Guild Wars 2

So, the patch notes state this about the Home Portal Stone: “The new Home Portal Stone is now available in the Services category for 900 gems. Players can instantly travel to their home city instance and return to their original location on demand.”

What I want to know is if they plan on adding more useful merchants and a bank in our Home Instances, because right now the Home Portal Stone is absolutely useless if all it does is take us to the home instance and back to where we were. We cannot get mining picks or salvage kits in there, there’s no bank or trading post, etc. So I guess my question is what exactly is the benefit of it, and why it should be worth 900 gems?

It feels like the start to their claim of play owned housing. We’re seeing more stuff for the home instance and I think their gauging community want on how much we buy into these things.

WereDragon.6083:

It feels like the start to their claim of play owned housing. We’re seeing more stuff for the home instance and I think their gauging community want on how much we buy into these things.

For $11.25, I’m hoping not much.

I have just one problem with it. It has to be in the inventory. If each character got a copy of it, I would buy it. With just one being passed around no deal for now.

Garambola.2461:

I have just one problem with it. It has to be in the inventory. If each character got a copy of it, I would buy it. With just one being passed around no deal for now.

Same.
Convenience that is fiddly and is used as a chain to buy more items from the shop is something I will not buy.

Well, from your home instance you can go into the city and waypoint for free to trading post, etc., then port back from where you came.

If I hadnt a permanent royal pass already, i would propably buy it. IT will save you lots of gold on waypoint costs.

Heh, it would take me around 3000* ports. It’s a convenient item, maybe if the home instance is upgraded I’ll consider it. For now I’ll keep one alt at the home instance, no porting needed. Otherwise PvP → LA for free and from there on I usually wayport somewhere else anyways.
*that is assuming 900 gems being equal to 90g and ports for 3s.

Rouven.7409:

Heh, it would take me around 3000* ports. It’s a convenient item, maybe if the home instance is upgraded I’ll consider it. For now I’ll keep one alt at the home instance, no porting needed. Otherwise PvP -> LA for free and from there on I usually wayport somewhere else anyways.
*that is assuming 900 gems being equal to 90g and ports for 3s.

Well, for people that have slower computers, loading screens can take a while…

Wanze.8410:

Well, from your home instance you can go into the city and waypoint for free to trading post, etc., then port back from where you came.

If I hadnt a permanent royal pass already, i would propably buy it. IT will save you lots of gold on waypoint costs.

Except if you read the description, you have to be in your home instance to teleport back to where you entered from (otherwise you teleport into your home instance again from the outside). The act of using your local gate, going back into your instance from your racial city makes that where you entered from…hence, you get teleported right back out to your racial city, not your original teleport location out in the wild.

Not sure if this is a bug or intended behavior. Fairly lackluster compared to the other convenience teleport items. Unless you’re a norn with vendors right there in your home instance. :p

Having said that, I’m all for upgrading my home instance to my own custom convenience location. I have the keys to the castle. I just need the castle to go with them.

Wanze.8410:

Well, for people that have slower computers, loading screens can take a while…

No doubt – and time is money

Would it skip many loading screens? Does it land you “in” your home instance or in front of it? Just thinking about waypointing within the city after that as well (although that usually goes faster if not instant).

Edit: I guess GamerOnline is sort of answering this.

darkace.8925:

For $11.25, I’m hoping not much.

$11.25 per character, so $90 (or 90€) for an 8-character-account. While one could buy just one and transfer it between characters, the added effort outweights the convenience.

I’m not buying this. Not only is 90€ too much, I refuse to pay more just because I love alts. I didn’t pay for character slots to get the privilege to pay even more later.

Get back to me when there are account-wide offers and I’ll gladly buy stones, sickles and whatever. Until then, I’ll keep using the Hall of Monument stone for my afk parking.

I think it was intentionally planned to coincide with the much desired Permanent Hairstyle Contract being temporarily reintroduced into black lion chests.

They know people do “key runs” for “free” keys and they’re fine with this practice. However, they also know there would likely be a massive increase in key runs due to the hair contract being in chests for 2 weeks (which there has been).

They probably knew people would most likely either:

• buy a bunch of keys (gold or RWM > gems) to open chests in the hopes of getting a contract
• increase the “key runs” done to get free keys in the hopes of getting a contract

People are already really good at doing a key run pretty fast. However, anything that can shorten the time it takes to do a run may be worth it to some, especially if it shaves off several minutes.

As the majority of the steps of the human personal story (most commonly used for key runs) take place in the home instance to where you must hop back and forth between it and another area, picking up this portal stone can shave several minutes off of runs done without it.

So they likely thought people are going to be doing runs en masse for two weeks and that they might as well capitalize on this increase by offering an item that would be of great use to key farmers.

So they win if people buy keys for chests and they also win if those doing the runs for free keys buy gems to get the home instance teleporter to hasten their key runs.

Swoo.5079:

Garambola.2461:

I have just one problem with it. It has to be in the inventory. If each character got a copy of it, I would buy it. With just one being passed around no deal for now.

Same.
Convenience that is fiddly and is used as a chain to buy more items from the shop is something I will not buy.

All Anet needs to do is add a special bag slot in the inventory pane for Account-wide items. Portal stones to the Hall of Monuments, for example, or the Unlimited use Tonics, the Permanent Contracts, and now this.

If I didn’t already have a mule parked in Divinity’s Reach to mine my HI nodes, I’d actually have bought it. As it is, I think I’ll just continue to go to WvW Borderlands for all my crafting/banking needs when I’m out in the field.

GamerOnline.3650:

Wanze.8410:

Well, from your home instance you can go into the city and waypoint for free to trading post, etc., then port back from where you came.

If I hadnt a permanent royal pass already, i would propably buy it. IT will save you lots of gold on waypoint costs.

Except if you read the description, you have to be in your home instance to teleport back to where you entered from (otherwise you teleport into your home instance again from the outside). The act of using your local gate, going back into your instance from your racial city makes that where you entered from…hence, you get teleported right back out to your racial city, not your original teleport location out in the wild.

Not sure if this is a bug or intended behavior. Fairly lackluster compared to the other convenience teleport items. Unless you’re a norn with vendors right there in your home instance. :p

Having said that, I’m all for upgrading my home instance to my own custom convenience location. I have the keys to the castle. I just need the castle to go with them.

I don’t think it will work that way for key runners. If it transports them to the home instance it will be the one with the nodes, not the story instance. They would have to leave it then re-enter it from outside. No time savings at all.

Astral Projections.7320:

I don’t think it will work that way for key runners. If it transports them to the home instance it will be the one with the nodes, not the story instance. They would have to leave it then re-enter it from outside. No time savings at all.

I’m not certain if it is the same for everyone, but in the past for me, if I ever had a story step in my home instance then I was required to complete that step in it before I could enter into the basic instance to mine the nodes.

I do not think it is possible to enter into the non-story step racial home instance while a story step is currently active in the home instance.

Again, I’m not certain, but it is possible that the teleportation stone will automatically place you into the story instance of the home instance if the current story step takes place inside of the home instance (based on my own experience with being unable to enter into the non-story version while a story step is active in the instance).

What’s the point of it not working in dungeons?
If ooc i don t see how it could be exploited, but would ve been really useful to sell stuff.
Well i ll save 900 gems then.

StinVec.3621:

Astral Projections.7320:

I don’t think it will work that way for key runners. If it transports them to the home instance it will be the one with the nodes, not the story instance. They would have to leave it then re-enter it from outside. No time savings at all.

I’m not certain if it is the same for everyone, but in the past for me, if I ever had a story step in my home instance then I was required to complete that step in it before I could enter into the basic instance to mine the nodes.

I do not think it is possible to enter into the non-story step racial home instance while a story step is currently active in the home instance.

Again, I’m not certain, but it is possible that the teleportation stone will automatically place you into the story instance of the home instance if the current story step takes place inside of the home instance (based on my own experience with being unable to enter into the non-story version while a story step is active in the instance).

I seem to recall seeing double options to enter Salma when partied up with another person. An option to join the other person when they enter the story instance and under that an option to enter the non story instance Salma. (I approached the door after he did so his option came up and then the second one appeared under it).

I admit I’m not positive, it was some time back and I didn’t have any reason to take special notice. If that person is available to check, I’ll try to do so in a day or two but this thread will probably old by then.

Astral Projections.7320:

StinVec.3621:

Astral Projections.7320:

I don’t think it will work that way for key runners. If it transports them to the home instance it will be the one with the nodes, not the story instance. They would have to leave it then re-enter it from outside. No time savings at all.

I’m not certain if it is the same for everyone, but in the past for me, if I ever had a story step in my home instance then I was required to complete that step in it before I could enter into the basic instance to mine the nodes.

I do not think it is possible to enter into the non-story step racial home instance while a story step is currently active in the home instance.

Again, I’m not certain, but it is possible that the teleportation stone will automatically place you into the story instance of the home instance if the current story step takes place inside of the home instance (based on my own experience with being unable to enter into the non-story version while a story step is active in the instance).

I seem to recall seeing double options to enter Salma when partied up with another person. An option to join the other person when they enter the story instance and under that an option to enter the non story instance Salma. (I approached the door after he did so his option came up and then the second one appeared under it).

I admit I’m not positive, it was some time back and I didn’t have any reason to take special notice. If that person is available to check, I’ll try to do so in a day or two but this thread will probably old by then.

That’s exactly what happens, you can approach the door and shuffle about a bit to get “enter home instance”, instead of the story step.

Taygus.4571:

Astral Projections.7320:

StinVec.3621:

Astral Projections.7320:

I don’t think it will work that way for key runners. If it transports them to the home instance it will be the one with the nodes, not the story instance. They would have to leave it then re-enter it from outside. No time savings at all.

I’m not certain if it is the same for everyone, but in the past for me, if I ever had a story step in my home instance then I was required to complete that step in it before I could enter into the basic instance to mine the nodes.

I do not think it is possible to enter into the non-story step racial home instance while a story step is currently active in the home instance.

Again, I’m not certain, but it is possible that the teleportation stone will automatically place you into the story instance of the home instance if the current story step takes place inside of the home instance (based on my own experience with being unable to enter into the non-story version while a story step is active in the instance).

I seem to recall seeing double options to enter Salma when partied up with another person. An option to join the other person when they enter the story instance and under that an option to enter the non story instance Salma. (I approached the door after he did so his option came up and then the second one appeared under it).

I admit I’m not positive, it was some time back and I didn’t have any reason to take special notice. If that person is available to check, I’ll try to do so in a day or two but this thread will probably old by then.

That’s exactly what happens, you can approach the door and shuffle about a bit to get “enter home instance”, instead of the story step.

Ah, thank you. I will try such a shuffle in the future to discover the non-story pop-up if I happen to have a story step active there that I do not wish to do at the time.

I fail to see the point of this item. I certainly wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

I bought it expecting to be able to use it to wp back to my capital city. Teleport to house. Exit to city.

But that doesn’t work. It lets me teleport to house but replaces my house-to-city portal with the house-to-original-location portal.

So…. what’s the point of that? I currently only visit my house once a day with one character to mine nodes and fuse crystals. I have most of my alts parked in capitals and any of them can do that.

I’m glad I looked into this, I was totally ready to buy it but yeah, being stuck in a useless instance isn’t worth anything (especially since I have a captain pass). While I know this isn’t a suggestion thread, I can’t help but say that what I would rather see is a “guild instance” where a guild could purchase the vendors and members could have a stone just like this that took them there (and back again)…that would rule

I would think about getting one if you could add vendors and such to your “home”. Kind of like you could add vendors to the Guild Halls in the original game.