Guild Wars 2

Using 5 scholar runes and a ruby orb, because you will never really stay above 90% health in 90% (made up!) of the fights:

185 Power
10% Critical damage
14 Precision

6 ruby orbs:

120 Power
12% Critical damage
84 Precision

Unless you do not really go for critical strikes, in which case neither option would be viable, the ruby orb, with a total cost of 30 silver for a full set, is just as good.

Time for the designers to tweak some numbers?

BUTTERBLUME.3217:

Using 5 scholar runes and a ruby orb, because you will never really stay above 90% health in 90% (made up!) of the fights:

185 Power
10% Critical damage
14 Precision

6 ruby orbs:

120 Power
12% Critical damage
84 Precision

Unless you do not really go for critical strikes, in which case neither option would be viable, the ruby orb, with a total cost of 30 silver for a full set, is just as good.

Time for the designers to tweak some numbers?

tweak some numbers like scholar runes costing 5s each.

More like nerf ruby orbs or buff the scholar set.

Hmm so why you complaining ? im guessing you really want the scholar set and are trying to convince yourself to buy the orbs ? lol

*I have a scholar set and noticed that orbs are just as good without an obvious reason.

Both items prices are based on supply and demand. The price has nothing to do with how powerful of effective they are.

Ruby Orbs are cheap because they are abundant. Scholar Runes are rare in comparison.

That’s the reason one is so much more expensive than the other. Nothing else.

I did not ask about a difference in prices, my implied question typed out would sound like:

Why is a common item, the ruby orb, as strong, as a rune set you have to craft out of high valued materials (Charged lodestone).

I kind of want to know what the devs were thinking, when they created those.

They were probably thinking something like “Hey, this way even players without a lot of resources can rig their character to perform at close to maximum efficiency. For the people who want to go the extra mile on customization, we’ll implement those runes. Just like we structured item sets. Pretty clever design, hi5 bro!”
*High-fives fellow developer
*Then shoots him with a nerf gun

BUTTERBLUME.3217:

I did not ask about a difference in prices, my implied question typed out would sound like:

Why is a common item, the ruby orb, as strong, as a rune set you have to craft out of high valued materials (Charged lodestone).

I kind of want to know what the devs were thinking, when they created those.

devs are testing your wisdom.

you have a cheap kitten item that is better than expensive one and you still buy the expensive one and you want the cheap kitten one to be nerfed?

i loled.

Scholar runes are for high skill cap players. Some classes can prevent all damage for long periods if played well.

Under the assumption that your health will never be 100% your numbers are correct. The thing is, this assumption is not true. 10% damage is huge, and there are situations in which you can realistically maintain it for long enough to matter.
Thieves opening burst comes to mind, or basically any huge wvw fight, provided you are ranged. Also, dungeon boss fights if you can stand behind and plink a boss for a while.

Orbs/Crests are just as good as most runes. They give a higher variety in stats. The only “runed” character I have at the moment is my necro whos wearing Superior rune of the Undead, high toughness, high condi and extra condi from toughness.

In almost any other case I prefer orbs.

You just assumed last bonus does not exist, but it’s a key bonus, a point of entire rune.
If you can stay out of fire(ranged DPS), the rune willbe up 100 % of the time. This case is very common for ranged DPS in dungeons or when you just start up a fight.
If you want to have a better comparison – take plain stats versus plain stats. Why won’t you try and compare orbs with divinity runes?
360 stats 12% crit dmg VS 204 stats 12% crit dmg.
Runes are better.
Because they are exotic, and orbs are rare. It all makes sense.

Divinity is a poor example. Your main stats that you actually care about caps at +60, the other +60 just doesnt make up for it.

In most cases it means your big heal heals for 60-80 more, your armor is 60 points higher (trivial for a dps build), your vitality is 60 higher (600 health woopdidoo).

And the runes are better argument because they are exotic is also poor, since they come into play at 60 while the highest rare orbs come into play at 80. They are equal and situational, depending on specs.

Rune of divinity is one of the most overrated runes in the game.

SneakyErvin.3056:

Divinity is a poor example. Your main stats that you actually care about caps at +60, the other +60 just doesnt make up for it.

In most cases it means your big heal heals for 60-80 more, your armor is 60 points higher (trivial for a dps build), your vitality is 60 higher (600 health woopdidoo).

And the runes are better argument because they are exotic is also poor, since they come into play at 60 while the highest rare orbs come into play at 80. They are equal and situational, depending on specs.

You should try doing some math. Maybe then you’ll see.
My math:
Every orb gives you 48 points of stats. There isn’t a rune that gives you just stat bonuses, but arenanet tried to make them equivalent to 25/15/50/35/90/100 as bonuses, per level(you can see the pattern of 25/15/50/35/90 on most runes, often substituting bonuses for some interesting active stuff, and last bonus is usually greater and is +100 precision on rune of the pack, so I’m assuming it’s averages as 100).
that would mean 6 orbs have 288 points of stats, while runes have 315 points of stats.
Which actually is pretty much the same % stat difference as normal armor/weapon/trinkets on rare > exotic transition.
Rune of Divinity is interesting because it’s all-around.
All-arounds have more stats because it’s somewhat impossible to utilize all stats properly. Hence the stat bonus.
As long as I’m utilizing power/prec/critdmg/toughness/vitality, it is probably going to benefit me greater than other runes(watch out for active bonuses though, sometimes they are really good(my warrior has lyssa runes for allaround, guardian has divinity for allaround)). There aren’t many places where you can find all-arounds, and you would probably want a small bit of survivability to complement your damage. Why not just get it from all-arounds to get decent survivability for small loss in damage? It only makes sense.

Rannulf.9417:

Rune of divinity is one of the most overrated runes in the game.

I remember when you could get a full set for about 6,7 gold. Now you’re luky if you can even get one for that price.

I think of Divinity runes in another way. Theyre the only (I think) rune that has level bonuses from one slot up to six. All other runes start off weak at 1 (eg: 25 of a stat) and gradually get ‘more powerful’ the more of that rune you have (eg: 100 of a stat at 5 runes).

Because of this fact I can swap and choose how many Divinity runes I want in my set without fear that im losing anything by putting a low number in. An example of this is the fact I have a boon and might stacking armour set which gives me 30% boon duration along with an extra 20% might duration. This will keep my might easily above 21/22 stacks for a whole fight. If im partying with someone who is giving me might also im stacking too much might so I remove my Pirate runes (20% might) and pop in two Divinity rune armour pieces.

Also, saying that having 60 of each stat is pointless is wrong. The overall benefits of the all round stats on Divinity runes far outmatch other runes providing that you can use each of the stats given to you. As a ranged shout warrior I can make use of all of them.

Dee Jay.2460:

Both items prices are based on supply and demand. The price has nothing to do with how powerful of effective they are.

And demand isn’t based off how powerful and effective they are? /facepalm

Ansultares.1567:

Dee Jay.2460:

Both items prices are based on supply and demand. The price has nothing to do with how powerful of effective they are.

And demand isn’t based off how powerful and effective they are? /facepalm

Why would demand be based on that?

Analogy: consider the food value of peanut butter vs goose liver pate.

The cost in part reflects that Rune of Scholar is more sophisticated and erudite.

And mostly supply-side — that it’s expensive ingredients and only craftable by a minority of characters. Whereas Ruby orbs are farmed by bots.

mulch.2586:

Ansultares.1567:

Dee Jay.2460:

Both items prices are based on supply and demand. The price has nothing to do with how powerful of effective they are.

And demand isn’t based off how powerful and effective they are? /facepalm

Why would demand be based on that?

Analogy: consider the food value of peanut butter vs goose liver pate.

The cost in part reflects that Rune of Scholar is more sophisticated and erudite.

And mostly supply-side — that it’s expensive ingredients and only craftable by a minority of characters. Whereas Ruby orbs are farmed by bots.

It is dependent on that because effectiveness in game terms (stats) are valued. As they are assigned value people want them. So that influences demand.

Look at Fractals…people want the ascended items so they’re all there doing their RNG grind. Cause they want the better stats.

Your analogy totally fails, because you talk about luxury levels only. Food is a matter of taste. Better or more stats are not.

The OP’s mistake is in his assumption that nobody can maintain their health over 90% mostly. That is an assumption and depends a lot on player style. So there is a market for that.

However, it’s still about the stats and being as effective as possible in combat. Not just a matter of taste but about min/maxing.

6 orbs make the equiv of 288 stat points. A character has over 10k equiv stat points.

So, not counting the 6th set benefit, you have to see the stats from runes or orbs aren’t all that big of a deal. Min/maxing the stats while failing to consider the scale you’re min/maxin on can lead to some wacky conclusions.

10% damage from stats is gonna take adding 250+ Power, which you’re not going to find on a single orb.

So maybe people are figuring that the 6th step of the Rune is worth it. Cuz the first 5 steps surely aren’t.

But again, I think the real difference in TP price comes from the rune being an artisan product with rare precious ingredients. Whereas ruby orbs are the equivalent of mass-produced items from an automated Chinese factory.

Ansultares.1567:

Dee Jay.2460:

Both items prices are based on supply and demand. The price has nothing to do with how powerful of effective they are.

And demand isn’t based off how powerful and effective they are? /facepalm

Demand may be, but supply is not.

I’ve made dozens and dozens of Ruby Orbs during my playtime but have yet so lay hands on a single Superior Rune of Divinity.

Thereon.3495:

I think of Divinity runes in another way. Theyre the only (I think) rune that has level bonuses from one slot up to six. All other runes start off weak at 1 (eg: 25 of a stat) and gradually get ‘more powerful’ the more of that rune you have (eg: 100 of a stat at 5 runes).

Because of this fact I can swap and choose how many Divinity runes I want in my set without fear that im losing anything by putting a low number in. An example of this is the fact I have a boon and might stacking armour set which gives me 30% boon duration along with an extra 20% might duration. This will keep my might easily above 21/22 stacks for a whole fight. If im partying with someone who is giving me might also im stacking too much might so I remove my Pirate runes (20% might) and pop in two Divinity rune armour pieces.

Also, saying that having 60 of each stat is pointless is wrong. The overall benefits of the all round stats on Divinity runes far outmatch other runes providing that you can use each of the stats given to you. As a ranged shout warrior I can make use of all of them.

But the thing is, divinity only looks like its bonus gives more early on, while infact it gives very little compared to the other runes. most other runes give 25+58+100/25+50+90 to your stat of choice aswell as another set bonus. The 60 you get from divinity doesnt make up for it. Because your favored stat caps at 60, the other stats wont make up for it, because they arent that useful.

Orbs are just a better pick over divinity, because it gives you 2 stacks of your liking plus the same crit dmg. They give you 2x the main stat and close to 1.5x your secondary stat.

Those 60 to the other stats wont make a difference. You will barely use the vit or toughness as ranged, even if you get hit its nothing that will save you and the healing is minimal, the condition damage is ok (I assume you go with powerpres, otherwise divinity wouldnt even be remotely worth it since it gives crit dmg), but so would 60 more power be.

There are good rune sets and there are bad ones, divinity is just one of the overrated ones that just doesnt do much good.

The cost gap between runes and orbs make runes less appealing. Some are in a good pricerange and very good, while others cost too much compared to the bang you get for your buck. Scholar and Divinity are prime examples. Scholar isnt worth it unless you are sure to stay above 90% for long enough to outpreform orbs.

Then crit comes into the picture too, if you have high enough crit you are better off with orbs for a more reliable source of damage when you cant stay above 90% life. Seeing how scholar is behind 4% crit dmg and 84 precision, its ahead 45 in power.

edit: No idea why some parts got underlined, they shouldnt be.

Scholar if u can keep ur hp up is massive dps rune wich explains teh price. 165 power and 23% crit dmg and 10% non crit dmg is allot for some classes liek thiefs.
Divinity i think is stuck with the price cause it was bugged before and gave 50% critical dmg boost.

10% boost to dmg from anything (traits, runes, food blabla) translates into your non crits 10% stronger AND your crits ~15% stronger. So if you crit the bonus from scholar is acually 23% to critical dmg. Tested in mists.