Guild Wars 2

Magic Find is not in the “spirit” of Guild Wars 2. Why is it here? Why does it exist? In attempting to answer these questions, I found no clear answers. The simple answer is that it shouldn’t exist.

There is no endgame. This is not a complaint, but an observation. The game is focused on providing a content stream to keep players playing the game, and not grinding away for hours getting better equipment. There is a grind for Legendary items, but this is not the primary goal of the end game. This is support for Magic Find, but with such a small amount of players being the target group for Legendary items seem like a rather small reason to support its existence.

Everyone has the best armor. You can get the best armor of the game with relative ease, without magic find. This leaves the only stuff to get as being purely cosmetic, or having unique stat combination. However, most of these stat combination exotics have requirements that are not affected by Magic Find. Karma merchants in Orr, dungeon armor sets for tokens, and PvP items for Badges of Honor. So, you’re not using MF to obtain these items.

So what is everyone using MF for? Obviously to earn gold faster to get legendary items, or the few items in the game that are obtainable from the Mystic Forge, and finally cultural sets. This makes sense as a reason to include Magic Find, but let’s look at this more closely. These items are not necessarily better than anything else, so there is little reason to obtain these items to have better experiences in dungeons, general pve, pvp, etc,. But to get these items people are primarily using MF based items to get them quicker. So, these players finally reach the end of the grind train, and are left with their new shiny armors and weapons and nothing else to earn. They return to playing the game with their goal reached, and I feel this would be the end of the game for players.

It is thus better to let players work toward these items with armors, weapons, and accessories designed to be used in dungeons, general pve, and pvp without MF, then it is to play this same content with only MF gear. You’re just reaching the end goal faster, and thus the problems of having nothing to do more quickly.

But you don’t have to use Magic Find. However, since Magic Find is in the game, and makes things more efficient then it is only logical to play with Magic Find items. This lessens Magic Find as an option and makes it feel like a requirement. I’ve been trying to avoid it, but everyday I want it more and more, just so my gold goes up a little faster as I work toward my cultural items. This isn’t a tension players should be forced to contend with. That tension being, should I shell out for some magic find, to get the expensive stuff I want, or just keep working at a slower pace toward the same end goal.

Wouldn’t the game become more of a grind? Sure, but also no. You’re grinding either way, but let’s face it, there are actual endgame problems to Guild Wars 2 that needn’t be addressed in this post but may magnify the need for MF to reduce the grind feeling of the game. There are options to address this such as increasing drop rates of mats or reduce costs of legendary items to compensate. Adding a system similar to Diablo 3’s Paragon Level that adds MF as you level up naturally, or just remove the system and add more content to pass time and remove the “grind” and make it feel more like a game after 80.

So, in conclusion please remove MF as I see no point in playing the whole game with it to get items that I will only use after I’ve played all the game has got to offer. Let the expensive stuff be rewards for playing the game a long time, and not have MF being a way of reaching that reward faster.

So … you see no point and you got tons of time in your hands , so they should remove magic find and slow the process to everyone else? Nice logic.

Really it is a matter of choice like you said , MF will speed the process , but it is not mandatory for it. So if YOU dont want to use the MF gear , dont , simple.

Other players like me would rather have max rewards for 1 hour and then hitting DR than farming for 5 hours , simple cause i dont have 5 hours to farm the same place everyday , sorry i got other things to do.

No, I don’t have a ton of free time. In fact, I generally only farm for about an hour, or maybe two a night. I also hate grinding. Which is why I want to use the Magic Find, to make it easier.

But I have this nice powerful armor already, that I should be using, after all it’s the best armor in the game stat wise. Why should I be forced to play the game with MF armor to get to my goal faster? This is the tension I was talking about. An unnecessary one. Which is why I suggested at the end to up the drop rate or, decrease costs, or give everyone MF equally to compensate for the increase in time (for those players with little time). I think Anet, and I agree with them, see legendary’s , and cultural items as simple rewards for playing a while. MF circumvents that ideal.

Nox Aeterna.2965:

So … you see no point and you got tons of time in your hands , so they should remove magic find and slow the process to everyone else? Nice logic.

Really it is a matter of choice like you said , MF will speed the process , but it is not mandatory for it. So if YOU dont want to use the MF gear , dont , simple.

Other players like me would rather have max rewards for 1 hour and then hitting DR than farming for 5 hours , simple cause i dont have 5 hours to farm the same place everyday , sorry i got other things to do.

Technically, you’re never getting much above 200% MF. That means that killing the same amount of mobs, you’re getting 3x the loot. (1 hour of farming, worth 3)

So for starters, you can’t farm in 1 hour what you’d normally get in 5. Secondly, losing out on the other stat gains… Specifically, you’re losing out on ~41% of your overall equipment stats while wearing MF gear.

That’s bound to slow down your “grinding” by 10~25%. What you’d normally kill in 60 minutes would take 66~75 minutes. You’re still getting more loot, but you’re not getting as much as you think you are. And MF has no effect on anything but direct monster drops.

bighaben.5890:

No, I don’t have a ton of free time. In fact, I generally only farm for about an hour, or maybe two a night. I also hate grinding. Which is why I want to use the Magic Find, to make it easier.

But I have this nice powerful armor already, that I should be using, after all it’s the best armor in the game stat wise. Why should I be forced to play the game with MF armor to get to my goal faster? This is the tension I was talking about. An unnecessary one. Which is why I suggested at the end to up the drop rate or, decrease costs, or give everyone MF equally to compensate for the increase in time (for those players with little time). I think Anet, and I agree with them, see legendary’s , and cultural items as simple rewards for playing a while. MF circumvents that ideal.

The point is , MF is a choice , you dont have to use it , like your own post says. To put simple , the problem to you is : “Other people are getting more than me , doing the same thing , cause they accept using a kind of gear i dont want” , the way you have to solve this , is not to put up with MF like everybody else , but to remove it … cause you dont want to use the gear … again nice logic.

Boolet.2968:

Technically, you’re never getting much above 200% MF. That means that killing the same amount of mobs, you’re getting 3x the loot. (1 hour of farming, worth 3)

So for starters, you can’t farm in 1 hour what you’d normally get in 5. Secondly, losing out on the other stat gains… Specifically, you’re losing out on ~41% of your overall equipment stats while wearing MF gear.

That’s bound to slow down your “grinding” by 10~25%. What you’d normally kill in 60 minutes would take 66~75 minutes. You’re still getting more loot, but you’re not getting as much as you think you are. And MF has no effect on anything but direct monster drops.

The 1 hour to 5 hours was a simple example … was not meant to be accurate just to show and idea. Which would still be proven your way.

Honestly , we both know most of the farm is done is done in zergs while in parties (still need to find many spots where could do it outside and reach same results), therefore , the ~41% you said means almost nothing , things will die in a second anyway.

Also MF comes with power an condition dmg stats which is straight dmg…no toughness or healing power…so technically, your killing faster than normal with full MF gear which SHOULD only be used in zerg farms unless your selfish like me an run it in dungeons

I think MF is an issue ONLY when it’s implemented over stats on GEAR. As guild banners, edible buffs, etc— this is fine. But the fact that I now shelf my exotic gearset to equip greens with MF while doing dungeons doesn’t make any sense to me. It should be removed from gear period.

George just said the best solution here, why do we need to equip items with MF on them? I hear of people keeping an extra set of equipment on them that they switch to before opening chests. This is just a burden added to the game. MF being in food and guild buffs is fine, so increase those and remove the equipment-based MF.

Another idea is to grant a good MF boost when you fight in a map you have fully explored, encouraging players to complete exploration.

And another one, each dynamic event you complete will give you one stack of MF that will last for 30 minutes, up to a max of 25 stacks.

Don’t remove MF from the game, just remove it from equipment. Please.

I never notice the difference between using it and not, tbh. I don’t necessarily care if it goes away, though I’d hope the drop rate was balanced a bit to compensate for not having that option, but I think if you don’t want to use it you can already do that and it’s fine.