Guild Wars 2

I was just kind of curious how other people view this because it happens with so many different things now I personally think its kind of ridiculous. I understand people like it because they can make a lot of money off of it and whatnot and I know some of those people are going to sit here and argue with me saying things like “It takes skill to solo the content” or “Who cares” or “If you don’t like it don’t pay for the paths”. I know all of these people and i know what you think, I’m looking for other opinions, other points of view.

Personally, I see it as an issue. It is eliminating a lot of the challenge of getting groups to do the things groups should do and people are buying their achievements. I think this is just plain stupid. I would like a developers point of view on this if any read this post, but really i was just curious. Thanks all!

It doesn’t just make the people selling happy but also the buyers. Well, if they get lucky

You don’t buy a fractal if you don’t want to.

Legendaries are sold on the TP. You can buy your timesink Ascended stuff. You can throw gold at most anything and get what you want. Why shouldn’t you in this area?

So yes the buyers can skip their challenge, just like they can with a legendary. Just like they can with dungeons through purchase of those or simply going into pvp and running around doing nothing productive for long enough. Seems pretty par for the course.

Here you go:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Policy-on-the-LFG-Tool

Good luck.

For the 293847838477589864933th time: It’s legit, and it does not cause any drop in challenge or whatever, cuse ppl who buy runs tipicaly aren’t even going to bother making the run in the first place if there is no seller, so it does not subtract players from LFG, and the Devs already said they are ok with it, they always have been since GW1, since it’s a gentleman’s agreement.

So you take a shot at a legitimate activity, and won’t allow people to defend it, but you will allow those with different views that will likely be similar to your own?

Alright then.

Do we really need another one of these threads? We just had one last week. It has been answered over and over.

Jerus.4350:

It doesn’t just make the people selling happy but also the buyers. Well, if they get lucky

You don’t buy a fractal if you don’t want to.

Legendaries are sold on the TP. You can buy your timesink Ascended stuff. You can throw gold at most anything and get what you want. Why shouldn’t you in this area?

So yes the buyers can skip their challenge, just like they can with a legendary. Just like they can with dungeons through purchase of those or simply going into pvp and running around doing nothing productive for long enough. Seems pretty par for the course.

Fair point. Thank you for not misunderstanding me as insulting those who sell/buy paths. I am in a guild of people who do it a lot.

HwaRyun.1807:

So you take a shot at a legitimate activity, and won’t allow people to defend it, but you will allow those with different views that will likely be similar to your own?

Alright then.

If you would think for a second about what I said, i don’t care which side you are on, I was mainly curious if anyone who though it was okay had any other point than its okay because we can. Thanks though!

No issue.
It’s not really any different than paying someone to help you do it, the difference being they find it easier to do the bulk of the effort by themselves ahead of time.

I know for me, there was a single piece of Arah armor I wanted, just one.
1 in 10 attempts to run the dungeon were successful.
Needing 300 tokens meant needing 5 successful runs (or 100 of the 3 token bags from the smaller bosses)
After 3 wins, and many hours failing I decided buying a pair of paths was worth the money. Expensive, but I got the skin I wanted, and could go back to enjoying the game (including much later going back and completing it normally)

Call it burn out insurance, at least for me.

I agree with the OP. It totally defeats the point of having dungeon-related achievements and “difficult” dungeons in general, so i don’t think it makes sense at all.
I can’t even see why it should be permitted to sell dungeon paths in the LFG tab, since the point of joining such a group is to skip all the “group-related activity” and just get the reward.
But i assume they did it mostly to cater to casuals and bad players that however feel entitled to rewards. Usual “everybody is a winner” mentality, basically.

I can’t even understand why they even prohibited selling “home instance” entrances, though, since it is essentially the same as above – both are about joining someone in a private instance to get the rewards, with no group content involved. And both should be either permitted or prohibited, as far as logic goes.

It really goes to show that the content isn’t interesting, and the only incentive is the reward. This is nothing new with the dungeons however….. Dating back to launch, players would commonly stop a dungeon path half way, right before an unintuitive difficulty spike, and walk out with their ~12-15 tokens gained from the check points. Then go back in, get another dozen tokens, then leave before the difficulty spike.

To “combat this”, the moved the entire reward to the end of the dungeon path, in an all or nothing setup. This forced people to do the full path to get the full amount of tokens. But then there was the daily bonus….. which I don’t think was there at launch. It was Anet saying “you’re getting rewards too fast”, after making it as hard as possible to get the reward in the first place. Those time gates eventually crept into every aspect of the game, making the shallowness of the content stand out even more.

This is why the success of the Super Adventure Box baffles me on so many levels. The only complaint I’ve ever heard about World 1 was the kind of glitchy rewards… but otherwise the level was just fun to play. I’ve never heard this said for any other dungeon style content except for select fractals. Obviously they have the ability to make fun, engaging levels….. but its never deliberate.

I personally see no issue. There isn’t a lot of actual “achievement” that they are buying, so that’s not a strong enough argument against it. The dungeon title is the only thing, and typically people do all paths except for a handful of the Arah ones. Beyond that, skipping to boss in fractals doesn’t get you any achievements.

In my opinion, the “achievements” being purchased with paid dungeon paths pales in comparison to what you can “achieve” by having a Mesmer port you to the end of JPs.

I see no harm for the sellers or the buyers here but I think the legitimate beef here is for players who are kicked to make room for buyers without being given any cut of the profits which is why I say people should just be wary pugging these things, especially if your group has a guild in it.

Ranlares.2513:

I would like a developers point of view on this if any read this post,

They have already said that it’s ok to sell dungeon paths. I’m not sure how this is different, although typically, I would think that there is less demand (since there aren’t collections or achievements tied to just finishing the final fractal).

my understanding is that if you want to give your money to another player, you’re allowed. If they choose to do something in anticipation of or because you’ve given them money, that’s their choice.

Anet offers no guarantees, though.

Manuhell.2759:

I agree with the OP. It totally defeats the point of having dungeon-related achievements and “difficult” dungeons in general, so i don’t think it makes sense at all.
I can’t even see why it should be permitted to sell dungeon paths in the LFG tab, since the point of joining such a group is to skip all the “group-related activity” and just get the reward.
But i assume they did it mostly to cater to casuals and bad players that however feel entitled to rewards. Usual “everybody is a winner” mentality, basically.

I can’t even understand why they even prohibited selling “home instance” entrances, though, since it is essentially the same as above – both are about joining someone in a private instance to get the rewards, with no group content involved. And both should be either permitted or prohibited, as far as logic goes.

There’s a third reason you over looked besides casuals and bad players…lazy players( which may not be casuals), it’s a way for the lazy players to get their rewards without doing anything except pay gold.

I don’t believe Anet has prohibited selling “home instances” for dailies as I see it on a constant basis…unless you can prove otherwise.

Also for the other side I can join ur party when its 4/5 and leave to make the lfg go off until I get lfg blocked for to many joins…and usle I would pay for runs but most Arah runs are threw glitches in programing to kill bosses by there own skills.

I do the same for fractal runs that only want like full zerk

now THAT likely counts as harassment. you almost certainly can be penalized for that

Ranlares.2513:

HwaRyun.1807:

So you take a shot at a legitimate activity, and won’t allow people to defend it, but you will allow those with different views that will likely be similar to your own?

Alright then.

If you would think for a second about what I said, i don’t care which side you are on, I was mainly curious if anyone who though it was okay had any other point than its okay because we can. Thanks though!

Unfortunately it doesnt matter whether or not WE think if it’s okay or not. Anet’s stance, thus their enforcement of it, is that selling paths and fractals is allowed, and buyers beware.

Basandra Skye.4031:

Unfortunately it doesnt matter whether or not WE think if it’s okay or not. Anet’s stance, thus their enforcement of it, is that selling paths and fractals is allowed, and buyers beware.

It’s seller beware too. There’s nothing to stop someone from simply not forking over the money.

Anet statements on it are:

1) It is not against the rules or the Terms of Service so long as it is only for in game goods.
2) The ONLY economics ANet regulates are those that go through the Trading Post or the Gem Store. So if you get cheated, be it when buying or selling, you’re out of luck. They may ban the abuser, but you won’t get your gold, items, or rewards back.
3) You can’t use the LFG tool, absolutely no sales are allowed, that includes selling paths.

Conncept.7638:

Anet statements on it are:

1) It is not against the rules or the Terms of Service so long as it is only for in game goods.
2) The ONLY economics ANet regulates are those that go through the Trading Post or the Gem Store. So if you get cheated, be it when buying or selling, you’re out of luck. They may ban the abuser, but you won’t get your gold, items, or rewards back.
3) You can’t use the LFG tool, absolutely no sales are allowed, that includes selling paths.

1: correct
2: incorrect as far as anet’s response. You scam, you WILL be punished
3: REALLY incorrect, and that’s with Gaile’s sticky to read;

Our policy: Players may use the LFG Tool only for the formation of a group.
Players may use the tool to sell a spot in a group, but they may not use it to sell or trade items or for any other unintended purposes. Doing so will result in an account infraction.

Ranlares.2513:

Personally, I see it as an issue. It is eliminating a lot of the challenge of getting groups to do the things groups should do and people are buying their achievements. I think this is just plain stupid.

While I agree this undermines the value of some of the achievements (doesn’t apply to dungeons only – it is true for DT, SW and the jumping puzzles too!), values of these acomplishments is already so incredibly low, that I don’t care anymore. Also, how is it different if a noob somehow manages to find a group of decent players to carry him through a dungeon? The only difference is that when he’s buying, the skilled players at least get paid for their effort, instead of doing it for him for free.
After 2+ years of content in this game, I still believe the ONLY achievement in this game that has an actual value would be “the blazing light”. In this case Anet indeed made sure noone would help you with that, it tells something about YOUR SKILL. I’d like to see more stuff like that, but the sad truth is, everything in gw2 supports a party of 5 players (even PERSONAL story), so you can get carried through everything and no accomplishment has any value whatsoever.
Therefore I think the concept of buying isn’t hurting any part of the game by any means. It’s just a little added bonus for those, who can play well.

Basandra Skye.4031:

Conncept.7638:

Anet statements on it are:

1) It is not against the rules or the Terms of Service so long as it is only for in game goods.
2) The ONLY economics ANet regulates are those that go through the Trading Post or the Gem Store. So if you get cheated, be it when buying or selling, you’re out of luck. They may ban the abuser, but you won’t get your gold, items, or rewards back.
3) You can’t use the LFG tool, absolutely no sales are allowed, that includes selling paths.

1: correct
2: incorrect as far as anet’s response. You scam, you WILL be punished
3: REALLY incorrect, and that’s with Gaile’s sticky to read;

Our policy: Players may use the LFG Tool only for the formation of a group.
Players may use the tool to sell a spot in a group, but they may not use it to sell or trade items or for any other unintended purposes. Doing so will result in an account infraction.

I did state that anyone who scams could be punished, I didn’t say will because that works under the assumption that the report system is flawless or that group ownership and obligation for provided services are always clear cut, none of which is true. And in either case, you ARE at risk of losing whatever you offer, ANet will not give refunds or any compensation whatsoever for being scammed outside the TP and Gemstore.

Didn’t know the reds had posted about it either, as I don’t buy or sell myself, just have guildies that do, most of which don’t frequent the forums and so have old information, I’ll bring this up next time they’re selling.

To answer the OP no its not an issue, if you dont want to buy start your own group and complete the content.

As long as the sellers aren’t exploiting other players or their services aren’t making it harder for the rest of us to play, what does it really matter?

At the end of the day it’s just a game, that you had fun (and didn’t do so at the expense of others) should be all that matters. Concerning yourself with how other people play the game isn’t healthy for you and isn’t healthy for the game; it’s the same kind of mindset that spawns all those toxic anti-zerk/anti-Trinity/anti-whatever threads that ultimately boil down to “I don’t like how other people play, nerf them” (and wind up shafting us with nerfs).

Ranlares.2513:

I was just kind of curious how other people view this because it happens with so many different things now I personally think its kind of ridiculous. I understand people like it because they can make a lot of money off of it and whatnot and I know some of those people are going to sit here and argue with me saying things like “It takes skill to solo the content” or “Who cares” or “If you don’t like it don’t pay for the paths”. I know all of these people and i know what you think, I’m looking for other opinions, other points of view.

Personally, I see it as an issue. It is eliminating a lot of the challenge of getting groups to do the things groups should do and people are buying their achievements. I think this is just plain stupid. I would like a developers point of view on this if any read this post, but really i was just curious. Thanks all!

I think it’s fine.
If people are willing to do it and others are willing to buy it – it’s not a bad thing.

Think about the people buying the paths – they might otherwise be unable to complete FOTM – this is giving them a chance while rewarding those who work for that chance.

tenklo.6104:

Also for the other side I can join ur party when its 4/5 and leave to make the lfg go off until I get lfg blocked for to many joins…and usle I would pay for runs but most Arah runs are threw glitches in programing to kill bosses by there own skills.

I do the same for fractal runs that only want like full zerk

Enjoy getting reported buddy.

tenklo.6104:

Also for the other side I can join ur party when its 4/5 and leave to make the lfg go off until I get lfg blocked for to many joins…and usle I would pay for runs but most Arah runs are threw glitches in programing to kill bosses by there own skills.

I do the same for fractal runs that only want like full zerk

Are you saying that you join full zerk groups in LFG and then leave specifically to take the listing off of the LFG list so that they have to re-list it?

Why would you do that? That serves no purpose but to troll that group, which is certainly harassment.

You are within your rights to not join a zerk group if you feel strongly against that meta, but you really need to just create your own group or simply not join theirs. You should not troll them by joining and leaving to remove their LFG.

Supply and demand. As long as there are players willing to pay for paths or FotM (Really???) there will be sellers. I f they forbid using the LFG tool people will use some webpage, if you are old enough in this game you might remember using this: http://gw2lfg.com/ before the LFG tool.

I used to run and sell Arah P4 when I made the run with 2 guildes, people are willing to pay for several reasons, like titles (Dungeoneer and Dungeon Master) or for the skins. It’s how the world works, some persons work, others have money and pay.

NumenorLord.6539:

Supply and demand. As long as there are players willing to pay for paths or FotM (Really???)

FoTM has actually become quite popular to buy.

For one, if your reward level is low you can keep buying spots for the final boss on levels higher than you to get your reward level up. You can do this all the way up to 50. Secondly, once you have a high reward level, you can skip an hour of “work” to get to final boss and reap the rewards (potentially fractal skins, ascended armor/weapons, etc.).

IMO I find buying fractal bosses to be far more rewarding than buying an Arah path.

I’ve never purchased a path on either, mind you, I can just see the appeal.

tenklo.6104:

Also for the other side I can join ur party when its 4/5 and leave to make the lfg go off until I get lfg blocked for to many joins…and usle I would pay for runs but most Arah runs are threw glitches in programing to kill bosses by there own skills.

I do the same for fractal runs that only want like full zerk

You’re breaking more rules than a vast majority of the people in those groups. GG.

No Issue. Who cares, if you don’t like it don’t pay for the paths.

there, I did it.