Guild Wars 2

I’m curious as to what people would say to having the ability to lower the quality of the materials they have collected. I have tons of stacks of mithril and elder wood logs handy and it would be nice if I could for example convert the mithril into iron once in a while.

Now, you can argue that we can do that already via the TP by selling the mithil and buying iron, but the reverse is also true and a method was provided to do upgrade conversions in spite of this.

If it ever was added, they’d probably have atleast a 2:1 output penalty when what most people would expect would be a 1:1 ratio. And if you look at the prices, 2:1 would basically break any and all “savings” (IE: advantage over just using the market instead as you already mentioned) that the 1:1 ratio would have guaranteed. Meaning we’d have to get into some really weird fractions like 3/4’s or 5/7th’s to make it worthwhile

I’d support a downgrade system, but as ilr says, the outputs would need to be adjusted so you couldn’t achieve some weird circular loop where you can keep upgrading and downgrading mats to create an infinite creation cycle. If done properly, it can ensure that no material tier is ever over or under-supplied going forward into the future.

mists essences can be downgraded. when they added that, people were asking for 1:1 or even 2:1 to just be able to get the vials even though they are running higher fractal levels. then they added the forge recipe to downgrade, and it wasn’t 1:1 or 2:1 as request, it was 1:3.
point being that it may sound like a good idea to just be able to downgrade even if it’s 1:1 or 2:1, but Anet is probably thinking that any downgrading would be more like 1:2 or 1:3, and that wouldn’t be such a good idea.
look at those sharpening stone stations. people had been asking for those since the game opened. they are too expensive, and people complain. if you could downgrade gems at the rate of 2:1, people would complain about a recipe that would never be used, etc. Anet doesn’t like complaints.

I would like to see very much like to see downgrading but the exchange rates would be seriously strange since the current crafting system/drop rates/node spawns have made Tier 2 materials (Iron Ore, Soft Wood Logs, etc) worth 3x their Tier 5 counterparts (Mithril, Elder Wood Logs etc) on the auction house.

Just from an aesthetic point of view, I can’t be the only person who thinks that something really needs to be done to any crafting system where iron is worth more than mithril.

There are various reasons for the problem. Sure it starts with people spending less time in the low level zones than the high level zones, but the biggest reason is that ArenaNet decided for to make crafted Ascended items require annoying quantities of lower level mats.

Again, it seems bizarre to have a crafting system where I’m being stopped from making an Ascended item not because I lack Orichalcum or Elder Woods Logs gathered from the level 80 zones like Orr, but because I’m missing mats from the level 15-40 zones. Even though I’m grinding through this weirdness, I can fully understand why none of my friends have decided to go down this crafting hole that Anet has dug.

DoctorOverlord.8620:

Again, it seems bizarre to have a crafting system where I’m being stopped from making an Ascended item not because I lack Orichalcum or Elder Woods Logs gathered from the level 80 zones like Orr, but because I’m missing mats from the level 15-40 zones. Even though I’m grinding through this weirdness, I can fully understand why none of my friends have decided to go down this crafting hole that Anet has dug.

That’s not even the whole issue, for me. I appreciate the fact that we’re provided motivations to spread our time equally around the map, but while I’m in a map looking for Iron nodes, my supply of Mithril continues to increase due to the salvage I get from the drops in those zones. I don’t even have to bother going out of my way looking for Orichalum nodes since I get enough from salvage, and the profit margins on crafting the 20-slot containers don’t justify trying to acquire Ori deliberately. I’m already debating flooding the market with 18-slot containers just so I can dump my Mirthil with a slightly higher profit margin than selling the ore.

Either way, you should always discourage friends from doing crafting, since we can get better prices if we reduce the supply.

In terms of general crafting, this would be a great tool.

In terms of the material markets on the TP….can’t see how it wouldn’t be used / abused to greatly effect it (tho, in the long run, it would likely result in a better supply / demand equilibrium).

I’m sure there are some other economic / market ramifications to this I’m not taking into consideration.

Brother Grimm.5176:

In terms of the material markets on the TP….can’t see how it wouldn’t be used / abused to greatly effect it (tho, in the long run, it would likely result in a better supply / demand equilibrium).

Honestly as long as the volume that comes out is less than the volume that comes in, I fail to see how any real abuse can occur. This will also help correct some of the spikes in the prices of some materials without ANet having to twiddle the sources of supply. Some people might make a lot of money being the first to convert their stacks, but whatever- somebody is always going to be able to make a fast copper on the market.

Eggman.1405:

That’s not even the whole issue, for me. I appreciate the fact that we’re provided motivations to spread our time equally around the map, but while I’m in a map looking for Iron nodes, my supply of Mithril continues to increase due to the salvage I get from the drops in those zones.

A very good point. Although I greatly appreciate getting better drop rewards, it does add to the disparity.

There are other reasons to go back to lower level zones such as map completion and world bosses, I think crafting doesn’t needs to be another factor in it. It just adds another way to make GW2’s crafting more cumbersome.

Getting back to the OP, I don’t think being able to downgrade mats would significantly reduce people running around lower level zones. If you’re there because you’re grinding nodes, you’re probably going solo and it’s not like you’re inclined to stop and do things like events anyway.

But perhaps my perceptions are off, maybe people really love the game’s crafting system and the Mystic toilet. But every article, podcast and conversation that mentions the subject of GW2’s crafting that I’ve encountered has not exactly showered accolades on it, even the most positive ones can’t avoid mentioning it is a complicated grind.

I don’t think some streamlining would hurt, but maybe it’s too late at this point. Anything that would actually make the system less tedious would be dimly viewed by those who already went through the wringer on it.

Either way, you should always discourage friends from doing crafting, since we can get better prices if we reduce the supply.

I did no discouraging at all. Reading the wiki is all it took my friends to not do crafting, including the ones who love crafting in other MMOs. I’m just more bull-headed than they are.