Guild Wars 2

I hope the new maps don’t just have gathering nodes for T5 and 6 mats. We have growing issues because nothing but T5 and T6 gathering nodes are being put on LvL 80 maps. This creates an artificial constraint on lower tier mats, because they can only be found in a few maps, or in increasingly awkward random ways.

The methods introduced recently to get lower tier mats are all stopgaps. They don’t give you control (you can’t go out to purposely farm anything) and they give all kinds of varying amounts. I maintain that nodes should be readjusted across ALL maps, to function as a CAP rather than a band (ie less than lvl 20 has only T1, but ALL MAPS greater than lvl 20 STILL have T1 in addition to higher levels, so by 80 ALL NODE LEVELS are on the maps). The banding system breaks down more and more as every new map is added, as they will forever be lvl 80. This system barely worked well in the base game; it becomes more and more ridiculous as we continue with expansions.? We are approaching or have already hit the point where that are more lvl80 maps than all other levels combined.

Furthermore, this would mitigate how T5 and T6 mats have gone crazy in the legendaries. Mat value must be kept up, so mats required keep ballooning. It’s a vicious cycle: There are so many maps with T5 and T6 only, and they are where we spend 99% of our time, so it’s assumed we have tons, so stuff cost tons in order to keep supply down. If there were a more balanced availability, then there could be more reasonable levels of mat usage as well, including perhaps use of other materials than just T5 and T6.?

I am not sure that gathering in the lower tiers is the issue, but more events that are associated with new story arcs/expansions and tie-ins to those lower tiers. I don’t think going to lower tiers to gather is an issue but wouldn’t mind more things to do while there. The ley-line anomalies showing up in lower tiers is a good example of having reasons to return to those zones. You want reasons to spread people about some. Gathering lower tier mats is one of those. On the flipside the higher end mats being less valuable is due to their supply and lack of a demand. I would be watchful since we might suddenly get some new demands on those tiers of items and then people will be looking for those nodes in the new zones. Look at how much supply guilds halls drained out, I would expect more of the same.

I agree somewhat, every tier is now valuable so there is no reason to not have generic “herb nodes” that give every possible herb or ore/wood nodes that give every possible tier of ore/wood. It would certainly balance out the supply/demand.

Whatever is happening for Elona has already been decided. They aren’t going to scramble to change things at this late date.

The preview is basically beta, so yes, small changes like changing the node table are still possible if we speak up.

Boogiepop Void.6473:

This creates an artificial constraint on lower tier mats, because they can only be found in a few maps,

Perhaps I am misunderstanding you here, but there are more below level 80 maps than there are level 80 right?

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Zone

There are 22 non-80 zones. There are eleven 80-only zones. There are 2 zones with ranges from 70 to 80.

That means between a 31% and a 37% (depending on how you take the hybrid zones) of the maps work around top level content, while the remaining has to absorb all the other tiers. This disparity will grow when the expac hits, and evolve even further with season 4.

Don’t get me wrong: I love 80 content. But the ways to obtain lower tier mats and stuff are certainly weird, given the end level focused nature of the whole game.

Introducing lower tier ore/wood into newer maps has a chance of killing the sub-80 maps, and I’m not sure the ol’ Megaserver is up to the task.

At the same time, mithril is probably the weakest of the high level materials, just barely spiking up from two legendaries being released. At least we can hope that the random tier cloth/leather drops continue. It’s not enough to completely farm solo, but it’s a nice passive kickback.

Among the reasons the devs haven’t made mid-tier nodes available in L80 zones are:

• This gives an economic incentive to return to mid-tier zones, something people in other games don’t usually do (and made possible in GW2 via downscaling).
• This gives a financial leg up for newer players, who spend more time in mid-tier zones, and thus get more wealth via nodes/drops than they would otherwise.

Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582:

I agree somewhat, every tier is now valuable so there is no reason to not have generic “herb nodes” that give every possible herb or ore/wood nodes that give every possible tier of ore/wood. It would certainly balance out the supply/demand.

One possible answer is to use the same “Synthisizers” like in the GH and WvW.

Synthesizers are random. They fill the same niche as the small amount of random drops we get now. The biggest issue is you can’t TARGET your gathering. If you need something specific, say iron, you can’t use synthesizers or random drops to work on getting what you need, you just have to hope it happens to show up.

I’m confused. Why can’t players that need, say, Iron, go to maps that offer Iron and gather it? Seems like a great way to keep those maps populated, and spread the population around. If lower-tier nodes are found in the L80 maps, why would anyone venture back to Core Tyria?

For those opposed to leaving L80 maps, perhaps the Devs could introduce a mechanic like Promotion in the Mystic Forge, only the opposite…um, Demotion? (It would seem going to gather the actual materials would be faster, but it would offer a different avenue of acquisition, I guess.)

People who go to maps to gather don’t participate in the maps. You end up with lots of bodies but no more event participation; possibly less since the maps fills and people actually interested in doing things on the map can’t get in.

Boogiepop Void.6473:

People who go to maps to gather don’t participate in the maps. You end up with lots of bodies but no more event participation; possibly less since the maps fills and people actually interested in doing things on the map can’t get in.

I don’t know how you play, but if there’s an event where I am or where I’m going I participate, because the loot is just as good as at level 80. This is doubly true if I see a poor newbie struggling to kill that vet.

I participate in events that are around me, as well, if I’m gathering. Even if L80s didn’t, it’s good for newer players to see other players around. I doubt there are ever so many gathering-only players in a lower-level map that they fill it up so much others can’t get in.

Boogiepop Void.6473:

People who go to maps to gather don’t participate in the maps. You end up with lots of bodies but no more event participation; possibly less since the maps fills and people actually interested in doing things on the map can’t get in.

What maps have people who “can’t get in” because there are too many people doing nothing except gathering mats?

It’s not about “can’t get in”. The megaservers ensure that can’t happen. But if large numbers of people on the map are just running node to node (and some dedicated farmers do that because they consider the event rewards on lower tier maps not with the time), it becomes hard for those who are trying to do events to gather large numbers of people.

In essence, the argument that lower tier mats bring people back to maps can be self-defeating if they come back to the maps but refuse to participate in an effort to gather fast and get out.

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

I participate in events that are around me, as well, if I’m gathering. Even if L80s didn’t, it’s good for newer players to see other players around. I doubt there are ever so many gathering-only players in a lower-level map that they fill it up so much others can’t get in.

Plus, if there are veterans on the map, even if they are not actively participating in events, they might be inclined to respond to calls for help from newer players.

I often will not be actively participating in events while gathering iron, etc, but I will help anyone looking for it.

I can recall a commander advertising king of the jungle meta on a map that had a hp farm going in the middle of the night, the meta failed.

Boogiepop Void.6473:

People who go to maps to gather don’t participate in the maps. You end up with lots of bodies but no more event participation; possibly less since the maps fills and people actually interested in doing things on the map can’t get in.

We do, depending on the map and event.

The only thing I don’t like about the crafting meta is that the best way to get t4/5 materials is to farm account bound bags on an 80 and then give those bags to be opened by a level 47 alternate character. I currently have 9 level 80 characters and refuse to take part in this loophole.

Linken.6345:

I can recall a commander advertising king of the jungle meta on a map that had a hp farm going in the middle of the night, the meta failed.

Was that a lower-level map? I’m not sure there are many Material-gathering trains in lower-level maps.

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

I’m confused. Why can’t players that need, say, Iron, go to maps that offer Iron and gather it? Seems like a great way to keep those maps populated, and spread the population around. If lower-tier nodes are found in the L80 maps, why would anyone venture back to Core Tyria?

For those opposed to leaving L80 maps, perhaps the Devs could introduce a mechanic like Promotion in the Mystic Forge, only the opposite…um, Demotion? (It would seem going to gather the actual materials would be faster, but it would offer a different avenue of acquisition, I guess.)

Because you simply cannot gather enough of what you need to make anything other than basic items, this is why people buy from the TP, it’s also why the TP price is often significantly higher for lower tier materials.

Not sure which part of the post you are responding to. If it’s about ‘demotion’, I thought the complaint was there was an overabundance of the higher-tiered Mats. Thus, too much is gathered.

If it’s about the lower-tiered Mats, when someone is gathering those, and selling them on the TP. I know I do. Perhaps, one could augment their acquisition that way.

In my humble opinion, the system is fine just the way it is. If I want to progress in the story, I go to Elona. If I want to get my butt kicked, I go to HoT. If I simply want to farm, I do map completion on the other char or simply go to a fitting map and run around there, doing events, gathering nodes, helping others. Mostly I end up chatting with some random person and what can I say, in the end it doesn’t feel like wasted time to me.

So to sum it all up, I am perfectly fine with the way it is. Of course you only get mithril and elder wood (not counting that droplets or Ori and Ancient wood) but on the other hand any legy demands a metric tonne of them.

If it were the other way around, everybody and their mum would be complaining that there should be a map that only drops T5 mats to supplement legendary crafting’s mithril hunger.

I have to say, I very much disagree with this “all mats tiers” idea. I want there to be a very valid reason to go back into the older zones. At all times.

If I want lvl30 mats, go to a lvl30 zone. It’s sensible, self-explanatory, and makes sure old zones don’t fall out of favor.

In theory they could add all materials including all LS3-mats to each new zone, making sure we never have to leave the new zones. Sure. But that’d be pretty meh, equivalent to how expansions in other MMOs invalidate virtually all of the previous world due to level cap increases. I really don’t want that. GW2 is cool because the older zones never quite lose their value.

But, importantly, part of this is going there to specifically gather materials. So I’d rather have them keep the new zones specialized on new materials (compare Flax from HoT zones) with a bit of T5/T6 mats thrown in since well, they’re lvl80. I think I’d even de-emphasize those “older” mats, too. We can already get them in tons of zones. Focus PoF zones onto new mats.