Guild Wars 2

Hi,

OK, just got my 2nd 80 and looking to gear up using Karma with these vendors.

There’s one at each temple, and they offer gear that has mix and match stats, but with Runes that give advantages the more you have of them.

So, here’s my question. Is it better to buy all off one vendor, and get less than optimal stats, but great rune bonuses. Or is it better to buy different pieces off different vendors to get the stats you want, and then replace the runes?

Thanks.

First, be aware that you cannot salvage Karma gear, so any runes you socket will be unable to be recovered without buying the incredibly expensive (and not cost effective for runes) Upgrade Extractor from the gem store.

The runes available on Karma gear can also be acquired via the Trading Post or Mystic Forge, so if you want to get different stats on the gear and a full set of runes, you can get the gear you want and then buy the runes. Typically, the stats from gear will be more important than the rune bonus.

It’s better to skip this set of armor.

You wolnt be able to recover any set of runes you put into this armor. Your karma is better spent elsewhere. Plus you can’t get berzerker stats from this armor.

(You can get the skins for this armor as greens on the TP).

I’d recommend the CoF armor or the WvW armor instead (the WvW armor has the same runes problem but at least you get the stats you want).

Thanks. I do want to buy Karma gear because I can’t be bothered with Ascended, and Karma comes easily and seems like the best way to acquire exotics. I don’t mind not recovering runes. I realize I’ll destroy what’s there if I put a new one in. Thanks mtpelion for the tip about getting the runes on the TP or Mystic Forge. I’ll look into that.

For my Ranger, I was thinking of maybe mixing Power/Toughness/Vitality and Condition Damage/Precision/Vitality gear.

As long as he is aware he can’t currently salvage any upgrades off it, how is this armor worse than any other Exotic? I was under the impression, this is EXACTLY what karma was being saved up for.

Also, there is a big difference in fighting / running to open temples and running hours and hours of Dungeons to get enough Tokens…..

If you just have a TON of Karma, and want to use it to get your gear, you can always just buy up armor and drop it in the Mystic forge. The stuff you get back is both salvageable AND tradeable, so you can pull runes off it or just sell it to get the armor you want (karma-to-gold conversion). If you like the skins from the Orr Temple armor, then salvaging will give you the skins permanently, to use any time.

Brother Grimm.5176:

Also, there is a big difference in fighting / running to open temples and running hours and hours of Dungeons to get enough Tokens…..

Especially as I don’t really run Dungeons. My endgame consists mostly of World Bosses and stuff.

Oh, and how do I make those Superior Runes at the Mystic Forge? I looked at the wiki and couldn’t figure it out.

Lankybrit.4598:

Brother Grimm.5176:

Also, there is a big difference in fighting / running to open temples and running hours and hours of Dungeons to get enough Tokens…..

Especially as I don’t really run Dungeons. My endgame consists mostly of World Bosses and stuff.

Oh, and how do I make those Superior Runes at the Mystic Forge? I looked at the wiki and couldn’t figure it out.

You throw in 4 Major runes and pray that Zommoros upgrades you to Superior (20% chance) and that the Superior is the one you want (much, much lower chance).

The Mystic Forge route isn’t a very good one if you are targeting a specific rune.

K. Thanks. There are other crafted Runes that look good. I’ll look into how much those are, and what it takes to craft them.

There are less desired Superior sets on the TP that won’t break your bank and still give decent bonuses…..search the TP for “superior rune”. While you are at it, you can search for Exotic Armor on the TP….the price has dropped to some reasonable values since Ascended has been introduced (tho, you will find the more desired and non-craftable stat combos to still be valued highly).

Another option is to put cheap orbs that give you the stats you want on the (WvW, Karma or Dungeon) armor while you earn enough gold to buy the rune set you really want. It’s not optimal, but at least it gives you some decent armor to wear while working toward your desired setup.

Gambling for Superior Runes in the Mystic Flusher can get you some of the Runes you need, but you will likely be waiting a LONG time (or buying a LOT of Minor runes) to get a full set of 6 (so you will likely end up filling out the set from the TP).