Guild Wars 2

Idea I had for a gem store/reward item:

Purchasable single slot for specific item, that applies to all characters. Things that could be put in these would be stuff like the home instance portal stone, the devices that teleport you to the egg room or bitterfrost, repair canisters, keys, etc. They would operate similarly to the shared inventory slots, but for specific items, or a set of specific items.

They don’t have to show in inventory; just having an interface to them would be fine. Ones for keys or other stackable items should be more expensive, I would think.

I don’t understand how this would be an improvement or complementary benefit to shared inventory slots. It requires about the same amount of programming on ANet’s part (similar mechanic), but has less utility for players.

I guess the op want it to be cheaper hence the specific items

So instead of account wide slots that I can stick any non soulbound item in I’d have to buy a slot for item A, a slot for item B, a slot for item C, a slot for item D, etc? Sounds inflexible to use and expensive to buy.

I don’t see the benefit over shared slots either. When I got the shared slots I had a stupid moment where I didn’t want to put anything in them until I decided exactly what to use them for, I had to remind myself I could change it any time to start using them.

I also like being able to take out items that normally stay in them to drop in an item I want to transfer between characters (sometimes it’s easier than going to the bank, even in HotM).

This would lose both those benefits for no apparent improvements.

Linken.6345:

I guess the op want it to be cheaper hence the specific items

If it’s just as difficult to program, then I don’t see how it could end up being cheaper.

Actually, the idea is intended to provide a bit more of an income stream. I’m guessing they want further slots (of the kind we have now) more pricey.

This idea gives players some options. Not everybody wants a home portal, for example.

Every character has slots that aren’t really there: for gathering implements. This is kind of a hybrid between those and shared slots.

Maybe the background might help to understand my convoluted thinking:

The idea came from a situation on my account. I had one toon in Silverwastes, one in Verdant Brink, plus a few more. But, I wanted a different character in Silverwastes. However, when I went to swap characters. I had to move over all kinds of things: shovels, dust, keys, mordrem parts, etc., from one character to the other. It took a while, and naturally I forgot some of the stuff I put in the bank for swapping.

Bottom line is I thought it would be useful if ANY character could go to that zone, without having to stop by the bank multiple times to do it. (There weren’t enough shared slots to do it efficiently, either.)

Then, once the new zones for Season 3 came, it became clear I wanted to have a toon in each, but also that I might want to swap them occasionally. That’s where the idea came from.

You still haven’t explained how this is an improvement or even complementary to shared inventory slots. If the problem is “not enough slots”, then inventing a new sort of slot delays rather than speeds implementation.

I think the op is suggesting something that would fit more in the equipment UI than inventory. So you could buy a slot there for any portal item you equip, same as you do now for gathering items.

The main benefit is that it wouldnt take up a shared slot which would be more useful for other items or if you had maxed on shared slots.

It isnt really meant as an improvement over the existing system and I quite like the concept, but I think realistically it isnt needed. I think if we ever get a keyring and tonic cabinet, any conflicts with shared slots would disappear.

Randulf.7614:

I think the op is suggesting something that would fit more in the equipment UI than inventory. So you could buy a slot there for any portal item you equip, same as you do now for gathering items.

The main benefit is that it wouldnt take up a shared slot which would be more useful for other items or if you had maxed on shared slots.

That’s a more interesting idea (although after re-reading the original post, I’m not sure that is what was proposed).

However, it’s still not an improvement or complementary to the existing system.

• Worst case: the ‘special equipment slot’ is character bound, as extra bag slots are now — this would cost more for most people than shared inventory slots.
• Best case: the ‘special equipment slot’ is account bound, but its contents are per character, so Alpha can have Auric keys and Beta can have bandit keys. This requires even more development/design/testing than adding more shared slots, so it would like cost more in the gem shop.

Either scenario is also less convenient than adding more shared slots and doesn’t resolve the OP’s stated problem: they want to make it more convenient to move the utility items when they swap the dedicated Auric Toon to Silverwastes and the dedicated SW character to the basin.

Shared Inventory Slots already do that — they already eliminate the need to keep track of which toon has which items. The only issue with them is that the max remains at 14 (or 13, depending on how long you’ve had the account) and there are far more than a dozen items that frequent players want to share across the account.

My guess is that ANet will continue to release more slots, 3-5 at a time, every 6-12 months. That allows them to monitor the impact adding slots has on player behavior and tends to keep people from freaking out over the cost of adding more slots. (They more or less did the same with bank tabs and material storage stacking.)

tl;dr more shared inventory slots addresses all the issues (and more) raised by the OP and is preferable because most of the mechanic is already coded.

Randulf.7614:

I think the op is suggesting something that would fit more in the equipment UI than inventory. So you could buy a slot there for any portal item you equip, same as you do now for gathering items.

The main benefit is that it wouldnt take up a shared slot which would be more useful for other items or if you had maxed on shared slots.

It isnt really meant as an improvement over the existing system and I quite like the concept, but I think realistically it isnt needed. I think if we ever get a keyring and tonic cabinet, any conflicts with shared slots would disappear.

Exactly. Except “keyring” and “tonic cabinet” would be specific types of what I’m proposing. Others might include trader express, banker express, what I posted above, etc.

Illconceived, I’m more targeting what I think is a problem: ANet may believe there shouldn’t be any more shared inventory slots, or they may have technical limitations preventing more.

If that’s not the case, and they plan on selling others (even at higher prices), then my idea isn’t needed.

But, if they are up against some kind of wall (technical or philosophical), this idea provides a way for them to segment things. So, they can get more revenue without giving us more shared slots.

Well, since the Devs absolutely stated they aren’t going to do ‘key-rings’ etc. (no mention why, technical or otherwise), I’m guessing they won’t be adding ‘specific-item slots’ any time soon.

Probably best to hope for more Shared Inventory Slots. Personally, I just use the bank and a Royal Terrace Pass in my one slot. =)

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

Well, since the Devs absolutely stated they aren’t going to do ‘key-rings’ etc. (no mention why, technical or otherwise), I’m guessing they won’t be adding ‘specific-item slots’ any time soon.

Probably best to hope for more Shared Inventory Slots. Personally, I just use the bank and a Royal Terrace Pass in my one slot. =)

Do you have a link them saying absolutely? Last dev comment I read was they thought it was a good idea, but nit something being currently worked on.

Just this:

’It’s a cool suggestion. But, sorry, we’re not working on a key ring. We’ve got a full plate with other development, and as I said above, my priority is for us to do a great job on the things we’re already tackling’. Mike O’Brien

Of course, nothing is ever off the table…. Still, not being worked on, and not on the priority list.

They did absolutely state this, and as posted above, I wouldn’t expect to see key-rings (or something similar such as specific-item slots) anytime soon.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/48zlyd/im_mike_obrien_here_with_gw2_dev_team_ama/

Ah right, so they didn’t absolutely state they aren’t going to do one like you originally said. I knew about it being no time soon or not being worked on at this time, which is a very different thing.

I guess it’s up for interpretation. They absolutely stated they were not working on it, nor planned to, as it wasn’t a priority.

Again, I’m sure if pressed, they would say ‘nothing is off the table’, but with no plans to work on it…again, I would not expect to see it any time soon.

Correct, they absolutely stated they weren’t working on one and that it is clear it isn’t something we can expect anytime soon and that would likely apply to anything similar.

They haven’t said they absolutely aren’t going to do one. That was all I was clearing up based on the wordage used – I wanted to ensure I hadn’t missed a comms on that and happily I haven’t.

It’s a shame though, I just hope they are minimising how many more keys/currencies they are adding. The last map was beyond ridiculous – def something that should have been picked up on during the development discussions. Hopefully the forthcoming material storage expansion will go a small way to alleviating some of the issues.

So essentially a cheaper shared slot for one specific item? Then thered be no reason to buy the slots if you dont have the item

Amaimon.7823:

So essentially a cheaper shared slot for one specific item? Then thered be no reason to buy the slots if you dont have the item

The idea is that they are items almost everyone has or will have at some point – portals, keys (any key), tonics (any tonics).

It’s a qol/convenience thing. However, as nice as the idea is, as established above, it’s just an extension of what we already have and it’s prob not something that would justify dev time on since shared slots already “work”.

Randulf.7614:

Amaimon.7823:

So essentially a cheaper shared slot for one specific item? Then thered be no reason to buy the slots if you dont have the item

The idea is that they are items almost everyone has or will have at some point – portals, keys (any key), tonics (any tonics).

It’s a qol/convenience thing. However, as nice as the idea is, as established above, it’s just an extension of what we already have and it’s prob not something that would justify dev time on since shared slots already “work”.

Agreed. If we ever get anything like this, I would expect it to be a long time. They would have to think through the ramifications. PART of that has been done with shared slots already, but some of these could potentially affect game balance.