Guild Wars 2

Greetings all,

I will preface this by saying that I’ve come to Guild Wars 2 from EvE Online, and as such I am somewhat obsessed with market trading in MMOs ^^’ As a result I may simply be thinking into this too much or possibly looking for more depth to a system that doesn’t really need it, but regardless I find myself curious about the general community’s feelings on the subject so thought I would post my musings/questions here.

I love this game, one of the things I love the most about it is that for pretty much every activity, you gain a sense of progress and achievement. PvE, exploration, sPvP, WvWvW, Crafting, all of these common activities have clear goals and rewards for being successful at them.

Now, I find that I’m spending around 50% of my game time at the Trading Post, and it occurred to me that I was not receiving the same treatment through trading that I was through all the myriad of other activities that I could be partaking in…

Of course don’t get me wrong! The money I am making through trading is it’s own reward, but aside from amassing wealth I am not receiving any of the other nice benefits from my trading that the other activities would gain me, no ranks, no exp, no titles, no game completion, no achievements etc etc. As a result, should I make a poor investment or lose my money through one way or another, I will have absolutely nothing to show for all that time and effort I put in. Just a sad little Lv2 trading character with tears in his eyes and moth balls in his pockets xD

This is unlike any other activity in the game, where you are always making progress and there isn’t even the possibility for losing it. So this got me thinking, do other traders out there feel the same?

Of course I am not aiming this question at every tom kitten and harry who uses the TP to clear out their inventory in the field. I am aiming this question at the people who I like to call “The Sharks”. The people who have have market analysis sites on their bookmark bar and a calculator on their desk. The people who look at a spreadsheet and see potential, not just a wash of numbers. The people spend a great deal of time predicting the trends and racing to get ahead of them. The people get up in the morning before work to place 3000 buy orders while eating their breakfast…you get the idea xD

So what would you think about the inclusion of a “Trading Skill?”. A stand alone skill that levels up similar to a crafting skill, possibly on the completion of successful buy/sell orders and or the amassing of certain profit margins?

Maybe it could grant some exp along the way?

Maybe as you gain levels it could make you a better trader by reducing the sales tax/buying fees? (This would allow you to make profits in markets that a casual trader couldn’t.)

Or maybe it would unlock the ability to buy expensive “Trading Manuals” similar to the WvWvW commander books, but it gives you a title or reduced tax rates?

Maybe it simply awards titles/unique town clothing? (I want a business suit!)

These are just a few ideas I’m throwing into the mix, but what do you guys and gals think?

I would love to hear a dev’s opinion on the subject as well!

Heh, I spent about six straight hours trading on Sunday. Just me and the TP interface… After I was done for the day and my pockets felt heavy enough I thought, “Man, I should get an achievement for this…”

Isn’t there an achivement for how much money you deposit in the bank? I would start there I guess. Those achivements also come with titles, If Im not mistakesn. For example as you contribute to your guild´s influence you get achivements and titles, tier 2 is “guild warrior” or something like that.

For the tax idea, I wouldn’t mind, even though I don’t use the tp often… but those taxes are there as a money sink so doubtful Anet would lower down., especilly if the point is to bring even more wealth into the economy, sharks being really good at making it.

If you follow Anet’s trend then the best you could hope for is that at “X” level of wealth you get mailed a “token” to exchange for a “tycoon” skin or something like that (can’t stop picturing my Asuran with the monopoly tuxedo and monocle) to show off you trade skills and a nice “fat cat” title so people know you are rich.

Personally I like the idea. However, it will invite a a swarm of complains from players who doesn’t have the knack for trading and losses money trying to do so, but wanted the achievement none the less.

Some of the things in this game are designed for players who are willing to spend time achieving it (cultural armor/legendry), enjoy the challenge (dungeon/world map completion) or a combination of two. Then there are some who doesn’t have the skill/time/patient that will complain about it being too hard to achieve and demand the bar be lowered when it is obviously not these things are obviously not intended for them. They feel that since they pay for the game they are entitled to be handed everything the game has to offer at their designated difficulty level… Might as well lower the passing marks for exams from 70 to 0 so that everyone pass, everyone gets a medal, and everyone is happy.

as a successful trader in eve-online; a in game recognition system would be nice. Then i could get loans from baddie traders and eventually ponzi scam people for millions.

but thats just me.

i, too, come from eve online, and spend way too much time at the TP (or as i like to say, in Jita).

i would love something like this. give us a top hat and a monocle!

BTW there is this achivement, with the title “golden” for 200g (I’m guessing thats kinda low for sharks)

http://www.gw2db.com/achievements/10-gold-hoarder

So start there, Anet has a history of incorporating titles and rewards after players start doing stuff.

In GW1 it was vanquishing, people started clearing instances of all enemies just for the heck of it, now its an achiviment to do it and comes with a title to display.

Having also come from EVE and creating a spreadsheet to track my orders on the TP, it’s kinda funny to me to see many of “the sharks” also come from EVE.

I would go for achievements for total gold, maybe margins (like largest margin traded at), quantity of items transacted. But, I definitely don’t think XP for trading would work out. Seems like it would be too easily exploitable by power levelers especially.

A trading skill would be nice, to reduce listing fee and/or sales tax. Since there’s no skill training like there is in EVE, seems like it would have to be tied to total gold transacted or something.

A top hat, you say? Auction it to my corp?

Or perhaps I can interest you in this Caldari Navy Raven? Ignore the tritanium icon in the corner, that’s a glitch.

There are features of EVE that I’m glad are absent in GW2

I would, howver, pay 400 gems for a trading window that had moving averages, donchian channel, and traded volumes in it. (Traded volumes is key, and not available from gw2spidy.) Basically, the trading stats that EVE taught me to love, that most people don’t want.

I’d also really like the buy order and sell order depth displayed when I’m selling, having to go to the ‘buy’ window to check the depth before selling something is annoying.

I support this idea, also a eve player. Would like to see things like moving averages, volume data, price modification without relisting an item, and have ways to lower taxes for myself to compete in tighter markets that casual traders cant. None of these advantages should come cheap or easily

How does one become a “shark”?

I too come from EVE.

I love EVE

GW2 os not EVE and should not be anything like it.

Trading in EVE is fun – for some people(I manage to use it to not have to pay a sub.) But its puts casual p;layers at a big disadvanatge. This is a game for casual players often esperienced players who dont have the time to be hardcore anymore. It would be bad to put them at a disadvantage. even a perceived one.

I also play EVE
Traiding and market in EVE is more advanced, and harder to understand than compliting all dungeon in GW2. There ‘traiding skils’ are very importat. I heard about someone writing thesis about economic, based on eve market. There are hundreds of thousands ‘market users’ , and thousands players that are only playing to enjoy traiding.
GW2 is not directed to that kind of players. Imao ‘traiding skils’ are… not what i wish to see here.
On the other hand i also try to earn money at traiding post. It is almost imposible here. Almost all of crafting items are being sold below the cost of production. Buying items at tp at lower price and seling it at a higer is also not good way, because of 15% tax. That 15% is more than yours profit (almost always). Buying items to salvage it (4 ectoplasm) may give you profit, but it is risky, and depends on your luck.
So, traiding post is good if you are looking to get some rare item, to sell stuff you do not need. It is simple tool. And it should stay simple.
edit.
If you realy enjoy ‘market manipulation’ go and play EVE.

I think they should implement a guild upgrade that would reduce the tax in Trading Post. I could see it now, a group of trader alts hanging out in a bar after a day’s trading — dem wit’ dey business suits an’ clean cut hair.

How about a tax for players that have less than 20 gold? This tax can go to people that have beyond 200 gold for extra achievements.

Why isn’t there a feature that let players buy whole cities and waypoints so people will have to pay them in order to fast travel???

Yea remove a tax for gold-farmers so they can make more and more unearned money. This gold comes mainly from events and drops. Events and drops you did not achieve.

/sarcasm off.

Please stop demanding such strange things(?) If you choose to sit on a virtual auction house INSIDE (!!!) a video game and actually enjoy it (??) then okay… But this is not callen “trading wars 2” Keep that in mind gentlemen.
DIVA

Finess.2176:

How does one become a “shark”?

According to this thread, to become a shark one must play EVE, it seems.

Hippocampus.8470:

Finess.2176:

How does one become a “shark”?

According to this thread, to become a shark one must play EVE, it seems.

At least they aren’t arrogant and saying sharks only come from EvE Online. Technically speaking, you can become a shark by playing poker, blackjack, texa’s hold em, giving private loans out… etc…

They should just add a Tyrian version of poker then.

Ok, texa’s hold em, ante of 25 copper, 5 copper minimum bid!
Any takers?

Alexander Quess.1932:

They should just add a Tyrian version of poker then.

Ok, texa’s hold em, ante of 25 copper, 5 copper minimum bid!
Any takers?

yes please. I would totally do that… would Anet do it? sadly no. Gambling laws and all that.

I still haven’t found a way to make money on the TP. Margins are so tight that the 15% tax just kills you.

There are items with margins, but they’re uncommon and you have to go looking. Also, this almost never includes any raw materials.