Guild Wars 2

I see a lot of topics these days about some players that are struggling to get through to their first exotic set because of the cost of them. A lot of these poor people are sneered at derisively and told to learn how to play and I for one must say this just isn’t fair.

Now, I currently have 3 level 80 characters, so obviously I’ve now got a bit of a feel for the game and just wanted to share a few hints and tips with people in case they are feeling a bit strapped for cash.

• First off, crafting (in my opinion) is a money sink. That’s not to say you can’t make money with it, but these days there is so much on The Trading Post (TP for short) your profit margins are are going to be razor thin, and so it really isn’t worth it.
• Gathering materials – this is worth it, especially for some of the lower levels, copper at the beginning of the game actually sells quite handsomely on TP and will easily lead you to turning a tidy profit.
• Loot bags – We’ve all seen them, tiny thorned bag, mouldy bag etc., now, there is a desire within all of us to open these, but don’t. Check on TP to see if you can sell them for more, a lot of the bags, especially higher level bags sell for much more than their vendor price, as well as a lot more than you’re likely to make should you open the bags and sell the contents. This is generally due to a lot of these bags having a rare drop in them, but the likelihood of obtaining it is slim, you’re better off selling.
• Dynamic events – this will be a lot of your income, along with the heart events, save it all up and it will amount to something. The higher level events start offering 4 silver a run. Twenty hearts and that’s nearly one gold, and just for exploring two zones and doing stuff you can do while exploring.
• Restrict your spending – At most, you should buy gear every ten levels, that’s not to say you can’t improve gear with drops you find, but there really is no need to buy gear any more regularly than that.
• When you buy gear, go green – I can’t stress this enough, don’t waste your money on rare (yellow) weapons and armour until you’re level 80, it’s simply not worth it, there is no outside world PvE combat you cannot handle in masterwork gear. If you find a rare drop, again, check the trading post. From level 60 onwards, just forgoing a level 60 rare and keeping yourself a green piece can leave you 50 silver richer…
• Map rewards – Oooo, look at the shiny goodies you get. Now again, can you use these or would it be better served being turned into silver on TP and sitting in your pocket to make yourself a nice piece of exotic gear? A lot of people get caught up with the exotics they get in the zones from level 60+ and I put it to you this way, you can either wear that armour for ten levels, or you can sell it (most of the time for over 1g) and think of your future.

I’m sure there’s more, but these are just some key points. On the first character I ever got to 80, by time I hit the magic number I had 14g, and I was totally new and didn’t follow most of these points. By time I levelled my third character to 80, I was hitting 80 with 20g in my pocket knowing I could easily afford an exotic set.

I never ran a single dungeon until I hit 80 (quite franky I was scared of them) and with my first character I didn’t even know how to use the trading post. But don’t be afraid, dungeons are a great way to boost your income.

Sorry for the lengthy post, but I hope some people read it and manage to get at least a few tips.

If you’re on Aurora Glade, then see you in game…

Great suggestions Alk Trio Fan! I cannot stress enough how pointless it is to spend resources on expensive weapons, armor, and upgrades that you’re going to outgrow in 5-10 levels.

I enjoy crafting, so I open bags, and then when crafting I see if it’s cheaper to either sell my rare mats and buy an inscription/insignia or use my rare mats. I will have to check if it’s more worthwhile to just sell the bags and then buy the inscriptions/insignias. I see crafting as a gold -> XP+equipment converter, especially useful at those awkward levels (late teens, late 30’s, late 70’s) when all you want to do is get to that next multiple of ten to use some new gear! Also, sometimes the stuff you craft (even at low levels) can go for a few silver in the BLTC, so check before you scrap or vendor what you just crafted.

When selling on the TC, the basic rule-of-thumb is if the highest buy price is near the lowest selling price, I will choose the buy price for a quick sale. If not, match or price near the lowest sale price. Unless, of course, the buy price is drastically lower than the sale price – then the other sellers may be overvaluing the item and you should do more research before setting a price!