Weapon Colour Bias - Guild Wars Forums

Spellforge · Dec 13, 2006, 10:52 AM // 10:52

Hi All ,
Your thoughts on the following please. I had a max damage Fellblade drop in nightfall the other day. It had a rubbish inscription and bad mods - so it was purple.
I can give it a 15^50 inscription and perfect mods but it will still be purple.
It will be identical to the best gold fellblade you could get but still be purple. Will this mean it is worth less than its gold counterpart or should I expect the same value. After all its the same skin and stats , its just that the words do not appear in Gold

Any thoughts

Taala · Dec 13, 2006, 10:54 AM // 10:54

Well I suppose it's worth less to those who want their text in gold. I doubt most would care either way.

Savio · Dec 13, 2006, 11:11 AM // 11:11

People don't buy for functionality, they buy for looks. Gold lettering looks better than purple.

Dutch Masterr · Dec 13, 2006, 02:04 PM // 14:04

yes it will be worth less, but i dont see why. i found a req 9 max barbed axe yesterday with bad mods and inscription and it was purple. but i can mod it to be as good as a gold. i personnaly dont care if my weapons are gold or purple i just care about how it works...for example ill buy a high req 15^50 sword with a rare skin for cheap, add a +29hp mod and 20/19 sundering mod. it costs TONS less and is pretty much the same....i really dont want to pay 100k more for an extra 1% chance for armor penetration and 1 hp..

JediKnight · Dec 13, 2006, 02:22 PM // 14:22

I had same problem. I had 2 Fellblades exactly the same stats ( Req 9..15^50..20/20..+30), 1 Gold & 1 Purple. Gold one sold for 100K + 5Ecto...Purple I had to settle for 30K (the value of the +30 Mod) after about 3 hours of trying to sell.

So it appears that the gold one was waayyy better than the Purple. Go figure. Apparently the old adage "Small minds are attracted to shiny things" may well apply.

Darkobra · Dec 13, 2006, 02:28 PM // 14:28

I bought a purple Fellblade and modified it to be exactly like a Rajazan's Fervor in mods. This cost me 10k because it was purple. It would have been FAR more if it was gold. Now I don't care if it's gold, blue or purple. As long as it looks good and is good. Now I found a 15^50 purple fiery gladius. Every one wanted it for around 90k UNTIL they found out it was purple. No idea why, it's the same sword.

Commander Ryker · Dec 13, 2006, 02:32 PM // 14:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Savio

People don't buy for functionality, they buy for looks. Gold lettering looks better than purple.

Taking your thoughts on looks over functionality, I believe that most people buy weapons for the skin, not the color of the letters. Everyone wants to hear, woah, that's cool, what is it? Maybe it's a little of both with a stronger leaning to skin.

zankoku · Dec 13, 2006, 03:13 PM // 15:13

True, people by for looks. Some people just like the skin for their own sake. For others, if they're going to spend any sum of money for a weapon, they're going to buy a weapon they can show off in trade window when people ask, "woah, that's cool, what is it?" What good is it to have some cool skin that, when you show it off, people will say, "oh, junk stats?"

Purple letters play into this because up until Nightfall, the level of stats corresponded with coloring. Gold weapon stats were almost always better than purple weapon stats. The market is set into thinking this way and that's why the market can demand, and is willing to pay, higher prices for gold items.

quickmonty · Dec 13, 2006, 03:21 PM // 15:21

To catch a monkey, one places a shiny object in a hollow gourd, with an opening just big enough for the monkey to get his open hand in. The monkey grabs the shiny object but can't get his closed hand out. He won't let go of the shiny object and is trapped. I'm wondering how many monkeys play GW.

Commander Ryker · Dec 13, 2006, 03:33 PM // 15:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by quickmonty

To catch a monkey, one places a shiny object in a hollow gourd, with an opening just big enough for the monkey to get his open hand in. The monkey grabs the shiny object but can't get his closed hand out. He won't let go of the shiny object and is trapped. I'm wondering how many monkeys play GW.

Is that monkey's or racoons? I heard that about the racoons. Anyway, good answer.

zankoku · Dec 13, 2006, 03:33 PM // 15:33

Going for looks over functionality might not make much practical sense, especially if the stats are exactly the same (as the OP suggests).

But this is a game and the economy is driven on luxury skins and armors. We are dealing with fake money here (and let's hope that's the case), so no harm.

Still, even in the real world, people are willing to spend a premium on luxury and brand name items even though a generic product will accomplish the same thing.

Dutch Masterr · Dec 13, 2006, 03:34 PM // 15:34

people just want to show off and say they are rich for having a gold weapon because its more "rare"...it shouldnt make a difference with inscriptable items because everything besides the req can be changed. however on other campaigns, there are no perfect purples. nightfall really screwed with the economy >_>

Mournblade · Dec 13, 2006, 04:56 PM // 16:56

sweeping generalizations FTL. =(

I make it my goal to collect perfect gold gear in the same way I make it my goal to get titles or finish the latest chapter. Gold items are the 'rarest' and therefore I strive to attain them with 'perfect' stats (per my usage requirements). If someone asks about my stuff, I show them. No big deal, but I do this for ME, not for anybody else.

Tobias Funke · Dec 13, 2006, 05:12 PM // 17:12

It also goes toward supply and demand. Purple weapons drop more often than golds, therefore there are more of them, therefore they are worth less money.

DeathandtheHealing · Dec 13, 2006, 05:25 PM // 17:25

why not just use it for yourself?

heck people cant tell if its purple while your holding it :P
I bought a gold req 9 and i have my purple req 13 lol

Caleb · Dec 13, 2006, 05:30 PM // 17:30

It all goes back to GW's launch. We were all told that purple items were "uncommon" and gold items were "rare".

Rare items will always be worth more than uncommon items with the same stats, especially to collectors. I agree with the above poster, no one knows what color it is unless you're showing it in trade!

LicensedLuny · Dec 13, 2006, 06:05 PM // 18:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spellforge

Hi All ,
Your thoughts on the following please. I had a max damage Fellblade drop in nightfall the other day. It had a rubbish inscription and bad mods - so it was purple.
I can give it a 15^50 inscription and perfect mods but it will still be purple.
It will be identical to the best gold fellblade you could get but still be purple. Will this mean it is worth less than its gold counterpart or should I expect the same value. After all its the same skin and stats , its just that the words do not appear in Gold

Any thoughts

A lot of people seem to have covered already that it makes no difference functionality-wise what the color is. With the introduction of inscribable weapons, really the only thing you can't change about NF weapons is their base damage and requirement.

But I don't think that's what you're asking - you're asking if it'll be "worth less" than an equivalent stat/modded gold one. I'll assume you mean worth to other players, since the worth to the merchant will never change beyond the value shown when you ID it (not even if you change the mods

)

I agree with the previous responses. The tens of and hundreds of plat prices you see for things isn't about functionality, it's about luxury and status symbols. Gold gets a much higher perceived status weight than purple or green. I know it can seem silly when we're still scraping by to save enough to buy skills, but remember, the people that want this stuff have already amassed their in-game fortunes (or paid someone to do it for them.

) Rare items is a way they find to spend it. Don't complain - it's a gold sink!

So yes, it'll be worth significantly less and you'll likely have a harder time finding a buyer. Check out the stickied threads on rare skin price ranges in the Price Check forums here for further answers and guidelines. (PC forums here are fantastic, and covered with experts that know more about the dynamics of player-to-player trade than mere humans like you or I could ever hope to! )

Oh, and most certainly check there before you try to add mods to the purple sword to increase it's sell value!

Also, careful about Fellblades. I know they used to be one of the far-out-gotta-have-it rare swords, but it seems a lot have been turning up since NF ... so they may be losing some of their status value as a rare skin?

Sorry to disappoint. I hope it helps you understand.
Luny

Savio · Dec 13, 2006, 06:46 PM // 18:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Commander Ryker

Taking your thoughts on looks over functionality, I believe that most people buy weapons for the skin, not the color of the letters. Everyone wants to hear, woah, that's cool, what is it? Maybe it's a little of both with a stronger leaning to skin.

If you have to settle for one or another, it generally goes (more or less by rarity):
1. Exceedingly rare skin (think Crystalline/Dwarven)
2. Exceedingly rare stats (some max inherent modifiers in P/F)
3. Exceedingly rare req (req 7-8 for P/F, req 8 for Nightfall)
4. Standard stats (gold, max damage, max inherent modifiers, inscription slot)
5. Nice/desired skin
6. Nice req

It's kind of blurred between 2, 3 and 4, depending on the item and its chapter of origin. If it doesn't have at minimum the standard stats (and isn't 1 or 2), it's going to be a hard sell for a small amount of plat. And even meeting standard stats doesn't guarantee a high price unless it has something else going for it such as a decent skin or low req.

Some hypothetical examples:

People want crystallines. To some they're ugly, but whatever - they can only be obtained a couple of ways, so there's low supply, high demand. They are, however, getting a bit more common by the day, with crap purple ones selling for 100-200k or less. A req 8 15^50 gold crys has an exceedingly rare skin, exceeding rare req, perfect stats - it's got everything. A req 13 11 while hexed purple crys only has its skin going for it.
There are two gold items for sale, a req 9 Gladius and a req 11 Golden Phoenix Blade, otherwise both the same 15^50 and other mods. The GPB sells for more because it's a nice skin - well, it's more desired than a crafter/PvP skin. People don't really care about good reqs unless it's below 9.
Two inscribable Fellblades, one purple and one gold, otherwise identical. They aren't particularly rare skins - they drop in pretty much any lvl 24+ Prophecies/Nightfall area - so you have to go based on stats. The gold one better fits the "standard stats" than the purple one. If people want gold items and have the money to spend, you're not going to do well trying to convince them a purple item's the same as a gold item.

Quote:

Originally Posted by quickmonty

I'm wondering how many monkeys play GW.

0, because it's an online game and you can't get your hands stuck. In other words: it's play money. So what if I spend all of my money in Monopoly developing Baltic Avenue to a hotel and I never make my money back? I'm certainly not giving my yellow $100 bills to the poor schoolkids (unless I get that Community Chest card.) Not counting the gold farmers, eBayers, and maybe a Championship player or two, none of us depend on GW for income. The money spent on that Sundering mod doesn't pay the bills, so who cares? After gettting perfect character equipment and a good selection of skills (which should take a couple hundred plat a character at most, less if you're willing to forgo having a lot of extra equipment and some skills), you've got nothing else to spend on but vanity.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caleb the Pontiff

It all goes back to GW's launch. We were all told that purple items were "uncommon" and gold items were "rare".

Rare items will always be worth more than uncommon items with the same stats, especially to collectors.

At GW's launch, purples had a max of 12^50, and golds had a max of 15^50. Blues maxed at 11^50. Guess which color was more effective? Back then, there was zero reason to touch anything except for collectors and golds. And even then, golds could swing from 12^50 to 15^50, meaning there were a lot of subpar golds and only a handful at max. There weren't 15^50 crafter or collector weapons back then, so you can imagine the demand for perfect equipment. You could get maybe a quarter, probably less, of what you wanted in caster equipment at collectors - for some reason Prophecies collector wands only had one modifier, and a bunch of staves didn't exist at all. (Where's my 20/20 Healing staff?)

You had some changes inbetween Prophecies and Factions - some of the collectors and crafters were updated (the Droknar's weaponcrafter eventually switched to 15^50 weapons, I got my 20/20 Healing staff at Witman's Folly) and we saw the first waves of green items. The Sorrow's Furnace greens were the first iterations, and combined some rather esoteric mods together (+crippling, 15 while in a stance, and +1 swordsmanship isn't the best combo ever) and months after the initial wow factor they dropped to obscure prices. The Tombs greens dropped even faster, even though stats-wise they were a step up (well, half a step - those offhands made me cringe.) Despite some people's willingness to blame market problems on greens, the fact is they didn't change a single thing that wasn't already changing - a general increase in golds and stabilization of prices. Still, it was rather high for most people at the time, and getting a max character with perfect equipment would run substantially high, more if you wanted the pretty stuff too.

With Factions, purples were bumped up to 14^50 (the present max), which is almost the same as golds (and almost always do the same damage as 15^50s). Golds were now either 14^50 or 15^50, so at the minimum you were guaranteed a near-perfect functioning item, provided the weapon had the maximum amount of inherent mods. Additionally, there was a plethora of decent green items to choose from, meaning you could get that +5e weapon, your zealous, your earth staff, pretty much anything you actually wanted to use save for some shield and offhand combos. Factions more than anything killed prices because if you got a gold, chances are it had at least one decent if not max mod, not to mention greens and collector items filled in a lot of gaps.

Nightfall solved the last few problems about equipping characters with inscriptions and salvaging. Now instead of shelling out 100k+ for a +10 vs slashing damage, +30 health shield (or sitting on trade channels waiting for someone to sell low), you could pay 5-10k for an inscription, another 25k for a health mod, and 5k for a crafter shield - less than half the cost. Any combination you could have wanted, plus some that weren't available before, you can now put together with upgrades and inscriptions. You can even upgrade blues and purples with perfect inscriptions now. Additionally, you have a chance to keep the base item when salvaging - the net result being more mods and more golds. The only problem with the inscriptions system is you lose out on a few older mod combinations, but those aren't particularly critical (typically some combination of two shield/offhand inscriptions). Note that there is still a demand for noninscribable perfect weapons, as there are some skins and a few stats you can only get in the old systems which are still in Prophecies and Factions.

Only under the Nightfall inscription system could a purple item have max stats. Otherwise, the purple's always behind the gold in terms of stats, and where the two have identical nonmax stats, people will go for the gold simply because they have the money for it.

~~~

So now people are wondering why their purples and crap golds aren't selling for much. Historically, purples have never really sold for anything great; in Prophecies they were utter trash, in Factions and Nightfall you could get whatever you wanted in gold or collector anyway. The drop in gold item prices got a huge boost from Factions, then continued with Nightfall, so unless you have something in demand, you're not going to get a whole lot for it now. Purples are to other (better) weapons what collector weapons are to golds: until you can afford better weapons/golds, you can use purples/collectors. And even then you can just stick with purples/collectors if you want to, as most of the time it's not a critical difference. But you're not going to be making a killing with purples/collectors unless you're consistently scamming newbs, which you shouldn't.

Yes, trading will never return to its heyday back during Prophecies, but if you consider what the GW population got in return - the ability for anyone to get what they need - it was a pretty good deal for most people. Aside from the few upgrades that are still rather scarce or overpriced, such as Luck of the Draw or Forget Me Not, everything is cheaper than it's ever been. Be thankful that all you can really complain about is the price of vanity items.

Venus was her name · Dec 13, 2006, 08:48 PM // 20:48

kinda silly..

i usually go for 20/19 mods as it saved lots of money for 1% less effect (which ingame will probally have VERY VERY little or no difference)

weapons should upgrade in colour if you add a max inscription on them e.g i find a 12^50% purple fellblade req 9 and i add a 15^50 inscription and it turns gold.

edit: the old weapon grading system doesnt work now becuase weapons are completly moddable, only the req matters so maybe gold/purple should go on the req and whether its max dmg alone??

i.e. req 8,9 = gold req 10,11 = purple, req 12,13 = blue

has to be max dmg to be gold, almost max to be purple etc etc

would kinda suck tho...

LicensedLuny · Dec 13, 2006, 09:27 PM // 21:27

Wow! Thanks Savio! That was a great history. I've been playing for about a year (and I'm a noob that favors usable drops for me or from friends and then collector stuff.) Your post answered a few questions I've always wondered about.

Luny

Dec 13, 2006, 10:52 AM // 10:52	#1
Spellforge Frost Gate Guardian Join Date: Mar 2006 Guild: Guildless Profession: N/	Weapon Colour Bias Hi All , Your thoughts on the following please. I had a max damage Fellblade drop in nightfall the other day. It had a rubbish inscription and bad mods - so it was purple. I can give it a 15^50 inscription and perfect mods but it will still be purple. It will be identical to the best gold fellblade you could get but still be purple. Will this mean it is worth less than its gold counterpart or should I expect the same value. After all its the same skin and stats , its just that the words do not appear in Gold Any thoughts Last edited by Spellforge; Dec 13, 2006 at 11:55 AM // 11:55.. Reason: spelling mistake

Dec 13, 2006, 11:11 AM // 11:11	#3
Savio Teenager with attitude Join Date: Jul 2005 Guild: Fifteen Over Fifty [Rare]	People don't buy for functionality, they buy for looks. Gold lettering looks better than purple. __________________ People are stupid.

Dec 13, 2006, 08:48 PM // 20:48	#19
Venus was her name Frost Gate Guardian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Cornwall, UK Profession: W/N	kinda silly.. i usually go for 20/19 mods as it saved lots of money for 1% less effect (which ingame will probally have VERY VERY little or no difference) weapons should upgrade in colour if you add a max inscription on them e.g i find a 12^50% purple fellblade req 9 and i add a 15^50 inscription and it turns gold. edit: the old weapon grading system doesnt work now becuase weapons are completly moddable, only the req matters so maybe gold/purple should go on the req and whether its max dmg alone?? i.e. req 8,9 = gold req 10,11 = purple, req 12,13 = blue has to be max dmg to be gold, almost max to be purple etc etc would kinda suck tho... Last edited by Venus was her name; Dec 13, 2006 at 08:52 PM // 20:52..

Dec 13, 2006, 10:54 AM // 10:54	#2
Taala Krytan Explorer Join Date: Nov 2006	Well I suppose it's worth less to those who want their text in gold. I doubt most would care either way.

Dec 13, 2006, 02:04 PM // 14:04	#4
Dutch Masterr Wilds Pathfinder Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Long Island, NY Guild: Elite Knights [SWAT] Profession: W/	yes it will be worth less, but i dont see why. i found a req 9 max barbed axe yesterday with bad mods and inscription and it was purple. but i can mod it to be as good as a gold. i personnaly dont care if my weapons are gold or purple i just care about how it works...for example ill buy a high req 15^50 sword with a rare skin for cheap, add a +29hp mod and 20/19 sundering mod. it costs TONS less and is pretty much the same....i really dont want to pay 100k more for an extra 1% chance for armor penetration and 1 hp..

Dec 13, 2006, 02:22 PM // 14:22	#5
JediKnight Lion's Arch Merchant Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: A Galaxy Far Far Away Profession: W/R	I had same problem. I had 2 Fellblades exactly the same stats ( Req 9..15^50..20/20..+30), 1 Gold & 1 Purple. Gold one sold for 100K + 5Ecto...Purple I had to settle for 30K (the value of the +30 Mod) after about 3 hours of trying to sell. So it appears that the gold one was waayyy better than the Purple. Go figure. Apparently the old adage "Small minds are attracted to shiny things" may well apply.

Dec 13, 2006, 02:28 PM // 14:28	#6
Darkobra Forge Runner Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Scotland Guild: Type like an idiot, I'll treat you like an idiot Profession: E/Me	I bought a purple Fellblade and modified it to be exactly like a Rajazan's Fervor in mods. This cost me 10k because it was purple. It would have been FAR more if it was gold. Now I don't care if it's gold, blue or purple. As long as it looks good and is good. Now I found a 15^50 purple fiery gladius. Every one wanted it for around 90k UNTIL they found out it was purple. No idea why, it's the same sword.

Dec 13, 2006, 03:13 PM // 15:13	#8
zankoku Frost Gate Guardian Join Date: Jun 2005 Guild: Teh Academy [PhD]	True, people by for looks. Some people just like the skin for their own sake. For others, if they're going to spend any sum of money for a weapon, they're going to buy a weapon they can show off in trade window when people ask, "woah, that's cool, what is it?" What good is it to have some cool skin that, when you show it off, people will say, "oh, junk stats?" Purple letters play into this because up until Nightfall, the level of stats corresponded with coloring. Gold weapon stats were almost always better than purple weapon stats. The market is set into thinking this way and that's why the market can demand, and is willing to pay, higher prices for gold items.

Dec 13, 2006, 03:21 PM // 15:21	#9
quickmonty Ancient Windbreaker Join Date: May 2005	To catch a monkey, one places a shiny object in a hollow gourd, with an opening just big enough for the monkey to get his open hand in. The monkey grabs the shiny object but can't get his closed hand out. He won't let go of the shiny object and is trapped. I'm wondering how many monkeys play GW.

Dec 13, 2006, 03:33 PM // 15:33	#11
zankoku Frost Gate Guardian Join Date: Jun 2005 Guild: Teh Academy [PhD]	Going for looks over functionality might not make much practical sense, especially if the stats are exactly the same (as the OP suggests). But this is a game and the economy is driven on luxury skins and armors. We are dealing with fake money here (and let's hope that's the case), so no harm. Still, even in the real world, people are willing to spend a premium on luxury and brand name items even though a generic product will accomplish the same thing.

Dec 13, 2006, 03:34 PM // 15:34	#12
Dutch Masterr Wilds Pathfinder Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Long Island, NY Guild: Elite Knights [SWAT] Profession: W/	people just want to show off and say they are rich for having a gold weapon because its more "rare"...it shouldnt make a difference with inscriptable items because everything besides the req can be changed. however on other campaigns, there are no perfect purples. nightfall really screwed with the economy >_>

Dec 13, 2006, 04:56 PM // 16:56	#13
Mournblade Furnace Stoker Join Date: May 2005 Location: Houston, Texas Guild: Dawn Treaders [DAWN] Profession: W/Mo	sweeping generalizations FTL. =( I make it my goal to collect perfect gold gear in the same way I make it my goal to get titles or finish the latest chapter. Gold items are the 'rarest' and therefore I strive to attain them with 'perfect' stats (per my usage requirements). If someone asks about my stuff, I show them. No big deal, but I do this for ME, not for anybody else.

Dec 13, 2006, 05:12 PM // 17:12	#14
Tobias Funke Lion's Arch Merchant Join Date: Mar 2006 Guild: The Following of Xanthar Profession: Me/N	It also goes toward supply and demand. Purple weapons drop more often than golds, therefore there are more of them, therefore they are worth less money.

Dec 13, 2006, 05:25 PM // 17:25	#15
DeathandtheHealing Banned Join Date: Jun 2006 Guild: In a PVE GUILD YAY! :P Profession: Me/Mo	why not just use it for yourself? heck people cant tell if its purple while your holding it :P I bought a gold req 9 and i have my purple req 13 lol

Dec 13, 2006, 05:30 PM // 17:30	#16
Caleb Nil nisi malis terrori. Join Date: Aug 2005 Profession: Mo/Me	It all goes back to GW's launch. We were all told that purple items were "uncommon" and gold items were "rare". Rare items will always be worth more than uncommon items with the same stats, especially to collectors. I agree with the above poster, no one knows what color it is unless you're showing it in trade!

Dec 13, 2006, 09:27 PM // 21:27	#20
LicensedLuny Badly Influenced Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Buying Humps! (No kidding! Check my buy thread) Guild: Hello Kitty Krewe [HKK] Forever!-ish	Wow! Thanks Savio! That was a great history. I've been playing for about a year (and I'm a noob that favors usable drops for me or from friends and then collector stuff.) Your post answered a few questions I've always wondered about. Luny