Posts by Captain Krompdown

  • What is a PC? Philosophy to calm everyone down - hopefully :)

    Have to agree with my brother on this one (both about what he said and about not making it through the first post...I'll work on that!).

    The PC forum has always been a cesspool of market manipulation (in whatever direction benefits the currently powerful "gurus") and has never born much resemblance to what is actually possible.

    I think that information about actual sales of similar items (price, when the sale was made) is useful, but only for loose reference. I suppose that information about non-sales of similar items (e.g., "One of those has been for sale on legacy for XXXe for the last 2 weeks and nobody's taken it.") is also useful.

    Unfortunately, what often happen on PC threads is that people don't talk in facts. They talk in terms of their own beliefs about what an item should be worth. That is most often pointless. And sometimes they go one step further and argue about whose version of "should" is right. That is useless. If we are going to say that there is a market for an item, then there very well may also be segments to that market -- some potential customers who are only willing to pay a certain amount and other potential customers that may be willing to pay much more. Even the most benevolent PCer may only be familiar with one or another segment of the market.

    That is why, IMO, the only useful info that can come from a PC thread is factual information about recent (non-)sales of similar items. But even that needs to be taken with a large grain of salt. That information is just as much about the seller's skill and determination as it is about the value of an item on the market.

  • Heavy shields (Req 13 Str)

    Quote from MaxBorken

    There are three heavy shields on their way to you via Kabong, old chap.

    Got them -- thank you, Max! This one in particular is a thing of beauty:

    NRQsd4I.jpg


    Lauren, thanks for letting me know about your shield. For now, though, I'm going to steer clear of tactics shields. As you can imagine, shields that require me to think in order to use them aren't compatible with my general approach. What happens if I do all that thinking and the shield doesn't agree with me? Do we fight? Do I need a shield to protect me from this shield that thinks it's so smart? I don't know and I don't like where this is headed. It just seems more complicated than it needs to be. Let's stick to strength shields.

  • Heavy shields (Req 13 Str)

    Human cultural traditions are littered with stories of powerful artifacts that require greatness from the heroes and gods destined to wield them. Excalibur and Mjolnir are just two examples. These items, although impossible to use for most, rewarded those capable of wielding them with great power. In my particular case, I was blessed with both the temperament and physical attributes that made extreme anger-fighting a natural fit. Relying almost exclusively on rage, brute strength, and confrontational posturing, I have survived for more than 18 years in the Guild Wars universe.

    With this in mind, I'd like to buy (or, more precisely, have O Kabongolina O buy for me) the following:

    Req 13 Str shields

    • You may have trouble lifting these extraordinarily massive shields. Feel free to call Kabong over to inspect. He has specialized equipment that he can use to manipulate the item and transport it, if a deal is reached.
    • Although I'm interested in all perfectly dual-modded shields, I prefer shields with perfect mods such as 30/-2 (stance), +45/-2 (stance), 30/-5(20) or older variants including -2(10%) and -3(10%), and dual reduction shields (-2/-2 or -2/-3). Some attribute (30/+1(20%)) and 30/+10 shields may also be interesting, depending on the attribute/second mod. Even certain condition shields may pique my interest. Enchantments will only be tolerated if they would allow me to complete a set.
    • Again, please do not try to move these shields yourself, especially if you are a monk, elementalist, mesmer, or otherwise incapacitated.
    • I will be happy to demonstrate proper usage of your item, if a deal is reached. Please don't ask me things like "How do you use this thing?". There will be time for that after our business is finished. Also, please do not ask Kabong to demonstrate. He needs two hands just to use low-requirement hammers.

  • Crystalline swords, what makes them wanted

    Quote from Pleikki

    didnt imy have it before dwa or am i remembering completely wrong.

    This is something like standing in the Louvre and asking if the nazis had stolen this piece during WWII. (Please understand that I'm not comparing Imy with nazis!) I guess it's a matter of historical record but the fact that the question needs to be asked only serves to highlight the vital function of the museum.

    There's a lot of bull$hit out there and items of this quality are often in the middle of it. In the process, they often end up banned or with some idiot/child's name scrawled across them.

    They deserve better.

  • Crystalline swords, what makes them wanted

    I founded [PhD] more than a decade ago. In that time, one of the things that has made our little guild unique in the Guild Wars universe is the number of unprovoked public attacks made by people who don't know better, who can't wrap their heads around how what we do is even possible, or who are simply jealous.

    There are 3 +5e crystallines in existence. 2 of them are resting in [PhD]. The fact that this is not surprising is too much for some people to handle. I think jealousy is natural but might be tempered if people like Sight Seeing understood the mission of the guild a little better. Being in [PhD] isn't about being rich. [PhD] is about preserving the history of the game, as manifested in its items [1]. This is why I argue against customization of items of a certain quality and why, over the years, people have decided that certain museum-quality items belong in the [PhD] gallery. It's not about gaining individual glory. It's about preserving and celebrating the beauty of this world, which we all enjoy so much. This is also why so many people came out of the woodwork to help Kabong on his recent pursuit of green hammers. So, fortunately, one of the other things that makes [PhD] unique in the Guild Wars universe is the amount of support and appreciation that people have for our mission. This is just part of the beauty of this world and part of what keeps us going, and we are grateful [2].

    Both of those swords arrived the old fashioned way [3]. Some find this fact incomprehensible, especially given the rampant cheating that has been part of the game for so long. Not only has [PhD] committed itself to doing what many consider to be impossible, but we also actually get the job done. Repeatedly. For more than a decade.

    I used to take these attacks seriously.

    I don't anymore.

    Move along, nothing to see.

    Don't feed the trolls.

    io7YmGp.jpg

    :thumbup:

    [1] There is more to say about this, especially regarding how Max's work has helped to preserve the community and, in the process, the game itself in ways that are much more concrete and effective than celebrating pretty pixels.

    [2] The fact that so many people have donated items or have specifically wanted to trade/sell their items to members of [PhD] points to something even bigger. Guild Wars is a world that people love and want to preserve and protect. That is the strongest possible testament to the beauty of this game. If our guild's mission means anything to anyone, it's only because of the brilliant work of the game's developers.

    [3] I still miss the items I traded for the +5e crys that's on my account. I won't list the items here because 1) I don't think it would change anybody's mind about anything, 2) it would read like some kind of humble brag and this really isn't about me, and 3) I regret having to trade those items to someone who was an obvious cheater. Glazen never deserved to hold those items but it was a necessary evil in order to preserve the sword. The items that I traded were each sufficient to be the crown jewel in almost anyone's collection and I hope that they have all found safe, deserving homes. Sometimes tough choices need to be made when you don't have unlimited (or credit csrd fueled) resources.

  • Crystalline swords, what makes them wanted

    Crystalline swords are like BMWs. It's a poor person's rich person's car. If you don't know better, you feel like this is as good as it gets. You have to work to afford one, but it's accessible. Once you have one, you've gained the ability to show off in some conventional way that is popular among a certain (large) crowd.

    I think what you need to understand about crystallines is that they were never that rare. There was a neverending supply of them coming from HoH and, at some point, a chest. If you watched the game notifications and knew the game at all, you knew exactly who was getting their chance at a new crystalline sword and you knew exactly when it was happening. Customization has something to do with the state of the crystalline market but there aren't more of them around because people have stopped playing, often involuntarily. Many of the people who were good enough at the game to gain direct access to crystalline swords and who were rich enough to hoard/collect them also cheated miserably and have been (rightfully) banned.

    I've owned several high-quality crystallines but have always used them to trade for items that I consider more interesting. There's only one that I've ever bothered to hold onto. It's one of the +5 energy crystallines, which makes it a true relic, in my mind.

  • Underappreciated items

    @ Looney: I'm with you -- I've always also been a fan of the bronze shield. I'd love to have one (either very heavy or very light) with some stance mods on it (WTB!). Definitely an underrated skin imo.

    @ Emma: Sorry, I think I misspoke. I just meant that you couldn't get those mods on that skin with an inscribable warlord shield. I'll edit -- thanks for catching that. Nice to learn you're a fellow Reefclaw's refugee! :)

  • Underappreciated items

    You know me. I hate your inscribable bull$hit. Your unique green horsecrap is second on my list of your stuff that I can't stand. You and your children's toys are a disgrace to the game. You should be food for an Iboga. Seriously, what are you doing with your life?

    Having said that, I logged into a second warrior that I hatched to play through some content with Lady Kromp. I decided to play her au naturale (I mean the warrior, not Lady Kromp, although I do also play Lady Kromp au naturale If youknow whatI'm saying). This character wouldn't have access to any of my previously accumulated items or funds and would have to work with what she got in drops and what she could buy with whatever gold she could scrounge. It's been a while since Lady Kromp and I have played, so when I logged into this character, I was surprised to see that she was using what looked like a Summit Warlord Shield. Had I broken down and given her an item from my vault? Did I give in and buy an inscribable POS for her?

    It turns out that she was carrying Reefclaw's Refuge. I looked at the thing and I thought it was pretty sweet, especially for a strength war on a budget. Take a look at this thing:

    q7o5ZsV.jpg

    Even for those of us not on a budget, it's a great skin that you normally can't get in str and it has fun mods that you can't reproduce with an inscribable warlord. So maybe I'm late to the party on greens or maybe I'm getting soft in my old age, but any way you cut it, I don't think I was giving this item the love it deserves.

    I thought it might be fun to see if you all have any other examples of underappreciated items. Are there any items that aren't super-collectible or popular that you think deserve a little love?

  • Your Beloved Collections

    Nice job, Raining Ecto! Glad to see so many of our former swords in such a good home. I'm an especially big fan of the brute sword. It's really tough to beat a req 7 brute sword for old school awesomeness :)

    Here are some req 7 swords that you guys left behind when Kabong and I had our big sell-off a few years back

    f418aZJ.jpg

  • Your Beloved Collections

    Quote from Agent Chevy

    I remember the day that Q13 Stance Magmas dropped out of a chest for me. I fell out of my chair, looked at it again, fell out of my chair again. Nice to see it preserved!

    I can't imagine having something like that drop. That shield was always on my list of dream items. I know I didn't get the shield directly from you, but thank you for sending it on its way to me :)

  • Your Beloved Collections

    Emma, those are beautiful shields. I also especially like the fire, death, and (of course) strength shields from your larger collection. Really gorgeous.

    Coffee...man, I tried to sell you that fleshy back in the day when I sold you those other req 8 +5e bows...and the dead bows...and the rest of my bows (iirc, Kiki got a good number of them, too). The fleshy was my baby then (which is why it was so tough for me to sell) and it's my baby now. I think it might be the sweetest bow in the game, all things considered (yup, it's my baby). Feel free to stop by the guild hall whenever you'd like to visit us :)