Guild Wars 2

Would’ve been nice to know about this before I poured 1 and a half week of gold accumulation and ectos into buying the shells >.>

I don’t believe a refund is possible is it? =/

Well, the tooltip clearly states that it’s a unique item so you knew if before you bought the second one.

Nope. But on the bright side, Ancient Karka Shells are account-bound, so you can simply give it to another of your characters.

nachtnebel.9168:

Well, the tooltip clearly states that it’s a unique item so you knew if before you bought the second one.

There is nothing in the game that says anything about the features of unique items.

It’s been discussed here before. It’s what “unique” means on an item. Fortunately, being account-bound means your alt can wear it.

LieutenantGoogle.7326:

nachtnebel.9168:

Well, the tooltip clearly states that it’s a unique item so you knew if before you bought the second one.

There is nothing in the game that says anything about the features of unique items.

Actually:
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Unique

mulch.2586:

LieutenantGoogle.7326:

nachtnebel.9168:

Well, the tooltip clearly states that it’s a unique item so you knew if before you bought the second one.

There is nothing in the game that says anything about the features of unique items.

Actually:
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Unique

That page was only made 2 days ago the time period for such information to spread is unbelievably small, and its not even something that is even made widely knowledgable unless people actively search for the term.

If the game itself said “ONLY 1 PER CHARACTER” then that would’ve worked a billion times better.

I don’t understand why Anet would put such a silly trait like “Unique” for such an important property.

mulch.2586:

LieutenantGoogle.7326:

nachtnebel.9168:

Well, the tooltip clearly states that it’s a unique item so you knew if before you bought the second one.

There is nothing in the game that says anything about the features of unique items.

Actually:
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Unique

Exactly and you can even access the wiki through the game client, just type /wiki Unique.
And even if you didn’t know that, which you should since the manual links you to the wiki, what do you think “unique” means? Even if English is not your native tounge, the concept of unique items is not new to MMOs or RPGs.
The only person to blame here is you.

nachtnebel.9168:

mulch.2586:

LieutenantGoogle.7326:

nachtnebel.9168:

Well, the tooltip clearly states that it’s a unique item so you knew if before you bought the second one.

There is nothing in the game that says anything about the features of unique items.

Actually:
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Unique

Exactly and you can even access the wiki through the game client, just type /wiki Unique.
And even if you didn’t know that, which you should since the manual links you to the wiki, what do you think “unique” means? Even if English is not your native tounge, the concept of unique items is not new to MMOs or RPGs.
The only person to blame here is you.

English is my native language and the word unique although meaning unparallel and special doesn’t mean that you can only have one of it. Anet warning of only one-per-character is flawed and silly.

“If the game itself said “ONLY 1 PER CHARACTER” then that would’ve worked a billion times better.”

Uh Unique means exactly that.

Rhaviolio.1853:

“If the game itself said “ONLY 1 PER CHARACTER” then that would’ve worked a billion times better.”

Uh Unique means exactly that.

To someone that plays multiple MMO’s before maybe.
But to someone who doesn’t, the term of the word is vague in its property.

unique =/= You may only use one per character/person.

Ok, well now you know.

The previous threads it seemed that the complainers didn’t see the word, not that they saw the word and didn’t know what it meant.

Sorry, you must be very frustrated. But really, your alt will be thrilled.

Well… this is one of those moment where you learn a term. Sometimes that costs a bit of money. I’m sorry but that won’t change for the next term. In chess you are required to move a piece if you touch it unless you say j’adoube. First time you put a piece back in the center of it’s square you’ll lose the game because of that.

Fortunately “unique” is a property that’s pretty constant across most MMO-type games. You won’t make this mistake again.

Blaming a.net for not typing out the complete explanation of a standardized term is silly.

Why not warn us? You already own this item or item can be worn once

Troop.1369:

Why not warn us? You already own this item or item can be worn once

Cause it would really annoy the majority of players to always click on the: “Yes I know, I just want this item for one of my alts” button.

Games nowadays assume you know basic knowledge of the way they work. For someone completely new to gaming, it takes months to understand an MMO. In this case, the meaning of the word unique should be easily understood. If an item is one of a kind, one would assume that you could only have 1 of them.

Soulbound is a better example of a term that isn’t explained, even more so in games that state you have no soul in one way or another.

LieutenantGoogle.7326:

Rhaviolio.1853:

“If the game itself said “ONLY 1 PER CHARACTER” then that would’ve worked a billion times better.”

Uh Unique means exactly that.

To someone that plays multiple MMO’s before maybe.
But to someone who doesn’t, the term of the word is vague in its property.

unique =/= You may only use one per character/person.

How did you get to the point where you don’t play multiple MMO’s before, and yet you decide to spend 1.5 week of farming gold and ectoplasms on an item like that?

To be honest, I wouldn’t have guessed that was what the “unique” in the item meant, either (I haven’t MMO’d in many, many years). You can’t really blame someone for not guessing what a term means when they’ve never heard it before. Unsure if RTFM applies since OP simply misinterpreted the term and didn’t realize there was a mistake in their interpretation in the first place. Account Bound and Soulbound are intuitive terms, “unique” less so, especially since even though it’s supposed to be one-of-a-kind a single character can actually carry more than one. Just a red warning in the item when you already have one, e.g. “You can only equip one of these”, would get rid of the potential confusion while not bothering people who already know what it means.

Sucks either way, but the more you know. At least you can use it on an alt, as has been said.

Account and Soul Bound are also concepts introduced progressively through your char life from 1 to 80 and though some cheap items. Also there is a warning when you bind an item to you the first time you try to use it isn’t it ?

The fact Unique items suddenly show up without any warning and any note in the patch notes, only on a level 80 very expensive item or in the kitten rings you get through pure RNG daily crap in the FotM dungeons doesn’t help either.

Ask for a GM for a refund, you deserve it since that bad feature is their fault.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/players/Now-we-have-unique-gear/first#post865288

Here’s is a post I started last week as I did the same thing. Unique is indiscriminate in this case as it does not reveal what quality makes it unique. I felt it was for the stats alone. Since they obviously deviate from any other exotic accessory. Making them “unique”.

Any accessory item, for which there are two receiving slots on the character, should have had an extra tool tip to prevent a secondary purchase. Just like on the Trading Post when purchasing Dye’s. And, quite frankly, why should I have even questioned this purchase to have checked the wiki? Two slots, two items, should be simple enough…. It’s the mechanic that’s been in place since day one.

You are not alone OP. I have found others who have done the same thing. Thus, it is not an isolated incident. Anet should at the very least, allow us to trade in the items for our 1k in Karka shells each. We can’t even flush them down the Mystic Forge.

Arenanet was quite quick in replying to my request on the matter. Here’s the response:

“Thank you for contacting the Guild Wars 2 Support Team. We would like to be able to offer refunds or exchanges for purchases, but at this time we’re unable to make these kinds of adjustments to characters. We simply do not have the tools to provide this service.

I’m sorry that there’s not more that we can do in this case. Please let us know if you have any other questions or concerns."

As I said, it’s nice of them to let me know they can’t. For those (one) giving excuses for Arenanet, may I add that I began buying the Karka shells directly after the event. I mentioned wanting another on map chat right beside the Ancient Karka still. That’s how I found out how to purchase them. Obviously no one at the time knew of this “unique” classification. Otherwise someone would have raised a red flag and warned us all at the time. For the wiki, there wasn’t an entry until a day later.

I want to believe Arenanet has the best of intentions here. But, a part of me is going to be reluctant in buying more Gems on the TP in the future.

I had no idea until a couple days ago (after a friend mentioned it) that “unique” meant you could only wear one. I assumed “unique” was referring to the named item and its acquisition being limited to a single location method, a certain chest (the daily FotM reward) or a specific boss/champion, or it having a unique stat set/distribution.

This is exactly what “unique” meant in the previous Guild Wars games. For exampe, the “Bow of the Hierophant” was a unique bow that could only be dropped from the Hierophant’s Chest that spawned after defeating Duncan the Black (the Hieorphant). Of course, GW1 had no dual wielding weapons or accessory/trinket slots, so equiping two identical items was never actually possible, but the “unique” tag was still used in reference to the nature of item acquistion and the weapons having stats that could not be modified by the player (upgrade slot stats were built-in and fixed).

I understand that GW2 is not the same as GW1, but I also have not seen “unique” as meaing “you can only equip one” in any other games I have played. I’ve played a lot of games, including a few MMOs. The MMOs did not usually hold my attention for long, and certainly nowhere near as long as the 7 years I played GW1, so my idea of what “unique” meant is definitely influenced by GW1, and is a rather valid assumption considering that GW1 and 2 share more than a few dev team members.

Well it’s a honest mistake. I’ve spent over a gold on high level upgrades only to understand that it’s for weapons only (facepalm), having in mind that I’m not that rich, that was a big deal for me at the time. All that two hours farming powerful blood, killing trolls and poof! Gone. Oh well though, I learned what upgrades weapons and armor only, you learned that you can only have one karka shell at a time and warned me and the rest of the community that could have made the same mistake accidentally. Mistakes happen

bump, because I want a mod to see this.

How did you get to the point where you don’t play multiple MMO’s before, and yet you decide to spend 1.5 week of farming gold and ectoplasms on an item like that?

Irrelevant to the case. But the answer is simply that gw2 is addicting and easy to learn.

Look up the word “unique” in a dictionary and I guarantee it says nothing about “only 1 being equipped at a time.” A truly unique item would mean that only 1 appears in all of Tyria. To assume a player would read the word “unique” and immediately jump to the notion that “I can only have one of these” is absurd.

Most seasoned gamers know what unique means for gear, but not everyone. And as it’s the only unique item in the game that I know of, we had no in-game basis of knowledge.

Also, I hate when people reference wikis because that implies that I should /wiki every single item before I buy it or /wiki a quest if I don’t understand it. A game should stand alone, not rely on a website posted by players (not developers). Plus, that unique item page has only been there for like 2 days, well after the shells became available.

Seras.5702:

Look up the word “unique” in a dictionary and I guarantee it says nothing about “only 1 being equipped at a time.”

Quoted for truth

fourpoundburrito.1698:

Seras.5702:

Look up the word “unique” in a dictionary and I guarantee it says nothing about “only 1 being equipped at a time.”

Quoted for truth

no..it says it exists as the only one or sole example. So if by definition you can have only one, how do you get two?

Seras.5702:

Look up the word “unique” in a dictionary and I guarantee it says nothing about “only 1 being equipped at a time.” A truly unique item would mean that only 1 appears in all of Tyria. To assume a player would read the word “unique” and immediately jump to the notion that “I can only have one of these” is absurd.

Seriously, the thought “Hey, a unique item, let’s buy TWO!” is even more absurd.

You know how you catch a one of a kind rabbit?

Unique up on it.

Sorry, remembered that from… well, a long time ago. Unique, account bound items are exactly that, something your character can only have one of but can be shared by any characters on your account. One thing to consider before requesting a refund in doing what people have mentioned… using this on (or saving it for) an alt. Odds are this is work you would have done in the future anyhow for an alt, so think about that at least.

unique [ju??ni?k]
adj
1. being the only one of a particular type; single; sole

@fourpoundburrito If it is the only one of a particular type; single; sole…. that by nature means you wouldn’t be able to equip 2 because 2 is greater than 1…..

I am sorry you made the mistake of either not seeing what unique meant either in the context of the game or the true meaning of unique.

Unique does not mean special it means that there cannot be another like it. This would imply your character could not use 2. I apologize but that is exactly what I interpreted the moment I saw the word.

I might go get one for an alt but I love that it is account bound instead of soulbound and I can simply move it between my characters.

Drunken Mad King.8193:

unique [ju??ni?k]
adj
1. being the only one of a particular type; single; sole

@fourpoundburrito If it is the only one of a particular type; single; sole…. that by nature means you wouldn’t be able to equip 2 because 2 is greater than 1…..

I am sorry you made the mistake of either not seeing what unique meant either in the context of the game or the true meaning of unique.

Unique does not mean special it means that there cannot be another like it. This would imply your character could not use 2. I apologize but that is exactly what I interpreted the moment I saw the word.

To be fair:
unique [ju??ni?k]
adj
1. being the only one of a particular type; single; sole
2. without equal or like; unparalleled
3. Informal very remarkable or unusual

Though the common usage of the word is the first definition.

Not only “Unique” is new to GW2, not all Unique items have the “one per character” characteristic. I was able to equip 2 http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ancient_Karka_Shell_Box from 2 characters that did the ancient karka event.

In this thread, we learned a few things:

1) UNIQUE on an item generally means you can only equip just 1.
2) Some people lost money learning this.
3) Arenanet will not give refunds for this, because they don’t have the tools to accurately refund people items and discern who is being honest or not.

Okay.

Can we end the thread now? Or are you guys going to sit here and try to kill eachother over semantics?

Unique has been a term used in MMO’s since their inception.

It means only 1 per character…

it says unique. that tag only means 1 thing in every single game ever. no sympathy.

insanemaniac.2456:

it says unique. that tag only means 1 thing in every single game ever. no sympathy.

Fail. Actually, in most games including Guild Wars, ‘unique’ just means that it’s a named item that drops with the same stats every time.

Bluebird.1890:

In this thread, we learned a few things:

1) UNIQUE on an item generally means you can only equip just 1.
2) Some people lost money learning this.
3) Arenanet will not give refunds for this, because they don’t have the tools to accurately refund people items and discern who is being honest or not.

Okay.

Can we end the thread now? Or are you guys going to sit here and try to kill eachother over semantics?

The reason #3 is quite ridiculous to be honest, 1k Karka Shell is by no means farmable efficiently..
Just looking at the trading post histories would be able to tell who spent money on the shells or not.

Their refusal to do refunds or restore lost items is based on policy, not technology.

LieutenantGoogle.7326:

Bluebird.1890:

In this thread, we learned a few things:

1) UNIQUE on an item generally means you can only equip just 1.
2) Some people lost money learning this.
3) Arenanet will not give refunds for this, because they don’t have the tools to accurately refund people items and discern who is being honest or not.

Okay.

Can we end the thread now? Or are you guys going to sit here and try to kill eachother over semantics?

The reason #3 is quite ridiculous to be honest, 1k Karka Shell is by no means farmable efficiently..
Just looking at the trading post histories would be able to tell who spent money on the shells or not.

Or you could of got to the event and got it for free just saying.
Any way you cant equip 2 of the same item when they have UNIQUE even the new gear is like this. No amount of posting will changes this so try not to make your self a losing cause.

Guess the Event ones are bettah. What are these unique ones you speak of? :o

Doggie.3184:

Guess the Event ones are bettah. What are these unique ones you speak of? :o

earings not box

mulch.2586:

Their refusal to do refunds or restore lost items is based on policy, not technology.

Wrong.

“Thank you for contacting the Guild Wars 2 Support Team. We would like to be able to offer refunds or exchanges for purchases, but at this time we’re unable to make these kinds of adjustments to characters. We simply do not have the tools to provide this service.”

LieutenantGoogle.7326:

Bluebird.1890:

In this thread, we learned a few things:

1) UNIQUE on an item generally means you can only equip just 1.
2) Some people lost money learning this.
3) Arenanet will not give refunds for this, because they don’t have the tools to accurately refund people items and discern who is being honest or not.

Okay.

Can we end the thread now? Or are you guys going to sit here and try to kill eachother over semantics?

The reason #3 is quite ridiculous to be honest, 1k Karka Shell is by no means farmable efficiently..
Just looking at the trading post histories would be able to tell who spent money on the shells or not.

You aren’t getting a refund. Arenanet has stated it in no uncertain terms.

LieutenantGoogle.7326:

nachtnebel.9168:

Well, the tooltip clearly states that it’s a unique item so you knew if before you bought the second one.

There is nothing in the game that says anything about the features of unique items.

Use your brains. Google what you don’t know. Hell, who teaches you kids breathing nowadays?

LieutenantGoogle.7326:

mulch.2586:

LieutenantGoogle.7326:

nachtnebel.9168:

Well, the tooltip clearly states that it’s a unique item so you knew if before you bought the second one.

There is nothing in the game that says anything about the features of unique items.

Actually:
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Unique

That page was only made 2 days ago the time period for such information to spread is unbelievably small, and its not even something that is even made widely knowledgable unless people actively search for the term.

If the game itself said “ONLY 1 PER CHARACTER” then that would’ve worked a billion times better.

I don’t understand why Anet would put such a silly trait like “Unique” for such an important property.

I knew exactly what it meant when I first saw it. Seems pretty straight forward to me.

Bluebird.1890:

mulch.2586:

Their refusal to do refunds or restore lost items is based on policy, not technology.

Wrong.

“Thank you for contacting the Guild Wars 2 Support Team. We would like to be able to offer refunds or exchanges for purchases, but at this time we’re unable to make these kinds of adjustments to characters. We simply do not have the tools to provide this service.”

But if you show up for a press event, they have no trouble providing you with a fully-equipped character.

You don’t think the internal testers have to actually grind out and equip themselves, do you?

Regardless, they could have those tools if Arenanet wanted them to be able to do reimbursements.

Rather, they have a view that GM’s are rule-keepers, not customer helpers. It’s the same view players of other NCSoft games have encountered, and is in marked contrast from say Trion/Rift, where they routinely provide reimbursements to correct player error. The difference is, of course, $14.99/mth sub fee.

Myself, I’m ok with the GW2 approach. It’s harsh, but at least it’s consistently harsh. Just think of that support button as calling the cops, not an ambulance.

mulch.2586:

Rather, they have a view that GM’s are rule-keepers, not customer helpers. It’s the same view players of other NCSoft games have encountered

Funny, I guess all the people I know in Aion that salvaged “by mistake” some expensive items and got the action reverted by the support to have another try at salvaging for free must have been in contact with hackers instead.

This, without question, has been a mistake by Arenanet. As it is their duty to inform the customer of changes in the game. For those without sympathy, I doubt you’d have any for most situations in life.

For me, the easiest and most satisfactory response from Arenanet would be to make a Mystic Forge recipe that requires an Ancient Karka Shell. Which then gives us a “non unique” Ascended accessory item or something equivalent of the 60g value. Then I’d have the two accessories which I originally sought out to have. It would also liven up the Zone as farming Karka shells would become something to do.

How about you OP, would that be good for you? I know for me it would be and I actually gave Arenanet money for this.

Amra.6028:

LieutenantGoogle.7326:

nachtnebel.9168:

Well, the tooltip clearly states that it’s a unique item so you knew if before you bought the second one.

There is nothing in the game that says anything about the features of unique items.

Use your brains. Google what you don’t know. Hell, who teaches you kids breathing nowadays?

Something of this nature should really be marked on the item, just like many other items have added info in parentheses. The markers like “Soulbound” or “Soulbound on Acquire” are quite a bit more straight-forward than “unique”.

In all of the games I have played, I can only think of “unique” items in sitations where it was absolutely impossible to attempt to equip, or even acquire in many cases, a second unique item without cheating or modding the game. To use GW1 as an example, there were unique weapons but there was no dual wielding, so only one weapon could be equipped in any case. In other games the sitation would be something along the lines of a unique pair of boots, which is rather obvious that your two-legged character will only be able to wear a single pair of boots.

I don’t recall any MMO I have played has having unique items in this manner, but it’s likely that I did not play any of them long enough to reach a point where I would be able to aquire one of them. It should not be expected of players to know item terminology of “standard MMO” games(WoW and its many clones) for a game that it attempting to set itself far apart from the standards of the genre and attract the “non-MMO crowd”.

My only questions are:

1) What did you think the “Unique” tag on the item referred to?

2) If you didn’t know exactly what that particular tag meant, what did the other players tell you when you put the question forward in chat in an effort to expand your knowledge of MMO terminology?

3) If you chose instead to remain uninformed, why?

mrstealth.6701:

Amra.6028:

LieutenantGoogle.7326:

nachtnebel.9168:

Well, the tooltip clearly states that it’s a unique item so you knew if before you bought the second one.

There is nothing in the game that says anything about the features of unique items.

Use your brains. Google what you don’t know. Hell, who teaches you kids breathing nowadays?

Something of this nature should really be marked on the item, just like many other items have added info in parentheses. The markers like “Soulbound” or “Soulbound on Acquire” are quite a bit more straight-forward than “unique”.

In all of the games I have played, I can only think of “unique” items in sitations where it was absolutely impossible to attempt to equip, or even acquire in many cases, a second unique item without cheating or modding the game. To use GW1 as an example, there were unique weapons but there was no dual wielding, so only one weapon could be equipped in any case. In other games the sitation would be something along the lines of a unique pair of boots, which is rather obvious that your two-legged character will only be able to wear a single pair of boots.

I don’t recall any MMO I have played has having unique items in this manner, but it’s likely that I did not play any of them long enough to reach a point where I would be able to aquire one of them. It should not be expected of players to know item terminology of “standard MMO” games(WoW and its many clones) for a game that it attempting to set itself far apart from the standards of the genre and attract the “non-MMO crowd”.

You’re right, other games don’t have “unique” like this, in other games “unique” wouldn’t even let you pick up a second one, while “unique-equip” would cover the only one allowed to be worn aspect of it.

Either way, something being unique should be a pretty strong hint that you aren’t supposed to wear two of it.