Group Event Quest Merchants: Please make them stop running back to base.

[CHIPS]

Group Event Quest Merchants (not official name) are those guys that appears after a group event. They will sell stuff that are not normally available. They usually goes something like this:

1) NPC1 asks player to do a quest, and starts a quest chain.
2) NPC1 runs around to location A, B and C during the quest.
3) At the completion of the quest, the NPC1 will run from location C back to A.
4) NPC1 change into a merchant.

I personally find part "3" highly annoying. To buy stuff from the said merchant, the player have to run from C back to A for no reason. And often times the run from C to A takes 5 minutes or more. NPC1 should just stand and change into a merchant right at location C, so the players can buy the item right there.

[BrettM]

I don't think there is much choice. Those NPCs need to get back to their base position for any precursor events and to be ready for the next cycle of their event.

Take one of the event chains in Bloodtide Coast. A pirate fetches his treasure from his sunken ship then dumps his mate's special ale in the swamp to relieve the burden on his pack bull. Later another NPC leaves her camp, wanders the swamp in search of artifacts, and finds that ale. If she became a merchant right on the spot instead of returning to her camp, that would leave her right in the way of the next cycle of the pirate event. And anyone wanting to use her services while she is a merchant would have to hunt through the swamp to find her instead of just going to her camp, since she will remain a merchant until her event recycles.

[Alaris]

The merchants should be mesmers, leaving clones to trade with you.

Ok, not my best idea so far...

[shawn]

Why would she remain a merchant until the event recycles? Just leave them there as a merchant for a minute or two and then make the npcs despawn/run back to town or what have you.

[Alaris]

Map travel. Have them use it.

Even if the NPC trades longer than intended and appears in town before ending trade with you, who's going to notice?

[sorudo]

i think it's more annoying when the NPC keeps in walking back to the last point it was before it was attacked, just get on with it.