Guild Wars 2

I’m just curios what you guys think.

Blessing. No scams. No worries about getting ripped off. Not having to deal with WTS/WTB spam. Can ALWAYS find a seller and a buyer for items. Its easy to use. Provides a gold sink. And the list goes on.

Blessing. See previous, plus allows me to play the game while my stuff sells and my request list gets filled in.

Blessing. In GW1, my Xunlai chest is filled with gold weapons and inscriptions that have value, but would be painful and too time-consuming to try to sell via Kamdan-spam and direct trade. In GW2, the TP is easy to use and convenient.

Blessing.
Only MMO i ever played without an AH was Lineage 2, and that was just horrible when you had to put your characters sitting the whole night in town all the time, and run for hours check different player shops to find the best seller and avoid beeing scammed.

So no thanks to that :

Curse. It makes any money making method actually playing the game obsolete unless you are lucky and get at least one precursor per week as a drop. It also makes all common items worthless unless anet adds specific recipes requirering insane amounts of it (eg. iron ore). Without a TP you would be able to sell those for quite a bit more (at the opportunity cost of selling it on chat)
But personally I also find selling stuff face to face more interesting than this anonymous TP.

Malediktus.9250:

Curse. It makes any money making method actually playing the game obsolete unless you are lucky and get at least one precursor per week as a drop. It also makes all common items worthless unless anet adds specific recipes requirering insane amounts of it (eg. iron ore). Without a TP you would be able to sell those for quite a bit more (at the opportunity cost of selling it on chat)
But personally I also find selling stuff face to face more interesting than this anonymous TP.

How does it make money making methods by playing the game obsolete? Without the gold from those faucets, the TP wouldnt be able to operate.

Malediktus.9250:

Curse. It makes any money making method actually playing the game obsolete unless you are lucky and get at least one precursor per week as a drop. It also makes all common items worthless unless anet adds specific recipes requirering insane amounts of it (eg. iron ore). Without a TP you would be able to sell those for quite a bit more (at the opportunity cost of selling it on chat)
But personally I also find selling stuff face to face more interesting than this anonymous TP.

Common items are always worthless. You aren’t going to find eager buyers for the loot that everyone gets. At least with a TP you can find the few people who want it.

“But personally I also find selling stuff face to face more interesting than this anonymous TP”. Well, in my experience, face to face trading with someone who then tries to scam me certainly made it a more interesting experience but that is countered by the boring time spent spamming WTS or WTB before finding even one interested person.

Malediktus.9250:

Curse. It makes any money making method actually playing the game obsolete unless you are lucky and get at least one precursor per week as a drop. It also makes all common items worthless unless anet adds specific recipes requirering insane amounts of it (eg. iron ore). Without a TP you would be able to sell those for quite a bit more (at the opportunity cost of selling it on chat)
But personally I also find selling stuff face to face more interesting than this anonymous TP.

Yeah, imagine the benefits of chat consisting of dozens of different players going:

“WTS 250 iron ore, 250 silver ore, 250 cotton scraps…”
“WTS 250 copper ore, 250 soft wood…”
“WTS 50 ori ore, 50 ancient wood, 50 gossamer scraps…”
on and on…

The TP is a tool, nothing more, nothing less. It makes the game run more smoothly and makes it easier for players, when used correctly. It has drawbacks, but they are more manageable than the other options.

It’s good it’s just mismanaged a bit.

Anyone who says the TP is a curse is either jealous of people who are successful because of it, or is upset that they don’t know how to use it properly. I’m certain that 100% of the player base has touched the TP, and benefited from it during the life of their account.

Essence Snow.3194:

It’s good it’s just mismanaged a bit.

Don’t blame me when people are willing to pay outrageous prices for my items. Although Evon could make it better by giving tax breaks to the players who use it the most.

Here’s how to sum up the posts you’ll get in this thread (before it devolves into ranting and gets locked): some people like the trade post, some people dont like the trade post, most people couldnt give 2 sharts one way or another.

Blessing.

Wanze.8410:

How does it make money making methods by playing the game obsolete?

everything is worth kitten, almost every drop in the game is kitten thats how
and every good way of making money by actually playing the game is always nerfed because arenanet wants to milk shekels from people exchanging gems to gold
so the only choice is either exploit suckers on tp yourself in the name of capitalism or never get anything nice…or whip out your credit card…gold wars 2
+at least in other games the government wasnt stealing 15% of my kitten

Blessing. How else will I make money? Farming? Lol

Wikie.2610:

Wanze.8410:

How does it make money making methods by playing the game obsolete?

everything is worth kitten, almost every drop in the game is kitten thats how
and every good way of making money by actually playing the game is always nerfed because arenanet wants to milk shekels from people exchanging gems to gold
so the only choice is either exploit suckers on tp yourself in the name of capitalism or never get anything nice…or whip out your credit card…gold wars 2
+at least in other games the government wasnt stealing 15% of my kitten

You realise that the 15% tax rate is one of the few things working against people trying to make themselves rich off the TP.

For what it’s worth I think the TP is a mixed blessing. I would find it hard to do without it’s convenience. The fact that it is easily the best way to make money in the game by a large margin has some negative impacts though if you are after a desirable item and aren’t interested in playing this aspect of the game.

Doing away with the TP would cause far far more problems than it would solve without a doubt.

Wikie.2610:

Wanze.8410:

How does it make money making methods by playing the game obsolete?

everything is worth kitten, almost every drop in the game is kitten thats how
and every good way of making money by actually playing the game is always nerfed because arenanet wants to milk shekels from people exchanging gems to gold
so the only choice is either exploit suckers on tp yourself in the name of capitalism or never get anything nice…or whip out your credit card…gold wars 2
+at least in other games the government wasnt stealing 15% of my kitten

Pure dolyak pudding.

I can enjoy the game just fine without whipping out my credit card every week. The TP facilitates casual play by allowing players to both buy and sell nearly any gear they could want at decent prices.

If you expect to have everything you want handed to you instantly, you’re playing the wrong kind of game. Try single player, you can look up the cheat codes and make your character rich, invincible and max level in five minutes or less.

The TP is a blessing. No doubt in my mind.

tolunart.2095:

TP facilitates casual play by allowing players to both buy and sell nearly any gear they could want at decent prices.
If you expect to have everything you want handed to you instantly, you’re playing the wrong kind of game. Try single player, you can look up the cheat codes and make your character rich, invincible and max level in five minutes or less.

I’m much more rich than most players so it is not about any instant gratification bullkitten, my problem is I’m only rich because of the TP, everything I get through normal gameplay is worth nothing…partly because of the TP…so the casual players who dont trade on tp for profit are in far worse position than me

Wikie.2610:

tolunart.2095:

TP facilitates casual play by allowing players to both buy and sell nearly any gear they could want at decent prices.
If you expect to have everything you want handed to you instantly, you’re playing the wrong kind of game. Try single player, you can look up the cheat codes and make your character rich, invincible and max level in five minutes or less.

I’m much more rich than most players so it is not about any instant gratification bullkitten, my problem is I’m only rich because of the TP, everything I get through normal gameplay is worth nothing…partly because of the TP…so the casual players who dont trade on tp for profit are in far worse position than me

Those casual players would have even less money if there is no TP and when they instead have to sell everything at NPCs since its much easier to sell stuff at least at the TP instead of having to spam the chat all day and also the TP gives you directly an idea what your stuff is worth.

But if they are casual players, they dont need or care for having lots of gold. They play because they like the game. Not because they can feel rich in game. I know of several people who are of that mindset. I am also one of them.

Wikie.2610:

… my problem is I’m only rich because of the TP, everything I get through normal gameplay is worth nothing…partly because of the TP…so the casual players who dont trade on tp for profit are in far worse position than me

Your claim doesn’t make much sense because you aren’t qualified to judge the position that others are with respect to yourself; that’s an individual, self assessment. It’s really easy to claim that someone ‘far worse off’ than you but if the players you are referring to don’t care or don’t agree with your assessment, it’s rather meaningless.

I can understand you may dislike the fact that you have to exchange goods with players to get gold and the variation that people get in selling price indicates people are not always getting best value. What I don’t understand is where this becomes a problem; it’s a very fair system that allows people the potential to sell or buy for any amount THEY CHOOSE.

Curse.
It causes people to become overridden by jealousy and spam this poor subforum with threads about how unfair it is that flippers profit better than them by playing them TP.

Jokes aside, I say Blessing.

Malediktus.9250:

Curse. It makes any money making method actually playing the game obsolete unless you are lucky and get at least one precursor per week as a drop. It also makes all common items worthless unless anet adds specific recipes requirering insane amounts of it (eg. iron ore). Without a TP you would be able to sell those for quite a bit more (at the opportunity cost of selling it on chat)
But personally I also find selling stuff face to face more interesting than this anonymous TP.

i’m going to have to agree somewhat. i’ve played games that feature both player shops and auction houses, and the economies there were pretty decent. Auction houses were usually full of big ticket items whereas farmed materials sold faster in player shops, plus it adds a sort of reputation to the player that ends up doing very well in face to face trading. EG, there was this guy in one of the games i’ve played where he would sell cash shop items(due to a huge cash currency purchase at the beginning of the game) by the name of ‘marketprice’ because of his shop he was the richest on the server(it had rankings for this) not only was he known for the type of item he sold, but his deals were incredible. No one would’ve known this guy existed at all or where to get the best deals on cosmetic items etc if there was just an anonymous auction house.
I’d actually love to see what an A-list(the game i’m referring to in my former wall of text was a free to play game, which means it was a limited economy because of the mass influx of cash shop packs)company like Arena net could do with a two-part economic system where players have shops, can trade face to face, and sell on auction houses. because of the (thank grenth) lack of cash shop packs in this game(ever play a perfect world game? yeah, those)the economy wouldn’t be dictated by them.
not to mention i really enjoy RPing as a merchant in mmos. it’s really fun.

A little of both

I think that TP being the only trading option isn’t the best idea. If I want to sell/craft specific item for specific person and don’t get scammed via mail, I have to list it and quickly inform the buyer. And I also lose a lot of income in process.

It essentialy kills personal trading. You just put everything on TP. If there was some traditional “trade” option, maybe crafting would be more profitable, since you wouldn’t lose the money. TP shouldn’t be the only option for fair trading.

As for good things, I can certainly list selling/buying materials and some otherstackable items. It’s also a good place to find food etc.

But I think that there’s just too big part of the game which is buyable with gold. Legendaries etc. are pretty obvious, but we lack some specific items acessible for crafters. Rare “named” trinkets serve no purpose, because they share everything with much cheaper versions.

As a final good thing, I can list that I like how acessible TP is, under the tab, instead of auctioneer-only.

Blessing. I remember the bad old days of Spamadan and having to use slow 3rd party sites for specific trades (followed by the stupid dance of trying to find a proper time to meet up for the trade). NEVER AGAIN.

Blessing, its a good way to make money. Avoids being scammed by other players.

The only negative is EVERYTHING should be tradeable on the TP. A complete free market. Too much stuff account bound or soulbound which either sits in your stash or you end up destroying.

Blessing.

I’ve had the gw1 experience of direct player trading and it was very very easy for players to not know the true value of their stuff and sell for close to nothing some items that were worth a fortune (anyone remember spamadan powertraders?). This way you can see the TP value immediately. There is also no possible scamming. And while some players (or groups of players) can try and sometimes succeed to influence the values on the TP, it does not last too long and overall the good the TP does far outweighs the bad.

The TP is a blessing. It’s our dependence on trading rather than playing through content for drops that is a curse.

The Trading Post is a tool. In that respect it makes the game better (it’s like asking if using a nailgun is a blessing over using a big rock to hammer things together).

Both. It’s a blessing because you can get what you want, you don’t have to worry about scams, it’s a gold sink, etc…

It’s a curse because it enable very low drop rates on the things that you want.

A Blessing. I sell stuff on it all the time.

mtpelion.4562:

The Trading Post is a tool. In that respect it makes the game better (it’s like asking if using a nailgun is a blessing over using a big rock to hammer things together).

But.. but…, the nailgun is killing the real fun of hammering nails. And since I’m working so much more efficiently, I have too much time on my hands. The main appeal of hammering nails was the experience of pounding them into wooden boards. The nailgun creates an imbalance in fun when it negatively affects the use of the big rock to hit nails. This becomes a P2W issue, since not everyone can afford the nailgun.

Smooth Penguin.5294:

mtpelion.4562:

The Trading Post is a tool. In that respect it makes the game better (it’s like asking if using a nailgun is a blessing over using a big rock to hammer things together).

But.. but…, the nailgun is killing the real fun of hammering nails. And since I’m working so much more efficiently, I have too much time on my hands. The main appeal of hammering nails was the experience of pounding them into wooden boards. The nailgun creates an imbalance in fun when it negatively affects the use of the big rock to hit nails. This becomes a P2W issue, since not everyone can afford the nailgun.

If you were truly hardcore, you’d use your forehead.

tolunart.2095:

Smooth Penguin.5294:

mtpelion.4562:

The Trading Post is a tool. In that respect it makes the game better (it’s like asking if using a nailgun is a blessing over using a big rock to hammer things together).

But.. but…, the nailgun is killing the real fun of hammering nails. And since I’m working so much more efficiently, I have too much time on my hands. The main appeal of hammering nails was the experience of pounding them into wooden boards. The nailgun creates an imbalance in fun when it negatively affects the use of the big rock to hit nails. This becomes a P2W issue, since not everyone can afford the nailgun.

If you were truly hardcore, you’d use your forehead.

Why can’t I just Casually enjoy hammering nails?

Smooth Penguin.5294:

mtpelion.4562:

The Trading Post is a tool. In that respect it makes the game better (it’s like asking if using a nailgun is a blessing over using a big rock to hammer things together).

But.. but…, the nailgun is killing the real fun of hammering nails. And since I’m working so much more efficiently, I have too much time on my hands. The main appeal of hammering nails was the experience of pounding them into wooden boards. The nailgun creates an imbalance in fun when it negatively affects the use of the big rock to hit nails. This becomes a P2W issue, since not everyone can afford the nailgun.

False and illogical for reasons already explained. The main purpose of driving nails, whether with a nailgun, hammer, big rock, or forehead, is to secure two boards together. Whether it’s fun or not is subjective. If you don’t want the two boards together, don’t use nails.

(thats about how ridiculous this thread is going)

pdavis.8031:

Smooth Penguin.5294:

mtpelion.4562:

The Trading Post is a tool. In that respect it makes the game better (it’s like asking if using a nailgun is a blessing over using a big rock to hammer things together).

But.. but…, the nailgun is killing the real fun of hammering nails. And since I’m working so much more efficiently, I have too much time on my hands. The main appeal of hammering nails was the experience of pounding them into wooden boards. The nailgun creates an imbalance in fun when it negatively affects the use of the big rock to hit nails. This becomes a P2W issue, since not everyone can afford the nailgun.

False and illogical for reasons already explained. The main purpose of driving nails, whether with a nailgun, hammer, big rock, or forehead, is to secure two boards together. Whether it’s fun or not is subjective. If you don’t want the two boards together, don’t use nails.

(thats about how ridiculous this thread is going)

But I’m all for the experience of securing two wood boards together the old fashioned way, by using a big rock to pound them in. Because the nailgun makes it so easy to drive a nail through both boards, it takes away from the fun that I’m entitled to when I initially wanted to secure both boards together. It’s not a matter of choice here, because I truly need those two boards to be stuck securely. I can’t use glue, because there’s currently no option for it.

But if glue is release in my area, that would be yet another P2W issue, since other people might not be able to afford the glue and/or the nailgun. It’s not a matter of convenience here, since the time I save securing two boards together directly translates into $$$. Here’s the mathematical formula:

Time – (time saved) = Money + x
*where x = profit

Smooth Penguin.5294:

pdavis.8031:

Smooth Penguin.5294:

mtpelion.4562:

The Trading Post is a tool. In that respect it makes the game better (it’s like asking if using a nailgun is a blessing over using a big rock to hammer things together).

But.. but…, the nailgun is killing the real fun of hammering nails. And since I’m working so much more efficiently, I have too much time on my hands. The main appeal of hammering nails was the experience of pounding them into wooden boards. The nailgun creates an imbalance in fun when it negatively affects the use of the big rock to hit nails. This becomes a P2W issue, since not everyone can afford the nailgun.

False and illogical for reasons already explained. The main purpose of driving nails, whether with a nailgun, hammer, big rock, or forehead, is to secure two boards together. Whether it’s fun or not is subjective. If you don’t want the two boards together, don’t use nails.

(thats about how ridiculous this thread is going)

But I’m all for the experience of securing two wood boards together the old fashioned way, by using a big rock to pound them in. Because the nailgun makes it so easy to drive a nail through both boards, it takes away from the fun that I’m entitled to when I initially wanted to secure both boards together. It’s not a matter of choice here, because I truly need those two boards to be stuck securely. I can’t use glue, because there’s currently no option for it.

But if glue is release in my area, that would be yet another P2W issue, since other people might not be able to afford the glue and/or the nailgun. It’s not a matter of convenience here, since the time I save securing two boards together directly translates into $$$. Here’s the mathematical formula:

Time – (time saved) = Money + x
*where x = profit

But adding glue to the game would be more of a reason to exploit the TP. Hooves will then become the ultimate currency and completely break the economy. And the nailgun is optional. You can still use your forehead or big rock to drive nails. There are also other ways to secure to boards without nails or glue. One could lash them together for instance. I get that time equals money, but don’t forget that Godwin’s law also applies.

While we’re using analogies, I think ‘nailgun vs hammer’ is a flawed way of looking at this. We need something more complex and fitting.

It’s like working on a job site, with not only a nailgun, but the very latest hardware available. But you’re working alone, under the scrutiny of cameras, and the foreman counts every single nail you use.

Versus

Old fashioned hammers-and-nails, saggy pants, cat-calling-at-the-ladies-passin’ by construction work. With all your best mates, taking your time (occasionally sneaking off at lunch hour for a few cold ones) but getting the job done.

Jahroots.6791:

While we’re using analogies, I think ‘nailgun vs hammer’ is a flawed way of looking at this. We need something more complex and fitting.

It’s like working on a job site, with not only a nailgun, but the very latest hardware available. But you’re working alone, under the scrutiny of cameras, and the foreman counts every single nail you use.

Versus

Old fashioned hammers-and-nails, saggy pants, cat-calling-at-the-ladies-passin’ by construction work. With all your best mates, taking your time (occasionally sneaking off at lunch hour for a few cold ones) but getting the job done.

Have you ever been on a job site? I used to work construction and the latter was much more prevailant. Although we did have the latest tools, the cat calling, taking your time, (I was accused of working too hard by my supervisor) was a mandatory part of the job. Plus I forgot what the hammer/nailgun analogy was about, and was just being stupid :P

Lmao, same here. I just like making analogies

BLTP is simply a tool. Trying to make it something else is a personal issue nobody but you (and possibly your therapist) can address.

Brother Grimm.5176:

BLTP is simply a tool. Trying to make it something else is a personal issue nobody but you (and possibly your therapist) can address.

Posts like the OP’s main focus is elsewhere. No-one actually dislikes having a tool that enables us to buy and sell almost any item in the game, the issue is how much of the game seems to be built around it.

Oooh, here’s another analogy.

It’s like a smartphone. Pretty much everyone uses one, and some of us feel completely lost and naked without ‘em. But what if you had to use it for everything. Not just texting and taking the occasional selfie; I’m talking about needing a phone in order to collect your salary, access healthcare, buy groceries, you name it. that would get old fast, man.

pdavis.8031:

Smooth Penguin.5294:

pdavis.8031:

Smooth Penguin.5294:

mtpelion.4562:

The Trading Post is a tool. In that respect it makes the game better (it’s like asking if using a nailgun is a blessing over using a big rock to hammer things together).

But.. but…, the nailgun is killing the real fun of hammering nails. And since I’m working so much more efficiently, I have too much time on my hands. The main appeal of hammering nails was the experience of pounding them into wooden boards. The nailgun creates an imbalance in fun when it negatively affects the use of the big rock to hit nails. This becomes a P2W issue, since not everyone can afford the nailgun.

False and illogical for reasons already explained. The main purpose of driving nails, whether with a nailgun, hammer, big rock, or forehead, is to secure two boards together. Whether it’s fun or not is subjective. If you don’t want the two boards together, don’t use nails.

(thats about how ridiculous this thread is going)

But I’m all for the experience of securing two wood boards together the old fashioned way, by using a big rock to pound them in. Because the nailgun makes it so easy to drive a nail through both boards, it takes away from the fun that I’m entitled to when I initially wanted to secure both boards together. It’s not a matter of choice here, because I truly need those two boards to be stuck securely. I can’t use glue, because there’s currently no option for it.

But if glue is release in my area, that would be yet another P2W issue, since other people might not be able to afford the glue and/or the nailgun. It’s not a matter of convenience here, since the time I save securing two boards together directly translates into $$$. Here’s the mathematical formula:

Time – (time saved) = Money + x
*where x = profit

But adding glue to the game would be more of a reason to exploit the TP. Hooves will then become the ultimate currency and completely break the economy. And the nailgun is optional. You can still use your forehead or big rock to drive nails. There are also other ways to secure to boards without nails or glue. One could lash them together for instance. I get that time equals money, but don’t forget that Godwin’s law also applies.

But the problem here is that the nailgun exists, and makes my life easier. As a result of making my life easier, it takes away from the intended purpose of using a big rock to pound the nails. We were lucky, where the nailguns were provided free to us, so it’s not a P2W issue anymore. That brings up another issue: Why should only I benefit from using the nailgun, when the next guy doesn’t know how to properly use it to increase his productivity? What if he’s jealous of my nailgun skills and wants to punish me by imposing a tax on the time I saved by being efficient?

As for using a rope or cord to bind the boards together, that’s just a temporary fix. I need a more long term solution to my board problem, and using anything but a nail will result in a not-so-secure binding.

Smooth Penguin.5294:

tolunart.2095:

Smooth Penguin.5294:

mtpelion.4562:

The Trading Post is a tool. In that respect it makes the game better (it’s like asking if using a nailgun is a blessing over using a big rock to hammer things together).

But.. but…, the nailgun is killing the real fun of hammering nails. And since I’m working so much more efficiently, I have too much time on my hands. The main appeal of hammering nails was the experience of pounding them into wooden boards. The nailgun creates an imbalance in fun when it negatively affects the use of the big rock to hit nails. This becomes a P2W issue, since not everyone can afford the nailgun.

If you were truly hardcore, you’d use your forehead.

Why can’t I just Casually enjoy hammering nails?

Because my flying mount said no.

Wanze.8410:

Because my flying mount said no.

LOL!!!! Best. Response. EVER!!!!!

I literally laughed out loud and got a wierd look from my boss!!

Smooth Penguin.5294:

Why can’t I just Casually enjoy hammering nails?

Hammers are for noobs and nailguns are P2Win. WoW players use rocks, but they need a new one every six months. The truly hardcore only use their heads.

tolunart.2095:

Smooth Penguin.5294:

Why can’t I just Casually enjoy hammering nails?

Hammers are for noobs and nailguns are P2Win. WoW players use rocks, but they need a new one every six months. The truly hardcore only use their heads.

I appreciate your detailed analysis of the current Nail Meta. Now the question is: What if my forehead isn’t hard enough?

Smooth Penguin.5294:

tolunart.2095:

Smooth Penguin.5294:

Why can’t I just Casually enjoy hammering nails?

Hammers are for noobs and nailguns are P2Win. WoW players use rocks, but they need a new one every six months. The truly hardcore only use their heads.

I appreciate your detailed analysis of the current Nail Meta. Now the question is: What if my forehead isn’t hard enough?

Then you’re nailing the wrong wood. Try something softer.