What if most gear drops were stat selectable gear initially? (blue, green, yellow)

[Labjax.2465]

This is an idle thought I've had a few times and I'm wondering if I'm missing anything critical here. The idea behind it is that someone looking to get a new set of gear could easily obtain a set of any stat type through drops or buying from others off TP, at a much cheaper cost than buying exotic. In this way, they could "get moving" on a build or character at end game, instead of running the risk of hitting a wall where they are struggling to get one of the more costly or complex to obtain stat types.

This is more or less what it's like in gear treadmill games, in my experience. Very easy to get an entry level set of gear and then you progress. Right now, you kind of bypass that if you can afford to and go straight to exotic, but this isn't very feasible for some stat/build types. Those harder stat types could be brought in line still, but that might be more complex a balancing act than just making it easier to get started, even if not at exotic level, and it would give more of a point to those other gear levels existing at max level.

[Funky.4861]

This would only be beneficial to vets levelling alts (if they have somehow run out of tomes/scrolls) because they know what stats to select. If you're a newbie to the game, having gear with no stats initially followed by a prompt to choose when you equip the item would be confusing. How will they know what choices to make given that they haven't even unlocked their core traitlines until they are approaching exotic-level gear anyway?

Edited April 18, 2022 by Funky.4861

[Labjax.2465]

40 minutes ago, Funky.4861 said:

This would only be beneficial to vets levelling alts (if they have somehow run out of tomes/scrolls) because they know what stats to select. If you're a newbie to the game, having gear with no stats initially followed by a prompt to choose when you equip the item would be confusing. How will they know what choices to make given that they haven't even unlocked their core traitlines until they are approaching exotic-level gear anyway?

Valid point. I'm more thinking of level 80 gear, which often shows up within unidentified pieces now anyway.

[Dante.1508]

That would be awesome, but gold farmers would lose so much Anet would never do it..

[NumNums.7935]

Stat progression is not just level and quality. Stat progression is also in the Stat type you are going for. Thats why some Stat types are more expensive/ harder to obtain. 

 

I think people are to quick to rush gear onto a character to meet a meta build they found online. (If your new just gear with what you can and progress to the build over time)

[Labjax.2465]

5 minutes ago, NumNums.7935 said:

Stat progression is not just level and quality. Stat progression is also in the Stat type you are going for. Thats why some Stat types are more expensive/ harder to obtain. 

 

I think people are to quick to rush gear onto a character to meet a meta build they found online. (If your new just gear with what you can and progress to the build over time)

Can you give an example? I'm not seeing what stat type has to do with progression, or why that would even make sense as a form of progression in a primarily horizontal progression game.

[NumNums.7935]

Just now, Labjax.2465 said:

Can you give an example? I'm not seeing what stat type has to do with progression, or why that would even make sense as a form of progression in a primarily horizontal progression game.

 

Here you go: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/User:Tanetris/So_You_Want_To_Gear_a_Character

 

If your going condi get yourself a cheap set of rabid then progress into vipers (exotic or ascended) if your going power well your in luck berserker is actually cheap. Diviners pretty cheap, harriers not to bad.

 

Anything that improves your character such as working towards certain stat types, runes, sigils is progression. It doesn't take long and from that point on yes its 100% horizontal  progression where your like me with boxes and boxes in your stash of stat selectable gear but you have legendary armor and weapons but are to lazy to vendor or salvage.

 

So when I see posts like this and knowing I'm lazy af I just have to think why...

 

If you need gear join a guild ask around people will help you.

[Labjax.2465]

11 minutes ago, NumNums.7935 said:

 

Here you go: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/User:Tanetris/So_You_Want_To_Gear_a_Character

 

If your going condi get yourself a cheap set of rabid then progress into vipers (exotic or ascended) if your going power well your in luck berserker is actually cheap. Diviners pretty cheap, harriers not to bad.

 

Anything that improves your character such as working towards certain stat types, runes, sigils is progression. It doesn't take long and from that point on yes its 100% horizontal  progression where your like me with boxes and boxes in your stash of stat selectable gear but you have legendary armor and weapons but are to lazy to vendor or salvage.

 

So when I see posts like this and knowing I'm lazy af I just have to think why...

 

If you need gear join a guild ask around people will help you.

Appreciate the example. Can't say I understand any better how that would make sense as a form of progression though and I doubt it's intended to be that way, that you'd go for like rabid first, then vipers, when all you wanted was a set of vipers.

And the guide you linked, while a very helpful and thoughtful contribution from community members, seems like a perfect illustration of how messy gearing is. Like I'm the kind of person who isn't intimidated by paragraphs of text and will write out paragraphs with ease, and I find that to be a lot. Some people act like you're trying to be a professor if you write a few paragraphs of text, could you imagine those kind of people looking at a guide like that for this game's gearing and deciding whether they want to get into the game?

Personally, I don't consider myself lazy and in fact I tend to go all in on things to my own detriment sometimes. But I also try to value my time and energy, with how much awareness I have of how limited and fleeting it is. From what I've experienced, most people aren't as obsessive as me and have a lower tolerance for their time being wasted by unnecessary complexity. I just put up with it because I get into a thing and then I want to keep at it until I break through. Which isn't at all meant to be a brag (if anything, again, it's a detriment to me sometimes) I'm just trying to make the point that if I'm complaining about it being too complex with all I put up with, maybe that means something. And considering you've got legendaries, apparently, that allow you to ignore it so much so you've got more gear than you know what to do with, I'm not sure why you're defending it.

[NumNums.7935]

6 minutes ago, Labjax.2465 said:

Appreciate the example. Can't say I understand any better how that would make sense as a form of progression though and I doubt it's intended to be that way, that you'd go for like rabid first, then vipers, when all you wanted was a set of vipers.

And the guide you linked, while a very helpful and thoughtful contribution from community members, seems like a perfect illustration of how messy gearing is. Like I'm the kind of person who isn't intimidated by paragraphs of text and will write out paragraphs with ease, and I find that to be a lot. Some people act like you're trying to be a professor if you write a few paragraphs of text, could you imagine those kind of people looking at a guide like that for this game's gearing and deciding whether they want to get into the game?

Personally, I don't consider myself lazy and in fact I tend to go all in on things to my own detriment sometimes. But I also try to value my time and energy, with how much awareness I have of how limited and fleeting it is. From what I've experienced, most people aren't as obsessive as me and have a lower tolerance for their time being wasted by unnecessary complexity. I just put up with it because I get into a thing and then I want to keep at it until I break through. Which isn't at all meant to be a brag (if anything, again, it's a detriment to me sometimes) I'm just trying to make the point that if I'm complaining about it being too complex with all I put up with, maybe that means something. And considering you've got legendaries, apparently, that allow you to ignore it so much so you've got more gear than you know what to do with, I'm not sure why you're defending it.

The game throws gear at the player while they are going thru story or just playing. For bersker armor I recommend to my friends to get a set of exotic from the Grenth vendor in core tyria https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Keeper_Jonez_Deadrun

 

He sells a full set of berserker exotic for just karma. If a new player plays the game and just pays attention to what is offered or even looks at the achievements  they will see the game gives so many ways to get gear for very little cost.

 

Yes this is how the devs intended it. Thats why its this way. For the newer stat types that released with expansions or in living world it makes sense that they require living world to get.

[Labjax.2465]

3 minutes ago, NumNums.7935 said:

The game throws gear at the player while they are going thru story or just playing. For bersker armor I recommend to my friends to get a set of exotic from the Grenth vendor in core tyria https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Keeper_Jonez_Deadrun

 

He sells a full set of berserker exotic for just karma. If a new player plays the game and just pays attention to what is offered or even looks at the achievements  they will see the game gives so many ways to get gear for very little cost.

 

Yes this is how the devs intended it. Thats why its this way. For the newer stat types that released with expansions or in living world it makes sense that they require living world to get.

I played through all of the story recently, never felt like the game was "throwing gear at me."

[NumNums.7935]

1 minute ago, Labjax.2465 said:

I played through all of the story recently, never felt like the game was "throwing gear at me."

As you do world completion/ general exploring the hearts you complete become vendors since launch they have been designed to usually offer gear that is equivalent to the zone you are completing. As you hit certain levels you get level rewards that contain gear in the higher levels 75-80 these contain exotic pieces. After lv 80 as you explore those zones you will find even more vendors which will contain gear to start you off. The issue is players expect to be at their best right away, well if you want that then level up crafting and you can achieve that easily. The games crafting system is not complex.

 

I just don't see how there is a gearing issue when you really only need to do it once for each build you want to go for.

 

I think when players hear horizontal progression they get the wrong idea that there should be no progression. It just means that the cap is low and easy to obtain and you never have to worry about your gear being worse than it currently is or not perform the same in newer content. (No ilvl treadmill)

[Strider Pj.2193]

4 hours ago, NumNums.7935 said:

As you do world completion/ general exploring the hearts you complete become vendors since launch they have been designed to usually offer gear that is equivalent to the zone you are completing. As you hit certain levels you get level rewards that contain gear in the higher levels 75-80 these contain exotic pieces. After lv 80 as you explore those zones you will find even more vendors which will contain gear to start you off. The issue is players expect to be at their best right away, well if you want that then level up crafting and you can achieve that easily. The games crafting system is not complex.

 

I just don't see how there is a gearing issue when you really only need to do it once for each build you want to go for.

 

I think when players hear horizontal progression they get the wrong idea that there should be no progression. It just means that the cap is low and easy to obtain and you never have to worry about your gear being worse than it currently is or not perform the same in newer content. (No ilvl treadmill)

I get the feeling that the OP may have insta leveled up to level 80 and wants the option of having the gear they want right away…. Or has A friend who may have…. 🧐

[Labjax.2465]

15 hours ago, Strider Pj.2193 said:

I get the feeling that the OP may have insta leveled up to level 80 and wants the option of having the gear they want right away…. Or has A friend who may have…. 🧐

I get the feeling you didn't read a single word I posted other than the title.