More ways to obtain Spirit Shards and Laurels

[Swagger.1459]

I enjoy making Ascended gears, and experimenting with different builds, but I always come to a stop gate during the process... Soooooo… What I'd like to propose is to offer Spirit Shards and Laurels for purchase with gold on a 1 gold for 1 Spirit Shard or Laurel basis without restriction.

 

I feel this would be more than fair and balanced considering the QoL time savings and lack of Ascended trinket and infusion crafting... This also serves as a needed gold sink for the game.

 

TY for reading!

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

As a veteran, how is it that you are running short on spirit shards?

 

I ask because, I've tried to spend them and haven't managed it. For example, during the pre-HoT drought, when we **did not** get shards from XP (masteries maxed or not), and just got them from the same random sources we have now (rare foe drop, rare drop from champ bags, etc), I spent about 500-600 shards per week for about 2 months and I still couldn't get rid of the backlog. Since the change to allow shards from XP (if you've maxed masteries), I've spent shards for promotions and stat swaps and so on. I simply can't find any thing that eats shards enough to worry about running out.

 

There are lots of existing sources, including: HoT currency (via the Ley-Energy Matter Converter -- purchase the [bag of Educational Supplies](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Bag_of_Educational_Supplies)). Also guild currency: Sigurlina sells the same container.

 

****

For laurels, that's an easier question to answer: it's unlikely to happen. There are simply some currencies that ANet intends to remain limited.

 

 

[Ayakaru.6583]

I don't even know what to do with my tons of spirit shards.

But they shouldn't adjust the laurels.

Only reduce them if necessary. They control a lot more of the market flow than you can imagine, like crafting materials

[Khisanth.2948]

If they are going to do that I rather they just streamline things. Convert everything that cost either those to their gold cost. Everything that gives either of those to their gold value and eliminate two redundant currencies.

 

Edit: but none of this is going to happen because laurels are designed to be timegated and spirit shards are already on the biggest source of stuff, any mob that can drop stuff can also drop the shards as long as you are on a lv80 character.

[Turkeyspit.3965]

The problem is that Laurels and Shards can be used in Mystic Clover production, and I doubt ANET has any desire to expedite anyone's acquisition of those materials.

[Ashantara.8731]

> @"Illconceived Was Na.9781" said:

> As a veteran, how is it that you are running short on spirit shards?

 

I constantly used to run out of Spirit Shards from crafting legendaries, ascended gear and what not. My biggest Spirit Shard sink, however, has been the changing of ascended gear stats due to frequent meta build changes.

[Swagger.1459]

> @"Illconceived Was Na.9781" said:

> As a veteran, how is it that you are running short on spirit shards?

>

> I ask because, I've tried to spend them and haven't managed it. For example, during the pre-HoT drought, when we **did not** get shards from XP (masteries maxed or not), and just got them from the same random sources we have now (rare foe drop, rare drop from champ bags, etc), I spent about 500-600 shards per week for about 2 months and I still couldn't get rid of the backlog. Since the change to allow shards from XP (if you've maxed masteries), I've spent shards for promotions and stat swaps and so on. I simply can't find any thing that eats shards enough to worry about running out.

>

> There are lots of existing sources, including: HoT currency (via the Ley-Energy Matter Converter -- purchase the [bag of Educational Supplies](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Bag_of_Educational_Supplies)). Also guild currency: Sigurlina sells the same container.

>

> ****

> For laurels, that's an easier question to answer: it's unlikely to happen. There are simply some currencies that ANet intends to remain limited.

>

>

 

I make lots of gear to test and run different gear sets and builds. I'm trying to kit out each profession with various sets of weapons, armors, trinkets and infusions.

 

[Swagger.1459]

> @"Turkeyspit.3965" said:

> The problem is that Laurels and Shards can be used in Mystic Clover production, and I doubt ANET has any desire to expedite anyone's acquisition of those materials.

 

And what would be wrong with someone burning a ton extra gold to help get Mystic Clovers components?

[Turkeyspit.3965]

> @"Swagger.1459" said:

> > @"Turkeyspit.3965" said:

> > The problem is that Laurels and Shards can be used in Mystic Clover production, and I doubt ANET has any desire to expedite anyone's acquisition of those materials.

>

> And what would be wrong with someone burning a ton extra gold to help get Mystic Clovers components?

 

Ask ANET. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Ayakaru.6583]

> @"Swagger.1459" said:

> > @"Turkeyspit.3965" said:

> > The problem is that Laurels and Shards can be used in Mystic Clover production, and I doubt ANET has any desire to expedite anyone's acquisition of those materials.

>

> And what would be wrong with someone burning a ton extra gold to help get Mystic Clovers components?

 

If anything, it'd thin out the gold sink making gems cheaper again ;

[Kalendraf.9521]

Too bad we can't sell them on the TP. I'd happily sell most of my 8000+ spirit shards and maybe a some of my 2000+ laurels as well.

[Ayakaru.6583]

> @"Kalendraf.9521" said:

> Too bad we can't sell them on the TP. I'd happily sell most of my 8000+ spirit shards and maybe a some of my 2000+ laurels as well.

 

Just buy 2000 t4 or t6 crafting bags, then. You'll be a millionaire instantaneously

[Hesacon.8735]

I have over 10,000 spirit shards and I can barely spend them. I get clovers from wvw so my only use in shards is turning T5 materials into T6 materials, which barely burns any.

 

If I had more laurels, I'd just buy more T3 and T4 materials.

[Lahmia.2193]


 

Play more WvW.

[Obtena.7952]

I'm in the same boat ... playing my but off to get more Shards ... I need 180 to complete some armor I want to try. I would buy them, no problem. Instead I'm running around BFF chaining meta events.

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

> @"Ashantara.8731" said:

> I constantly used to run out of Spirit Shards from crafting legendaries, ascended gear and what not. My biggest Spirit Shard sink, however, has been the changing of ascended gear stats due to frequent meta build changes.

 

> @"Swagger.1459" said:

> I make lots of gear to test and run different gear sets and builds. I'm trying to kit out each profession with various sets of weapons, armors, trinkets and infusions.

 

I completely accept your word that you are running low. I accept that you're spending them right & left. The reason I'm asking is that I feel like my spending is really high compared to a lot of people and my wallet supply is still growing. There's some disconnect happening somewhere in comparing our experiences; I'm trying to understand.

 

A single legendary requires less than 400 shards. A complete gear stat overhaul (6 armor, 8 weapons to include alt swaps) takes fewer than 300. What the heck are you guys doing that you still run out? For legendaries, I would run out of gifts of exploration long before I cap on shards. For stat transformation, I'm sure my "a lot" is less than yours. But none of it has made a dent in my "backlog" of shards; they still keep accumulating.

 

 

[Ashantara.8731]

> @"Illconceived Was Na.9781" said:

> I completely accept your word that you are running low. I accept that you're spending them right & left. The reason I'm asking is that I feel like my spending is really high compared to a lot of people and my wallet supply is still growing.

 

I should have mentioned that I have 13 level 80 characters, all equipped with ascended gear for a variety of builds. ;)

[sostronk.8167]

Get yourself legendary armor. Stat change whenever you want at no cost.

[Swagger.1459]

> @"Illconceived Was Na.9781" said:

> > @"Ashantara.8731" said:

> > I constantly used to run out of Spirit Shards from crafting legendaries, ascended gear and what not. My biggest Spirit Shard sink, however, has been the changing of ascended gear stats due to frequent meta build changes.

>

> > @"Swagger.1459" said:

> > I make lots of gear to test and run different gear sets and builds. I'm trying to kit out each profession with various sets of weapons, armors, trinkets and infusions.

>

> I completely accept your word that you are running low. I accept that you're spending them right & left. The reason I'm asking is that I feel like my spending is really high compared to a lot of people and my wallet supply is still growing. There's some disconnect happening somewhere in comparing our experiences; I'm trying to understand.

>

> A single legendary requires less than 400 shards. A complete gear stat overhaul (6 armor, 8 weapons to include alt swaps) takes fewer than 300. What the heck are you guys doing that you still run out? For legendaries, I would run out of gifts of exploration long before I cap on shards. For stat transformation, I'm sure my "a lot" is less than yours. But none of it has made a dent in my "backlog" of shards; they still keep accumulating.

>

>

 

I just added up all my gear... I currently have 490 pieces of ascended gear across 14 characters... That averages out to 35 and is equivalent to 2 full gear sets per character... Most were crafted btw.

 

Let’s go with 400 pieces of crafted Ascended for the sake of arguing the amount of Spirit Shards... I would have spent 8k Spirit Shards crafting my ascended gears. 7 crafted legendaries is 1.4k shards. Legendary armor is 300 shards. Warbringer 60 shards. Aurora 200 shards... Close to 10k Spirit Shards used for gear creation.

 

There are a lot of gear combos and it’s fun to test on live. I prefer characters be at the ready too, so I can swap on the fly... I know not everyone does this with gearing up, but for players like me the idea would be a great QoL improvement.

 

 

Edit- Laurel stuff... Lets go 490 pieces of Ascended, minus 20 underwater Ascended breathers, minus 28 Ascended amulets... and add in my 21 pieces of Legendary gear... So we are doing 463 Ascended pieces with 1 WvW Infusion per piece for this equation (Yes I did buy some, but very few, with Skirmish Tickets)… I would need to spend 2,315 Laurels to get 1 WvW infusion per piece. Log-in rewards give a max 55 per month (old log-in system was 40 per month). It would take almost 42 months, or 3.6 years, to have enough Laurels to purchase the WvW infusions for this scenario.

 

 

[Strider Pj.2193]

> @"Illconceived Was Na.9781" said:

> > @"Ashantara.8731" said:

> > I constantly used to run out of Spirit Shards from crafting legendaries, ascended gear and what not. My biggest Spirit Shard sink, however, has been the changing of ascended gear stats due to frequent meta build changes.

>

> > @"Swagger.1459" said:

> > I make lots of gear to test and run different gear sets and builds. I'm trying to kit out each profession with various sets of weapons, armors, trinkets and infusions.

>

> I completely accept your word that you are running low. I accept that you're spending them right & left. The reason I'm asking is that I feel like my spending is really high compared to a lot of people and my wallet supply is still growing. There's some disconnect happening somewhere in comparing our experiences; I'm trying to understand.

>

> A single legendary requires less than 400 shards. A complete gear stat overhaul (6 armor, 8 weapons to include alt swaps) takes fewer than 300. What the heck are you guys doing that you still run out? For legendaries, I would run out of gifts of exploration long before I cap on shards. For stat transformation, I'm sure my "a lot" is less than yours. But none of it has made a dent in my "backlog" of shards; they still keep accumulating.

>

>

For me it’s a combination of legendaries, stat swapping and legendary WvW armor. It’s 900 shards (at least) for legendary armor. Not including clover creation.