Guild Wars 2

Astraea.6075:

Having read some of the responses here I’m a bit puzzled. We have someone who has been farming COF for the past 2 months making up to 5.5 g/hour complaining about the exchange rate being slightly over 3g/100 gems. What have you been spending your gold on?

I don’t make anywhere near that sort of gold/hour, yet I have a small supply of gems and a couple hundred gold in reserve that I can call on, despite my tendency to make impulse purchases.

I bought my bank tabs when they were on sale. I got bag slots for my War and Guard as well on sale. I made a Volcanus for my War. Bought dyes for multiple toons. Leveled crafting. Made boxes for several of my toons and some friends and guildies. 18 slots not 20s. Donated to my guild for Events and WvW fund cause my guild is very active in that area even though I cant participate due to my old PC cant handle Zergs.

Ya know.. I Play the F’n game. Please tell me more about how Im crying, it amuses me.

I didn’t even have to click on it to KNOW this thread’s actual title was “Gem prices should be more favorable to me”.

Of the $120 of gems I’ve bought since the pickaxes came out, I’ve converted about $72 of it to gold. If the $ to gold ratio continues to rise, I’ll buy some more, and it’ll go back down. If it starts falling now, I probably won’t chip in more money to support this game’s developement again for a while.

You’ll have your cheaper gems again some day, but right now its time for the conversion rate to favor people with real disposable income who don’t feel like running COF 1 like an automaton.

Nike.2631:

I didn’t even have to click on it to KNOW this thread’s actual title was “Gem prices should be more favorable to me”.

Of the $120 of gems I’ve bought since the pickaxes came out, I’ve converted about $72 of it to gold. If the $ to gold ratio continues to rise, I’ll buy some more, and it’ll go back down. If it starts falling now, I probably won’t chip in more money to support this game’s developement again for a while.

You’ll have your cheaper gems again some day, but right now its time for the conversion rate to favor people with real disposable income who don’t feel like running COF 1 like an automaton.

I feel like working some extra hours coming this month :p

Still not worth to convert gems to gold imo. Price needs to raise more.

Kaiza.4618:

And being player regulated has led to where we are now with the current prices climbing still. Its not going to stop.

This is actually incorrect, there is a peak, we just don’t know what it is (yet). They have stated more than once that there is a limited supply of gems to pull from, which will in fact make the market reach it’s peak point when exhausted. It’s very probable to go to the store at it’s peak point and not be able to buy gems at all.

Gestankfaust.4216:

This is all assuming that there’s a government overseeing the economy. I mean…the way some of you describe it, it’s as living as any other economy in the world. Except in the real world, people govern it and watch it. We panic when our “dollar” drop below desirable levels…right?

But nothing is governing anything here. So now the rate exchange has declined more than half?

Awesome…but keep spouting how it’s the norm.

Oh so you’re one of those ridiculous people who believes a “strong dollar” is important and an incredibly good thing? There’s a word for those people, and it’s not very complimentary in regards to their economic understanding.

But, then again, the claim is only true for select modern day economies. Floating currency exchanges are a relatively new thing.

You’re also making a false claim. You say that “nothing is governing anything here.” That’s simply not true. While Anet has not made any adjustments to their exchange system (because the exchange is working exactly as intended), that doesn’t mean they’re unable or unwilling to make those changes. Considering how central the system is to their revenue model, and their clear investment in better watching and understanding such systems, it’s simply absurd to try claim they’re not governing it. It’s working near perfectly as far as they’re concerned at this point. Why would they make any changes? If something were to go wrong with it, don’t doubt that they’d intervene immediately, adjusting the algorithm or tax rates, or even manually adjusting the reserves (as John Smith has described the system as drawing upon) in order to restore the behavior they desire.

Just because things aren’t shaking out in the way your selfish desires would like doesn’t mean that it’s broken. Just because something isn’t constantly being visibly fiddled with doesn’t mean that no one is watching.

Gem prices are regulated. Look at the exchange rate screen in the game. When the market is left alone the line will be jagged after something of desire is available and users start trading in gold for gems the market spikes then locks up and goes straight lined which means outside influence controlling the market keeping the rate locked.

Ephedrine.4521:

Gem prices are regulated. Look at the exchange rate screen in the game. When the market is left alone the line will be jagged after something of desire is available and users start trading in gold for gems the market spikes then locks up and goes straight lined which means outside influence controlling the market keeping the rate locked.

Haha! That’s funny, but no. It means that there is a larger dependent-variable axis, which means fluctuations are harder to see. It is a feature of plotting and has nothing to do with the prices themselves.

Actually John Smith mentioned that a BUG in the plotting software. If you look back at the graph a day or two later that region will be replaced with a correct trace of fluctuations over that period.

I buy gems and noticed this since I played this game so don’t tell me it doesn’t. The value for gold gets locked and hovers without much fluctuating when the exchange rate changes to fast. I am only giving you my experience as a gem buyer how i see it. I think Gems should be more gold then they actually are.

Please link me to the John Smith explanation for the graph plotting bug.

But please know that a graph visual representation hardly explains for the actual numbers it represents.

Ephedrine.4521:

Please link me to the John Smith explanation for the graph plotting bug.

But please know that a graph visual representation hardly explains for the actual numbers it represents.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/bltc/Playing-for-the-inflationary-compensation/page/2#post1391811

By the way, the servers were down for 2 hours recently with maintenance. Can very well explain a period of no activity.

So, let’s play “what if”…

What if Anet did decide to regulate prices, and set a fixed rate (even if they do re-strike it on occassion)….

Anyone care to offer an over/under for how long before it takes for first post complaining the rate is too high hit the forums?

Mourningcry.9428:

So, let’s play “what if”…

What if Anet did decide to regulate prices, and set a fixed rate (even if they do re-strike it on occassion)….

Anyone care to offer an over/under for how long before it takes for first post complaining the rate is too high hit the forums?

W/o any further guidelines no one can do that. It would all depends on where and how they set it for a reaction guestimate….ie the question is too vague to be answered

Mourningcry.9428:

So, let’s play “what if”…

What if Anet did decide to regulate prices, and set a fixed rate (even if they do re-strike it on occassion)….

Anyone care to offer an over/under for how long before it takes for first post complaining the rate is too high hit the forums?

Immediately upon announcement, under the assumption that Anet will not set a fair rate when they can manipulate the situation to make more money.

Ephedrine.4521:

I buy gems and noticed this since I played this game so don’t tell me it doesn’t. The value for gold gets locked and hovers without much fluctuating when the exchange rate changes to fast. I am only giving you my experience as a gem buyer how i see it. I think Gems should be more gold then they actually are.

gw2spidy.com has a graph proving otherwise. A much better graph actually.

Essence Snow.3194:

W/o any further guidelines no one can do that. It would all depends on where and how they set it for a reaction guestimate….ie the question is too vague to be answered

Sure you can… just place yourself in ANet’s shoes…

Just for starters, here’s what they know:

– The exact wealth distribution of the player base
– The overall current sales data for the BLTC (both cash and gold based)
– The drop rates for all the various items in the BLTC (both bound and unbound)
– The average TP prices for the higher valued unbound items

So, at the very least they’d have to account for the wealthiest players viablity of arbitrage (it should cost more gold to get the gems to acquire an item that could be sold for more gold then used to buy the gems in the first place). Beyond that, I’m betting just taking the factors into account the rate would be unattractive to, at the very least, those already complaining about the rates. This, by the simple fact that the current rate is attractive enough to cause the the appreciation being experienced.

Further, and on another note, it wouldn’t be wrong to realize that it would, and should, always be prefereable for Anet to favor their cash base customers. Simply put, if it’s easier for the player to acquire BLTC items via gold then cash, they’re surrendering profits. Which, no matter how you look at it, is to the detrement of all.

Long story short, I agree with tolunart.2095 on the timing, and with the exceptions that the price would be fair based to some degree on the above, and I wouldn’t go so far as to call it manipulation, but rather, as requested, “regulation”.

It isnt’ going to stay at 3g per 100 gems. Let it settle down after the dust clears from all those dye and pick purchases.

I just dont transfer gold to gems. simple.
Nor do I use real $$
I choose to miss all the cosmetic things in the gem shop because I too feel the prices are to high.

Oh no, it’s quite the opposite, Gem Prices need to be privatized in order for GW2’s society to reach full Objectivism.

Gems prices are regulated by ANet. It’s called the RL money->gem market and that price has always been fixed. That’s the primary market because it’s the only one that ANet is directly involved in. The gem->gold market is a secondary market and it is players dealing with each other. Blame yourself for not buying gems when they were cheaper. The rate will keep moving to adjust for inflation as this is a good gold sink.

You have to look at this like a stock market. Say Apple sells new shares at $100/share before the iPhone came out. That price was fixed. Just like RL money to gems. Once people buy those shares from Apple, they can trade it on stock exchanges for whatever they can get. That is the secondary market. It has nothing to do with Apple. If Apple shares are now selling at $400 on the stock exchange, you can’t go to Apple and say that their stock is too expensive. You should have bought the stock when it was cheaper and not when its already expensive.

The rate is already settling down from the high of 3g50s that I saw on the first night. This is because a bunch of players now see their gems worth trading in for gold. The system is working as intended.

kokocabana.8153:

Gems prices are regulated by ANet. It’s called the RL money->gem market and that price has always been fixed. That’s the primary market because it’s the only one that ANet is directly involved in. The gem->gold market is a secondary market and it is players dealing with each other. Blame yourself for not buying gems when they were cheaper. The rate will keep moving to adjust for inflation as this is a good gold sink.

You have to look at this like a stock market. Say Apple sells new shares at $100/share before the iPhone came out. That price was fixed. Just like RL money to gems. Once people buy those shares from Apple, they can trade it on stock exchanges for whatever they can get. That is the secondary market. It has nothing to do with Apple. If Apple shares are now selling at $400 on the stock exchange, you can’t go to Apple and say that their stock is too expensive. You should have bought the stock when it was cheaper and not when its already expensive.

The rate is already settling down from the high of 3g50s that I saw on the first night. This is because a bunch of players now see their gems worth trading in for gold. The system is working as intended.

This seems completely accurate to me. The regulation of gems comes from the initial base price of them when they hit the market, when the gem store was @ 100% and looking over the data it’s trending, without fail exactly as it should.

You HAVE to remember that buying gems for gold isn’t some standard of practice when it comes to micro-transactions. It’s a convenience and one i’m very happy to see.

It would be great if Gold to Gem would somehow stay low- while Gem to Gold would stay high- I think that would work possibly work in benefit to all instead of using 79g to transfer to a different server or 10g for a measly 350 gems.
My 50g is only worth hrmm really nothing if i convert to gems- but I dont mind dungeoning for the gold I get- but full out grinding is not my style.
whatever- ill just forget gems for awhile at least until the flame and frost picks go away— or something.
oh well I just like TP for dyes and mats anyways…

SnowHawk.3615:

It would be great if Gold to Gem would somehow stay low- while Gem to Gold would stay high- I think that would work possibly work in benefit to all instead of using 79g to transfer to a different server or 10g for a measly 350 gems.

How do you imagine such a system to work?

And if gold > gems is permanently low, as you suggest, why would anyone ever buy gems with cash?

Let’s not pretend here. If the gem/gold conversion doesn’t work and a.net seems to lose too much profit over it, it’s the first thing to go.

marnick.4305:

SnowHawk.3615:

It would be great if Gold to Gem would somehow stay low- while Gem to Gold would stay high- I think that would work possibly work in benefit to all instead of using 79g to transfer to a different server or 10g for a measly 350 gems.

How do you imagine such a system to work?

And if gold > gems is permanently low, as you suggest, why would anyone ever buy gems with cash?

Let’s not pretend here. If the gem/gold conversion doesn’t work and a.net seems to lose too much profit over it, it’s the first thing to go.

If you look closely, he said “Gold to Gem would somehow stay low- while Gem to Gold would stay high.” The problem here then wouldn’t be that conversion, but the fact that players could trade gold to gems then back to gold for infinite money. Hello hyperinflation.

Regulations? Sounds like red commie talk to me.

Syeria.4812:

marnick.4305:

SnowHawk.3615:

It would be great if Gold to Gem would somehow stay low- while Gem to Gold would stay high- I think that would work possibly work in benefit to all instead of using 79g to transfer to a different server or 10g for a measly 350 gems.

How do you imagine such a system to work?

And if gold > gems is permanently low, as you suggest, why would anyone ever buy gems with cash?

Let’s not pretend here. If the gem/gold conversion doesn’t work and a.net seems to lose too much profit over it, it’s the first thing to go.

If you look closely, he said “Gold to Gem would somehow stay low- while Gem to Gold would stay high.” The problem here then wouldn’t be that conversion, but the fact that players could trade gold to gems then back to gold for infinite money. Hello hyperinflation.

Yes, ^This^ your proposal is very flawed if you give it a second to sink in.

You can make G on the gem store, buy low sell high. Right now a 25.7% increase or thereabouts will cause you to break even. There’s literally nothing wrong with the gem market.

John Smith.4610:

I see no current issues with the exchange, it’s functioning very well. Remember for every opinion on which way should be “favored” there is at least one opinion for the opposite.

PS please stop calling everything inflation, it’s driving me mad.

I mentioned this the other day in another thread, it bugs me too. The cost to play the game hasn’t changed one copper since release. The only thing that has increased is the desire to acquire those big screen tvs you guys are selling on the TP Too bad the parts to make them are scarce.

munkiman.3068:

John Smith.4610:

I see no current issues with the exchange, it’s functioning very well. Remember for every opinion on which way should be “favored” there is at least one opinion for the opposite.

PS please stop calling everything inflation, it’s driving me mad.

I mentioned this the other day in another thread, it bugs me too. The cost to play the game hasn’t changed one copper since release. The only thing that has increased is the desire to acquire those big screen tvs you guys are selling on the TP Too bad the parts to make them are scarce.

Inflation is awesome – it lets you live in a more expensive neighborhood without moving!

I pre-ordered so I’ve been playing since the head start and I’ve been pretty happy with how well my gold has retained its value. I’ve been entertaining myself by clicking the “all” button on Spidy, and it’s impressive really how quickly most items found their value and how little prices are rising in the long term. There are some exceptions, but we’re talking about inflation, so they aren’t relevant.

John Smith.4610:

I see no current issues with the exchange, it’s functioning very well. Remember for every opinion on which way should be “favored” there is at least one opinion for the opposite.

PS please stop calling everything inflation, it’s driving me mad.

For the new or casual player there definitely is an issue (ofc we have to look into what we define as an issue) as gold>gem is really not an option for them.

For the non casual or seasoned player…yeah, I’ll agree there’s no direct issue.

John Smith.4610:

I see no current issues with the exchange, it’s functioning very well. Remember for every opinion on which way should be “favored” there is at least one opinion for the opposite.

PS please stop calling everything inflation, it’s driving me mad.

John Smith.4610:

PS please stop calling everything inflation, it’s driving me mad.

John Smith.4610:

please stop calling everything inflation, it’s driving me mad.

^ This.

John Smith.4610:

I see no current issues with the exchange, it’s functioning very well. Remember for every opinion on which way should be “favored” there is at least one opinion for the opposite.

PS please stop calling everything inflation, it’s driving me mad.

This inflation issue is inflating beyond reason!!! :O

penatbater.4710:

John Smith.4610:

I see no current issues with the exchange, it’s functioning very well. Remember for every opinion on which way should be “favored” there is at least one opinion for the opposite.

PS please stop calling everything inflation, it’s driving me mad.

This inflation issue is inflating beyond reason!!! :O

The value of these inflation jokes is hyperinflating!

John Smith.4610:

PS please stop calling everything inflation, it’s driving me mad.

Holy octopus this a million times.

marnick.4305:

penatbater.4710:

People complain that the gem price is too high. But where were those people when prices were “reasonable”? :|

I was complaining about prices being too low. Converting gems to gold wasn’t really worth it until now.

It’s still ridiculous. $50 for 100g? Should be $20 for 100g at absolute most.

Personally I was quite accepting at $1 per gold when I started in December. Of course due to the changes of the exchange rate it’s now better than that at $0.62 per gold.

At $20 for 100g or $0.20 per gold you are talking about a Gem to Gold exchange rate of 100 Gems for 6.25g which would put the Gold to Gem rate at around 8.65g per 100 Gems.

Risingashes.8694:

marnick.4305:

penatbater.4710:

People complain that the gem price is too high. But where were those people when prices were “reasonable”? :|

I was complaining about prices being too low. Converting gems to gold wasn’t really worth it until now.

It’s still ridiculous. $50 for 100g? Should be $20 for 100g at absolute most.

Lol people shouldn’t “need” to convert gems to gold. It isn’t that hard to earn, and I just don’t see the appeal. Granted some people may have come from games where RMT’ing was rampant and GW2 allows it legally, but still, just seems pointless. But people are free to spend how they like, but I’d rather spend my gems on gem items as I can just make far more in game faster to the point where I never need to transfer.

Geotherma.2395:

Lol people shouldn’t “need” to convert gems to gold. It isn’t that hard to earn

Well, since most people seem to make gold in-game by ‘flipping’ items on TP and price-gouging, rather than actually doing something positive then I’ll pass on that, thanks.

Risingashes.8694:

marnick.4305:

penatbater.4710:

People complain that the gem price is too high. But where were those people when prices were “reasonable”? :|

I was complaining about prices being too low. Converting gems to gold wasn’t really worth it until now.

It’s still ridiculous. $50 for 100g? Should be $20 for 100g at absolute most.

If it ever reaches a point where it becomes attractive for a majority of players to start buying & exchanging their gems to gold, it wouldn’t take really long for the exchange rate to drop again. I actually like the idea of having the exchange rate fluctuate a lot more but I think that will take a few extra months before happening.

Kraggy.4169:

Geotherma.2395:

Lol people shouldn’t “need” to convert gems to gold. It isn’t that hard to earn

Well, since most people seem to make gold in-game by ‘flipping’ items on TP and price-gouging, rather than actually doing something positive then I’ll pass on that, thanks.

I don’t I work for mine, no TP flipping here :P

But gems are ANET’s profits. They were kind enough to let hardcore players use ingame money to buy gems instead of real money.

I think the system is fine, and the Black Lion Trade as a whole is awesome! (What’s not fine are the RNG chests.)

Kraggy.4169:

Geotherma.2395:

Lol people shouldn’t “need” to convert gems to gold. It isn’t that hard to earn

Well, since most people seem to make gold in-game by ‘flipping’ items on TP and price-gouging, rather than actually doing something positive then I’ll pass on that, thanks.

Actually by the very definition of what price flipping is, it requires that 1 person has to lose money for the other to gain that much -15%. So “most” is not even a possibility let alone a reality. A small % of people make a small amount of money using flipping and an even smaller % make a lot of money using flipping.

Price-gouging is also an impossibility in this game since everyone has equal access to all content and supply. Price gouging is when you own all the supply and the only method of getting that item is to buy from that one person. No such possibility exists in this game as everyone has the same access to items. If an item was overpriced then someone would use the same method the gouger was using to obtain that same item and sell it for less money but still a profit. This repeats until the item reduces to a price that people are willing to pay instead of get the item themselves.

John Smith.4610:

I see no current issues with the exchange, it’s functioning very well. Remember for every opinion on which way should be “favored” there is at least one opinion for the opposite.

PS please stop calling everything inflation, it’s driving me mad.

The inflations aren’t user based, the spikes are way too straight for that to be the case, literally. Someone at anet/nexon pushes a button and gem prices go where they want them to go. So what you see is a set price, all the time, instead of this gimmicky reply of “users dictate it”.

PS please stop posting and go back to work… on whatever you do, which I don’t know if is anything.

Pps. my name is john doe

Is Anet aware of how increasingly implausible it is getting to swap gold for gems if you are a casual player? Its ridiculous, I thought Id have a look today and the 23G I had would only have bought me 800 gems.

I can’t buy gems online due to my personal situation and they haven’t bothered to make prepaid gem cards available in NZ as far as I am aware so there really isn’t a viable alternative.

There is multiple threads on the front page exactly like this one. You did not need to create another one.

The exchange rate is fine. As other people have said, the fact that Anet even allows gold>gem trading is well worth however much it costs.

Gasoline.2570:

John Smith.4610:

I see no current issues with the exchange, it’s functioning very well. Remember for every opinion on which way should be “favored” there is at least one opinion for the opposite.

PS please stop calling everything inflation, it’s driving me mad.

The inflations aren’t user based, the spikes are way too straight for that to be the case, literally. Someone at anet/nexon pushes a button and gem prices go where they want them to go. So what you see is a set price, all the time, instead of this gimmicky reply of “users dictate it”.

PS please stop posting and go back to work… on whatever you do, which I don’t know if is anything.

Pps. my name is john doe

LOL

Tell me then, Gas, where are these spikes? I’d be very much interested in seeing them. After all, you seem to know a great deal about them. So where are they?

Also, John works as one of the head economists for the BLTC. Because of him, you don’t see such huge inflation that slabs of red meat cost 1g or whatever. Because of him, you don’t see ectos valued at 1s, either.

Hi Goatjugsoup,
As a fellow kiwi with a limited income I can empathize with your predicament, but there are some options you could try. I’ve been able to use my visa debit card to buy gems in the past, but failing that, you could look at getting one of the prepaid visa cards (think they may be called pressie cards or something similar). Another option could be to ask your local gamestore (such as EB Games) if they would consider carrying gem cards.

Hope these suggestions help.

Jrunyon.3012:

There is multiple threads on the front page exactly like this one. You did not need to create another one.

The exchange rate is fine. As other people have said, the fact that Anet even allows gold>gem trading is well worth however much it costs.

Of course he can. Why do you backseat moderate?

And the rate is not fine. It is insane.

Gasoline.2570:

John Smith.4610:

I see no current issues with the exchange, it’s functioning very well. Remember for every opinion on which way should be “favored” there is at least one opinion for the opposite.

PS please stop calling everything inflation, it’s driving me mad.

The inflations aren’t user based, the spikes are way too straight for that to be the case, literally. Someone at anet/nexon pushes a button and gem prices go where they want them to go. So what you see is a set price, all the time, instead of this gimmicky reply of “users dictate it”.

PS please stop posting and go back to work… on whatever you do, which I don’t know if is anything.

Pps. my name is john doe

The button they push is called “popular item only available at Gem Store”. Fuse skins, BLC keys. Before that, bank and bag slots. Right now, the pick of infinite swings. Then you had the sale all March of different things in the store, that spiked the price a few times.

Each time moves more gold into the exchanges coffers while emptying the Gem reserves. It’s the ratio between those two piles at the exchange that sets the price.