HELP - Cannot afford skills ???

PMBjornerud

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Aug 2005

Ok... So I had to dig up a forum and get some ranting done.

I have understood that there are a lot of people in the game with lots of money. However, I am a very casual player, just playing a bit of PvE and a bit of PvP for fun.

And there is no way on earth that I can afford skills these days

Currently, I have about 2 platinum on my char, maybe another 2 in the bank, and a skill cost at 1 platinum. What on earth am I supposed to do to get that kind of money?

(No, that is not a joke. It is the view of a completely casual player with less than 5 days total game time, and for which 10 platinum would ba a fortune which the like I have never seen.)

Even before, I found skills to be expensive, believe it or not. I have done tons of PvE quests in order to reduce skill costs.

Basically, have the ultra-casual player been forgotten in this patch? As of now, it seems I am forced to start grinding in order to afford any new skills. I hear I can get some green items, sounds good. But I don't see how I can get money for new skills except for farming. And there is no way I will farm anything, zero grind was the reason I enjoyed Guild Wars.

Tmm Ryan

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Sep 2005

Plkn

Have you done all the quests through the game, dont foget you get awaded skills for completing some of the quests.

I think this is the reason they did this, so you have to complete the quests before actually buying the skills.

I agree with you though, they are a bit expensive. =(

john little

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: May 2005

UK, EU Server

And All That Could Have Been [AATC]

E/Mo

If you are ultra-casual, why do you need the skills so urgently? You can complete the PvE game using pretty much the skills you start with and ones you get from quests. There is also a quest to get a capture signet (i think, i've always bought them) from LA, so you can get free skills that way as well.

nixkoenner

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Jun 2005

ur poverty makes me throw up!

Kassad

Kassad

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jul 2005

W/

My ranger skills used to be 350g, now 1plat. Cant you see what wrong? it may have helped the skill buying spammers but it totally screwed up 2 of my files..

kyeo138

Academy Page

Join Date: Jun 2005

I'm semi casual, I play every day for an hour or two, but only monday-thursday after work. I'm not on the weekends at all. I've taken 3 characters through all the skill-quests (W/E, Mo/Me,N/R). I have about 4 plat total, and can't afford to buy skills/cap sigs either.

How are casual players like us supposed to unlock skills? I figured once I got through the PvE grind, I would be able to just PvP... which is what I really like doing. The faction increase helped, but it's still tough because I have so many runes and upgrade components to unlock.

What are casual, broke players like us supposed to do?

KaPe

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Jun 2005

I tried some of this "solo farming" thingys people were talking about Amazingly enough, it works - sometimes - and gold drops actually matter then. 120/8 is nothing, but 120 straight to the pocket is always something.
Ignoring that, it's luck. Lucky black dye/major+ vigor drop can give you quite a bit of cash. Oh yeah, and I sell keys instead of using them. Useless junk that sells for 100 to merchant(who buys gold items nowadays?) or 375 for key, hm...

Tactical-Dillusions

Tactical-Dillusions

Desert Nomad

Join Date: May 2005

Grimsby, UK

R/

Before the patch, Anet said "buy your skills now because soon they will be more expensive!"

I spent 50+ skill points on SoC's and some near useless skills, each skill was costing me 1.5 plat...then they go reduce the cost. Typical.

The only advice i can give to the OP is play the game and enjoy it.

Loviatar

Underworld Spelunker

Join Date: Feb 2005

Quote:
Originally Posted by PMBjornerud
(No, that is not a joke. It is the view of a completely casual player with less than 5 days total game time,. the one thing you have not said is where you are in the game at present.

ascended and completed all quests ?

done FoW/SF/UW?

faction was made exactly for you pvp people so you wouldnt have to touch pve or farm.

you can target a specific rune for example a superior vigor that may take a farmer 3 months before it drops for him if at all and just choose it.

if you are super casual you will not be in a top guild even if you had everything unlocked and handed to you because you would not have the time for practice or even be there for matches half the time

play pvp for the fun of it and unlock things as you go along.

the 5x on faction makes it fast enough that people are unlocking things very fast.

pyrosamurai

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Aug 2005

TDDB

W/Mo

Don't forget skill caps are the same price as normal skills...this is ridiculous because skill caps can't be earned in quests...1 platinum for a skill cap sheesh!

Jetdoc

Jetdoc

Hell's Protector

Join Date: Jul 2005

The Eyes of Texas [BEVO]

D/A

Easy - do all the quests. I believe there are less than 20 skills for a dual profession that are unavailable during quests.

BunnyMaster

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Mar 2005

Holland

Army of Fairies

R/N

Quote:
Originally Posted by PMBjornerud
I have done tons of PvE quests in order to reduce skill costs.......

How can you have done tons of quests and still be poor?
Quests = Quest Rewards (sell the item to a trader)
Quests = Kill Monsters = Drops = Money (sell the drops / salvage them / whatever)

TeK 23

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Sep 2005

Olympia, WA

eYe

R/E

Money is easy to get. You have to Solo at levels you can play at or get a small team of friends and share the wealth. Don't salvage items sell them at the store or if you are going to salvage use Expert salvage on items that give rare salvage and you'll make money fast. It's not hard getting money once you get up there.

DxaKrator

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Aug 2005

he is so ultra-casual as a gamer that he havent got time to do farming, thats the problem here i think. if gaming dont fit on your time schedule, its best to not play games that are time consuming. maybe you should get one of does nintendo handhelds, so you can play on the go...

kawaii_bat

kawaii_bat

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Sep 2005

Canada, Gatineau

None

Mo/R

Quote:
Originally Posted by nixkoenner
ur poverty makes me throw up! I'm in a bigger pickle than he is! All I have is 800g that spans 3 characters. No money for keys, no money for armor, no money for skill that cost me 1k now and before would have cost me 200g!

Anet might have said it in their website but they shoul dhave psoted on the opening screen of guildwars instead. I am now broke and recessive and might not get up after this. I'll have to delete my 2 other characters and maybe make a *boring* W/Mo like everyone else.

And on top of that I get absolutely no drops. i've played 3 hours at thirsty river and I didn't even get a blue item WTF?!

DxaKrator

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Aug 2005

yeah i know what you mean... its pathetic, it looks like there is only one solution and that is to become an w/m so you get all the benefit from the game. i guess a bodybuilder with less brain than a chipmunk and a ego bigger than christian book sales man is the best...

D.E.V.i.A.N.C.E

D.E.V.i.A.N.C.E

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Aug 2005

Mo/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tactical-Dillusions
Before the patch, Anet said "buy your skills now because soon they will be more expensive!"

I spent 50+ skill points on SoC's and some near useless skills, each skill was costing me 1.5 plat...then they go reduce the cost. Typical.

The only advice i can give to the OP is play the game and enjoy it. Oh so you joined in my bandwagon? i got like only 40 sum SoC's left now... all ill ever need; cuz they wont add more elites...

I like the reduced XP cap... now 10 skill points doesnt seem so rediculace....

13 more and ill have Elementalist and Necromancer finished off... well 13 you can buy.

PMBjornerud

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Aug 2005

Thanks for the tips, and good to hear that other casual players also find it more expensive now. And at least the prices cap out at 1 plat, it might actually be an improvement in the long run, I'm not sure how much the last few skills would cost me.

Avenge Death

Avenge Death

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Jun 2005

Oklahoma

XoO

Mo/W

just get in a great guild that gvg's alot and wins alot, then you can get all the skills

tkn

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Apr 2005

Unwashed Village

R/Mo

I'm a casual player as well. I get in maybe an hour on weekdays, but I don't have any problem affording the skills I need. And I'm wondering if maybe you are trying to buy all the skills available? The trick to getting money as a casual gamer is to be cheap. I'm still using my pre-sear collector's armor halfway through post-sear Ascalon. All I've done is augment it with a few cheap runes (minor runes are ridiculously cheap at 100g, and especially early in the game that one attribute point can make a difference). I currently have one plat even after buying a truckload of keys (stupidly thinking the lower cost would give a better cost/benefit ratio, but that's another story).

Wyrda Thrysta

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Sep 2005

Luso

E/Mo

I have almost unlocked all the professions... and i never farm...
I have money... and dont understand one thing...
Even if you are casual players, you must have got drops... quest rewards... whatever...
And sorry... but IF YOU DO all the quests, you'll get almost all of the skills by reward...
But I know there are people that just get to an outpost with a skills trainer, and buy everything he had...
thats why you must now buy it for that price, cause the 1k price its only if you have already buy 20 skills...

Fye Duron

Fye Duron

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: May 2005

Chico, CA, USA

Dragon Fang

I agree that the skills are a little expensive for the n00b players that don't play through the game. But if you do all the quests you will unlock almost all of the skills. There is after all only a few of skills that can only be gotten from a trainer, and by time you well off all of the useless crap to the npc you will have more then enough gold to pay for the skills.

D.E.V.i.A.N.C.E

D.E.V.i.A.N.C.E

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Aug 2005

Mo/

what about me? i cant do Mesmer, Warrior, Ranger quests for skills after yaks bend.
If you already have done the "main story line" quest's that acually give you the skills, when you change your secondary theres no place to redo those quests for the skills you have to buy them. so far i have bought all of Ele Monk Necro for my 1 guy... working on ranger.

Wyrda Thrysta

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Sep 2005

Luso

E/Mo

Quote:
Originally Posted by D.E.V.i.A.N.C.E
what about me? i cant do Mesmer, Warrior, Ranger quests for skills after yaks bend.
If you already have done the "main story line" quest's that acually give you the skills, when you change your secondary theres no place to redo those quests for the skills you have to buy them. so far i have bought all of Ele Monk Necro for my 1 guy... working on ranger.
If it was easy to unlock all professions just by changing the secondary, you dont need 4 slots for create more characteres...
If you dont want to make more characteres thats the price you have to pay...
With 3 characteres you can unlock all the 6 professions... right?

ChoKILLate[FDG]

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Jul 2005

[FDG]-Fudge

Mo/Me

1.) You can get almost any skill in your primary and most of your secondary by simply doing quests! The skills are rewarded FREE!
2.) Don't buy every skill, just the ones you need in the area you focus on.
3.) You don't need to farm, just play the game and do quests/missions.
4.) By the time you need a capture signet (desert) you better have around 5-10k or your doing something wrong!
5.) If you change your secondary profession, you can still go back and do quest to get some of the skills for your secondary for FREE! Again, by the time you get to changing your secondary, you should have enough money to buy the 5 or 6 skills you want, unless you already spent the gold on 15k armor dyed black....in which case I have no pity for you.