Guild Wars 2

We’ve all noticed it; precursor pricing going up and up every single day. I just watched as Tooth of Frostfang jumped up 200g in 2 days. How is anyone suppose to buy a precursor if they can’t make money fast enough to catch up with the prices? But, more importantly, why are precursor prices rising in the first place? Many people would blame the nefarious Trading Post manipulator, but I have a more concrete idea of what’s happening.

It all comes down to supply and demand. In the first few months of GW2, only a few brave souls dared to attempt to make legendary weapons. Now, as we’re farther into the game, the number of people crafting legendary weapons has gone up significantly, but the supply has stayed the same, or even decreased. This lack of supply is what keeps causing precursors to jump dramatically in price.

So what solutions are there? Well a few obvious ones would either be to increase drop rate, but that doesn’t seem like something Anet would do. The other option would be to implement the rumored “scavenger hunt” system, to give you a specific precursor. Whether or not these ideas would work I don’t know, all I know is something needs to be done about this increasing epidemic.

Or you could just work harder like the other people who have their precursors/legendaries. You are not a special snowflake.

Blix.8021:

Or you could just work harder like the other people who have their precursors/legendaries. You are not a special snowflake.

I am working very hard. I play upwards of 8 hours a day, and have saved up 250g so far, but if precursor prices go up by 200g every time I make 100g, then it’s an endless cycle in which I will never be able to afford one, and I know I’m not the only one thinking/experiencing this.

I bought my tooth frostfang for 318 gold 2 days ago. Since then, the 3 others that were listed have sold for 319, 320, and 340 gold. Then, there were no teeth on. Then, someone put one on for 599 gold, hoping to capitalize on the lack of current listings. Since then he has been undercut 4 times and the current price is 445 gold.

The price does not ‘go up and up every single day’.

Blix.8021:

I bought my tooth frostfang for 318 gold 2 days ago. Since then, the 3 others that were listed have sold for 319, 320, and 340 gold. Then, there were no teeth on. Then, someone put one on for 599 gold, hoping to capitalize on the lack of current listings. Since then he has been undercut 4 times and the current price is 445 gold.

The price does not ‘go up and up every single day’.

Yes I saw this happen, but even 445g is 100g more than it was 2 days ago, which is still a huge increase that cannot be kept up with.

I am working very hard. I play upwards of 8 hours a day, and have saved up 250g so far, but if precursor prices go up by 200g every time I make 100g, then it’s an endless cycle in which I will never be able to afford one, and I know I’m not the only one thinking/experiencing this.

You will, however, have enough money to go throw rares into the forge until you get it. I’m not saying that the MF is perfect (far from it), but for 445 gold, you could probably buy enough rares to get two precursors, barring exceptionally bad luck.

If you really play 8 hours a day, 50g a day is not hard to make with certain dungeon runs. You can do the runs with a friend and ask him to lend you the gold he makes from those dungeon runs and then pay him back later. Or you can sell off some of your stock of ectos/crafting materials to afford the purchase then farm them back later. Maybe it’s not desirable, but it’s doable.

Blix.8021:

If you really play 8 hours a day, 50g a day is not hard to make with certain dungeon runs. You can do the runs with a friend and ask him to lend you the gold he makes from those dungeon runs and then pay him back later. Or you can sell off some of your stock of ectos/crafting materials to afford the purchase then farm them back later. Maybe it’s not desirable, but it’s doable.

I would prefer not to sell the ectoplasm and t6 mats that I’m saving for gift of magic, seeing that those are extremely expensive as well.

And just curious, which dungeon runs are you referring to? Because either I missed something huge, or your exaggerating the profit…

jwaz.1908:

Yes I saw this happen, but even 445g is 100g more than it was 2 days ago, which is still a huge increase that cannot be kept up with.

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/extrapolating.png

Blix.8021:

Or you could just work harder like the other people who have their precursors/legendaries. You are not a special snowflake.

I would agree with you if, and ONLY IF, the amount of effort required was relatively equal. With the current implementation I could farm for years and spend hundreds of gold on exotics to throw in the MF and never see a precursor. Bob could come along and throw in 4 junk rares and get a precursor.

I’m all for making precursors take work to get, but that work needs to rewarded. Currently no amount of work actually guarantees you will ever get a precursor unless you do buy one from the TP (which has problems because of inflating prices outpacing the earning potential of many players).

RNG is RNG. It’s the gamblers fallacy to assume someone who consistently fails to get a precursor from the MF will get one if he/she just tries a few more times. Your odds don’t get better the more money you flush down the mystic toilet. They remain forever terrible.

Blix.8021:

Or you could just work harder like the other people who have their precursors/legendaries. You are not a special snowflake.

like the people who got it during one time events or through certain exploits? You’re totally right.

Maybe you should try the MF? I think it is worth nowadays.

Konde.8594:

Maybe you should try the MF? I think it is worth nowadays.

Yeah, no.

Your choices are make one or pay for someone to take the risk for you. Complaining they’re charging more than you are happy about for a risk you are refusing to take yourself is kinda silly.

Unspecified.9142:

I would agree with you if, and ONLY IF, the amount of effort required was relatively equal. With the current implementation I could farm for years and spend hundreds of gold on exotics to throw in the MF and never see a precursor. Bob could come along and throw in 4 junk rares and get a precursor.

And you expect that someon else who has done this should turn over the results for anything less than a fortune?

The more you point out the processess of acquiring them is dificult, the more it justifies the astronomical price for a successful outcome.

Nike.2631:

Unspecified.9142:

I would agree with you if, and ONLY IF, the amount of effort required was relatively equal. With the current implementation I could farm for years and spend hundreds of gold on exotics to throw in the MF and never see a precursor. Bob could come along and throw in 4 junk rares and get a precursor.

And you expect that someon else who has done this should turn over the results for anything less than a fortune?

The more you point out the processess of acquiring them is dificult, the more it justifies the astronomical price for a successful outcome.

I don’t think I said anything about people should sell them for less or the current prices being unjustified.

My issue is that the current prices ARE justified. The system for acquiring precursors is broken (imho). The single biggest problem I have is the uncertainty, the randomness, the lack of guaranteed reward regardless of work, and the fact that some people have precursors handed to them while others spend months struggling and still have no precursor.

The main reason I don’t play other MMOs is experiences like running a dungeon 58 times to get a single item. I’m thinking of a specific trinket in Rift I farmed for, one dungeon run a day for 58 days before it finally dropped. This wasn’t a particularly rare item and I knew 8 other people who had it, all in less than 10 runs. This type of garbage system is how precursors are handled.

There will always be that person out there that just gets the yucky end of the RNG stick. Call me an idealist but it really should be relatively ‘fair’ for all players. At the very least there should be some safety net in place for those who have been throwing things in the MF constantly so they are guaranteed to get one eventually.

Hey, I’m looking forward to the scavenger hunt as much as anyone.

Pres will be over 1k in a week or so I suggest getting them now cause they are hot and selling like hot cakes.

Unspecified.9142:

I don’t think I said anything about people should sell them for less or the current prices being unjustified.

My issue is that the current prices ARE justified. The system for acquiring precursors is broken (imho). The single biggest problem I have is the uncertainty, the randomness, the lack of guaranteed reward regardless of work, and the fact that some people have precursors handed to them while others spend months struggling and still have no precursor.

I think the best bet for you is to hold off on your pursuit of a Legendary until another method is created to get the precursor by ArenaNet.

Play the game….save your money….maybe you’ll end up getting enough just by playing to buy your precursor off the TP.

You do realize that a Legendary is meant to be a long term goal…..right? Just because people have gotten lucky and have been able to shave time off the crafting of theirs doesn’t mean the system is broken. It’s inconvenient for those that don’t get lucky, but not broken.

I really hope that ArenaNet does follow through on the scavenger hunt, but you know what? Whatever system they implement in a scavenger hunt is going to be met with even MORE complaining about precursors. If it’s too easy, the prices for precursors will drop and people will complain. If it’s too hard, the prices for precursors will rise even higher and people will complain. They can’t please everyone….and in a way, they can’t please anyone.

I also hope that the scavenger hunt is REALLY difficult. I hope it takes 16 new gifts to craft a precursor, requiring 100’s of items to make those gifts and MONTHS before we can figure out all the new recipes. An epic scavenger hunt would be the icing on the cake for Legendaries. The only problem is……people will just buy them because the scavenger hunt is “too much work”. I would love to have something epic to spend my time doing rather than running dungeons.

I totally agree. All I am lacking now is my precursor, I am farming and playing 8-10 hours a day but the price increase each day is more than I can make each day. And those that already have their legendaries and precursors congratz but Im sure you didnt have the issue of precursors rising each day like this though, beyond the scope of anyone without a huuuge stash of gold. People are buying them just to put up for more now. Dusk was 640g 4 days ago, 700g yesterday and today its 770g.

Azture.8632:

I totally agree. All I am lacking now is my precursor, I am farming and playing 8-10 hours a day but the price increase each day is more than I can make each day. And those that already have their legendaries and precursors congratz but Im sure you didnt have the issue of precursors rising each day like this though, beyond the scope of anyone without a huuuge stash of gold. People are buying them just to put up for more now. Dusk was 640g 4 days ago, 700g yesterday and today its 770g.

There’s nothing wrong with prices. Why should I sell Dusk to you for 600g when someone out there is willing to pay me 700g. For all we know, the highest a buyer may go is 1200g for a Dusk.

Prices keep rising because people are willing to pay that much for a precursor. Doesn’t matter about all this market manipulation junk everyone talks about. Yes, it happens, but that doesn’t set the price. When no one bites to pay the supplier’s price it slowly comes down.

My suggestion: Buy your precursors with an order and wait. Don’t buy the ones posted, period. If that means babysitting it to rebid when people bid above you and the price still is fine to you, then have at it. If one person places a high bid, Like 50g higher than what has been the norm recently, you aren’t going to jack up the price by outbidding him…oh no. You’re going to just let him have his high bid and get the next one.

If you see the cheapest one listed at 800g and think “oh no! They’re up again!” Don’t sweat it. That person is about to get undercut like 20 times. You’ll see it sitting there.

Then eventually it’ll disappear. It won’t disappear because it sold, you’ll be able to confirm this by the fact that the prices that undercut him are still sitting there. it’ll disappear because the person either pulled it to fill one of the buy orders or they relisted it back at the bottom (obviously much cheaper than before).

You’re still not going to buy the “cheap one” though. You’ll let the market come to you instead. Someone’s going to get tired of looking at their precursor buried in the list with 8 below it and they’re going to pull it and sell it. Be the guy with the high bid so you’re the one it goes to. Several orders are filled for them each day, you can see them clear on the tracker.

Vol.5241:

Azture.8632:

I totally agree. All I am lacking now is my precursor, I am farming and playing 8-10 hours a day but the price increase each day is more than I can make each day. And those that already have their legendaries and precursors congratz but Im sure you didnt have the issue of precursors rising each day like this though, beyond the scope of anyone without a huuuge stash of gold. People are buying them just to put up for more now. Dusk was 640g 4 days ago, 700g yesterday and today its 770g.

There’s nothing wrong with prices. Why should I sell Dusk to you for 600g when someone out there is willing to pay me 700g. For all we know, the highest a buyer may go is 1200g for a Dusk.

Prices keep rising because people are willing to pay that much for a precursor. Doesn’t matter about all this market manipulation junk everyone talks about. Yes, it happens, but that doesn’t set the price. When no one bites to pay the supplier’s price it slowly comes down.

and this is the issue at hand. Precursor has primarily become a question of competitive wealth earning. IE, its not just expensive or time consuming, how expensive or time consuming is decided by how much money the top 10% of people are willing to pay, and their wealth raises at a rate much higher than the vast majority of players.

Sure, by carefully using your money, maximizing profit, and time spent, you can probably achieve enough earnings to catch up with them just once, If you time it right. But is that the endgame measure of GW2? how well you can earn gold? is that what most people like from an rpg?

with the current systems in place Precursor will always be a gold battle, the only time this will change is when they add something new that rich players want more than precursors.

Op is right. Answered his own question.

Supply and demand. AnetAnets own economist even said it.

Karka event flooded market. Supply is up ajd price is down.

Game has been out for awhile now. Everyone wants a legendary. Hell I can think of 8 people in my guild right now who are grinding everyday for a legendary.

Prices are fair if you breakdown the cost of the other parts.