Is the New Snowflake Gobbler going to impact the economy within the game?

[Criminal.5627]

Is having a gem store item that grants potentially useful items that are valued higher than the 5 snow flakes that it takes to generate the item a bit risky for a gem store/pay to gain piece of gear? This allows the recycling of what some players also consider "junk" items back into a system that could, all-be-it very rarely, reward them with an Item worth upwards and exceeding 200g. There is implication that shelling out 150g in gems (or purchasing gems) could potentially net you more gold than not. While this might not necessarily be pay to win, it is coming awfully close isn't it?

[Randulf.7614]

What does it give that the other gobblers - ascended mats, candy corn, karma, wvw tokens etc, don;t give?

[Criminal.5627]

> @"Randulf.7614" said:

> What does it give that the other gobblers - ascended mats, candy corn, karma, wvw tokens etc, don;t give?

 

it gives a lootbox that can be posted in the TP as well as access to rare seasonal items at any time of the year, the winter's day gifts it also generates goes up in value as any holiday lootbox does later in the year when people are reminiscing as they all have every year for every holiday. The other gobblers don't create items that can be sold on the TP or at the very least at a less than cost value, this would be different if it was say 25 snowflakes per use.

 

Update: I checked out of all of the other gobblers, not one generates a Lootbox that can be posted on the TP directly related to a time-gated content with the exception of [Generosity's Reward](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Generosity%27s_Reward) from the [star of Gratitude](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Star_of_Gratitude)giving a [Dusty Box of Winter Clothes](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Dusty_Box_of_Winter_Clothes) which contains one winter's day gift. The star of gratitude however, unlike the [snowflake Gobbler](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Snowflake_Gobbler) is limited to 5 or less uses in a day and the drop of a dusty box of winter clothes is not a guaranteed drop every day even if you get all 5 uses.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

What loot box? I looked through the contents of Wintersday Gifts, and other than Super Rare Infusions, I don't see anything especially valuable.

The Gobbler either gives a Wintersday Gift or a Boost.

[Hashberry.4510]

And halloween bags have an unlimited supply from maize balm. The economy seems to be big enough to absorb it.

[Eloc Freidon.5692]

If anything it will stabilize just like Candy Corn with its gobbler. The only difference is that there is no snowflake node for the home.

[Cyninja.2954]

> @"Criminal.5627" said:

> Is having a gem store item that grants potentially useful items that are valued higher than the 5 snow flakes that it takes to generate the item a bit risky for a gem store/pay to gain piece of gear? This allows the recycling of what some players also consider "junk" items back into a system that could, all-be-it very rarely, reward them with an Item worth upwards and exceeding 200g. There is implication that shelling out 150g in gems (or purchasing gems) could potentially net you more gold than not. While this might not necessarily be pay to win, it is coming awfully close isn't it?

 

You are making 1 grave mistake: you are not accounting for the cost of Snowflakes in the "use" calculation.

 

Snowflakes are not free. You are also subject to 2 conversions:

- first from snowflakes to Wintersday Gift (which are available via other methods too btw, even a home node)

- then from Wintersday Gift to rare or super rare drop

 

The only effect which will occur is:

- Snowflake price might adapt to the general usage of the gobbler outside of Wintersday. Likely higher than conversion into rare/super rare drops since the buff is of actual use in WvW and Spvp for reward track progress

 

**TL;DR**:

Since the use of the gobbler is not free, the market can and will adapt and likely not in a favorable way to make money off of the gobbler.

[Danikat.8537]

Here's a few other points to consider, in addition to all the ones discussed above.

 

Wintersday gifts are already available all year round from the Wintersday tree 'node' in the home instance. That's only 1 per day per player, but it's still a supply entering the game all through the year. (Also the price doesn't go up much, I sell mine every day throughout the year and the price has never gotten above 8s, compared to just over 4s now.)

 

Also the snowflake gobbler is not guaranteed to give a gift. I'm not sure about the drop rate of gifts vs. boosts but it's not as simple as '5 snowflakes = 1 gift' and might well be closer to the 25 snowflake per gift rate which is apparently acceptable to you.

 

And as mentioned there is no year-round supply of snowflakes _except_ Wintersday gifts from the home instance node. So you either have to farm enough snowflakes during Wintersday to last through the year, buy them from the TP (and the price will go up, especially with people using the gobbler) or open the gifts and hope you at least break even.

[Randulf.7614]

> @"Danikat.8537" said:

> Here's a few other points to consider, in addition to all the ones discussed above.

>

> Wintersday gifts are already available all year round from the Wintersday tree 'node' in the home instance. That's only 1 per day per player, but it's still a supply entering the game all through the year. (Also the price doesn't go up much, I sell mine every day throughout the year and the price has never gotten above 8s, compared to just over 4s now.)

>

> Also the snowflake gobbler is not guaranteed to give a gift. I'm not sure about the drop rate of gifts vs. boosts but it's not as simple as '5 snowflakes = 1 gift' and might well be closer to the 25 snowflake per gift rate which is apparently acceptable to you.

>

> And as mentioned there is no year-round supply of snowflakes _except_ Wintersday gifts from the home instance node. So you either have to farm enough snowflakes during Wintersday to last through the year, buy them from the TP (and the price will go up, especially with people using the gobbler) or open the gifts and hope you at least break even.

 

Snowflake harvesting tools generate snowflakes all year round as an fyi

[Danikat.8537]

> @"Randulf.7614" said:

> > @"Danikat.8537" said:

> > Here's a few other points to consider, in addition to all the ones discussed above.

> >

> > Wintersday gifts are already available all year round from the Wintersday tree 'node' in the home instance. That's only 1 per day per player, but it's still a supply entering the game all through the year. (Also the price doesn't go up much, I sell mine every day throughout the year and the price has never gotten above 8s, compared to just over 4s now.)

> >

> > Also the snowflake gobbler is not guaranteed to give a gift. I'm not sure about the drop rate of gifts vs. boosts but it's not as simple as '5 snowflakes = 1 gift' and might well be closer to the 25 snowflake per gift rate which is apparently acceptable to you.

> >

> > And as mentioned there is no year-round supply of snowflakes _except_ Wintersday gifts from the home instance node. So you either have to farm enough snowflakes during Wintersday to last through the year, buy them from the TP (and the price will go up, especially with people using the gobbler) or open the gifts and hope you at least break even.

>

> Snowflake harvesting tools generate snowflakes all year round as an fyi

 

Thanks. :)

 

I blocked those from my memory after finally getting rid of the last of literally hundreds I had in the bank.

[Ashantara.8731]

> @"Randulf.7614" said:

> Snowflake harvesting tools generate snowflakes all year round as an fyi

 

What? :o Where do I get those?? If you told me the exact name, I could look them up - thanks!

 

Edit - Found it: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Frostbitten_Orichalcum_Harvesting_Sickle

Too bad they are not of unlimited uses. :/

[Randulf.7614]

> @"Ashantara.8731" said:

> > @"Randulf.7614" said:

> > Snowflake harvesting tools generate snowflakes all year round as an fyi

>

> What? :o Where do I get those?? If you told me the exact name, I could look them up - thanks!

>

> Edit - Found it: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Frostbitten_Orichalcum_Harvesting_Sickle

> Too bad they are not of unlimited uses. :/

 

I bought 2 years worth of the random tool box a couple of years back for the toons who aren't equipped with unlimited toons. Saves me buying gems as well

[Criminal.5627]

and the gobbler got nerfed, went from unlimited uses to now only allowing you to use it up until the buff it gives reaches 24 hours, kinda expected some kind of cap to be added. Yay economic knowledge!

[Hashberry.4510]

> @"Criminal.5627" said:

> and the gobbler got nerfed, went from unlimited uses to now only allowing you to use it up until the buff it gives reaches 24 hours, kinda expected some kind of cap to be added. Yay economic knowledge!

 

24 hours is pretty convenient.

[Infusion.7149]

At ~1silver per snowflake you're probably going not going to even break even since gifts generally don't go over 8 silvers and I doubt it is 50% chance...

Given the gem cost and the use is mostly for PvP/WvW reward track gain, I wouldn't worry too much