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Inventory Control and Management Part 1 of 3:

A common trait all MMO games share is that the players never have enough inventory space. It also makes sense. The game publishers can sell extra inventory and can do so as these transactions do not alter the game mechanics. One player with no inventory can be just as powerful as another player who has maximum inventory. So space is always going to be at a premium.

Path of Fire has introduced the superior rune of holding as well as recipes for 24, 28 and 32 slot bags. Naturally we are all excited about the prospects of inventory relief. But is it worth the hassle and expense? Let’s find out.

Note: For the purposes of this exercise, we are going to use the generic version of slot size. The specialized versions will be more expensive than the generic as you would expect. The other assumption we will use is that we will assume we are crafting these bags and have all the non-Rune of Holding materials. They are common enough and should not drastically affect the price, unless otherwise noted.

8 slot = free (No rune needed, just craft them)

10 slot = 4.96 silver

12 slot = 14.80 silver

15 slot = 50 silver

18 slot = 2 gold

20 slot= 10 gold

24 slot= 16 gold (Current price from the trading post)

Breaking this down to a per-slot price:

10 slot = 0.5 silver per slot

12 slot = 1.2 silver

15 slot = 3.3 silver

18 slot = 11.1 silver

20 slot = 50 silver

The 24 slot bag requires not only the rune, but two (2) twenty slot bags in addition to another material which costs about one (1) gold if you do not yet have enough – so at least 36 gold.

The 28 slot bag requires a 24 slot plus 5 superior runes of holding – currently at 16 gold a piece, which brings the price to at least 116 gold.

The 32 slot bag requires a 28 slot bag and 12 superior runes of holding – which brings the price to an astounding 308 gold minimum.

24 slot = 1.5 gold

28 slot = 4.1 gold

32 slot = 9.6 gold

As you can see, the 15 slot bag is a nice sweet spot for low cost and high capacity. But as we all know, we need as much inventory as we can get and the more we play the game, the more we need it and the more we will pay for that privilege.

How should we handle these new runes? Until the price of these superior runes comes down to a much more reasonable level, let them be. If you manage to get one ecto-gambling, check the price and then decide to sell it or craft it.

So now that we know that only the ultra-rich will be obtaining these new higher capacity bags, how do we manage inventory? That is next time.


Inventory Control and Management Part 2 of 3:

Last time we discussed the prohibitive cost of the Superior Rune of Holding (SroH) and why it is better to sell them rather than use the rune to craft one of the larger slot bags. But what about in the future? What if the price comes down? The SroH is now 12 gold instead of 16 when this article was first published.

24 slot = 10+10+12 = 32 gold

28 slot = 32+5(12) = 92 gold

32 slot = 92+12(16) = 284 gold

Which breaks down into a per slot price of:

24 slot = 1.3 gold down from 1.5 gold

28 slot = 3.3 gold down from 4.1 gold

32 slot = 8.9 gold down from 9.6 gold

As we can see, better than before but still pretty prohibitive. But what if the price per SroH drops to something like 1 gold per SroH? Let’s check it out:

24 slot = 10+10+1 = 21 gold

28 slot = 21 + 5(1) = 26 gold

32 slot = 26 + 12(1) = 38 gold

Which breaks down into a per-slot price of:

24 slot = 0.9 gold per slot

28 slot = 1.0 gold per slot

32 slot = 1.2 gold per slot

Obviously this is a much better option and would be worth not only obtaining, but converting all your character bags into the larger options. Will this happen?

Path of Fire is still quite new and the economy has not settled down yet. Supply and demand will dictate what the nominal price is. Should the price fall to a purchasable level, players will gobble the runes up. What a purchasable level is different for every player. What is your price point and how does it compare to the community?

We will leave it as an exercise to the reader to answer that question. You can use a spreadsheet to generate a list of values and decide what price point is equal to your purchasable price. Or you can use your Algebra skills to solve the equation where you put in your purchasable price and solve for the SroH price.


Inventory Control and Management Part 3 of 3:

In this series we’ve looked at the 24, 28 and 32 slot bags and the rather prohibitive costs associated with gaining just a few more inventory slots. But larger slot bags isn’t the only way to increase inventory. Let’s take a look at a few and see how they break down.

Bank Tab = 600 gems = 143 gold

Character Slot = 800 gems = 193 gold +4 (20 slot runes at 10 gold each) = 223 gold

Storage Expander = 800 gems = 193 gold

Again, breaking this down per slot:

Bank Tab = 143 gold giving 30 slots or 4.8 gold per slot.

Character slot with 4 20 slot character bags yields 100 slots or 2.2 gold per slot.

Storage Expander allows an extra stack or 250 of each material. We are assuming this frees up ten (10) slots, which breaks down to a whopping 19.3 gold per slot! Ouch!

As we can see, adding additional inventory is not for the gold-challenged. But this also leads to the obvious question: WHAT ARE YOU HOARDING THAT IS SO VALUABLE?

Arenanet gives each of us a stack of material storage encompassing over 600 items. We also receive a bank tab of 30, each character which can hold 100 items. Not many games give each player over 1,000 storage slots. So what is so important that you need more? Can we break this down?

First off, some players are natural hoarders. They will collect anything and everything. They will have stacks of porous bones and prickly spider legs hanging around – just because. If this describes you, just sell the junk. You are paying a premium to hold on to near worthless junk.

Other players are bag hoarders. These players hoard trick-or-treat (ToT) bags, Wintersday gifts, or champ bags. It could be an ego thing. Others want to accumulate bags so they can open them at a later time on the off chance there will be a new shiny.

But let’s analyze this issue: You are paying a premium to hold those 50 stacks of ToT bags or 10 stacks of Wintersday gifts. For what? So that in the next season, you have a “jump” on opening all these bags in the hopes of getting that ultra-rare shiny? While it can work, if you get that shiny and you can manage to sell it at the inflated price, more often you won’t get that shiny or it won’t sell it at the desired price. So give your account a gold boost by selling or opening these bags and free up that space.

How many slots are taken up with wardrobe items? You know, the Wizard’s Hat or the Zenith collection? There is this thing called Transmutation Charges. Yes, they are a gem store item but there are other ways to obtain them as well. How many do you have? You only need ten (10) to totally reskin your character’s appearance.

Guild Wars 2 has this tendency of creating more items than we can possibly hold – even those with maximum storage. As good as ArenaNet is with giving us plenty of storage, it will never be enough – especially with new shinies being introduced with every update. So if you are indeed struggling with having enough space, take a new look at all the items in your storage bin. Do you really need that 20th stack of mithril ingots? Is that 10th Black Lion Salvage kit really necessary? Can you take those 15 exotic weapons and toss them into the Mystic Forge – especially since you have that legendary weapon?

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