Guild Wars 2

At level 80, at least.

I have played twice during Wintersday.

The game is more difficult than pulling a slot machine lever, and with even less payout.

The best christmas present would be ArenaNet announcing that they’re going back to what they said this game would be, or at the very least, making it so that hard enemies drop nice rewards instead of exotics dropping more commonly (yet still rarely as technologically possible) from skritt. Right now, it is more profitable to fight enemies over and over for an hour than to gather a group of friends and take down a champion.

I miss being level 1-20, where drops didn’t matter so much. Would it really destroy the game if earning things wasn’t so difficult or demanding on luck? Would it really kill every drive everyone has to play if we all found an exotic every 10 hours of casual (read: non-farming) gameplay or so, instead of every 100? Would it really destroy the game economy if a legendary took 100 hours of playing (without distinct farming sessions) to craft, instead of 400 hours of pure farming?

The only way to really “earn” anything is by farming. It’s the fastest and most efficient way to do anything because drop rates for EVERYTHING are so low! That’s the exact opposite of what the game was supposed to be, isn’t it?

I want to play, but not like this. I don’t want to have to dedicate hours and hours to mindless farming to even have a CHANCE of getting the coolest stuff.

Why is getting loot fun?

I think it’s a small group of people who play any given game for the sheer “playing” of it. A rhythm game? Sure. A platformer? Sure.

But a game like this? I don’t think anyone wakes up, has breakfast, and then goes “You know what sounds like fun? Using 1-5 weapon skills and 1-5 utility skills on various enemies.”

They do it to earn things, to feel a sense of progression, to get stuff, to make things. I doubt very much that many people play simply for the combat. This is an MMORPG, it is an RPG, and it is a game about progression.

The progression after level 80 is just mind-numbingly poor. It takes ages to get anything done, and you can play for 4 hours straight and not get anything good. There’s no incentive whatsoever to do hard content, and so instead people spend hours and hours doing the same things over and over again (Farming).

That’s not fun. But running around completing the map and doing hearts to unlock heart vendors and earn cash would be tons of fun if only you actually got rewarded for doing it, instead of the game rewarding 24/7 farming and only 24/7 farming.

Right now, for wintersday, running around finding presents is awesome! Getting tons of them is amazing, getting a guaranteed one for each group of enemies you kill from a big present box is great fun.

Opening them and getting one ugly sweater each and nothing else is not.

I feel like I’m playing friggin’ maple story.

WeLoveKanjimari.6725:

I think it’s a small group of people who play any given game for the sheer “playing” of it. A rhythm game? Sure. A platformer? Sure.

But a game like this? I don’t think anyone wakes up, has breakfast, and then goes “You know what sounds like fun? Using 1-5 weapon skills and 1-5 utility skills on various enemies.”

They do it to earn things, to feel a sense of progression, to get stuff, to make things. I doubt very much that many people play simply for the combat. This is an MMORPG, it is an RPG, and it is a game about progression.

The progression after level 80 is just mind-numbingly poor. It takes ages to get anything done, and you can play for 4 hours straight and not get anything good. There’s no incentive whatsoever to do hard content, and so instead people spend hours and hours doing the same things over and over again (Farming).

That’s not fun. But running around completing the map and doing hearts to unlock heart vendors and earn cash would be tons of fun if only you actually got rewarded for doing it, instead of the game rewarding 24/7 farming and only 24/7 farming.

Right now, for wintersday, running around finding presents is awesome! Getting tons of them is amazing, getting a guaranteed one for each group of enemies you kill from a big present box is great fun.

Opening them and getting one ugly sweater each and nothing else is not.

I feel like I’m playing friggin’ maple story.

Thanks for clarifying “what is fun” for everyone. While i would enjoy getting a pet from the presents, i dont throw a tantrum when i dont. If you feel that playing slots in a casino is more “fun”/rewarding, you should do that instead.

My REAL suggestion, dont open them if you hate that, sell them.

Call me the odd one out, but I actually enjoy farming.

I have a particularly stressful life outside of the internet, there are many things I do to deal with it, but possibly my favorite one is beating the living daylights out of every monster I see, even if I don’t get great items I still have fun doing it.

I enjoy the combat as well.

On my 80 Ranger i took down 2 thieves that jumped me – i can’t ever remember having so much adrenaline running through my veins, i was literally shaking. It was awesome.

Yeah, i love beating up stuff in PvE also… especially on tough encounters.

BTW – i also disagree with the Gambling/RNG – it is a joke.

Heinel.6548:

Why is getting loot fun?

Seriously? How isn’t getting loot fun?

I’ve somehow managed to play for over 1000 hours. In that time I have had 3 exotic drops via RNG. I’ve killed countless dragons the size of large buildings and opened huge treasure chests only to receive garbage (consistently). I’ve made some money on the TP, exchanged for gems, bought keys, opened TONS of BL chests to get TONS of useless junk. I’ve also spent over $200 on unlocks and various other gemstore items.
XP boosters that affect kills only? Really? I can see how that may help a bot that runs around killing for hours on end to gain a couple levels.. but not many humans. At least not at current gold to gem ratios. Certainly not Amex/Visa to gem ratios. Karma boosters and BL salvage kits are handy, but I feel these items are all very bland and should be available in-game via merchants. The gem store would make a killing selling skins. Lots of quality skins = lots of players spending money and smiling.
Instead of having players lose nearly every time they spend money, have them win.

In my personal opinion:
The current system hurts Arenanet/NCsoft/Nexon as much as it hurts the players. It capitalizes on, and exploits individuals weaknesses. Players feel screwed, stop playing, tell their buddies, and ban gw2 from their computers for exploiting their wallet.

No, no-one forced them to buy gems, they may have simply wanted to support their favorite mmorpg and keep the content coming.

I’d Like to add that this game is beautiful, has many features that form the foundation of perhaps the best game ever. I want to support the developers. I also want developers to keep players like me in mind when making decisions.

The only reason I’m hanging on is out of loyalty. GW1 is an amazing game. I spent 7 years playing it and I spent money in the cash shop there to support development. If there were a donation button I would have clicked it regularly. I want to have a reason to feel that way about GW2 also.
For now I’ll remain hopeful.

@Wheels

I spent $0 on Gems. Just extra gold i have laying around. Now i have thousands of gems laying around instead because i only buy things like more slots.

If you didn’t get extra drops from spending extra cash on GW1, why do you have a problem in GW2? As for odds, you can go online and look at the “research”. You really need to calm down.

Orion the Cursed.1206:

@Wheels

I spent $0 on Gems. Just extra gold i have laying around. Now i have thousands of gems laying around instead because i only buy things like more slots.

If you didn’t get extra drops from spending extra cash on GW1, why do you have a problem in GW2? As for odds, you can go online and look at the “research”. You really need to calm down.

I am calm.

My problem with spending extra cash on GW2 is simple. Many players feel discontent with their in-game purchases. The forums offer significant evidence of that. This has a negative impact on the future of GW2. Sure, you can say “Well, that was dumb of them to spend the money.” and you may be right. Arguably, those people are less likely to continue spending money and supporting further development. It creates negative sentiment and hampers word-of-mouth advertising.
If you like to play GW2, this is bad for you.
The research you refer to is unofficial and unless I’m mistaken does not include all items. It is at best unreliable.
Player sentiment is an important indicator for growth.
The forums represent a vocal portion of the community and is a powerful tool for developers. My concern is as much for players as it is for Arenanet. This company has an excellent track record listening to players and making positive changes based on suggestion.

I am hopeful that my post will contribute to the changes I (and many others on the forums) would like to see.

So to clarify.. I love many aspects of GW2. The game is still in its infancy and deserves the opportunity to evolve.
I believe that criticism is required in order to improve and that the developers are listening.

WeLoveKanjimari.6725:

Would it really kill every drive everyone has to play if we all found an exotic every 10 hours of casual (read: non-farming) gameplay or so, instead of every 100?

If that’s been your drop rate for exotics, you should rejoice.

Hours played: 1000
Exotics from drops and chests: 1

WeLoveKanjimari.6725:

I think it’s a small group of people who play any given game for the sheer “playing” of it. A rhythm game? Sure. A platformer? Sure.

But a game like this? I don’t think anyone wakes up, has breakfast, and then goes “You know what sounds like fun? Using 1-5 weapon skills and 1-5 utility skills on various enemies.”

They do it to earn things, to feel a sense of progression, to get stuff, to make things. I doubt very much that many people play simply for the combat. This is an MMORPG, it is an RPG, and it is a game about progression.

The progression after level 80 is just mind-numbingly poor. It takes ages to get anything done, and you can play for 4 hours straight and not get anything good. There’s no incentive whatsoever to do hard content, and so instead people spend hours and hours doing the same things over and over again (Farming).

That’s not fun. But running around completing the map and doing hearts to unlock heart vendors and earn cash would be tons of fun if only you actually got rewarded for doing it, instead of the game rewarding 24/7 farming and only 24/7 farming.

Right now, for wintersday, running around finding presents is awesome! Getting tons of them is amazing, getting a guaranteed one for each group of enemies you kill from a big present box is great fun.

Opening them and getting one ugly sweater each and nothing else is not.

I feel like I’m playing friggin’ maple story.

But GW2 is trying to be a game like rhythm games and platformers. In fact both a rhythm game and a platformer and a tower defense game exist in the wintersday event. I did the ones I liked, skipped the rest. No loss there.

The phat loots and the legendary chase is only one optional aspect of the game. One that many of us are not pursuing and we’re still logging in and doing stuff. You are fixated on this aspect of the game because that’s what you wanted to do, and you are complaining only because you didn’t get what you wanted. The odds aren’t exactly unknown to you with numerous threads detailing it on this forum.

I dont understand.

What are you guys planing to do with these exotics after they drop? You do realize that if Anet buffs the drop rates, the market will stabilize in no time at all, exotics will drop in price tenfold and they wont be worth anything anyways. Its exactly what happened during the lost shores event and every other time Anet nerfs or buffs drop rates.

@Wheels

I’m apologize. Your grammar and sentencing kinda went down hill at the middle of your post so i assumed this affected you personally.

I’m not saying “its dumb”, its just different people have different ways of playing. They are pros and cons to them as well. As far as word of mouth adv goes… barring extremely prejudiced statements, if they are accurate then all the better. I think the judgement now is that you CAN (optional) pay to skip playing but you cant pay to be better than other players. If thats your thing, then by all means play GW2. Maybe thats not your thing.

We dont know what direction the game will go in the future. Of course we all hope it will cater to our own preference. If not im sure we can find suitable replacements for our time. I liked the GW1 more too but GW2 has some hits and misses. I hope i can look forward to more hits and less misses in the future.

What i dont understand is you can also pay to skip content in GW1. The only difference is that theres a more steep grind now. Nothing else changed in terms of the cash shop besides more products available for gems. (personally im interested in character slots, total make over, and bank slots).

I’m not so disappointed in the drops because they dont even drop the gear i want anyways. Every thing gets traded to gold or salvaged to ecto’s.

PS. i have no idea how many hours i spent on the game (average 4 hours a day since a week after launch) but i have enough rares and exotics. My bank to date has 140G from selling drops.

Jrunyon.3012:

I dont understand.

What are you guys planing to do with these exotics after they drop? You do realize that if Anet buffs the drop rates, the market will stabilize in no time at all, exotics will drop in price tenfold and they wont be worth anything anyways. Its exactly what happened during the lost shores event and every other time Anet nerfs or buffs drop rates.

It’s fun to kill off something big and mean, take its sword, and equip that trophy. There are ways to introduce additional factors to adjust drop rates which would not significantly interfere with current market conditions. 1 exotic in 1000 hours of play is terrible.

Wheels.8451:

Jrunyon.3012:

I dont understand.

What are you guys planing to do with these exotics after they drop? You do realize that if Anet buffs the drop rates, the market will stabilize in no time at all, exotics will drop in price tenfold and they wont be worth anything anyways. Its exactly what happened during the lost shores event and every other time Anet nerfs or buffs drop rates.

There are ways to introduce additional factors to adjust drop rates which would not significantly interfere with current market conditions.

But there really isn’t. Just a mere mention on the forums that something might get changed makes people panic and has huge effects on the market. There’s simply too many people sharing one market for anything besides what we have now to keep the market the way it is.

@Orion the Cursed

I hear what you’re saying, and agree with you on some points.
Personally, I’m against P2W, and don’t see the current model as such. It does however push the envelope a bit. It seems to me that many of the items available for cash should have common in-game availability. An example of this would be the black lion salvage kits. They offer superior salvage ratios directly affecting your income. The point of having this item in the gem store is to generate income. Having this item in the gem store instead of being available regularly in-game is bothersome to me as I would prefer to spend money on something that adds creative value to the game. Not something that feels to me like it should be included in the basic content.
Character slots, bank slots, makeover kits etc I think are exactly the kinds of things that should be in the gem store.
The current scheme seems needlessly greedy to me. I think they could make a mint promoting more creative content.

Isn’t every MMO a low odds RNG sim? I don’t like the spirit of the post, but I can’t necessarily disagree with the facts.

It is. But what MMORPG isn’t? Every one i’ve played in my life has had some kind of 0.1% drop that everyone wants.

@Wheels

BL Salvage kits are very useful. Luckily to date i’ve gotten about 7 of them and used up 2. And the kits are from BL keys that drop randomly as well as from daily achievements. Keys were more common the first 2 months i think. Also thanks to the recent change from soul bound to account bound for kits.

EDIT: if this game does become P2W. i will be the first to quit. I quit MTG because they introduced Mythic Rares. Dont get me wrong, i can easily drop $1000 to upgrade but its no substitute for a skill win

WeLoveKanjimari.6725:

I think it’s a small group of people who play any given game for the sheer “playing” of it. A rhythm game? Sure. A platformer? Sure.

But a game like this? I don’t think anyone wakes up, has breakfast, and then goes “You know what sounds like fun? Using 1-5 weapon skills and 1-5 utility skills on various enemies.”

They do it to earn things, to feel a sense of progression, to get stuff, to make things. I doubt very much that many people play simply for the combat. This is an MMORPG, it is an RPG, and it is a game about progression.

LOL! Newsflash, buddy: grinders are the vocal minority here. Grinders, farmers, exploiters and addicts have been cattered so much by other MMOs (you know the saying, “a fool and his money…”) that they throw a fit whenever a MMO is not tailored for them.

But guess what?

“We don’t want players to grind”. Those are ArenaNet’s words.

Grinders who want to ignore everything in Guild Wars 2 and play it as RNG simulator while they grind and grind and grind… Are going to find it’s an extremely low odds RNG simulator. That is by design, and that is how it should be. All other MMOs catter to grinders. This one… Sorry, but this one doesn’t.

Meanwhile, players who play games – you know, who play to have fun – are loving Guild Wars 2. Don’t believe me? How many end of year awards the game got again?

Wheels.8451:

The gem store would make a killing selling skins. Lots of quality skins = lots of players spending money and smiling.
Instead of having players lose nearly every time they spend money, have them win.

This! Couldnt agree more. Design a bunch of cool looking armor skins and put them in the cash shop (just not the gingebread/my little pony kind of garbage). Guaranteed profit. Guaranteed paying customers who dont feel they got screwed.

Erasculio.2914:

Meanwhile, players who play games – you know, who play to have fun – are loving Guild Wars 2. Don’t believe me? How many end of year awards the game got again?

Im pretty sure it also won or came close to winning the biggest disappointment of the year award.

I like the idea of cool looking armor from the cash shop too! It’s sort of like this also in GW1. But then GW2 is more catering to the crowd that does WoW’s flavor of MMORPG, so I guess that’s probably going to take a back sit… Hopefully it never completely drops out of radar though!

Wheels.8451:

Heinel.6548:

Why is getting loot fun?

So that’s enough. Either fix RNG, or give people an opportunity to view the odds of winning when they gamble like any other law abiding online casino.

OK, I don’t know enough about online casinos, but I do know quite a bit about the brick and mortar versions. GW2 is not gambling. I see a lot of posters on various forums trying to compare it to gambling, but it isn’t gambling. Also, brick and mortar casinos never post the odds of slot machines winning ( except in British Columbia) so there’s no way Anet would ever do it. Also, even if they did it wouldn’t matter to most people, because most people (I estimate about 99%) just don’t understand how math and gambling work. Because players are only receiving virtual products, the random purchases you make is not considered gambling.

I enjoy the combat in this game (i play an ele though)

And if you want exotics there are many ways to get them that aren’t rng. The skins can be hard to find though it’s no rush really.

@DarcShriek

I do live in British Columbia and will edit my post.. thx for the info.

The point is how it is perceived by consumers and the resulting impact.

ShinraGuardian.8053:

Call me the odd one out, but I actually enjoy farming.

I have a particularly stressful life outside of the internet, there are many things I do to deal with it, but possibly my favorite one is beating the living daylights out of every monster I see, even if I don’t get great items I still have fun doing it.

I’m in the same boat as you lol. I actually love taking an hour or two out of my day, and just enjoying my level 80 going crazy on a huge group of monsters while I listen to some music.

However, I completely agree with the OP in regards to group content not being as rewarding as zerging regular mobs.

As a player, I’m just overall really confused with the route ArenaNet is taking this game. In other MMO’s I have a very clear goal. Get to level cap, climb the gear ladder, enjoy helping other players do the same thing. This is a clear, and focused route of my game in most MMO’s. However, with GW2 I just feel like it’s a mess right now. Getting to level cap isn’t rewarding at all, and I remember reading a Dev saying how they don’t want you to have to wait until level cap to enjoy the benefits of being a top level character. Wait… wha? Ok. So 80 isn’t a big deal, and it really isn’t to me as a player.

So what about gear? Well, gear is either pretty easy or so ridiculously hard to get I don’t even bother with it. There’s no smooth progression between Exotic, Ascended, and Legendary. I don’t particularly hate gear tiers, but spreading gear so far apart in a game is confusing. Is it easy to get, or hard? Should I be feeling relaxed about my 80’s equipment, or should I be stressing out trying to keep up in fractals?

Now, I know the biggest argument for this whole mess is “well, you get to choose what you want to do!” That’s all well, and good but by choosing one over the other you’re cutting yourself out of huge chunks of the game. I want to enjoy everything. Dungeons, gear climbing, leveling, etc. However, I just don’t understand the goal ArenaNet is setting out for the players in this game. It’s certainly not about the story, or even playing with your friends since there are so many complications with both of those aspects.

In a year, I think ArenaNet will understand exactly what they want to do with this game. Right now, it’s more like a mismatch quilt of gameplay with the big title of, ‘Give us your money!’

Just my two cents anyways.

Jrunyon.3012:

I dont understand.

What are you guys planing to do with these exotics after they drop? You do realize that if Anet buffs the drop rates, the market will stabilize in no time at all, exotics will drop in price tenfold and they wont be worth anything anyways. Its exactly what happened during the lost shores event and every other time Anet nerfs or buffs drop rates.

I doubt they have gotten to step 2 of their thought process. For those that define equipment progression as their MMO fun they will have one of two paths ahead of them
1: Get exotics
2: Get bored and quit

1: Get exotics
2: complain that legendaries are too hard
3: Get ANet to make legendaries to be easier to get (the game is currently at this stage)
4: Get legendaries
5: Get bored and quit

I really agree with the OP, here.

I just want to play the game, not grind my kitten off to get gear that only seems to drop for botters, goldsellers, and people with no RL who can afford to spend hours upon hours doing the same, mind-numbing, repetative task over and over.

So many times I hear in guild chat: “Sorry, can’t do XXXXXX with you guys because I’m farming YYYYYY”.

Guild Wars was NEVER about gear. And it was FUN. I enjoyed levelling. I enjoyed going around and exploring and doing all the fun stuff there was to do.

This is just….ugh. I’d almost rather play WoW – if it’s going to be all about gear, at least if you kill a boss, you should get something.

Otherwise I feel like I’m wasting my time and start looking for other things to do instead of playing GW2.

And NO, I’m not spending money in the gem store so I can convert it to gold to buy the gear I don’t feel like grinding to get. I really wish the gems/gold converter would just GO AWAY. It’s horrible. A few rich people spend money there and completely destroy any sense of accomplishment there might be in working towards exotic or legendary gear.

But at the moment, my choices appear to be: grind my kitten off, spend real life money, or play something else.

Which of those three things do you think I’m going to do, when things start to get annoying and frustrating, ArenaNet?

ShinraGuardian.8053:

Call me the odd one out, but I actually enjoy farming.

I have a particularly stressful life outside of the internet, there are many things I do to deal with it, but possibly my favorite one is beating the living daylights out of every monster I see, even if I don’t get great items I still have fun doing it.

Not sure if that is so much farming, more like an ends to a means itself! I fully agree, though I wish loot drop rates are a little better, particularly for more difficult mobs/vets/champions as currently this is not reflective of the work required.

I hope you people who like hunting things mercilessly play WvW!

WeLoveKanjimari.6725:

I think it’s a small group of people who play any given game for the sheer “playing” of it. A rhythm game? Sure. A platformer? Sure.

But a game like this? I don’t think anyone wakes up, has breakfast, and then goes “You know what sounds like fun? Using 1-5 weapon skills and 1-5 utility skills on various enemies.”

I have no long term or short term goal, and still sign on to run the odd dungeon or try my hand at soloing some new champions, or run some WvW.

Wheels.8451:

Heinel.6548:

Why is getting loot fun?

Seriously? How isn’t getting loot fun?

Meh, I think it’s fun for many folks I guess. But there are also a lot out there who don’t really care for loot. Personally, I don’t really bother with PvE anymore since I found W3.

I tried finishing my storyline last night to kill Zhaitan but the quest just annoyed me too much. There isn’t much of a reason to finish it anyway.

I’ve done like 2 exp-mode dungeons and 4 story-mode ones. I’ve done fractals twice.

I haven’t gotten to 400 in any crafting discipline yet.

I do have map completion, but I don’t think I’ll do that on any alts.

Loot is largely a cosmetic dynamic in GW2. Since I don’t really care about looks, I just bought the exotics I needed and went from there. But if you like “shinies” GW2 seems to be low on the reward scale unless you spend a lot of time on it. To each his own I guess. :P

DarcShriek.5829:

OK, I don’t know enough about online casinos, but I do know quite a bit about the brick and mortar versions. GW2 is not gambling. I see a lot of posters on various forums trying to compare it to gambling, but it isn’t gambling. Also, brick and mortar casinos never post the odds of slot machines winning ( except in British Columbia) so there’s no way Anet would ever do it. Also, even if they did it wouldn’t matter to most people, because most people (I estimate about 99%) just don’t understand how math and gambling work. Because players are only receiving virtual products, the random purchases you make is not considered gambling.

The products being virtual may factor into it, but that’s not the only factor. In gambling (e.g., raffles, lotteries, slot machines), playing costs money, and in most cases you get nothing. BL Keys open boxes, which are advertised to contain virtual items. They do. Thus, the buyer of the keys is always getting something for his money, although it may not always be something s/he wants. This is more like collectible card booster packs, which are not considered to be gambling. The same is true with regard to the mystic toilet, except you are not putting in money, just more virtual items.

IndigoSundown.5419:

DarcShriek.5829:

OK, I don’t know enough about online casinos, but I do know quite a bit about the brick and mortar versions. GW2 is not gambling. I see a lot of posters on various forums trying to compare it to gambling, but it isn’t gambling. Also, brick and mortar casinos never post the odds of slot machines winning ( except in British Columbia) so there’s no way Anet would ever do it. Also, even if they did it wouldn’t matter to most people, because most people (I estimate about 99%) just don’t understand how math and gambling work. Because players are only receiving virtual products, the random purchases you make is not considered gambling.

The products being virtual may factor into it, but that’s not the only factor. In gambling (e.g., raffles, lotteries, slot machines), playing costs money, and in most cases you get nothing. BL Keys open boxes, which are advertised to contain virtual items. They do. Thus, the buyer of the keys is always getting something for his money, although it may not always be something s/he wants. This is more like collectible card booster packs, which are not considered to be gambling. The same is true with regard to the mystic toilet, except you are not putting in money, just more virtual items.

True to some degree. Save for known mystic forge recipes, there is chance for the forge to spit nothing back out. Whether this is a bug or not, has yet to be confirmed. A while back I took a small risk to MF a precursor. Every now and then, I’d receive -nothing- in return.

Really, the mystic forge precursor dice roll is still very much like gambling, but for the most part you’re almost always guaranteed to come back with 1/4th the value. It’s akin to playing poker, you’re almost always statistically going to come out with a two-pair more often than not. And at least win a smaller earning than you put in.

IndigoSundown.5419:

The products being virtual may factor into it, but that’s not the only factor. In gambling (e.g., raffles, lotteries, slot machines), playing costs money, and in most cases you get nothing. BL Keys open boxes, which are advertised to contain virtual items. They do. Thus, the buyer of the keys is always getting something for his money, although it may not always be something s/he wants. This is more like collectible card booster packs, which are not considered to be gambling. The same is true with regard to the mystic toilet, except you are not putting in money, just more virtual items.

It’s not considered gambling. It’s not regulated anywhere. I get paid to know this stuff.
From the Nevada Gaming commisions’s definition of gambling:

NRS 463.0152 “Game” and “gambling game” defined. “Game” or “gambling game” means any game played with cards, dice, equipment or any mechanical, electromechanical or electronic device or machine for money, property, checks, credit or any representative of value, …

The contents of BLTC boxes are not representatives of value. If they were, then it would not be legal to play GW2 in the US. Stop the sillyness in trying to twist the definition of gambling.

Jrunyon.3012:

You do realize that if Anet buffs the drop rates, the market will stabilize in no time at all, exotics will drop in price tenfold and they wont be worth anything anyways.

And that is exactly what i want. Then you can just farm dungeons for gold and don’t rely on luck to get items you want.