Guild Wars 2

Hello!

I started playing GW2 a few days ago and I really like the game. I even accidently bought the Heroic edition and I don’t really regret it because I’m supporting the game.
However the inventory/bank space and all the loot is driving me insane. I have no idea what to do with crafting materials/extra weapons other than to sell them to merchants. I don’t understand what transmutation charges do. I’m a complete idiot so I would prefer to say things as simple as possible. Thank you in advance <3 .

I’ve included links in this post to relevant wiki articles to make it more clear and provide more information.

Crafting materials can be quickly deposited in your material storage bank. Click the cog located at the upper right of your inventory window and select the option to deposit all materials. Material storage is part of your bank and will hold up to 250 of each mat by default and can be expanded through the gem store. These materials are of course used for crafting but can also be sold on the trading post (aside from some that are account bound). You can access your material storage at any bank or crafting station. As a side note, all crafting stations also allow access to your normal bank.

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Crafting_material
https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Crafting
https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Account_vault

Transmutation charges are used to change the appearance of your weapons, armor and back item using skins you have unlocked in your wardrobe.

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Transmutation_Charge
https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Wardrobe

As far as dropped weapons and armor you can either salvage them for more mats and essences of luck to increase your magic find, sell them to a vendor (usually the least profitable), sell them on the trading post to other players or even combine items of the same rarity in the mystic forge for a chance at receiving a better item (pretty much gambling and often not worth it.).

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Salvage
https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Essence_of_Luck
https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Trading_Post
https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Mystic_Forge

That is the simple version. I’m sure I forgot some things and intentionally left out more complex things. The links I provided contain a lot more detailed information.

I suggest bookmarking the GW2 wiki as it is a wealth of information.
https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Main_Page

Welcome to the game and check your in game mail for a small welcome package.

I also bookmarked this topic so I can read your post whenever I am in trouble.
Thank you kind stranger and may Raven guide you !

This is my process for deciding what to do with weapon and armour drops on characters below level 80:

1) Check if the current character can use it
Hover your mouse over it and it will show a side-by-side comparison with whatever you have equipped in that slot, which is an easy way to compare identical items – for example if you just picked up boots which have higher stats than the ones you’re wearing great! Equip them.

Other things, like different kinds weapons, may require a bit more consideration – do you want to use that kind of weapon or would you rather stick with what you’ve got? If you’ve not used it before, or not for a while it may be worth giving it a go to see if you like it. If not then move on.

2) Can another character use it?

If like me you have a lot of characters (I made 4 on the first day) chances are the answer is yes, but it’s worth remembering they will get their own drops too. It’s not worth holding onto every random blue or green item just in case. I only keep stuff for other characters if I’m certain they can use it right now (or very soon) or if it’s really good – an exotic weapon with good stats for example.

3) Can I sell it to another player?

If I don’t want to keep it then I check the Trading Post to see if I can sell it, as that gets a better price than selling to an NPC merchant. Not every item is tradable and some simply aren’t in demand – either there are no buy orders or there are so many sell orders that it’s down to the minimum price (or below). But everything I can sell I will.

(Note, take your time doing this – you don’t want to accidentally sell something you’ve decided to keep.)

4) Can I salvage it?

This works on the same principal as 3 – the materials you’ll get from an item are often worth more than a merchant will pay for the item itself so it’s better to salvage it than sell it to them. Also some items will give you Luck which increases your Magic Find and makes it (very slightly) more likely that you’ll get good drops in future. After salvaging I deposit the materials using the method Trogdor explained.

5) Can I sell it to a merchant?

Some things can’t be sold to other players and can’t be salvaged but can be sold to NPCs – this includes junk items with grey text, low level sigils and some soulbound or account bound equipment. If that’s the case then I sell it, since there’s not a lot else to do with it.

6) And if anything is still left over I delete it
There are some items you’ll get while levelling up – particularly from the level up rewards – which cannot be traded, sold or salvaged and which sooner or later you won’t want to use any more. It’s frustrating but there’s nothing else to do but delete them.

But do not delete anything unless you’re absolutely sure it’s useless. You can check any item by typing /wiki and then it’s name into the chat bar – that will open the Wiki page so you can see what it’s for.

Although sometimes it’s more about what it doesn’t say. For example the Mighty Chainmail Helm which Warriors, Guardians and Revenants get at level 14 has very little info – importantly it doesn’t have a sell price, it doesn’t have a ‘Used In’ section and it’s not listed as being part of any collections. Which means there’s no use beyond wearing it.

If you’re unsure about any items you can always ask in-game or on here.

Some more advice. Take your time with the game. Do not feel rushed about leveling up. This will sound weird, but unlike other MMOs, Guild Wars 2 does not ramp up the amount of time it takes to level up your character. This is probably due to the fact that GW2 has no need to force the player into spending a lot of time as it is not a monthly subscription.

That is to say the amount of time it takes to level up from 11 to 12 is the same as 79 to 80. This also means that you don’t need to beat the crap out of everything in the world to try and get XP. Most players just kill mobs because they are in the way, or they need some loot.

The only time XP gain becomes an absolute time sink is when you hit level 80 and you start training masteries. I can not tell you how many times I ran through Dragon Stand (Which is actually cool enough that I don’t mind it), to get the last upgrade to Gliding so I can do one of the raid bosses.

Salvage the gear you are no longer using or do not want. Hold onto your materials. Lower level materials have gone up in price because it is incredibly inefficient to get some of the early level crafting materials as a level 80 player. The other reason for the price increase is that lower level materials are not only required to level up a particular craft… but also because a MASSIVE amount of it is required for crafting ascended gear and legendary things.

Thank you all. I will read this thread everytime something is unclear.
I am taking my time and doing things map for map.
The community is what makes this game great. It makes the game feel alive and like we are really a part of the world.