Guild Wars 2

Anet, do you have a plan for when the gold: gem ratio gets out of control? Because it’s on its way there.

There have been threads on this. It’s completely player driven and working as intended.

Ayrilana.1396:

There have been threads on this. It’s completely player driven and working as intended.

My question still stands; what is Anet going to do when the gold:gem ratio gets out of control? It being “player driven” does not answer the question.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/bltc/Price-of-gems/first#post4174814

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/bltc/What-s-happening-to-gems/first#post4134810

It being player driven is an answer to your question. You just don’t understand how it works is all. I believe it was explained in one of the two linked threads but I’ll try to find the dev post about it.

They will do nothing. It doesn’t hurt them if we stop getting gems for free, only if we stop paying cash for them. That’s all that matters. A higher exchange rate simply adds one more attractive item to the Gem Shop which is selling Gems for Gold. But since that’s being outnumbered by Gems bought with Gold, the rate keeps going up.

Ayrilana.1396:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/bltc/Price-of-gems/first#post4174814

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/bltc/What-s-happening-to-gems/first#post4134810

It being player driven is an answer to your question. You just don’t understand how it works is all. I believe it was explained in one of the two linked threads but I’ll try to find the dev post about it.

I’m sorry but what part of, “What is anet going to do when the gold:gem ratio gets out of control” do you not understand? Lol I mean, it’s a very simple concept. I understand that it is the players who trade gold for gems that cause the inflation but I’m asking ANET what are they going to do about it when it gets out of control. I’m feeling like there is a serious communication error here.

It being “player driven” is part of the problem, not the solution. Please, use common sense.

if you need a different answer, it’s “nothing”

as they have said, in anets eyes it is working as intended.

ITheNormalPerson.9275:

if you need a different answer, it’s “nothing”

as they have said, in anets eyes it is working as intended.

Working as intended? Only a fool would not see the impending economic disaster this will soon be (should it continue on this trajectory).

I don’t think Anet are interested in balancing this rate to allow dedicated players to farm for these while everyone else buys them. Would be nice, but they are trying to make money here. So there’s no such thing as ‘out of control’. It is controlled, but the mechanism is not in our favour.

The old conversion rate really had us spoiled though. Those of us who got in early got to have a blast grinding gold to buy gems (I’ve bought at least 20k in gems solely from gold conversion), while subsequent players are just gonna have to grind smarter or suck it up and spend cash. In a year or so this game will probably be completely free to play, and buying gems won’t seem so ridiculous.

John Smith.4610:

As a quick aside. Gems in the currency exchange are finite. You may buy gems with real money to your hearts content, but if you don’t put any of them gems into the currency exchange the currency exchange’s stock of gems never changes.

John Smith.4610:

Think of it this way. The government can print as much money as they want, that doesn’t mean your bank account has access to that money. The currency exchange does not have access to gem creation. It has a limited stock that players add and subtract from.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/bltc/So-much-for-the-bag-bank-slot-sale/page/2#post1491917

John Smith.4610:

There seems to be some confusion:
The currency exchange has a supply of Gems and Gold.

If players are converting Gold to Gems, then the Amount of Gold player will receive for their gems goes up.
If players are converting Gems to Gold, then the amount of Gems players receive for Gold goes up.

The exchange rate changes based on the scarcity of each supply. You cannot inflate it, it’s an exchange rate. As players purchase in one direction, it entices purchases in the other direction.

siralius.9517:

Ayrilana.1396:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/bltc/Price-of-gems/first#post4174814

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/bltc/What-s-happening-to-gems/first#post4134810

It being player driven is an answer to your question. You just don’t understand how it works is all. I believe it was explained in one of the two linked threads but I’ll try to find the dev post about it.

I’m sorry but what part of, “What is anet going to do when the gold:gem ratio gets out of control” do you not understand? Lol I mean, it’s a very simple concept. I understand that it is the players who trade gold for gems that cause the inflation but I’m asking ANET what are they going to do about it when it gets out of control. I’m feeling like there is a serious communication error here.

It being “player driven” is part of the problem, not the solution. Please, use common sense.

Welcome to the forums, where 90% of the players who post here will almost never give you a proper response.
Your concern is quite valid but not everyone considers this topic as a “problem”

Anet will most likely not intervene, here is why:
Ton of Gold to Gems = a HUGE gold sink, most game economies have gold sinks in place to ensure that the currency is still worth something a few years down the line.

Also since Gold to Gem ratio is high to low, this means that few gems will also net lots of gold. A paying player benefits quite a bit from this since very little real $$ get you a ton of gold. This generates a good revenue stream for Anet, making gem purchase even more attractive.

If the ratio gets obnoxiously bad then players will start buying more gems and the ratio will stabilize eventually. Also if it isn’t already, it will further discourage players to convert gold to gems, make the scale go back the other way.

Long story short, Anet does not benefit in intervening and resetting the ratio, even if they do, we will face the same problem a few months down the line unless the entire system gets an overhaul.

siralius.9517:

ITheNormalPerson.9275:

if you need a different answer, it’s “nothing”

as they have said, in anets eyes it is working as intended.

Working as intended? Only a fool would not see the impending economic disaster this will soon be (should it continue on this trajectory).

Be careful of who you call a fool, especially when you’re the one who doesn’t understand that the Gem Exchange is working as intended. What’s going on is not an economic problem, but rather your own personal one. To resolve this issue, simply purchase Gems with your creditcard, and the exchange rate no longer matters.

Edit – To add to what Zil mentioned, the ratios will self correct, as when it becomes too expensive for players to exchange Gold for Gems, it becomes very attractive for players who want to exchange their Gems for Gold.

“If the ratio gets obnoxiously bad then players will start buying more gems and the ratio will stabilize eventually. Also if it isn’t already, it will further discourage players to convert gold to gems, make the scale go back the other way.”

It appears it SHOULD work this way but I haven’t seen the scale go the other way in months. Sure, in a day it will fluctuate but in the long term, it’s an upward trend.
“Long story short, Anet does not benefit in intervening and resetting the ratio, even if they do, we will face the same problem a few months down the line unless the entire system gets an overhaul.”

Yes. This is true. Makes sense that it would just go back to where it was pre reset. Idk, I guess this is how it’s going to be from here on out. Oh well. Thanks for the response.

siralius.9517:

“If the ratio gets obnoxiously bad then players will start buying more gems and the ratio will stabilize eventually. Also if it isn’t already, it will further discourage players to convert gold to gems, make the scale go back the other way.”

It appears it SHOULD work this way but I haven’t seen the scale go the other way in months. Sure, in a day it will fluctuate but in the long term, it’s an upward trend.
“Long story short, Anet does not benefit in intervening and resetting the ratio, even if they do, we will face the same problem a few months down the line unless the entire system gets an overhaul.”

Yes. This is true. Makes sense that it would just go back to where it was pre reset. Idk, I guess this is how it’s going to be from here on out. Oh well. Thanks for the response.

Maybe because more people are buying gems with gold than using gems to get gold?

Smooth Penguin.5294:

siralius.9517:

ITheNormalPerson.9275:

if you need a different answer, it’s “nothing”

as they have said, in anets eyes it is working as intended.

Working as intended? Only a fool would not see the impending economic disaster this will soon be (should it continue on this trajectory).

Be careful of who you call a fool, especially when you’re the one who doesn’t understand that the Gem Exchange is working as intended. What’s going on is not an economic problem, but rather your own personal one. To resolve this issue, simply purchase Gems with your creditcard, and the exchange rate no longer matters.

Edit – To add to what Zil mentioned, the ratios will self correct, as when it becomes too expensive for players to exchange Gold for Gems, it becomes very attractive for players who want to exchange their Gems for Gold.

Yes and when it is 100g for 1 gem and say a few hundred players decide to cash in w/their credit cards and go on a shopping spree on the BL what then, dear Penguin?

siralius.9517:

Smooth Penguin.5294:

siralius.9517:

ITheNormalPerson.9275:

if you need a different answer, it’s “nothing”

as they have said, in anets eyes it is working as intended.

Working as intended? Only a fool would not see the impending economic disaster this will soon be (should it continue on this trajectory).

Be careful of who you call a fool, especially when you’re the one who doesn’t understand that the Gem Exchange is working as intended. What’s going on is not an economic problem, but rather your own personal one. To resolve this issue, simply purchase Gems with your creditcard, and the exchange rate no longer matters.

Edit – To add to what Zil mentioned, the ratios will self correct, as when it becomes too expensive for players to exchange Gold for Gems, it becomes very attractive for players who want to exchange their Gems for Gold.

Yes and when it is 100g for 1 gem and say a few hundred players decide to cash in w/their credit cards and go on a shopping spree on the BL what then, dear Penguin?

If that day comes, then people like me who actually buy Gems with real money will benefit greatly. At that point, I’ll be able to exchange 1 Gem for 85 Gold. Working as intended.

Smooth Penguin.5294:

siralius.9517:

Smooth Penguin.5294:

siralius.9517:

ITheNormalPerson.9275:

if you need a different answer, it’s “nothing”

as they have said, in anets eyes it is working as intended.

Working as intended? Only a fool would not see the impending economic disaster this will soon be (should it continue on this trajectory).

Be careful of who you call a fool, especially when you’re the one who doesn’t understand that the Gem Exchange is working as intended. What’s going on is not an economic problem, but rather your own personal one. To resolve this issue, simply purchase Gems with your creditcard, and the exchange rate no longer matters.

Edit – To add to what Zil mentioned, the ratios will self correct, as when it becomes too expensive for players to exchange Gold for Gems, it becomes very attractive for players who want to exchange their Gems for Gold.

Yes and when it is 100g for 1 gem and say a few hundred players decide to cash in w/their credit cards and go on a shopping spree on the BL what then, dear Penguin?

If that day comes, then people like me who actually buy Gems with real money will benefit greatly. At that point, I’ll be able to exchange 1 Gem for 85 Gold. Working as intended.

Me too. But until then, its gold for gems! LOL

siralius.9517:

Smooth Penguin.5294:

siralius.9517:

ITheNormalPerson.9275:

if you need a different answer, it’s “nothing”

as they have said, in anets eyes it is working as intended.

Working as intended? Only a fool would not see the impending economic disaster this will soon be (should it continue on this trajectory).

Be careful of who you call a fool, especially when you’re the one who doesn’t understand that the Gem Exchange is working as intended. What’s going on is not an economic problem, but rather your own personal one. To resolve this issue, simply purchase Gems with your creditcard, and the exchange rate no longer matters.

Edit – To add to what Zil mentioned, the ratios will self correct, as when it becomes too expensive for players to exchange Gold for Gems, it becomes very attractive for players who want to exchange their Gems for Gold.

Yes and when it is 100g for 1 gem and say a few hundred players decide to cash in w/their credit cards and go on a shopping spree on the BL what then, dear Penguin?

So a few hundred, out of millions, decide to spend a lot of money on gems and convert them to a lot of gold, and buy a bunch of stuff on the TP? Well, what they buy on the TP will make other people rich, but won’t really effect much of anything. The prices aren’t going to suddenly and dramatically increase. Even if they are listed for a ridiculous amount, they aren’t going to sell because the rest of the millions of players aren’t going to be willing to pay a stupid amount for it. And if enough people are buying so much so quickly, all that influx of gold will eventually go away due to the TP tax, so it’s not really a problem.

I shall further answer OP’s question: when it costs 1g per gem (100g → 100 gems), then you can sell 800 gems for 560g. $70 for Eternity (currently around $580). Guess which direction more people will be converting.
At some point, it won’t be practical to spend gold to buy gem store stuffs.
The most Anet will do is run more “did you know you can convert gems to gold” ads.

pdavis.8031:

siralius.9517:

Smooth Penguin.5294:

siralius.9517:

ITheNormalPerson.9275:

if you need a different answer, it’s “nothing”

as they have said, in anets eyes it is working as intended.

Working as intended? Only a fool would not see the impending economic disaster this will soon be (should it continue on this trajectory).

Be careful of who you call a fool, especially when you’re the one who doesn’t understand that the Gem Exchange is working as intended. What’s going on is not an economic problem, but rather your own personal one. To resolve this issue, simply purchase Gems with your creditcard, and the exchange rate no longer matters.

Edit – To add to what Zil mentioned, the ratios will self correct, as when it becomes too expensive for players to exchange Gold for Gems, it becomes very attractive for players who want to exchange their Gems for Gold.

Yes and when it is 100g for 1 gem and say a few hundred players decide to cash in w/their credit cards and go on a shopping spree on the BL what then, dear Penguin?

So a few hundred, out of millions, decide to spend a lot of money on gems and convert them to a lot of gold, and buy a bunch of stuff on the TP? Well, what they buy on the TP will make other people rich, but won’t really effect much of anything. The prices aren’t going to suddenly and dramatically increase. Even if they are listed for a ridiculous amount, they aren’t going to sell because the rest of the millions of players aren’t going to be willing to pay a stupid amount for it. And if enough people are buying so much so quickly, all that influx of gold will eventually go away due to the TP tax, so it’s not really a problem.

I disagree. You make it appear air tight but I don’t think it will be that simple.

siralius.9517:

Anet, do you have a plan for when the gold: gem ratio gets out of control? Because it’s on its way there.

Please, define “out of control”.

siralius.9517:

pdavis.8031:

siralius.9517:

Smooth Penguin.5294:

siralius.9517:

ITheNormalPerson.9275:

if you need a different answer, it’s “nothing”

as they have said, in anets eyes it is working as intended.

Working as intended? Only a fool would not see the impending economic disaster this will soon be (should it continue on this trajectory).

Be careful of who you call a fool, especially when you’re the one who doesn’t understand that the Gem Exchange is working as intended. What’s going on is not an economic problem, but rather your own personal one. To resolve this issue, simply purchase Gems with your creditcard, and the exchange rate no longer matters.

Edit – To add to what Zil mentioned, the ratios will self correct, as when it becomes too expensive for players to exchange Gold for Gems, it becomes very attractive for players who want to exchange their Gems for Gold.

Yes and when it is 100g for 1 gem and say a few hundred players decide to cash in w/their credit cards and go on a shopping spree on the BL what then, dear Penguin?

So a few hundred, out of millions, decide to spend a lot of money on gems and convert them to a lot of gold, and buy a bunch of stuff on the TP? Well, what they buy on the TP will make other people rich, but won’t really effect much of anything. The prices aren’t going to suddenly and dramatically increase. Even if they are listed for a ridiculous amount, they aren’t going to sell because the rest of the millions of players aren’t going to be willing to pay a stupid amount for it. And if enough people are buying so much so quickly, all that influx of gold will eventually go away due to the TP tax, so it’s not really a problem.

I disagree. You make it appear air tight but I don’t think it will be that simple.

It’s actually a simple Supply and Demand curve. The more Demand there is for Gold → Gem exchanges, the Gem Supply lowers in the pot, and prices increase. If a player is really willing to pay 100 Gold for 1 Gem, then the system is working as intended. If no one exchanges Gold for Gems, they’ll more likely give in and buy Gems with real money. That’s also a side effect of a system that’s working as intended. And if players like me see the exchange ratios so out of whack, we’ll be buying Gems to convert into Gold. Once again, working as intended.

Every decision we make in terms of the Gem Exchange works in Anet’s favor. And in order to keep us players hungry for the next epic Gem Store item, they need to keep on bringing out stuff. Think about it. When was the last time that you didn’t see something new in the Gem Store? It seems an update of once a month is enough to keep players spending real money.

Nibelung.1407:

siralius.9517:

Anet, do you have a plan for when the gold: gem ratio gets out of control? Because it’s on its way there.

Please, define “out of control”.

Not in the parameter of reasonable regulation.

Smooth Penguin.5294:

siralius.9517:

pdavis.8031:

siralius.9517:

Smooth Penguin.5294:

siralius.9517:

ITheNormalPerson.9275:

if you need a different answer, it’s “nothing”

as they have said, in anets eyes it is working as intended.

Working as intended? Only a fool would not see the impending economic disaster this will soon be (should it continue on this trajectory).

Be careful of who you call a fool, especially when you’re the one who doesn’t understand that the Gem Exchange is working as intended. What’s going on is not an economic problem, but rather your own personal one. To resolve this issue, simply purchase Gems with your creditcard, and the exchange rate no longer matters.

Edit – To add to what Zil mentioned, the ratios will self correct, as when it becomes too expensive for players to exchange Gold for Gems, it becomes very attractive for players who want to exchange their Gems for Gold.

Yes and when it is 100g for 1 gem and say a few hundred players decide to cash in w/their credit cards and go on a shopping spree on the BL what then, dear Penguin?

So a few hundred, out of millions, decide to spend a lot of money on gems and convert them to a lot of gold, and buy a bunch of stuff on the TP? Well, what they buy on the TP will make other people rich, but won’t really effect much of anything. The prices aren’t going to suddenly and dramatically increase. Even if they are listed for a ridiculous amount, they aren’t going to sell because the rest of the millions of players aren’t going to be willing to pay a stupid amount for it. And if enough people are buying so much so quickly, all that influx of gold will eventually go away due to the TP tax, so it’s not really a problem.

I disagree. You make it appear air tight but I don’t think it will be that simple.

It’s actually a simple Supply and Demand curve. The more Demand there is for Gold -> Gem exchanges, the Gem Supply lowers in the pot, and prices increase. If a player is really willing to pay 100 Gold for 1 Gem, then the system is working as intended. If no one exchanges Gold for Gems, they’ll more likely give in and buy Gems with real money. That’s also a side effect of a system that’s working as intended. And if players like me see the exchange ratios so out of whack, we’ll be buying Gems to convert into Gold. Once again, working as intended.

Every decision we make in terms of the Gem Exchange works in Anet’s favor. And in order to keep us players hungry for the next epic Gem Store item, they need to keep on bringing out stuff. Think about it. When was the last time that you didn’t see something new in the Gem Store? It seems an update of once a month is enough to keep players spending real money.

Let me make this clear for you and for Anet as well. The ppl who aren’t buying gems with money most likely aren’t going to buy gems with money. It’s a supply and demand thing. If you’re not supplying something that constitutes someone spending real life money then the demand goes down. Or something like that.

siralius.9517:

Let me make this clear for you and for Anet as well. The ppl who aren’t buying gems with money most likely aren’t going to buy gems with money. It’s a supply and demand thing. If you’re not supplying something that constitutes someone spending real life money then the demand goes down. Or something like that.

People with that mindset are not who corporate NCSoft has in mind. It’s people who do spend real money on microtransactions that matter. GW2 still caters to the Casual player who doesn’t pay anything outside of the box price of this game. But for those like me who want more fluff, and are willing to spend, Anet/NCSoft targets me by throwing nice looking fluff around. My transaction log is full of Gem Store items. Special dye packs, Bobblehead lab, Assassin gear, hundreds of BL Keys. storage expansion, etc. And in my entire lifespan of the game, I’ve only converted Gold to a total of 50 Gems, because I like even numbers in my wallet.

Edit – John strikes again!

siralius.9517:

“If the ratio gets obnoxiously bad then players will start buying more gems and the ratio will stabilize eventually. Also if it isn’t already, it will further discourage players to convert gold to gems, make the scale go back the other way.”

It appears it SHOULD work this way but I haven’t seen the scale go the other way in months.

It’s not as simple as this but to the average player, it does work in this manner. You haven’t seen it because the people investing in gems probably don’t agree that the price is right to sell yet. That doesn’t mean it won’t happen.

John Smith.4610:

siralius.9517:

Yes and when it is 100g for 1 gem and say a few hundred players decide to cash in w/their credit cards and go on a shopping spree on the BL what then

The rates are dynamic, you cannot set a high price then trade at that price, the prices will change as you trade, even inside a single trade if it’s a large enough trade.

siralius.9517:

Let me make this clear for you and for Anet as well. The ppl who aren’t buying gems with money most likely aren’t going to buy gems with money. It’s a supply and demand thing. If you’re not supplying something that constitutes someone spending real life money then the demand goes down. Or something like that.

They’re curves and the at every price the demand for each side is different, as the price changes, new users enter and leave the market and trade differently. It’s not as simple as some will buy and some won’t, the curves are quite dense.

“…new users enter and leave the market and trade differently.” Ooooh. Okay, I see now. The unawares new comer will spend the dough. Gotchya. Well, thanks for addressing the topic. Good day, to you all.

It doesn’t have anything to do with new comers to the game. JS is talking about people that enter and leave the gem market. Those people might have been here from day 1.

siralius.9517:

“…new users enter and leave the market and trade differently.” Ooooh. Okay, I see now. The unawares new comer will spend the dough. Gotchya. Well, thanks for addressing the topic. Good day, to you all.

I recommend that you take some economics classes in school. There are some highschools that do require it, and some that do not. I guess it depends on the state or even country you live in. Not only would it help you understand how business works, but they have practical uses for life as well.

Smooth Penguin.5294:

People with that mindset are not who corporate NCSoft has in mind. It’s people who do spend real money on microtransactions that matter.

With the way the exchange works, players who trade gold for gems are also worth catering to; they act as the counterparty for purchases of gems to convert to gold, which directly benefits A.Net.

Anyone who spends gems in the gem store, regardless of whether they buy them with gold or a credit card, is their target audience.

Ensign.2189:

Smooth Penguin.5294:

People with that mindset are not who corporate NCSoft has in mind. It’s people who do spend real money on microtransactions that matter.

With the way the exchange works, players who trade gold for gems are also worth catering to; they act as the counterparty for purchases of gems to convert to gold, which directly benefits A.Net.

Anyone who spends gems in the gem store, regardless of whether they buy them with gold or a credit card, is their target audience.

From a business perspective, all customers are important. However, if I were a shareholder, my priority is that the company finds a way to keep Gem-buying players buying. Remember, not all of us exchange Gems for Gold. I used to do that in the beginning, when I was speculating on the ratios, and trying to profit off of the exchange. That didn’t work too well for me in the long run.

siralius.9517:

Nibelung.1407:

siralius.9517:

Anet, do you have a plan for when the gold: gem ratio gets out of control? Because it’s on its way there.

Please, define “out of control”.

Not in the parameter of reasonable regulation.

Please, define “reasonable”. Because without this adjective, then the gem trade market will never go out of control.

Vague terms are the main reason discussions inflame in the first place.

There is one way that this system could break down, and that’s if gold → gem prices rise so high that people start buying gems directly for gemstore purchases, BUT for whatever reason, they still aren’t converting extra gems back into gold.

However, given that the exchange rate has actually dipped in the last week, I think it’s safe to say that people WILL be buying gems to exchange for gold, in ever-increasing ratios, as the price continues to climb.

Smooth Penguin.5294:

siralius.9517:

“…new users enter and leave the market and trade differently.” Ooooh. Okay, I see now. The unawares new comer will spend the dough. Gotchya. Well, thanks for addressing the topic. Good day, to you all.

I recommend that you take some economics classes in school. There are some highschools that do require it, and some that do not. I guess it depends on the state or even country you live in. Not only would it help you understand how business works, but they have practical uses for life as well.

Hey. You stole John Smiths line!!

Only downside is players who wrongly believe that they can get everything offered for free ASAP leave and that portion of the player population turns out to be huge.

Megaservers may be able to hide that trend from players but an MMO without crowds of players bustling about can discourage remaining players from playing.

John Smith
I was curious what happens to refunded gems, like when the wardrobe was introduced there were many refunds. To me it seems that this might accelerate the rise of gold to gem ratio, since the gems have to come from somewhere, like out of the pool of availible gems. Do you think this might be part of the recent rise in gold/gems ratio?

Curse Drew.8679:

John Smith
I was curious what happens to refunded gems, like when the wardrobe was introduced there were many refunds. To me it seems that this might accelerate the rise of gold to gem ratio, since the gems have to come from somewhere, like out of the pool of availible gems. Do you think this might be part of the recent rise in gold/gems ratio?

The gem/gold exchange is separate, they don’t “take” gems out of it unless gold is put in. When you buy gems with cash they do not come from the exchange, nor would refunded gems come from it. Those gems are created at the moment the transaction takes place.

siralius.9517:

ITheNormalPerson.9275:

if you need a different answer, it’s “nothing”

as they have said, in anets eyes it is working as intended.

Working as intended? Only a fool would not see the impending economic disaster this will soon be (should it continue on this trajectory).

The only “economic disaster” this is going to bring is to the player’s actual wallet. Because gold > gems will become so expensive that players will use their real money to buy the new shiny things in the gemstore.

That “newcomer” could be me – just to provide an example. I’ve said a few times that I will start thinking about exchanging gems for gold once I get like 120g for $10 (=800gems, which is the approx equivalent of one complete T3 cultural armour set).

Of course that is just my preference, maybe someone is spending $20 right now for that.

Charming Rogue.8071:

siralius.9517:

ITheNormalPerson.9275:

if you need a different answer, it’s “nothing”

as they have said, in anets eyes it is working as intended.

Working as intended? Only a fool would not see the impending economic disaster this will soon be (should it continue on this trajectory).

The only “economic disaster” this is going to bring is to the player’s actual wallet. Because gold > gems will become so expensive that players will use their real money to buy the new shiny things in the gemstore.

Either that or we go to monthly subscriptions.

siralius.9517:

John Smith.4610:

siralius.9517:

Yes and when it is 100g for 1 gem and say a few hundred players decide to cash in w/their credit cards and go on a shopping spree on the BL what then

The rates are dynamic, you cannot set a high price then trade at that price, the prices will change as you trade, even inside a single trade if it’s a large enough trade.

siralius.9517:

Let me make this clear for you and for Anet as well. The ppl who aren’t buying gems with money most likely aren’t going to buy gems with money. It’s a supply and demand thing. If you’re not supplying something that constitutes someone spending real life money then the demand goes down. Or something like that.

They’re curves and the at every price the demand for each side is different, as the price changes, new users enter and leave the market and trade differently. It’s not as simple as some will buy and some won’t, the curves are quite dense.

“…new users enter and leave the market and trade differently.” Ooooh. Okay, I see now. The unawares new comer will spend the dough. Gotchya. Well, thanks for addressing the topic. Good day, to you all.

Not just new people to the game.

I think players forget that the Gem Shop is supposed to generate real money purchases. The Gold to Gem option is just that. If they went GW1 route, you wouldn’t have that option.

Thing is I see very few people turn gem to gold. I know many buy gems for gem store items. But not many turn gem to gold.

Afya.5842:

Thing is I see very few people turn gem to gold. I know many buy gems for gem store items. But not many turn gem to gold.

We know that few people turn gems into gold as evidenced by the ongoing trend of rising gold prices for gems, so your observation is accurately being reflected in the exchange.

We will eventually reach a point where the number of people trading gems for gold and the number of people trading gold for gems net against each other and the exchange rate stabilizes (within the margin of exchange loss).

Zaxares.5419:

However, given that the exchange rate has actually dipped in the last week, I think it’s safe to say that people WILL be buying gems to exchange for gold, in ever-increasing ratios, as the price continues to climb.

The black market gold supply got hammered about a week ago – whether it was nuking a bunch of bots, banning stolen storage accounts, or something totally different, we won’t know, but the black market rate spiked, which should push the gold to gem price down.

Afya.5842:

Thing is I see very few people turn gem to gold. I know many buy gems for gem store items. But not many turn gem to gold.

Because there hasnt been anything every expensive to buy with gold for quite some time if you have been around awhile. Casual play gold income is usually sufficient for most purposes. I’ve used pretty much the same gear since launch, and only few reasonably priced skins for gold are available on the tp atm. Most of which were available since launch, or cheap when released (back pieces, holiday stuff etc). If you do buy gems with cash, and are not going for a crazy expensive skin atm, there is no real reason to convert gems to gold other than to buy a BL weapon skin (since using gold is cheaper than trying for keys).

Edit also as others have said, purchasing power of converted gold atm is a bit low. In relation to newly released BL skins it is ok, but 800 gems can not buy a set of t3 cultural armor atm.

Ensign.2189:

Zaxares.5419:

However, given that the exchange rate has actually dipped in the last week, I think it’s safe to say that people WILL be buying gems to exchange for gold, in ever-increasing ratios, as the price continues to climb.

The black market gold supply got hammered about a week ago – whether it was nuking a bunch of bots, banning stolen storage accounts, or something totally different, we won’t know, but the black market rate spiked, which should push the gold to gem price down.

Only if purveyors of those services go legit by converting gems. It’s still much better than the legit route but the risk of banning may not be worth the extra gold anymore. ($7-8 per 100g Vs $13-14 with gems).

Ensign.2189:

Zaxares.5419:

However, given that the exchange rate has actually dipped in the last week, I think it’s safe to say that people WILL be buying gems to exchange for gold, in ever-increasing ratios, as the price continues to climb.

The black market gold supply got hammered about a week ago – whether it was nuking a bunch of bots, banning stolen storage accounts, or something totally different, we won’t know, but the black market rate spiked, which should push the gold to gem price down.

Oh? Interesting. I do wonder how the gold sellers make their gold nowadays (aside from stealing gold from hacked accounts), as a matter of fact. I haven’t seen farming bots out and about for a very long time now.

So the mechanism behind this “player driven” gold:gem system is that:

1. Players converting gold to gems will make it so that the cost of converting gold to gems will increase.

2. Once the cost of converting gold to gems reaches a point where the conversion cost of gold to gems outweighs the cost of simply buying gems, players will start to purchase gems with real world currency.

3. Players purchasing gems with real world currency will either plateau the ratio of gold to gems or cause it to reverse the upward trend (or so we hope); all depending on how many players choose to purchase gems at any given time.

Many individuals posting on here are claiming that the “player driven” gold:gem exchange is “working as intended”. However, they also claim that the overall upward trend that has been occurring since launch is largely due to there being more players converting gold to gems than there being players purchasing gems. Essentially, they are admitting that the “player driven” mechanism has not gone through all of the motions it is supposedly intended to (step 2 and 3 mentioned above). How is it that individuals posting on here claiming the gold:gem exchange mechanism is working as intended are, at the same time, admitting to that mechanism not having completed its intended behavior?

Furthermore, I would like to see data/spreadsheets detailing the actions occurring in the gold;gem exchange (players converting gold to gems vs. players purchasing gems w/real world currency) and how that behavior is correlating with the upward trend of the gold:gem ratio. How is it that ppl recommending me to take economics courses are the same ppl that promote something like the “player driven” gold:gem exchange mechanism with ZERO data, proof or evidence of that mechanism actually “working as intended”?

Here are some questions to consider in regards to the “player driven” gold:gem exchange:
1. At what cost of the gold to gem exchange will the players see it a better option to simply purchase gems?
2. and, at this point, will there be a large migration of players purchasing gems; reversing the upward trend of the gold to gem cost OR will there be an equal amount of players converting gold to gems vs. players purchasing gems; consequentially plateauing the upward trend (However, this brings us back to my first question, at what cost will this be?)?

You see, the underlying issue at hand here, one that must be considered, is this:
Anet has made a game where there is no, what some call, gear/stat treadmill. Once a player has procured their exotic/ascended stats (whether through pve-ing, crafting or simply buying those stats in the tp) the carrot on the stick now becomes: how your character looks (skins). So, obtaining “skins” for your character becomes the new “treadmill”. However, Anet has not released any new “skins” for a player, actually playing the game, to obtain (outside of some new back pieces and head gear). The Living Stories do not come with new “player playing the game” achieved skins but “gemstore” purchased skins.

So, herein lies the problem. Once the gold to gem conversion cost gets to a point where it is unreasonable to purchase gems with real world currency, so to will it be unreasonable to play the game (being that “skins” have replaced stats/gear), since you are better off purchasing the skins. That being said, at this point, GW2 will essentially become, technically, a pay to win game.