Curse

Anghardel · Feb 05, 2007, 05:21 PM // 17:21

I didn't see a thread of this nature after skimming quickly over a few pages back, so I hope it's alright to make.

- -

Today, I let my trusting, fun-loving nature get the best of me.

I've been playing Guild Wars off and on for about 18 months now - I'd wager that I have something like 13 months of good, solid playing at this point - and have spent much of that time completely broke, or dirt poor as I like to say.

But it's been fun! So much fun that I've stopped caring about this that or the other item. I've worked for everything that I have. All the armor sets, the neat weapons, the skill captures, and the titles - official or not - that come along with investing so much time in a game.

However, after so much time I recently came upon an inscribable Dwarven Axe. Imagine my surprise when, after so long of find req. 11-13 gold items, 1 shard for every 15 FoW runs, common skins and 1 or 2 black dyes, I should happen to find for myself what I've seen a lot of people calling the second rarest skin next to a Crystalline sword (whether it is or not is not pertinent to this thread)! I was ecstatic. I finally had a way to work towards the higher-end items that I had been pursuing for so long.

So, I made myself a thread here on Guru and started attempting to sell the item in-game as well. For several days I advertised, getting bids of 100 ecto, 130, 140 in-game (though none on the forums, hehe). My dreams of grandeur were large, but they remained over-shadowed by the fact that Guild Wars has always been fun for me - a place where I can relax with friends, etc.

Just a few moments ago, a fellow in Ascalon city showed interest in the item, and wanted to see the skin outside. So outside we went, me wondering if he'd be the one to take the item off my hands - I had no idea how quickly and literally this thought would come to fruition. He saw the skin and enjoyed it very much, saw that it was inscribable and became more interested, and wanted to see the stats. He told me that he couldn't see them in the trade window, which should've been a clue to me that I was about to be ripped, but hey, I'm a trusting guy who just likes to have fun! Money is nice, but fun is much better. I have money in real-life, so what do a few ecto in a game mean to me?

Apparently, not everyone feels the same way. Because of my happiness and trusting nature I told the fellow to walk several yards away while I dropped it really quick for him to take a look at. Unfortunately I didn't see that his secondary was Assassin, and no sooner did I drop the item than he warped forward and grabbed it, leaving the game promptly after.

Yes, I know I'm an idiot. You can trust in the fact that I've drilled that into my head. But I'm not so angry as I am just plain dissapointed.

After so long spent playing this game with friends and having lots of fun just working towards the higher end of things, the fact that someone would just jump up and use the first opportunity to grab what I had luckily stumbled across without know or caring about who I was or what I'd come through up to the point of recieving this item just makes me sad. Not sad because I was back to being broke - it's what I'm used to, afterall - but sad that someone would take their position in a game so seriously that they would use such tactics on a trusting individual like myself to dupe someone out of something so that they could remain a big spender themselves.

I remember the very very first time I had a chance to take something from someone. I was being run to Droknar's Forge by someone who I did not know, me a level 17 warrior at the time and the person level 20, of course. Well, along the way I died, so I could watch the person do their thing, which is mure more exciting than sitting by zones waiting for the next traversal. My corpse was situated just before the Drok's zone, near the res shrine, and right before the person zoned they dropped a gold Crystalline sword to show off to us all. We ooh'd and ahh'd, and then the oddest thing happened. The person got cut off. So we ressed at the shrine and I used my one speed skill to run and grab the item. I whispered the person and returned it to them because, afterall, it's just a game, right?

I just wonder sometimes about the neediness of some people in something so simple as this digital world we all play in. The need to be the biggest spender or at the top item wise. I could ask "why?" but I think I could guess the answers by now, as I've heard them in many games where people interact in real time.

It's very saddening, and because of this and the fact that people everywhere are always scamming I'm taking an indefinite break from Guild Wars. I'll be on for the next few days to chat with guildies and friends, and will be giving away a great many of my items to the honest, deserving people that I do know, and people that I do not know either. Sometimes I have to wonder about the pack-rat behavior of folks that take, take, take mindlessly.

Demilikos · Feb 05, 2007, 05:40 PM // 17:40

I feel for you, man. Just reading this it felt like it happened to me.

It's just like the real world. Good and bad people.

GreatBabai · Feb 05, 2007, 05:51 PM // 17:51

Its a very sad story. Sometimes incidents like this happens and there are some not so good peoples in GW, but there is a lot of good peoples too. I understand you feeling hurt but why leaving game? Take it little easier.
When i was been a new player i was scammed too sometimes. But i remembered "what does not kill you , will make you stronger" phrase and now just little more careful when dealing with strangers.
---
Sorry for possible mistakes.English is not my native language

Big_Iron · Feb 05, 2007, 05:56 PM // 17:56

I hope you got some screen shots so you can get this jerk permanently banned.

Anghardel · Feb 05, 2007, 05:58 PM // 17:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreatBabai

Its a very sad story. Sometimes incidents like this happens and there are some not so good peoples in GW, but there is a lot of good peoples too. I understand you feeling hurt but why leaving game? Take it little easier.
When i was been a new player i was scammed too sometimes. But i remembered "what does not kill you , will make you stronger" phrase and now just little more careful when dealing with strangers.
---
Sorry for possible mistakes.English is not my native language

I suppose the reason for my immediate reaction of taking a break - not permanent, but I'm not sure when I'll return - is that the seriousness of the fun situation finally got to me. I've had lots of folks try to scam me in the past but never had anyone actually manage to pull it off; the idea that everything is just fun and good is ironically what led to me finally falling for a very simple trick, so I think it's time that I look into other games, at least for a little bit.

I could never leave Guild Wars indefinitely, but the way I look at it is that building up is the most fun part of the game for me - making new chars and taking them back through campaigns has always been a lot more fun for me than PvP or farming once you have completed a game. The finding of this Dwarven axe was more or less the peak of my little gold build up, and i don't like the recession back downwards, so by getting rid of some of my things and building up again I'll feel more accomplished.

That, and this just happens to be my reason for moving on to other things. I've been considering checking out other games, both online and off, for quite a while, as Guild Wars was my primary excitement when it came to using my computer.

Will definitely be back, but for whatever reason what happened this morning did upset me enough to call for a little rest, which is much better than just doing something stupid or lashing out in any way. I've always taken the more laid back approach to solving any problem like this to avoid getting myself too worked up.

A person who I met just earlier today told me "Those who steal will be cursed," which is an extended version of a two word saying that his people apparently have. I'm going to report the fellow, but I don't think much will be done about it since it was, in fact, my fault that the item became available for scamming. I'm not sweating the money too much, though.

Tranquil Tanasen · Feb 05, 2007, 06:01 PM // 18:01

First off, i am glad that there are people like you who are actually willing to return rare items back to their owner instead of just running away with them.
Second, I am sorry for your loss and frustration over this.
I am a very kind player in the game but i do stay aware of the possible scams that people do. This certainly has helped me keep my in game money lol. But perhaps a lesson learned eh?
It seems to me everyday though, that the pve portion of this game is turning more and more into how to make the most money possible. No surprise to anyone but i find that i have to turn off local chat just to see my guild mates talking when I'm in the usual busy cities.
I suppose your loss just kind of confirms it.

Sir Skullcrasher · Feb 05, 2007, 06:12 PM // 18:12

Scammers are hard to avoid and they usually find way to con the items or gold off of other players. I feel bad that you got scammed for that dwarven axe but like you said, this game is about fun and meeting other peoples to play with. It doesn't hinge on getting the rarest items and showing it off to others.

Alleji · Feb 05, 2007, 06:14 PM // 18:14

You played the game for 18 months and you don't know that there are no additional stats you can see when the item is on the ground?

Plus, everyone with enough money to buy a dwarven axe has surely seen the skin in-game, or did some research and found screenshots, so it was smelling of a scam the minute he asked you to zone out of town.

Anghardel · Feb 05, 2007, 06:19 PM // 18:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alleji

You played the game for 18 months and you don't know that there are no additional stats you can see when the item is on the ground?

Plus, everyone with enough money to buy a dwarven axe has surely seen the skin in-game, or did some research and found screenshots, so it was smelling of a scam the minute he asked you to zone out of town.

Well, he said he couldn't see it in the Trade window. Recently I was kicked from my guild randomly and not manually by anyone within the guild and had to be reinvited, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt and figured the game was messing up again.

Like I said, I got caught up in the fact that I was having a good morning and a fun time in the game. The buying and selling of items has interested me since my very first Economics class in high-school, so when I go to buy or sell I always become interested, which is something to smile about.

In retrospect I should've been more careful, but because I don't covet items like that I suppose I just wasn't thinking about the fact that someone else would try and swipe it.

zwei2stein · Feb 05, 2007, 06:20 PM // 18:20

Just just let your happines and good nature get in way of common sense ... lesson no to do it again. Dunno how old are you but you need to learn to be cynical, untrusting and unfriendly when dealing with objects of high value, no matter if its reall world or just game.

What can i say ... why would anyone ever drop precious item on ground when in company of stranger? I mean, 'weird bug' ... request to drop item would cause me to tell said person 'go f*** yelf' and just quit.

Reminds me of story of warrior who dropped his perfect customized chas axe to showoff, sadly from him he was in explorable and his party member quickly ran to portal and zoned him withou chance of picking it up. Yep, expect 90% of people reacting similary - if you give em chance ot hurt you with next to no possible sanctions they will do it and even wouldnt need profit from it.

**cosyfiep** · Feb 05, 2007, 06:24 PM // 18:24

man that sucks.

but the bigger picture....there are people in RL who do the same thing....good thing it was only a game that you had to learn this from and not some RL situation.

Still suucks though.....we hurt for you!

SilentAssassin · Feb 05, 2007, 06:27 PM // 18:27

hahaha

cool story

gotta love sin skills,

sry but that was just a dumb dumb thing to do.

It's like walking outside on the street with a text on your back with: "I carry 10 million euros and show them to everyone."

oh well its just a game, if your that poor want 5k from me? maybe you can buy an inscription then.

imo that guy isn't rly a scammer, you shouldn't be that naieve.

EinherjarMx · Feb 05, 2007, 06:33 PM // 18:33

it is sad to know that things like this happens, myself been scammed for a "too good to be true" offer, learned this the hard way too, if you plan to quit GW for this very reason, well, there will be idiots on other games too, it's a tough lesson

the only thing you can do is move on (in case you didn't take screenshots) and from now and on be more cautious, if they want to see the stats there's the trade window, if they wanna see the skin they can see wiki or zone but never drop it

Navaros · Feb 05, 2007, 06:41 PM // 18:41

OP keeps saying how he is "a trusting individual" - there's the problem right there. The world is full of bad people who do not care about ripping you off, that's life. People can't be trusted, - so to trust is to set yourself up for failure. Probably better for you to have learned to not trust people via an in-game loss than having to suffer a real-life loss in the same manner. Hope you learned from this not to be trusting, otherwise you will keep getting burned throughout the rest of your life.

Jecht Scye · Feb 05, 2007, 06:45 PM // 18:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilentAssassin

hahaha

cool story

gotta love sin skills,

sry but that was just a dumb dumb thing to do.

It's like walking outside on the street with a text on your back with: "I carry 10 million euros and show them to everyone."

oh well its just a game, if your that poor want 5k from me? maybe you can buy an inscription then.

imo that guy isn't rly a scammer, you shouldn't be that naieve.

It's not funny at all. The poor guy got ripped off for simply being a nice person.

Granted, I would have seen it coming because I see the worst in people before the best of people, but it's still a shame.

Sorry that people are jerks man. I hope he gets what's coming to him and you're re-embers ed through good luck in the future.

Roshi_ikkyu · Feb 05, 2007, 06:46 PM // 18:46

I'm sorry but I have to say....
stupidity should be painful, and if you fell for that lame almost a year old tactic you should hit yourself.

I understand your idea of game play, I follow akin to this style.
But I'm not going to offer any words of remorse over your being scammed in such a simple and stupid manner.
1) leaving a city/ outpost to trade..... please
2) falling for the old bugged/broken trade window trick.
3) trusting an assassin in a instance enviroment asking you to drop an item.
You didn't really get scammed, I'm sure the Assassin is laughing somewhere that it even worked. You got educated!

The game needs more people like you (for your out look and game play style.... not the falling for the oldest tricks in the books part

), and always play the game how you want to and enjoy.

And I have some magic beans for sale too :P

Anghardel · Feb 05, 2007, 06:48 PM // 18:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilentAssassin

hahaha

cool story

gotta love sin skills,

sry but that was just a dumb dumb thing to do.

It's like walking outside on the street with a text on your back with: "I carry 10 million euros and show them to everyone."

oh well its just a game, if your that poor want 5k from me? maybe you can buy an inscription then.

imo that guy isn't rly a scammer, you shouldn't be that naieve.

I really shouldn't have been that silly, you're right. In retrospect I should have just sent him elsewhere, but I've never really coveted money in any way shape or form. I've had my car stolen and rather than freak out because I didn't have the money to replace it I've always directed most of my angered amazement at the laziness of some people who would rather invest time in stealing than getting things the honest way.

Reminds me of a guy who cheated on an exam in my Western Civ 201 class. He actually programmed the answers into his watch. I thought it was funny of him to do that because in the time it took to program the watch he could've just learned the answers and been done with it.

Just because you *can* dupe someone doesn't make it ok to do. Granted, it was slick of him and I wound up a thick-headed oaf for falling for it, but even so.

Quote:

Originally Posted by zwei2stein

Dunno how old are you but you need to learn to be cynical, untrusting and unfriendly when dealing with objects of high value, no matter if its reall world or just game.

I suppose so. I'm only 18 at this point but cynicism hasn't ever really gotten anyone anywhere. Of course, I should be more cautious and think of the saying "hope for the best, prepare for the worst," but this is a game. In my life outside of a game I wouldn't approach my handling of expensive merchandise in the same way, but where it's all about digital coin what's the big deal? Why is something like that so appealing to someone that they'd swipe it? I'm also not an avid trader so I'm not up to snuff on what methods folks are using to deprive others of what they find.

Just things I'm sure I'll find the answer to in time, as I get a bit older.

I'm guessing that my mentality about a game being a game and not really putting any credit towards what I do within it is what got me into the situation in the first place. I'm more stunned than hurt, though, which I suppose I shouldn't be by the responses I've seen to folks taking advantage of others in the past.

TheRaven · Feb 05, 2007, 07:16 PM // 19:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilentAssassin

hahaha

cool story

gotta love sin skills,

sry but that was just a dumb dumb thing to do.

It's like walking outside on the street with a text on your back with: "I carry 10 million euros and show them to everyone."

oh well its just a game, if your that poor want 5k from me? maybe you can buy an inscription then.

imo that guy isn't rly a scammer, you shouldn't be that naieve.

Spoken like a true scammer. "It's not the scammer's fault. It's the victims's fault"

This is why GW isn't a lot of fun to play anymore. The nice folks are leaving the game because they're treated like dirt. The only ones left are the scammers and jerks like you who defend scammers.

Sir Skullcrasher · Feb 05, 2007, 07:38 PM // 19:38

Here a phrase that peoples should use more.

DTA (Don't Trust Anybody)!!

noir0 · Feb 05, 2007, 08:55 PM // 20:55

If you can remember his name then report him, some screen shots would help as well. your axe might not be able to be returned, but you can make sure the assasin never gets any pleasure from it either.