Even /clap would be nice.
But if they added /clap, I’d also like to see /golfclap.
I think all rabbits in game should become aggressive and be the highest level creatures in whatever area they are located.
Without question, I’d be a Norn Guardian. It would fit my own personality to a tee.
By rural, I mean I’ll be living on basically farmland on the outskirts of a town with a population of approximately 1,000. The nearest “big” town is seven miles away. It has a whopping 5,000 population. Then, Id’ have to travel 45 minutes to get to what would be deemed a properly sized town.
I’m not sure if there is a local ISP or not. Haven’t checked into it enough with everything else that I have to do to get moved in.
If memory serves correctly, the guy that hooked up the dish said I’ll be getting a guaranteed 1 Mbps download speed with a potential of up to 6 mbps. It’s not much at all, which is why I asked the question in the first place.
Just curious to see if anyone out there can tell me how the game functions when connected by satellite internet services. I’m moving into a very rural area where cable and DSL is not an option.
Thanks… will do that right now.
Just curious to see if anyone out there can tell me how the game functions when connected by satellite internet services. I’m moving into a very rural area where cable and DSL is not an option.
The fact that I had to jump on the barrels to do this part was rather underwhelming. Had I not done that, I’d never have finished this on my MM necromancer. I’ll fully admit I’m not the world’s best player (far from it actually… I label myself as a “bad.”) However, this wolf was rather ridiculous, and I hope I don’t see anything like him again, especially in a solo instance.
Why dont people just play whatever THEY enjoy?
Blasphemy, I say! Everyone must conform to that which is the best and most efficient! Fun is not factored into the equation!
Carry on, sheep!
I’m no economist by any stretch of the imagination. Mathematician… yes. Economist… no way. However, I’ve been enjoying this particular topic quite a bit, so I’ll throw my own question into the mix.
In general, what determines whether or not a particular item will be tradeable? Is it a complex list of criteria, or is it relatively simple?
I’m honestly of the mindset that the vast majority, if not all of the items, should be tradeable, but I also know that might be a stretch overall.
It isn’t simple. There’s a lot of factors that go into the decision. The intent of the item, the reason or goal behind it’s creation, usually leads us in the direction of deciding.
I figured it would be a relatively complex determination. My main drive for even asking was the addition of craftable items that cannot be traded. I am always surprised to see craftables that cannot be traded, since, at least in my mind, craftables logically should be tradeable. I understand the reasoning behind ascended gear not being tradeable (to a certain degree at least, even if I disagree with it overall), but some of the other items don’t make much sense to me, especially with consumables.
If in-game marriages were to be put in place, how long would it be before in-game divorces were also needed.
How would items be split up without having an in-game courts system? We’d need a new Judge class, a new Lawyer class, a Bailiff class, etc. just to handle that.
How would in-game alimony be handled?
Child support?
Would players get new titles like “[Player]’s Ex Husband/Wife?”
In-game dating services?
Too much reality for my taste.
I’m no economist by any stretch of the imagination. Mathematician… yes. Economist… no way. However, I’ve been enjoying this particular topic quite a bit, so I’ll throw my own question into the mix.
In general, what determines whether or not a particular item will be tradeable? Is it a complex list of criteria, or is it relatively simple?
I’m honestly of the mindset that the vast majority, if not all of the items, should be tradeable, but I also know that might be a stretch overall.
then they should start making the game more fun, the OP is a reflection of that fact.
The game is fun, obviously fun is extremely subjective. The great thing about the era we live in, is that we have a huge variety of different MMORPG that might suit one’s taste. So if one game isn’t fun, you don’t have to instead spend all your time trolling the game’s website and instead go play that fun game.
I know, it is hard to move on from something you hate, especially when spending your time QQing about it would get you more thumbs up from internet people.
who ever said i hate the game, you did but i never said that ever.
also, i am not trolling, i am stating a fact.
and who the hell cares about a thumbs up, if i state a fact, even something no one wants to hear, i just say it.
that’s what differs here, i care nothing about reputation.
i rather be hated among the truth the be loved within lies and delusions.
Your “facts” don’t make a whole lot of sense, especially given that you basically said the OP proves the game needs to be more fun.
1) The OP never once said anything about the game being fun. The reason for wanting to be able to buy gems in-game had to do with not having access to a computer to play the game, not because the OP didn’t want to be in-game.
2) The very fact that the OP wants to buy gems strongly suggests that the OP likes the game enough to buy the gems in it.
then they should start making the game more fun, the OP is a reflection of that fact.
The game is fun, obviously fun is extremely subjective. The great thing about the era we live in, is that we have a huge variety of different MMORPG that might suit one’s taste. So if one game isn’t fun, you don’t have to instead spend all your time trolling the game’s website and instead go play that fun game.
I know, it is hard to move on from something you hate, especially when spending your time QQing about it would get you more thumbs up from internet people.
It’s unfortunate this post was so long. Otherwise, I’d have it as my signature.
Hmmm… has anyone tried using this right before the mini dolyak race in the Festival of the Four Winds? I’d be curious to see the results of that.
I personally have never liked the way any MMORPG has dealt with death penalties. For me, dying in and of itself is punishment enough, and I try very hard to die as little as possible. However, I’m also not very good at the combat portion of the game, so I die. Sometimes a lot. For me, having to pay the cost of the waypoint is enough. I’m cheap (even with in-game currency), so any loss of money is a big deal for me.
I’m personally just fine with how it’s being handled in GW2.
$200 on gems? Wow.
That alone is more than 3 traditional expansions, except GW2 has no expansions, nor does LS even add up to one, since it was temporary and done in an hour each time.
It’s also more than a traditional yearly subscription!
I’ll never understand why people do this.
Never judge what people spend their money on. That could easily be an hour of work, or 8 hours of work. But the enjoyment that can come from that, even if it was 8 hours of work, if that saves him/her from having to grind 20-30 hours in the game isn’t that worth it?
I’ll judge them all I want thanks. People like this are why we don’t get actual content anymore and just fluff. They are directly impacting my game experience, so I will feel free to judge them.
You’re absolutely right about this. They do directly impact your game experience, since without their monetary help, the game would completely stall and servers would eventually go down. Having said that, I feel the need to say thank you to the OP.
THANK YOU!
Setting any goal for oneself is almost required to enjoy games (not just MMOs) and that includes Guild Wars 2. People seem to think it’s ANet’s responsibility to create content suited for them instead of their prerogative to find a way to enjoy the content that ANet creates. MMOs are really the only genre of games where players feel so entitled to satisfaction.
I agree with this 100%. In every MMORPG I have played to date, I have given myself goals (usually very lofty goals at that) to reach. As far as GW2 goes, I’ve probably given myself too many goals, to the point where I’m not even 100% sure where to begin. But it keeps me playing, and it keeps me enjoying my time playing.
If Legendary weapons aren’t your goal, make up another one. Then go for it. Fail or succeed, I think you might find yourself having fun along the journey.
I want to play Risen. That about sums it up.
Hmmm… this is a quandry.
I’m an ordained minister in real life. If I was to perform a wedding ceremony in game, what sort of legal ramifications could come of that?
(And yes… I’m kidding about the legal part.)
1) Warbeast
2) Centaur
3) Troll
4) Warbeast
5) Spider Queen
6) Wait for Warbeast and repeat.
That’s the best I can come up with, and it assumes that it takes 2 minutes to complete each champ. Even if it takes less time per champ, worst case scenario is that the longest wait time will be waiting for the Warbeast to respawn. I’m also assuming that summoning the Spider Queen takes longer than the other champs, which could conceivably reduce the wait time between 5 and 6.
Take this for what it’s worth. Someone might be able to come up with something better.
(edited by TChalla.7146)
Age 45 and a proud gamer. Been playing video games since pong as well. Then came Atari, followed by the Commodore VIC20 and the Commodore 64.
Perhaps I shouldn’t think about just how many hours I’ve spent playing.
They only nerf the money drops from bags. Spawn times have been altered in other maps i think. More information about this should come out in a week or two after people have experimented with zones.
Also, the spider champion in the train rotation is no longer a champion. it is now an elite, so it’s basically no longer part of the rotation.
I would be curious to know all of the ways that gold is introduced into the economy and all of the ways that gold is permanently removed from the economy. I would also like to know how much gold is generated per day and how much is removed per day. I think it would be an important factor in determining anything, really, since gold is what we’re discussing right now.
And what does that have to do with the issue of TP Barons with their supposed Scrooge McDuck size vaults of gold?
The TP simply transfers wealth between players. While it’s likely a significant gold sink in the overall economy, the actual in and outflows of gold in the economy is immaterial to the discussion.
There are two issues being discussed over and over.
Are TP Barons controlling the price of highly desirable items by controlling supply, ala De Beers?
Are TP Barons making gold from the labors or ordinary players without providing any benefits to those players? And secondary to that is the risk and effort playing the TP equivalent to the rewards received from killing critters?
Actually, it has plenty to do with the supposed TP barons. There money has to come from somewhere, since they made their money without introducing any money into the economy at all. In fact, they removed gold from the economy. Since we’re discussing various ways to make gold, it would seem pertinent to know how much the incoming gold versus outgoing gold relies on the Trading Post.
Just so we know which side of the discussion I’m on, I’m in agreement that the Trading Post should be left as is, which I can explain further if need be.
I would be curious to know all of the ways that gold is introduced into the economy and all of the ways that gold is permanently removed from the economy. I would also like to know how much gold is generated per day and how much is removed per day. I think it would be an important factor in determining anything, really, since gold is what we’re discussing right now.
I think someone should create a guild called Ascalonian Conspiracy Theorists [ACT].
Odd… I thought the game was built on having fun.
And one of the main ways of having fun in this game is getting luxuries.
It’s not the only one, but I’m not saying it’s the only one. I am saying the game is built around luxuries, though, because it is. This is an mmo built around cosmetics, and cosmetics are referred to as luxuries, so this is a game built around luxuries, unlike another MMO that cannot be named, which is built around stat and gear progression and raids.
The luxury items are just one of a many facet around which the game was built. And the cosmetics can all be obtained regardless of the mode of fun you choose. Fun should be the primary driving force of the game play time. The cosmetics are simply a bonus for playing the game. I still do not see why one should complain because someone else gets the bonus faster because they choose a different path of fun. I’m still… having fun.
@TChalla: There’s only one flaw with your example: This game is built on luxuries. Luxuries are the endgame for GW2.
Odd… I thought the game was built on having fun. I for one don’t worry about the luxuries, because that’s not my idea of fun. If luxury item acquisition is the only fun someone else receives from the game, then they should do what gets them the rewards the fastest, regardless of the method.
The biggest issue with this whole argument is that this is all being viewed as “work” or an occupation rather than a game, sport or hobby, which GW2 really is. If you want to use a better example, here’s one for you.
Target Prize: A Ferrari
I enjoy bowling. At one time, I was on five bowling leagues and did quite well. Even though I was good at bowling, the amount of money I made doing this was negligible to the point where if I truly wanted to buy the Ferrari, I would have to save every dollar from tournament placing and league placing until I died, and I’d still never be able to afford that car. There are costs I have to incur while bowling, which further reduces the amount of money I can save up for that car. However, every hour, there is a raffle (RNG) for the car of my dreams. The odds of winning are very slim, so slim in fact that I don’t even think about the possibility of winning. I bowl because I enjoy bowling, and that’s good enough for me.
Jon Doe, meanwhile, enjoys playing tournament-style Texas Hold’em. He does quite well at it. In fact, he is as good at poker as I am at bowling. He puts every bit as much time in playing poker as I do, and his costs are higher in general and more volatile. Still, he’s good at what he does, and he makes more money playing poker than I do bowling. He doesn’t have the “luxury” of the raffle that I have, but he will still wind up with the Ferrari well before I do. And he expends no more time or effort in what he enjoys doing.
Now, having said that, should I be upset with John because he got the car? I don’t think so. I’m still enjoying bowling.
For those of you that want mounts, you do realize that there are two races in the game that make having mounts rather ridiculous, right?
Can you imagine the size of the horse that a Norn would have to ride? And can you then imagine how irritating it would be to have one standing in front of you on screen? Ugh.
Then, there is the Charr. I can’t even imagine what a Charr would like like on a mount.
So… no. I do not want to see mounts in game.
Have any of you ever had a moment where you finally realized that you have played a game for too long?
When I saw the title of this topic, my brain automatically assumes BLSK stood for the Barbed Leather Sewing Kit from UO.
Hmmm… I just noticed that nobody claimed to be a forum necromancer in this topic.
Curious… very curious.
PvE: Necro
PvP: Necro
WvW: Necro
…if they’re getting killed by a ram you’re not doing a real good job escorting are you? Maybe the kitten ram is the reason they needed an escort.
It’s the Rabid Ram of Rata Sum!
I bought all three recipes for the blades. However, I did it solely because I’m weird and like to collect recipes.
Yeah but personally I don’t see maxing out your build as ‘skills’. Skills imho is tactics, even dodging at the correct time and so on. I would love to see more skill based content where the build is not so important. Like SAB and the Wintersday PvP thing but then really in the game.
Even JP’s require a form of skills.
This.
The Wintersday PvP event was a blast. In fact, I put off leveling any of my characters because I played the PvP event almost exclusively in the month of December. It was fun, challenging and I didn’t have to worry about getting insulted for wearing poor gear.
The jumping puzzle was also great for the same reason. It was just me, some floating snowflakes, a couple of candy canes and some gifts. It was challenging enough, and I took great satisfaction in completing it.
I don’t really care about all the exact stats. If I can do the content I am fine, it’s just not something I care much about. And food, I almost never used ‘foods’ in any game. I have always seen it as a form of cheating.
scratches head
That there is a new one.
Well it’s the truth. Luckily I also almost never need to use it (in any game). I always play games in hard and still consider many games easy.
I don’t think you could say I am a ‘noob’ in general but what I am trying to say is that I simply don’t like the number crushing element that you see so much in MMORPG’s.
do you upgrade your gear? Or do you still use the low lvl blues? Not hating just curious.
I do upgrade and I don’t mind doing that. I should say it does not have my priority, especially when leveling it happens that I use old stuff so long then I really start to notice it. More something I want (or need) to check out when max leven.
But for me then finding a highest tier set with the stats that are good for me is really enough. Then come all the other numbers and all the people debating what is best and what sigil to use and what rune and all the traits. What I usually do is I simply ask somebody or I just read and take that what sounds most fun. I have now 2 armor sets, one more Tougness one for more DPS on my main. Exotics, when I just completed my second set they introduced the ascended stuff.
I just don’t like the number crushing and changing everything after a patch because OMG now something else is a little better and all that stuff. It’s just an element that does not have my interest.
So yes I do get the full set (even two when really necessary) but don’t ask me to bother with all the little numbers after that because I rather don’t and only do if I really need to.
It’s just the level of detail with those numbers many people here seem to love so much that I (and many with me) just don’t care about.
I have to agree with Devata on this matter. I don’t like the number crunching either, even though I’m a mathematician. In fact, it’s probably because I’m a mathematician that I find the number crunching so distasteful.
As said, most of the content doesn’t need min/maxed. It’s unnecessary. I run pretty much solo all of the time, so as long as I can take down whatever it is I’m fighting, I’m okay with that. My main is level 80, and he doesn’t have one piece of rare equipment on him. It’s only blues and greens. And it works. I can take down veterans and some champs.
On the off chance I do run with others (the current Living Story content for example), I do try harder, but the gear is the same. And what’s funny is I get knocked on my butt less than most of the players around me. I might do crappy damage, but my crappy damage is better than the downed person next to me.
I will say that I don’t think of food as cheating exactly. I just think it’s not a needed commodity in at least 95% of the game, which makes me forget about it when it could be useful. It’s not being a noob as much as it is being casual about the game I’m playing.
I want this for my 1200 range weapon.
A cannon! And lets rename thief to a gunner, where p/p is a factor.
P/P isn’t bad. Check out Taquito’s videos for some very good, stealthless gunslinger gameplay.
It’s bad and a lot of unnecessary effort.
I’m leveling a P/P thief and I’m having so much fun with it. I don’t particularly care if it’s bad. It’s fun to play.
I cant’ speak for other players, but I can say this. The few times I’ve fought the knights, I failed to even see those “tell-tale” signs that I was about to be pulled in. Between lag and the particle effects, it is simply impossible for me to know what’s coming. There is way too much going on to be able to see much of anything. That’s my experience anyway. And as a result, I have given up on the event. It’s a bummer, but it’s necessary.
Will I get answer from AN?
I seriously doubt you’d get a response from ANet on this one. The twelve keys is hardly a decent representative sampling to determine that something is wrong.
Sounds like bad luck to me.
So how will you explain that when I was farming for Dreamthistle GS drop was 1 gold ticket and 5 scraps? Only 2 failrules.
Good luck perhaps? It is the nature of randomness. Results can be streaky.
Will I get answer from AN?
I seriously doubt you’d get a response from ANet on this one. The twelve keys is hardly a decent representative sampling to determine that something is wrong.
Sounds like bad luck to me.
Sorta in the same way that championing of the current system reeks of greed, selfishness, and vain attributes more so than anything else?
See how that works? Bring in jealousy and it’s basically the same deal. It is not adding to anything to the topic at hand, an ad hominem if you will.
Except for the fact that I don’t participate in the TP apart from selling what I don’t want quickly by matching the buy price consistently. I fail to see how I could be considered greedy, selfish or anything else given the fact that I don’t care how much money is in someone else’s account and I currently have 50 gold in mine. Perhaps I’m selfish because I enjoy the way I play the game and don’t worry about how others play it. Yeah… that must be it.
Vanity… I can give you that one I guess. I’m vain in the fact that I consider myself fairly intelligent and can understand how the system works just fine.
Let me re-quote it for you. It was not saying you were greedy, selfish, or vain. It said that those comments, just like the one you made about others being jealous, are ad hominems. Evidently you missed that.
And as I said, I didn’t miss it. I decided to respond the way I responded knowing full well what you meant. In other words, I no longer cared. It’s okay. The amount of sarcasm I can spew forth doesn’t exactly translate well in typed form. I should know better.
Sorta in the same way that championing of the current system reeks of greed, selfishness, and vain attributes more so than anything else?
See how that works? Bring in jealousy and it’s basically the same deal. It is not adding to anything to the topic at hand, an ad hominem if you will.
Except for the fact that I don’t participate in the TP apart from selling what I don’t want quickly by matching the buy price consistently. I fail to see how I could be considered greedy, selfish or anything else given the fact that I don’t care how much money is in someone else’s account and I currently have 50 gold in mine. Perhaps I’m selfish because I enjoy the way I play the game and don’t worry about how others play it. Yeah… that must be it.
Vanity… I can give you that one I guess. I’m vain in the fact that I consider myself fairly intelligent and can understand how the system works just fine.
Yes, but EVE is a market game. That is the entire point of the game, to make money. Examples from EVE should not be applied to other games. If you do enjoy TP flipping though, go play EVE instead.
Or, we can continue to play GW2 with the system that it currently has, which is the same model, and not worry about what other people are making in game.
If you find what you’re doing to make gold grindy in any way, I suggest finding a way to make money in the way that you do enjoy making it. The fact that it may be slower than someone else’s way doesn’t mean a thing, unless you’re worried about getting X item is Y time, and if that’s the case, then you get to make the choice to do something else.
I’m done with this conversation, since the current system is in no way broken, and to be honest, the complaints I’ve seen about the current system sound more like jealousy than anything else.
Oddly enough, I like the looks of the new one better.
/shrug
Off the top of my head….
Reducing direct gold inputs. This would include less coin drops and less items directly converted to coin….ie less merched rewards. To balance this there would need to be an increase in non-converted rewards. It’s a balancing act so we’d need to make sure it didn’t tilt too far to one side or another.
Entry fees to coveted rewards. This is sorta like UW/FOW from GW1. Players wanting a chance at a certain reward item pay an entrance fee to have access to content providing said rewards.
Less focus on gold in general. Shifting focus from gold to item rewards should encourage less gold farming and more item specific farming/adventuring.
The magic find rework was genius. It not only reworked the mf debacle, but it also acts as a preventative measure to curb inflation. More implementations of things of this nature would greatly benefit this objective.
Okay… I found these suggestions. And here’s my response to these:
The first suggestion is troublesome, because so much of what we get as rewards we cannot use. The little trinkets to be sold can’t be used. As a necromancer that plays almost solely as a necromancer, any medium or heavy armor I find cannot be used in it’s current form. Even light armor can’t be used most times, since it doesn’t have the right combination of bonuses. So it all gets salvaged. And what would I do with the salvaged materials if I couldn’t sell it if I didn’t want to craft? And if gold drops were lessened, who would actually buy it? And if the only other option is to toss it, then what’s the point of even playing? I don’t want to play the entire game in the hopes that I can get exactly the right drop for what I need, when right now I can take what I don’t want, sell it to someone that does want it, and buy what I actually do want. It’s simple.
The next two suggestions introduce grind. Now, I’m not confusing the definition of grind as I’ve seen it so many times. In each one of these instances, you are forcing players to play in a specific way. If you attach any reward to a specific playstyle (jumping puzzle, dungeon, fractal), you isolate players. This game wasn’t created to do that, and although they have done this in the past, doing it even more would cause players of any style to be ticked off that they are now forced to do X.
I can’t respond to the magic find response, since it’s been the way it is since I started playing. I don’t know what it was like before.
My thoughts on it would remain the same as long as the 1 avenue was far beyond others. It wouldn’t matter if it were pvp tourneys, dungeons, event farming, etc etc….
Here’s the issue though… the Trading Post needs to work the way it does to accommodate everyone playing how they want to play. And again, someone else making more money than the next guy shouldn’t matter one iota as long as everyone is having fun. Does someone else making more money than you cause you to not have fun? If so, you might want to ask yourself why that bothers you so much. If not, good. Then go have fun.
It doesn’t NEED to at all. There are other ways. The reason it is the way it is, is b/c it’s easy. It doesn’t require any more creative thought.
Again idk how many times I have to repeat this……It’s not about individuals…it’s about the game as a whole. I personally flip and speculate, but I also recognize it’s not remotely balanced (which is why I do it). I believe while in my best interests, it’s not in the best interest of the game as a whole.
So I’ll ask the question again. How could it be worked differently without hurting the playerbase as a whole? I’ve said why I think it needs to work as it does. I need to see another way that doesn’t hurt the players, regardless of how they play or how much time they play. And hurting any form of player type hurts the game.
It doesn’t need to be worked differently because those that complain about “balance” have been unable to not only provide evidence which suggests said imbalance is harmful, but even to explain exactly what that imbalance is.
Some people assume that because a small number of players are able to have a higher profit ceiling through TP activities than those who stay purely “off the TP grid”, that this somehow automatically is “unfair, unbalanced and harmful” to the game in general. Ofc, there is zero evidence which actually supports this position.
I’m in agreement with you on it. However, the claim was that they could have done it differently and took the lazy way. I believe that the TP works perfectly given the way the game is designed as a whole. I wanted to see suggestions to see if it is actually even possible to do it differently. I’m reading through the suggestions now.
My thoughts on it would remain the same as long as the 1 avenue was far beyond others. It wouldn’t matter if it were pvp tourneys, dungeons, event farming, etc etc….
Here’s the issue though… the Trading Post needs to work the way it does to accommodate everyone playing how they want to play. And again, someone else making more money than the next guy shouldn’t matter one iota as long as everyone is having fun. Does someone else making more money than you cause you to not have fun? If so, you might want to ask yourself why that bothers you so much. If not, good. Then go have fun.
It doesn’t NEED to at all. There are other ways. The reason it is the way it is, is b/c it’s easy. It doesn’t require any more creative thought.
Again idk how many times I have to repeat this……It’s not about individuals…it’s about the game as a whole. I personally flip and speculate, but I also recognize it’s not remotely balanced (which is why I do it). I believe while in my best interests, it’s not in the best interest of the game as a whole.
So I’ll ask the question again. How could it be worked differently without hurting the playerbase as a whole? I’ve said why I think it needs to work as it does. I need to see another way that doesn’t hurt the players, regardless of how they play or how much time they play. And hurting any form of player type hurts the game.
My thoughts on it would remain the same as long as the 1 avenue was far beyond others. It wouldn’t matter if it were pvp tourneys, dungeons, event farming, etc etc….
Here’s the issue though… the Trading Post needs to work the way it does to accommodate everyone playing how they want to play. And again, someone else making more money than the next guy shouldn’t matter one iota as long as everyone is having fun. Does someone else making more money than you cause you to not have fun? If so, you might want to ask yourself why that bothers you so much. If not, good. Then go have fun.
There is a fixed amount of gold that can be made from playing the trading post that depends mostly on the number and the behavior of farmers.
As a really oversimplified, if illustrative example, assume there’s a 10% margin to be made on any item bought via buy order, and that 50% of the stuff farmers sell on the TP is sold via sell order. Under those assumptions, the total pool of profit for flippers is 5% of the total output of farmers.
This number does not scale with the number of flippers; all of the flippers on the TP compete with each other for their share of that 5%.
That would mean that if you had, say, 10,000 farmers and 500 flippers, that farmers and flippers would have the same average income. 10,000 farmers and 1000 flippers? Farmers would make twice as much as flippers, on average; 20,000 farmers and 500 flippers? Flippers make twice as much on average.
Again, these numbers are just illustrative, and actually fluctuates a bit with the number of TP flippers (more TP flippers leads to increased competition, which shrinks the size of the pool to split); the point being that it is in all likelihood a small fraction of the total wealth generated in the game.
Here’s something else to add to what you said, and it’s something I have said before. If the TP barons didn’t do what they do, there would more than likely be a lot more of the items having no buy price, which would force the regular player to do one of three things:
1) Put the stuff in their bank until a buy order is made
2) Place the item they want to sell in the TP for a price they decide in the hopes that it sells at some point.
3) Sell it to an NPC vendor, which would be less than what they can make, and also adds gold into the game instead of removing it, which would create inflation over a period of time.
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