Need some almost basic info on merchanting

There's a few things I haven't quite understood yet that I need clarified:

What's the difference of blue, purple, gold and green items? Are there other colors? Why do the gold and green items sell for so much, when the stats are very much the same? Why pay 100K+ for items with stats that match other weapons that sell for <10K?

Could be a number of reasons. Rare skin etc. But its mostly for no reason at all.

Blue items are uncommon and can never have perfect mods. Purple items and Gold items can. Green items are "Unique" items dropped by certain bosses only (after which they are named e.g Gorrel's Staff).

it is a status symbol.

a way to show that i am rich (or lucky)

I have four active characters, levels 13, 13, 8 and 6. I have gotten to Gates of Kryta with one of them, and I currently have about 2300 gold. Is that normal? I just can't imagine anyone having multiple hundred thousands, do you get like 10K for a mission later in the game?

Edit: What's "perfect mods"?

People farm for the gold or get lucky drops. Once you reach a certain amount of gold it becomes self-sustaining. You can play the market for profits at that point. I'd also recommend you play one character to the end of the game rather than progressing 4 at the same time. You may also want to delete one for a PvP slot.

Blue(common) and Purple(uncommon) aren't worth much simply because they usally only come with one mod, and rarely a max mod...for example a purple sword with Dmg+11% while health above 50%, or a Fortitude mod of only +21. Gold items often have max mods, for example Dmg+14/15%^50, or health+30, and that's why they sell for so much. Green items come with fixed mods, all max, and low reqs (9). A reason they were implemented was so that pretty much anyone can afford a perfect modded weapon without shelling out ridiculous amounts of gold. However some greens do sell for quite a bit, but rarely over 100k. Another note on value of items, the req greatly impacts the value of it. Although it's stupid, people pay more for a req 7-8 than they would for a req 10-12(which is deemed crappy). What makes it stupid is that to get 100% of your weapon's damage potential, you have to have at least 12 ranks in that attribute. Most people think that a lower req means you get that 15-22 from that sword by only meeting the req of, say 8. Check it out, you'll only be hitting for a bunch of 1's and 2's. So yeah, I hope this helps clarify your questions

Yeah, it clarified some, but it raised quote a few more questions. Don't you deal the stated damage if you meet the requirements? How does the damage system work?

Edit: What is meant by 5%^50?

What do you mean, play the market?

For someone in that part of the game, yeah pretty much. Like Fallot said, once you reach end-game, you'll have more options open, such as farming in Sorrow's Furnace, the new Tombs, FoW/UW, and so on. All these places have high-level drops, so you may come out with an awesome weapon that would sell for a ton.

Perfect mods refer to bonuses on weapons that increase damage and other effects. Here's a few examples of perfect mods:
-Damage +15% while health above 50% ("15^50")
-Armor Penetration 10% (chance 10%) ("10/10 Sundering")
-Double Adrenaline on hit (chance 10%) ("10% Furious")
-Health +30 ("Fortitude +30")
-Enchantments last 20% longer ("20% longer")

All the above mods sell for quite a bit, so keep an eye out for what mods the weapons you find have. But note that you won't (ideally) find these anywhere around Ascalon, Kryta, and other low-mid level areas. So in theory reaching end-game, or at least high level areas will bring you to better items.
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask

I'm not completely sure of the exact %'s, but to get 100% of its potential, you'll need 12 ranks. 11 is (i think) 90%, and 13 would be 105% (i think)
So if you have only 8 in an attribute like Swordsmanship, regardless of the req, you'll be hitting only for maybe 70-ish% of its potential. Do some searching on the damage system in GW Guru, you'll find the specifics.

Yep, thanks, that was clarifying!

What do you mean, play the market?

Edit: A few more questions:
- What's the max damage of each weapon?
- Is is possible to transfer the knowledge of quick-travel locations from one character to another?
- Is it possible to extend the amount of space on your storage? I am currently using half of it (10 slots) for lots of materials, and I have a few weapons and weapon upgrades stored, in addition to constantly having one salvage kit, one expert salvage kit and one identification kit. I'm rapidly running out of space...

I celebrated the day that I managed to put 1 platinum in storage. I couldn't imagine ever getting much more, because it took so long to do that.

Playing the market... to me at least... is watching what items people are selling, and if I see a perfect mod going for well under what the "street" value is, I buy it and resell it (if I don't need it). Also, to make money, I started crafting rare materials, and salvage everything, to sell materials in bulk to people. It's an easy way to make a fairly large amount rather quickly.

I tag along when my guildies are farming, and sometimes nice things drop for me, and I will sell those too. I started doing 2 man and 3 man UW runs, and now take rangers to UW to capture a Spider for a pet (for a fee). That proved to be lucrative.

I don't think I hit over 100K in storage until well after the Maguuma jungle areas with my first char. I would have more... except I keep buying multiple sets of that darned 15K armor! Just takes patience. Pick up all of your drops, salvage and/or merchant everything. Don't spend too much on keys, and it adds up.

Thanks! But how much do you sell materials for? And what do you mean to not spend too much on keys? The chests drops some rather nice items...

I'll sum up all the unanswered questions so far, as well as add some more:
- What's the max damage of each weapon?
- Is is possible to transfer the knowledge of quick-travel locations from one character to another?
- Is it possible to extend the amount of space on your storage? I am currently using half of it (10 slots) for lots of materials, and I have a few weapons and weapon upgrades stored, in addition to constantly having one salvage kit, one expert salvage kit and one identification kit. I'm rapidly running out of space...
- When I create a new character, I can choose RPG or PvP. I know RPG now, but what pros and cons are there with PvP? Can I explore the world with it? I'm planning on building an InvinciMonk build for lone farming (I assume that's highly lucrative), should I make that an RPG or PvP? If RPG, then I'm gonna have to play though the whole story again to get the skills/XP won't I?
- Should I rename this thread "Guild Wars noob thread"?

Nope, these are all good questions. A lot of them have been asked before and some folks may yell at you to use the Search function, but some of us don't mind. A site you may want to check out that has a LOT of answers to a LOT of questions about the game: www.guildwiki.org Check it out... so much info on there, it's amazing: maps, quest info, item breakdowns, collector locations... you name it.

- axe 6-28, sword 15-22, bow 15-28, hammer 19-35, wands & staves 11-22
- no, have to open the map with each char separately
- no (although you can get bags & runes of holding for each character)
Advice: have each char hold their own weapons & salvage they'll use for armor, use xunlai storage for items that may be shared and/or "investment" items only, sell or salvage whatever you aren't going to use (and sell the salvaged materials you won't use)
- PvP chars are limited to PvP areas, so if you want to farm, you'll need a PvE (aka RPG) char ... W/Mo is probably the quickest & easiest for farming (much less expensive to equip initially than solo monk, you don't need any expensive runes)
- up to you

The chests drop junk mostly, not worth the cost of keys. You'll end up losing more money then you'll ever make. You asked about playing the market too... kitten's post explains it very well.

Here is one example of how you can make money from crafting materials: Outside Sardelac Sanitarium there is a crafter who crafts parchment out of wood planks. A piece of parchment costs 5 wood and 20gp to craft. Parchment sells for around 100gp in Droknar's Forge (lots of people buy materials there since its where you get the max armor.).

Edit: Damn, you're right. It dropped pretty low.

fallot, the trade price in parchment has dropped significantly with the opening of the new underworld at tombs. That place drops wood like no other place I've seen - thus driving parchment prices down.

I used to sell for 80g a sheet just because it moved the materials faster and I could get back to playing the game. Last night, I actually had someone try to bargain me down to 75g a sheet. The merchant paid 60g a sheet. It's splitting hairs, but when common trade gets to 70g, I'm dumping it on the merchant rather than dealing with humans.

It is still a good money-maker. However, it's not quite like it used to be.

You have very good questions!

For selling materials, I check the material trader. If Iron Ingots are going for 18g each if you purchased them, and if you sold to the trader he would buy them from you for 7g each - I would sell them to players for 10g each. Everyone wins, I made more than if I sell to the merchant, people get what they need for less. If I get impatient, I will wait until I have large stacks of a common material and sell in groups of 250+ (usually I knock the price down if in bulk). If I'm super poor, I craft rare materials like deldrimor steel and elonian leather to sell at Droknar's Forge. Same pricing principles apply. Check the materials traders first.

As for keys... I always make sure that I have 2 keys on me when in a mission or on a quest. More often then not, keys will drop for me. I know people who load up on keys as soon as they hit a new area, and they sometimes go to waste. It's a gamble, and there are already at least 2 threads about the merits/demerits of the key system. I'm for purchasing them, just don't go crazy. I get a lot of items that aren't worth the price of the key, or items that I just can't use - but the other day I got a max gold fellblade (req 10) out of a chest... so you never know.

Storage: yeah - lots of threads about the lack of too...

I bought the max number of belt pouches, bags and runes of holding for each character. I use xunlai storage as the depository for common items (crafting materials and dye). I also keep a salvage and ID kit on each char - and it's really difficult because of my packrat nature - but I try to get rid of things that I've been hauling around just because I "might" use it.

Yeah, I know that feeling...

Edit:

Can you go a little more thoroughly into this? Can you solo farm with a W/Mo?

Thanks for all help, you guys are great!

LOL!!!! That is the most RETARDED thing I've heard...and yet in this game, it is SO true. Lot's of idiots buy and sell the same "stat" dmg weapon because of looks!! because of a skin!!...so very very dumb. That is one thing I will NEVER understand when it comes to the GW community. Status in a computer game...some people need help. I'd agree with the people that said chests mostly drop junk. They do, I've only found the Shiverpeak chests to be decent but not worth the price of a key usually. If you're lucky you might get one as a drop.
I'm also a "pack rat" and have continues problems with storage and the storage of all 3 PvE characters. -holiday items didn't help.
After awhile, you'll just have to "clean house" of the items you know you just won't need or have a use for anymore.
As for the W/mo- plenty of farming builds/thread here that go into that. IMO a W/mo is a great farmer. I use mine for that now, easy way to get items/gold even collector items for lower level characters.

Kitten, I used to do the same thing, until a friend suggested that I just keep a single superior kit (ID & Salvage) in storage. When my characters go out for a mission, I just grab the kits and go. Saves 2 x 3 inventory slots. That's enough for more keys and another armor set.

Additionally, you'll want to look at how you manage your supplies of stackables. I like to keep the stacking items on the character that farms, that way the materials don't take up extra space.

Plus, unless I'm going to be farming the same area the next day, I usually clear out these stacks completely before putting the characters to bed.

Quite frankly, I think *you* are wrong. Sure, looks matter for most people, and nothing can possibly compare to wearing a Fissure armor (I think, I've just seen pictures). I'm a kind of guy that wants everything to be perfect; I want the best of the best. I'm going to get Fissure Armor and green weapons for all my character, that's my top goal in Guild Wars!

Status in a game, sure sounds wierd - but then again, you're using in-game resources to get there, not real life resources. ;-)

Edit: I mean no harm with this post, it's just my opinion. =)

A lot of people solo farm with W/Mo. Suggest doing a search as there is a lot of info on different builds and areas to farm.

I see that they acouple questions were answered if i repeat some i apologize. Each weapon has a different max dmg meaning a swords max dmg is differ than a axe which is differ than a staff. this website and others have good info on these and will explain in detail the differences.
Storage space only comes with the slots you get when you first open it. You can have 2 bags along with your backpack and belt pouch. the bags come with 5 slots, you can buy a rune of holding to extend it to 10 slots. Bags can only be extended once. So max storage space on a char is 50, backpack (25) belt pouch (5), bag (10) 2nd bag (10). I read that you have alot of weapons. But you have only made it to the Northshiver peaks. You have actually only opened approximately 1/3rd of the game. So I would play just one of your characters to the end of the game. Then go back and play another one etc etc. You will find as you progress through the game the gold drops will increase in amounts. As they increase so does your share in the end.
Weapons wise at this point in the game i would only keep what I needed and if you came across something really good that you think you can sell to someone else. The rest I would salvage for the materials. So which weapons to keep and sell, answer to that is go to different websites and read up on them. Go to a auction site and read what they are selling and the prices that are being offered. But personally, you wont honestly know that til you get future through the game. Another option to find out what you have and if its worth it to sell vs salvage for materials is ask a guild member or a friend that has played the game longer. Most of the stuff you will and have picked up at this point in the game is worth more in salvaged material than in trying to sell in my opinion.
As for PVP vs PVE (RPG) i dont have a pvp char i take my pve char into the arenas and play them that way from time to time. Good thing with pvp is your playing against ppl which are better and smarter than the AI foes you come across in game. So it helps you in learning and understanding the actions and effects of skills and how to use them. But it doesnt necessarily mean you will go out and kick that foes behind. When it comes to weapon prices I am not tht good at them, since I normally give them away to guildies but the rest I can help you with anytime I am on. So if you want add me to your friends list my IGN is Jay the Jake. Feel free to drop me a line if you see me on and I will help you with what I can. good luck and fun gaming

My wife is much more advanced in the game than I am, and has given me stuff she's farmed, so it's hard to keep track of how much money I made on my own.

But I THINK I made many 10s of 1000s of gold without getting far past Gates of Kryta. My principal character is an elementalist, and my first ever Kryta drop was an extremely exciting 9-17 or so damage fire wand, and I quickly figured out that fire, blood, and death weapons suitable for newer characters could be sold for 500-1000+ gold each in Ascalon. (I'm not sure if this is still as true as it was in December before Christmas, but it certainly was then.) I also arbitraged the infamous -50 HP focus item a couple of times. And if you go out and kill things efficiently, you will gather lots of loot. Not only do you get the occasional very valuable drop, but the small drops add up.

I happily killed hundreds upon hundreds of mergoyles, and I was "rich".

Note: A lot depends on your character class. I found the Gates of Kryta mergoyles ridiculously easy to farm with a Level 15 elementalist. But I'm guessing that a warrior of a similar level might not find that easy at all, given the slowdown hexes and degeneration they use. On the other hand, I'm not sure that I can solo the Stone Summit guys outside Yak's Bend even at my lofty Level 20ness now, and I bet other professions could do so easily.

I've just arrived in Gates of Kryta, and have just over 4000 gold. The Krytan key costs 200 gold, should I buy it? Is it worth the money?
Edit: Yay, just reached Lion's Arch! :woot: