Guild Wars 2

Can anyone justify the increasing trend for ‘reward’ vendors to charge gold for items in addition to whatever currency that particular map takes?

For some time now (Since Silverwastes?) this practice seems to be the norm, culminating in the staggering 50g (in addition to 10,000 unbound magic) for the bloodstone home instance node.

Can anything be purchased for the map currency alone in either Dry Top – Silverwasters or Bloodstone? Off the top of my head, I think not.

Surely rewards should be given – The opportunity to purchase something, is not in my opinion, a reward.

There are enough gold sinks in the game and ‘oh but [insert map currency here] is so easy to collect’ or ‘you don’t need to buy those rewards’ are not valid reasons, nor do they provide any explanation as to why Anet has decided to go down this route.

Thoughts?

One way or another you have to buy pretty much everything worth having in this game, I’m used to it. Also, the gold costs that are tacked on along with the content specific currencies are usually negligible (to and end-gamer)

what else will we spend gold on?

Well, you can purchase things in the Heart of Thorns other maps for Map Currency alone. So, I guess it’s not a complete trend. /shrug

Doesn’t bother me; the very first thing I purchased in Bloodstone Fen was the Home Instance Node.

I guess it’s alright. Once you hit 80 and finish gearing up gold is for buying fluff anyway.

Don’t really mind spending gold as part of the cost of acquiring something direct and tangible, such as the node or a mini.

What sucks is things like the magic bundles where you spend both your currency and too high of a cost in gold and end up far too often with a kitten sandwich reward like 2 piles of putrid essence. Meaning that by spending your currency you actually get a negative reward.

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

Well, you can purchase things in the Heart of Thorns other maps for Map Currency alone. So, I guess it’s not a complete trend. /shrug

Doesn’t bother me; the very first thing I purchased in Bloodstone Fen was the Home Instance Node.

Hmm – I’m not sure about your first statement, I’m pretty sure all the vendors also want gold for items.

My question is why did you HAVE to pay 50g for the node? If collecting 10,000 unbound magic was seen as too trivial, Make it 20,000 or 30,000 but the rewards should surely be free?

Daroon.1736:

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

Well, you can purchase things in the Heart of Thorns other maps for Map Currency alone. So, I guess it’s not a complete trend. /shrug

Doesn’t bother me; the very first thing I purchased in Bloodstone Fen was the Home Instance Node.

Hmm – I’m not sure about your first statement, I’m pretty sure all the vendors also want gold for items.

My question is why did you HAVE to pay 50g for the node? If collecting 10,000 unbound magic was seen as too trivial, Make it 20,000 or 30,000 but the rewards should surely be free?

Why should they be free? 50g for a Home Instance node is dirt cheap check the TP.

Daroon.1736:

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

Well, you can purchase things in the Heart of Thorns other maps for Map Currency alone. So, I guess it’s not a complete trend. /shrug

Doesn’t bother me; the very first thing I purchased in Bloodstone Fen was the Home Instance Node.

Hmm – I’m not sure about your first statement, I’m pretty sure all the vendors also want gold for items.

My question is why did you HAVE to pay 50g for the node? If collecting 10,000 unbound magic was seen as too trivial, Make it 20,000 or 30,000 but the rewards should surely be free?

Natto on the airship sells skills for unbound magic and bloodstone dust. The backpack and trinket vendor takes blood rubies and unbound magic.

They wouldn’t be free, when they still cost 10k unbound magic. Furthermore, 50g is not “dirt cheap” for all players – it might be for you, which is great, but for others it presents more of a frustrating problem, thus the reason for starting this thread.

I admit I don’t really understand why they do it (unless it is literally just a gold sink, which is not a bad thing) but it doesn’t bother me.

Everything in the game rewards gold, and/or stuff you can sell to get gold. So I’ll acquire it at the same time as the map currency and if for some reason it’s the gold I’m short of there are other options (my usual one is selling crafting materials I don’t need).

Itzel Vendor, for example:

Obsidian Shards – Airship Parts and Karma (no Gold)
Pruning Shears – Airship Parts (no Gold)
Personal Airship Cargo Voucher (akin to a Home Instance Node) – Airship Parts (no Gold)

I find Unbound Magic extremely easy to come by. Just the Dailies award quite a bit, and one can always salvage Blood Rubies for more.

I suppose the added Gold cost is a bit like the Season 1 and Festival items acquired with Laurels and Gold. Truly, for many players, Gold is not that difficult to come by, anymore.

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

Itzel Vendor, for example:

Obsidian Shards – Airship Parts and Karma (no Gold)
Pruning Shears – Airship Parts (no Gold)
Personal Airship Cargo Voucher (akin to a Home Instance Node) – Airship Parts (no Gold)

I find Unbound Magic extremely easy to come by. Just the Dailies award quite a bit, and one can always salvage Blood Rubies for more.

I suppose the added Gold cost is a bit like the Season 1 and Festival items acquired with Laurels and Gold. Truly, for many players, Gold is not that difficult to come by, anymore.

I couldn’t think of any but glad to see there are a few which don’t require gold.

I agree that for most players the additional gold is not a problem, but it still feels kind of cheap have to earn map currency rewards and then have to pay additional gold for the item.

I think Anet has done a good job of creating a ‘well I don’t think this fair/right, but I’ll put up with it anyway’ player mindset .

Perhaps, one could consider the items cost Gold, and using Map Currency discounts the item greatly. =)

As another poster stated; Nodes usually cost quite a bit of Gold, so this one was a great deal!

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

Perhaps, one could consider the items cost Gold, and using Map Currency discounts the item greatly. =)

As another poster stated; Nodes usually cost quite a bit of Gold, so this one was a great deal!

Exactly, the Ascended trinkets and back that can be bought with the rubies are really useful. You can do literally nothing but farm home instance daily and obtain them. That’s pretty awesome.

Christina.7926:

They wouldn’t be free, when they still cost 10k unbound magic. Furthermore, 50g is not “dirt cheap” for all players – it might be for you, which is great, but for others it presents more of a frustrating problem, thus the reason for starting this thread.

Like I said check the TP there is not 1 single Node that sells for 50g, the closest is Lotus and it’s 69g ATM. Why is not having a Home Instance node a problem or even an issue Blood Rubies aren’t exactly hard to get.

All the other living story-related nodes were free, and even bought via laurel vendor I’m pretty sure they don’t cost 50g.

It’s way too much for a mediocre node.

Hyper Cutter.9376:

All the other living story-related nodes were free, and even bought via laurel vendor I’m pretty sure they don’t cost 50g.

It’s way too much for a mediocre node.

Not mediocre, we already discussed this.

The other nodes don’t give you currency to get an Ascended back, rings, and amulet.

No, but the quartz crystal node does give those quartz crystals, which are essential for precursor crafting and a lot of armor insignia (celestial, etc.) My point was just that (as the OP stated), it would be nice if it would rely on map currency rather than gold and that Roundabout’s statement that it was dirt cheap isn’t necessarily true for all players.

Christina.7926:

No, but the quartz crystal node does give those quartz crystals, which are essential for precursor crafting and a lot of armor insignia (celestial, etc.) My point was just that (as the OP stated), it would be nice if it would rely on map currency rather than gold and that Roundabout’s statement that it was dirt cheap isn’t necessarily true for all players.

Well I guess both are a means to an “Ascended” end. Just one that needs crafting, a time gate if you will… and one a currency gate.

The bloodstone gets you account bound best of stats/slot items that has the ability to be changed up, like a legendary, at very little cost.

CMM.6712:

Christina.7926:

No, but the quartz crystal node does give those quartz crystals, which are essential for precursor crafting and a lot of armor insignia (celestial, etc.) My point was just that (as the OP stated), it would be nice if it would rely on map currency rather than gold and that Roundabout’s statement that it was dirt cheap isn’t necessarily true for all players.

Well I guess both are a means to an “Ascended” end. Just one that needs crafting, a time gate if you will… and one a currency gate.

The bloodstone gets you account bound best of stats/slot items that has the ability to be changed up, like a legendary, at very little cost.

Agreed.

From a balance perspective you also need to consider how the Quartz and Bloodstone nodes lead to the ascended items. Quartz/Celestial is still gated behind level 500 crafting and the Charged Quatrz, whereas Blood Rubies are a currency to directly buy the items… no other gates/restrictions imposed.

And seeing that the blood ruby items can have any ascended PvE stat, and can be stat swapped… it is a much more powerful currency that every other harvest node.

onevstheworld.2419:

CMM.6712:

Christina.7926:

No, but the quartz crystal node does give those quartz crystals, which are essential for precursor crafting and a lot of armor insignia (celestial, etc.) My point was just that (as the OP stated), it would be nice if it would rely on map currency rather than gold and that Roundabout’s statement that it was dirt cheap isn’t necessarily true for all players.

Well I guess both are a means to an “Ascended” end. Just one that needs crafting, a time gate if you will… and one a currency gate.

The bloodstone gets you account bound best of stats/slot items that has the ability to be changed up, like a legendary, at very little cost.

Agreed.

From a balance perspective you also need to consider how the Quartz and Bloodstone nodes lead to the ascended items. Quartz/Celestial is still gated behind level 500 crafting and the Charged Quatrz, whereas Blood Rubies are a currency to directly buy the items… no other gates/restrictions imposed.

And seeing that the blood ruby items can have any ascended PvE stat, and can be stat swapped… it is a much more powerful currency that every other harvest node.

and this right here makes the point of uneccessary time gates on charged quartz items/recipes…. same can be said for mystic coins etc…. we have an easy source to obtain what they make… so why time gate them?

Vendors vend, they don’t give rewards, they sell stuff that’s entirely up to you to buy if you wish.

As for needing gold as well as local zone/game mode currency; I assume that it’s meant as an additional sink for gold obtainable from said zone or game mode. Other choice to keep gold in check is reducing drops and nobody really wants that.

The addition of gold cost to rewards is to make sure that inflation is countered, I can only assume that the gold generated by the game (look at 2g/daily, 5g/8dungeons, the giant amount of shiny baubles etc.) can’t be offset by just the trade post anymore. Instead they have started adding that cost to the map rewards. It makes sense even if you might not like it.

You are not buying rewards… the rewards are the tokens and loot you get from completing whatever stuff you are doing. The vendors can trade nice items with you for tokens and some gold. That is no reward. But on the other hand… are they named reward trader/vendor.

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

Well, you can purchase things in the Heart of Thorns other maps for Map Currency alone. So, I guess it’s not a complete trend. /shrug

Doesn’t bother me; the very first thing I purchased in Bloodstone Fen was the Home Instance Node.

That’s exactly what I did.

Agreeing with the others here, that node isn’t a reward, it’s an item available for purchase by a vendor.