What is an Inherent and its importance? - Guild Wars Forums

koopay · May 20, 2010, 12:33 AM // 00:33

So I've been told by my guildies that my shield is inherent and can be worth alot. It's a Gold Req 9 Tactics, max armor, 10 vs fire inherent Tall shield. Why is it good and what is an inherent item? Are they worth more than inscriptables?

Shayne Hawke · May 20, 2010, 01:58 AM // 01:58

If AL vs. Fire is all that it has on it, it has no inscription slot, and isn't lower than q9, I don't see why it would be fetching anything special.

Weapons with inherent mods have potential of providing bonuses that aren't possible through the inscription system. Such items might go for high value, depending on what they are capable of doing.

LicensedLuny · May 20, 2010, 02:02 AM // 02:02

Short answer

Inherent means an item does not have an inscription slot. In the case of shields, wands and offhands it means the item is entirely fixed - you cannot change it with mods. For martial weapons and staffs you can add suffix and prefix mods, but the single bonus modifier is fixed.

I think your guildies are mistaken or pulling your leg about that shield being worth more than the merchant will pay you. If you don't want to take my word for it, check out the Price Check subforum.

Take note that PC is part of the Ventari's trading section. The guidelines/rules are stickied at the top of those sections. They're different than most other sections of Guru and strictly enforced. Neglect to read and follow those rules at your own peril.

Long "Way More Than You Wanted To Know" Answer

Starting in Nightfall and continuing into EotN, drops could have inscription slots. Drops without inscription slots are referred to as inherent or oldschool; they come from Prophecies or Factions.

This is the best wiki article I've run across to explain, but you might have to follow some links to get all the answers you seek. http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Inscribable

It's rather tangential to your question, but you might also find this wiki page helpful to identify what parts of gear are considered base vs. the inherent mod or inscription slot.
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Perfect

An inscribable shield will have "Inscription: ..." somewhere in it's info tag; this is also referred to sometimes as an inscription slot. The armor rating and requirement of the shield are fixed, but players can add or overwrite any existing mod on the shield with a shield handle or an inscription (as long as it is allowed on shields). Note that shield handle upgrades will not work on shields without an inscription slot.

Inherent/oldschool shields will always be exactly the way they dropped. You cannot add or change the bonus modifier(s) on them with either shield handles or inscriptions. They can drop with zero, one or two bonus modifiers. These modifiers can be a range of values up to a maximum for each type.

Desirability of inscribable shields is based only on the fixed properties (armor rating, requirement, skin and text color.) They do not have to include the ideal max bonus modifiers when they drop because these can be added on later.

For inherent shields, a desirable one has to meet the same criteria as an inscribable shield and drop with a useful/popular combination of two, fixed bonus modifiers.

The end result is that a lot more of the inscribable shields which drop in the game can be made useful with mods. So there's a higher supply and it's usually cheapest to build yourself an ideal shield out of parts. Most of the inherent shields that drop have one or more factors that makes them pretty much less useful than an inscribable shield, so most inherent shield drops are worth no more than the merchant will pay you.

If you happen to win the "drop lottery" and get an inherent shield with a good to great combination of skin, requirement, armor level, and two fixed bonus mods it is often worth a significant amount on the player-to-player market because many people still put a premium on oldschool nostalgia (or because it's a particular shield skin or bonus mod combination that cannot be reproduced with inscribable options.)

Since the shield you mention reads like it has only one bonus modifier, I suspect it falls into the merch-food category of most inherent shields that drop.

Hope it helps!

Quaker · May 20, 2010, 03:33 PM // 15:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by koopay

So I've been told by my guildies that my shield is inherent and can be worth alot. It's a Gold Req 9 Tactics, max armor, 10 vs fire inherent Tall shield. Why is it good and what is an inherent item? Are they worth more than inscriptables?

An "inherent" mod is a mod that is built into the item and is not replaceable or removable. It is not really the "opposite" of inscribable as some may lead you to believe. For example, most staffs have an inherent "halves recharge time" mod on them, whether they have an inscription slot or not.

However, it is true that many (but not all) of the inherent mods on Prophecies and Factions weapons were replaced by "Inscriptions" - which are replaceable/removable - in Nightfall and EotN.

Back when there was only Prophecies and Factions, weapons with max usable inherent mods were rare, and some people still like to collect good "oldschool" weapons.

In the case of your shield however, a truly useful and valuable shield would have two max mods on it, such as both "Armor +10 vs Fire" and "Health +30". Since yours only has one, it would only be worth something if it has a particularly rare or desirable skin.

Uriel_Wolfblood · May 20, 2010, 04:24 PM // 16:24

"Old school" is another term for "inherent" mods. But like Hawke said before, only if it is a lower requirement and such will it gain any significant value.

On a side note the only reason those weapons have any additional value at all is for collectors in the game. People that have more money than they know what to do with and spend it accordingly

.

May 20, 2010, 12:33 AM // 00:33	#1
koopay Pre-Searing Cadet Join Date: May 2010	What is an Inherent and its importance? So I've been told by my guildies that my shield is inherent and can be worth alot. It's a Gold Req 9 Tactics, max armor, 10 vs fire inherent Tall shield. Why is it good and what is an inherent item? Are they worth more than inscriptables?

May 20, 2010, 01:58 AM // 01:58	#2
Shayne Hawke Departed from Tyria Join Date: May 2007 Guild: Clan Dethryche [dth] Profession: R/	If AL vs. Fire is all that it has on it, it has no inscription slot, and isn't lower than q9, I don't see why it would be fetching anything special. Weapons with inherent mods have potential of providing bonuses that aren't possible through the inscription system. Such items might go for high value, depending on what they are capable of doing.

May 20, 2010, 02:02 AM // 02:02	#3
LicensedLuny Badly Influenced Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Buying Humps! (No kidding! Check my buy thread) Guild: Hello Kitty Krewe [HKK] Forever!-ish	Short answer Inherent means an item does not have an inscription slot. In the case of shields, wands and offhands it means the item is entirely fixed - you cannot change it with mods. For martial weapons and staffs you can add suffix and prefix mods, but the single bonus modifier is fixed. I think your guildies are mistaken or pulling your leg about that shield being worth more than the merchant will pay you. If you don't want to take my word for it, check out the Price Check subforum. Take note that PC is part of the Ventari's trading section. The guidelines/rules are stickied at the top of those sections. They're different than most other sections of Guru and strictly enforced. Neglect to read and follow those rules at your own peril. Long "Way More Than You Wanted To Know" Answer Starting in Nightfall and continuing into EotN, drops could have inscription slots. Drops without inscription slots are referred to as inherent or oldschool; they come from Prophecies or Factions. This is the best wiki article I've run across to explain, but you might have to follow some links to get all the answers you seek. http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Inscribable It's rather tangential to your question, but you might also find this wiki page helpful to identify what parts of gear are considered base vs. the inherent mod or inscription slot. http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Perfect An inscribable shield will have "Inscription: ..." somewhere in it's info tag; this is also referred to sometimes as an inscription slot. The armor rating and requirement of the shield are fixed, but players can add or overwrite any existing mod on the shield with a shield handle or an inscription (as long as it is allowed on shields). Note that shield handle upgrades will not work on shields without an inscription slot. Inherent/oldschool shields will always be exactly the way they dropped. You cannot add or change the bonus modifier(s) on them with either shield handles or inscriptions. They can drop with zero, one or two bonus modifiers. These modifiers can be a range of values up to a maximum for each type. Desirability of inscribable shields is based only on the fixed properties (armor rating, requirement, skin and text color.) They do not have to include the ideal max bonus modifiers when they drop because these can be added on later. For inherent shields, a desirable one has to meet the same criteria as an inscribable shield and drop with a useful/popular combination of two, fixed bonus modifiers. The end result is that a lot more of the inscribable shields which drop in the game can be made useful with mods. So there's a higher supply and it's usually cheapest to build yourself an ideal shield out of parts. Most of the inherent shields that drop have one or more factors that makes them pretty much less useful than an inscribable shield, so most inherent shield drops are worth no more than the merchant will pay you. If you happen to win the "drop lottery" and get an inherent shield with a good to great combination of skin, requirement, armor level, and two fixed bonus mods it is often worth a significant amount on the player-to-player market because many people still put a premium on oldschool nostalgia (or because it's a particular shield skin or bonus mod combination that cannot be reproduced with inscribable options.) Since the shield you mention reads like it has only one bonus modifier, I suspect it falls into the merch-food category of most inherent shields that drop. Hope it helps!

May 20, 2010, 04:24 PM // 16:24	#5
Uriel_Wolfblood Krytan Explorer Join Date: Oct 2009 Guild: The House of Wolfblood Profession: R/	"Old school" is another term for "inherent" mods. But like Hawke said before, only if it is a lower requirement and such will it gain any significant value. On a side note the only reason those weapons have any additional value at all is for collectors in the game. People that have more money than they know what to do with and spend it accordingly .