Difference between gold and purple - Guild Wars Forums

AltFire · Oct 03, 2008, 04:06 AM // 04:06

Hello

Ok. I'm trying to figure out what the difference between gold and purple weapons besides the color.

I have 2 axes both identical right down to the the last attribute except the purple actually does 1 more point of slashing damage but the gold one is more sought after and worth more money.

So, my question is this: Is there some intrinsic attributes the gold has that make them better or is it just its deep golden hue?

Thanks

**Marty Silverblade** · Oct 03, 2008, 04:16 AM // 04:16

You can make a purple weapon have the exact same stats as a gold weapon. It's just the text color that makes them worth so much more.

WhiteAsIce · Oct 03, 2008, 04:20 AM // 04:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marty Silverblade

You can make a purple weapon have the exact same stats as a gold weapon. It's just the text color that makes them worth so much more.

You can also make a blue weapon have the exact same stats as a gold weapon. Though it's uncommon to find rarer skins in blue.

ALF71BE · Oct 03, 2008, 04:23 AM // 04:23

It's the rarity of the item.

Typically, if a Jungle Troll level 18 drops a purple and later another same monster drops a gold weapon, both the same skin, the gold is probably going to have a higher damage and has an actual chance of having max mods (upgrades).

Shayne Hawke · Oct 03, 2008, 05:13 AM // 05:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by ALF71BE

It's the rarity of the item.

Typically, if a Jungle Troll level 18 drops a purple and later another same monster drops a gold weapon, both the same skin, the gold is probably going to have a higher damage and has an actual chance of having max mods (upgrades).

I think you have the upgrade part right, but I don't know whether golds will tend to have higher damage averages than grapes.

Rarity aside, if the weapon doesn't do its max range of damage, it's worthless regardless. Salvage off good mods and merch it.

Gift3d · Oct 03, 2008, 05:16 AM // 05:16

There is no difference, but people in-game will always swear that the color of the text matters so much if the damage, req, and stats are the same.

It's something that's determined by the players, therefore it is massively retarded.

edit: And really if you think about it, it's nothing to do with rarirty.

I have a req9 inscribable BLUE eternal shield, and a req9 inscribable PURPLE magmas shield. Those are easy as hell to find/buy gold, good luck trying to find a blue or purple. Rare, haha.

Destro Maniak · Oct 03, 2008, 05:28 AM // 05:28

they are EXACTLY SAME

the only THING that makes them worth more are RETARDS that think gold is cooler but WHY?
Simple: They are retards

THey are so retard that they dont even think that WHO SEES THAT YOU HAVE A GOLD weapon

We all know that its impossible to show someone that you have a gold weapon
EVEN YOU CANT SEE it most of the time

so if you have a single sparkle of wisdom you would look for blue-purple ones and save your money for some real purpose

Etsuko · Oct 03, 2008, 07:39 AM // 07:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Destro Maniak

they are EXACTLY SAME

the only THING that makes them worth more are RETARDS that think gold is cooler but WHY?
Simple: They are retards

THey are so retard that they dont even think that WHO SEES THAT YOU HAVE A GOLD weapon

We all know that its impossible to show someone that you have a gold weapon
EVEN YOU CANT SEE it most of the time

so if you have a single sparkle of wisdom you would look for blue-purple ones and save your money for some real purpose

Good luck specifically requesting a white/blue max damage crystalline sword. People buy gold weapons because everybody knows the market value for them and trade at that value. It's the path of least resistance, and the shiny is a plus.

No one can see if your weapon is max damage or a bit off the mark either, but while that's definitely a rarer find in non-golds than in golds, max damage weapons which will sell for more than non-max damage weapons as they, well, do max damage. Are you saying cause "its impossible to show someone that you have a gold weapon EVEN YOU CANT SEE it most of the time [sic]" there's no point in having anything, including a max damage weapon, just because no one knows that it's max?

You're saying there's no point in getting a gold item 'cause no one knows that it's gold. The OP is just asking the difference between gold and purple. Golds are simply easier to trade, that's all.

MagmaRed · Oct 03, 2008, 08:24 AM // 08:24

Gold has a lower drop rate, and the stats have a higher chance of being max. Although I have several purples and even a couple of blues that are BETTER than some of my golds, the CHANCE that a gold will be better is what matters.

If you see a gold item drop, you know you have a good chance of getting max mods, while if you see a purple drop, you can only hope to get some good mods.

With inscriptions, a purple with the same damage, req, and skin will be exactly the same as a gold. Don't think it is possible for a purple to drop with a max inherent, but I'm not sure on that.

Luminarus · Oct 03, 2008, 08:49 AM // 08:49

As far as I know, u cant get 15>50 on a non inscribable purple, so in the case of noninsc weapons, the difference is the quality of the inherant mods.

However, since inscriptions its possible to have 100% identical weapons, one gold one purple (apart from the merch price).

Purples are however, lacking the prestige, and as such are worht less.

Gwmaster · Oct 03, 2008, 09:11 AM // 09:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Etsuko

Good luck specifically requesting a white/blue max damage crystalline sword. People buy gold weapons because everybody knows the market value for them and trade at that value. It's the path of least resistance, and the shiny is a plus.

No one can see if your weapon is max damage or a bit off the mark either, but while that's definitely a rarer find in non-golds than in golds, req 7 max damage weapons which are NOT gold sell for tons more than regular req9 golds as they have a better crit chance. Are you saying cause "its impossible to show someone that you have a gold weapon EVEN YOU CANT SEE it most of the time [sic]" there's no point in having anything, including a good crit rate, just because it can't be seen?

You're saying there's no point in getting a gold item 'cause no one knows that it's gold. The OP is just asking the difference between gold and purple. Golds are simply easier to trade, that's all.

Some1 needs to search a bit more about damage and attributes..but unless you didn't know..a weapon with a req13 will have a better crit damage since the more attribute in mastery u have..the more crit % you have...unless i missed something on my 3years of playing.

TorquemadaXL · Oct 03, 2008, 09:14 AM // 09:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gift3d

There is no difference, but people in-game will always swear that the color of the text matters so much if the damage, req, and stats are the same.

It's something that's determined by the players, therefore it is massively retarded.

edit: And really if you think about it, it's nothing to do with rarirty.

I have a req9 inscribable BLUE eternal shield, and a req9 inscribable PURPLE magmas shield. Those are easy as hell to find/buy gold, good luck trying to find a blue or purple. Rare, haha.

It's a matter of what u like and dislike:
Why an eternal shield (any color, BLUE, PURPLE, GOLD) is better then a round shield? both has al16 if max.

It's a matter of taste and it's personal, keep that in mind before saying that the ones that likes golds are retarded.

It can be said the same of u that have spent more then 150 golds to have a perfect max item, that's the price of a collector item (usually 5 mob's loot with no higher price of 30 golds each) that comes almost in all the way u may mod a weapon, and beside this there are greens, some are unique skins, always perfect (besides starter greens) and max.

GW is on skins, skins are on taste, so GW is on taste.
Don't judge other, so u'll not be judged.

Like an avatar i've found here: I'll try to be nicer if u try to be smart.

OT:
Perfect weapons exists in blue, purple and gold version, even if some rare skins exists only in gold version. There is no difference in the stats, just the fancyness u give them. U can save money getting what u need from collectors and crafters, but soon GW will become boring (at least for me), and u will have a huge amount of money that u dunno how to use. I choose to spend over 5 millions equipping me and my heroes with all the skins i like (1 chara and his 26 heroes).

Cheers!

Zamochit · Oct 03, 2008, 09:16 AM // 09:16

Prior to Nightfall and the introduction of inscriptions the colour of a weapon made a considerable difference to the quality of the inherent modifiers, although not the actual damage range of the weapon.

Basicly this meant that, with the exception of collecters items of course, it has been ingrained in most of the older player's minds that ~ gold is good.

Now of course it makes absolutely no difference if you are dealing with an inscribable item whether the item is gold, purple or blue - providing it has the maximum base stats and an inscription slot; but old habbits die hard and most people - if they can afford a gold - will buy gold. There are also certain skins in the game which are only available in 'gold'. Eternal Blade, Obsidian Edge etc.

If money is tight buy a cheap inscribable skin and spend the cash you save to get perfect mods for it, Or better still find yourself a collecters one. The stats of the weapons and armour you are using should always take a higher priority than the skins or the colour of their text.

Etsuko · Oct 03, 2008, 09:37 AM // 09:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gwmaster

Some1 needs to search a bit more about damage and attributes..but unless you didn't know..a weapon with a req13 will have a better crit damage since the more attribute in mastery u have..the more crit % you have...unless i missed something on my 3years of playing.

While it is obvious and true that a higher attribute in weapon mastery (attributes as adjusted on the skills panel) will contribute to a higher crit %, this is not the same as weapon requirement, which is stated on the weapon equipment test, which was what I was referring to - unless I've missed something with my mere 2.5 years of experience, of course?

EDIT: Well, this is off-topic, anyway. But for whatever reason (e.g. lower req for max damage <--> more flexibility), supposition (lower req is more rare) or speculation (lower req has better crit chance), higher req weapons do not sell as well as lower req max weapons regardless of colour. I'm sure if req 13 weapons indeed offered such a good crit chance, they wouldn't be trashed so often or called "caster" weapons, yes?

TorquemadaXL · Oct 03, 2008, 10:03 AM // 10:03

@Etsuko
@Gwmaster

As long as i can read on guildwiki (so not my personal research) crit% is due to the attribute point u have in the weapon mastery.

What Gwmaster is trying to say (or at least that's what it seems to me) is that it's not important the req of the weapon but the points spent in its mastery. Example:
A req 7 max sword with 16 in swordmanship have the same crit% then
a req 13 max sword (same as the above) with 16 in swordmanship.

Low req is just another face of the fancyness i was talking in my previous post, 'couse (just an example) Caster req 7 sword acts exactly the same as a req 13, or (another example) a req 7 15^50, 20/20 +30 sword will act the same as a req 13 15^50, 20/20 +30 sword if the warrior wielding it has 13 or more in swordmanship.

That comes along with my 34 years, most of them spent reading and asking myself questions... and finding myself or with help answers, not from my few months in GW... that means nothing.
(That's the same of: just my 2 cents).

Absolutely Off Topic:
I would like to see the face of peeps that after spending ages in DoA (talking about the time when DoA was really really hard) would have as reward a blue common skin item...

Cheers!

Iuris · Oct 03, 2008, 10:06 AM // 10:06

There are differences between the groups of rarity. Most can be overcome by modding the weapon. Some can not.

1st: the bonuses on the weapon are limited by rarity. For example, you can't get +14% over 50% or +15% over 50% on anything but gold weapons. With inscribable weapons, this can be overcome. With non-inscribable ones, it cannot.

2nd: in some cases, the skins of the weapons differ.For example, the gold steel daggers look different than the other types.

3rd: it can be a matter of prestige. I find myself somewhat irked that my q9 bows and that nice q9 fellblade are not gold. They just don't look as good in the inv. screen. Oh, and I almost sold one by accident with the loot

Gift3d · Oct 03, 2008, 10:11 AM // 10:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by TorquemadaXL

It's a matter of what u like and dislike:
Why an eternal shield (any color, BLUE, PURPLE, GOLD) is better then a round shield? both has al16 if max.

It's a matter of taste and it's personal, keep that in mind before saying that the ones that likes golds are retarded.

It can be said the same of u that have spent more then 150 golds to have a perfect max item, that's the price of a collector item (usually 5 mob's loot with no higher price of 30 golds each) that comes almost in all the way u may mod a weapon, and beside this there are greens, some are unique skins, always perfect (besides starter greens) and max.

GW is on skins, skins are on taste, so GW is on taste.
Don't judge other, so u'll not be judged.

Like an avatar i've found here: I'll try to be nicer if u try to be smart.

OT:
Perfect weapons exists in blue, purple and gold version, even if some rare skins exists only in gold version. There is no difference in the stats, just the fancyness u give them. U can save money getting what u need from collectors and crafters, but soon GW will become boring (at least for me), and u will have a huge amount of money that u dunno how to use. I choose to spend over 5 millions equipping me and my heroes with all the skins i like (1 chara and his 26 heroes).

Cheers!

You're one to speak of intelligence when you completely misinterpreted my post. A skin is more aesthetic, for it can be seen by you and others around you. Rather than the color of the text which isn't seen by anyone other than yourself. And let's face it, GW is all about impressing others, just take a look at all the ugly wammo's in chaos gloves/FoW. They don't care about looking good, because they have a lot to prove to others, and that's what matters to them (And i'm talking about the majority demographic of Guild Wars, not all.).

And now, the difference between purples and golds has to do with selling, because whoever started the initial trend of differentiating the two are, yes, retards. Now i never said anyone who likes golds is stupid. I prefer to buy golds because they are easier to sell again, because blue/purple things are nearly impossible to for a regular price. Nope, did not say it. You should probably re-read my post and get a vague understanding of it before you speak and give a petty attempt at slandering it, either that or give Mr. Webster a call if any words i used confused you, which i apologize for.

Etsuko · Oct 03, 2008, 10:18 AM // 10:18

@TorquemadaXL: Agreed, I did say that I realised weapon mastery is not the same as weapon requirement. He did, however, confuse the two, in fact equating them with each other (fragment bolded in quote for clarity).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gwmaster

Some1 needs to search a bit more about damage and attributes..but unless you didn't know..a weapon with a req13 will have a better crit damage since the more attribute in mastery u have..the more crit % you have...unless i missed something on my 3years of playing.

As for whether weapon requirement contributes to critical chance, well, the devs have not confirmed anything on it yet and there's not been much empirical testing on the matter. There is a post on the guildwiki discussion thread that shows there is no "higher" damage afforded by the lower req weapon (except in the case of 10 weapon mastery), but it's just one test with one weapon type and doesn't show if there's a higher crit rate afforded by the lower req (not that it's a bad test, because the guy who bothered even doing it in the first place was testing for damage and not crit rate). The crit rate issue is one of the reasons why some people like to pay more for lower req weapons.

dilan155 · Oct 03, 2008, 10:55 AM // 10:55

its matter of what you like tbh, but the chances of finding a purple max damage and with at least one maxed mod is not likely

Savio · Oct 03, 2008, 01:02 PM // 13:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Etsuko

As for whether weapon requirement contributes to critical chance, well, the devs have not confirmed anything on it yet and there's not been much empirical testing on the matter.

If there is no evidence, why the hell would you go ahead and say it's true? People buy req 7 weapons for rarity, not because they're any better. Powertraders and PvPers know this, which is why you don't see PvPers all over req 7 weapons.

Oct 03, 2008, 04:06 AM // 04:06	#1
AltFire Ascalonian Squire Join Date: Aug 2008 Profession: E/Mo	Difference between gold and purple Hello Ok. I'm trying to figure out what the difference between gold and purple weapons besides the color. I have 2 axes both identical right down to the the last attribute except the purple actually does 1 more point of slashing damage but the gold one is more sought after and worth more money. So, my question is this: Is there some intrinsic attributes the gold has that make them better or is it just its deep golden hue? Thanks

Oct 03, 2008, 04:16 AM // 04:16	#2
Marty Silverblade Administrator Join Date: Jun 2006	You can make a purple weapon have the exact same stats as a gold weapon. It's just the text color that makes them worth so much more. __________________

Oct 03, 2008, 04:23 AM // 04:23	#4
ALF71BE Jungle Guide Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: In your fridge, stealing your pickles. for mah subway Profession: R/	It's the rarity of the item. Typically, if a Jungle Troll level 18 drops a purple and later another same monster drops a gold weapon, both the same skin, the gold is probably going to have a higher damage and has an actual chance of having max mods (upgrades).

Oct 03, 2008, 05:16 AM // 05:16	#6
Gift3d Forge Runner Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Las Vegas Guild: Enraged Whiny Carebears [oR] Profession: W/E	There is no difference, but people in-game will always swear that the color of the text matters so much if the damage, req, and stats are the same. It's something that's determined by the players, therefore it is massively retarded. edit: And really if you think about it, it's nothing to do with rarirty. I have a req9 inscribable BLUE eternal shield, and a req9 inscribable PURPLE magmas shield. Those are easy as hell to find/buy gold, good luck trying to find a blue or purple. Rare, haha.

Oct 03, 2008, 05:28 AM // 05:28	#7
Destro Maniak Jungle Guide Join Date: Aug 2006 Profession: A/	they are EXACTLY SAME the only THING that makes them worth more are RETARDS that think gold is cooler but WHY? Simple: They are retards THey are so retard that they dont even think that WHO SEES THAT YOU HAVE A GOLD weapon We all know that its impossible to show someone that you have a gold weapon EVEN YOU CANT SEE it most of the time so if you have a single sparkle of wisdom you would look for blue-purple ones and save your money for some real purpose

Oct 03, 2008, 08:24 AM // 08:24	#9
MagmaRed Furnace Stoker Join Date: Mar 2007 Guild: Our Crabs Know True [LOVE] Profession: R/	Gold has a lower drop rate, and the stats have a higher chance of being max. Although I have several purples and even a couple of blues that are BETTER than some of my golds, the CHANCE that a gold will be better is what matters. If you see a gold item drop, you know you have a good chance of getting max mods, while if you see a purple drop, you can only hope to get some good mods. With inscriptions, a purple with the same damage, req, and skin will be exactly the same as a gold. Don't think it is possible for a purple to drop with a max inherent, but I'm not sure on that.

Oct 03, 2008, 08:49 AM // 08:49	#10
Luminarus Furnace Stoker Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Sydney, Australia Guild: Haze of Light [pure] Profession: R/	As far as I know, u cant get 15>50 on a non inscribable purple, so in the case of noninsc weapons, the difference is the quality of the inherant mods. However, since inscriptions its possible to have 100% identical weapons, one gold one purple (apart from the merch price). Purples are however, lacking the prestige, and as such are worht less.

Oct 03, 2008, 09:16 AM // 09:16	#13
Zamochit Furnace Stoker Join Date: Jul 2006 Profession: N/A	Prior to Nightfall and the introduction of inscriptions the colour of a weapon made a considerable difference to the quality of the inherent modifiers, although not the actual damage range of the weapon. Basicly this meant that, with the exception of collecters items of course, it has been ingrained in most of the older player's minds that ~ gold is good. Now of course it makes absolutely no difference if you are dealing with an inscribable item whether the item is gold, purple or blue - providing it has the maximum base stats and an inscription slot; but old habbits die hard and most people - if they can afford a gold - will buy gold. There are also certain skins in the game which are only available in 'gold'. Eternal Blade, Obsidian Edge etc. If money is tight buy a cheap inscribable skin and spend the cash you save to get perfect mods for it, Or better still find yourself a collecters one. The stats of the weapons and armour you are using should always take a higher priority than the skins or the colour of their text.

Oct 03, 2008, 10:03 AM // 10:03	#15
TorquemadaXL Lion's Arch Merchant Join Date: Nov 2007 Guild: Free Collar Kingdom Profession: E/	@Etsuko @Gwmaster As long as i can read on guildwiki (so not my personal research) crit% is due to the attribute point u have in the weapon mastery. What Gwmaster is trying to say (or at least that's what it seems to me) is that it's not important the req of the weapon but the points spent in its mastery. Example: A req 7 max sword with 16 in swordmanship have the same crit% then a req 13 max sword (same as the above) with 16 in swordmanship. Low req is just another face of the fancyness i was talking in my previous post, 'couse (just an example) Caster req 7 sword acts exactly the same as a req 13, or (another example) a req 7 15^50, 20/20 +30 sword will act the same as a req 13 15^50, 20/20 +30 sword if the warrior wielding it has 13 or more in swordmanship. That comes along with my 34 years, most of them spent reading and asking myself questions... and finding myself or with help answers, not from my few months in GW... that means nothing. (That's the same of: just my 2 cents). Absolutely Off Topic: I would like to see the face of peeps that after spending ages in DoA (talking about the time when DoA was really really hard) would have as reward a blue common skin item... Cheers!

Oct 03, 2008, 10:06 AM // 10:06	#16
Iuris Forge Runner Join Date: Nov 2006 Guild: Crazy ducks from the Forest Profession: W/	There are differences between the groups of rarity. Most can be overcome by modding the weapon. Some can not. 1st: the bonuses on the weapon are limited by rarity. For example, you can't get +14% over 50% or +15% over 50% on anything but gold weapons. With inscribable weapons, this can be overcome. With non-inscribable ones, it cannot. 2nd: in some cases, the skins of the weapons differ.For example, the gold steel daggers look different than the other types. 3rd: it can be a matter of prestige. I find myself somewhat irked that my q9 bows and that nice q9 fellblade are not gold. They just don't look as good in the inv. screen. Oh, and I almost sold one by accident with the loot

Oct 03, 2008, 10:55 AM // 10:55	#19
dilan155 Desert Nomad Join Date: May 2007 Location: living room Profession: N/	its matter of what you like tbh, but the chances of finding a purple max damage and with at least one maxed mod is not likely