Guild Wars 2

I know its not a bug, but at this point, it sure feels like one. I never use them, I spend enough money just buying ingredients to get my cooking craft up. But it sucks walking everywhere when you know you can’t use the way point because its gonna cost you like 20 silver. Stuff in this game is already really expensive (Cultural Armour, exotics, etc). I understand you need gold sinks, but repairing gear is already enough of a sink (well it is if you do any dungeons or difficult content, or if your server is bad at WvW) and you have other sinks in place too, like the fees at the TP and such. I mean I’ve only been playing the game for like two weeks so I may be wrong, but I just feel that this should be looked at. After all, when people were complaining about no mounts, others responded, “you have waypoints, why do you need mounts?” Currently I personally feel like we have waypoints, but we are being severely punished for using them. I would prefer to be lightly punished, because please, alternatives such as mounts would be so lame, waypoints are a much better method of travel.

I would understand if you were selling an item in the cash shop that somehow allowed you to skip the fees of way points for a certain amount of time or travels. I’m all for anything thats going to help you make money, but if you’re not even making money on this facet of the game, I see no reason why it can’t be looked at.

Thank You

Yes, waypoints are extremely overpriced at higher lvls. Especially now because I’m saving up for lvl80 cultural armor, I save all the money I can get and I’m still broke… I’ll be happy if I get enough money for the set by the end of the year. x.x But even if I wasn’t saving up, the silver adds up really fast and it’s a huge loss and I’m only travelling. So yeah, I’m walking everywhere, it takes forever, and it’s not even fun on unlocked maps. Not to mention, mobs attack me and slow me down all the time… : ( Most of the people I’ve talked to walk too. (Sorry for my bad English).

DJSkittles.7196:

I know its not a bug, but at this point, it sure feels like one.

I agree that it is a big issue as it actually takes some of the fun from the game, since it

• discourages helping lower-level friends when not within roughly the same levels
• penalizes exploring lower-level content after having reached higher levels

Gold sinks are needed, but I feel that having a gold sink that affects the social aspects of the game so deeply is something that should at least be thought about.

I believe they should change it so if u die you can choose to go to the nearest waypoint at a discount or pay regular price to go to one of your choosing.

I think it should be changed so the price goes down with each one you find in a map area too. Get them all?, then you can travel for free (or nearly free) within that map area.

Also think activated vista’s should act as waypoints but only if you not dead. This way you can help other players reach them. Also doesn’t seem like there is enough way points.

I logged in today and waypoint prices are much higher that they were yesterday. Going from Divinity’s to LA is like over a silver now I spend most of the morning walking to asuran gates for travel instead of using waypoints. I feel that the game has slowed down for me…and I feel penalized for using the waypoints. I don’t mind a few coppers to bounce around and help guildies, go to an area I left off exploring to continue there…but I just don’t have the coin to bounce around now. SAD FACE! If we can go back to the pricing yesterday (the 7th) I could jump right back in. I’m done for today

Captain Kittee.3819:

I logged in today and waypoint prices are much higher that they were yesterday. Going from Divinity’s to LA is like over a silver now I spend most of the morning walking to asuran gates for travel instead of using waypoints. I feel that the game has slowed down for me…and I feel penalized for using the waypoints. I don’t mind a few coppers to bounce around and help guildies, go to an area I left off exploring to continue there…but I just don’t have the coin to bounce around now. SAD FACE! If we can go back to the pricing yesterday (the 7th) I could jump right back in. I’m done for today

The waypoint cost increases based on your level!

So by level 80, helping friends is indeed a costly thing to do…

There are far, far too many money sinks in this game. I had been hoping the cost of porting would stay linear with regards to distance. Maybe encourage low-level players to avoid the waypoints and explore the map. Now I find myself running with the map screen open while I watch TV. It’s terrible.

Agreed – the waypoint costs could use some looking into. I find that especially at higher levels, you are compelled to visit different, more far-off areas more frequently (to help friends, because you need this or that crafting material, because yyou want to catch up on some exploring, etc.), yet you are punished more heavily for doing so.
There really are enough money sinks, what with the prices being as high as they are and the fees at the TP often not making selling profitable there.

~50 copper should be expensive enough afaik to ensure flexibility.

Atlas Jackson.9480:

There are far, far too many money sinks in this game.

This is the truth. Even normally you are having to pour a bit of money into new gear as you level, and a hefty amount into crafting. Armor repair costs are understandable as a sink. Waypoints on top, especially with costly prices, are a bit too much I think. There are plenty of things to have to buy in the game (gear, accessories, trait tomes, crafting ingredients, repairs).

I agree, waypoints are too expensive and its not good for the game, especially when it comes to social aspects and the high stated fun; I really have to think twice when a friend asks for help and I am at a completely other map, it takes me ages to get there (or lots of money, which I dont have).
Its not fun.
Maybe it would be better if you handled the travel prices the same as real life travel prices: not based on level but based on distance only, counted from all main cities or something. (That way if I die on top of a waypoint, it wont cost me nearly 2 silver, but only a few coppers.)
And please dont make it a gemstore item!

You get higher level loot when you are high in levels which sell for more than lvl 4 drop,
Actually the costs are fine. and its really easy to make gold.

Lynx.7938:

Captain Kittee.3819:

I logged in today and waypoint prices are much higher that they were yesterday. Going from Divinity’s to LA is like over a silver now I spend most of the morning walking to asuran gates for travel instead of using waypoints. I feel that the game has slowed down for me…and I feel penalized for using the waypoints. I don’t mind a few coppers to bounce around and help guildies, go to an area I left off exploring to continue there…but I just don’t have the coin to bounce around now. SAD FACE! If we can go back to the pricing yesterday (the 7th) I could jump right back in. I’m done for today

The waypoint cost increases based on your level!

So by level 80, helping friends is indeed a costly thing to do…

I did not know this. thanks for the info.

Money at higher levels is really easy to make, 10 silver becomes peanuts, so the cost of waypoints aren’t an issue.

I want to help a friend complete something, or I waypoint there I must pay , If I walk there the time I arrive the friend doesn’t need help anymore.
The Question Is I would like to go with my friends and everything, but, the waypoint costs make us think twice before do that, what makes this game a bit… Anti-Social.

I have to agree that way points costs are pricey. So now I will go to the mists and leave from their is and extra step but it does help curtail the travel price some, using the portals to get closer to the area I need.

I agree. Not just about the cost of travel, but also the cost of resurrection.

I was recently attempting a difficult jumping puzzle where failure caused you to fall to your death, and each time I died I was charged about 2 and a half silver to res at a waypoint that I had LITERALLY died right next to or immediately under.

I remember a post in beta from a dev that stated way point resurrection was supposed to be free at the nearest WP to your death and the charge was a bug. The original poster in that thread was complaining that they had spent all their character’s cash and were therefore stuck in limbo, unable to play as they couldn’t resurrect.

Was it eventually decided that the free resurrection was to be removed, or is it simply that the bug remains unsolved?

Whatever the reason, I shouldn’t find that I have to give up trying a certain element of the game as the cost of failure is becoming too high.

Max Lexandre.6279:

I want to help a friend complete something, or I waypoint there I must pay , If I walk there the time I arrive the friend doesn’t need help anymore.
The Question Is I would like to go with my friends and everything, but, the waypoint costs make us think twice before do that, what makes this game a bit… Anti-Social.

Well. are you trying to say that all the other mmo’s that does not have waypoints for instant travel and you spend hours on your mount – are less anti-social ?

+1
I understand the need for gold sinks in a game, but the waypoint charge is far too high. I’d rather spend a minute or two on a flying mount to get exactly where I need to go rather than pay such a high price and then still have to run to my destination. I’m having to waste time resorting to tricks like going to The Mists and taking the portal to Lion’s Arch, then a portal from there to a main city close to where I want to go to. Waypointing in GW1 was free and was great, in GW2 it is a straight fun-killer, I dread it.

I think that decreasing the waypoint fee – especially for resurrection – would be nice. I also think that travelling from a waypoint inside a town to a (obviously already unlocked) waypoint in another town should be free.
Ultimately it would probably also mean less stress on the servers since players would not hop through Lion’s Arch all the time (after walking to an Asuran gate in the town that they only want to leave…)

How much gold or silver do you have when a waypoint costs 10 silver or more?

But I also think that already on Level 40 it is too high (~1s 50k) just to help one of my friends for a few minutes. (Sometimes first I help friend A, then friend B and after that friend C, most times they are all on different places, so you spend a lot of money just travelling.. does not make sense or fun.)
It is similar to the cost of repairing a damaged armor (1s – 2s), but these costs seem adequate.

I had three storyline quests that, in order, took place out past the Charr hometown, in the Sylvari hometown, and north of Lion’s Arch. To avoid paying the heaviest travel fees, I had to travel to Lion’s Arch three times, even though none of the quests took place there. I’ve also taken to warping just outside a town, walking into town, then free-warping to the Asura gate to save about 5%.

So for those three quests, I had to sit through 15 travel-loading screens to take the cheapest route. I saved about 2 silver at level 55. I guess they nailed immersion. I really do get the feeling I’m planning an intercontinental roadtrip every time I need to go somewhere.

Before anyone says anything—yes, I am being completely neurotic.

Edit: Having been a complete miser, not buying anything I don’t need and selling off the results of crafting, I’ve got a little over 2 gold in my coffers at level 55. So 2-3 silver for a long-distance teleport is about 1% of my total lifetime savings. It kinda adds up, especially since in a couple of levels I’ll have to buy the highest level skill tome, which costs 2 gold, if I remember right. And then there’s armor repair, which costs 3-6 silver depending on how long I go between visits.

Armor crafting materials get more expensive too. A mid-level intricate insignia costs 7-10 silver on the TP, and that seems to be a very modest profit margin.

These are additions for your convenience and if you don’t like to pay the costs then don’t use them at all. Nothing is forcing you to use them.
Simple as that.

So just to compare: We (level 45) did complete a heart near the wyrmblood waypoint in Dredgehound Cliffs and received therefore 1s 95k. If we now want to travel to Destiny’s Reach, we would have to pay 1s 36k.
And you do not travel just once, because the world is really big (which is very good at other points!).
So sometimes more money is spent than you can earn and save for things like cultural armor and so on..

It is ridiculous that even traveling within a starter zone would cost you more than the reward for a single event as a level 80. Dying (as an Elementalist, easy to die too) costs you much more. In fact, you gain almost no gold after completing a whole starter zone, other than the map completion rewards. Now I doubt I want to complete the world map … and considering those NPC recipes are bound to character, its much lower incentives to explore a low level zone for your alts. These factors would end up killing the motives for many players to keep playing the game.
No money, meaning you don’t want to spend more in trade post, thus the extremely low pricing there. It is insane that people listing rare gears at a price that they will lose 10%-15% for the listing fees and charge. I am pretty sure many people does not realize that yet, but when they do, there are going to be much less gears available on TP because you would just sell them to vendors. Now this can be a real problem for new leveling player in a long run.

@Lilliana
The reason it annoys people is that the waypoints do not have any inherent cost. They do not cost anyone anything. ANet set the price at a level decided on by the in-house economist I’ve heard they have.

The same thing happens in real life with text messages. They’re piggy-backed on an existing signal that your phone receives anyway. They cost the phone company nothing to send, and yet they sometimes charge over ten cents per message.

And so we have gold sinks. ANet designed a system that takes a small chunk out of my savings. Thanks to Gems, that cost can be expressed in terms of actual, real money. The last time I checked, $1 USD is worth about 25 silver. So a 10 silver teleport costs about $0.40. Just to try to stabilize the economy.

Atlas Jackson.9480:

There are far, far too many money sinks in this game. I had been hoping the cost of porting would stay linear with regards to distance. Maybe encourage low-level players to avoid the waypoints and explore the map. Now I find myself running with the map screen open while I watch TV. It’s terrible.

You have to understand that this game is essentially F2P outside of the initial purchase. A way for ANET to profit from GW2 is to have people run out of gold which will prompt people to purchase gems and then convert it to gold. I honestly think this was intended in the game design. The prices for waypoint travel scales with level so it costs more the higher level you are.

I agree that the prices need to be adjusted. I don’t mind paying for waypoints, but charging me 90 copper (at level 61) to teleport to a waypoint that is only a 45 second walk away is just ridiculous.

Gold sinks are a necessary evil. But ya know what? I just paid 6+ silver to repair my broken armor today while doing the Caudecus Manor explorable mode. I also paid my fees for using the trading posts. I should not have to pay an absurd amount of money to get from point A to point B without walking.

Heck, I might not even mind walking so much. Except that there is no ‘safe’ path in the game. Even the direct paths from one place to another are littered with monsters that will end up killing you 60% of the time when you try to outrun them. The fact that most of them have stuns, immoblization, knock-backs, and more to hinder your effort makes it even more frustrating. My point is that it’s either use the waypoints that cost way too much, or else battle your way from one area to the next, because there’s not much chance of a safe walk without having to stop and fight. Asura gates have their uses, but when you’re not close to one they don’t really help much.

Zierk.4289:

You have to understand that this game is essentially F2P outside of the initial purchase. A way for ANET to profit from GW2 is to have people run out of gold which will prompt people to purchase gems and then convert it to gold. I honestly think this was intended in the game design. The prices for waypoint travel scales with level so it costs more the higher level you are.

If you’re correct, that would mean the entire game was balanced under the assumption that a new player would put down ten dollars to get a level-appropriate amount of gold. I’d like to believe that’s not the case, but the evidence is compelling.

On the other hand, what you’re suggesting would be absolutely absurd at higher-level play. $10USD gets you 800 gems, gets you ~2.08 gold (just checked by going from gold to gems. I assume it’s a similar rate going the other way). I think that comes out to about one-tenth of a good level 80 set of armor, or 20 long teleports at high level. Maybe a dozen full armor repairs?

I’d also be more inclined to judge this by F2P standards if I hadn’t already spent $60 USD just to get in the door. I understand that our friends in the UK and Australia have paid significantly more.

The way GW1 worked, I also just dont want to believe that the game was designed around a reasoning requiring to either spend real-world money or engage in long farming sessions. That just doesn’t fit Anets ideals. (I want to believe in the good on people)

There are plenty of ways to make easy gold in game to cover the costs.
Seems you just did not discovered them all. The possibilities are great and this game has a lot to offer. Lazy players should not be rewarded.
For example nourishments and consumables that increase gold drop or magic find boost from either consumables or equipment stats, traveler, pirate or noble runes and much much much more……

Anyway this is not a bug and this thread should be closed or moved to players helping players on money making tips.

I would suggest all way points costing 75 copper. Towns cost 1 Silver to spawn into, not out of. Its still free in major towns to move around.

My opinion is to allow port to all major cities free of charge. You should only have to pay to port out of town. All waypoint costs should be calculated based on distances from the closest major city.

This will also remove the potential that traveling to Heart of the Mists and then to LA would be considered an exploit. It will also reduce the server stress from people making two ports instead of one.

You can always get to every major city free of charge by going through the mists to Lion’s Arch and using the Asura gates from there. Your only cost should be outgoing ports, and getting all the way to Cursed Shore from Lion’s Arch at level 80 costs under 4s. If you’re losing a lot of money using waypoints, you need to learn to plan your trips better so you’re not going back and forth unnecessarily.

As I have posted in another variation on this theme, the solution to the resurrection issue is simple – free ress at the nearest waypoint, pay if you want to go anywhere else. That stops you being penalised twice (’port fee & armour repairs).

I also agree that I do not see the sense in fees rising by level. Why? Daft as it may sound, I do like my games to be internally consistent. Why does it cost more to teleport between the same two points at L80 as opposed to L1? I’m suddenly massier? I have greater security needs? I need a “private” jet, I mean gate, because I’m so important? Doesn’t make any sense to me at all, except the obvious money-sink thing. And, Anet, let’s face it, cash rewards aren’t exactly generous, in comparison with other games. Do you really need to be stiffing us on waypoint costs?

Liliana Moore.4237:

There are plenty of ways to make easy gold in game to cover the costs.
Seems you just did not discovered them all. The possibilities are great and this game has a lot to offer. Lazy players should not be rewarded.
For example nourishments and consumables that increase gold drop or magic find boost from either consumables or equipment stats, traveler, pirate or noble runes and much much much more……

Anyway this is not a bug and this thread should be closed or moved to players helping players on money making tips.

Genius, this is Players Helping Players.

And, define lazy players?

Lazy players does not = players who need to make time to play GW2 because they have other endeavors, and would rather not spend their small allotted playing time running around from one gigantic zone to the next to get to their eventual destination after 45 minutes.

Yes, there are easy ways to make gold. However, as mentioned often here, there seem to be enough money sinks in the game as it is. I agree that waypoints should cost something to use, but scaling the price to the degree that is at now seems a tad much.