It's time for transmutation charges and self style hair kits to go away!

[Veprovina.4876]

Here:

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Skirmish_Chest

Transmutation charges galore. I just yesterday got 250 dyes out of them just for the lulz and threw the duplicates in the mystic toilet because i don't ever plan on having more than 2 stacks of those (and i do).

Play WvW, you can do it casually, doesn't matter for skirmish chests, and alongside your reward track transmutation charges, you can get them from the chests too.If you play WvW just one day a week for longer periods or multiple days a week for a few hours you can have tons of them very soon. Depends of course how much you're spending.

I don't even complete diamond each week and i have tons of them.

You get 5 charges just for completing Wood tier. And that can be done easily, you can even afk farm it or just tag camps. If you play in outnumbered maps, you get double the pips.

If you play more and complete bronze, that's 10. Silver is another 6 on top of that, and so on and so on.

I fail to see how transmutation charages are a problem. If you don't want to play WvW, fine, there's PvE ways of obtaining them, but you have plenty of ways of getting them in game as it is.

[Fuchslein.8639]

@Strider Pj.2193 said:

@Fuchslein.8639 said:

@Strider Pj.2193 said:

@Fuchslein.8639 said:How can you farm transmutation charges in PVE in the same mass like PVP or WVW without spending gems or gold?

The same way WvW players farm gifts of Maguuma, gifts of exploration, play the mode.

But how do I play PVE mode and farm as many transmutation charges as I would if I farmed WVW afk?There are only a limited number of maps you can explore per character.

Or is this another, boo you must play all game modes otherwise you are not worthy.Sure, I like to AFK farm wvw. It's anyway so sparsely populated that I no longer take away anyone's place :).Of course it's a pity for the few who still take WVW seriously, if they have a bunch of people who only do the most necessary and 80% of the time just stand around. But in the forum you get to hear again and again, play wvw x).

Yes. You need to be in WvW or sPvP. But the Neat thing is, you get them JUST FROM LOGGING ON.

But of course you can also buy them.

See? Four easy sources of getting them. In fact, I’d love to be able to sell the 3000+ ones I have!

Making trans-charges tradable would be a dream. Know a bunch of people who have so many because they hardly use them while someone like me, if the opportunity exists 100 per week is nothing ...I would also be someone who would actually buy more Gem-store skins if I could change them like I like.But buying something to use something already purchased? Or play modies that I find annoying for something exential in fashion-wars?Nah~, thanks no.And because I know that people would go back to it. I don't care how wvw or pvpler get their stuff. Because of me they can get everything you get in pve in their modies. I hate these exhausting comparisons like taking a lollipop away from a child ...

[firedragon.8953]

Just like the real world, it takes effort, money and time to look beautiful.

I used to loathe transmutation charges as well, but then I just logged in enough that I guess the problem resolved itself, since I generally stick with a look I like for a while. If I was a heavy transmutation user, I guess I would be forced to fill Anets coffers.

I do however wish that we could temporarily change our character appearance for like one hour before we commit to using a cosmetic kit, or can revert/refund changes within 24 hours or something. As a norn, I had some clipping issues on certain things that I only noticed once I started playing again...very annoying and also costs money/gold. The preview window doesn't really allow a decent preview.

[Sobx.1758]

@Reaper X.6305 said:

@Svarty.8019 said:

@Reaper X.6305 said:Please remove the need to use transmutation charges to change your gear's appearance, and put in-game barber shops in all of the capitol cities so that we can change our hair! It would be such a gesture of good will towards your player base. We all know Fashion Wars is a big selling point of this game, so please don't restrict it!

For a buy-to-play game with no pay-to-win, GW2 garners it's sustenance from cosmetic-only items.

As such, doesn't it behoove the company to leave them as-is?

No. It doesn't. They probably make most of their gem store money off of the gem to gold conversion anyway.

,

@Lonami.2987 said:

@Reaper X.6305 said:Please remove the need to use transmutation charges to change your gear's appearance, and put in-game barber shops in all of the capitol cities so that we can change our hair! It would be such a gesture of good will towards your player base. We all know Fashion Wars is a big selling point of this game, so please don't restrict it! Just have it cost silver in game if it must cost something. You can make up for the 'lost revenue' that this good will gesture would cause by adding other customization things, like player housing and furniture! You'll probably get a ton of good press (which means new players) for this move too. Please ANet, it's the right thing to do!

100% agree, transmutation charges hurt their backline, people would purchase more gem store skins if they were easier to use.

Also, hairstyles would make more money if they were free to apply, but also sold individually in the gem store, just as weapon and armor skins.

ITT: people try to push their opinions by pretending they have access to the information they very clearly don't have access to.

Also the infamous "give me more free stuff and then I'll start spending more money!" -no, you won't :lol:

All I can say is that not ONCE have I ever had any problem with existance of transmutation charges or hairstyle kits. This is a made up problem pushed by forced comparison to games with monthly fees by people that don't want to pay for anything in the game. Like someone said earlier in this thread: if you like monthly sub so much, then spend money on gems monthly and you'll be stacked....or just play the game and you'll be stacked anyways.

[Loboling.5293]

As someone who has somehow collected hundreds of hair style change kits without even trying since I started playing. I say no.

Now if be very happy if they released more hairstyles though.

Edit: Impossible to run out of transmutation charges. The amount rises every time I play.

[Strider Pj.2193]

@Fuchslein.8639 said:

@Strider Pj.2193 said:

@Fuchslein.8639 said:

@Strider Pj.2193 said:

@Fuchslein.8639 said:How can you farm transmutation charges in PVE in the same mass like PVP or WVW without spending gems or gold?

The same way WvW players farm gifts of Maguuma, gifts of exploration, play the mode.

But how do I play PVE mode and farm as many transmutation charges as I would if I farmed WVW afk?There are only a limited number of maps you can explore per character.

Or is this another, boo you must play all game modes otherwise you are not worthy.Sure, I like to AFK farm wvw. It's anyway so sparsely populated that I no longer take away anyone's place :).Of course it's a pity for the few who still take WVW seriously, if they have a bunch of people who only do the most necessary and 80% of the time just stand around. But in the forum you get to hear again and again, play wvw x).

Yes. You need to be in WvW or sPvP. But the Neat thing is, you get them JUST FROM LOGGING ON.

But of course you can also buy them.

See? Four easy sources of getting them. In fact, I’d love to be able to sell the 3000+ ones I have!

. I hate these exhausting comparisons like taking a lollipop away from a child ...

But yet, expecting a business to give away something they have successfully monetized isn’t childish?

[supa.8593]

@kharmin.7683 said:WoW is, what, $15/month? GW2 is $0/month. Pony up the $15/month and buy all of the transmutations and hair style kits you can each month. That way, GW2 would be like WoW.

And this is exactly why I have no problem spending 10-20$ a month on gems / BLK's.

[Touchme.1097]

Transmutation charges are easy to get, I never run out of them. You can buy them with a certain currency from the festive merchants, you get them from black lion chests, map completion. You can just make a new character and map completion with it to farm keys and T charges. The only thing I consider worthy of review is the expensive cost of the total makeover kit and name change contracts which should be half the price to be reasonable for what they do.

[Fuchslein.8639]

@Strider Pj.2193 said:

@Fuchslein.8639 said:

@Strider Pj.2193 said:

@Fuchslein.8639 said:

@Strider Pj.2193 said:

@Fuchslein.8639 said:How can you farm transmutation charges in PVE in the same mass like PVP or WVW without spending gems or gold?

The same way WvW players farm gifts of Maguuma, gifts of exploration, play the mode.

But how do I play PVE mode and farm as many transmutation charges as I would if I farmed WVW afk?There are only a limited number of maps you can explore per character.

Or is this another, boo you must play all game modes otherwise you are not worthy.Sure, I like to AFK farm wvw. It's anyway so sparsely populated that I no longer take away anyone's place :).Of course it's a pity for the few who still take WVW seriously, if they have a bunch of people who only do the most necessary and 80% of the time just stand around. But in the forum you get to hear again and again, play wvw x).

Yes. You need to be in WvW or sPvP. But the Neat thing is, you get them JUST FROM LOGGING ON.

But of course you can also buy them.

See? Four easy sources of getting them. In fact, I’d love to be able to sell the 3000+ ones I have!

. I hate these exhausting comparisons like taking a lollipop away from a child ...

But yet, expecting a business to give away something they have successfully monetized isn’t childish?

Where did I say that I agree with the TE?I just wanted to know if there are other ways to get trans-charts in PVE, which I did not know yet.Since I then only got the usual p-a answers, I gave my usual p-a answer.

I'm sorry I asked a question and didn't write directly what I think about the topic and whose side I'm on and didn't make a p-a comment to the te to show that I'm not on his side to show everyone that I just asked a simple question.

[maddoctor.2738]

As a PVE player, you can get transumatation charges using festival currencies, Candy Corn (Mad King), Snowflakes (Wintersday), Jorbreaker (Dragonbash), Festival Tokens (Festival of Four Winds), Bauble Bubble (Super Adventure Box) and as of 2021, Essence of Luck (Lunar New Year)All of them currencies you can actually farm in the game by playing PVE. No need to complete maps if you don't want, no need to play PVP or WVW if you don't want.

Other sources:You get 3 every 28 days from the Login Rewards, 5 as a Common drop in Black Lion Chests, 1 randomly chosen from the 500 AP achievement chests, up to 2 from the Large Achievement Chests (every 1000 AP) and up to 3 from the Heavy Achievement Chests (every 2500 AP)

Edit: You can also get them from Black Lion Statuettes, which are guaranteed drops from the Black Lion Chests.

There are a LOT of sources for them.

[kharmin.7683]

Can't you also get them using Black Lion statuettes?

[Ashantara.8731]

@"Reaper X.6305" said:Please remove the need to use transmutation charges to change your gear's appearance, and put in-game barber shops in all of the capitol cities so that we can change our hair!

1. Only if I get compensated for my ~4,000 Transmutation Charges!
2. There are "barbers" in each VIP area.

[maddoctor.2738]

@kharmin.7683 said:Can't you also get them using Black Lion statuettes?

Right! There are those too. Added them to the post.

[voltaicbore.8012]

@"Sobx.1758" said:

Also the infamous "give me more free stuff and then I'll start spending more money!" -no, you won't :lol:

100% agree. Many businesses find this out the hard way.

Yes, businesses can run promotional giveaways (free stuff) or loss leaders (cheap stuff) to successfully increase sales of another profitable product, but that only works when (1) you have a good idea of what motivates purchases and (2) your free/cheap stuff properly plugs into those motivations. I have a hard time believing that making transmutes completely free will encourage greater gem store skin purchases. IMO if you like a skin enough to buy it, chances are you'll get it even if you only get one free application of it.

But more importantly, transmutation charges are already essentially free. You don't have to be a no-lifer to rack up double digits of those things on a fairly regular basis.

As for the barbershop idea, that would just be a pure loss, and nothing OP (and like minded people) have said here would replace that.

[Astralporing.1957]

@mindcircus.1506 said:

@Fuchslein.8639 said:How can you farm transmutation charges in PVE in the same mass like PVP or WVW without spending gems or gold?Map completion offers a guaranteed transmutation charge any time you do not get a BL Key. There are a number of maps in this game that can be completed in less than 15 minutes.Roll alt, tome alt to 80 and complete the following maps:Black CitadelThe GroveDivnity's ReachRata SumHoelbrakBloodstone FenSilverwastes (depends on meta for the last HP)Dry Top (may depend on events for speed run)Lion's ArchSouthsun CoveDrizzlewoodDragonfallIf you are an efficient killer and can complete the hearts quickly add:Ember BaySiren's LandingLake DoricSandswept Isles

Then Delete the Alt and start again.This is faster than the rate at which you earn them in WvW/PvP..Or just do the 5 race cities and Lion's Arch, in which case you don't need to get any levels at all. But in reality, if you don't change your looks everyday you will get enough from just playing. I mean, even daily login rewards produce quite a number of those.

[antunesac.4768]

@kharmin.7683 said:WoW is, what, $15/month? GW2 is $0/month. Pony up the $15/month and buy all of the transmutations and hair style kits you can each month. That way, GW2 would be like WoW.

Perfect!and I also prefer the gw2 business model

[mindcircus.1506]

@"Astralporing.1957" said:if you don't change your looks everyday you will get enough from just playing. I mean, even daily login rewards produce quite a number of those.This may be true for you.Different people interface with this system in different ways. I play a lot of alts, I have both gear loadouts filled on most of them. When I go through periods where I am not playing WvW or doing a lot of map completes I start running out. I currently have less than a dozen charges despite leveraging things like festival vendors.I assure you the ones gained from login rewards and "just by playing" do not always meet my personal needs. I am not nearly the altoholic that some are, and I do not change my appearance as often as many do.

[Astralporing.1957]

@mindcircus.1506 said:

@"Astralporing.1957" said:if you don't change your looks everyday you will get enough from just playing. I mean, even daily login rewards produce quite a number of those.This may be true for

you

.Different people interface with this system in different ways. I play a lot of alts, I have both gear loadouts filled on most of them. When I go through periods where I am not playing WvW or doing a lot of map completes I start running out. I currently have less than a dozen charges despite leveraging things like festival vendors.I assure you the ones gained from login rewards and "just by playing" do not always meet my personal needs. I am not nearly the altoholic that some are, and I do not change my appearance as often as many do.I on the other hand

am

an altoholic, like to keep my looks updated, don't WvW or SPvP, and don't specifically farm for transmutation charges. And yet i have close to 1k of them.

[wilykcat.5864]

I agree. It should get replaced with a in game barber shop for character customization changes such as hair, hair color, face, etc. Like how they have one in warcraft but make it only cost silver and copper. Transmog charges should go entirely.

[Linken.6345]

@wilykcat.5864 said:I agree. It should get replaced with a in game barber shop for character customization changes such as hair, hair color, face, etc. Like how they have one in warcraft but make it only cost silver and copper. Transmog charges should go entirely.

To use the player only have to pay 15 dollars a month.Pretty sure Anet would welcome that income.

I dont mind as long as I dont have to pay if I dont use it.

[The Greyhawk.9107]

@Reaper X.6305 said:Please remove the need to use transmutation charges to change your gear's appearance, and put in-game barber shops in all of the capitol cities so that we can change our hair! It would be such a gesture of good will towards your player base. We all know Fashion Wars is a big selling point of this game, so please don't restrict it! Just have it cost silver in game if it must cost something. You can make up for the 'lost revenue' that this good will gesture would cause by adding other customization things, like player housing and furniture! You'll probably get a ton of good press (which means new players) for this move too. Please ANet, it's the right thing to do!

How 'bout no.

[Kiba.9743]

I think it is more than fair the way it is now. I do not think they should be free. For $0/per month to play, it is more than reasonable. WoW is a different business model altogether and those players are already paying for such "free" conveniences. Requests like these on larger scales causes F2P games to shut down. People think it is minor, but we have no data to support the income that each cosmetic item brings in, nor should we assume we know.

[wilykcat.5864]

@Linken.6345 said:

@wilykcat.5864 said:I agree. It should get replaced with a in game barber shop for character customization changes such as hair, hair color, face, etc. Like how they have one in warcraft but make it only cost silver and copper. Transmog charges should go entirely.

To use the player only have to pay 15 dollars a month.Pretty sure Anet would welcome that income.

I dont mind as long as I dont have to pay if I dont use it.

That's not what I meant with the subscription. I would not suggest that at all. The barbershop is just an idea.

[Vyr.9387]

@"Kiba.9743" said:People think it is minor, but we have no data to support the income that each cosmetic item brings in, nor should we assume we know.

That's an interesting point, but it goes both ways.All the naysayers act like they have a degree in economics, a specialization for, and a millennium of practice in, the gaming industry, when the only thing they seem to have is "WoW is $15 a month, hurr durr", but there's a reason WoW has enough players to sustain itself thirty times over, and it has very little to do with barbershops changing hairstyles for 5 silver.

Ultimately, ANet's communication with players - and with the world, looking at their marketing, or lack thereof - leaves a lot to be desired, so the only way to get to them would be through not buying their stuff, and force them this way to come out and go: "'Sup, guys, you're not buying gems anymore. What's the matter?"But they usually don't bother - and not just because it looks like they threw everything else to the wind to bee-line EoD; the Build "Templates" are still in-game and still monetized in the image of EA - since the game's upkeep costs are probably the same regardless of how many things they're adding to the game at the current pace, so they might as well keep them and cash in on newcomers who've no idea how the game and its creators operate yet.

But who knows.Speculations are fun!

[Kiba.9743]

@Vyr.9387 said:

@"Kiba.9743" said:People think it is minor, but we have no data to support the income that each cosmetic item brings in, nor should we assume we know.

That's an interesting point, but it goes both ways.All the naysayers act like they have a degree in economics, a specialization for, and a millennium of practice in, the gaming industry, when the only thing they seem to have is "WoW is $15 a month, hurr durr", but there's a reason WoW has enough players to sustain itself thirty times over, and it has very little to do with barbershops changing hairstyles for 5 silver.

Ultimately, ANet's communication with players - and with the world, looking at their marketing, or lack thereof - leaves a lot to be desired, so the only way to get to them would be through not buying their stuff, and force them this way to come out and go: "'Sup, guys, you're not buying gems anymore. What's the matter?"But they usually don't bother - and not just because it looks like they threw everything else to the wind to bee-line EoD; the Build "Templates" are still in-game and still monetized in the image of EA - since the game's upkeep costs are probably the same regardless of how many things they're adding to the game at the current pace, so they might as well keep them and cash in on newcomers who've no idea how the game and its creators operate yet.

But who knows.Speculations are fun!

I absolutely respect your point of view, it is a good one. Thank you for sharing. My assumption of these types of things is simple, every player has a different way to gain access to a particular item. With the transmutation for example, some people pay for them as a standalone item on the Black Lion. Others go through WvW/PvP or create alts and complete maps, or just wait for the login rewards. Me, for example, I only play one character. Sometimes I have an abundance, and sometimes I don't. When I don't, I buy them through a Black Lion Key. The key guarantees me at least one statuette, plus, I get a gamble at something cool out of the chest or a chance at a bundle of statuettes. So, my point is that, for anyone to think "this is just this one thing, it's so small" I would say is not accurate. At the end of the day, developers don't work for free. And while I am not educated in the way of business, Blizzard ran itself as far as business model goes with no one looking over their shoulder (Before Activision. I don't know how their business may have changed after the fact). While ArenaNet is with NCSoft, the type of freedom to reinvent the wheel in certain areas is probably not the same. But like you said, speculation! :)