V2 of Varkronn’s Lodestone lamentation.
I have long been frustrated by the roadblocks that are Lodestones and the disparity in the way they can each be collected, the drop rate and the sheer quantity required. It is one thing to have long term endeavours to keep the player eager to pursue, however it is another to be perpetually demoralised as one logs in to see the daunting and often unachievable aim of Lodestone acquisition laid before them on the TP page.
350 Charged Lodestones you say? Are you mad?
I doubt there are 350 sparks in the game! The impairment of inflation brought about by a necessity for gold is one of this game’s most un-appealling aspects. I am sure many of you share that same feeling when you log on and fancy doing some WvWvW, PvP or any non-gold producing activity, but realise if you ever want to accomplish your goal of making ‘that’ item, you can’t afford to not generate your daily profit in order to not fall behind.
I think a root change to the way these materials (perhaps others) are gathered would greatly improve the quest while maintaining the exclusivity of the items for dedicated players.
Part One – Lodestones as a two-part process.
The first aspect requires that Lodestones no longer drop in their current form, but rather like Orichalcum arrive at the players feet as Slabs. These Slabs are then refined into its respective Lodestone, for example:
Molten/Corrupted/Glacial/Destroyer/Charged/Crystal – Slab
These drop from their current and dedicated elementals.
Molten Slab + Refinement through a 400 profession = Molten Lodestone.
As one would refine ore or wood, Slabs are turned into Lodestones.
Part Two – Slabs are tradeable, Lodestones are Soul-bound.
This change would see Slabs take on the current role of Lodestones in the economy and garner no change in itself, but is required for the following and fundamental parts of the system.
Part Three – Prismatic Slabs.
These slabs differ from the previously mentioned on two levels.
Prismatic Slab + Refinement through a 400 profession = Lodestone of the Player’s choice.
These Slabs can convert into any Lodestone that the player desires be it Glacial or Charged.
Prismatic Slabs are Soul-bound
These Slabs unlike their counterparts, are non-tradeable and cannot be sold on the TP.
Prismatic Slabs are acquired via Quests/Dungeon Tokens/Laurels/Karma/Skill Points etc.
They are found in separate areas in the game, away from the regular drop system so are thus constant and not money regulated.
Why would this help?
Through the addition of Prismatic Slab acquistion, a player can make some progress even if only minor, towards their intended elite item of choice through alternate, RPG related channels that are detached from the rush for gold.
Via this system, you know you could take it easy today and go harvest some heads in WvWvW, collect some badges and at the end trade them in for one or two Prismatic Slabs. Yes you won’t have gotten as far as maybe you could have farming, but you have made some progress none-the-less and had more fun while doing it. You will know in addition to the materials you will buy, you have a limited yet bolstering source of non-gold related stones that will not punish you for not buying Destroyer Lodestones when they were cheap or missing out on an investment here or there.
Thank you for reading, I look forward to your thoughts!
(edited by Varkronn.9783)
