Guild Wars 2

There have been lots of discussions about gathering tools, specifically surrounding the Watchwork Mining Pick and the new Unbound tools. I don’t want to debate whether or not they give an advantage. I’d like to propose a long-term solution that I think will cover [nearly] all the bases.

—> Make gathering tools behave similar to an Ascended Weapon.

• All characters are permanently equipped with the 3 gathering tools.
• Gathering tools are skinnable (see below)
• Each gathering tool has a “gathering charges” slot (see below)
• Each gathering tool has a “special ability uses” slot (see below)

Skinnable
By default, the gathering tools have no special appearance or animation. If you want to get those things, you can buy the skin from the Gem Store which gives the tools a special appearance/animation, similar to what you do today for the special infinite tools.

Gathering Charges Slot
The Gathering Charges Slot contains the number of gathering charges left for that tool. It can hold the same number of charges as an inventory slot (250). You can buy additional charges from merchants, just like you do today — the difference is that they can be stacked/split. The charges stack can be removed from the tool and placed in your inventory/bank and split/combined just like any other item. You can buy a special “infinite charge” from the Gem store, similar to what you do today for the special infinite tools. Charges are specific to the tool type (so you can’t put harvesting charges into a mining tool).

Special Ability Uses Slot
Similar to the Charges Slot, this contains the number of uses remaining for a special ability. They are specific to the tool type. Like things that go in the Charges Slot, it would accept both consumable (which can be stacked/split) and infinite versions. To match what we have today, an “Infinite Watchwork Sprocket” ability would be available on the Gem Store that can be placed in the mining tool’s special ability slot. There would also be “Infinite Unbound Magic” abilities from the Gem Store for each of the gathering tools. You could also buy some number of unbound magic ability uses from karma vendors. The vendors today that sell unbound magic gathering tools for karma would change to actually sell you 2 things: a number of charges, and a number of ability uses. To eliminate what some feel is a “pay to win” aspect of the Watchwork Mining Pick that’s only available on the Gem Store, a vendor could sell uses for the Watchwork Sprocket ability.

I think this eliminates any potential “advantage” or “op-ness” of some of the gathering tools, makes it much easier to get the look you want for your character(s), and makes managing charges a bit more convenient due to the stacking/splitting capability. It also opens the door for some potentially interesting future upgrades. For example, there could be an ability that gives you a 2% chance to get a drop of a map-specific currency with each use.

Wouldn’t there be the same concerns? Buying these unlimited items for your tools’ upgrade slots, then something ‘better’ coming along?

Few things make a mmo player more ready to argue than gear progression. That shouldn’t be an excuse to design sloppy gear progression. Sloppy gear progression penalizes the players who are willing to participate in gear progression.

Archranis, in my opinion, your design is too complex, but I completely support the general idea.

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

Wouldn’t there be the same concerns? Buying these unlimited items for your tools’ upgrade slots, then something ‘better’ coming along?

I think the suggestion allows for that. It just left out a method to easily swap out what’s in the “special” slot so one can choose session to session what extras one might want to get from nodes.

Certainly I would hope the idea isn’t that you are permanently locked to whatever you put in the bonus slots (or lose the upgrade if you change it), especially if these are gem-bought.

I also support the general idea of keeping all gem-bought utility useful as much as possible — I mean, sure, sometimes some fundamental game redesign might make something obsolete, and ANet’s generally been good about compensating players for that — and think this is a well thought out way of mix-matching the various features of the gathering tools.

Well, right now, one can purchase a different Gathering Tool to replace the one(s) one has slotted. I’m not sure purchasing an upgrade to go into a Gathering Tool slot would be much different. It seems there would still be the same concerns: “I bought this upgrade, and now there is a ‘better’ one I must purchase”. /shrug

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

Well, right now, one can purchase a different Gathering Tool to replace the one(s) one has slotted. I’m not sure purchasing an upgrade to go into a Gathering Tool slot would be much different. It seems there would still be the same concerns: “I bought this upgrade, and now there is a ‘better’ one I must purchase”. /shrug

Right now, players have to decide between aesthetic freedom and an upgrade to harvesting function. Only one set of tools has the objectively superior harvesting upgrade, so players who want that upgrade and have other infinite tools must repurchase the infinite function. It is those qualities that give players, even the irrationally whiny ones, a firm position to argue about those quotation marks you put around the word better. If the studio unbundled the upgrade and avoided offering increasing percentage bonuses (ie buffs with increasing percentage to drop the same item) then no one would have a defensible position.

I think you are misunderstanding.

But, I will let it go. If there are no complaints when different ‘upgrades’ are offered, and no one feels one is ‘better’ than the other, fantastic.

Remember, though, these ‘upgrades’ are likely to cost the same as the Unlimited Tools do now to recoup the losses in Tools purchases.

Good luck.