Curse

ShadowbaneX · Jun 30, 2007, 04:16 AM // 04:16

There's two parts to this idea.

The first is that we should be able to customize off-hand equipment, whether it's a shield or a focus. This customization would give a bonus to armour and energy respectively. If you like round numbers, 25% would be good (giving shields 20 armour and foci +15 energy). If you like being consistant ,just a 20% increase (19 armour, +14 energy) would work. The only other change here would perhaps be an additional bonus to staves, giving them +20% energy, in addition to the damage to keep up with the bonus give to the wand/foci combination.

The second part is the idea would be to allow limited use of inscriptions on customized items (including foci and shields as above) from Prophecies or Factions. From what I understand, part of the (suspected) reason that items from these campaigns weren't given inscriptions is that it would seriously damage the market. I don't know if it's true or not, but it makes sense. Your l33t req 8 15^50 storm bow or chaos axe is so valuable because it's so rare. I can understand that, just take a look at what happened to sephis axes and dead bows. Their value bottomed out after the Hard Mode farming came out. Massive supply = low demand = plummeting prices. However, customized items are not apart of the market; by their very nature they've been removed from the market. So there wouldn't be as much harm in allowing us to inscript those. It would make some of those rare-skinned items more accessible to the more casual gamer without actually damaging the "perfect" non-customized drops that command the highest prices in the trade circles.

I'm not exactly sure how this idea would be implimented. One idea would be to take the customized item and inscription you want to a weapon crafter and the alteration would happen that way. In this method gold/materials could be added as part of the cost so as to make it something of a gold sink. Another idea would be, as is suggested in Nevin's 'Master Smith' thread (from April 06) which is similar, that it be given as a quest reward. As such it could only be done once per character, or perhaps, even one per character per continent/game owned (so there'd be a 'Master Smith for Tyria, another for Cantha and a 3rd for Elona). In this latter idea it could be that an inscription slot is just added to the item so it can be changed at a whim, but I don't think it has to be that way. Oh, and, of course, Green items are exempt from this sort of alteration.

Thoughts?

Enix · Jun 30, 2007, 07:38 PM // 19:38

+20% on offhands would be nice, considering the -2/Stance/Enchant Physical only nurf that happened ages ago. I agree.

Alowing re-inscription would hurt the market for new gold items with perfect stats, even with your suggestion. I think your suggestion is a good compromise though. Perhaps it might even make Weaponsmiths worth something if they could change a damage mod for you for a fee. The problem is that coding all that stuff for a game they are retiring dosent make good business sense.

Neo Nugget · Jun 30, 2007, 07:46 PM // 19:46

+armor for customize sheilds would be nice.

ShadowbaneX · Jul 01, 2007, 05:06 AM // 05:06

I'm not sure that the coding thing would be much of an issue. I don't really buy that too much. They've already got inscribable versions of rare skinned items from Prophecies and Factions that drop from HoH chests, or in the later areas of Nightfall, or from the chest in the Deep and Urgoz's Warren. It's not like the items don't exist in whatever database the game uses. It could be as simple as destroy the old item and replace it with an inscripted version.

I'm sure only a handful know how the database works, it could be rather simple, or it might be that it's not so simple. As for 'the game is going to be retired soon', I dout it. GW:EN is going to be out sometime this year. GW2 isn't going to be out for a while, and even when it is, Guild Wars is still going to be around. So that's still 2 or more years.

Also, I don't think it'd damage the market too much. Those that like the prestige of using uncustomized weapons will still have a market. Those more casual gamers that want a storm bow, chaos axe or golden phoenix blade, will be able to get their hands on a not-so-perfect one, customize it, 'perfect' it and go. It would actually make something of a market for these items, rather then just merch fodder.

Div · Jul 01, 2007, 06:51 AM // 06:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShadowbaneX

Also, I don't think it'd damage the market too much. Those that like the prestige of using uncustomized weapons will still have a market. Those more casual gamers that want a storm bow, chaos axe or golden phoenix blade, will be able to get their hands on a not-so-perfect one, customize it, 'perfect' it and go. It would actually make something of a market for these items, rather then just merch fodder.

So doesn't that mean no one will want to buy that 15^50 storm bow anymore when they could just get one for 200g and make it much, much better? It'll probably still indirectly destroy the market for good weapons because the demand is much lower since you can get something better for much cheaper. Those 15^50 storm bows will be reduced to the "Ogre slaying knife" role, where it simply acts as a collectible weapon, not as a practical one for use.

ShadowbaneX · Jul 01, 2007, 08:01 PM // 20:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by holymasamune

So doesn't that mean no one will want to buy that 15^50 storm bow anymore when they could just get one for 200g and make it much, much better? It'll probably still indirectly destroy the market for good weapons because the demand is much lower since you can get something better for much cheaper. Those 15^50 storm bows will be reduced to the "Ogre slaying knife" role, where it simply acts as a collectible weapon, not as a practical one for use.

no, not really. Since customizing a weapon the weapon removes it from the market, taken out of circulation, as no one can use it, then as new people want those items there's going to be a demand for new ones. Also, some people invest in an item, buying it with the intention of using it for a while, and then reselling it. In this case a 15^50 will demand more because it doesn't need to be modified. For those in this 'investment' speculation market, they will be (hopefully) largely uneffected as the weapons won't be customized. I've encountered people that have literally said "omg you customized your weapon? N00b, you just destroyed it's value. You just wasted a ton of money." These sorta people hopefully won't be effected as much. Ultimately what I'm looking for is a way of getting some of the rarer skinned weapons, with decent mods, into the hands of the more casual players without having to part with their left nut and firstborn.

Evilsod · Jul 01, 2007, 08:07 PM // 20:07

I'd be happy if they just gave Wands/Staffs meaningful customization mods.

+20%... wtf. I haven't even bothered, its so meaningless. Make it HCT/HSR or somet.

Dean Harper · Jul 02, 2007, 12:15 AM // 00:15

customization on foci and shields would be awsome!

/signed

MithranArkanere · Jul 02, 2007, 12:32 AM // 00:32

Yup... as I said the last time they suggested this:

+33% damage instead of 20% to two handed weapons, specially bows, but not staves.
+3 Armor to shields.
+3 energy to foci.
+2 energy to staves instead of 20% damage (not wands, wand would keep the damage bonus).

ShadowbaneX · Jul 02, 2007, 11:02 PM // 23:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by MithranArkanere

Yup... as I said the last time they suggested this:

+33% damage instead of 20% to two handed weapons, specially bows, but not staves.
+3 Armor to shields.
+3 energy to foci.
+2 energy to staves instead of 20% damage (not wands, wand would keep the damage bonus).

Being able to customize off hands is only part of my idea, and, imo, the less part of the idea. Being able to use inscriptions on customized items is more important part of the idea, but customizing the off-hands has to be implimented before you could modify off-hand items.