Is transmutation shard really required to apply cosmetics bought from cash shop?

[angrymouse.2340]

A friend of mine that bought one of these and he is about to quit from anger, I get that you  need shard to apply free transmog but to apply for items you already paid? We are both leveling, I saw ppl saying that lvl 80 you can keep and so on but while leveling is impossible to use a transmog that he paid if this is true.

[Randulf.7614]

As far as memory serves, only achievement skins are infinitely free to transmog

Gemstore skins are free first time you overlay the skin you buy and consume it. Then it’s a transmutation stone per use.

Edited July 20, 2022 by Randulf.7614

[Khisanth.2948]

No but mostly yes.

It is free to apply the first time.

 

It is also free for all skins when applying to legendary items but that is a large investment.

[angrymouse.2340]

3 minutes ago, Randulf.7614 said:

As far as memory serves, only achievement skins are infinitely free to transmog

Gemstore skins are free first time you overlay the skin you buy and consume it. Then it’s a transmutation stone per use.

WoW huge disapointment, curious that ppl are ok buying even so you can got to a point that you cannot use a paid item.

[Ashen.2907]

This is an example of something I consider to be a bad business practice even if it doesn't affect me.

Edited July 20, 2022 by Ashen.2907

[Randulf.7614]

1 minute ago, angrymouse.2340 said:

WoW huge disapointment, curious that ppl are ok buying even so you can got to a point that you cannot use a paid item.

I don’t disagree with your point, but the reason people are ok with it in general is that so many of us overflowing with transmutation stones due to how common they are if you are a long term player. We’ve kinda got used to it and don’t notice the use of them, but I understand newer players frustration

Personally I find the transmutation stone outdated and cumbersome and prefer it was removed as a mechanic altogether. Or changed for gem store items

[angrymouse.2340]

6 minutes ago, Randulf.7614 said:

Personally I find the transmutation stone outdated and cumbersome and prefer it was removed as a mechanic altogether. Or changed for gem store items

I don´t have big problems with transmutation stones on free transmogs (I found it just a little meeeh since almost all big mmo have them for free but well, maybe a buy once on the cash shop would be better idk but no big deal). But im gawked with this system on a thing that is usually just a "skin" in almost every game.

Edited July 20, 2022 by angrymouse.2340

[angrymouse.2340]

8 minutes ago, Ashen.2907 said:

This is an example of something I consider to be a bad business practice even if it doesn't affect me.

For sure, It was him, not me, but holy cow. I will still play (I actually think he will quit) because the rest of the game have a good value but from today I will never spend a single penny in cosmetic items here.

[DeanBB.4268]

Don't bother transforming gear until you're level 80, it's just a waste of time and resources. Get an outfit, those can be applied as often as desired.

Life pro tip: Buy the common clothing tonic from the trading post for practically nothing, and exchange it with the vendor that's near the trading post for the outfit version. Apply that while leveling. The outfit looks good on the races I play.

If you have trouble with my vague directions, look it up on the wiki, it'll give more precise instructions.

[Donari.5237]

Also note you don't have to spend one cent of real money on transmutation charges.  As said above, it is advisable to hold off on it until you are 80 and have the gear stats you want to use for a while.  Meanwhile as you level, you will get charges from map exploration -- one guaranteed from each city completion, and either charges or a black lion key from world maps.  That key opens an easily obtainable chest that has a possibility of holding more charges, though not guaranteed.  Keys can also be gained once a week from completing level 10 personal story, resets each Monday, so many people keep an empty character slot they can use to make and boost a character to then speed run the story once a week for the key (they are not trying for transmute charges but for much more rare items).

Meanwhile each gem store item purchased does come with one free use.  You can consume it on the character you want the new look on.  I would *vastly* prefer that each unlocked skin could be converted to a transmutation charge.  My bank would clear up tremendously if I weren't holding account-bound skins that I might want to use some day, but can't bring myself to delete even though I have hundreds of charges.

I believe that there is a way in WvW to build up the charges as well, but others will need to give details on that.  Eventually it's just not an issue and meanwhile it's not worth real money (I say that as someone who will buy anything in the gem store that she considers nifty but consumables?  That's wasting cash).

[Justine.6351]

Never really occurred to me but yeah as a new player, that has to be obnoxious.

[PinkTacoLover.7603]

22 minutes ago, Donari.5237 said:

I believe that there is a way in WvW

Awarded from PvP Reward Tracks and WvW Reward Tracks (usually the 12th and 32nd reward).

Also in Skirmish Chest

 

I have more than 300 with just the reward tracks 🤔

[kharmin.7683]

The game, once purchased, is F2P.  For goodness sakes, toss the devs a few bucks every now and then!

[Caitybee.3614]

2 hours ago, angrymouse.2340 said:

For sure, It was him, not me, but holy cow. I will still play (I actually think he will quit) because the rest of the game have a good value but from today I will never spend a single penny in cosmetic items here.

 

Hahahaha you say that now, just wait a while you'll see something flashy you really like and buy it. It's contagious!

[SinisterSlay.6973]

Also you get lots from login rewards.

[DexterousGecko.6328]

57 minutes ago, kharmin.7683 said:

The game, once purchased, is F2P.  For goodness sakes, toss the devs a few bucks every now and then!

it's 2022, we can stop pretending that F2P games are more consumer friendly than subscription games.

[Labjax.2465]

It's a pretty awful system, sorry. And confusing too. I even got confused by it at first returning to the game years later and I had previous knowledge of how it works.

There are basically two types of appearance change:

1) Transmutation: this is likely the kind of armor your friend got. You can unlock some of these skins in your Wardrobe from gem store sets or from unlocking in gameplay. Once you have a piece bound to character or account once, the skin is forever unlocked for your account. However, applying any piece requires 1 Transmutation Charge each, which changes the underlying item to something else. So it's poor for leveling because you're gonna change gear so often, you'd never have enough Transmutation Charges to keep re-applying the skin to your latest pieces. Best to wait on this until your character has level 80 Exotic or better gear.

2) Outfits: these are all obtained from the gem store and work like an overlay, rather than doing something to your statted gear itself. Once you have one unlocked, you can set it to appear with the checkbox and change which outfit if you have more than one unlocked. This takes precedence over the appearance of the underlying statted armor, if checked. This is the only realistic way to have a cool look while leveling, since you can swap the underlying gear as you get better stats and the outfit will stay the same.

[ardhikaizecson.3697]

Kind of silly you have to use transmutation charge for something you bought in gem store.

[Freya.9075]

It can feel like you need too many in the beginning as you don’t have many of them. My advice is to save the ones you get and not use when leveling up as you change your gear a lot. When you get to 80 and get the exotic armor you want, then you can transmute. And work your way up with skins and use transmutes as time goes by. 
 

I’ve never bought them and I have over 1000 of them. I am a fashion slave and use them a lot. If you get legendaries, you can transmute those parts for free. Most ppl won’t transmute their legendary skins but I do to my backpack all the time since I don’t like the ad infinitum skin. 

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

4 hours ago, Labjax.2465 said:

It's a pretty awful system, sorry. And confusing too. I even got confused by it at first returning to the game years later and I had previous knowledge of how it works.

There are basically two types of appearance change:

1) Transmutation: this is likely the kind of armor your friend got. You can unlock some of these skins in your Wardrobe from gem store sets or from unlocking in gameplay. Once you have a piece bound to character or account once, the skin is forever unlocked for your account. However, applying any piece requires 1 Transmutation Charge each, which changes the underlying item to something else. So it's poor for leveling because you're gonna change gear so often, you'd never have enough Transmutation Charges to keep re-applying the skin to your latest pieces. Best to wait on this until your character has level 80 Exotic or better gear.

2) Outfits: these are all obtained from the gem store and work like an overlay, rather than doing something to your statted gear itself. Once you have one unlocked, you can set it to appear with the checkbox and change which outfit if you have more than one unlocked. This takes precedence over the appearance of the underlying statted armor, if checked. This is the only realistic way to have a cool look while leveling, since you can swap the underlying gear as you get better stats and the outfit will stay the same.

Not all Outfits are obtained from the Gem Store only.

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Outfit#Notes

[Vayne.8563]

In addition to certain items not requiring tranmutation charges (achievement point items, hall of monument items from Guild Wars 1), there's also outfits in the gem store. Outfits require no transmutation charges at all.

[Danikat.8537]

IMO the best approach is to either use an outfit (one-piece overlay which hides your armour) until level 80 or just use whatever you get, because you'll be swapping armour and weapons out so frequently it's not worth the time it would take to choose skins and dyes, even if it was free.

When I started I did have a small number of skins which were free to apply, from playing GW1, and even then I only bothered to change one if I really couldn't stand the items original skin because often I'd get another drop I could use in about the same amount of time it took to change the skin and dyes.

If you're willing to buy cosmetics from the gem store that early on then an outfit is a good choice. There are also some outfits you can get in-game. The Common Clothing Outfit is probably the cheapest and easiest to get, although it's not obvious. You have to buy a tonic from the Trading Post (3-5 silver) then take it to a Black Lion Exchange Specialist near the Trading Post in a city to swap for the outfit. There's also the Hexed Outfit which you can buy during Halloween and various other clothing outfits, but those cost a few hundred gold.

Once you get to level 80 you'll not only be able to get a set of equipment you'll likely use for a long time but you'll probably have built up a supply of transmutation charges from map completion, WvW or PvP (or all 3) and login rewards. Unless you're changing skins a lot you probably won't need to buy any transmutation charges.

(Incidentally I didn't realise this was unusual. My other MMO has a system very similar to GW2 where the cash shop either sells one-piece outfits or skins for weapons and armour which you have to pay either gold or cash shop tokens to apply. The only difference is the skins are also overlays so if you change the armour pieces you're using the skin won't change, but then you also don't get a free first use.)

[kharmin.7683]

7 hours ago, DexterousGecko.6328 said:

it's 2022, we can stop pretending that F2P games are more consumer friendly than subscription games.

What?  I would be willing to wager that a significant number of GW2 players have paid a lot less for their game experience by not having to pay a sub fee.  With the ability to convert gold to gems, GW2 is even more consumer friendly.

[Danikat.8537]

36 minutes ago, kharmin.7683 said:

What?  I would be willing to wager that a significant number of GW2 players have paid a lot less for their game experience by not having to pay a sub fee.  With the ability to convert gold to gems, GW2 is even more consumer friendly.

I'm sure it varies between people, but I know for me it works out cheaper because I save the receipts from buying gems and periodically work it out. Also one year I didn't spend any real money on GW2, even though I kept playing.

(More importantly my free time is very erratic so I'd rather pay for a skin or item and have it ready to use whenever I want it than pay for time I'm allowed to log in and then find actually I'm not able to use it and the money is wasted. If a game ever made a pay-as-you-go sub which only runs down while you're online it might work, but otherwise it's just a waste of money for me. I know people say it works out the same as a cup of overpriced coffee every day or whatever, but I'd rather not waste any amount of money on something I'll never get to use.)

[Susy.7529]

11 hours ago, angrymouse.2340 said:

WoW huge disapointment, curious that ppl are ok buying even so you can got to a point that you cannot use a paid item.

Most of us have tons of transmutation charges left unused, that's why we are ok with it. 

Just play a bit of pvp and you'll have plenty too.