Curse

Davros Uitar · Dec 23, 2007, 03:18 AM // 03:18

Frankly if you don't panic everytime your pick breaks and chests give out purples, stick at it, and keep an eye on the market as to where to sell and what for then there is no issue with break rates. Doing that makes a serious amount of money, and if you tipped it over by adding in lockpicks that hardly ever break then that would make it a way overpowered method to make money in the game.

And yes, I am max at treasure hunter and wisdom and yes I have accrued a serious amount of wealth through this.

So to lockpicks that break less - /notsigned.

Zeek Aran · Dec 23, 2007, 03:40 AM // 03:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrvrod

imho, drops from kills and drops from chests in higher lvl areas (read gotta be lvl 20 to be there) should NEVER drop non max weapons or whites. I'm all for raritey to make you feel good when you finally get lucky, but i'd rather have 50g drop from a lvl 24 monster than a white fellblade, q5 dmg 13-21!!!

It's like going to beverly hills, breaking into a mansion, and coming out with about 3 or 4 8track players (b4 cassettes for you young ones)!

anet says they're against gold-farmers, and then prices the average person out of the game. thanks a lot!

I hate you for this thread necromancy. I truly mean this.

Spike · Dec 23, 2007, 03:43 AM // 03:43

I gave up on lock picks after i lost 30 in a row at 50% retain and got 30 purples form those chests.

Quaker · Dec 23, 2007, 03:43 AM // 03:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fox Mulder

Hey, I wanted to start a thread that would let A-net know how bad lockpicks are at the moment.

Lockpicks are great, at the moment. But the problem for a lot of people is that, to make a "profit" you have to open a lot of chests and sell a lot of stuff.

For people who don't or can't (because of time constraints) open a lot of chests, they may find that the chests just give out a lot of crap - which they do. But mixed in among the crap are the occasional good drop of either a nice skin, or a low req, or nice mods or any combination of the three.
Unless the nice skin, weapon type, req, or mod, is of use to you, of course, the only way to recoup the cost of the keys is to sell the valuable bits.

So, if you don't open a lot of chests and/or don't want to spend the time it takes to sell the stuff, lockpicks can seem to be a bad investment. And in that case, they probably are. I'd say don't use them unless you really don't care and just want to open chests for the hell of it, especially in "earlier" areas and/or Normal Mode.

But, if you do open a lot of chests and are willing to spend the time it takes to sell the stuff, you can make a lot of gold, and get some good stuff for your own use. I know I do.

EDIT: Oh yeah, I wanted to add - because there are people who open a lot of chests and sell stuff, the chests have to have relative low rate of good drops to keep the economy from being flooded with even more stuff than it already is. Think of it this way, if you got an elite tome out of every second chest you opened, they would be worth next to nothing, and then you would be complaining that they were another "worthless" drop.

Sha Noran · Dec 23, 2007, 04:11 AM // 04:11

Keys and lockpicks are only ever worth it if you're going to power farm an area with awesome skins for an extended period of time... and even then, most chests are a waste of time considering the low value of inscribable items. Chests don't really pay off very well anymore considering the state of the game.

Vinraith · Dec 23, 2007, 04:36 AM // 04:36

Lockpicks are like lottery tickets. Personally I'm content to sell them at market rates, I'm quite confident I'm making more gold that way than I would be using the things.

leprekan · Dec 23, 2007, 05:39 AM // 05:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davros Uitar

Frankly if you don't panic everytime your pick breaks and chests give out purples, stick at it, and keep an eye on the market as to where to sell and what for then there is no issue with break rates. Doing that makes a serious amount of money, and if you tipped it over by adding in lockpicks that hardly ever break then that would make it a way overpowered method to make money in the game.

And yes, I am max at treasure hunter and wisdom and yes I have accrued a serious amount of wealth through this.

So to lockpicks that break less - /notsigned.

I am also maxed treasure .. 5 lucky. Not sure just what you are getting out of these chests that ACTUALLY still sells (easily) for a good amount of cash. I have opened almost 13000 chests on my war alone .. one in a thousand that isnt merchant fodder (and of those only one was above 100k). The chests NO WHERE NEAR paid for the title and the retention rates are so far off the advertised chance it is comical. Either Anet loves you or someone is not being totally honest.

Bekkr · Dec 23, 2007, 06:13 AM // 06:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zeek Aran

I hate you for this thread necromancy. I truly mean this.

haha! I love it. You can't win around here... if you post a new topic that's at all similar to an existing one, you get flamed for not searching. If you search and find a topic relevant to what you wanted to talk about, you get flamed for thread necromancy.

Good stuff. Thank you for the laugh, Zeek.

Zeek Aran · Dec 23, 2007, 06:21 AM // 06:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bekkr

haha! I love it. You can't win around here... if you post a new topic that's at all similar to an existing one, you get flamed for not searching. If you search and find a topic relevant to what you wanted to talk about, you get flamed for thread necromancy.

Good stuff. Thank you for the laugh, Zeek.

>_< It's fine if the person says they were questioning the same thing and wanted to bring it back instead of making a new one... IF they say that. Otherwise, it's most likely beyond the person's comprehension that the thread might be six or seven months old.

Pleikki · Dec 23, 2007, 07:20 AM // 07:20

Meh Lockpicks are fine AT begin when Hm came like 9 from 10 was golds. Then it got worse. But did spent Week on Chesting (500-600 Lockpicks used) And got Better ranks wisdom and treasure and Lucky and now from 10 picks ~ 3-5 retains and 1-2 Purple from those 13-15 items. Fine for me. And usually some fine drops like Elite tomes ...

The Riven · Dec 23, 2007, 07:27 AM // 07:27

Are lockpicks worth it? depends on how you use them i think, for me, no.

They do go towards my titles though, but as to seeing a profit? lol

I have a 28% chance to retain picks in mard mode.

Titles
1) Font of Wisdom (5)
2) Expert Treasure Hunter (4)
3) Tragic (4) 54,940 (games of chance lost)
4) Favoured (3) 237,212 (lucky points)

Due to the vast majority of items from HM chests resulting in a grape with a broken lockpick, i would have to say that unless one is aiming for titles "skip the pick".

zwei2stein · Dec 23, 2007, 09:53 AM // 09:53

The word you are looking for is "Goldsink".

Friar Khan · Dec 23, 2007, 10:57 AM // 10:57

I don't use lockpicks or keys anymore. I suppose at other times opening chests may have been a viable way to make money, but it seems that time has long past. There've been too many times where I've been having a fun time playing the game, noticed a chest, then broken my lockpick for a purple and then cried. I'd much rather sell my lockpicks and buy whatever weapon I'd like to have.

That said, if some people like lockpicks as they are then more power to them.

Angelic Upstart · Dec 23, 2007, 11:09 AM // 11:09

I never buy lockpicks, i use the ones that drop in HM.
Paying 1500 gold to get a req13 purple inscribed chakram is a bit of a piss take i think, and then you find out the pick got broken during the process....lol. No thanks...

Phineas · Dec 23, 2007, 11:42 AM // 11:42

When you use a lockpick you a) know you have a chance of breaking it and b) know you are not guaranteed a gold item... don't complain when these things happen, just accept that as the norm and anything else to be a nice surprise.

Solas · Dec 23, 2007, 12:29 PM // 12:29

its a gamble..that simple

jiggerjay · Dec 23, 2007, 12:52 PM // 12:52

i am a sucker for keys and lockpicks, i always make sure i have around 100 picks on my character at any time, the current batch i have just will not run out and i have had them for about 6 months, i just keep getting more and more keys from hm, at one point during the triple drop i doubled my keys and got 200ish.

i just love the element of surprize when it comes to chests, i have had some nice drops in the past like an elemental sword 2 weeks after nightfall came out, collossal smitar not long after, perfect eternal shield, storm bows..... ok there is a lok of crap coming out of the chests lately, but thats the risk you take, at the end of the day i would rather spend my money this way than on a sweet-tooth title i will never need.

Holly Herro · Dec 23, 2007, 01:52 PM // 13:52

Chests are a richmans gamble.

arcanemacabre · Dec 23, 2007, 04:47 PM // 16:47

I personally don't buy them anymore, however, I don't sell them, either. They can be fun, just not worth the purchase.

onerabbit · Dec 23, 2007, 05:08 PM // 17:08

Best thing ever imo

lets you work on 4 titles, why the hell u complaining.