Guild Wars 2

I realized a bit too late this should have been in a stickied thread. To the powers that be, please move this thread to the appropriate one. Thanks.

I was wondering if your database speculation was about the total drop number from each item rarity tier. Amount of exotic that drops = X , amount of rares = Y, etc…
I was thinking about this and it seems plausible that these amounts are reached but the disparity is ‘where’ the items are going. Say the highest percentage goes to those in the FoTM dungeon, then other dungeons, dragons, and on down the line until open world players are left with a very small amount of the original X items to be distributed among a large population.
Combine that low loot pool with DR and the result is what seems to be a permanent DR situation.
Just a wild guess with no numbers to back it up. It was the one thing that stuck in my mind when trying to figure out why the devs see no issue while the players do.

For me, it’s the fact that when I hit 80 months ago if I couldn’t get something through a drop/loot; I could go to the TP and buy an item/s at reasonable prices. Reasonable is relative because a casual player that doesn’t run dungeons doesn’t have a lot of gold.
Back then I would need to buy 2 powerful blood to finish up the beserker set I was crafting or a couple of extra ecto I couldn’t get while salvaging the stuff I got from map completion. Then an ecto was 13s. Now the economy is tied to ecto prices.
I think it’s the loot rate that ‘forces’ people to turn to the TP whereas before they could realistically get the items themselves in a short period of time. And that feeling of being forced to pay high prices for items because they are no longer reliably coming from their source is disappointing.
Sure no one twists an arm but when you are short a couple of pieces of armor for a set you’re crafting, instead of waiting a week to finish it off (1hr day or less play time)… Well the choice is clear you either wait until you get really lucky or pay.
Loot/drops go down and respectively TP prices go up. However the gold that people make from loot is also dropping due to the loot going down.
This is purely from a casual player’s perspective. It is rumored that dungeons are much more profitable than running around the open world so YMMV

Just wanted to report this strange graphic anomoly. The charr was bugged with the sword twisted behind her back even while using other skills. When adrenaline was full I used the attack and it corrected itself but it would not correct with 1-5 skills.
This was on my new account purchased in hopes of shaking the DR & bad luck beast from my back. I apologize for forgetting that fact before logging in the forums with my old account. If more information is needed please let me know.

Doh… Luckyguse beat me to it.
DR does hit some pretty hard at the 1hour mark. Me me me! Always always always….
I’m still playing though Fatfox because I have hope it will get fixed. You may never have the issue so play your way and enjoy.
The only feature I know of that lets you see how long you’ve played is typing in /age in the chat window.

I have already stated my opinion on this matter so all I’m going to do is post something simple.
Here’s the thread with a number of posts 17days ago asking for clarification. There was no response until the ‘banhammer’ had already dropped. It was in the BUGS sub forum where most people would go looking for the answer to the question whether it was a bug/exploit or an intended recipe:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/bugs/Is-this-intended-with-the-snowflakes/first#post1136155

Here’s where the timely response was when the question was asked 17days ago and answered a day later… in the BLTC sub forum under a title that most legitimate players wouldn’t be searching in:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/bltc/How-to-make-1-glob-of-ectoplasm-into-stacks/first

I said I was on the fence because I didn’t like: the exploit, the way the guilds have no way to re-establish leadership with a banned, deleted, abandoned leader account, or the fact it was a permanent ban and not temporary ban with a fine.

What is so wrong with a net sending out an email to announce the exploit and punishment or even an announcement in News to make sure everyone knew they were risking their account. COMMUNICATION is very lacking and had it not been many of the grievances would never have occurred.
EDIT: I am not saying this isn’t an exploit, I am saying it wasn’t clear to everyone that it was and therefore timely communication could have saved a lot.

another user – leprekan – suggested the precursors be sold by an NPC for 100-200g. The choice of which one is yours and it is account bound on acquire also making any legendary you craft with said precursor account bound on acquire. A real gold sink and no way to recoup the gold spent on it as an exploit.
You could still get lucky and get one dropped ‘in the wild’ that your are free to sell on the TP, or spend the gold and take it out of circulation.
I applaud this suggestion even if 100-200gold is way beyond my means for at least a year. And no I don’t do dungeons so it would be reasonable to take that long for a casual to make at the current loot drop rate/quality.
EDIT: I meant to add that I kinda liked the idea and that I didn’t quote leprekan directly just giving the guy credit for the original idea.
EDIT 2: hey there’s leprekan with his original idea. Sorry for this it was meant as a compliment to you.

I do the same as Kendokken: run around a map, change zones, kill a dragon, except I don’t do dungeons.
The DR will find me no matter where I go and even if I try to trick it by switching to an alt; it knows. It only leaves me alone when I change to my new account which is low level, on a different highly populated server and it plays nice with this new account and leaves it alone if I change zones.

One idea I have seen in another thread, makes me pause. Maybe just maybe this is DR + loot table issues. Say you hit the DR and change zones hoping to shake the beast off your back. At the same time the devs are making sure only so many exotics, rares and other hard to acquire items are dropping across the entire game.
We all know the Fractals dungeons have been the place to get these things (I never set foot in them at this point). So if X amount of exotics and rares and equivalent rare mats have already dropped to the dungeon runners…. what’s left for the open world?
And what is left is distributed across the entire population that is not in said dungeons may make it seem as though DR never gets reset.
It’s just a stretch and I have no idea what the upper limit of said X amount is. Nor do I know how much of this amount is being distributed to the dungeon crowds. Just trying to come up with an explanation that the devs can say it’s working as intended while at the same time; the players are not seeing any fruit for their efforts and complain.

I don’t support exploits or exploiters.. I also don’t support the nonexistant transfer of guild leadership when the leader’s account is banned, deleted, abandoned, etc. That is simply punishing innocent people and guilt by association should not apply.

That said I don’t like the fact that this thread was not answered until today when it was reported 17days ago…
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/bugs/Is-this-intended-with-the-snowflakes/first#post1136155

I am seriously on the fence with this issue. Sure people making a ton of profit off a recipe should ask themselves if it’s legit. On the other hand a company that lets a recipe slip through testing and is not completely obvious (like a 21 Karma cost for a T3 cultural weapon<—screams of exploit)should ban offenders but a permanent ban? I just don’t know.

Aproposs Of Fire.4056:

Grats on the new account. We have been seeing that some accounts (actually the way the devs are treating this issue, most accounts) are working fine. You can see in this thread and in others here and at outside forums that people will report pretty much exactly what the drops should be. I think that you have just proven with a 2nd account that it’s not the play-styles we are using because I assume you play a fairly similar style on both accounts.

Thanks for reporting your experiences.

Yes I do play both accounts exactly the same manner.
-never kill the same things over and over
-move around a lot and use waypoints very infrequently (except during personal story)
-try to complete a map before moving on to the next while waiting to continue personal story(get to appropriate level)
-participate in any and every DE that I find while running around.

The old account is still cursed while the new one works properly. I have run into DR while running DE’s on the new account, I move and it’s gone. Whereas on the old account it just doesn’t ever seem to go away.
Like I said the old account is depressing so I play it less now. I’ve gone two weeks without logging in and still have bad loot coming back. Unfortunately it has maxxed bag slots and maxxed bank slots… Not paying to do that a second time.

Differences btwn accounts:
Old account – magic find from superior pirate runes + two rare mithril accessories w/ MF (main only) but the alts have no MF and they have same issue as main.
-playtime greater than 1 hour = horrible loot(moving or switching to alt does nothing)
-rare to get rares, never an exotic
-server that is moderately populated
New account – single character only and no MF
-server that is highly populated.

Infernia.9847:

Add me to the list of the “never seen an exotic drop”. After 600hours with WvW and 97% map completion… nadda. I can actually say rares are a rare for me since release. My account with alts running around doing DE’s, changing maps, hearts and exploring are all the same. After 1hour the loot is non-existant/trash. I made my exotic set by breaking the ones I got from map completion.
I had the inkling to try the last 4 races/classes combo I wanted but wasn’t sure whether to spend the money in the gem store 800gems per slot, or just get a new game/account.
Amazon had GW2 on sale for Christmas Day Only at 29.99. I went for it.
Funny how this new account with only one single character can hit the DR doing the personal story and completing maps etc. …. but if I change maps I start getting loot greens and blues and bags again. (it’s only a lvl30 atm).
Which is much better than my first account’s little level 30 alt can get by changing maps after that hour is up. And at 24g split between characters and trying to max the last 4 crafts… the old account is just flat broke. Forget crafting a second exotic set for the level 80. At least I have a good amount of mats.
I can’t say this is a large enough sample size to prove anything. However that new account has a working DR implementation whereas the account I have had since pre-release is simply depressing to log on to.
You guys can say it’s working as intended, but I really do think it could be an account or possibly a server based issue. The new account is on a different server. So much for a control to help narrow the issue down. I wanted to try a highly populated server for the new one.

I was lazy and just quoted myself from another thread. My main is a lvl80 Ranger and the armor I crafted was beserker all with pirate runes. So the runes are maxxed and add to that two rare mithril accessories with MF that I crafted. The rest of the accessories are karka + ruby rare. Just adding this in since it’s the only armor I have and it does have MF on it.
As I said the fact that the new account acts like it should and the moment DR hits if I move to another location the loot comes back. I actually made 2g on it so far and I’m levelling two crafts at the same time.
Whereas the old account (which I’m going to give to my four girls when the new one hits lvl80) I couldn’t make that much gold at level 30 no matter how hard I tried.
-only dungeon entered was to run 1 path of AC for blues a green and low level loot
-killed claw of Jormag 2 times for terrible drops of blue and green
-karka event chest and map completion only exotics ever been awarded
-have never seen a lodestone drop

No matter what the guild leader did, I personally don’t feel as though it is fair to punish all the members/underlings.
GW2 should have a means of leadership transfer in case of an account being banned, deleted, abandoned, etc.
It is about the people and the time they have put into their guild, and not about one single player bringing a guild to its knees for their behavior.
I understand being angry with exploiters but punishing innocents for it… The guild members are innocent or they would have been banned too. Guilt by association should not apply in this case.

I would simply suggest that the active members each create a support ticket and hopefully someone in charge can help you all out with a transition.

I agree with a new Karma sink. Both your ideas are good ones, especially since their will be some sort of ‘progession’ in the future.
I would like to add an idea from another user (I think the name is Leprekan) that suggested precursors be a gold sink sold by NPC’sfor 100-200g account bound on acquire also making the legendary created from it account bound on acquire.
I imagine that people would love something to spend their Karma on after they have gotten all the exotic gear they wanted.

24 gold… more if I hadn’t max leveled 4 crafting and attempt to max the rest. Didn’t buy mats but could have sold them to make gold. Plus WvW took a good chunk of it for repairs vs abysmal rewards so I stopped. 1 lvl 80 Ranger the alts are all under lvl58.

Add me to the list of the “never seen an exotic drop”. After 600hours with WvW and 97% map completion… nadda. I can actually say rares are a rare for me since release. My account with alts running around doing DE’s, changing maps, hearts and exploring are all the same. After 1hour the loot is non-existant/trash. I made my exotic set by breaking the ones I got from map completion.
I had the inkling to try the last 4 races/classes combo I wanted but wasn’t sure whether to spend the money in the gem store 800gems per slot, or just get a new game/account.
Amazon had GW2 on sale for Christmas Day Only at 29.99. I went for it.
Funny how this new account with only one single character can hit the DR doing the personal story and completing maps etc. …. but if I change maps I start getting loot greens and blues and bags again. (it’s only a lvl30 atm).
Which is much better than my first account’s little level 30 alt can get by changing maps after that hour is up. And at 24g split between characters and trying to max the last 4 crafts… the old account is just flat broke. Forget crafting a second exotic set for the level 80. At least I have a good amount of mats.
I can’t say this is a large enough sample size to prove anything. However that new account has a working DR implementation whereas the account I have had since pre-release is simply depressing to log on to.
You guys can say it’s working as intended, but I really do think it could be an account or possibly a server based issue. The new account is on a different server. So much for a control to help narrow the issue down. I wanted to try a highly populated server for the new one.

I think it’s a really good idea, and not just for the black moa chick.

Finally I get it. I thought the listing fee was the only one to worry about. At least I always put items on the TP that have stated the projected profit was at least 1.5 times the vendor price. Now I can just subtract 15% from the price when selling an object on TP and know whether to vendor or not.
There is still one thing that continues to baffle me. Why is it that some white items are listed for double their vendored price? Sometimes the TP price is even more than double. Does this have anything to do with the chance for salvaging it for a T5/T6 mat?

I think the game still needs more gold sinks but not ones that will hinder a casual player like myself. I.e. adding a vendor that sells precursors for 100/200g that makes the precursor account bound the moment it is purchased. <— an idea from another thread/user I thought worth repeating.
That kind of sink is totally optional, takes away a huge chunk of gold from the ‘economy’, and the item can’t be sold on the TP thus it doesn’t put the gold back into circulation.
And no I have no gold to speak of. The most I have ever seen in my account is 24g. I attribute that to my love of crafting. I don’t sell mats since I only have 4 crafts mastered. I don’t run dungeons, except one single time in my 500+ hrs, and don’t generate much gold for myself at all. A vendor with a precursor at 200g would still be out of reach for me but I believe it to be a worthwhile sink.
I do enjoy the game but I see the inflation as something that makes the casual player lose hope. Even if the DR and RNG hates me I need my hope.
Just my opinion ofc.
SINK THE GOLD
… flame on… fireproofing as I type

Um … don’t you have to group to enter a fractal dungeon? Didn’t know you could solo any of it.
Gratz on the drop

I’m another of those ‘unlucky’ souls that seems to have perma-DR. I have over 500 hrs since launch. I have NEVER seen a single exotic drop.

Disclaimer: I did get two level 70’s exotic staffs in the Lost Shores Chest. I got plenty of exotic stuff from map completion rewards but none that my ranger could use and certainly none suitable for lvl 80 even after finishing Cursed Shores.

I have run a single dungeon ‘AC’ and got some lvl 35 blues and greens for my lvl 80. I helped kill the Claw of Jormag and got blues, greens and junk.
I never stay in one place, I move across maps a lot to save on WP costs. I don’t understand why it is that I have only seen 3 rares drop since Nov 15.
One hour is all I get and that is if I’m lucky. I can go to WvW and have the same bad drops, run across two or three maps doing DE’s as I go. It doesn’t matter the loot is bad and it gets worse after that hour is up.
I am beginning to wonder if MF has something to do with it. I have crafted Beserker gear with 6 pirate runes and two pieces of MF jewelry but my percentage isn’t much over 100% at best (including the omnom bars I craft & eat).
I want to make a new set of gear to be more productive in groups but it’s becoming far too cost prohibitive to craft anything. I still need to level 2 more crafts to make gear for alts and yet I am wondering if I can afford to do that.

I will never see a legendary, ascended or even possibly a 2nd set of crafted exotic armor if it keeps up like this.
Well maybe in a couple of years when the kids get older I can run dungeons and make up the difference…

I want the whips we sometimes get to use while completing the hearts/quests. I just love the way they look. :P
EDIT: Especially as a Ranger since our pets NEVER listen and decide when they feel like engaging an enemy or using that f2 skill though I’m mashing the button continuously(not on cooldown tyvm). It would kind of fit the situation.

I finished 100% map completion in all of Orr and I have never been so glad. Now I only have to go back to get mats and eventually finish my personal story “Victory or Death”.
I didn’t mind the look of Orr since it is supposed to be a land full of zombies. I found some of the ghost/zombies still doing their old chores.
I even laughed my kitten off when I solo’d the “Giant Undead Chicken” event (don’t remember the proper name or zone).
In my opinion it is the unease I felt in the areas that will keep me away until I have to go back. It is as if you have nowhere to appreciate the scenery or take a breather aside from the vistas. It felt as if no matter where you go you’re being chased down and as a Ranger prior to the speed boost, quickening zephyr didn’t recharge fast enough even with the extra mvmt speed skill.
My server was sparsely populated so most skill points had to be solo’d or I’d just come back each day in hopes of finishing the few I had left with another soul looking to do the same. I also had to wait a few weeks before I logged on when the waypoints weren’t contested.
Any one of these things contributed to the overall feel of “hurry up and finish this place so I never have to go back” .
Even now I need to get some omnom to make more bars but I don’t wan’t to go. I keep finding reasons to play in Frostgorge or even Southsun before I return to Orr.

Maybe if they threw in a few zombies fighting zombies it would feel a little more realistic. I find it hard to believe that that many zombies are just standing around next to each other without any interaction with each other (except in a few places where they are working). If they are acting as if they are still alive then a bit of squabbling would be expected in such a heavy populated zone.

I went back and completed all maps in pve (still working on WvW maps) when I reached lvl 80. Currently at 96%.
My findings are very different than those stated. I always got equipment suited to the environment’s/map’s lvl, not my own. Even in cursed shore, an exclusive lvl 80 map, I received lvl 70’s gear.
I thought this is what it was supposed to be. facepalm
Since these map completion rewards and the Karka chest were the only exotics I have ever received; I feel like a total idiot for not reporting this as a bug.

Vlad Morbius.1759:

Can you possibly explain how we can provide the data to you and compare it to prior to November 15th since we could not possibly predict there would be a change?
And if that isn’t possible, what precisely do you mean by “Concrete Data”? Please explain the “EXACT” process and data you are looking for so it is no longer “PERCEIVED”!

^This…. This please
I also want to know how to provide them with what they require. Hundreds of hours played and not a single exotic, ever (barring map completions and the Lost Shores Event chest). Until recently I thought it was a dungeon or chest reward only.

I remain optimistic that if someone within the team really wanted to pull up specific information on an account that it could be done. I wouldn’t want to be the person tasked with this chore but I’m sure it could be done.
I will continue to monitor my ‘luck’ in the coming weeks. I had to take a break from playing for the past few days and when I can resume it will be interesting to see if the pattern continues.
So far it is a given (for me) that after approximately one hour of play all loot drops diminish; regardless of changing zones/maps/alt chars.

EDIT: I have already posted my findings in length a few pages back; so there’s no need to duplicate. Only change since that time is that I have run my first and only dungeon. I got nothing but 2 greens and a blue plus a lot of sub level equips and other junk loot.(This dungeon run included the killing of all mobs not just a quick run through since half the group were ‘first timers’)

I think some of us really are that unlucky when it comes to a game based on RNG. I always go into it hoping that RL doesn’t follow me into a game.
As a kid I could win a game of strategy or one using the power of logic but games of luck were always my nemesis.

I have never had an exotic drop, I didn’t know that they did until I read it in the forums. Lost shore event I got two exotic lvl 70’s staffs on my ranger. 96% map completion all under lvl 80 exotics and none suitable for rangers. Absolutely zero from chests (Jormag gave me one green and the rest blue or gems/jewels) or mobs of any kind or level.
Can’t do dungeons so I know I am limited there. WvW 145 kills = 14 badges and 1 rare.

I max levelled 4 crafts just to be able to equip my chars. The lvl80 has Bezerker plus the superior pirate runes… Mad king runes are out of the question since lodestone prices are omg expensive. So even with a decent amount of MF it’s still horribly unlucky drops.
I have 20g and though it took since launch to get it (crafting is expensive even when using mats you acquire just playing) I am proud I have that much. Though I am a pauper compared to those who run dungeons.
I think my acct is cursed by RNG. This is why I have considered buying a new box just to have a ‘chance’ of having a lil better luck.
Non-dungeon runner == forever broke or just barely making it

The Princess Dolls are just plain evil. If the mini-pets had some functionality equal to the lil’ evil things in the present box…. I’d buy one. JK :P
Otherwise they are just creepy and a reminder of my sensless death at lvl80 when I first encountered what looked like innocent easy kill dolls.

Well if it’s a ‘coded’ issue then maybe buying a second account and starting over may be worth it for me. I want to roll 4 more char’s and the cost is what.. 3200 gems?
So the cost is close to a new box. At least I could get lucky and this new account won’t be saddled with the kitten poor luck my main account has. And I could actually have a comparison.
I don’t know though if I had two accounts with this issue I would be more than upset so… maybe I’ll just wait and see.

I really like the idea of “Get me home”. +1
I would like to add that it would be nice to scale waypoint and repair costs to the the level of the map you’re on. Since you have the ‘chance’ to get loot for the appropriate level you are playing then so should you pay a scaled down cost for being there. I am not saying to pay the minimum cost that actual low level char’s pay but one that is scaled down only.
With inflation as it is I think my $.02 isn’t worth a fraction of that

A noobish question for you guys. I only have 20g and as such I can’t tell if the legendary item ( or any other with a big price tag) can be purchased or not from the TP because, well, it’s obvious why.
So is this a bug or is this intended and can it actually be purchased with gold?

My experience thus far… if it helps at all having more ppl report their findings. My main is a lvl 80 ranger with an average of 2 hours per day since launch. I have never set foot in a dungeon and last night was my first ‘dragon experience’ (Jormag).
I have “NEVER” had an exotic drop from a chest or any champ, vet, or other mob in the PVE or WvWvW world. The one exception to this is the Lost Shores Event where I got two lvl 70’s staffs that I sold on TP for 4g total.
Last night Jormag gave me a green, lots of gems and a couple of blues. In all honesty I was highly disappointed with this epic battle giving such poor reward. Just one exotic would have been nice.
Rare that have dropped are always going to do so within the first hour of playing whether I play on my main then switch to alt or not. NOTHING good ever comes after that first hour no matter how many different maps or mobs you go to. I have seen 3 rares drop since the November patch.
I don’t do dungeons because I have 4 children at home and it can get chaotic quickly at times. I could not set aside that kind of time with a guarantee that I’ll be running straight through without interuption. So until I find a way to keep from angering others if I have to take a moment away… they are a ‘no go’. So that entire avenue of making gold or getting exotics is closed to me for now.
WvW has been fun the few times I have been and I would go much more often if I could afford the repairs. 145 kills and I have 1 rare and 14 badges. Running into a zerg with a much smaller party means high repair costs no matter how fun it is; it costs to stay there.
Finally, exotics I have gotten besides the Karka chest event were all from map completion. Orr was a total bust even doing map completion in those three zones (1 rare at Grenth and lots of porous bones). The only maps I have left are WvW and those will take some time. I don’t just go there to get poi’s etc. When I go it’s to enjoy the content just like I did for the open world maps. But even while there, the DR starts at the one hour mark and it seems amount and quality both suffer as it does elsewhere.
I am wondering if it is worth getting a second account just to earn money for my main acct. At least on the days I have more than 2 hours to enjoy the game I can switch and no longer worry that the DR will make th experience less enjoyable.
Edit: Oh and one other thing.. what’s a lodestone? JK I have never seen one drop… ever.

Downscaling further is not a good idea unless:
A- they reduce WP and repair costs to the appropriate level
B- implement some sort of transmutation for mats like they did with jewels. I know there is a mystic forge recipe but I mean a little more realistic conversion of lower level mats much like the already implemented system they have for the jewels/stones.

Upgrade tier 3 to exotic to make it worth the gold and save the “omg I’ll never have that much gold” price for a new tier 4 cultural set with ascended stats.

+1
For the very same reasons. To wait or not to wait….

I kept expecting to see him as a ‘risen’ and I’d have to battle against him… put him to rest.
Kind of glad it didn’t happen but at the same time it would have been a really good addition to the personal story. For me it would personalize the tragedy that so many npc’s spoke of when they lost friends/loved ones to the dragon.

I feel the pain, especially the suicide runs just to hit the waypoint. I had a kind soul who patiently healed me when I was killed right next to the wp but too far to trigger it. Still, I play solo because I have kids, family, job, etc. I don’t have a block of time that huge to dedicate to dungeons so I don’t play them. Not fair to others and will do me no good except garner enemies in the community if I have to drop out midway.

The fact is I may never finish my personal story. Orr is too sparsely populated and I don’t have multiple hours at one sitting to dedicate to the single quest/dungeon.

I’m still working on crafting my own exotics. Beserkers requires the blood and sometimes I wish I could donate my own instead of hoping for a drop.
The devs could easily make a conversion like they did with the jewels. Whereas a certain number(less than 250, more like 50) of potent blood + some other dropped item = powerful blood. Use this for each of the tiers of mats and you have a reason to be in lower level maps because you can always convert the lower level mats.

I am missing one skill point in Orr (Grenth Temple) to get 100% completion of world maps except WvW. All day I have run around like a blue shirt no name in Star Trek dying at the hands of the zombies. That particular temple has been contested all day. I tried to do the sneak in and grab the point while the pet distracts… no go. I tried a more direct running in and obviously that ended badly too. Frustrating how hard it can be to solo Orr and mostly because there just aren’t that many people. I helped a few today and had my butt saved by a few as well. Putting a champion on one of the skill points was a jaw dropper but luckily a group ran by and helped me out.
The areas are just too empty. I need to hire some thugs to help out or at least be my meat shields while I run in and get my shiny blue/gold chest. :P

They could make their Gem store something worth checking on a daily basis, something worth paying money for Gems.
At present the Gem store is lackluster at best as far as personalization goes or any offering for that matter. Where are the skins for town clothing or armor skins, weapon skins, the ability to simply add a specific color to a weapon?
More mini-pets, break down mini-pets into smaller groups so that people who are aiming for specific types know they have a higher probability of getting one.
Even better, offer a ranger pet that is holiday specific. <- that was a bit corny but I’ll bet it would sell.
Give people good choices and they will pay for them.

I still like the bunny killing idea… 1 million bunny kills = 1 piece of ascended gear. Just spread it out over all the maps. Maybe add innocent crabs and such to the list for some variety. Overkill acheivement translates into ‘serial killer’ ascended gear.

*this is a joke, sort of….

Add another casual player that is feeling it will be impossible to catch up. I have a lvl80 main and alts under lvl50. Mastered 2 crafts, have only made one exoctic piece of gear so far and one mystic weapon. Don’t do dungeons for lack of finding ppl that will enjoy it and not mind a noob figuring it out. Now the elitists can require more than exotics to group, the next litmus test will be ‘do you have ascended gear? sorry you can’t join’.
I completed all maps except WvW which I fear may be rendered difficult if ascended gear is needed.
Would have been nice to see more skins in gem shop and as rewards for dungeons. So far all I have spent for gems are bank slots and backpack slots…
I think I’m done buying gems. I’ll just run around res random ppl and have fun til I am officially underpowered and outdated.