24-28-32 Slot bags, why can only 32-slot ones be unbound from a character?

[Prophet of Flames.2783]

So I moved a 24-slot bag a while ago from my Tailor to my main character. Now I tried to upgrade it to a 28-slot one, but I can't because it's bound to that character and thus my Tailor can't take it out of the bank. So I set out to search for one of the merchants that can unbind them so I could upgrade it and then return it to the character, only to find out they only unbind 32-slot bags. What is the logic in this? Am I actually forced to spend another 30 gold to make a new bag or just be forever stuck with a 24-slot one unless I fully level a Tailor skill on this character JUST to upgrade the bag?

Can this please be fixxed? It makes no sense to me.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

It is intended; at this time, you will have to either leave it as is, or level up Tailoring, unfortunately.

Good luck.

[windbliss.3158]

I've went into this in detail and the general consensus is "It's not going to be fixed".https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/31082/unable-to-use-soulbound-bags-to-upgrade-said-bags

[Prophet of Flames.2783]

@Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:It is intended; at this time, you will have to either leave it as is, or level up Tailoring, unfortunately.

Good luck.

How can this be intended though? It's horrid design!

Espcially because the unbinding of 32-slot ones makes it feel like you'd be able to do this with other ones as well to upgrade them, and then you can't. Which is pretty stupid.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

Why? Because the Devs stated it was so. /shrug

[Prophet of Flames.2783]

@Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:Why? Because the Devs stated it was so. /shrug

So, fuck the players, because they don't wanna fix a mistake?

/shrug all you like, it's dumb.

[notebene.3190]

I went the path of saving up for a 2nd (the first being free) 32 slot bandolier bag by walking it up, doing it all in one shot, and ended with an account bound bag, never stopping to use the bags on the way up. I found that to be pretty good way to approach it. I was surprised how easy it was to do, except, some of the mats were pricey (but I also have a lot of them and keep in them myself). Some of the mats I thought would be expensive were surprising cheap. Plus it gave me a reason to join anyone doing the storm meta or pres which is enjoyable to do.

[Fatmancantrun.6451]

i'm having the same issue... while i agree these should be account bound its such horse shit they are soulbound when used.... eitehr make a vendor to unbind 24 and 28 slots or make them all account bound... as it is i'm forced either to waste a bunch making new 32 slots on my main or to lervel up tailor on my alt either of which will cost me a tonn of gold... Anet... this was a bad idea to make them soulbind

[Linken.6345]

leveling up tailor on an alt dont cost a ton of gold mate.

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

tl;dr think of the small bags as "legendary precursor" bags, account bound on crafting; soulbound on use.I still don't like this sort of implementation, but it only affects a small (and relatively wealthy) fraction of players, so I'm not as bothered by it as others.

---

This didn't make any sense to me either and then ANet told us it was intended, but didn't elaborate that much. They said, words to the effect of

the 32-slot bag is the reward; the smaller ones are semi-consolation prizes, something to tide you over briefly while you gather mats & gold.

So here's how I think of them

• Think of the 32-slot ones as "legendary inventory bags". They hold the most.
• Think of the 24- and 28-slotters as "precursors. Like the parallel weapons, they become soulbound on use.
• And, as with legendaries, most of us don't really care about the precursors; our goal is the legendary.

It reminds me a little about how PhD programs reward Master degrees, too. In physics, for example, an MA or MS is all-but-useless as a credential for research, teaching, or other sorts of work. But you get one anyhow for finishing your coursework, before defending your thesis. If you leave the program, or are forced out, or otherwise can't finish, you have something to show for your effort, even if it's barely worth the paper it's printed on.

---

That said, I think it's a terrible mechanic: it requires extra micromanagement for something that's supposed to be an expensive alternative to micromanagement. I use the analogy above so I can make peace with ANet doubling down on the current implementation, because in the end, there are just a lot of other QoL issues that are of greater concern to me. These bags are only worthwhile for a certain type of veteran with a certain level of in-game income; the vast majority of players aren't affected one way or another.

[Daddicus.6128]

They really need to make them all account-bound. There's frankly no excuse for leaving them soulbound as long as they have.

Unfortunately, as usual ANet is completely silent on this. They DID fix the 32-slot bags early on, so clearly the recognize the lunacy of the problem. Why they haven't fixed the others is ... I'm not sure what it is. But, it's not good.

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

@"Daddicus.6128" said:They really need to make them all account-bound. There's frankly no excuse for leaving them soulbound as long as they have.There is, frankly, a good reason why they've done it. The fact that you (and I) don't agree with it and don't like the status quo doesn't mean that ANet didn't consider our viewpoint.

Unfortunately, as usual ANet is completely silent on this.In fact, they haven't been completely silent. They explained why.

They DID fix the 32-slot bags early on, so clearly the recognize the lunacy of the problem.The 32-slot bags weren't intended to be soulbound in the first place; that's why they were fixed.

Why they haven't fixed the others is ... I'm not sure what it is.Read up again: they want people to think of the 24- and 28-slot bags as "interim", not as the goal.

Again, I don't agree with ANet. I think it makes the acquisition less fun, without making reaching the end goal more appealing. But that doesn't mean they lack a reason.

[Daddicus.6128]

I'm fine with considering them "interim". But, the current method catches the unwary, and makes them permanent.

NOTE: As someone above pointed out, they COULD level that character to 500 in the appropriate discipline. But, that's a darned expensive proposition. And it takes a very long and boring time.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

@Prophet of Flames.2783 said:

@Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:Why? Because the Devs stated it was so. /shrug

So, kitten the players, because they don't wanna fix a mistake?

/shrug all you like, it's dumb.

Hey, it wasn't my idea. You asked how it can be so, I responded. The Devs feel it makes sense and is good for the game, whether you do or not.

[Prophet of Flames.2783]

Like people have stated above, they aren't at all interim right now. The game tricks you into making them permanent even, because as soon as you have them in inventory the game pops a message saying something along the lines of 'bind this to character?' immediately.

It will catch a lot of players unaware, like me, because you're still able to craft with the bags, just not on another character. I had some armorsmithing based bags upgraded earlier, so thought it would be no problem to bind the temporary version of the tailor one, and then Anet smacked me with a "haha tricked you, you lost 30 gold on that one teehee" joke. I think it's abyssmal stuff works this way. If it is intended to, at least it should be clearer about it and warn the player that binding it means they can never upgrade is again.

Oh, and people proposing to 'just' level the crafting skill, that costs a LOT of money, you need lvl 500, those last 100 levels cost tons of gold. And you'd need to lose another crafting skill or spend more money on a crafting license or on swapping it back afterwards. Not realistic, at all.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

It's only a few Silver to swap crafting disciplines back and forth.

[Linken.6345]

It have been known since forever that soulbound stuff cant be used to craft on a diffrent character, so how would the bind to this character mess you up again?If it comes up right away it would be bound to the char that have said craft so no need to make a fuzz.

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

@Linken.6345 said:It have been known since forever that soulbound stuff cant be used to craft on a diffrent character,It hasn't been commonly known, no. The only way people might learn it is if they attempt to craft something using a soulbound item... and that situation just doesn't pop up often.

If it comes up right away it would be bound to the char that have said craft so no need to make a fuzz.it's not bound when yo craft, it's bound when you use it on a character.And a lot of people, foolishly, ignore the pop up because they get it all the time for armor/weapons, which aren't used to craft anything later.

It's understandable that at least some people would be surprised by the situation.

---

Regardless, I'm 90% sure support can help anyone out who ends up getting stuck with a bag bound to the wrong character.

[GrubySzymek.1362]

It is intended however it's inconsistent with any other bag.

[Prophet of Flames.2783]

@Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:It's only a few Silver to swap crafting disciplines back and forth.

Yet it's 50+ gold to level Tailor 0 - 500

@"Kheldorn.5123" said:It is intended however it's inconsistent with any other bag.

This. Exactly this. I'm a relatively new player. The game fooled me here. It's a bad system. Players should be warned before they flush 30 gold down the drain.

[Prophet of Flames.2783]

@Illconceived Was Na.9781 said:Regardless, I'm 90% sure support can help anyone out who ends up getting stuck with a bag bound to the wrong character.

Have you tried this? Because if it's intended this way, do they help you?

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

Only commenting on the cost of switching Crafting Disciplines. It's quite reasonable.
This issue has been discussed previously, and since we have Dev statements about it and its intended implementation, all you can do is contact the CS Team and ask if they would kindly assist you. (No guarantees, of course.)

Good luck.

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

@Prophet of Flames.2783 said:

@Illconceived Was Na.9781 said:Regardless, I'm 90% sure support can help anyone out who ends up getting stuck with a bag bound to the wrong character.

Have you tried this? Because if it's intended this way, do they help you?

It's two different points:

• The intended part is not letting us move the bags around at will.
• The unintended accident is that people might not be able to upgrade from 24- to 28- or 32-slots.

If ANet helps, it will be to help someone upgrade, not so they can avoid the binding completely.

[Linken.6345]

@Prophet of Flames.2783 said:

@Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:It's only a few Silver to swap crafting disciplines back and forth.

Yet it's 50+ gold to level Tailor 0 - 500

@"Kheldorn.5123" said:It is intended however it's inconsistent with any other bag.

This. Exactly this. I'm a relatively new player. The game fooled me here. It's a bad system. Players should be warned before they flush 30 gold down the drain.

Well it do give you a pop up same when you equip a master work/rare/exotic armor or weapon on your character. ( I guess since your starting to craft 24 slot bags you have leveled up and used those before? )

[Tanner Blackfeather.6509]

@Linken.6345 said:

@Prophet of Flames.2783 said:

@Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:It's only a few Silver to swap crafting disciplines back and forth.

Yet it's 50+ gold to level Tailor 0 - 500

@"Kheldorn.5123" said:It is intended however it's inconsistent with any other bag.

This. Exactly this. I'm a relatively new player. The game fooled me here. It's a bad system. Players should be warned before they flush 30 gold down the drain.

Well it do give you a pop up same when you equip a master work/rare/exotic armor or weapon on your character. ( I guess since your starting to craft 24 slot bags you have leveled up and used those before? )

The warning that it will soulbind does not specify that it can't be used in crafting on another character, however.

Since we can craft with materials in the bank, it's not unreasonable to expect too be able to use the bag in crafting even if the crafter can't remove it from the bank, as indeed a couple people upthread advised! This doesn't work, but the situations that show this are so rare most players never encounter them!