57 replies to this topic

[Red Sonya]

Just doesn't make sense really since leveling is sooooo FAST that you don't even get to keep/use a piece you get along the way for very long.

I say save it until you get to level 80....who's wit me?

[jthamind]

sure, that's definitely the logical thing to do. but it really all comes down to preference and resources.

for example, my Charr Warrior just got to level 35 today, and i bought him a full Tier 1 Cultural Set, as well as all rare weapons and accessories. i fully geared him out from head to toe in things that will be worthless in about 5+ levels, but i had the gold to spend, was loving my Warrior, and like the Tier 1 armor. so yeah, while it would have been more logical to just keep swapping out pieces from enemy drops, i wanted to be a badass for a bit and own face in AC exp (which i did).

and when i get to level 40, i'm going to buy a cultural greatsword, because i have more karma than i know what to do with. sure, i'll out-level it quickly, but it's not like i'm using my karma for anything else. lol.

[Red Sonya]

jthamind, on 09 January 2013 - 03:47 AM, said:

sure, that's definitely the logical thing to do. but it really all comes down to preference and resources.

for example, my Charr Warrior just got to level 35 today, and i bought him a full Tier 1 Cultural Set, as well as all rare weapons and accessories. i fully geared him out from head to toe in things that will be worthless in about 5+ levels, but i had the gold to spend, was loving my Warrior, and like the Tier 1 armor. so yeah, while it would have been more logical to just keep swapping out pieces from enemy drops, i wanted to be a badass for a bit and own face in AC exp (which i did).

and when i get to level 40, i'm going to buy a cultural greatsword, because i have more karma than i know what to do with. sure, i'll out-level it quickly, but it's not like i'm using my karma for anything else. lol.

Yeah but from what I understand the Karma items at lvl 80 are EXTREMELY expensive so wasting your karma now might save you a lot of time when you reach level 80 to get max gear. Just saying. Of course everyone is on their own to make their own decisions. Just doesn't seem logical to waste a prime resource like Karma for kiddie stuff until you get to lvl 80.

[jthamind]

you're right, but i'm not planning on getting any of the karma items when i get to level 80, though. after i used about a million karma on my ele to make stuff for my legendary, i haven't really had a use for karma since then. lol.

Edited by jthamind, 09 January 2013 - 03:54 AM.

[4arsie4]

Pre-80s karma stuff, particularly the blues, are so cheap in karma terms, spending on the odd item here and there to kit out your character along the way will not have a big dent on your eventual karma needs for your legendary, etc. Each event at 80 pays out 370ish, which is about how much most leveling gear costs.

[dawdler]

Karma crap is cheap and save you money. Simple as that. A single daily jug would probably pay for 40 levels of karma crap. You'll need the money more than you'll need the karma at 80.

Edited by dawdler, 09 January 2013 - 06:03 AM.

[Krazzar]

Karma items and armors also look better before level 80 karma gear (considering the number of options statistically it's improbable you would like the 42k gear, especially since it's actually rather ugly).  You can then easily craft all the gear you want with the stats you want (level 80 karma gear you are willing to get might not have the stats you want) and then transmute the look.  At times leveling will take gold to speed up, so you'll want to save money by using karma along the way.

Beyond that you can get most items pretty cheap on the trading post, which also requires you save up your gold.

[Astral Projections]

And not everyone is going for a Legendary or are getting level 80 exotic temple karma armor. If you're not, then there is no reason to save up karma. Might as well spend it

Edited by Astral Projections, 09 January 2013 - 07:50 AM.

[Juanele]

I use my karma while leveling all of the time and why not. I'm in no hurry to get everything right away once I hit level 80 on my characters.

[Gilles VI]

Red Sonya, on 09 January 2013 - 03:51 AM, said:

Yeah but from what I understand the Karma items at lvl 80 are EXTREMELY expensive so wasting your karma now might save you a lot of time when you reach level 80 to get max gear. Just saying. Of course everyone is on their own to make their own decisions. Just doesn't seem logical to waste a prime resource like Karma for kiddie stuff until you get to lvl 80.

They are extremely expensive when compared to the karma you get while levelling, but karma gain at max level is much much much higher, so don't worry about it.

[moomooo1]

I would actually suggest the opposite really. I think you should feel encouraged to spend your karma as you level to make the process smoother. The amount that you could save up to 80 can easily be earned again at 80. Since the introduction of karma jugs and karma upon dungeon completion(popping karma jugs in one lump sum with all the karma buffs) I've made close to 1.5 million karma. At no point did I seek to farm karma. So really, I wouldn't sweat it, and I'd upgrade as much as I could while I leveled

[Nostredeus]

jthamind, on 09 January 2013 - 03:47 AM, said:

sure, that's definitely the logical thing to do. but it really all comes down to preference and resources.

for example, my Charr Warrior just got to level 35 today, and i bought him a full Tier 1 Cultural Set, as well as all rare weapons and accessories. i fully geared him out from head to toe in things that will be worthless in about 5+ levels, but i had the gold to spend, was loving my Warrior, and like the Tier 1 armor. so yeah, while it would have been more logical to just keep swapping out pieces from enemy drops, i wanted to be a badass for a bit and own face in AC exp (which i did).

and when i get to level 40, i'm going to buy a cultural greatsword, because i have more karma than i know what to do with. sure, i'll out-level it quickly, but it's not like i'm using my karma for anything else. lol.

I'm level 80 and could really use another couple of sets of exotic karma gear or some items towards the legendary so saved up enough to buy the full exotic outright. Did I do it? Nope, it would have been more optimal but I'm a Necro and the weapons in the game look shat for us so instead I popped over the the T3 Sylvari Cultural weapons vendor and bought some T3 skins to transmute. Do I regret it? Nope, my Asura looks bad ass when I stand around and let the idle animation happen with a dagger in my off hand; worth it.

That's the honest to goodness way to enjoy the game, I know it seems hard but you have to let go of some, not all just some, of that minmaxing optimal gameplay when the alternative is something fun; jthamind made the right choice and I guarantee wont regret it at 80, people need to play the game more not beat it.

[Ritualist]

You don't save karma because of the super duper shit you'll be wasting it later on - you save karma because there's nothing you can waste it on.

[BrettM]

Good luck getting upgrades for your aquabreather as you level without spending karma. There are also crafting recipes that can only be obtained by spending karma, as well as bulk food supplies for chefs.

[Ritualist]

BrettM, on 09 January 2013 - 11:52 AM, said:

Good luck getting upgrades for your aquabreather as you level without spending karma. There are also crafting recipes that can only be obtained by spending karma, as well as bulk food supplies for chefs.

I actually had no idea that you could upgrade it. My lvl 70 warrior is my highest character and he's still running around with the starter water-headpiece.
Nor do I bother with accessories - I think I have some 3 of the 6 slots covered and they are drops only.

[Gilles VI]

BrettM, on 09 January 2013 - 11:52 AM, said:

Good luck getting upgrades for your aquabreather as you level without spending karma. There are also crafting recipes that can only be obtained by spending karma, as well as bulk food supplies for chefs.

All my lvl80 characters are still running around with their starter breather xD
But the recipes acquired by karma are pretty useless, none of them are much used.
Not to mention the cooking materials cost around ~20-50 karma for 10/25 or so.
With daily jug of karma you can buy hundreds hundreds of cooking materials.

Protoss, on 09 January 2013 - 08:25 AM, said:

You don't save karma because of the super duper shit you'll be wasting it later on - you save karma because there's nothing you can waste it on.

Pretty much true..
2 ways I found to spend it:

• To level cooking from 1-400 to do last 10 levels on all my alts (only costs ~5k karma or so)
  
• Obsidian shards

That's it..

[Arquenya]

Red Sonya, on 09 January 2013 - 03:42 AM, said:

Just doesn't make sense really since leveling is sooooo FAST that you don't even get to keep/use a piece you get along the way for very long.

Levelling isn't that fast, after the 1st time it's aquite a chore, especially with squishy classes.

I buy the stuff for the looks so I may re-use the skins later on and things like the spy kits are always useful.
And with the daily karma jugs the expense is hardly noticable anyway.

[Mastruq]

I'm using it while leveling, although I dont upgrade very slot each level. When I notice a slot is lagging behind and I havent found a replacement I'll buy one for karma or silver, depending on whats cheaper at the time. I also buy all salvage kits and harvesting tools with karma. As someone above said, the money is more important then the karma for a fresh 80, and you probably spend less karma then a day of events+daily if you use it while leveling.

[Gileas898]

The only use of karma below 80 that I can see is crafting materials.

BUT remember this;

Gilles VI, on 09 January 2013 - 08:01 AM, said:

They are extremely expensive when compared to the karma you get while levelling, but karma gain at max level is much much much higher, so don't worry about it.

Even if you save up all your karma from leveling, you will probably only be able to buy one piece of exotic gear, if even that, so there is really no reason not to spend it if you see a cool piece of armor or weapon, or if you think some upgrades will make your leveling smoother.

[Gilles VI]

Gileas898, on 09 January 2013 - 12:43 PM, said:

The only use of karma below 80 that I can see is crafting materials.

BUT remember this;




Even if you save up all your karma from leveling, you will probably only be able to buy one piece of exotic gear, if even that, so there is really no reason not to spend it if you see a cool piece of armor or weapon, or if you think some upgrades will make your leveling smoother.

Yup exactly what I did at my first character, although I used mostly loot drops.
And as you said, if I remember correctly I got ~50k karma when I reached lvl80, just enough for 1 orrian piece.

[sevalaricgirl]

Level 80 temple armor, 42K karma, I have three pieces and need 3 more.  I'm right now mixing temple armor with level 79 exotic duelist armor.  I have 7 characters and they all give their karma jugs to my level 80 ranger but the reason is that I already have the armor I want on all of my characters except my warrior which is karma armor from the level 40 - 50 charr area.  I buy a lot of transmutation stones needless to say but it is worth it to me since I play more if I like how my characters look.  Anyway, no I didn't save my karma, and as soon as I get 42K karma on my level 80 off she runs to the temple to get another piece.  I love this game.

Edited by sevalaricgirl, 09 January 2013 - 02:32 PM.

[Impmon]

Red Sonya, on 09 January 2013 - 03:42 AM, said:

Just doesn't make sense really since leveling is sooooo FAST that you don't even get to keep/use a piece you get along the way for very long.

I say save it until you get to level 80....who's wit me?

No I wouldn't spend karma until 80.  Also you can do just fine with "fine"  blue armor all the way to 80.  You don't need rares every 5 levels.

[matsif]

Protoss, on 09 January 2013 - 08:25 AM, said:

You don't save karma because of the super duper shit you'll be wasting it later on - you save karma because there's nothing you can waste it on.

this more or less.  Even at level 80 unless you really need the karma armor (which half the time the temple you need open is down anyways from my experience) there isn't anything to spend it on other than the temple armors and obsidian shards.

[Serris]

i don't actually see why you wouldn't spend it before 80, it's pretty useless at lvl 80 either way.

[Thaddeuz]

If there is a slight chance that you may wanna craft a legendary or buy Orr Karma Gear, you should keep you Karma for latter, because you probably wont gonna have enough of want you have anyway at this point. But if you have absolutely no intention to get any of those thing you may as well spend it, these is really no other real application for Karma in end game.

[Red Sonya]

Is level 80 Karma gear MAX level gear? Or is it just POS gear at level 80?

[Straegen]

Karma after purchasing a set of max gear becomes somewhat worthless especially if a player is going into WvW. I probably have around 20 jugs, 400k on my main and my karma armor just by playing WvW for a few weeks. I can give the jugs away to another character on my account but cannot give the karma I have earned away.

Money on the other hand, way harder to come by and is almost always useful. I can give all of it to another character or even to a friend. If nothing else power leveling a character to 80 via crafting using cash is always an option. I recently wanted to play an elementalist in WvW so I spent about 14 total hours and about 35g getting another level 80. Can't do that with karma. Want to buy something from the cash shop such as a black lion kit, karma is useless but gold isn't.

The only disadvantage to gold is that a person can always use real world cash to get more which you cannot with karma. If you don't mind shelling out 10 bucks or more a month to cash in for gold, then money probably isn't a big deal.

Red Sonya, on 09 January 2013 - 04:39 PM, said:

Is level 80 Karma gear MAX level gear? Or is it just POS gear at level 80?

Karma gear is mostly top tier gear but they introduced another tier in the fractals called ascended. Currently that tier is limited to jewelry and backplates I believe but I have a feeling in upcoming patches we will see that tier stretched into armor and weapons.

Edited by Straegen, 09 January 2013 - 05:04 PM.

[Impmon]

The one class I have the most karma on is the one whose armor appearance from cursed shore I hate and refuse to wear.  200k karma banked.  The other guys I'm still working on their sets.  

forgot to mention do dailies you get 4500 karma pots.

[Pariah]

Impmon, on 09 January 2013 - 06:14 PM, said:

The one class I have the most karma on is the one whose armor appearance from cursed shore I hate and refuse to wear.  200k karma banked.  The other guys I'm still working on their sets.  

forgot to mention do dailies you get 4500 karma pots.

Don't forget that if you happen to have Fine Transmutation stones, you can purhase the Karma set as a decent base to transmute any armor looks you like onto.

[Ghostwing]

Ash legion spy kits.