Guild Wars 2

Don’t know if this has been discussed on here before so apologies if it has.

What has happened to the black lion keys? Haven’t had one for weeks now, got about 30 chests in the bank but as they’re only going for about 2c each there’s no point selling them.

they just decided to nerf the drop rate on the keys but not the chests?

Black Lion Keys actually drop? I thought chests only drop. :o I usually get my keys from completing maps or story quests.

As far as I know the drop rate for keys has always been very low, definately much lower than the chests. Otherwise there would be no incentive to buy keys from the gem store.

actually I don’t know where the keys come from, I’ve completed at least 3 maps in the last few weeks and don’t remember getting any keys.

kittened if I’m paying for them though from the store, guess 60c is better than 30 useless trash taking up a slot in my bank.

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Black_Lion_Key

they do drop, get them from drops, map completion, personal story, achievments, and wait for it…other BL chests :/

as clay davis would say; kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitten

Key drop rates seem like they keep being reduced. During headstart, I was actually looting more keys than chests from random mob drops.

A few days after headstart, I would get a key maybe once or twice a week. Lately, I have seen zero keys drop in the past month.

They are intended as an incentive to buy keys.

The very few keys you recieve in-game as reward, are teasers, nothing else.

It’s the one part of the game where I feel the accountants breathing over the developpers shoulders the most.

maybe people would buy the keys is the chests actually had something useful in them.

I personally loved the completely useless “tonics” that turned you into a random animal for absolutely no reason whatsoever.

/sarcasm

Kimbald.2697:

They are intended as an incentive to buy keys.

The very few keys you recieve in-game as reward, are teasers, nothing else.

It’s the one part of the game where I feel the accountants breathing over the developpers shoulders the most.

The downfall of this scheme being almost no one feels any incentive to buy keys because so few of the things you can get from the chests are actually worth having.

The tonics I mostly scrap, even now you can use them for the costume brawl and I still have most of the boosts I’ve gotten sitting in my bank waiting for me to get through other consumables to use them.

It’s only the random item that’s really worth having, and most of those can be bought from the gem shop if you really think they’re useful enough to spend money on.

Danikat.8537:

Kimbald.2697:

They are intended as an incentive to buy keys.

The very few keys you recieve in-game as reward, are teasers, nothing else.

It’s the one part of the game where I feel the accountants breathing over the developpers shoulders the most.

The downfall of this scheme being almost no one feels any incentive to buy keys because so few of the things you can get from the chests are actually worth having.

The tonics I mostly scrap, even now you can use them for the costume brawl and I still have most of the boosts I’ve gotten sitting in my bank waiting for me to get through other consumables to use them.

It’s only the random item that’s really worth having, and most of those can be bought from the gem shop if you really think they’re useful enough to spend money on.

You’re right.

The thing with their chests is that they are greedy on what’s in it as well.
Think Haloween rings a bell on that one.
As does everything you listed indeed.

I can understand the need for rare items in a game like this, but that’s not the same when it comes to the shop.
In this case it would prove them far more profitable, I think, if the items were less rare, or more divers, more usefull… in simple terms: if they weren’t so greedy on them.

If you want to keep players busy: make them grind for something rare. This game does that part more than many other games so far.
But if you want to make players spend real money: give them something good for it.

As for buying keys for gems: why would you? It’s safer to save for whatever item you actually are going for. Too few usable mats, and an incredibly low chance to get the item itself.
Not worth it indeed.

because Anet increased the lock chest drops so people have to pay for the keys in the gem shop. I think you only get a few free keys, after that they want you to spend Real life cash just for the keys.

Lily Miranda.5407:

Key drop rates seem like they keep being reduced. During headstart, I was actually looting more keys than chests from random mob drops.

A few days after headstart, I would get a key maybe once or twice a week. Lately, I have seen zero keys drop in the past month.

Across the board, Anet continues to decrease drops, loot and drop rates for no reason whatsoever. I predict in a few months you’ll have to grind a good 3 hours just to get one white. Dye drops will become non-existent and unidentified dye should skyrocket to 1g per.

I have never gotten a Black Lion Key as a drop, but when GW2 was released I use to get them a lot from opening the chests, this was a few days after release, and since then do I rarely gets keys from Black Lion chests…

If they want to sell keys, make them 0.25 each or add karma jugs to every chest.

I agree that what drops from the chests needs to change significantly, because people just aren’t that interested in boosters or tonics.

The boosters that are good, like speed boost or XP boost kind of fall into the Too awesome to use category where as things like kill-streak-booster are just so amusingly worthless it makes you want to cry.

I know people don’t want “pay-to-win” stuff, but it might be nice if chests dropped lodestones, or colours, or armor skins (just the skins, not the stats, like how the halloween shoulders were disturbed.

Maybe we could amalgamate 10 or 20 or 50 chests for say a “locker” that has something decent in it…or at least cash them in for Karma…I too haven’t seen a key in many weeks and I refuse to buy any gems after the first lot I got for keys and ended up with the garbage currently in the chests…especially at the current cost of keys.

The black lion keys are a huge fail by Anet, give us back the old lockpicks from merchants for 1 silver as they are not worth the gems to open. here is hoping they will organise something soon

vespers.1759:

maybe people would buy the keys is the chests actually had something useful in them.

This.

This x100

this x 100 × 100

so on and so forth.

Noone will buy keys if the only thing your going to get is tonics. Who cares. They are cute, sure, its a silly oveture…then you realize what a hoax it is. And when you come to understand that you will NEVER get anything good aside from tonics and maybe some sort of booster, why would you BUY any BLK’s in the first place????

I made a suggestion once that if the DEV’s lowered teh prices of keys to 50 gems each, also put in ‘prized items’ like permanent harvesting tools (never broke, had an even higher chance to get more/rares from nodes) would drive the desire to get keys.

If you also put some ‘gems’ in the chests as a possible reward, that would also incenticize the desire to get more keys. If you got 50 gems every so often into the chests, people might just open up the gem shop and trade those gems in for another key and then open another chest.

If you opened a chest and got 2 ro 3 lodestones, or globs of ecto, or orichalcum, or ANYTHING rare it would also serve to create a higher demand for keys. There are many great items that you could think to put into chests, rather than tonics.

Also, the gem shop is highly underwhelming. You have 4-6 skins, some glasses, a hat or two, some unidentified dyes and packs, boosters (Which is highly underwhelming as well…this can be a topic for another day). Only things in the gem shop of calue are the character slots and bank slots. Maybe inventory slots, but I don’t have a real issue with inventory space with ’deposite all collectables" and being able to insta-sell anything on the market and readibly available merchants almost anywhere in the world.

The primary focus seems to be the black lion chest keys, but the prices themselves are set way to high for just ONE, and the bundled ratio is no better. If you want the exchange of keys and chests, then you must first make keys ‘practical’. Then you must make chests (and their contents) desireable.

THEN you can more people visitng your gem store and putting it to better use.

Think about it.

vespers.1759:

maybe people would buy the keys is the chests actually had something useful in them.

I’ve made well over 40 Gold on black lion chests — and I’m only level 50. Skins, such as the chain saw and scyth drop from them and a big money makers. I also like the boosts.

The tonics are pretty useless — although they can give you a boost around costume brawls.

NeedsFoodBadly.2671:

Lily Miranda.5407:

Key drop rates seem like they keep being reduced. During headstart, I was actually looting more keys than chests from random mob drops.

A few days after headstart, I would get a key maybe once or twice a week. Lately, I have seen zero keys drop in the past month.

Across the board, Anet continues to decrease drops, loot and drop rates for no reason whatsoever. I predict in a few months you’ll have to grind a good 3 hours just to get one white. Dye drops will become non-existent and unidentified dye should skyrocket to 1g per.

Lol celestial is already above 4g, so it’s sort of true now unfortunately.

Sarahphim.1308:

vespers.1759:

maybe people would buy the keys is the chests actually had something useful in them.

I’ve made well over 40 Gold on black lion chests — and I’m only level 50. Skins, such as the chain saw and scyth drop from them and a big money makers. I also like the boosts.

The tonics are pretty useless — although they can give you a boost around costume brawls.

those skins have been added for halloween, and will stop dropping on the next patch. so outside special event skins (that have a ridiculously low drop chance), why would you buy a key? the price is just not worth it, be it in dollars, be it in gold.

no clue about the complaints.. sold skins for 33 gold on Yak’s Bend via BLC..

Plus the tonics, you could combine with boosters to make special event chests.

That netted me about 15 gold via that..

Sorry guys but the coin is there

Lysico.4906:

no clue about the complaints.. sold skins for 33 gold on Yak’s Bend via BLC..

Plus the tonics, you could combine with boosters to make special event chests.

That netted me about 15 gold via that..

Sorry guys but the coin is there

that coin has only been there during the halloween update, and will be going the way of the dodo in a week. your point?

During the head start I got 6 key drops, whether that was pure luck or the drop rate was really good im not sure.

But dont expect any key drops off mobs now or if you do then it will be a miracle

add some cool looking weapon/armor skins to the chest, reduce Key’s price by 50% and you will se how people will buy em like crazy, will actually net Anet a bigger income than they do now.