Money is the currency used in Guild Wars. There are two denominations of money; gold and platinum. One unit of platinum is worth 1000 units of gold.
Terminology
When referring to monetary currency:
- A gold piece
is commonly abbreviated to g, G, gp, or GP (i.e. 250g; 250G; 250gp; 250GP; 250 gold pieces). In some cases the term is omitted (i.e. 250). - A platinum
is commonly referred to as 'k', it being the SI prefix for kilo, meaning 1000 (e.g. WTS black dye for 7k is the same as WTS black dye for 7000g). Rarely, platinum is referred to as 'p' or 'plat'.
Obtaining Money
Money is often obtained by loot, which is dropped by monsters in the PvE part of the game. Also items in your inventory may be sold to other players or merchants.
To a lesser extent, money is earned by completing quests, notably in the Factions and Nightfall Campaigns.
See earning gold or farm for further information.
Spending Money
Money can be used to buy things, either in trades with other players or from merchants/traders.
For example, you could buy:
For a complete listing, see Category:Items.
Money can also be used to pay for services, such as running, learning skills from Skill Trainers, entry to the Realms of the Gods, (1) or access to the storage account/materials storage section to your Vault Box. (50)
To maintain the stability of the economy and minimize inflation, many gold sinks are included in the game for players that would otherwise have more than they could spend.
Finding Fair Prices
You can save yourself a lot of money (and avoid buyer's or seller's remorse) by doing some quick research before entering into a trade with another player.
- Check with NPC traders for armor upgrades, dyes, and materials and average of their buy & sell prices. (And these NPCs will also tend to pay more for your items than ordinary merchants.)
- Check with your guild to get price checks and, often enough, you can find someone who wants to trade with you.
- Ask for a Price Check in the Trade Channel. Try to get at least a couple of opinions before settling on a price.
- Shop around by visiting the major trade centers (Lion's Arch, Kaineng Center, Kamadan, Eye of the North (outpost)). For uncommon items; the prices will tend to vary depending on who is online. (For popular items, the prices usually don't vary that much within the same day.)
- Keep at it: the longer you offer a trade (or look for a one), the more likely you will be able to meet your ideal price. Experienced traders will often wait 2-3 hours, in which the price might vary by 200-400% or more.
- Check fansite forums and auction houses, such as Guild Wars Guru's Trade Forum, Guild Wars Traders, or Guild War Auctions. You can find recent price histories, put your item out to bid, or make your own offer on an item you covet.
- Use Guild Wars Guru's MarketWatch for checking current in-game price.
Money Substitutes
The maximum amount of money a character can carry is 100, which limits the amounts exchanged during a trade. In order to buy and sell beyond this cap, players will barter expensive items for valuable, stackable goods. These are currently the most popular choices:
High Value Substitutes are popular because of their extreme high value, but suffer from their own fluctuating prices due to supply & demand:
Nearly Fixed Price Substitutes are worth less but offer more stable values:
Pre-Searing Substitutes are used by perma-pre characters, who lack access to other choices: