57 replies to this topic

[Ku Ku]

I'm just curious as to whether anyone else is having money problems due to the high waypoint costs at level 70+?

Various members of my guild and my partner have all reached 80 now but they are often unable to come back to the lower level areas to play with us because the gold cost on their waypoints is too prohibitive.

We had a level 80 elementalist come to a guild event where we took on the fire elemental boss in the asura starter area. As you *may* know there is a lot of aoe spam and so quite a few people end up dead and having to go to a WP and run back.

Our guild event bankrupted this particular ele because it was costing around 2-3 silver to use the wp every time he died.

I'm really questioning if it is fair to raise the WP cost globally (so even low level areas cost the same as high level ones to map around in) when you level and to have no cap on the cost to map a long distance. Personally I think it should scale with the area too, so that if you want to come back to a level one area at level 80 and map around a bit or do an event where you are likely to get downed, it won't end up feeling like a punishment!

To me one of the joys of GW1 was the ability to jump in with others as when you were needed. With this now costing so much money its harder for people to join up....

Is anyone else feeling this?

[Shayne Hawke]

Try not dying so much.

[Vlak]

Waypoints are a convenience, not a necessity. You pay for convenience. Use shortcuts.

For example:

Lion's Arch - Press B, enter mists, go straight through to LA, from there you have plenty of places to go.

[Tallenn]

Getting to low level areas is cheap/free.

Enter the mists, run across to the LA portal, waypoint across LA to the city portals, enter the city near the low level area you want to go to. I suppose if you have long load times it would be annoying, but I don't.

A level 80 shouldn't be dying that much in a low level zone. Do they not have level 80 gear? They should by now have learned to avoid damage pretty well.

All that said, I agree that the costs are still too high, and don't scale with the amount of money that is awarded as you get higher level. Particularly, lower level areas should cost less to portal in, particularly within the same zone.

I'm just saying that there are methods to avoid some of the cost, which a lot of people who are complaining aren't utilizing. If you're not using the mists->LA-> city method, you really have no basis to complain about the costs.

[GrandmaFunk]

Ku Ku, on 10 September 2012 - 02:46 PM, said:

We had a level 80 elementalist come to a guild event where we took on the fire elemental boss in the asura starter area. As you *may* know there is a lot of aoe spam and so quite a few people end up dead and having to go to a WP and run back.

Our guild event bankrupted this particular ele because it was costing around 2-3 silver to use the wp every time he died.

A way around that type of situation: deposit all your money into your bank, you can use the closest waypoint for free when you don't any money on you.

[Vlak]

GrandmaFunk, on 10 September 2012 - 02:55 PM, said:

A way around that type of situation: deposit all your money into your bank, you can use the closest waypoint for free when you don't any money on you.

interesting technique, I did not know that

[Death Aggro]

well this is the 40th thread about this. Probably should have searched for it

[Arioch]

I agree with you. Waypoint costs should become cheaper, perhaps by the zone you're going towards.

And I heard that Fire Elemental boss was bugged, which is why it's hard. We've had easier times in dungeons!

Edit: Also, part of the trouble is going towards the closest waypoint, not just usual travelling (which makes the LA approach less of an option) and people shouldn't have to put their money in the bank before going to the dungeon. And how will they pay for repair costs?

And people should be able to go to any of the capital cities for free, instead of going through the Mist.

Edited by Arioch, 10 September 2012 - 03:01 PM.

[Death Aggro]

GrandmaFunk, on 10 September 2012 - 02:55 PM, said:

A way around that type of situation: deposit all your money into your bank, you can use the closest waypoint for free when you don't any money on you.

I see a nerf or a ban on that real soon.

[GrandmaFunk]

a ban?? whatever for?

[Rekkwum]

Death Aggro, on 10 September 2012 - 02:58 PM, said:

I see a nerf or a ban on that real soon.

Has to be that way, otherwise you could be stuck dead if no-one is around to res you.

I'd have to agree that WP travel in low-level areas should be charged by where you are / where you're going (whichever is higher) than level. A high level person will be downscaled, so shouldn't need to pay so much on waypoints. Naturally, going to or from a high level zone should use the higher cost of that zone.
There's already higher costs involved in being in a low-level zone (eg, repair costs), and you don't get any higher rewards for DEs or renown hearts than someone of that level.

Also, it doesn't matter what equipment you've got, the fire elemental is really hard.

[BloatedGuppy]

Rekkwum, on 10 September 2012 - 03:09 PM, said:

Also, it doesn't matter what equipment you've got, the fire elemental is really hard.

Yeah...I still don't fully understand that encounter. I've been gaming for 30 years. I know all about movement. I LOVE movement. I'm always juking and kiting and rolling and keeping active. And I survive for maybe 20-30 seconds in the ring with that elemental. Eventually, a circle clips my toe, and I'm knocked down, and 20 Embers swarm over me.

As for the waypoint thing, tying it to level was a terrible idea in a level scaling game. It needs to be tied to zone level and distance.

[Chabby]

I greatly agree with this.

For lower areas, the cost should be cheaper. Since the gold we get from events is very low compared to the cost of waypoints at level 80 in most of earlier areas, it's unbalanced. The cost should be based on the area, not the level (so in Orr it would be expansive, but in Metrica province / Queensdale it would be cheaper)... Because otherwise there is just no reason to get back in starting areas, it's all at our disadvantage.

[Guldur]

Tallenn, on 10 September 2012 - 02:53 PM, said:

Getting to low level areas is cheap/free.

Enter the mists, run across to the LA portal, waypoint across LA to the city portals, enter the city near the low level area you want to go to. I suppose if you have long load times it would be annoying, but I don't.

This is a completely annoying mechanic that should be removed altogether! Why not allow LA WPs to be free in the first place? All the damn time I have to go through 3 load times!! (go to mists, go to LA, teleport within LA). And my load times only take half the time of my friends who have to go through the same annoying mechanic.

Besides, whats the incentive on exploring low lvl areas when the gold return is not that great and WP cost is not scaled? If I am going to pay 3 silver for WP, I'll be going to lvl 80 maps where at least I can get my money back for transportation.

[Tallenn]

Typically, the incentive to go to low level areas (or any areas below your level really) is to adventure with friends.

[Bloodtau]

Waypoints and repairing costs need to be toned down A LOT!

Dungeons are not worth doing because you end up spending more on repairs if your party is bad than you even near. Don't get me started about having to repair in WVW, which is suppose to be a pvp zone.

As the OP said, I also avoid going into the lower zones now due to the stupid travel costs. "Whole game is end game"? really? not when there is no plus side to doing it this way.

[Red_Falcon]

They are way too expensive right now, they should be cut in half.

[Guldur]

Agreed that the repair bills also need some fixing - maybe spawn a new anvil by the middle of the dungeon with discounted costs. Right now we spend more gold than earn it doing dungeons - talk about incentives...

Most people don't even bother doing them or learning how to do the explorable modes when the loot is terrible and one-hitting bosses brake all your gear

[eohjay]

What bugs me is when you pay to travel to a dungeon location and can't find a group for it. Then paying to travel to another dungeon, back where you came from, etc. I'm just looking to find people to play the game with and I feel it's penalizing me.

Even more frustrating to me is when you die during a Heart Quest - the rewards don't even cover the waypoint cost.

[Draugadan]

I concur. They're way too expensive right now. It costs as much as the reward from a dynamic event at level 80 just to get to a waypoint in the same area.

[Neato]

I stopped using waypoints around level 20 or so. They're prohibitively expensive. I literally run everywhere, making use of all the asura portals I can.

I also stopped repairing my armor. If it breaks, * it. I'll outlevel it and just buy new armor. Reason being, the repair costs can cost MORE than the damn armor itself at low to mid levels, then it becomes more reasonable to just buy a whole new set of higher level armor.

If I die, I refuse to use waypoints because they're so expensive. I'll literally lay there for 10 or 15 minutes until I can get someone to res me.

Also, I did a test playthrough. I played naked, put all my cash on another character, didn't use waypoints and obviously didn't repair my non-existent armor. Problem is, you make money while you're out playing so you still end up having to pay for waypoints if you die and nobody will res you.

[Milennin]

I don't like the waypoint cost either. It's way too high at level 80 to a waypoint I'm standing literally next to. Cost should be mostly calculated on distance, and much less on level.

[GrandmaFunk]

Neato, on 10 September 2012 - 03:56 PM, said:

Problem is, you make money while you're out playing so you still end up having to pay for waypoints if you die and nobody will res you.

So.. the problem is that they give you money so you can afford the payment, which then forces you to make the payment?

I'm not sure I see the downside or difference here.

[Neato]

GrandmaFunk, on 10 September 2012 - 03:59 PM, said:

So.. the problem is that they give you money so you can afford the payment, which then forces you to make the payment?

I'm not sure I see the downside or difference here.

The point of taking money off your character, as per the context of what you quoted, was to avoid waypoint costs. Taking away from new money you made or old money you made is irrelevant; it's still taking away yer money. So basically, there's no way to avoid the costs, even if you leave your cash at home, since you'll make more and it'll dip into that new batch on you instead. In other words, it would have been irrelevant whether you took your cash off yourself or not.

Only way to avoid it is to not use waypoints and to wait around dead until someone resses you.

[boondocksaint]

Best solution I've heard is that once you have completed a main city  (Vistas, way points, etc.) travel to that city is free. Once an area is completed travel to the area is reduced by a certain %.

[Danael]

Neato, on 10 September 2012 - 03:56 PM, said:

I stopped using waypoints around level 20 or so. They're prohibitively expensive. I literally run everywhere, making use of all the asura portals I can.

I also stopped repairing my armor. If it breaks, * it. I'll outlevel it and just buy new armor. Reason being, the repair costs can cost MORE than the damn armor itself at low to mid levels, then it becomes more reasonable to just buy a whole new set of higher level armor.

What will you do at 80? From what I've read so far, you don't replace your armor as fast as when you're still leveling.

Also, I agree that WP costs should scale distance only and not take level into account. ANet seems to expect us having a lot of money at higher levels. Funnily enough money from lower level events then aren't very good. I'm lv 60 now and the highest zone I've been to until now is hiathi hinterlands and I don't earn a lot of money from those events/hearts. I love to explore those zones though and will be 80 long before I hit Orr.

Something else I've been wondering about is crafting stations. Are there some in the 60-80 zones? Otherwise you'd need to go back to the cities to craft and then pay a lot of money to get back to the high level zones you farmed in. Are asura portals there or do you have to walk from LA to Orr all the way?

boondocksaint, on 10 September 2012 - 04:03 PM, said:

Best solution I've heard is that once you have completed a main city  (Vistas, way points, etc.) travel to that city is free. Once an area is completed travel to the area is reduced by a certain %.

That doesn't solve any problems with zones that are far away from the cities like Orr. You can get to Lion's Arch for free via the mists but imho the problem is getting to the high level zones from the cities.

Edited by Danael, 10 September 2012 - 04:29 PM.

[Neato]

Danael, on 10 September 2012 - 04:24 PM, said:

What will you do at 80? From what I've read so far, you don't replace your armor as fast as when you're still leveling.

At 80, I'll wait until I get the chest and leggings of Tier 3 Cultural for my Elementalist, after which I will no longer have a use for gold and can repair at will. I'll likely get the rest of my gear via WvW which just costs tokens from slaughtering bads, and has the stats I want (Power / Vitality / Condition Damage iirc?) - may transmute it onto that, not sure.

But if it comes down to it, I'll just play naked. As an Elementalist, there's not a huge difference to be honest. You die pretty fast regardless. I could just leech the massive dynamic event mobs either in PvE or WvW.

Edited by Neato, 10 September 2012 - 04:32 PM.

[Strife025]

I use waypoints all the time and have no problems with gold.

It takes 30 min. to farm 40-50 silver at level 80 in multiple spots, like people said it's a convenience.

Also for lvl 80s who run everywhere, you probably make (save) more money by farming for 30 min. and taking waypoints everywhere, then you do saving the 2-3s by taking 5-10 min to run to every place.

And I'm not sure why people are complaining about costs to teleport to 70-80 zones when you can make your waypoint cost back by finding one tier 6 harvesting node. I'm going to assume someone teleporting to Cursed Shore is going to do events or farm there for a bit, and it literally takes a few tier 6 mats or a couple green drops which you get tons of during those mass defend events to pay for your fee.

So no, I don't see the problem.

Edited by Strife025, 10 September 2012 - 04:59 PM.

[turbo234]

GrandmaFunk, on 10 September 2012 - 02:55 PM, said:

A way around that type of situation: deposit all your money into your bank, you can use the closest waypoint for free when you don't any money on you.

That doesn't work, it automatically withdraws from the bank then.

[Neato]

Strife025, on 10 September 2012 - 04:33 PM, said:

I use waypoints all the time and have no problems with gold.

It takes 30 min. to farm 40-50 silver at level 80 in multiple spots, like people said it's a convenience.

Also for lvl 80s who run everywhere, you probably make (save) more money by farming for 30 min. and taking waypoints everywhere, then you do saving the 2-3s by taking 5-10 min to run to every place.

Nah. You can gather and do dynamic events along the way, you make money.