Curse

Xue Yi Liang · Sep 18, 2005, 06:51 PM // 18:51

There're so many players spending all their time begging for gp and trying to haggle to get the best price on the 13 cloth they're selling it really makes you want to cry sometimes.

Wouldn't it be nice if, at Lion's Arch, Ascalon and Droknar's there was a "Goodwill depot"? Here's how it might work.

Players can donate their "less-than-uber" rare/purple weapons/equipment they might have found. In exchange they get something novel, say, some kind of blessing, a random key, allow access once to UW despite absence of favor, a random rare crafting material (yes. even the small possibility of getting ecto), a random dye etc. (once per day)

The "needy" ppl can go there to get a single random item from the bin(only one per day).

A player cannot both donate and receive in the same day....

#1. If someone is begging for money - tell them "I gave at the office..."
#2. Purple and rare items that aren't "max" or with "max mods" are usually treated like junk. Players can't sell them, nobody wants them - so their existance is really hard to justify since they end up in salvage or with the merchant.

It's not an idea vital to gameplay at all, of course. I just dislike the self-imposed poverty that exists....

anyway - that's just off the top of my head. But this idea might be developed into something more credible ....

Loviatar · Sep 18, 2005, 06:55 PM // 18:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xue Yi Liang

anyway - that's just off the top of my head. But this idea might be developed into something more credible ....

and also at random times the frog would appear and talk a bit and encourage generosity from the people there.

might be a lot of interest putting them together

/nice idea of yours

Xue Yi Liang · Sep 18, 2005, 07:04 PM // 19:04

ooh intriguing idea....
how's this?
a donation has the very small chance of the frog appearing and answering a single question - whether or not it happens is a function of whether said-frog is online and if said-frog feels like answering one of 200+ questions in a day...

ooh! - an even better idea!
each donation puts you in a lottery (every 8 hours around the clock?) for some wonderful item of the developer's choice!
At the time of the drawing there will be a general announcement with the name of the winner and the prize to be received. They can collect at any "Goodwill" station.

ManadartheHealer · Sep 18, 2005, 08:39 PM // 20:39

Make it so that rich players cannot take from the Goodwill Bin, though. Maybe total amount of gold must be <50k or total assets must be <100k (something like that)

Mr Wolfmaster · Sep 18, 2005, 09:23 PM // 21:23

Good idea, it would add a little bit a flavor to the game, plus I know I would deposit plenty of items myself. I donno about some of the rewards, maybe the lottery would be cool.

johnnylange · Sep 18, 2005, 10:24 PM // 22:24

I'd donate if they had something like this.

Pelias · Sep 18, 2005, 10:28 PM // 22:28

I have seen it fully implemented and working in other games. Not worth the hassle.
And I have a feeling that you already found a way to exploit such donation drive, so BIG NO for it.

Eltargrim · Sep 18, 2005, 10:29 PM // 22:29

Manadar has a good idea in restricting it to people in the lower income bracket. You don't see millionares going to Goodwill, now do you?

johnnylange · Sep 18, 2005, 10:33 PM // 22:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eltargrim

You don't see millionares going to Goodwill, now do you?

Only if they're sneaky bastards.

beleg curudin · Sep 18, 2005, 10:40 PM // 22:40

it would be exploited like mad. Weather it be people tranfering all their gold to a second account or whatever, fact is it would be ripped abart by scammers.

Seron Dalar · Sep 18, 2005, 10:41 PM // 22:41

God no. Maybe if there was no reward for donating, but otherwise it justs makes it easier for farmers to get stuff-- even if they didn't farm good items, they can trade them in for those things you said. Then the poor people are stuck with crap they probably don't want which isn't really that good anyway. It'd just widen the gap between rich and poor. Bad idea. Hell, even if there wasn't a reward for donating, it'd just promote laziness. I don't farm, I'm not on six hours a day, but I have perfectly good equipment-- collector's items and Drok's armor, good enough for me. The head and wrapping on my staves aren't perfect, but that extra 15 health I could have isn't going to make a huge difference... it is really not difficult to get perfectly functional stuff. For instance, you could just make a PvP character and you have perfect stuff immediately.

If you're really that heartbroken, then go up to these people and give them a platinum or something. I'm sure they'd be happier than if they received some crappy shield.

Alone) · Sep 19, 2005, 03:10 AM // 03:10

I agree with what Seron says. I feel that most of the people that ask for things are people who haven't gone throughout the whole game and find it a bit easier to get what they want. Isn't that suppose to be part of the whole gaming experience? Work hard for it and you might get it?

Xue Yi Liang · Sep 19, 2005, 03:54 AM // 03:54

Wow.

It's funny how some people think I might be promoting this idea because I'm planning to exploit it in ways untold .... that's a hoot!

I'm not that clever ... and ANet is not that dumb.

Hmm. What about the "lottery" idea as a prize? That can't be exploited, can it?

Oh well....

I just want to get all the beggars off my back that's all. It seems like 30% of the Droknar's local chat is:
A: "will someone please give me 2k for armor/weapon/sigil/FoW armor?"
B: "stop begging and go earn it"
A: "stfu. I need the money"
C: "yeah, go do some quests and stop begging..."
A: "stfu ...."

etc etc

Alone) · Sep 19, 2005, 04:11 AM // 04:11

You'd be surprised by how many people who have money, actually still do begging

No, it's not that we are thinking that you want to exploit. It's a great idea. But reality is that it can be a big problem. I would love to see something like that around to help those who do need it, get the help. But too many people abuse. Just my 2 cents.

johnnylange · Sep 19, 2005, 04:12 AM // 04:12

Nobody can blame you for wanting to help reduce the begger spamming.

I was trying to figure out how is anyone going to expolit the system...buy another account? Sure, but how many are going to spend another $50.00 just to do that? lol. What reward do you get out of it? Well, it's donating...helping people who crossed over to quickly that didn't know any better.

Xue Yi Liang · Sep 19, 2005, 04:55 AM // 04:55

LOL - my motivation isn't charity -

I don't feel sorry for those beggars, not in the least - because it's very easy to make money in the game. Unlike real life, you can't go bankrupt and lose all your possessions. But, like real life, you have to actually work to make money. In my book anyone who begs for gold in a game like GW just doesn't want to put in the time or effort into earning it.

My main motivation is to get those beggars out of the chat. If they're that way in a video game I shudder to think how they conduct themselves in real life ....

d4nowar · Sep 19, 2005, 05:57 AM // 05:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eltargrim

You don't see millionares going to Goodwill, now do you?

How do you think they got to become millionares anyway?

Iras K · Sep 19, 2005, 06:04 AM // 06:04

The problem is: Give money to the homeless, help him stay homeless.

I've never asked for gold, I have enough to have whatever I need or want and all I do was to keep playing harder.

May be I got lucky and got a lot of gold when the market was more explotable. However, the game is much balanced now and there's no excuse that you can't have an uber Green item for say 10k? pfff. That's like a few days of farming and crafting whatever you get.

Vangor · Sep 19, 2005, 06:30 AM // 06:30

Unfortunately I see no direct way to allow this while not removing the exploitable nature of it, since the way the game is, gaining money is not an impossibility, I think you can buy starter weapons for 0 gold, so even if a Warrior you have a way to remove opponents.

Then again, adding in a roleplaying aspect, a fund for rebuilding Ascalon and protection of the lands would be nice to include, adding in a randomized drawing based on percieved gold value (notice, items cost which are not delved, will be above normal value of the actual gold itself, just a thought so that people do not simply identify and decide what to throw away), including in actual gold given. This randomization gives an item of no true value other than aesthetic, not sure what, but, I'm sure someone cna think of it. Winning requires luck, but also the more you give, the better your chances to win, every say 500g is another "chance", this means if you give 5k to the charity for rebuilding, you have 10 chances, now someone can give 50k for 100 chances, but, it is essentially just a drawing, the person who gets 1 chance may win it off that one.

In other words, designed to be just a big money sink for stupid items you cannot get outside of this and cannot be given over. Perhaps some other value of it, but really, cannot see any way to actually stop beggars, unless better items are sold/crafted and are cheaper based on the value of money given to this charity, so if everyone gave a total of say 1 million gold, which I would say is probably low for perhaps a drawing every two days, then people without as much money can craft their non-15k armor for cheaper, buy their materials and weapons for cheaper if they need, maybe add in something like low upgrades and what not to them.

This way, it reduces beggars because now, the only equipment which is actually necessary to be sold in trade is stuff which is above what is already some pretty good equipment, dependant upon where you are. You'll never get a great item for low cost, but, I think the craftable equipment needs to be upped a bit with regards to held items, perhaps an overall increase in these items needs to be on the drawing board anyway, I mean I had a 6-28 8req axe since before I got to Lion's Arch, I still use it and mod it.