Guild Wars 2

Tomes of Knowledge are so ubiquitous, so easily accumulated that most players have multiple stacks of Tomes in their banks or multiple thousands of spirit shards from consuming them. These are NOT an item that a player wants to get out of a Black Lion chest – they are not worth the money or the gold needed for the cost of a key! If you insist on having these in the godkittened loot table for Black Lion chests, bring back key farming.

Is anything worth the money or gold in the Black Lion chest other than a handful of items which are fairly to “super” rare?

Such is the nature of an RNG item. You gotta take the bad with the good. I’m not saying I like it, it’s just what we’ve got.

Look at it this way, if you get enough ToKs from BLCs you can use them to level a key farmer. Then get more ToKs.

But yes ToKs are pretty much the minor rune/sigil of BLCs.

Considering that the only reliable way to gain multiple Black Lion Keys is through gems, which mean RL money (on someone’s part) the tome is total junk. More junk than the rest of the usual junk in the chests. At least the boosts are unobtainable through regular play.

I’d rather get a tome of knowledge than another bank express, merchant express, or TP merchant.

This is why I will never spend gems, obtained either with real money or in-game gold exchange, on Black Lion Keys.

Depraved Ambience.7942:

Tomes of Knowledge are so ubiquitous, so easily accumulated that most players have multiple stacks of Tomes in their banks or multiple thousands of spirit shards from consuming them. These are NOT an item that a player wants to get out of a Black Lion chest – they are not worth the money or the gold needed for the cost of a key! If you insist on having these in the godkittened loot table for Black Lion chests, bring back key farming.

I happen to like getting a tomb of knowledge from the Black Lion Chests. I do not PVP, from which game mode I hear they fall like snowflakes and I am in the need of laurels, so I welcome an additional Tome or two.

Lisa.

Sorry, but I don’t think the “average” player has stacks upon stacks upon stacks of these, and thousands of Spirit Shards from these. When they were first introduced into the Black Lion Chests, they were a godsend for alt-a-holics like myself and others. But, I can see the problems people today have with getting them since you get 3 just for doing a higher level fractal these days. I think they might need to drop them or introduce an item in the Black Lion chests that let you redeem for a Tome Of Knowledge or a few other things, for newer players who needs the Tomes or alt-a-holics like myself [though my use for them was dried up now that I have 15 80’s lol].

Shaaba.5672:

Considering that the only reliable way to gain multiple Black Lion Keys is through gems, which mean RL money (on someone’s part) the tome is total junk. More junk than the rest of the usual junk in the chests. At least the boosts are unobtainable through regular play.

I buy Black Lion Chests with real life money, and I don’t consider an occasional tomb of knowledge to be junk..far from it.

I would be crushed if they were taken out.

Lisa.

Krogan Battlemaster.9634:

Sorry, but I don’t think the “average” player has stacks upon stacks upon stacks of these, and thousands of Spirit Shards from these. When they were first introduced into the Black Lion Chests, they were a godsend for alt-a-holics like myself and others. But, I can see the problems people today have with getting them since you get 3 just for doing a higher level fractal these days. I think they might need to drop them or introduce an item in the Black Lion chests that let you redeem for a Tome Of Knowledge or a few other things, for newer players who needs the Tomes or alt-a-holics like myself [though my use for them was dried up now that I have 15 80’s lol].

I think I may have 40 level 80s, and I am sadly quite sure I will make another alt someday in the far future. When I do, I would like to have a healthy supply of tomes. Hmm..if Anet could introduce a way for open world players to have Tomes drop then yes, they could take the tombs out of the table.

Lisa.

I really must figure out where people are posting their survey questionnaires so that I can participate when they are determining what, “most players,” have or want. So very often I am, apparently, not part of the scientifically determined majority.

You get Tomes in every section of WvW reward track, every second section of PvP reward track, in Fractal daily chests, as personal story rewards. If you aren’t getting a lot of Tomes, what are you doing?

Besides that point, you get experience for literally everything you do in open world. Sorry, but Tomes are junk.

Depraved Ambience.7942:

You get Tomes in every section of WvW reward track, every second section of PvP reward track, in Fractal daily chests, as personal story rewards. If you aren’t getting a lot of Tomes, what are you doing?

Don’t forget daily login rewards. Up to 16 every 28 days if you select the 6 ToKs from the Chest of Loyalty reward (10 if using it for something else).

JustTrogdor.7892:

Depraved Ambience.7942:

You get Tomes in every section of WvW reward track, every second section of PvP reward track, in Fractal daily chests, as personal story rewards. If you aren’t getting a lot of Tomes, what are you doing?

Don’t forget daily login rewards. Up to 16 a month if you select the 6 ToKs from the end of month reward (10 if using the end of month reward for something else).

I think I forgot about these ones because they are such a waste that I don’t even register them as an item…

I don’t want to pay money or gems for something they hand out for free by the handful!

Let us convert tomes to mystic coins on a 1:1 ratio: two birds with one stone and such.

Depraved Ambience.7942:

You get Tomes in every section of WvW reward track, every second section of PvP reward track, in Fractal daily chests, as personal story rewards. If you aren’t getting a lot of Tomes, what are you doing?

Besides that point, you get experience for literally everything you do in open world. Sorry, but Tomes are junk.

I rarely do WvW and never do PvP. As far as I remember you only get them from the very last personal story chapter.

So for someone like me, who spends the vast majority of their time playing PvE the main source of Tomes is login rewards, which works out at 10 per month (16 if you choose them from the final chest). That adds up pretty slowly. 8 months to get a level 80, if you log in every single day and don’t use a single one.

Personally I don’t feel that I’m short of Tomes, but mainly because I actually prefer to level normally in most cases and don’t bother with the recipes to make money from spirit shards so I don’t need a constant supply of them. I only have about 30 in my bank right now.

But there’s always going to be disagreement when someone asks for something to be removed from black lion chests because there’s always someone else who likes having it. I’ve seen people say bank access express and revive orbs should be removed because they’re useless junk and a pain to delete, whereas I actually find them two of the most useful ‘common’ items.

Put in a reward chest where you can choose some of the junkier items. Tomes or trans charge or repair canister – whatever. That way you can at least feel a little good about choosing the least unwelcome option, and people that need tomes can still get tomes. Or hey, they like tickets. Another ticket, this time for the very very common items. 1 ticket gets you a tome, but maybe you can save them and get something a little better for more tickets. Kind of like the vanity pet tickets work now. I mean, I kind of hate having yet another system like this, but at the same time, I’d get to choose what the heck I want and think is useful. Or if nothing appeals, I save up for a big ticket item. (not like a contract or node, but maybe mail carrier, dye kit, pet ticket – stuff like that)

Part of the problem is that Black Lion Chests have to have ‘disappointing’ items. They’re not supposed to get you a great prize every time you open one, they’re supposed to give you a small chance at an amazing prize, a chance at a good prize and a lot of things which just qualify as enough of a reward that you can’t reasonably say you got nothing but aren’t really what anyone wanted.

Because, strange as it sounds, that is the format that leads to people buying more keys. (The type of people who are inclined to buy keys in the first place anyway.)

The ‘bad’ prizes are just good enough that they’re unlikely to hit the point of deciding it’s a complete waste of money and get put off and there’s just enough of a chance at a good prize that they can tell themselves they might get lucky next time and should keep trying.

Like those fairground games where you throw things at things to win prizes. They display the huge cuddly toys and the cool gadgets, but 9 times out of 10 people win the tacky little Christmas cracker prizes. Just enough that they feel they won something and can focus on telling themselves they had fun doing it.

Sounds as if people have some unrealistic expectations for BL chests. It’s like a White Elephant or Woot.com’s Bag of Junk — it’s junk, junk, & a variety of niche-utility items. With a very, very tiny chance of a valuable item and an even tinier chance of a coveted collectible.

When I open a BL chest, I don’t want any of the items that pop up — except the good ones and there are precious few of those.

And that is why I like opening BL chests: because there is that tiny chance of getting something fun. The junk is just there to pass the time and fill up the three slots.

The only way I can deal mentally with BL Chests is to recognize that the keys/chests are an attempt to prey upon the weak-willed to make money. While I find that reprehensible, I recognize that many businesses engage in such questionable practices.

Also:

• I never buy keys, either with rl cash or gems from gold. I bought one a long time ago, immediately regretted it, and don’t do it any more.
• When I get a key via play, I never expect anything good from the chest. This way, the only possible surprise is a pleasant one.
• I don’t get keys very often, which to my mind proves the adage that an “increase” to a minuscule drop chance is still a minuscule drop chance.
• As long as I can put chests/keys out of my mind, I don’t mind them that much.
• Chests are the only part of the gem shop that I abhor.

As to the TC’s issue, my personal take is that 99% of what is in the chests is junk. Of that junk, Tomes are items that I occasionally use, which is more than I can say for the rest of the junk.

Black lion chests are gambling.

In order for gambling to be a successful business venture, people have to lose.

People that lose are far more likely to spend more money and gamble again than people that win.

Stop complaining that you chose to gamble and lost.

I may be missing the point, but BLCs never seem to have anything remotely worth the price of the keys. It seems like they should at least have more than one of most of the items (TP express, merchant express, ToK, etc.).

AliamRationem.5172:

I may be missing the point, but BLCs never seem to have anything remotely worth the price of the keys. It seems like they should at least have more than one of most of the items (TP express, merchant express, ToK, etc.).

There are a few items that some players want. I believe that the biggest draw is the tickets and scraps which are traded for skins. I might be wrong about that, though.

From Anet’s point of view, the junk items allow Anet to award three virtual items from each chest, with the really desired ones being rare to very rare drops. The whole point of the system is to entice people to spend more than most people would for a given if they were buying it straight up. Some people might not blink an eye at buying fifty keys to get ten scraps to turn in for a new weapon. How many would spend more than $50 straight up to get one weapon skin?

Tai lopez would disagree

Depraved Ambience.7942:

Tomes of Knowledge are so ubiquitous, so easily accumulated that … [t]hese are NOT an item that a player wants to get out of a Black Lion chest – they are not worth the money or the gold needed for the cost of a key! … bring back key farming.

I could not agree more with this post. Key farming needs to return. Nerfing key farming to once a week and adding (or continuing to include) rubbish loot in Black Lion Chests creates a huge disincentive to spend any money on gems in the Gem Store. I’m not buying any more gems until this situation improves; I’ll just convert gold to gems. I’m sick of getting absolute rubbish and nothing else out of Black Lion Chests.

I agree, it’s one of the worst items you can get from it. I’m sitting on 3 stacks of them and counting, and they keep flowing in from pvp and wvw as well…