Guild Wars 2

’Sup
So I am making this post because I really do not want the gambling feature of the Mystic Forge to be working on my account.
The reason for this is that I cannot control my self when it comes to gambling and I will therefore, whether I want it or not, use the mystic forge to roll the dice.
I am not proposing that this feature be removed but that players have a way to block this gambling feature so they don’t abuse it.

So here is my story;
For the last 4 weeks or more I have been farming for my legendary and the last 3 weeks or so have been constant CF farming in Silverwaste.
When I was 200 gold from having the gold to just buy spark, I suddenly fell into this state of stupidity where I thought it would be a good idea to just spend it all, while trying my luck at the mystic forge, and alas now 1350 gold and all my t6 mats later I am absolutely broke and have nothing to show for it.

The reason I am unable to control this is because of the impulsiveness of my ADHD (my brain being unable to regulate the motor part of the brain correctly). And then just to put the icing on the cake, I am at the moment being treated for a Personality disorder (Evasive) meaning I have bad bad anxiety and that I easily fall into a depressive state.
The funny thing is I started on my legendary so that I at least would feel like I had something to wake up to in the morning and that I had something to do and a goal.
In the start it really helped, I felt like I had something to do, that I wasn’t just wasting away, but now the whole mystic forging has just flat out killed it and I feel like just giving up on the game more and more.

So what I propose is kind of a parental control where you can disable this feature (maybe only activate it with the help of a password) this would also help parents who might have bought their children gems so they could get gold, make sure they do not gamble it away, and just over all help people who have a gambling problem, stop themselves from ruining their gaming experience, like I did.

I hope this will be taken into consideration as it can really ruin ones experience of the game when you are presented with a gambling machine every time you go to the bank in Lion’s Arch.

Sincerely Rye

PS:
I hope this is the right part of the forum to post this >_<

That sounds rough

But if you have the password, is having a block up enough to stop you? Will an alcoholic be stopped by a locked liquor cabinet if the key is in his hand? I see you mentioning blocking it for kids. Do you have another person in the house that you’d have to call in to unblock the Forge for you?

And what about the guaranteed recipes like Mystic Forge Kits? Is all Forge use to be blocked, or only rng uses?

I have someone in the house who could have the code instead of me.
And yes I am thinking the RNG part is the only thing that should be blocked:b

Over all I am thinking that if the unlocking of the forge was done on the website it would lessen the chances that a person would take the block off, since it gives you some time to think of your actions and not just act on impulse.

It is not a solution per-say but a way that could help people a bit so they wouldn’t feel as compelled to use the forge for RNG luck, if they have a problem controlling it:).

+1 for this idea.

Honestly, I don’t see this happening as this game (and pretty much every game like it) relies on gambling for not only parts of gameplay (ie. trying to forge a precursor or mystic clovers) but also to produce actual income (ie. black lion keys).

Compulsive behavior, including compulsive gambling, is certainly tied to certain disorders (probably quite a few of them), as well as other stressful events and such in life. It’s sadly a very common thing that can ruin people if it gets out of it, and, unfortunately, it often does get out of hand. But it’s not the game’s (or casino’s) responsibility to regulate the players and their gambling habits by requiring a password or lock. :\

An honest question here:

Even if the Mystic Forge was locked out for you, would there not be another aspect of the game (RNG based where you could win big) that would entice you? The Mystic Forge is the prime example of gambling as it is so easily accessible, it is well known and the “winnings” are incredibly popular. But I know of plenty of other things in Tyria where you could win big or lose it all.

Even the Trade Post, for example. People who flip on the TP are taking a risk and can end up reaping the rewards. So would it not also be a good idea to lock-out the Trading Post?

I hope you do get what you want in this circumstance- admittedly I usually have a low tolerance for this kind of thing, but the way you explained it had really opened my eyes (so thank you for that). We all do have a glint in our eye when we see people pulling the big prizes out of the hat.

Unfortunately, as far as this goes, people have suggested (for a long time) similar lockouts on their banks/being able to store money in their banks for similar reasons, in order to quash their need to spend and help them save up. So far, nothing has been added, and a similar feature was already in-game previously… :/

Probably never be put in, but maybe they should seriously consider it. There may be parents with kids/teenagers playing and would prefer a parental lock on an ingame gambling feature, as well as people with gambling problems.

I do feel like this is quite different than in most other games as it is directly gambling, as you put something in of a certain value while hoping to get the jackpot. While other games have RNG with drops and such you are still guaranteed an income when you do it and not a loss:b (unless you are thinking of other games than I am)
Also the fact that it is PG12 kinda makes it a bit dodgy to have such a feature be unregulated (Not to sound like a fat angry banana)=p

(btw I don’t hate the mystic clover feature as you are not making a big loss and the chances of getting the item you need is around 30% and the other times you get something else you need for your legendary or just something of value).

I don’t participate in gambling in MMOs or anywhere else due to religious reasons and beliefs so I try to avoid such things like the plague, though my willpower is much stronger but I support your idea.

#Crimson Clouds:
While I do see the logic about the trading post I just don’t find it as easy to get into, personally for me the only reason why I haven’t done it is the extensive research it takes. I did do this in wow though, but I haven’t done it in gw2 because it’s a bit to unmanageable for me.

And yes I have been tempted to use the “new” ectoplasm feature (Luckily I was quite broke when I did it).

But I just find that the mystic forge is just easier go to since it does not really require extensive knowledge or is packed away somewhere. Instead it is right beside the wp of the bank (the place I normally tp to) And then it is just throwing 4 items in it instead of having to manage a whole lot of things. So you can kind of just blank out while you do it=p

Not sure if that explained it, but I can see why you ask it:)

Buy your mom/wife or girlfriends an account.

tell them to save the money for you, and dont’ give you money when you want to gamble.

#laokoko
Was actually considering it xD But I have no money at the moment and I have it so I can’t go past 0 on my card=p
I also have stuborn pride so I don’t really want to do it unless I earn it my self:)

Rye,

While I truly empathize with your condition, I am not sure that your proposal will solve your problem. If your compulsion is as strong as you say, just locking the mystic forge, most probably won’t stop you anyway.

There are tons of ways to gamble in this game, in deference to you, I won’t bother naming them but a few come to mind that could easily clear out your bank account. Shutting down the Forge would only force you to find another path to fulfill your urge.

You say that you were close to buying Spark, which makes me assume you were looking to craft Incinerator. If you turned off the Forge you would not be able to upgrade from Spark to Incinerator, invalidating your reason for buying Spark in the first place.

A possible solution for you in the future would be to find a trusted friend in the game(yes they do exist). Example: I have a friend in the game who loves to spend their money, it just burns a large hole in their pocket. So from time to time they give me lump sums of GP to hold for them. That way it is harder for them to just blow it on a whim. Now this plan is not foolproof either, since I am just a buffer that they have to surmount to get their money back. If they ask for it they can have it but they have to explain why, just so they can hear how silly sounds out loud.

Best of luck in your chalanges.

I’m not sure if this is a solution or not, but you mentioned that you won’t go to great measures to gamble.

So I was thinking… you could always lock away money, so you don’t have immediate access to it?

For instance, make a personal guild bank and save money in there.
The main disadvantages with this is that it is not “insured” if your account gets hacked, meaning if there’s anything stored in there that gets stolen by a hacker, it will ot be replaced.
Also, there’s a 500g limit on how much you can receive each week. If you had 1000g stored up for a precursor in there, it would require 2 weeks for you to withdraw it (which could be an issue for you as you wouldn’t be able to immediately transfer it to the TP).

Anyway, there’s another solution:
Make outrageous bids on items on the TP. E.g. put 50, 10g offers on a very expensive item (e.g. Mjölnir). That’s 500g safely stored for you in the TP with no fee and no chance of it disappearing or being lost or hacked away.

Either way, both solutions put a barrier between you and the money, which might be enough to stop you from using it as easily. Out of sight, out of mind. Yet you can still see how much money you really have if you want to, by either visiting your guild bank or taking the time to count up how many low offers you’ve put in for that expensive item.

Not to be a cynic, but what exactly is going to stop an obsessive/compulsive if they know the ‘password’ to use said item?

Edit: I see Yalora thought the same thing. +1

#Crimson Cloud
Thanks for the great advice:D
Think I will try that (y)

#Ardenwolfe

As I wrote earlier it’s not a solution but it puts up a barrier, which at least for people with ADHD makes it a lot less attractive.
And if you are trying to prevent it and you know you have a problem you will most likely try to get someone to help you=p or at least the person should;)

and you could always just write random stuff in so you don’t know the password=p

I really feel for you but my advice would be to have someone change all of the passwords to your games and not tell you the new ones unless certain conditions were met.

I know that sounds rough so why would I suggest it? It is because so much in games is controlled by random (and near-random) factors that it is impossible for a game not to have them. If you take away the gaming aspect to a game what are you left with? For example, say you blocked all obvious methods of gambling … someone who wanted to gamble could play the trading post like a stock market.

As to crafting a legendary, do you have someone there who could work with you in person? Only they would know the password and watch you closely. If they had to leave your computer desk they could make sure you were logged off first.

ADHD is not a lack of motor control, it’s a lack of impulse control and having difficulty seeing how short term behaviors have delayed or cumulative consequences.

I sympathize with you, executive function disorders are very hard for most people to understand and often the best ways to deal with them are to structure your life in such a way that their potential impact is minimized (like a job with flexible hours so you’re not always slightly late, etc).

I don’t think there is an easy way to make a game like this “safe” for a problem gambler – so much of what makes the game enjoyable is the tension between steady, predictable rewards coupled with the uncertainty of a windfall “big” loot/drop.

I find that focusing on specific things and achieving them incrementally helps me a lot. I’ve chosen to believe that accounts have inherent/hidden “luck” and that my account is extremely unlucky (just shush people, it’s working for me). If I feel like the forge is rigged against me, it’s less tempting.

If I had a medical condition or disorder or psychological problems that act up during or are caused by video games, I would seek help from a doctor, not the company that makes the video game.

How about you stash your gold that you want to save in a personal guild bank.

This might remove a temptation.

The entire game economy contains thinly veiled gambling mechanisms… most of them with horrible payouts. If not the Mystic Toilet (probably the worst, imo), you can gamble on Black Lion Chests, karma bags, and ecto vendors, and maybe more that others can think of.

Champ bags are another way to inject RNG into loot drops, and those drop exotics so rarely it’s barely worth the carpal tunnel syndrome to click through them.

If the poor payouts and tightwad RNG don’t discourage you from gambling in this game, I don’t know if anything will. I don’t buy from the BLTC because the drop rates on the RNG items are so bad that dumping the money into a slot machine would feel more productive. At least a slot machine doesn’t insult you by handing out worthless boosts all the time.

for a long time now i have had misgivings about the amount of gambling around in the game and questioned what this is teaching players possibly even our children in some cases and how it is preying on the weak with no self control like the OP

so i couldn’t agree more on this post gambling should be locked and if we want it unlocked we send a request for it to be unlocked with a 24 hour wait period to unlock it so if we do get the urge to gamble in a lapse of self control we cant gamble till the next day witch by then hopefully youl have come to your senses and changed your mind and can re enable the lock if you even bothered to unlock the gambling features

ive heard of casinos with similar policy’s with gambling addicts who can have themselves voulenteraly band from the casino with the option to unban themselves with a wait period so they cant just turn up and be like awww come on man let me in its ok i changed my mind i wana gamble :^p

Or you can spend money on gems and convert gems to gold and buy your legendary.
There will be no gambling there.
Your goal will be finished.

This is not the game’s problem.

This is your problem, which you should consult a professional about.

If you can not gamble responsibly, you shouldn’t walk in to casinos.

Hello. I work in the ATM industry. And a large portion of our customer base is Casinos. And many of them use a voluntary opt-in block that people sign up for that can do all sorts of things like block transactions at X:XXam, or limit the daily cash advance to $XXX. Because there is a base of people who will hit their ATM max and then do cash advances, etcetera until their money is gone. And yes it’s just a password. And you know what? Having to reach for a password is all it takes to shift those mental gears in many cases. A brief moment of lucidity that stops the train.

Implementing the system took time, but it’s absolutely the best thing to do. Morally because you’re not enabling this to happen. And Economically? A happy, recurring customer is going to stay with you a lot longer than someone who burns it all on one-go. I absolutely agree than an optional lock on the mystic forge for anything that doesn’t have a 100% recipe should be put in place.

Where I do feel for what you lost in the forge, ive seen this story before.

Anet are unlikely to put this feature into the game, the main reason being the Forge removes massive amounts of gold and mats from the game very very fast, this in itself can control the market, if you had no other way of doing this the market would crash fast,

Another reason being that if you had to turn this feature on and set a password, can you imagine someone playing the game, getting up to go grab a drink etc, and a friend jumping on real fast and setting a password up for a joke, and not telling them, or someone doing it and forgetting the password later, what would them people do, BOOM contact support asking for it to be removed, and Anet support don’t really need that extra hassle.

Long story short, the forge does its job, and does it well, and you are not the first to lose a lot in the forge and will not be the last to do so either, if it makes you feel better ive thrown in way more than what you posted about without a return.

I do just want to add this as a general thing… it should be a fairly obvious one, but sometimes we can get so wound up in the game that it can be easily ignored:

If GW2 is causing you/anybody distress or is having an overall negative impact on your life, you should probably take a break/leave and evaluate what is the root of the problem.

A game is not worth your overall health!