Some means to block yourself from ecto gambling?

[vandrefalk.6823]

Before you jump in and simply laugh or console, this is part a rant and part a serious request. I don't have gambling issues in real life, but as many gamers, I guess a slight addiction to gaming, but with the ecto gambling I have lately done both the Tarkttun and Sandstorm for the measly AP achievement, and somehow wound up in a winning tip.

However, the gambling vendor token has then been in my bag, and i have now lapsed into a gambling spree the past 48 hours... don't worry, i don't buy gold for gems etc, so this doesn't affect my economy but I have crashed my account and lost 3500g and 2000 ectos. Ez come, ez go, you say, and if you accept the risk, you should also tolerate the losses.

However, seeing as loot boxes are banned some places, I also want to suggest the option to be banned from ecto gambling or somehow remove the option, to help players like myself who suddenly find themselves losing everything they have saved up in the past 9 years. I deleted the Tarkttun item, but the NPCs remain in game so the lure of gambling remains.

It's a good thing New World is coming out tomorrow, as I need to distance myself from GW2 for a while now...

End of rant, I'll get over the loss but I would have been happier now if something had stopped me from continuing after losing 1k gold for example.

Edited September 27, 2021 by Dondarrion.2748

[Batel.9206]

Exercise self-control, and remember this painful lesson in the future when you feel the urge again. That's really the only advice I can give you. If that means distancing yourself from the entire game for a while, then that's what you have to do.

[Linken.6345]

How did you lose 2000 euros if you dont buy gold for gems?

[vandrefalk.6823]

23 minutes ago, Linken.6345 said:

How did you lose 2000 euros if you dont buy gold for gems?

Haha, thanks for pointing out the typo.. it was supposed to say 'ectos' 😄 

[Linken.6345]

39 minutes ago, Dondarrion.2748 said:

Haha, thanks for pointing out the typo.. it was supposed to say 'ectos' 😄 

Not the worst auto correct I have seen🤣

[SoftFootpaws.9134]

Part of the reason you felt such an urge to gamble was having the money to begin with. I don't recommend sitting on that much raw gold and ectos unless you are doing TP flipping. And even then, if you're prone to gambling its better to invest the gold into MCs and mail them to a friend for safekeeping for when you need them.

[voltaicbore.8012]

Hard no. I appreciate when this game prevents others from trolling me, but I'd rather not have more systems in place that prevent me from trolling myself.

Hopefully by the time you get back to Tyria, the destructive call of Ectomoth will have quieted down.

[ArchonWing.9480]

It's too late now, but yea, one should never get that item if they have those tendencies. I have not gambled once since I got the portal because I got it solely for the vendor (also I was on my way out of the game at that point but stuff changed). However, I am probably only one of a few so most should not.  Since you have deleted the item, that is dealt with. Truth be told, it is not good design.

But how to prevent yourself from going to that vendor? Well, boycott Lion's Arch and use other cities has hubs so you don't even have the chance to even get near there.

 

Maybe invest in one of those VIP passes. Yes it costs some but way better to spend it on that then ecto gambling. Yea I'm aware of that other spot in the desert; just never go to that zone at all too. I would recommend Mistlock because it gives easy access to fractal/raid portals, thus making LA more or less not needed.

Also, Hannelore isn't wrong. The best way to not waste gold is just to not have it on hand. Converting it to gems or simply just having some project to work on is a good idea to tie up resources so it just won't go in the wrong direction. Prevention is way easier than the cure and ecto gambling isn't the only pitfall either....

 

The rest is on you.

 

Edited September 28, 2021 by ArchonWing.9480

[OutOfOrder.3719]

You should try black lion keys.  Sounds like you would enjoy the real end game of Guild Wars 2 🤨

Edited September 28, 2021 by OutOfOrder.3719

[Pooh.6897]

I try to stay as far away from black lion chests and ecto gambling as I can. Just keep in mind what my grandma used to say: "Buy something so you have something." It's about understanding that the house always wins. Gambling will always be a downward path, no matter what you tell yourself. If you have that much money just sitting in your pockets, I'd heavily suggest to invest it. Set a few buy orders for expensive infusions, just let it sit. Once you have the infusions, set a sell order for a higher amount and just forget about it. Yes, you'll be outpriced by TP players in no time, but since you're not a TP player that's not a big concern. Just set a competitive price and it will sell eventually. Doesn't even have to be infusions, although it would be better to spread out your investments over multiple assets.

[Angelissa.8409]

To OP and everyone else suffering from this.... I get you.

I have stopped playing this game 3 to 4 times now, all because of ecto gambling. I'm currently in yet another "stopped playing for a bit" period. I have long deleted the items you get from achievements.

I even went ahead and asked support to block these ecto vendors from my account and while they were sympathetic to my situation, they were unable to do so.

I have an addictive personality and I'm terrible at self-control when it comes to gambling. The only silver lining in this is that I've never gambled in real life (nor have I bought premium currency> convert to gold > gambled in any other game), but somehow GW2 gambling really hooked me quite a lot.

First time I hit the jackpot (2000g), and managed to buy lots of bank space/bag slots, convenience items from gold>gem conversion. Afterwards I went from 300g to 6000g in gambling, and just didn't stop. Hitting literal 1g after huge losses made me uninstall the game right there.

This pattern repeated itself a couple of times, I would go in, play the game a bit (I haven't even finished all the living world stories!), but get the urge to gamble, do so, lose, quit.

Final straw was me selling my entire raw material stash just to gamble more, and eventually losing it all. I deleted the game once again and haven't touched it for 4-5 months now. As one can imagine leaving this game in such state of mind is a terrible aftertaste. It was also a scary moment as I noticed that this is how gamblers lose everything they own (in real life). I was glad that this game was not real life.

I want to come back to the game because I truly enjoy it. I want to see the end of the story! Also I loved GW1 so the upcoming expansion with Jade Sea (as well as amazing sea turtles) sounds way too much fun! I just have this nagging feeling at the back of my head; am I going to do the same cycle over and over again?

I do realize this is a "me" issue (despite the fact that there are surely others like me around), and other people may brush it off by saying "just don't do it". I also acknowledge that this is the risk with gambling.

I just wish that gambling was not in the game, or at the very least have support disable purchasing certain items/interacting with certain vendors at the request of the account holder. This is already a thing in other games (GGG will let you block buying "mystery boxes" in Path of Exile, and those are direct store purchase!), so I hope Anet can help people like us.

Edited November 29, 2021 by Angelissa.8409

[Tiilimon.6094]

Easy, donate all of your gold to somebody else.. Like me 😄

 

I promise not to gamble, honestly!

[Rogue.8235]

@Dondarrion.2748

Step one, understand the disorder.

Helpful, peer reviewed research can be found at National Institute of Health National Library of Medicine:

Gambling Disorder and Other Behavioral Addictions: Recognition and Treatment   

Contains useful information regarding the biomechanics of gambling disorder and even delves into internet addiction.

Publishing  information  Harvard Review of Psychiatry, Volume 23, Issue 2, pages 134-146.  Published : May 2016.

Authors are from:  Yale University, Department of Psychiatry, Department of Child Study, and Department of Neurobiology

 

The next step is based on what you've learned.  Better understanding will allow you to identify how best to seek treatment.

 

More Research:

Disordered gambling: the evolving concept of behavioral addiction

Specifically the Gambling-related cognitive distortions section.  A lot of the background biomechanical explanations are relevant as well.

Publishing Information:  Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, volume 327, Issue 1, pages  46–61.  Published October 1, 2014.

Authors are from:  University of British Columbia (Vancouver, Canada), Department of Psychology, Centre for Gambling Research,

 

Ludens: A Gambling Addiction Prevention Program Based on the Principles of Ethical Gambling

Pay special attention to the limitations of this study.  Also realize this is just one method of treatment and be aware that there are many more.

Publishing Information:  Journal of gambling studies.  Accepted August 2, 2021.  Published online (ahead of print) August 23, 2021.

Authors are from:   University of Valencia (Valencia, Spain), School of Psychology

 

 

I really hope this helps you!

 

 

[vandrefalk.6823]

13 hours ago, Rogue.8235 said:

@Dondarrion.2748

Step one, understand the disorder.

Helpful, peer reviewed research can be found at National Institute of Health National Library of Medicine:

Gambling Disorder and Other Behavioral Addictions: Recognition and Treatment   

Disordered gambling: the evolving concept of behavioral addiction

Ludens: A Gambling Addiction Prevention Program Based on the Principles of Ethical Gambling

I really hope this helps you!

Thanks for links, I will check this out for future reference.

Just want to point out, I do not have a gambling addiction. This spree I went on was limited to being possession of more gold than I really though my character needed, and since it was pixel money, I was careless. By lucky chance, I got my first "rare" drop in 8 years shortly after losing 3200 gold and sold that item (the Pristine Eye from DS) for 3200 gold so in the end, I've cut my losses drastically. BUT, more importantly, I wanted to check whether there were safeguards easily available in game to prevent others who might lapse into worse gambling issues.

I'm now sat at something short of 2.8K gold and haven't ecto gambled since I lost my head and went on that fateful spree. I even have the gambling vendor item still in my bank, even though I deleted the other one, but only to prove to myself I can refrain from gambling away my wealth 🙂

[Rogue.8235]

9 hours ago, Dondarrion.2748 said:

Thanks for links, I will check this out for future reference.

Just want to point out, I do not have a gambling addiction. This spree I went on was limited to being possession of more gold than I really though my character needed, and since it was pixel money, I was careless. By lucky chance, I got my first "rare" drop in 8 years shortly after losing 3200 gold and sold that item (the Pristine Eye from DS) for 3200 gold so in the end, I've cut my losses drastically. BUT, more importantly, I wanted to check whether there were safeguards easily available in game to prevent others who might lapse into worse gambling issues.

I'm now sat at something short of 2.8K gold and haven't ecto gambled since I lost my head and went on that fateful spree. I even have the gambling vendor item still in my bank, even though I deleted the other one, but only to prove to myself I can refrain from gambling away my wealth 🙂

 

Glad to hear that it was only one gambling spree 😄

If you had fun during that fateful spree then it wasn't totally bad.  It's in-game gold and you used it for entertainment purposes in the game, so not that bad.  You have a healthy attitude about it so keep it up!

When I post links to information it's also for anyone reading the thread.  I tagged you just in case it was something you were especially interested in.

I had a fateful spree with commodities trading.  I miscalculated the way the market would swing and lost a lot of gold.  It happens to all of us, so don't worry!  😄

 

[vandrefalk.6823]

Yes, no worries tagging me, I was the OP after all too. Just wanted to clarify it was a one-time incident, but I also saw a fellow gamer above who had to go to the steps of uninstalling the game and leaving it behind with a sour taste due to the availability of in-game gambling causing them to go bankrupt over and over. So it affects other players too and I guess, in that sense, deserves awareness and raising as an issue for Anet.

Now when I look at the Sandstorm Flush Hand vendor item in my bank, I remember the sad feeling of going from 3.2K gold to a handful gold in an hour, and that's enough of an incentive to remind me my spree was fun for a bit and not so fun in the end 😄 

[Katastroff.1045]

Sandstorm Flush Hand... Destroy it maybe?

[Luthan.5236]

You need to learn to control yourself. Sorry to say this - but the gambling law is only for certain countries (I think Belgiuim?) and only for real money.

With the virtual ingame currency you basically lose nothing - besides the time you spent earning the gold ingame. The game designers want to have such stuff in the game - just because it might make people buy gems for real money to trade into gold ... or remove gold from the economy.

I never really tried this. I only use 1 black lion key earned from playing - every time the chest content changes. And the ecto thing ... only every now and then when I'm near such a vendor (does not happen that often).

Trying to use it in a controlled way (vs stopping to use it completely) - might be a way. If there is pressure to gamble sometimes ... set a limit like x gold per week or so.

Edited December 1, 2021 by Luthan.5236

[Ashantara.8731]

54 minutes ago, Luthan.5236 said:

You need to learn to control yourself.

That's not how these types of psychological disorders work, pal. If it were as easy as "simple willpower", no one would have an addiction problem. This goes for gambling as much as for smoking, alcohol, drugs and even unhealthy amounts of food consumptions or sugar addiction etc.

Anyway...
 

Funny story: I recently revisited the secret cave in Lion's Arch with the skritt ecto NPC in it, simply because I hadn't been there in ages and was bored. I started interacting with the NPC in order to sell a couple of things, when out of the blue another person arrived and started lecturing me about ecto gambling and addiction. I told them I wasn't there to gamble (which was the truth), but they didn't believe me and continued their rant and even gave me the link posted above to get help with my supposed gambling addiction. I had to block them at some point.

Conclusion: Please stop lecturing people, even if it's meant well, and rather start thinking about the underlying issue - namely that there is gambling in computer games, and that that's not an ideal status quo.

[Linken.6345]

I find the sandstorm flush hand being a nice portable merchant

 

[Tsakhi.8124]

1 hour ago, Ashantara.8731 said:

That's not how these types of psychological disorders work, pal. If it were as easy as "simple willpower", no one would have an addiction problem. This goes for gambling as much as for smoking, alcohol, drugs and even unhealthy amounts of food consumptions or sugar addiction etc.

Anyway...
 

Funny story: I recently revisited the secret cave in Lion's Arch with the skritt ecto NPC in it, simply because I hadn't been there in ages and was bored. I started interacting with the NPC in order to sell a couple of things, when out of the blue another person arrived and started lecturing me about ecto gambling and addiction. I told them I wasn't there to gamble (which was the truth), but they didn't believe me and continued their rant and even gave me the link posted above to get help with my supposed gambling addiction. I had to block them at some point.

Conclusion: Please stop lecturing people, even if it's meant well, and rather start thinking about the underlying issue - namely that there is gambling in computer games, and that that's not an ideal status quo.

I cannot like this enough. I will never understand how people come to the conclusion that a psychological disorder can be switched on and off at will. It's not that simple, it never has been. People that think otherwise either lack empathy or education regarding said disorders.  Also, I never understood where the people get the audacity to start lecturing anyone when they don't know the first thing about said person. 

[Teratus.2859]

Hard no from me as well.

As harsh as it may seem and may suck for some people, the reality is that it is your problem, not everyone else..
I don't mean that in a cruel or unsympathetic way, it's just the honest truth.

I feel compelled to take a stand against anything that ultimately calls for banning something purely on the grounds that some people have addictive tendencies or poor self control etc, and I am no fan of gambling either.. that's something I stay well away from along with plenty of other things in society that I strongly dislike or even despise in some cases but would still not support them being banned despite my personal opinions on them.
As much as I truly despise some things in this world, (such as alcohol for example) I don't have the right to stop others from drinking it nor would I want it.

People are and should always be free to make their own choices, even bad ones and coddling people, sheltering them away from everything perceived as bad and/harmful.. tends to do far more harm than good in the long run if you ask me.. plenty of examples of that these days lol

The fact that you are aware of the problem is good, use it and the harm it has done to motivate you to seek help to overcome this problem.
Addictions suck but they can be beaten with sheer will power, and there is help available to people to help them get to the place where they can do that.
But first you have to want that help and recognise that you have the problem, these are the first steps.

[Aedil.1296]

On 9/27/2021 at 6:00 PM, Dondarrion.2748 said:

Before you jump in and simply laugh or console, this is part a rant and part a serious request. I don't have gambling issues in real life, but as many gamers, I guess a slight addiction to gaming, but with the ecto gambling I have lately done both the Tarkttun and Sandstorm for the measly AP achievement, and somehow wound up in a winning tip.

However, the gambling vendor token has then been in my bag, and i have now lapsed into a gambling spree the past 48 hours... don't worry, i don't buy gold for gems etc, so this doesn't affect my economy but I have crashed my account and lost 3500g and 2000 ectos. Ez come, ez go, you say, and if you accept the risk, you should also tolerate the losses.

However, seeing as loot boxes are banned some places, I also want to suggest the option to be banned from ecto gambling or somehow remove the option, to help players like myself who suddenly find themselves losing everything they have saved up in the past 9 years. I deleted the Tarkttun item, but the NPCs remain in game so the lure of gambling remains.

It's a good thing New World is coming out tomorrow, as I need to distance myself from GW2 for a while now...

End of rant, I'll get over the loss but I would have been happier now if something had stopped me from continuing after losing 1k gold for example.

Been there lol I lost around 3k and ectos too. 

Just so you know on the wiki there is a fantastic research on how much you spend /win and as u know the table always wins so... Forget about it, that's just a gold sink. 

Regarding the gambling issue, I'm sorry to hear about that i guess everyone has their own fights (we all do!) but you should consider to get support from someone you trust. It will change your life for the better.

Hugs 🤗

P. S. I perfectly agree any gambling kitten should be removed from all videogames. I've known a player from Belgium where laws on gambling are so strict that Anet cannot sells gems there due to them being tied to black lion keys which is a real money gambling. 

Gambling is bad, don't make the others rich, save your money before you can spend them each month on pay day. In GW2 you can buy ectoes or mystic coins maybe? So u don't spend the gold. Actually no make TP offers for stuff you might resell in future for higher (Google trading post flipping) 

Edited December 2, 2021 by Aedil.1296

[Ryou.2398]

On 9/27/2021 at 12:00 PM, Dondarrion.2748 said:

Before you jump in and simply laugh or console, this is part a rant and part a serious request. I don't have gambling issues in real life, but as many gamers, I guess a slight addiction to gaming, but with the ecto gambling I have lately done both the Tarkttun and Sandstorm for the measly AP achievement, and somehow wound up in a winning tip.

However, the gambling vendor token has then been in my bag, and i have now lapsed into a gambling spree the past 48 hours... don't worry, i don't buy gold for gems etc, so this doesn't affect my economy but I have crashed my account and lost 3500g and 2000 ectos. Ez come, ez go, you say, and if you accept the risk, you should also tolerate the losses.

However, seeing as loot boxes are banned some places, I also want to suggest the option to be banned from ecto gambling or somehow remove the option, to help players like myself who suddenly find themselves losing everything they have saved up in the past 9 years. I deleted the Tarkttun item, but the NPCs remain in game so the lure of gambling remains.

It's a good thing New World is coming out tomorrow, as I need to distance myself from GW2 for a while now...

End of rant, I'll get over the loss but I would have been happier now if something had stopped me from continuing after losing 1k gold for example.

You just need a better focus in life and some inner work, realize how meaningless digital items are, expand yourself and you will learn self control.

[Ashantara.8731]

On 12/1/2021 at 2:10 PM, Linken.6345 said:

I find the sandstorm flush hand being a nice portable merchant

Me, too. 🙂 I even got it for that one purpose alone and never gambled again (I only lost about 250g over it, which was way cheaper than buying the Permanent Merchant).

However, if you're a gambler, you will mainly use it for gambling, not as a merchant. 😉

Edited December 3, 2021 by Ashantara.8731