Guild Wars 2

“Prestige:
1. The level of respect at which one is regarded by others; standing.
2. A person’s high standing among others; honor or esteem.
3. Widely recognized prominence, distinction, or importance: a position of prestige in diplomatic circles.”

I thought it would be interesting to discuss prestige in Guild Wars 2. Most are probably familiar with the word, it is quite often used by devs and players alike. Often times weapons, armor, skins, titles etc are a sort of prestige. Something you can show off, something you can say “Hey, I worked hard for this!” And after working for these things we appreciate when people ask us how we got that title, or congratulate us on our really rare skin or dye color.

Well I believe there is a strong difference in what items are given prestige status and which items are perceived prestigious. Take for instance these types of prestigious things:

Prestigious RNG items: Items acquired solely by luck or chance. These are viewed as rare in most cases and people either view them as prestigious, or simply something anyone with unlimited wealth can just buy.

Prestigious historical items: You see these if you are a GW1 player. You may have had the chance to obtain gear only available to those who achieved certain things in the previous game.

Prestigious crafted/bought items: Items like legendarys, which can either be crafted or bought with large amounts of gold. Some people see these as amazing feats, or simply another rich persons trophy.

Prestigious titles/tags: Some titles like “Been there done that.” Show a player has worked hard in exploring the world and obtaining large amounts of completion, in fact, entire completion. A tag like commander however can simply be bought. Some commanders use their tag in WvW and PvE and this is fine, others simply want the tag. And there is nothing wrong with either, unless you are leading people off cliffs-something I would never… usually.. well lets say most people won’t lead you off a cliff.

Prestigious event items: Items you can obtain only by being there during a specific period. Often times allowing only those with time to play or who play during a certain month to obtain them. Examples would be living story, holiday etc.

So as you can see some things really require either no work, some work, gold, or some combination. I believe many people are against RNG type of of prestigious items like the fused weapon tickets from BLT chests. Another example of things people dislike would be RNG linked rewards from a chest, when the chest or instance is temporary. While players enjoy running a dungeon several times so long as it is permanent, the RNG factor would not be so bad. As for the RNG ticket drops from chests, these require a large portion of gold or real cash to play against.

Now I’m not starting a debate on gambling, or simply complaining about range. That is not the purpose of this thread, many others out there are available if that is what you wish to address. I would simply like to see more prestigious items and titles given through means that anyone can achieve. I think it would be a great benefit to add several items and titles that were meant to be not unbelievably rare, but fair to players who put work into them. There needs to be a middle ground between 1% chance of BL chest drop, and finishing a living story for 100% chance at a gauntlet. A few examples would be:

Weapon/armor skins that are achieved through specific bosses with a decent rate of drop. Something that would over time probably be seen often, but still have a sense of accomplishment to it. Great for casual players, and great for collectors.

Special foods and special consumables. More foods that can’t be crafted, not many just a few with special stats or effects. Give them as quest rewards much like the mortar and ember spirit consumables. And add more special items that can only be achieved through quests, ones that will be tied to PVE only, so they have full potential.

Now this wasn’t a suggestion post, what I really want to know is whether players feel like legendarys, titles, and other things Arenanet views as prestigious because of rarity- are still prestigious in players eyes. Do you think legendarys serve their purpose? Do you think something like “Golden” title is an accomplishment? Things like those that were implemented to show off to others, I’m interested in seeing if people now playing still find them valuable as prestigious items/titles. Or if their actual prestige factor has gone because they are obtained too much by luck or money alone. And feel free to comment on the 5 types I listed, and add any I missed.

tldr; Discuss what you believe is a prestigious aspect/item/title in game, and what you no longer feel is an accomplishment other than to be able to buy. Also, how you feel about prestigious items given out solely by luck.

I do consider prestige items that require a bit of work, however some items are cut off from people actually achieving them simply due to their not having a circle of friends in game to complete them with, ie the requirement to have a well made/premade group to complete certain tasks.

I would also argue that Legendaries and any other item that the mystic toilet is used to make (rather then REAL crafting, the thing people worked hard on at launch to reach 400 especially in the case for jewelry with globs of ecto as the final ingredients for the final points) is in fact NOT crafting so should not hold so much prestige. There’s also the matter of RNG/DR being involved with the farming of loot for the legendary items usually requiring people to buy the rest of their mats because they are so rare they are like water in the desert.

The more available something is to the public, the less prestigious it is.

To me, prestige in this game is:

1) Legendaries – massive play time
2) Commander tag (in WvW, not PvE) – leadership
3) 100% map completion – diligence

Being in the right place at the right time, and getting limited edition items is not so much prestige, as it is a status symbol. “Oh that guy’s a vet, he was here for Halloween”. I definitely do not see lucky drops as prestige because they are not a reflection on the person in any way. I don’t respect a person because they got a fused gauntlet ticket. I do however respect them for leading 100’s of people in WvW, or having explored every corner of the map. Now I may just feel this way because I’ve learned from GW1 what really is prestigious and what isn’t. I used to admire people with limited-time items, but I have since learned from that mistake. Now that I’m on an equal playing field with most players, it is easier for me to realize what is actually an achievement.

Just an aside on Legendaries: I think they are prestigious yet also pompous. I think they are pompous because anyone that has a legendary right now has specifically put many many hours and possible real money into rushing a legendary for the purpose of being admired by others. I believe legendaries are still in the “look at me, I got this before you” stage. I’ve got 850 hours in the game and I consider myself about 1/10 of my way to a legendary, if even that. I like the idea of an average player like myself being able to work my way up to a legendary over several years. I however do NOT like the idea that someone would go hardcore on the game and somehow get it in a month or so. I feel like they are going so far out of their way to say “I’m better than you, I got a legendary first”. If you want prestige ONLY for the fact that you have prestige and others don’t, you are not the kind of person I admire. However if you are an average player and have worked hard over a long period of time, I will admire you. I know some people will hate me for this paragraph, but hey, it’s my opinion. You don’t have to agree or feel the way I feel. I already know your arguments, and the reasoning behind people doing these things.

for me the rarer/ harder to get the item is – the more prestige it gives.
Example:
CoF is the easiest dungeon in the game. Everyone wears CoF gear. If a person comes into my group wearing CoF gear I don’t say anything, but my first impression is bad. Whether or not I’ll change my mind at that point will depend on what kind of player they are.
Arah gear is harder to get – I see it as something that gives prestige. I I’m meeting your character for the first time my first impression will be good.
I’ve seen a lot of people with the title “been there, done that”. Even I have that title. I don’t see it as being prestigious. There’s almost noone with the title “Golden”, therefore if I did see a person with it I would be impressed. When a person is wearing “Champion of the Gods” title (or whatever the title for 50 hall of monument points is given) I think highly of them, because it required a lot of work in Guild Wars 1 to get.
I see holiday items as a way to see how long has a person been playing. Even though Halloween items are not that impressive wearing them does give the player prestige in my eyes, because I tend to think to myself “Oh, he has been playing for long!”
When it comes to legendaries I do recognize that they took ages to get, but the more common the legendary is, the less prestigious the person wearing it is in my eyes. Example: everyone has Twilight, but very few have Sunrise. I’m far more impressed when I see Sunrise than when I see Twilight.

It’s really a matter of opinion.

For me something prestigious is something that cannot be easily obtained, aka. something that I never will get my hands on, such as legendaries or dungeon armour.

Items that are based on RNG I view as a different kind of prestigious.
I think the items will make you stand out and that you have been lucky, but they definitely don’t make me think you put in more effort than others.

Personally I don’t really view 100% map completion as something prestigious, although I do think it will make you stand out.
But that’s really because my OCD demands that I complete every zone.

This is my opinion, as someone who has played other MMos also.

RNG items I mostly just think ‘oh you lucky kitten’. For example, in WoW I got the Onyxia mount the first time I ever ran it. It has a 1% drop rate, and I also went on to win the roll. People commented on it a lot, but I never considered it to represent anything special – just RNG.

I view the HoM skins with respect, due to the fact that they represent company loyalty and that is something I respect in another player. Also because my little experience of GW1 was very good and I have a level of respect for people who managed to earn a lot of achievements in it.

I don’t view legendaries in GW2 with respect because, to me, all they represent is farming heaps. Or possibly even just buying it off the trading post.

Event items/titles, or items that were only available at past stages in the game’s history (not many in a young game like this), I view with respect because like I said earlier – it is a sign of loyalty to the game and a sign of someone being a veteran player.

Certain titles other titles, depending on how it is acquired.

This is a particularly interesting post for me, because I don’t really care about prestige in a game, and I’m fascinated by people who do. I suspect only a very small percentage of players look at me with my lengendary and are impressed. Most don’t care. Some don’t even notice. And I don’t care that they don’t notice, because I wanted the legendary for one reason and one reason only. To get that stupid blank icon off my load screen.

The second legendary I’m going for is an underwater one for my necro, which no one will likely ever see, so I really don’t care about this stuff. I’ve never looked at anyone in game and thought, wow, I’m impressed. And I don’t expect people to look at me that way either.

I do think, though, that prestige items shouldn’t be sold on the auction house. And I definitely disagree with having RNG for skins in black lion chests. That kind of prestige we call all do without.

Curo.2483:

I do however respect them for leading 100’s of people in WvW, or having explored every corner of the map.

I’ll second at least half of this. The majority of what I would view as “prestige” is more rather the performance or aptitude of an individual player. Titles and armor can cue into a player potentially being of what I would consider from a potential higher tier of players, but it mostly is decided imo on the player’s skill, attitude, and ability to work with other people. Example 1 = TP wizards trying to pve/fractal/etc and fail.

Curo.2483:

I believe legendaries are still in the “look at me, I got this before you” stage. I’ve got 850 hours in the game and I consider myself about 1/10 of my way to a legendary, if even that. I like the idea of an average player like myself being able to work my way up to a legendary over several years. I however do NOT like the idea that someone would go hardcore on the game and somehow get it in a month or so.

I’d have to argue here that anyone with a legendary(s) has simply just lucked out from being here and making timely purches. First, KARKA event, if you wanted a precursor at a reasonable price, that was your best chance. I had been hoarding gold as always and manage to snatch the one I wanted for ~75g (The Chosen). Second, wintersday. Certain T6 mats were cheap as dirt compared to what they are now. And for example I jumped on that when Crystalline dust was ~5k/ea and got my 2 stacks. So 500 times the 30ish silver per dust now, saved quite a bit of time/money. The rest was slow progression, hoarding, and so forth. I’m a student and this makes me a casual/daily player at best. Right now, in the current market, with the current gross cost of precursors and t6 mats in comparison to my first go through the legendary grind, I consider myself lucky and fortunate to be done now. Would I like to make another? Yes. A torch and shield offhands on my guard, yes plz. But the relative lack of ease in obtaining most of the components again in a reasonable fashion or the sheer hike in price leads me to throw money at anything else now.

Vayne.8563:

And I don’t care that they don’t notice, because I wanted the legendary for one reason and one reason only. To get that stupid blank icon off my load screen.

Agreed. I have a legendary, use it when I feel like it, and could care less about appearances. But getting that icon was 100% of the reason I even decided on making one.

Sleepless.1906:

I view the HoM skins with respect, due to the fact that they represent company loyalty and that is something I respect in another player. Also because my little experience of GW1 was very good and I have a level of respect for people who managed to earn a lot of achievements in it.

In sort of the same way, I only view any GW1 title as having any vague sense of actual “prestige” in my bias. As a GWAMM, I’ll never wear or need another title on any character, because it helps people identify me as a certain kind of player. Veteran to Guild Wars at the least. Any other title thus far since releases has been “meh”. Generally, golden = “that’s cute,…not”, Emperor = lol farms/tp looting, Been There = lol wvw exploration (pre-server changes faceroll), etc, etc, etc. The fact that many of these titles can/could be obtained in so many circumstances destroys the “prestige” element in my opinion. A toon I’m playing wvw in to lvl, almost has all of EB discovered through conquest over the past month or so, cool. Preserver changes, getting it done in 20 mins….

What I find most interesting about the whole topic is what others choose to display as titles because I feel it tells me something about that person and what they consider a achievement.

For myself I see the HoM skins and titles as prestigious because as someone said it represents a lot of work as well as dedication and loyalty.

I don’t see anything RNG related as prestigious and when I see a character running around with a legendary, T3 armour and the title Golden, I laugh my kitten off- because inevitably that T3 is dyed celestial and abyss.

In GW2 I am hard pressed to actually think about anything I see as prestigious.
Certain dungeon sets, or even better a mix of some dungeon sets.
I have some respect for the little yellow star because it at least says that you bothered to complete the maps- if not explore them necessarily.
Limited time events like holidays also tells how long this person has been around- so if I see a player in town clothes with a Anet cap for instance, I know they played since launch.
If I see someone with combat healer title I know that they see it as important to help etc

I usually tend to respect people with items I do not have yet.

In gw1, I respected people with koabd until I had koabd. At that point I started respecting people know me, up to the point where I had GWAMM myself. I respected r3 emote until I had it myself, then I started respecting wolf more.

In gw2 the same happens. I respected been there, done that, until I got it myself :p

Although vet items, I will always respect. Mad king memories, GWAMM in GW2, … that kind of items is something that proves a love for the game beyond mere grind.

Achievment points
Its first thing what I looking for on party members, its not determine good od bad player but usualy players with 1000 and lower ap are bad and 5k+ are good.

Title:
Because I am GW1 player GWAMM is most valuable for me, but Champion (class) title from pvp is also nice. 100% map competion is something you simply must have.

Gear:
Wear full set of one dungeon gear is old and boring. Players who realy work on their look are more respectful. If I see player with low AP and full CoF gear its.. meh.. sign of fastgeared noob without experience. Dye are also important. Most expensive dont mean best. It must simple look cool same as armor:-)

Other gear:
- T3 Fractal capacitor is another sign of bit hardcore player.
- Molten mining pick is sign of big love for you main:-)
- Ghastly shield and new jetpack are also valuable items.
- Other Ascended stuff with highest possible AR

Legendary:
Obviously. More is better. I will be glad when Anet adds some achievment what sort ppl who actualy craft them and losers what use dads credit card and buy it for gems. Other expensive weapons from MF also counts.

Other stuff:
There are items what other players dont see on first look but you just know you have them:-)
- Permanent Bank/Merchant/Trading Post/Stylist/Mystic Forge access are cool items for you main character.
- All kind of permanent tonics
- other fun consumables, like harpy pheromones, hylek potions, portal gun, ect
- all bank and inventory slots unlocked with 20 slot bags.
- all minipets especialy special:-)
- new dancebook and drill are fun

What is NOT respectable for me:
- Fused weapons – I dont know why but everytime I see someone with them its just.. meh another kid with luck and father credit card wide open.
- Super imba cool nicks for example thief with name like “I am your death” especialy when you kill them in pvp over and over again till he ragequit.
- “Neverdodgers” – you recognize them easily. They are most time rangers what just stay in place like statue and spam AA. Players what dont move all the time havent my respect.
- People without guild tag – this is moderate but when I see someone without guild I usualy think something like “you come play singleplayer into mmo man?”

On the end little bit of my Engineer showoff:-)

To me the only source of prestige is related to outstanding work done to himself and to others. However, owning a legendary item is not a prestigious situation. The amount of ppl that payed the legendary with real cash (cash to gems), is mixing with those who worked very hard to get one.

At the moment the source of prestige IMO:
.1 – Achievement points: Marks the work players have done to get them.
.2 – sPvP rank leaders. Outstanding dedication, training and knowledge about their and other classes as well. Teamwork in it’s highest.
.3 – WvW dedication. Those players and those guilds that are constantly leading the world war, whose dedication and valor are absolutely prestigious. They are like the North Star, as following them will always lead you to safety and to victory.

In my honest opinion these are the only sources of prestige. Any kind of prestige that can be bought with gold isn’t prestigious at all. Prestige is not about wealth but about effort!

/Cheers

The interesting thing is that prestige only applies from a perspective of what others think of you, or of how you think of others. You view these items/titless/armors to be prestigious so they become prestigious. Also, you seek to acknowledgement from others about your own gear/title/etc. This is not to say this is a bad thing. This is very important for everyone. However, the converse could also be true. People put different levels of value at different things in this game (and heck, in life as well). Some people value the precision of their build, some people value their looks, some people value money, some value the life of their characters (RP), etc.

Therefore, I think that while the items you listed may indeed be sources of prestige, the value attributed to each differs with each person.

Rozbuska.5263:

Legendary:
Obviously. More is better. I will be glad when Anet adds some achievment what sort ppl who actualy craft them and losers what use dads credit card and buy it for gems. Other expensive weapons from MF also counts.

What is NOT respectable for me:
- Fused weapons – I dont know why but everytime I see someone with them its just.. meh another kid with luck and father credit card wide open.

What if you gamble molten weapon or bought legendary with your own credit card? Why would I ask my father’s credit card when I can use my own just as well? It’s not like money is an issue for me. Given that GW2 is my primary hobby, I’m very willing to spend quite some cash on it.

Would you respect someone for having an actual job? Is your lack of respect for credit cards due to the fact you can’t spend that much money on videogames? Just guessing because you show a distinct lack of respect for people who actually support the game, while showing more respect to people who play 24/7.

Just to put in perspective because I don’t mean offense and that’s just what I read from your post. Could I ask how old you are please? That would define the context of your post and whether or not you deserve my respect.

tldr:
farm CoF/tp, get legendaries, feel pro

There are two things I consider prestigeous in this game. The first are the Guild Wars1 titles. I have a great respect for people who come from this game’s predecessor.

The second is the commander badge. However, this comes with a few limitations. I’m generally only impressed by the commanders who live up to that badge and who treat it as a responsibility rather than a reward.

You could create a mesmer and use the prestige skill all the time if you want.

Yargesh.4965:

You could create a mesmer and use the prestige skill all the time if you want.

Best reply ever! ;D

I think the prestige is more personal then anything else! For me is something like that:

Skills: Arah complete set.
Persistence: T3 Fractal capacitor.
Knowledge: Legendary weapon(Complete 100% of the map, 500 Badges of honor WvW, 1,3kk of Karma…).
RNG: Fractal weapon skin.
“Powerfull”: Complete set of Ascended items.
Loyalty: GW1 tittle.
…
…

There’s really no such thing as prestige in Guild Wars 2 for me. Maybe with the sole exception of the Dungeon Master title, but even that doesn’t show off that much.

Anything that can be bought with money is not prestigious to me.
Anything that can be obtained through just grinding away is not prestigious to me.
Anything that can be obtained through luck only is not prestigious to me.

And sadly that sums up about 99% of the ‘achievements’ or high-end stuff to aim for in the game.=/

Morrigan.2809:

What I find most interesting about the whole topic is what others choose to display as titles because I feel it tells me something about that person and what they consider a achievement.

Not necessarily. Sometimes people may pick titles for how cool they sound (Flameseeker, for example) or if it matches their character (human Guardian with Champion of the Gods, for example).

Legendaries are one of the only Prestige items in the game.
But everything else is less prestige, more an indicator of accomplishments. It’s not necessarily prestigious to have the “Been There, Done That” title, but it displays the player’s dedication & diligence. Certain armor or weapons illustrate a player’s participation in events. I suppose PvP rank titles can be prestigious because they’re based completely on your PvP history.

Seras.5702:

Legendaries are one of the only Prestige items in the game.

Tier 3 cultural costs close to 100g per set, which is basically GW2’s 15k armour (GW1’s Prestige armour), whereas legends are more representative of Obsidian Armour in GW1’s language – still a prestige set, but unobtainable to the casuals or even moderately hardcore.

In PvE the WvW skins I’m pretty sure are unique to WvW too, so players with a full WvW set you know have spent a lot of time helping defend your server.

There’s also some quite expensive and difficult to obtain non-legends such as The Anomaly

So, using GW1’s definition of prestige equipment, there’s no shortage of it in GW2

For me..and ofc I’ll preface by saying that this is just my opinion, anything that can be bought holds no prestige. I actually have the opposite view of high end purchasable items. By opposite….I hold a certain lvl of disgust for those with said items…even myself. My mind instantly goes to…. “oh that was bought by a tp player or a cof grinder”, who are having a negative effect on the economy for most players….ie……those items are signs of damaging the game for others, which I hold disdain towards.

Ryuujin.8236:

Seras.5702:

Legendaries are one of the only Prestige items in the game.

Tier 3 cultural costs close to 100g per set, which is basically GW2’s 15k armour (GW1’s Prestige armour), whereas legends are more representative of Obsidian Armour in GW1’s language – still a prestige set, but unobtainable to the casuals or even moderately hardcore.

I played casually for over a year to obtain my Obsidian Armour. I do not want legendary gear yesterday either.

I feel “prestige items” in a Virtual game that you do not own to be a bit laughable, but hey i’m sure it appeals to some types out there..

To be honest i haven’t really stumbled onto much that feels prestige in GW2..or most mmo’s ..

Only players who beat me 1v1 are prestigous in my book!

I’ll represent those who find nothing of prestige in anything or anyone in a video game. To me it is a distraction and something fun to do. Now that’s not to take away from someone who does get some manner of prestige out of something they have achieved in game, but for me, this is all fleeting and unimportant. I just do it for fun.

Prestige for me isn’t looking expensive, it’s looking awesome. I personally value skins that show off that I have achieved something, and even if Fractal skins are RNG-driven, for me using them shows off that at a minimum I got to L20 and had a sufficient amount of dedication to do FotM enough to get the ones I needed. I use Fractal skins for basically everything where possible because for me it shows my dedication to that content and the challenge therein.

I also wear God Walking Amongst Mere Mortals as my title on every character. I played GW1 for seven years and fought hard to earn GWAMM and 50/50, and to me, that title is more prestigious than absolutely anything else in GW2 at the moment. Not even The Emperor, Golden, Been There. Done That., or Dungeon Master is worth nearly as much to me as GWAMM. I want to wear that GW1 success on my sleeve wherever I go so people know my level of dedication.

High achievement points don’t really interest me. I’m in the top 500 on the leaderboard for NA, but whatever, I don’t farm them like crazy because I don’t really care. I enjoy completing the achievement panels to say things like “I have 100% of the slayer panel!”, but it otherwise doesn’t mean much to me. (Eventually I will do Keg Brawl, I swear)

That’s about it for me.

Moved to the suggestion forum..really…

agreed… suggestion forum?

Geotherma.2395:

“Prestige:
1. The level of respect at which one is regarded by others; standing.
2. A person’s high standing among others; honor or esteem.
3. Widely recognized prominence, distinction, or importance: a position of prestige in diplomatic circles.”
…snip…

Now this wasn’t a suggestion post, what I really want to know is whether players feel like legendarys, titles, and other things Arenanet views as prestigious because of rarity- are still prestigious in players eyes. Do you think legendarys serve their purpose? Do you think something like “Golden” title is an accomplishment? Things like those that were implemented to show off to others, I’m interested in seeing if people now playing still find them valuable as prestigious items/titles. Or if their actual prestige factor has gone because they are obtained too much by luck or money alone. And feel free to comment on the 5 types I listed, and add any I missed.

tldr; Discuss what you believe is a prestigious aspect/item/title in game, and what you no longer feel is an accomplishment other than to be able to buy. Also, how you feel about prestigious items given out solely by luck.

I don’t feel that any thing in an MMO confers prestige. Period.

There are choices that players make, that they feel gives them prestige. There are items / titles /rankings that developers believe somehow will create/foster/enhance competition and in doing so set artificial “standards” or “values” and therefore keep players in game, striving to obtain.

I don’t buy into any of that personally. Neither does my guild.

If players want those things, and it works for them, by all means, enjoy. It’s a game.

Just don’t expect if you are waving an annoying special effect weapon around in my face, interfering with my vision, that I’m going to be impressed. I find that rather rude, actually.

I respect players based on how they act… in game playing and in chat. It’s the old-fashioned “player behind the screen” value. I respect players that are courteous, mature, friendly, helpful, community-oriented. I respect players that contribute to the community, not detract.

So, no, there is nothing in game that I believe actually confers prestige. Not titles, weapons, gear, looks, gold in the bank.

Just like in real life.

Looks like the mods are on crack. How is this a suggestion thread in any way at all?

Curo.2483:

Looks like the mods are on crack. How is this a suggestion thread in any way at all?

No idea… maybe we touched a soft spot lol? Because they release items which in their opinion are meant to look prestigious. So maybe we have angered the content “gods” by analyzing what is and is not. ^^ But yea.. I even made a tldr lol..
None of the posts are even suggestions..

Anywho… I have the golden title, but don’t feel it is some epic feat. I do have the living story one, that does feel good because until this week I wasn’t going to even do it. I guess I just didn’t feel like it, but luckily changed my mind and finished it all. So I feel good I finished something, and it was fun. So that title for me is good, nothing super amazing, but historical wise its pretty neat.

marnick.4305:

What if you gamble molten weapon or bought legendary with your own credit card? Why would I ask my father’s credit card when I can use my own just as well? It’s not like money is an issue for me. Given that GW2 is my primary hobby, I’m very willing to spend quite some cash on it.

Would you respect someone for having an actual job? Is your lack of respect for credit cards due to the fact you can’t spend that much money on videogames? Just guessing because you show a distinct lack of respect for people who actually support the game, while showing more respect to people who play 24/7.

Just to put in perspective because I don’t mean offense and that’s just what I read from your post. Could I ask how old you are please? That would define the context of your post and whether or not you deserve my respect.

This is maybe even worse. Call me conservative (i am 29 to answer you last question and yes I have a job and more money then I can even spend its realy not about money) but game is game and real life is real life. I love this game and I spend about 8+ hours every day here but I will NEVER spend real money into ingame stuff because how can I excuse to myself buy that stuff instead buy something nice for my wife or kids in real life? Its simply Taboo.

Yes here is that known cliche.. “I support Anet that way” No you dont you support yourself and this is just excuse for your ingame weakness. Will you send to Anet some money just like that without any gems as reward? I dont think so:-).

And last thing.. Why did you even need buy that for real money. There isnt some gearprogress what you need achieve by real money like in other games if you want do fun stuff. GW2 dont penalize you if you dont play enough time.
Yes players what play longer has cooler looking stuff like legendary but its not give them any advantage. If you want something respectful you must just spend some time on that. If you havent enough time it just take longer but you get that eventualy. Speeding up some things by real money isnt right and make you game less fun. Its like pay to some prostitute for sex because you are too lazy to find your own girfriend and spend some time and effort for dating before you get to that point.

Rozbuska.5263:

marnick.4305:

Yes here is that known cliche.. “I support Anet that way” No you dont you support yourself and this is just excuse for your ingame weakness. Will you send to Anet some money just like that without any gems as reward? I dont think so:-).

I disagree with this part. I do believe buying items in game is supporting Anet. Just as much as shopping at Walmart is supporting Walmart. If you do not like that store you can personally boycot it because you do not believe they are helpful or hurt small businesses. If you believe Arenanet has made and continues to make a good game, our cash supports their plans and future content. I do not see this as a weakness. If you can afford to support a company that treats you well, you should, and do it by purchasing their services/products. This is basic principles of business, you simply show your appreciation for a company by buying products by them. You cannot compare it to a friend, where “supporting” them actually means giving away money. This is a business, and as many business owners and consumers alike know all too well, we speak with our wallets.