Pale Branch spear - an exotic... with infusion-level rarity

[BlueTheRaptor.4576]

Alright ANet, I've only seen one single forum post talking about this, and not in the Janthir Wilds thread. Time to rectify that. No one will be surprised when I say:
It NEEDS an increased drop chance rate, or an alternative method of acquisition that doesn't leave it up to RNG alone.

Janthir Syntri meta, as a whole, has relatively lackluster rewards. This is, of course, nothing unusual for map metas, even the big ones- the main bulk of the loot is always basic stuff. Having items of increased rarity and value is something that gives people motivation to do those map metas. This is true, and I'm not against that kinda system in particular. It's just... the Pale Branch spear is, in my opinion, the most beautiful spear skin in the game. But it's neither a precursor item nor used for any kinda collection. It doesn't contain an infusion, it's only value is in it's artificially inflated rarity. It's drop chance being so miniscule would sting less if it were an ascended, perhaps- and yet, we all know there's actual ascended drops in other metas that seem to almost have a more frequent drop rate.

(This is NOT me saying that the drop rate for those ascendeds should be lowered, let me be clear.)

The two easiest alternative methods of acquiring this spear that I can think of?
One: remove it's Account-Bound On Acquire status and make it sellable in the Trading Post. The rarity of the item will naturally make it be sold for a ton of gold, but that would still include an alternative acquisition method while maintaining the rarity.
Two: add a WvW and PvP reward track to obtain it from. Apologies to the WvW and PvP mains out there, but statistically speaking both of these gamemodes are less populated than general PvE content. Your average PvE-er won't have the patience, willpower, or capability (for any number of reasons, irl included) to slog through a full reward track in a short while- and even then, the shortest while you can get through a full reward track in measures in several hours. WITH boosters. It would take effort to get to this spear- effort that is already demanded of us when we do the Janthir Syntri meta just to be meta with disappointment all over again.

I know not everyone will agree that something like this should be done, of course, I'm no fool. But in the grand scheme of things, I'm firmly convinced this would only improve things. Maybe it's silly to be so hung up about a simple weapon, and for it's cosmetic appearance alone at that, but I know I'm not the only one who's been trying to get their hands on this weapon day in and day out, and constantly getting more and more discouraged with every RNG failure that gets tossed at us like bricks to the face. I reiterate that were this an infusion, or even an ascended, I'd be less annoyed and frustrated at the situation- Dragonvoid infusion, Chak Egg Sac infusion, Vial of Liquid Aurilum, the Queen Bee infusion, all those come to mind and all those remain at the rarity they are for a reason. But... they are infusions. Infusions have always been on a different scale of value and rarity in this game. While this spear is literally just an exotic with no other purposes or uses.

So please, ArenaNet. Please add a new acquisition method for the Pale Branch spear. There would be many, MANY, people who would sincerely thank you for it. (And personally speaking, finally having the spear would let me start finding joy in doing things in Janthri Syntri again, as opposed to just feeling like I'm biding my time before the next disappointment.)

[Gop.8713]

Not everything is for everyone. Some things are pricey, some are grindy, some are locked behind different game modes, some are rng, etc. There is nothing wrong with this . . .

[Chyro.1462]

34 minutes ago, Gop.8713 said:

Not everything is for everyone. Some things are pricey, some are grindy, some are locked behind different game modes, some are rng, etc. There is nothing wrong with this . . .

The main thing wrong with it is that it's an exceedingly rare drop that is account bound. So if you want it, there's no other way than pray to RNG that it blesses you with that miniscule chance and there's absolutely no other way to aquire it than through pure luck. You could be farming this meta religiously for years and not get the drop if the drop rate is the same as the super rare infusions.

[Gop.8713]

Yep, and that's just fine . . .

And it would be just fine if it stayed that way. But if we learned anything from soo I'm betting it's going to show up on some vendor for some map currency by the time the expac is complete . . .

[BlueTheRaptor.4576]

1 hour ago, Gop.8713 said:

Not everything is for everyone. Some things are pricey, some are grindy, some are locked behind different game modes, some are rng, etc. There is nothing wrong with this . . .

I feel like I'm repeating myself, but anyway: I never said I was against the entire system of having some things be grindier than others. I'm saying that, for this specific spear, it's a much lower value item than others which are extremely rare, grindy drops.
Pretty spear (as I said, prettiest in the game imo), but needlessly locked off by RNG dickery when it doesn't compare to other drops of similar rarity.

 

Quote

it's going to show up on some vendor for some map currency by the time the expac is complete . . .

And I welcome that, but that's also a year down the line. And for an exotic?

[Gop.8713]

And it being "lower value" makes it more appropriate for an rng-only drop. If it was valuable in some way, as part of a collection or achievement or something, that would make it more problematic, not less . . .

[Gaiawolf.8261]

As a WVW player, I absolutely support putting it in a reward track. 😅

[Super Hayes.6890]

1 hour ago, Gop.8713 said:

Yep, and that's just fine . . .

And it would be just fine if it stayed that way. But if we learned anything from soo I'm betting it's going to show up on some vendor for some map currency by the time the expac is complete . . .

No, not fine. Should be tradable on the TP or already available at a vendor. This type of drop is simply not welcome. Frankly, the whole account bound system is not really needed. Everything should be tradable until it is soul bound on use.

[Gop.8713]

"should be" . . . why . . ?

[Jumpin Lumpix.6108]

1 hour ago, Gop.8713 said:

"should be" . . . why . . ?

why do you want it to be rare and nigh impossible to obtain?  lets start there.

[Ashantara.8731]

5 hours ago, BlueTheRaptor.4576 said:

Pale Branch spear - an exotic... with infusion-level rarity

It's not the only one, though. There are quite a few exotics that are ultra rare and account bound. Example: Delusion

[Schimmi.6872]

Maybe also wait for the later releases, as for SotO all this boss items were added as vendor items with Gharr Leadclaw?

[Ashen.2907]

5 hours ago, BlueTheRaptor.4576 said:

it's a much lower value item than others which are extremely rare, grindy drops.
Pretty spear (as I said, prettiest in the game imo), but needlessly locked off by RNG dickery when it doesn't compare to other drops of similar rarity.

I would say that it is a higher value and exceeds other drops of similar rarity. To each his own.

[Eloc Freidon.5692]

They did this with all the SotO metas, but in the final update made it so you can grind the map currencies to get the Super Rare unlock. This is the way they should do things, rather than what they tried with letting players craft cosmetic infusions with material sinks worth multiple legendary weapons.

[wgpa.5047]

Anet can't add anything to the game that has any level of exclusivity cause the second they do people start crying. If everyone could get it, it wouldn't be that special. This not just industry standard, its expected in other games. Maybe make it sellable in the market? But thats it. The game needs more cool stuff to grind for in the world that are rng based honestly.

[BeardedBacon.9328]

Every rare meta drop was added to a vendor for currency at the end of SoTo, we can likely expect the same. I think it's okay to keep drops rare but I agree making it sellable on the TP seems like a no brainer

[Lunacy.7863]

4 hours ago, Jumpin Lumpix.6108 said:

why do you want it to be rare and nigh impossible to obtain?  lets start there.

Because people like myself enjoy hard-to-get items and skins that aren't diluted in value and prestige because everyone and their mother has it already. Some people enjoy the long gambling grind or earnest effort put in to get something that not everybody has. I'm convinced that this spear skin is one of those things and I'm all for it.

I get that GW2 is FAR more on the casual side, everything is literally just time and diligence, even this spear, but that doesn't mean it can't have these heavy luck based moments.

7 hours ago, BlueTheRaptor.4576 said:

I feel like I'm repeating myself, but anyway: I never said I was against the entire system of having some things be grindier than others. I'm saying that, for this specific spear, it's a much lower value item than others which are extremely rare, grindy drops.
Pretty spear (as I said, prettiest in the game imo), but needlessly locked off by RNG dickery when it doesn't compare to other drops of similar rarity

 

 "I want X item skin because it looks nice and I wanna collect it. But you didn't satisfy my need for quick gratification so here I go on the forums!" 

The value of this item is decided by its amazing skin, not the in-game rarity. As much as you downplay its value in anything relevant, the point is that it looks great. Those looks alone make it high value in a end-game based on fashion, especially when it's hard to get fashion. We both know that. 

 

ANET knows that too...Which is why it's locked behind a RNG wall in the first place. 😄

 

It's a much more amazing feeling when you have something you know takes a lot of luck and time to get. 

[Dean Calaway.9718]

8 hours ago, BlueTheRaptor.4576 said:

the Pale Branch spear is, in my opinion, the most beautiful spear skin in the game

That thing would break the first time you try to use it...

Reject modernity, embrace tradition: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Polearm

[Super Hayes.6890]

5 hours ago, Lunacy.7863 said:

Because people like myself enjoy hard-to-get items and skins that aren't diluted in value and prestige because everyone and their mother has it already. Some people enjoy the long gambling grind or earnest effort put in to get something that not everybody has. I'm convinced that this spear skin is one of those things and I'm all for it.

I get that GW2 is FAR more on the casual side, everything is literally just time and diligence, even this spear, but that doesn't mean it can't have these heavy luck based moments.

 

 "I want X item skin because it looks nice and I wanna collect it. But you didn't satisfy my need for quick gratification so here I go on the forums!" 

The value of this item is decided by its amazing skin, not the in-game rarity. As much as you downplay its value in anything relevant, the point is that it looks great. Those looks alone make it high value in a end-game based on fashion, especially when it's hard to get fashion. We both know that. 

 

ANET knows that too...Which is why it's locked behind a RNG wall in the first place. 😄

 

It's a much more amazing feeling when you have something you know takes a lot of luck and time to get. 

But this spear is not just time and diligence atm. It is highly probable that it never drops for the OP and there is no other way to get it.

[Manasa Devi.7958]

The spear is not the issue. The issue is, there's nothing else dropping worth the effort. There's no consolation prize. Every part of the meta reward can be earned elsewhere, without having to follow a schedule and being dependent on other players.

[Tula.6021]

Stupid question: What's so special about that spear?

[Super Hayes.6890]

3 hours ago, Tula.6021 said:

Stupid question: What's so special about that spear?

It's an account bound skin that can only be acquired by luck, really good luck at that. So if you like the skin you are not likely to get it. I personally don't care for it but it is account bound so I don't even have a way to transfer it to someone who does. This is a stupid thing to do with a class of weapon that already has drastically reduced options for skins.

[Batel.9206]

The spear being account-bound raises another question. If you acquire it once, what happens if you (by some ridiculous luck) get it again? There's no use for it; you already have the skin, and it's quite possible the stats aren't suitable for an alt who might need a spear. Or is it a once-per-account reward? In which case...there's little reason to do the meta once you have it, since the rest of the rewards can be easily gotten from other sources with far less effort.

On that basis alone, I think it should be able to be sold on the Trading Post. Keep the rarity, though.

[Ashen.2907]

21 minutes ago, Super Hayes.6890 said:

It's an account bound skin that can only be acquired by luck, really good luck at that. So if you like the skin you are not likely to get it. I personally don't care for it but it is account bound so I don't even have a way to transfer it to someone who does. This is a stupid thing to do with a class of weapon that already has drastically reduced options for skins.

Agreed.

Simply making the weapon sellable would address the issue. It would increase the sense of reward for the content as well by giving someone like yourself who doesn't care for the skin the ability to trade it for rewards that do matter to you.

Edited September 12 by Ashen.2907

[Gop.8713]

That would only solve the problem for ppls who can't handle the idea of something they like being locked behind rng. What about the ppls who can't deal with things being expensive? Or only available in pve? Once they introduce it to a vendor that would solve those, but then what if it takes a lot of map currency and there are ppls who just don't want to grind?

I think the only real solution here is that everything available in each release should just be delivered in a mail packet the first time you log in, that way everyone has everything and no one even has to play the game. Would probs help with lag too . . ?