Tips on Saving Gold for Non Farmers

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Do you wish you could have more gold sitting at your disposal but don’t want to farm, etc to get it?. Here are the tips I’ve learned to follow over my time playing Guild Wars. I hope they can help you get your hands on that item or items you’ve got your eye on!

Tips:

Do Not Spend Unnecessary Gold

When you are just starting out, use collector weapons until you find the items you want or a friend is kind enough to give it to you.

Another huge money sink to avoid is armor. Try not to change armors with every campaign. You will be tempted to as some of the armors as you move through the game will be very tempting but stand firm. It gets expensive upgrading every character every time a new campaign comes out or whenever you get to a new armor that you like. That is especially true if you are switching between elite sets. With armor stats being the same, my advice is to choose the 1.5K armor that you like the most and use that until you’ve completed all of the campaigns (or have looked at all of the armors on a website, etc). That way when you buy your elite set you only have to buy one set to know you’ll be happy with it for a long time.

Pick Up Everything

I see so many people complain that they don't have money for this or that but yet they are the same people that leave every non-colored item on the ground. If it isn’t blue, purple, gold, or green they won’t pick it up. If those same people knew how much money I've made over my play time by picking up every single item drop they'd be sick to their stomach. I suggest keeping one Superior Identification Kit and one or two regular salvage kits in inventory at all times.

ID Everything

Yes everything, including all those whites I just told you to pick up. Even common items can increase from a base 50g to 70g-90g just by ID'n them. Let’s say that on average you increase the cost of your items by 10g. That means with a superior id kit costs which 500g and gives you 100 uses you make a profit of 500g. I've found it averages more like 10-20 so it's more like 500g-1500g profit per superior ID kit.

Do Not Salvage Items

Even if you are just starting out there are very few reasons to salvage for crafting materials now. Two years ago salvaging for crafting material was a great way to make cash but now it is the exact opposite. Material prices at the NPCs are so low that it does not pay to salvage to sell anymore. In fact, depending on prices at the time it may be more profitable to sell all items instead of salvaging and then use the cash to buy the crafting materials needed. My suggestion is to sell everything that drops for you except for materials and salvage nothing. Save all materials that drop. You should be able to acquire quite a collection of materials by just keeping materials that drop.

Do Not Buy Keys Ever

ducks for cover I'm going to get criticized for this but keys (lockpicks included) are the biggest gold sink in the game. Yes they promise great items and even a title but what's the return really. You'll have to spend well over 100k to find that 1 gold that may be worth 75k. If you are hurting for gold you should at no time buy a key or lockpick. I would suggest using them when you find them otherwise forget they exist until you have what you consider to be enough money. If you use keys, just think about how much you've spent on keys and you'll see why you can't afford to continue. By the way, if you want the title then a sincere good luck but it is one of the most expensive in the game and it rarely pays for itself so I cannot advocate it for those wanting to save up their money. (same with drunkard and sweet tooth).

Play the Markets

The materials crafter in Kaineng is a great place to make some cash if you've got some stacks of wood or dust lying around. Check on the prices of what you'll be crafting to make sure you'll make some money off of the transactions. I don't do this much but I've made 50k-75k easily over my time in GW during downtime when friends aren’t on, I have 10-15 minutes to wait on a friend to get out of something, etc.

Wait to Purchase Armor/Items

Need materials for armor? Wait to purchase the armor/items until you amass the materials through adventuring. There is no reason you need it now. Wait until you find the materials, find a free way, or create a plan to save for it. When I wanted Kurzick armor, I AB'd or Faction farmed to trade for the free amber instead of buying it. I've wanted FoW armor for Kousei for a while now so I created a savings plan. Whenever I have over 250k in storage, I spend anything over 250k on shards and ecto while also trying to get into UW or FoW at least once a week.

Conclusion

While the above tips won't make you as infinitely rich as the farmers out there, they are extremely good at amassing the gold/materials needed to achieve your in game goals during casual play. Good luck, have fun, and I hope these help!

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