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Shared Inventory Slots

So ArenaNet has released the shared inventory slot. http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Shared_Inventory_Slot

What, if any, is the best way to deal handle this unexpected offering in the gem store?

Let’s first discuss who should NOT purchase this upgrade:

Those who only play one (1) character. This may be stating the obvious but a shared inventory slot makes little sense for those who have no other characters to share anything with.

Those who “casually” or lightly play Guild Wars 2. This also makes sense. If one only plays GW2 for an hour or two a week, one probably will have little need for sharing items across characters.

So let’s assume that you decide to purchase a shared inventory slot. How many should you purchase? Buying in bulk makes sense. One (1) slot is 700 gems but you can get five (5), for the price of four (4), a 25% discount. However, with any bulk purchase, the funds one has available will dictate any purchases one can make.

But what to actually place in a shared inventory slot? That is the main question. Let’s look at the options:

Consumables

These include food, nourishment, boosters, and anything which provides a temporary boost. With the exception of boosters, everything else is fairly inexpensive to make or purchase from the trading post. Only if inventory space is a concern would we recommend using a shared inventory slot for temporary boosts.

Travel

These include Captain’s Airship Pass; Royal Terrace Pass; Home Portal Stone; and the city portal scrolls. As you would imagine these would be extremely useful and we recommend using a shared inventory slot for some sort of travel item.

Inventory Control

By this, we mean any item which allows you to control the number of items in your Inventory, either directly or indirectly. This would include Bank Access Express, Merchant Express, and items of this ilk. While these can be extremely useful, one will quickly run out of the temporary versions of these gizmos or spend a lot of gold getting the permanent versions of these items. Personal costs would be the only considerations of using a shared inventory slot on these items.

Unlimited Gathering Tools

Should one use shared inventory slots for the unlimited gathering tools? While this would make logical sense, we do not believe that this is a viable solution. Remembering to un-equip and re-equip each tool before and after playing each character will get old very quickly. While some players will do this, most people want to do things in-game; not manage virtual inventory.

We at Feline Airlines believe that there will be an upgrade in the future which will allow for all characters to use unlimited gathering tools without the endless swapping between characters. We believe so because while players will pay the 1,000 gems for one of each, players will balk at spending 3,000 gems to equip each character with one complete set.

Salvage Kits

It would be very interesting to know what percentage of accounts have purchased the copper-fed salvage-o-matic. Many consider this to be the best gem store item ArenaNet has created. When something is so valued as to enter the rarefied air space, it is would be considered a crime if one does not use a shared inventory slot for the Copper-Fed Salvage-o-matic.

Miscellaneous Items

For this section, I am specifically considering the Mystic Forge Conduit; an item which was removed from the game and quietly re-introduced as a kind of mini-quest. When this was re-introduced, we created one and we do agree that this is a nice item to have access to; especially when the Mystic Forge daily is available or when doing a crafting session.

As convenient as the Mystic Forge Conduit is, or any other gadget for that matter, these are not something which would be needed by all characters in any normal play session. Is this necessary for a Vinemouth Run, a raid, or a guild mission? Would you take this over a travel gizmo? Of course not; therefore we can not recommend using a shared inventory slot for this item.

Conclusions

Shared inventory slots are one of the best items offered in the gem store and if one has a need and the funds to purchase this, they should definitely do so. In creating this document, I noticed a trend in the items that should be utilized and maybe you did as well.. All the items that are best suited for the shared inventory are all premium items or extremely expensive ones.

Here is one way to look at this: If you have two (2) characters, how much do you save by having a shared inventory slot versus purchasing a 2nd item? The Copper-Fed Salvage-o-matic sells for 800 gems in the gem store whereas the inventory slot costs 700. So this indicates the slot is more desirable and even more so if one has three (3) or more.

Yes, you are essentially paying twice for the gem store item. However, we find that for the right items, this can be a wonderful purchase. But one must consider the cost and the use to find the best way to maximize this item.

2020 Update

Now that we all have had some time to digest shared inventory slots, as well as the 24 currently available and the best items to place in these slots have not changed all that much. Here is our recommendation:

Obviously the more characters one has, the more the shared inventory slots appeal to a player.

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