Guild Wars 2

I think the devs have made good strides with the rank chests toward making WvW more lucrative for players. That said, WvW is still one of the lowest-income activities in the game. In 5 hours of WvW I usually make around 1-1.5 gold after repairs. Sometimes we have a good night and I make around 2g. Pretty much any activity in PvE at level 80 for five hours will net you quite a bit more than 1.5g.

I propose three things to help with this:

1) WXP was doubled for all events, and WXP rewards were added to Veterans, Lords, Supers, etc. This was good. I would suggest either adding another 50% to these rewards, or at least doubling player kill WXP as well. You can still only rank at the “intended” once-per-hour if you’re part of a megazerg flipping things endlessly.

2) Find a better way to distribute loot. The bag system was a good idea, but far too many bags are lost on the field. If you get that kill, you should be guaranteed to get the monetary reward for it. Three ideas: A) Allow players to loot the bags collecting around them once they’re dead. B ) Have loot automatically deposit into bags. C) Barring “B,” have a “compensation” NPC at spawn which we can visit to collect all our loot.

3) Given that dying is just a part of WvW, it truly doesn’t make sense that we have to pay for armor repairs. I think armor repairs are one of the first things that need to go. I’m a little surprised they’ve made it this far.

Anyone have other ideas for making WvW more rewarding financially?

I was thinking instead of having to pick up bags for loot, they could place a new currency type called dog tags or something to that effect down next the gems and laurels and such. You can then cash in the dog tags/ whatever at the corresponding NPC in your border area for straight money or badges every night when you get through. Start with something simple like 1 tag = 5 silver. Or let us test it ourselves

It’s probably a bad idea, but the best I can think of to avoid the bag bloat we have now, not to mention having to clean out my bags every time we wipe a zerg.

Great post! For the WvW chests, I —like many others--are a bit underwhelmed by them. It’s my secret hope that they will increase these rewards after some monitoring/players clearing their backlogs. I don’t pretend to understand virtual economies, but I can see where they wanted to play it safe on the release of WvW chests.

Your note on armor repairs is awesome. When the outmanned buff is up, players push harder, have more engaging fights. They don’t worry about repairing their armor, so it’s a reason to go in head first. If armor repairs are free in WvW, though, a lot of people are going to pop into a BL just for the free repair then leave and go back to PvE. Adding some kind of guild/server buff might work, or putting a few “repair vouchers” into each reward chest might help.

The only other thing to add to the table is the cost of upgrades. I find the costs to be reasonable, but I think that individual players having to shoulder these costs is unreasonable. Keeps cost just over 4 gold to upgrade, and there are three on each BL. Homeland defense teams are seeing less action (so getting fewer rewards) while contributing directly to their server through upgrades. Some kind of system to spread this cost out would be appreciated, though I don’t have any immediate ideas on how to do that.

1-2 gold profit????

I’m a Commander for the NSP server. On a typical night I will spend 1-2 gold in siege, repairs, tower upgradeds and such. Only time I have ever made a profit in WvW is on the odd chance I get a rare or better drop I can sell on the TP. This happens once every week or 2. On reset I will spend up to 8 gold….. I do not lead a huge zerg, just usualy 10-15 players trying to flip camps and or towers in Borderlands

I often have to take a break from WvW just to save up enough gold to continue supporting my guild. They are good about donations, but not every player can spend 4-5 hours in game daily. Many are good to get in 2 on the weekdays and 2-4 on weekends. I don’t understand how people can make any money in WvW….

BlazeQ.1095:

1-2 gold profit????

I’m a Commander for the NSP server. On a typical night I will spend 1-2 gold in siege, repairs, tower upgradeds and such. Only time I have ever made a profit in WvW is on the odd chance I get a rare or better drop I can sell on the TP. This happens once every week or 2. On reset I will spend up to 8 gold….. I do not lead a huge zerg, just usualy 10-15 players trying to flip camps and or towers in Borderlands

I often have to take a break from WvW just to save up enough gold to continue supporting my guild. They are good about donations, but not every player can spend 4-5 hours in game daily. Many are good to get in 2 on the weekdays and 2-4 on weekends. I don’t understand how people can make any money in WvW….

I should have been more specific. This is when I’m just following a commander, or in a guild group.

When I command…I spend money like crazy. It’s definitely a money-sink in that regard.

Would love to see some suggestions in this regard as well…

BlazeQ.1095:

1-2 gold profit????

I’m a Commander for the NSP server. On a typical night I will spend 1-2 gold in siege, repairs, tower upgradeds and such. Only time I have ever made a profit in WvW is on the odd chance I get a rare or better drop I can sell on the TP. This happens once every week or 2. On reset I will spend up to 8 gold….. I do not lead a huge zerg, just usualy 10-15 players trying to flip camps and or towers in Borderlands

I often have to take a break from WvW just to save up enough gold to continue supporting my guild. They are good about donations, but not every player can spend 4-5 hours in game daily. Many are good to get in 2 on the weekdays and 2-4 on weekends. I don’t understand how people can make any money in WvW….

Don’t pay for EVERY upgrade. Let other guilds pitch in and pick up the tab. Most Gold I ever spent on reset was back in November and it was 4g and EB at that. I’ll leave with at least 1G from flipping stuff, siege is bought via badges + JP + donations. I pimp out guildies for mats and siege all the time

My only quibble with the new chests is the minium being a green, it should be a rare, because that’s the standard they have set in PvE…

Other than that I think they are good, you certainly see a lot more siege nowadays…

LilMcGinley.3890:

Don’t pay for EVERY upgrade. Let other guilds pitch in and pick up the tab. Most Gold I ever spent on reset was back in November and it was 4g and EB at that. I’ll leave with at least 1G from flipping stuff, siege is bought via badges + JP + donations. I pimp out guildies for mats and siege all the time

Not that I do pay for every upgrade, But it seems there are only a hand full of guilds who will upgrade. We will have the occasionally pug who kindly goes around and starts a few, But its kinda rare. I find that a some of people I have spoken to have the “if it doesn’t benefit my pocket I’m not doing it…” mentality. I do not know how much of the population feels this way, but it seems like a good deal, on my server at least.

Nikked.7365:

Your note on armor repairs is awesome. When the outmanned buff is up, players push harder, have more engaging fights. They don’t worry about repairing their armor, so it’s a reason to go in head first. If armor repairs are free in WvW, though, a lot of people are going to pop into a BL just for the free repair then leave and go back to PvE. Adding some kind of guild/server buff might work, or putting a few “repair vouchers” into each reward chest might help.

Could avoid that problem by making it so that you just don’t sustain armor damage while in WvW, like the outmanned buff already does. This means that if you got damaged doing something out in PvE land, you still have to pay for it to fix it.

Figulus.2709:

Nikked.7365:

Your note on armor repairs is awesome. When the outmanned buff is up, players push harder, have more engaging fights. They don’t worry about repairing their armor, so it’s a reason to go in head first. If armor repairs are free in WvW, though, a lot of people are going to pop into a BL just for the free repair then leave and go back to PvE. Adding some kind of guild/server buff might work, or putting a few “repair vouchers” into each reward chest might help.

Could avoid that problem by making it so that you just don’t sustain armor damage while in WvW, like the outmanned buff already does. This means that if you got damaged doing something out in PvE land, you still have to pay for it to fix it.

Yeah, this is pretty much what I meant, and then they could remove the repair merchants from WvW entirely.

Hickeroar.9734:

Figulus.2709:

Nikked.7365:

Your note on armor repairs is awesome. When the outmanned buff is up, players push harder, have more engaging fights. They don’t worry about repairing their armor, so it’s a reason to go in head first. If armor repairs are free in WvW, though, a lot of people are going to pop into a BL just for the free repair then leave and go back to PvE. Adding some kind of guild/server buff might work, or putting a few “repair vouchers” into each reward chest might help.

Could avoid that problem by making it so that you just don’t sustain armor damage while in WvW, like the outmanned buff already does. This means that if you got damaged doing something out in PvE land, you still have to pay for it to fix it.

Yeah, this is pretty much what I meant, and then they could remove the repair merchants from WvW entirely.

Heavens. You all make entirely too much sense! (Or perhaps I over analyze. Haha.)

Not even a “OMG you are so dumb” for the dog tag idea? Do people really love picking up bags all the time? :P

Hickeroar.9734:

3) Given that dying is just a part of WvW, it truly doesn’t make sense that we have to pay for armor repairs. I think armor repairs are one of the first things that need to go. I’m a little surprised they’ve made it this far.

Anyone have other ideas for making WvW more rewarding financially?

This is so self-evident it amazes me the devs just can’t see it. Death penalties really hurt WvW because they lead to timid play and people avoiding fights to avoid repair bills. As you say you only have to see the difference when one side has the Unmanned buff, and right away the fighting becomes a lot more intense as people stay and fight for towers and keeps they would otherwise abandon as soon as the gates go down.

WvW has its moments, but it is rarely as intense as PVP is in other games. Big zergs tend to insta-gib small groups as the small groups tend to run rather than fight. Do away with death penalties and those small groups have no reason to run any more. They may still get wiped, but not without a real fight.

My best moments in WvW bar none have been when the Unamnned buff is up on either side. The intensity tends to ramp up exponentially at those times as people commit more to the fight.

There’s still a reason to run from fights if you’re not taking repair damage when you die. A few reasons, actually:

1. Dying to another team gives them loot & WXP, which helps make their characters more effective (with gear & perks). So running from the fight denies them that reward.
2. Dying gets you out of that part of the map until you run back from the nearest waypoint. So running from the fight can save you downtime.
3. Running from a losing battle to get to a more defensible position is almost always a tactically sound maneuver. So running from the fight can help you turn a bad situation around.

Now, yes, there are certainly situations where it is tactically advisable to stand your ground in the face of certain death. On more than one occasion, I’ve jumped into a farm ring alone against 5+ guys just to delay the capture until my 12 teammates can get there, dying horribly in the process but ultimately saving the camp (and thus preventing the need to wait 5 min for RI to go away). My argument isn’t that you should always run, my argument is that money shouldn’t be the deciding factor in whether you decide to stand or fly – the deciding factor should be, “Will standing accomplish something, even if I/we die?”

I don’t find repair costs to be all that onerous, myself. Granted, I’m only in rares (with the odd exotic weapon or ascended trinket, but I don’t think those take damage), so I don’t know if it gets more expensive with better gear. But I only pay a silver and change, which I can make up pretty quick. Most nights in WvW, I turn a profit (if a small one) while still tossing out the odd upgrade and buying siege prints pretty regularly. Then again, I don’t always charge into every fight without taking stock of the situation…

BlazeQ.1095:

LilMcGinley.3890:

Don’t pay for EVERY upgrade. Let other guilds pitch in and pick up the tab. Most Gold I ever spent on reset was back in November and it was 4g and EB at that. I’ll leave with at least 1G from flipping stuff, siege is bought via badges + JP + donations. I pimp out guildies for mats and siege all the time

Not that I do pay for every upgrade, But it seems there are only a hand full of guilds who will upgrade. We will have the occasionally pug who kindly goes around and starts a few, But its kinda rare. I find that a some of people I have spoken to have the “if it doesn’t benefit my pocket I’m not doing it…” mentality. I do not know how much of the population feels this way, but it seems like a good deal, on my server at least.

If my guild is going to put up the coin to upgrade something, I’m throwing a ton of siege and we are going to protect that thing until we log out. We play Supply Camp Alamo a lot

DoctorFaust.7103:

I don’t find repair costs to be all that onerous, myself. Granted, I’m only in rares (with the odd exotic weapon or ascended trinket, but I don’t think those take damage), so I don’t know if it gets more expensive with better gear. But I only pay a silver and change, which I can make up pretty quick.

Full set of exotics only damaged not broken, I’m dropping at least 12 silver for repair of the entire set. I rarely let it get to broken so not sure how much more expensive that’d be. Tend to roam lately, and following an angry enemy zerg leads to a lot of repair bills.

As far as something to remedy that, repair canisters sold for badges. I would love to see something like that! I carry around a few that have dropped from black lion chests and that one repair bill I don’t have is so very nice.

As far as loot, anything is better than current, I really like the idea of a vendor at spawn to retrieve from. I’d honestly like to see something like that in place for all bag drops, less to worry about in the middle of an epic battle, just pick up your stuff at the end of the run on the way out. That’d keep me from picking up all those silly warrior banners that I think are bags because the “Press F” popped up on my screen. :P

As someone who takes care of business instead of farming bags with the zerg, I never make any profit in WvW.

Not only is there a lot of cost in keep/tower upgrades and constant camp upgrades, but there’s also penalties like having to buy siege to fit out towers for silver instead of badges, because you simply don’t earn enough badges to cover the huge amount of siege you drop.

Honestly, the rewards before the last update were okay with me. The new chests are just icing on the cake. I make most of my coin selling mats. Spend most of it wvw. Repair bills, imo, are as negligible as waypoint costs in PvE.

I think we can all agree on one thing for sure: WvW in the current build, isn’t profitable.
You can either be a commander or a follower, but compared to PvE you will never make the same amount of gold per same amount of time. And this is the problem.

I just find it radically funny that Anet haven’t addressed this issue from the beginning. As most of you see it, WvW is sort of the Endgame, so how come I always need to do dungeons to make up for the constant losses.

How can it be so hard to tweak a few things up, focus on WvW and leave PvE for a week??

The lack of anything but greens ever dropping from the chests aside, I like them. Compared to never getting them, we get a decent amount of silver per chest, and the free sieges and badges are nice little additions. Again, they may not stack up to pve chests, but they’re a whole not better than nothing at all.

is this in relation to chests dropping from player/mob kills?

Or the chests from rank advancement?

-in relation to rank advancement chests, to my surprise i have just been told by support that receiving a rank up chest with just badges inside is completely normal and working as intended.

everyone i have spoken to has gotten a minimum of 3 items in a rank up chest. i also got 3 items on my warrior however when ranking up 3 lvls on my mesmer all 3 times all i received was badges.

I am sorry anet, but this one is a BIG FAIL on ur part. if i wanted badges then i’ll sit there and do the JP everyday.

how is this suppose to encourage me to play WvW more so when all i get are badges for ranking up?

www isn’t rewarding enough financially… for anet..
so i propose legendary armor bought with gems , so we can be sure to really be screwed over ^^