Do you find yourself hoarding 'in game' items?

[Emperor Megas]

TL;DR SUMMARY: I have a tendency to hoard 'disposable' in game items when I play games, does anyone else do this sort of thing?

I think it started with games like 1942, and Sky Shark. These games give you a bonus at the end of each stage for every remaining bomb you had in your stock (or loops in 1942's case). This led me to challenge myself to not use them unless I absolutely had to, to maximize my earnings. Then, games like Raiden and Tiger Heli added a twist, where you'd get a reward at the end of the stage which was the sum of collected bonus items multiplied by the number of bomb stock you had remaining. This boosted the 'risk vs. reward' factor exponentially, and changed the way that I played shooters. I became so adamant about not using them that I would often die with several bombs in my stock. Bombs that I could have actually used to avoid death, but I was too stubborn to let go of for fear of depleting my end-stage bonus. 'Til this day, I treat (finite) bombs in arcade shoot 'em up games like they're made of gold or something.

It may have started with bonuses for bombs and collected/unspent items in shooters, but I tend to do the same thing in other genres as well. For example, in the original game Ys (both the SMS and TGCD version) there's are a few pieces of armament that I don't need because I skip that particular class and get the next up in quality since I can afford it early on. However, I always go back and purchase the 'worthless' pieces anyway when money's not a factor anymore, just to have them in my inventory. Also, on Golvellius: Valley of Doom for the SMS, in addition to two rings that grant you special abilities, there are three rings of adornment that you can collect throughout the game, and when you bring one of these rings to any of three particular wise women, they take it, and in exchange give you advice. Well, most of the advice is shit, and it's all completely unnecessary if you're very familiar with the game anyway, so I made a point to remember which screens had the holes heading to the 3 ring taking wise women, and I avoid them. When I'm nearing the end of the game, I like to have all 5 of the rings in my inventory screen, along with every other acquirable item.

I'm pretty bad about keeping items in games that are antiquated, too. Especially if they're unique. Like in the original Diablo, one of the only PC games I've ever played, there's a butcher's cleaver that a certain enemy drops when you defeat him early on in the game. I use to hold onto that nasty thing even when it wasn't a very good item, just because it was unique. I haven't played that game in a really long time, and I don't recall if you had limited inventory slots or not, but if you did, I'm sure that I had a hard time letting it go for want of a open slot.

Also, I don't recall which game(s) it was back in the day where you'd use a special item and if it was the only or last time that you'd use it in the entire game, they'd ask; "do wanted to discard ____?". I'd always hold onto it, even when I knew I had no use for it anymore.

[Malon_Forever]

Sure. The most recent example was in RE5 where you could keep all your items and store them in a big inventory at the end of each chapter. Of course I had to get as many eggs and ammo as possible...

[skaar]

I always finish Final Fantasy games with stupid amounts of ethers.

RE: Diablo, you could just throw stuff around in town and it would stay there forever.

[Emperor Megas]

RE: Diablo, you could just throw stuff around in town and it would stay there forever.I remembered that after I posted. I remember having a big horde of worthless things somewhere in town.

[xFiercePridex@aim.com]

of course any thru gamer does it...its practically a law lol

[joshnickerson]

I tend to do this mostly in RPGs, even useless items I could sell off for more money, I just tend to keep in my inventory.

[portnoyd]

I always finish Final Fantasy games with stupid amounts of ethers.

God, this. Since you could rarely buy them, I'd keep them for a rainy day that would come and pass several times over yet I'd never use them for that one time when I really, really, really needed them which also would come and go, or never even happen at all.

I have tried to start breaking the cycle. In FFIV PSP, I have been using Ethers/Elixirs without caution for once and naturally, I have not put myself in any situations where "Oh shit, I need more ethers".

[Swamperon]

Always in RPGs and most other games. Who knows when that useless item could be needed (which it never is)? Or I'll keep all of my best healing items (heal all team, HP/MP healed to max etc) intending to keep them for when I "really" need them or the last boss. And then I never end up using them.

[Duke.Togo]

I do this too, and I think it is connected to the mentality that drives me to collect games. Am I really interested in all the games on the NES? No. Will I strive to get a complete set? Of course.

[Berserker]

The worst example I can think of was in Diablo II with those gems you could put into "socketed" weapons.

I think my worry was that since you can't take them out after you put them in, maybe I'd end up gimping a nice weapon by putting a weaker gem in, since you get more powerful gems as the game goes on. Or adversely, wasting a good gem by putting it into something only to find a better socketed weapon later.

So by the end of the game I usually had a chest full of unused gems and various empty socketed weapons.

[Nebagram]

Yes. And how. In my main Fallout 3 save I think I've got just about enough munitions to arm a small nation. In Oblivion, opening up the chest containing all my scroll spells actually causes the game to slow down. Of course, I do follow the attitude of 'if it's not nailed down, it's mine' in these sorts of games.

Probably the most ridiculous example was when I discovered and perfected the item duping trick in FF7... and still hoarded everything I could find.

[Sabz5150]

My Fallout 3 home is DECKED. Shelves stacked, bookcases lined, guns and items on display everywhere.

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

The handheld Castlevanias are a hoarder's paradise.

[Flashback2012]

I'm like this with MMOs. I hoard all kinds of weapons, armor, and tradeskill materials in WoW. It's insane. I have so many items that I use the in-game mail system as a pseudo second bank. @_@

I've tried to sit down and sort it all out a few times and the last time I tried, it took me several hours over several days of playing and it wasn't but a few weeks later, it was right back to what it was before just from playing and accumulating items. :help:

[boatofcar]

The worst example I can think of was in Diablo II with those gems you could put into "socketed" weapons.

I think my worry was that since you can't take them out after you put them in, maybe I'd end up gimping a nice weapon by putting a weaker gem in, since you get more powerful gems as the game goes on. Or adversely, wasting a good gem by putting it into something only to find a better socketed weapon later.

So by the end of the game I usually had a chest full of unused gems and various empty socketed weapons.

I did this with Torchlight, and generally consider myself to be a hoarder of in-game items in most genres.

[treismac]

In Okami (both for the PS2 and Wii) I always finish with a huge surplus of items that I've been stocking for the final showdown with Yami.

Also, in Super Mario Bros. 3 I figured out a trick to stockpile Tanooki Suits in World 5. I spent many hours everyday for a week or so hoarding them at the bemusement of my roommate. Thanks to the Wii's ability to save the progress of VC games, I was able to break up these sessions into bearable amounts of time. Long live the Tanooki.

[nebrazca78]

Or I'll keep all of my best healing items (heal all team, HP/MP healed to max etc) intending to keep them for when I "really" need them or the last boss. And then I never end up using them.

I agree with this in most cases. You expect that last boss to be so difficult that you stockpile all of the exotically-named super items, but rarely is that boss difficult enough for you to need them. Couple that with the fact that you're often not sure exactly which boss is the "real" final boss in many games. Unless you're using a walkthrough you only really know once you've beaten the game and by that time it's too late to use your best stuff.

As for hoarding, I've always been on the opposite side of what most people are saying. Once I've deemed an item useless, I try to sell it as fast as possible to expedite the leveling of my other items. I've never been much in to grinding, I think it's more challenging to try and finish the game as fast as possible and avoid grinding if I can. Not much point to saving worthless items in a video game IMO. Now in real life, that's a different story...

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[Keir]

Yes, I would do this all the time in RPGs, both computer and pen-and-paper. One item that sort of broke the habit for me (or at least made me acutely aware of it so I could try to stop) was the Harmonic Gem in Bard's Tale 3. Harmonic gems are very useful, restoring all of a character's spell points. However, they were plentiful to the point of game imbalance and because of this, combined with the characters' limited item slots, I would use them after casting a single spell or sometimes just drop them.

[Aussie2B]

Always. I never considered applying that mentality to something like a shmup, but if a game has an inventory, chances are I'll aim to get at least one of every item, if I can carry that much. I just hate using up that last one, and even if it's old, useless equipment, I'll sell all but one. For some reason, I guess time to kill back then, I went completely off the deep end and decided to collect 99 of every item in Castlevania: Circle of the Moon. What a stupid idea that was, but once I committed myself to it, I had to finish.

Just recently I was going nuts trying to win the grand prize from the slot machine in Dragon Warrior II, just because it's a unique item. What did I do when I finally got it? Saved my game and put the cart away, haha. All it gives is a discount in the stores, which is pretty useless in general but is even more useless if you already have bought everything you need in the game and have more money than you know what to do with. The only reason I had to get it was to complete my inventory.

[Sunnyvale]

Diablo 2 was the worst for me. 3 accounts full of trade items. Hell, by the time I quit playing, all I did was trade for more SOJ's and whatnot. And by now, Blizzard has zuked all my hard work :-/

[Tron 2.0]

In rpgs yes if i'm going for a %100 in it.When i was playing,MH3 Tri so much i went afther just about every armor and weapons you can get as a blademaster.Also i can be the same way in the RE serise as well when it comes to herbs,sprays and ammo.

[SpaceHarrier]

Diablo 2 was the worst for me. 3 accounts full of trade items. Hell, by the time I quit playing, all I did was trade for more SOJ's and whatnot. And by now, Blizzard has zuked all my hard work :-/

This was Phantasy Star Online for me. So many "storage characters". Phantasy Star Portable afforded me a larger inventory, so I just kept every single weapon (hundreds) I came across until I filled it!

In Castlevania: Symphony of the Night -- I just had to collect all of those food items. I'd never use one unless I had multiples of it.

Pokemon games -- I don't recall ever using a TM, unless maybe it was one you could buy in a shop. I always have a huge list of them by the end of the game.

Final Fantasy games -- I'll never use the last of any kind of item, unless they are common to being purchased at shops. I always try to buy at least one of everything available, as well. Also, I need all of those Triple Triad cards! NEED!

[Aussie2B]

Oh, and I forgot to mention before, but I do have to admit that hoarding HAS paid off in a few rare occasions for me. Usually it's a big waste when you have all this junk when the credits roll, but I have gotten into situations a few times before where it seems so dire that I can't tell if I'm completely screwed in the game or not (like if I can't leave to power up and get more stuff). But because I have a whole hoard of, say, stat-boosting items, I can dump them all into a single character and squeak out a victory.

[Sunnyvale]

Oh, and I forgot to mention before, but I do have to admit that hoarding HAS paid off in a few rare occasions for me. Usually it's a big waste when you have all this junk when the credits roll, but I have gotten into situations a few times before where it seems so dire that I can't tell if I'm completely screwed in the game or not (like if I can't leave to power up and get more stuff). But because I have a whole hoard of, say, stat-boosting items, I can dump them all into a single character and squeak out a victory.

In my aforementioned D2 trade fetish (oh man, all the SOJ's I sold for $4-5), I saved jewels and crafted items when the server was prime. Piles of characters inventories emptied for a few good items. But man, some of those items! I also played the Necro for fun, and Dol-Io wands were the shit, if the wand already had good stats. Offer up a couple Stones for a +3 Bone Spear, +2 Bone Spirit non-magic stick, and bam! So, yeah, piles of shit pays off sometimes.

[Bloodreign]

When I was playing Fire Shark on the Genesis, I went cheapo with bombs, saving them to the end of the levels. Since you got a bonus for bombs remaining, I'd always try to save them for score bonuses, and only used them if I had to, most often I'd find a way past a level without using them.

[BlastProcessing402]

About the only time I don't hoard items is if the game has a limited space for inventory.

[Nikademus1969]

Ok, admit it: when playing Fallout 3, who filled their house in Megaton with plungers?

[The 1 2 P]

When playing Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic 1 and 2 on the original Xbox one of the reasons I did so many side quest was to see how much extra loot I could find. Same thing with Castlevania: Symthony of The Night. I kept trying to get better weapons but I kept all the shitty ones too.

[mobiusclimber]

At first, I thought my answer would be "yes" since I tend to save all the healing items I get in RPGs. But it's not like I won't use one if the situation calls for it. I just tend to have a ton of unused items after I beat the game. I'll hold onto really good healing items waiting for the right opportunity that sometimes just doesn't show up. But I don't actually hoard items that aren't strategically necessary. I sell off stuff I don't need and won't use (and sometimes kick myself over it, like when I got access to the pot in DQ9 and realized I'd sold some items I could have used to make other stuff). I just tend to use spells more than items for healing/offensive/defensive stuff. I'll actually sell off my entire stock of, say, antidotes b/c I know I'll never use them. And I never try for 100% item completion since I pretty much consider seeing the ending the only goal in an RPG.

[GameNinja]

Some good news for game item hoarders: Diablo 3 will have a real-money auction house sanctioned by Blizzard in which you can buy and sell in-game items for real money. Now you can actually get something real for your 1000x Sword of a Thousand Truths!

(Or if you are the one buying items to hoard I guess this system could backfire on you...)

[calthaer]

I do this. Part of the reason is that, especially if an item is unique, you never know when it might be used or asked for again. Who's to say that "gimpy sword from the first town that was given to you by your grandfather" isn't going to magically transform itself into "best sword in the game...if you saved it in your inventory" later on?

I hardly ever use healing potions, either. Ethers, sometimes. I don't hoard per se, but usually the healing spells are so much better. At least Torchlight let you combine weaker potions to make better ones.

And Terraria...that game is a hoarders paradise. Your inventory isn't unlimited, but nothing's stopping you from digging out and expanding a cave / castle / house with as many movable chests / tables / shelves as you want, to put as much stuff in or on as you want. The chests are even craftable, so it's not like you're going to run out of storage space.

[DDCecil]

About the only time I don't hoard items is if the game has a limited space for inventory.

THIS.

Also, if a game gives you a choice between 2 items (FF5's Chicken Knife and Brave Blade as an example), I'll go for the one I'll personally use more (Brave Blade as I can't get myself to run from any battle on that game, though the Chicken Knife is better stat-wise).

Right now, I'm currently going for 99 of every possible item on Dragon Quest VI DS. I'm not letting it take over me like an obsession, just something to do while I'm watching TV/ a Movie or a few minutes before bedtime.

[Robocop2]

Yeah I do this. I think I've always done it in RPG style games especially games where you can make modded weapons with bits/pieces you find in the environment. Sure I could sell them for a few bucks to a vendor but why when I can amass a large amount of things that I'll likely never use? Especially when they pay you peanuts for them. I also did this with the first modded weapon I made which became rather useless once I got leveled up I couldn't stand to part with it for nostalgia's sake though and even went to the pain of bringing it along with me on every quest

[Aussie2B]

Who's to say that "gimpy sword from the first town that was given to you by your grandfather" isn't going to magically transform itself into "best sword in the game...if you saved it in your inventory" later on?

Heh, that's basically exactly what happens in Infinite Undiscovery, and it pisses off players who sell it off so much.

[Berserker]

When I play through A Link to the Past, I now consider it damn-near mandatory to max out my bombs and arrows by upgrading them at the wishing well, and always try to keep them full... despite having already played through the game several times over several years prior without ever knowing of the upgrades' existence.

[c0ldb33r]

I'm not happy until I have 99 potions.

[old man]

I remember in Parasite Eve I kept every gun I could just so I could experiment and make the ultimate gun at the end of the game.