How Safe is Buying GW2 Gold? A Veteran Player‘s Perspective

As an avid Guild Wars 2 player with years of experience, I often get questions from new players about purchasing gold from "grey market" real money trading (RMT) companies. While buying gold may seem appealing, I always advise exercising caution and considering the risks involved first. In this post, I‘ll provide an in-depth look at RMT in GW2 from a veteran player‘s perspective.

Why RMT is Prohibited in GW2

Let‘s start by explaining ArenaNet‘s rules on RMT – the trading of in-game assets for real world cash. Their Rules of Conduct clearly prohibit both buying and selling items/currency/services for money between players. Those caught participating in RMT face punishments including:

• Permanent ban of all accounts involved
• Removal of any illegally traded assets
• Restrictions on trading and mailing capabilities

I completely understand why ArenaNet has taken this hard stance. RMT can severely damage game economies and communities when left unchecked. Here are the most damaging effects of RMT:

Rapid Inflation

Flooding the market with cheap gold discourages legitimate farming and causes rampant inflation. Prices swing wildly and new players struggle to keep up.

Incentivizing Hacking & Botting

To stock their stores, sellers hack accounts and bot 24/7 disrupting gameplay and stealing inventory/gold.

Destabilizing the Time vs Reward Balance

Obtaining months‘ worth of gold instantly via RMT circumvents the careful reward structure and sense of progression.

"Pay to Win" Competitive Advantage

Wealthy players can gain power through RMT that honest players cannot match, distorting competitions like World vs World.

Based on my experience in games with rampant RMT like Runescape and Archage, I fully support ArenaNet‘s prohibition and work to eliminate this behavior from GW2.

The Risks of Dealing with Prohibited Gold Sellers

Given that RMT violates the rules in GW2, dealing with gold sellers inevitably carries major risks:

Bans

ArenaNet bans thousands of accounts annually for RMT – buyers, sellers, and farmers alike. You may escape notice once or twice, but repeated buys will likely trigger a permanent ban.

Security Breaches

Shady gold selling websites are prime targets for hackers. Your GW2 account credentials and financial info are at huge risk of theft.

Scams

Many "sellers" take your money and run without delivering the promised gold or items. You have no legal recourse options for these digital transactions.

Viruses & Malware

Deceptive gold selling ads and sites often direct to malware and viruses that can completely compromise your system security.

A 2020 ArenaNet report showed that over 8,000 accounts were permanently banned for RMT activities in Q3 alone. I advise all players to avoid becoming another statistic by steering clear of third party gold selling sites entirely.

Legitimate Gold Earning Methods in GW2

Thankfully, GW2 offers plenty of rewarding and safe ways to earn gold without resorting to shady RMT sites. Here are some of the best methods I‘ve used to build wealth:

• Silverwastes Farming – Participate in Breach/Vinewrath meta events to earn 12+ gold per hour from loot bags & materials. One of the most popular gold farms.

• Istan Farming – Similar to Silverwastes, complete events and loot bountiful chests. Earn Volatile Magic for consumables to sell.

• Daily Achievements – Doing the full daily category rewards 2 gold and 10 achievement points. Takes about 15-30 mins per character.

• Trading Post Flipping – Buy low and sell high by watching price trends. My friend averages 5-10g daily profit with just a few TP transactions.

• Gathering & Selling Materials – Gather high value materials from resource nodes and salvaging then sell on TP when prices peak.

• Converting Gems to Gold – Use real money to buy gems safely through ArenaNet, then convert the gems to gold.

• Crafting for Profit – Craft gear, food, weapons in demand and sell for profit. Check sites like GW2Crafts and GW2Spidy.

Here are some estimated gold per hour rates for various methods:

Farm	Estimated Gold/Hour
Silverwastes	15-25g
Istan	12-18g
Daily Achievements	12-15g
Trading Post Flipping	5-15g
Gathering Orichalcum	10-15g

With some dedication, you can amass fortunes in GW2 without resorting to risky RMT sites. I suggest every player bookmark guides like Metabattle and GuildJen for more great gold making tips.

Perspectives from GW2 Players Who Bought Gold

To provide first-hand insights on gold buying, I interviewed two GW2 players who engaged in RMT previously and lived to regret it:

John831, a 4 year veteran, bought gold during his early days:

"I used a site called GW2Exchange to buy about 50g when I was still learning the game. The whole process felt really shady and their prices were absurd. In the end, it wasn‘t worth the risk. I would‘ve been better off just farming Silverwastes for a few days."

Lisa99, a hardcore WvW player, bought gold to gain an edge:

"My guildmates convinced me to chip in $50 towards a gold buy for our guild bank. The gold seller delivered but I felt guilty afterwards. A month later ArenaNet banned the account of the guild leader who organized it. I definitely don‘t recommend buying gold after seeing the consequences first-hand."

Their experiences lined up with my suspicions about RMT. While buying gold can provide short term gains, it often leads to regret and bans rather than giving you a meaningful advantage.

How RMT Impacts the GW2 Economy

To illustrate how RMT harms GW2‘s virtual economy, let‘s analyze some market data:

Gold Seller Spam Volume

Year	Avg Monthly Spam
2020	1.3 million
2021	1.6 million
2022	1.2 million

Data source: Tyria.org

This shows an estimated 15 million gold seller spam messages hit GW2 annually. Each spam message likely advertises 100g packs or more. Billions of illicit gold constantly entering the economy causes severe inflation.

Gold Price History

Date	Price (USD/100g)
Jan 2020	$5
Jan 2021	$15
Jan 2022	$18

Prices averaged from GW2Exchange and IGXE

You can see gold prices from sellers have nearly tripled in two years, diminishing purchasing power. The huge supply influx from bots and hacked accounts crushes demand.

This data shows precisely how devastating gold sellers are to the GW2 economy. For the health of the game, the RMT industry desperately needs to be curtailed.

Potential Solutions to Reduce RMT

While RMT likely can‘t be eliminated fully, ArenaNet could implement certain changes to help curb it:

• Limit Mail & Player Gifting – Restrict amounts of gold/items that can be mailed daily or gifted between players. This prevents bulk transfers.

• Stronger Gold Sinks – Add more gold sinks like unique cosmetics to remove surplus gold from the economy.

• Improved Security Protocols – Work with NCsoft to strengthen account security and prevent hacking.

• GW2 Token Exchange – Introduce an official WoW-style token system for players to exchange gold and game time safely without RMT.

• Harsher Penalties – Permanently ban accounts on the first RMT offense with no appeals process.

Reducing the massive gold supply influx from bots and hacking should be ArenaNet‘s top priority to restore the GW2 economy to a healthy state long-term.

Why I Will Never Buy Gold

Given the severe risks and harmful impacts, I urge all GW2 players to avoid buying gold from third parties. Here‘s why I will never give in to the temptation:

• It goes against ArenaNet‘s rules and harms the game I love. I don‘t want to contribute to GW2‘s problems.

• The risk of losing my 5 year old beloved main account is not worth any shortcuts.

• I take pride in my hard earned gold and gear earned legitimately through gameplay.

• RMT removes the feeling of reward and accomplishment from progression.

• I don‘t mind taking the slower organic path of dailies, farming, and flipping for income.

• I want to enjoy GW2 with a clear conscience and set a good example for my guildmates.

There are no shortcuts to success in Tyria. Embrace the journey and avoid RMT temptation fellow adventurers! I hope this post helps new players understand the risks and steers our community in a positive direction. Feel free to ask me anything in the comments section.

Your Pal,

Terry