Guild Wars 2

Asumita.2174:

I sometimes want to travel around the world to just do random things and help ppl, but the cost dissuades me from doing that. Isn’t world exploration one of the main selling point of this game? FYI, the cost is killing it.

Pretty much this, GW2 is unsociable enough as it is, wp costs just add to that.

Meret.5943:

Really?

There are plenty of gold sinks in this game. Taking wp costs out would not destroy the economy.

Yet waypoint travel is the most frequent. Unless you’re prone to dying a lot (I die maybe once a day on average), your daily travel cost will be higher than rez cost.

Regular traders will sink loads more gold into trading taxes. But the majority of players are not day traders, so again this sink doesn’t much apply to them, then you have purchased gear such as cultural and faction skins. These are big sinks but infrequently purchased.

Overall travel costs is probably one of the single largest sinks in the game, yet despite this the game as to be expected shows signs of inflation. Do you really think we have enough sinks, let alone enough spare sink capacity to eliminate it?

I have no problem with waypoint costs, It is really not that much and frankly I have never even considered travel costs if someone asks for help in mapchat- they provide a link and I go.
Clearly there are others like me since, I have never had a problem asking for help myself and then not have players show up immediately.
As for traveling in lower areas on an 80- typically if you are helping a friend they are doing hearts, poi, vistas etc that require them to walk around- if they are just doing map completion then sure they jump- but so what? yes it can cost me 4 silver per jump- it is just 4 silver and I get to help my friends.
I have crafted items worth much more to give away to my friends.
So waypoints are not on my list of things that need fixing.
The event in Bloodtide that has been bugged since launch is a much bigger deal to me.

Ryuujin.8236:

Do you really think we have enough sinks, let alone enough spare sink capacity to eliminate it?

Yes, I do. From my experience in MMOs (which isn’t much, honestly: GW1, WoW, SWTOR, GW2), most gold sinks are optional in nature, or are actual luxuries themselves, that, as you acknowledge, most people don’t pay regularly. Crafting, vanity items, frequent trait changes, trading taxes, etc. No, I don’t think taking out WP cost would destroy the economy.

And even if it affected inflation a little bit, so what? I have no data about this obviously, but I’d suspect more people play this game to play in groups/guilds doing real things than to sit around playing the stock market. Anything to promote that is a good thing. In other words, this game is more than its economy.

Just my uneducated opinion.

Regarding the comments about waypoint system being a gold sink and that eliminating it is a bad idea: I completely agree.

However, please note that the changes I have suggested don’t really modify the prices in any tangible way. Many players already save money off Waypoint costs using the Mists->LA->Closest City trick, so making it free in the first place should have very little effect on the effectiveness of Waypoint costs as a gold sink.

All it does accomplish is remove the multiple loading screens that players have to deal with to make use of this trick, and maybe more importantly, allow all players, regardless of whether or not they are even aware of these tricks, to pay the same price for Waypoint travel.

The purpose of gold sinks in virtual economies is to reduce inflation. The reason that inflation needs to be controlled is so that new players won’t have to pay an unreasonable amount of gold to buy anything they off the trading post. Waypoint costs in the current state skews effective wealth in favor of experienced players because they are more likely to employ these cost-saving tricks than a player new to the game, which is the opposite effect of what a gold sink is meant to accomplish.

What about—————————-
Waypoint cost within any zone —-- free (or some standard cost- like 5c)

Moving FROM a zone to another———————scaled at the 2x the the difference between the HIGHEST and LOWEST level value (whether you use waypoints or just run, the transit cost is the same)
example- going to/from Queensdale to Lost Shores would cost 1s30c (2x( L80-L15)

Asuran “gates” have a standard cost per use in either direction (you don’t REALLY think the Asuran’s do ANYTHING for free now, do you??) maybe 1s

And main cities to/from anywhere cost is 2x level value of area (since main cities are (0) level areas (Rata Sum, The Grove, Hoelbeck, Divinity’s Edge, Black Citadel, LA)

This removes the need for “scaling” (which is ridiculous on it’s face—even the Asura ain’t that greedy/stupid)!!——well, maybe some of them!!

I support the OP’s ideas, make them happening!

I have a high-level character. My brother tried out the game during the invite-a-friend weekend. I followed him around through the newbie areas answering questions and helping when he got into trouble.

After a bit of exploration, he was bouncing all around from one waypoint to another thoroughly enjoying the fast travel ability. I on the other hand nearly went broke trying to keep up with him.

The “small fee” they tell you about when you first learn about the waypoints becomes VERY significant before long. Yes, I love exploring. But I want the option to SKIP OVER areas I know like the back of my hand without going broke to do so.

Maybe some “Bus Passes”? Buy a pass for X amount of money, and then waypoint as much as you like for a certain period of time?

Basically, yes it is a money sink.

Yes, it discourages travel. This in turn discourages interaction between players.

So, which is more important to the game? Having a money sink such as waypoint costs or encouraging travel and interaction between other players? Personally, I wish they would add a different money sink in place of this one.

Agree with making WP fees to the major cities free. As stated above you can already get to the major cities free by using Heart of the Mists to get to Lion’s Arch then use the Asura Gate to get to your target city. It just adds frustrating screen load time for the player (especially in LA which has longer load times) and likely adds some server and bandwidth usage. Allowing players to port to the major cities via WP for free might also add some additional life and traffic to the other major cities.

Kaon.7192:

The Waypoint cost scheme as it is right now discourages exploration and pushes players toward time-wasting workarounds (such as going to mists -> LA -> closest nearby city -> goal) in order save Waypoint costs.

I’m proposing the following changes to the current system:

1. Eliminate fees for all Waypoints in all major cities

Because they are essentially free within the current system by going to Mists -> LA -> Asura Gate. If ANet really does value the player’s time, why make them sit through so many loading screens?

2. Calculate Waypoint fee using the minimum of the following two distances: distance to player and distance to nearest Waypoint in a major city

Also because this is essentially what it could cost within the current system, only that players have to deal with multiple loading screens in the process.

These changes should make Waypoint costs across Tyria more reasonable to all players in most situations.

Any thoughts?

This is. Couldn’t have put it better my self.
This is how things currently are, basically. This suggestion just saves a few loading screens, I’m all for it.

For anyone here saying “The WP cost should be free!” Just take a look at the current inflation.
We might need a few more gold sinks…

Oh, lets double the WP fees! (Except make the major cities free as per this suggestion)

Another option if they didn’t want to make WPs in the major cities free would be to add Asura Gates to all the major cities in Heart of the Mists rather than just the one to Lion’s Arch.

I agree that WPing to all major cities should be free. I currently do the same thing: Mists —> LA --> City. And it’s especially annoying for me using a low-end laptop (LA takes forever to load.)

On the other end of it, I think the biggest problem with level 80 WP costs is the minimum (1.46s?) Drop the minimum cost down, the cost to WP around shoots up drastically once you start getting close to 80. I have a level 42 warrior and I can port across an entire zone for ~55c, yet at level 80 (which isn’t even double my current level) it’s nearly triple the cost if I’m /standing on top of the WP./

Before hitting 80, I tend to port around a lot – finish up an area, or need a few missed things to finish an area completion, teleport around – port back to whatever outpost/city I need to directly, etc. Suddenly at 80 every WP is “is it worth it?” Including just jumping to a WP to try to get to an event or help with one of the Orr temples.