k set in about 2 weeks. If you collect the better upgrades (15^50, -5(20%), 20% FCT/HSR) and sell them in bulk for a low price you can make about 5k-10k extra in a normal week without having to waste much time.

However, this will not enable you to buy anything you want in a reasonable time frame. You have to prioritise. If your goal is a 15k set don't buy things you don't need, like keys, superior vigor, expensive skin, etc. This way you will make it in about a month (playing on average 7 hours a week). If you absolutely have to have a mini panda though I can only advise the following: patience. Set aside everything you get and then, when GW2 comes around, you might be reaching the stage where you can start bidding for a mini-panda.


Maybe .

For you people that have more gold/ectos/shard/etc then you would want to or know what to do with it, i have a solution for your problems.
Give me your ectos and shards and help me finish my obsidian armor! Thats the only reason why i am saving gold, i alreayd have have the other armors i want to!
If you do so i will be your friend!

About the topic:
I got 300k and saving for fow armor, after that i will not need gold.

I think it's the problem of a lot of people, they're everywhere and can't focus on anything. They want everything, and some don't want to make the effort it requires. "I'm going to get FOW armor" requires, as I was saying before, dedication - I stop buying lockpicks (which is, outside of my armor "needs", the thing I spend a lot of money on), I deal with the weapons and armors I already have (I'm not much of an impulsive buyer anwyays, except for armors), I set aside other projects (I wanted to buy a mini Naga Raincaller and wanted para FoW... I've postponed me getting a mini Naga)...

... And I make my cash. I farm because I want to PLAY the game and not powertrading (and because I enjoy farming). In the end, I feel like I've accomplished something. Then I have a 2-3 day downtime before I get another goal. I can set the speed to suit my needs. 1 week for my para's FoW, I was sick all week... 3 weeks for my monk's because I wanted to do other stuff aside. People wonder how I do it... well that's what I do. Also helps when you have several characters that you can use to make money.

I don't NEED the armor set. I don't need anything beyond max AL armor, which doesn't cost much (to me anyways). But I want it and it gives me a reason to actually play and enjoy the game.

I rarely have more than 30K at once and I've only spent about 100K in a year of playing.

1,825 hours in 25 months which is approximately 2.4 hours a day. Although I'm very on and off, there would be months when I'd be totally obsessed spending around 5-6 hours a day on GW and then there are months (like the past 2 months) where I wouldn't spend more than 5 minutes on a day.

Anyways, I have around 600k right now... don't really know why I've been saving, there's nothing "expensive" that I'm saving for.

I find the "leet" (no Crystallines and FoW armor for me thank you very much) gear to be ugly and pointless.

I guess I'll blow that on a r9 Clockwork Scythe for my level 3 Dervish

My first 100k... I blew it on some 15k armor.

If only that worked....hehe

Yeah, the most I've ever had in my entire Guild Wars career was 40k. Needless to say I have much less than that now. I tend to run near-broke almost permanently.

While I do realize that is the case for most players, sadly it wasn't for me and my eyecandy-desiring. I wanted the silverwing bow for my ranger as soon as I saw it on the wiki. It was only after I browsed some forums quite a bit later that I realized it would cost more money than I'll probably ever have at once. BMP ftw I guess. Looks like I'm never gonna get the silverwing lol

I used to think i was averagely well off, until i read this thread, over the last 28 months or so i have raised ten characters all with 15k Armour and one set of FoW armour, probably spent well over 2 million gold in this time , ( that is including the numerous level20 chars i have deleted ).
Currently i am sitting on 950 plat, and to be honest i am bored shitless, having a lot of money in the game means jack.. it brings boredom tbh, knowing you can afford almost anything you might want, ( polars bears the exception) i am not into minis or super rare weapons, i have a large collection of Tyrian req8's spread over my heroes, plus all the usual fashion items colossal, ele sword , req 9 crys, etc, but it all means bugger all, apart from the fact maybe i farmed too much.

Same.

I bought me a Req7 15^50 fellblade yesterday.

There went all my money

Seriously ppl stop adding the " wherz ma puddin " option in the poll if i nevr get any ..

tbh ; i think most of the guru ppl have 55k +

I have been playing for 31 months and finally put 100k in storage in early January. I don't buy elite armors and the most expensive thing I ever bought was 2 black dyes from a guildie for 2k less than market value. I do have this bad habit of keeping things in storage and mules for who knows what.

Oh I don't have enough becuase ussually I buy just about everything on sale. God the same thing happened to me in WOW with the Auction house.

It's not about having money, it's about being able to buy what one needs that matters.
If a player spends his gold wise, he/she should have more than enough to cover the basic needs.
This does not mean that one can buy anything (s)he wants, just that it's possible to obtain all one needs to finish the game.

After finishing the game, things get different.
One seeks new goals and a lot of them will be gold sinks or cost a lot of gold when buying stuff from other players.

However, it's not needed to do so.
The difference between a req12 13^50 +27HP sword and a req 8 15^50 +30HP is hard to notice in PvE.
And the first one is probably a blue drop or can be made very cheap.
Equipment like this can be used for everything in the game except perhaps PvP. But with the unlocks and a PvP character, that's not a problem.

If you want the best of the best, you must be willing to work hard for it or have a lot of luck.
I have decent income, but can't afford that Aston Martin even when saving for ages.
So I drive my humble Renault that also brings me from A to B and within traffic regulations they perform about the same.
And I could not buy that one instantly, also had to save for it.
If I did not have my car, I would travel by public transport, also gets me where I need to be, only I'd be more depending on their schedule.

In Guild Wars things are even easier.
The more time you spend, it's more likely you find a somewhat rare item.
An item with maxed stats and reasonably low req.
Not the Crystalline skin, but with exactly the same performance.

Now there are some 'rules' that help people low on cash.
First of all, a second character is cheaper to set up than the first one.
Or, said better, the first character can supply the second one.
When playing the game with the second character, you can obtain the rewards but spend less on the character. A second character can also make it easier to get into certain groups. Don't need my mesmer, but do need an ele? I get mine (if I had one).

Second, collect every drop you see and merch them. ID everything with a merchant value above 50g (my rule, could be somewhat lower).

Third, don't spend gold on things you don't need.
All skills unlocked on your PvE character is nice, but there is no need for it.
Unlock only the skills you need and buy only the equipment you really need.
Dye, keys, expensive runes.... Nice to have, but no need.
If you decide to buy an item like an expensive rune, make sure it pays.
+ Energy runes are worth it if you have the gold or if you need them to make a specific build that increases your income a lot, like a farming build, or one that speeds up the game a lot.

Fourth, if you ever want to play PvP, use a PvP character and not a PvE one.
This will save you a lot of cash on unlocking skills.
Not talking about RA/AB, you can play there with a limited number of builds.

Last but probably most important: set a realistic goal and make a plan.
If you want that FoW armor, make sure you have a plan to get it.
Don't even think about spending gold on anything you don't need.
You want that FoW, nothing else. No black dye, no treasure hunter title, no drunkard. Just FoW.
Make sure you have a steady income that fits the goal.
If your regular income is too low, consider farming or do repetitive runs in profitable areas. Sure it's grind, but you want that FoW, remember.
If you want something extra like black dye, make sure you cover the extra costs. Could mean more hours of grind, but you want that FoW and the black.

Now if you think FoW is not worth that grind, you are probably right.
It's possible to obtain it now by 'regular' gameplay, but instead of weeks you are looking at months before you will be able to get it.
And you need to play high-end stuff like vanquishing, hard mode dungeons, DoA or UW/FoW clearings.
And you need to be able to play a lot, not just 2-3 hours/week.
If you can't, FoW is like the Aston Martin is to me.
Very nice to have, but unless I win the lottery, I will never have one.

I know it's not easy to focus on the goal.
It's very tempting when someone is selling an item you always wanted for an amount of gold that you have in storage.
But ask yourself. Did you really want that item? And if so, why was that not your main goal? Or did you not really want that item, but the event just caused you to want it?

Realistic goals and clever spending is all you need to have more than enough gold in this game.

I guess I am one of those players that has as much gold as one can get. Playing to accumulate funds and good items is just a different way of playing, than doing all the quests and missions. There are many ways to accumulate gold in GW. In fact, it is one of the easier things to do. Sometimes, it requires a knowledge of the price of the better items, what they sell for, and the willingness to take a little time to sell the better items. This is easy to find out because the price guides, to a certain degree, are posted in this forum. It is only a guide however and the price of an item is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. There are certain places where the most buying and selling take place, like Kamadan and LA. I used to sell my excess materials to a material trader until I found out that people go to Droks to buy and sell materials at a price somewhere between the merchant buy and sell price, which changes every day, much like a real commodities market. GW makes this easy with the trade tab of the chat screen. You don't even have to post your item. You can wait for someone to post a WTB and then approach them with your item. GW now allows you to buy a salvage kit in GWEN that doesn't destroy the original item so it is easy to extract a mod like a +30 or a 20/20 sundering mod that sells for 8-12K. Over the course of time everyone gets a random drop that fits into the rare item or perfect mod category. Plus. there are free treasure chests in NF that respawn every month so it's easy to get some rare items even if one is unwilling to buy keys or lockpicks.

If you prefer, you can sell your items at the auction sites. GW Guru has the best one. It's like ebay. I only sell req 9 or better items and merch the rest. Even if I only get 1-2K for an item, it is more than I would get for it at the merchant.

GW adds things periodically to change the economics of the supply and demand of certain items. For instance, when they added Green items they sold for much more than they did later on when there were plenty of each item. If they discontinue an item because it is too powerful, the price goes up. When Elemental Swords first came out, they went for a lot of gold. Later, as GW increased the drop rate, the price went down. I really enjoy the supply and demand part of the economics. The price of the gemstones in DoA go up and down regularly.

I particularly enjoy solo farming. It is a nice change of pace to going with a group and it has it's own challenges. There are many builds to experiment with that can be found in the forums here. If you have never done it, try it out. Success is largely based on the timing of running the skills in your skill set.

I could go on and on about this. I only skimmed the surface. And, hey, anyone can accumulate funds, especially the casual player.

I left something out that I wanted to say. I find that those who buy gold and the web sites that sell it, to be totally despicable and should be banned immediately. There is no need to buy gold because getting it in game is really, really easy.

The way I look at it is that GW has 3 levels of playing.

PvP, where money means nothing.(save for wanting to wield a certian skin for status sake alone)

PvE, where you need money to progress buying armor/runes/insignias/weapons/mods/ect...(these people will farm for necesities but will only purchase high end items if they happen to have cash on hand when they see them.)

Collectors, people that play only to aquire the rarest of items with the best stats even if they never use those items. They will farm for gold or for certain items sometimes to keep but mostly to sell. They will power trade as often as possible.(I've a guildie I put in this catagory after he customized a crystaline for his monk).


Most people have an idea of what catagory they wish to be in when they start but often change somewhere along the line. Some move from one to another while others spread out and incorporate all 3 into thier GW play time.

all the pvp'ers i know usually have 500k+ jsut from hoh drops.

You know... a straight forward ''yes'' or ''no'' poll would have gotten the idea through. Adding a third option that the majority chose doesn't help either.

eBay solves this problem.

I do not support eBaying.

Where is my pudding?

I am thoroughly confused by the poll, so I chose pudding. Honestly, it and the OP ask if "players" have too much or not enough gold. Then the poll answers are effectively asking for our individual status, rather than what we think is the overall status.

So I deem this thread has failed until otherwise clarified.

I got a fair amount of fireworks during the Canthan Holiday and sold them off yesterday to someone here for about 42 K.

Bought my first 15K armour still have about 30K left.

I've been spending money on stuff i don't need since I got the extra cash but WTF why not.

It's nice having having some extra cash.

you play the game out of your own interest - why compare yourself with other ppl?

I think i have quite reasonable goals when it comes to gold and stuff, all the ones that have been achieved so far from just general playing etc:

Filling minipet monument:
I used to buy mid-range expensive minipets such as the promotional ones or purples etc, but recently i've just been filling with any i can get to get 20, now i have 20 dedicated pets, and am looking to sell the majority of them if there is a market.

Tooling up my 3 necros and any heroes required for missions:
I use the 3-necro build in pve, and I make sure they are tooled up with runes and weapons, as well as the nightfall heroes required for the main missions, so that when it comes to doing them on hard mode they aren't stuck with beginner junk.

Filling armour and destroyer weapon monuments:
I'm doing the former first, as after i have 3 more sets, i can sell all materials to fund destroyer weapons, that will in line with the above go to heroes that are required for missions.

tbh after that i don't really have any things to do in gw that need money, HM/vanquishing/title grinding aren't cash-intensive, might save up for some expensive stuff after that.