Guild Wars 2

I’m asking this question in the context of the game’s economy. Things like pickaxes serve as necessary gold sinks. While a never-ending pickaxe is great for the players who obtain one, and I’m sure ArenaNet appreciates every dollar we (the community) spend in the Gem Shop, I’m not sure this was a good idea. This one item probably won’t affect the economy too much, but allowing players to drop cash to circumvent gold sinks seems like a bad idea if it becomes a widespread practice.

What are your thoughts on the subject?

Buying picks is not a huge gold sink. And because the pick is soulbound on use it means that to have one on every char you will have to spend $50-$80 depending on how many you have. I think they are ok taking away that small gold sink to make more money.

Some fun math on the Molten Alliance Pick.

Currently costs 21.6 gold (this has probably changed).
That’s 540 regular 4 silver picks.
That would require you to mine 54,000 nodes to make up for how much you spent on it.
That ends up being 162,000 pieces of ore.
Good luck ever mining that much, but I bought one anyways :p.

EDIT

Someone correctly pointed out that I mixed my numbers up and it is only 18,000 mining nodes, and 54,000 pieces of ore (still quite a lot).

Undean.9704:

Some fun math on the Molten Alliance Pick.

Currently costs 21.6 gold (this has probably changed).
That’s 540 regular 4 silver picks.
That would require you to mine 54,000 nodes to make up for how much you spent on it.
That ends up being 162,000 pieces of ore.
Good luck ever mining that much, but I bought one anyways :p.

I hear you, but do realize not everyone is going to convert gold to gems for the sake of obtaining this item. Again, I don’t think this one item will have much of an impact on the economy, but (at the risk of going slippery-slope) the pick could easily herald more items of a similar nature (particularly if it sells well).

Undean.9704:

Some fun math on the Molten Alliance Pick.

Currently costs 21.6 gold (this has probably changed).
That’s 540 regular 4 silver picks.
That would require you to mine 54,000 nodes to make up for how much you spent on it.
That ends up being 162,000 pieces of ore.
Good luck ever mining that much, but I bought one anyways :p.

648 stacks (250) of ore. Wow. Rough guesstimate I’d say I’ve maybe had 100 stacks from launch to now.

Undean.9704:

Some fun math on the Molten Alliance Pick.

Currently costs 21.6 gold (this has probably changed).
That’s 540 regular 4 silver picks.
That would require you to mine 54,000 nodes to make up for how much you spent on it.
That ends up being 162,000 pieces of ore.
Good luck ever mining that much, but I bought one anyways :p.

Actually that’s 54,000 swings, not 54,000 nodes, which makes 18,000 nodes.
Still, that’s ridiculous.

I personally don’t care about the maths, if you have a main character you generally do dailies on or just farming/gathering, then this is great, and it fits with the fiery theme of my character so ++ for me.

Now hopefully they will release versions for the axe and sickle (won’t be fiery though)

Undean.9704:

Some fun math on the Molten Alliance Pick.

Currently costs 21.6 gold (this has probably changed).
That’s 540 regular 4 silver picks.
That would require you to mine 54,000 nodes to make up for how much you spent on it.
That ends up being 162,000 pieces of ore.
Good luck ever mining that much, but I bought one anyways :p.

And that’s assuming you mine absolutely nothing but orichalcum. The molten pick just gets worse if you keep around a cheaper mithril pick for lesser metals.

$10 is worth more to Anet than a very minor goldsink. The whole point of the game is to sell their gems and make profit. The average guy who buys the pickaxe for one character is spending much more than he would just buying normal picks, so its really a bigger goldsink than before.

I’m probably going to buy it because the quality of life benefits are pretty high for me. I really hate having to carry around a ton of picks and store karma picks in the bank all the time just because I’m a cheap kitten.

Vargs.6234:

Undean.9704:

Some fun math on the Molten Alliance Pick.

Currently costs 21.6 gold (this has probably changed).
That’s 540 regular 4 silver picks.
That would require you to mine 54,000 nodes to make up for how much you spent on it.
That ends up being 162,000 pieces of ore.
Good luck ever mining that much, but I bought one anyways :p.

And that’s assuming you mine absolutely nothing but orichalcum. The molten pick just gets worse if you keep around a cheaper mithril pick for lesser metals.

I just use orichalcum picks for everything. I buy them with karma though, so I’m not bothered.

I still find myself tempted to get at least one of these picks, if only for the visual effect.

Chickenshoes.6250:

I really hate having to carry around a ton of picks and store karma picks in the bank all the time just because I’m a cheap kitten.

You’re a cheap kitten and yet you’re going to spend far more on a permanent pick than you’re likely to ever spend on picks anyway.
wat

I really don’t think this one will function as a gold sink though some will convert gold to buy it. Because of the conversion rate, the rational decision would be to spend dollars (or pick you IRL currency) on this not gold. As such it will not really take much gold out of the game and will affect Anet more than the game in economic terms.

And, I don’t imagine that having the unlimited use picks in the game obviating the need to purchase picks is going to affect the economy much. The benefit of unlimited use tools is more convenience than economic I should think.

If you’re buying it to save money then you should think twice. However, a lot of people are buying it for the convenience.

If this were account bound, I would fork over ten bucks for it in a second. But ten dollars for an upgrade for a single freaking character is beyond greedy.

I just bought it, happy to give Anet some money, it’s a cosmetic/convenience thing, looks amazing, i’m amazed so many people are nitpicking its cost and how much you would have to mine to make your gold back, isn’t all that gold just for cool cosmetic things like this anyways?

Hey atleast it’s not a random chance for it from a chest……

For conveniance I think this is a good idea and it also of course encourages people who otherwise may not ever spend real life cash to possibly think about doing so. I think this could be a step in the right direction.

Now all we need is for them to bring on the other 2 tool types.

Should I curse us all and say something like bring on all the “Anet hates altaholics because this is soulbound and punishes them!” Posts…..?

Sorry but you just know if it hasn’t happened yet it will.

This is the kind of thing they should offer through the gem store. It’s got a cool effect, doesn’t break the game but it’s not utterly useless fluff like town clothes. If you’re concerned about storage space and carrying around tools then it’s a good deal. If you’re concerned about cost then keep buying 100-use picks.

I’ve seen numerous posts by people saying they want to help support the game but there’s nothing worth buying from the Gem Store, and others who complain that all the cool stuff is hidden behind RNG keys. This is a good deal for everyone, the only ones who aren’t happy about it have made the choice to be unhappy.

It’s more convenience than cost-effectiveness. Getting one means you never have to use up extra slots in your bag for spare picks, and you never have to worry about finding an ori or rich ori node and run out of picks before you finish off the node.

Given that you can also convert gold to gems, it was a no-brainer to withdraw some gold and drop it on one, if only for the quality of life boost.

ANET makes much more money from an 800 gem sale — and a much bigger sink — than the original picks ever could be. Unless you’re a bot you will never mine enough to save gold this way. Rather, this is for min/maxers as well as covenience. I think it’s a solid product and a good call by ANET and I hope to see more items like it in the future.

I got it because it’s cool.

Paulytnz.7619:

Hey atleast it’s not a random chance for it from a chest……

For conveniance I think this is a good idea and it also of course encourages people who otherwise may not ever spend real life cash to possibly think about doing so. I think this could be a step in the right direction.

Now all we need is for them to bring on the other 2 tool types.

Should I curse us all and say something like bring on all the “Anet hates altaholics because this is soulbound and punishes them!” Posts…..?

Sorry but you just know if it hasn’t happened yet it will.

They already proved they hated alts with ascended gear being soulbound on use instead of staying account bound. Especially the laurel ascended gear.

It’s great! Never again will I need need to check one of those nuisance tool slots again to see if I have the right tool equiped while harvesting ore.

Now we need an axe and a scythe!

If you consider the pick as a economic item , you would not make back the money for a long long time. But if you considered it as a item to make your character closer to completion, the 800gems is well worth it.

I like the idea of it. The price I feel is pretty appropriate for a permanent tool. I can see this leading to them milking perma-tools with effects which I’m really fine with.

I have no issue paying gems for a tool with awesome effects, like another pick that makes a mini-blizzard, or blows a leaf tornado all around me. Effects sound awesome, working as another form of customization.

It’s probably worth it just so I don’t have to buy extra pickaxes anymore… although given I have alts it kind of nullifies that benefit. I’ll have to think about getting it… If it was multipurpose and could gather and log too, it would be a done deal.

Useful, permanent QoL improvement in the vein of bank and bag slots that doesn’t immediately confer some mindblowing advantage. You pony up the gems, and get the item, and your GW2 time is a little more convenient.

Also, you can make volcanos anywhere you go, even if you’re not an ele!

If everything in the gem shop fit this mold of “get what you pay for, looks cool, is somewhat useful but not overpowered” I’d wager the gem store would make a lot more money.

The dye packs on the other hand…

For those people arguing that it’s a “legendary” mining pick: it’s more of an underwater legendary. Nobody but you will ever see it.

If it was Account Bound so it could be shared by my characters, I likely would have bought one. But a Character Bound item like this doesn’t make me want to buy it.

DoctorOverlord.8620:

If it was Account Bound so it could be shared by my characters, I likely would have bought one. But a Character Bound item like this doesn’t make me want to buy it.

Considering it’s there to make things more convenient, I dunno if making it account bound would sweeten the deal much. Having to swap it between characters all the time sounds less convenient than just buying normal picks.

Even though it would have been economically unwise, I probably would have picked this up if it gave one to all of my characters. But as it is, I’d have to be utterly insane to spend $80 or enough gold to buy a precursor. Not really much point in getting it for just one when I play them all.

Wait wait wait….so they added an item into the gem store that actively HELPS BOTS?!

I see the teleporting node mining bots all the time….this would just mean the bots can make more gold!….to sell!

The convenience of never having to buy mining picks again or swap them out when wandering through different zones sold it for me. I would have preferred them a bit cheaper (say, 400 or 600 gems instead of 800), but 800 does seem fair for basically opting out of a gold sink for the rest of your GW2 life.

I just hope these picks (or something else similar to it) make a comeback if ANet releases an expansion with new races/professions, because my new characters will need this too!

Zietlogik.6208:

Wait wait wait….so they added an item into the gem store that actively HELPS BOTS?!

I see the teleporting node mining bots all the time….this would just mean the bots can make more gold!….to sell!

It costs way too much for it to be remotely worthwhile to bots.
It takes 50,000 swings to pay for it on orichalcum, and far far FAR more on any lesser metal, and it’s not the permanent investment it is for a real player since they’re inevitably going to get banned.

Zietlogik.6208:

Wait wait wait….so they added an item into the gem store that actively HELPS BOTS?!

I see the teleporting node mining bots all the time….this would just mean the bots can make more gold!….to sell!

I can assure you that gold farmers will NEVER buy this. It’s extremely expensive and would cut into their profits. Plus, mining bots tend to get banned fairly quickly, so it would be a poor investment to get one of these on a mining bot. (Of course, if an account with one of these gets hacked, bonus!)

Zietlogik.6208:

Wait wait wait….so they added an item into the gem store that actively HELPS BOTS?!

I see the teleporting node mining bots all the time….this would just mean the bots can make more gold!….to sell!

Except that bots are throwaway toons that get banned a lot… spend $500 outfitting all your gathering bots only to have them banned a week later… not likely. Botters won’t care about this and it’s only available for a month.

Bad idea to release this, specially with it only being available for a short time.

Good idea, the sort of thing I’ve been advocating, but at a ridiculous price. Just as a comparison I could buy a DLC for another game for the same price as buying the pick.

Viking Jorun.5413:

For those people arguing that it’s a “legendary” mining pick: it’s more of an underwater legendary. Nobody but you will ever see it.

Actually it’s better than the underwater legendary. People will actually see it more often. Other people can see the animation from the axe.

I applaud them on this attempt. I can understand why they made it soul bound. I would much rather have it soul bound and not on a horrible RNG.

As to whether it will be the best pick forever… I have my doubts. I assume they will keep the item the same when they release the expansion but add another tier of mats.

I strongly suspect these picks removed a lot more gold from the economy than they add. The vast majority of people will never recoup their investment on this.

I agree it’s overpriced (people might buy one, but if they had been 200-400 gems people might be equipping them on all their characters instead). Personally I see it as another design decision which punishes people with lots of alts and rewards people who favour one character. The cash shop is incredibly poor value and a world away from how it was in GW1 or even other games. They are very greedy with their pricing and they use “optional” as an excuse to offer incredibly poor value for money. They’ve received the negative feedback and they also have the sales figures to show that no matter how much they exploit people’s addiction, the RNG and overpriced business model is still more profitable than fair pricing with happier consumers.

All we can hope is someone else takes over the reigns for the cash shop in the future and tries to add more value to the store instead of just trying to maximise profits at all costs.

Its more for the effect than the utility; if it were like 100-200 gems then people might pick one up for the utility.

I also partly agree with Shiren though as some of the pricing and stuff is a little lame at times in the cash shop and RNG will never make me buy something; I never bothered with RNG boxes with Nexon, I will not start now.

At least the picks aren’t RNGed lol…

The effect is nice and it provides convenience through never having to carry backup picks, which also saves storage space. So what if it doesn’t pay for itself within a realistic span of time. Convenience is priceless (or $10.)

The reason the price is so high I figure/they figure is people will pay it if they really want the item all because of the “limited window of opportunity” time thing.

Does this = greed? Opinion I guess one could say.

Makes me kind of wonder why can’t we have all these good things automatically. Anyways I won’t buy because there’s no guarantee it will be best-in-slot.

Wethospu.6437:

Makes me kind of wonder why can’t we have all these good things automatically. Anyways I won’t buy because there’s no guarantee it will be best-in-slot.

Cuz Anet wants money and if everyone had it it would be less cool

I picked up one for the utility. Didn’t know it had an effect until this thread.

Chickenshoes.6250:

Wethospu.6437:

Makes me kind of wonder why can’t we have all these good things automatically. Anyways I won’t buy because there’s no guarantee it will be best-in-slot.

Cuz Anet wants money and if everyone had it it would be less cool

Yeah, was just dreaming about game where devs would be “hmm this seems bit inconvenient for users, let’s remove it”.

i bought one, didn’t care much on the animation.
although I hope that when we will eventually have a higher tier of mats, the mining pick will also scale up otherwise they should make it account bound.

yeah.. if people are buying it, more likely for convenience . if people are buying it for long term saving, then you should attend maths class…..

azizul.8469:

yeah.. if people are buying it, more likely for convenience . if people are buying it for long term saving, then you should attend maths class…..

I bought it for theme.

zenleto.6179:

azizul.8469:

yeah.. if people are buying it, more likely for convenience . if people are buying it for long term saving, then you should attend maths class…..

I bought it for theme.

ah ok…. good for you. yeah like i said if people are buying it, it should be for other reason than long term saving……