Runecrafter's Salvage-o-Matic was not a good idea

[Rikimaru.7890]

Technically this whole rune salvaging was a bad idea or at least how it works, but this thing is good for nothing.

Personally I will never buy it because I have absolutely 0 use for it, since I have an Endless Upgrade Extractor, so I can extract all the upgrades that drop for me and then sell/salvage them all I want. **Now I may be bragging right now, but there would obviously someone in the comments saying things like "jelous?" "never say never" and "why do you have no use for it?" So I'm just getting that part out of the way.**

 

Right so why was it a bad idea? Let's start with this:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qLrFPcTJeoM-QvYl49OwgEXHwfHVN_-R4aSKopr98xk/edit#gid=946737751

Now I know some of you have already seen this, but for those that didn't or didn't fully understand let me explain what it means.

**In simple terms there is only 1 type of gear it's worth using on i.e. Masterwork gear containing upgrades.**

Yes I know there are also <68 level rare and exotic gear types of gear, but they don't count.

Why? **Well how often do you get those?** Once you are level 80 most drops are level 75-80 regardless of where you go, so <68 level are about as common as precursor drops.

And why should you not use it on 68> level rare/exotic gear? **Because they drop ecto** and when salvaged with Mystic or Silver-Fed Salvage-o-Matic you get like 66% chance to get some.

As for masterwork gear salvaging them with Runecrafter's Salvage-o-Matic is rarely worth it. Most of the time you lose money when using it instead of the Copper-Fed Salvage-o-Matic.

Lucent motes are currently worth 10 copper, so with 30 copper per salvage you lose 17 copper per salvaged item. **17 because Copper-Fed Salvage-o-Matic requires 3 copper per salvage itself. Also masterwork upgrades only drop 1 Lucent Mote per salvage so there are no alternative values. Of course if you get a Charm** or **Symbol** then it's worth it, but with an average 2% chance from masterwork upgrades, well good luck with that. Not to mention the fact their value is dropping too, and on that note let's move on to the most important part.

 

**The Runecrafter's Salvage-o-Matic is it's own undoing.**

You see the more players have it the more common become Charms, Symbols and Lucent Mote drops. **And the more common they are the less valuable they become.**

**The Symbol of Control for example in now worth only 1/3 of what it used to.** I'm not saying that is a bad thing, but the point here is whether or not the Runecrafter's Salvage-o-Matic is worth having. Well seeing how it is it's own worst enemy not really. There may actually be a time when using it will cost more than what you get for it, like if all charms and symbols drop below 20 silver each.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

Not that I own a Runecrafter's Salvage Kit, or use one, or would wish to, but, just saying, <68 Rares aren't as rare as you may think. Many players, as I do, open all Champion Bags on a lower-level alt, thus receiving quite a few of said Rares.

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

The evidence posted above doesn't support the conclusions, mostly because it leaves out several other variables.

In brief, the Runecrafter's Kit is a good, if not great addition to the game.

 

To say it's a bad idea is like saying the Silver-Fed is a bad idea because people will use it to salvage more rares driving the price down and making it harder to recoup the costs.

 

I will say: I am pleased I decided to get one early rather than wait for it to be sold at a discount in the future. I have found it quite convenient and profitable for the way I play. It would be even better for me if I farmed more often.

 

****

Regarding which kit is best:

 

The Runecrafter's is worth using on _any_ gear with upgrades. It's more efficient on two types of gear: masterwork with upgrades and sub-L68 rares with upgrades. There's a fraction of masterwork & sub-L68 gear without upgrades that is more efficiently salvaged with basic/copper-fed, along with fine. However, it's not _bad_ to use RC on those, just less profitable.

 

For exotics, there is no salvage kit that should be used on them at all, except if they contain an upgrade worth more than 1g. So nearly all exotics are efficiently sold on the TP rather than salvaged.

 

For L68+ rares, the Mystic Kit is the most efficient. But again, RC isn't bad. And under some circumstances, it pays off better than Silver-Fed for ecto-bearing rares with upgrades.

 

That leaves salvage items, which aren't common for typical players. For most people, even heavy farmers, the Basic/Copper-Fed is best suited. However, since these stack, selling on the TP is often a good option too.

 

****

Regarding the downward trend in charms & symbols.

 

First, we can't say if this is good or bad. It's reduces costs of making runes; it's less profitable for people who sell all their loot. Objectively, both those have value to most players at some point in the game.

 

Second, we can say that it was inevitable that the market would change, because of supply & demand changes, not just RC being a good source of salvaged upgrades. Immediately after any market disruption, we have people who try to speculate, people who haven't recognized the economic impact, and people who just aren't paying attention to what gets "deposited/all." No one knows if the drop rates are high yet, if the total faucet is high, and especially no one knows how big the demand will be. Whatever the market was in the first month, it was bound to change.

 

Thirdly, we can't say what we think ANet hoped to see as equilibrium prices. Did they want these symbols & charms to be worth gold? Tens of silver? or only copper? We can make some educated guesses based on the prices we see and refine predictions when LS4.6 launches (with presumably another iteration of item/recipe/stats). We just don't have any real insight into how they view the economy these days.

 

Finally, we can't even say how many are entering the economy because biggest fraction of players let their banks fill with mats before they consider posting on the TP. Maybe a lot of players don't bother selling their charms or symbols unless they are offered gold. Maybe people choose not to buy if these cost gold, and just use the ones they have in inventory.

 

In short, we can't make any useful statement about whether the trend of prices.

[Khisanth.2948]

If nothing else I think it is good that they added a cheaper unlimited use salvage kit for the people that do not own either of the others yet.

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

> @"Khisanth.2948" said:

> If nothing else I think it is good that they added a cheaper unlimited use salvage kit for the people that do not own either of the others yet.

 

I agree. RC is a really good choice if you don't already own either of the O-Matics

[phs.6089]

I might be wrong but I feel like charm and symbol drops were slightly increased. I don't own RC as I have Cooper and Silver.

Usually I salve greens with Cooper and I really feel charm and symbol drop are better, way better then they were.

[DanAlcedo.3281]

Did it made lots of money for anet?

Yes.

 

Not a bad idea then.

[jwaz.1908]

> @"DanAlcedo.3281" said:

> Did it made lots of money for anet?

> Yes.

>

> Not a bad idea then.

 

One could argue it's a pay to win item since it gives you an in-game advantage, not just convenience. However I'm still glad they introduced it, since I personally don't own a silver-fed salvage-o-matic.

 

Edit: One way to nullify the 'pay to win' aspect though could be to add a limited use salvage kit with equal ability for an in-game currency, perhaps a volatile magic sink?

[ArchonWing.9480]

Buying gem store items for value has never been a good idea. (Probably good it stays as such. If it is too effective, it's effectively mandatory.) . You buy it for convenience or because you can because you have nothing better to do with your gold. If you want gold, just buy festival related items and wait a few months to sell them instead of trying to squeeze whatever tiny value you can from greens.

 

Also paragraphs, please.

[Danikat.8537]

It's difficult to say exactly what impact the Runecrafter's kit had on the price of charms, symbols and motes because they were very new when it was added and the price hadn't stabilised yet. Looking at the prices for the charms and symbols only the Charm of Brilliance and Symbol of Enhancement show a noticeable drop in price when the Runecrafter's kit was released on the 1st January, and in both cases that's balancing out an increase in price 2 weeks earlier.

 

In all cases it probably helps (or in terms of making a profit from them hurt) that runes and sigils were so numerous and in almost all cases extremely cheap, so it's going to take a long time before it's really worth crafting them over buying them and by then the crafting materials for all of them should be common enough to meet demand. That's probably why we didn't see the normal spike in price shortly after they were released, followed by a gradual drop off. Instead prices appear to be stabilising much more quickly.

[phs.6089]

> @"jwaz.1908" said:

> > @"DanAlcedo.3281" said:

> > Did it made lots of money for anet?

> > Yes.

> >

> > Not a bad idea then.

>

> One could argue it's a pay to win item since it gives you an in-game advantage, not just convenience. However I'm still glad they introduced it, since I personally don't own a silver-fed salvage-o-matic.

>

> Edit: One way to nullify the 'pay to win' aspect though could be to add a limited use salvage kit with equal ability for an in-game currency, perhaps a volatile magic sink?

 

What exactly do you 'win'? It gets you more stats on gear? More abilities to use on toons? Gives something I have to grind for mounts? Define I wanna win too.

[LucianDK.8615]

Theres absolutely no pay 2 win here. Its only conivience, nothing more.

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

> @"LucianDK.8615" said:

> Theres absolutely no pay 2 win here. Its only conivience, nothing more.

 

Unlike the O-matic kits, there isn't any affordable alternative available outside the gem shop. Copper-Fed has the basic kit; Silver-Fed has the Master's or Mystic. But there are no kits in the game that salvage an item with a guarantee that they also salvage any upgrades.

 

So it's more than a convenience item.

 

All the same, pay-to-win isn't accurate either, because owning the kit doesn't mean you "win"; the amount of salvaging you have to do to break even on the RC is freakishly high, to the point that most people will lose money relative to converting the same gems to gold.