Guild Wars 2

This is not a rage but my opinion. It will be constructive so you can add your but please don’t use it for rage.

Since the start I had a major respect for people in ANet.
Especially when they for a year gave us really great skins and items in gem store. Everything was fresh, new and it felt they are worth the time you invested to make them.

I felt even greater when you started giving people some free stuff at Dragon Bash.
You never forced anyone to any thing,. but you said yours thank you with a little gifts for those of us who supported the game and bought gems from you instead of supporting thief’s sites that run bots and sell gold.
THAT WAS AWESOME. I really, really felt being respected by you.

Suddenly it changed.
All started when you gave us really basically remade exiting skins (I won’t complain about cultural armors cause I think the idea about them is stupid anyway).
I said to myself “Something is wrong. I feel like ANet starts to earning money with low costs.”. So I decided that for even my own rules I will nor buy ant remake that you offer. Simply because I feel like it’s a money grab and I hate that more than anything.

But the second step made me to write about it.
Making people who support the game and gather those special minis (fortunately I’m not one of them, but still…) to buy 4k gems in order to get 1 mini that most likely they miss is like kicking someone below his belt.

REALLY?? How could you do it?
I feel like in a month you have fallen from the most respectful game/studio/people I know to the bottom of market pit.

I have only one more things to say:
PLEASE STOP IT. For me and probably some other people that starts to ruin our fun of playing and opinion about you for sure. I still want to feel being respected by you…

I for one am happy that Mr. Sparkles was not added to the black lion chest random mix, but instead a guaranteed “reward”. Remember, you are not buying the mini, you still have your 4k gems for other things.

Heres some truth, most of the money earned on this game goes to NCsoft, I assume they must keep 90% of the money because ANET gives us little content and when it comes to skins and armor it’s always reskins because it’s easier and cheaper to make.

So my opinion is, every 10 dollars spent we actually get 2 dollars worth of content back which has to be “quickly” made because they can’t afford to hire more people or spend too much time doing it.

This is why games by Blizzard succeed very well as a subscription model and games that only create an MMO to milk people for cash and use 90% of that money towards other games fail horribly after a short period of time.

I loved gw1 model much more, gw2 is becoming a joke trying to get people to buy every “limited” item they make which seems to be bi-weekly now.

You know people paid like 600 bucks for that mini outside the game? I think it is a great decision on their part to give those that really want the mini a way to get it.

There were a lot of unhappy collectors who wanted that mini and posted on several threads about it, back then like this one. These were people who collect every mini in the game and couldn’t get this one as it was too exclusive. Making it a reward for buying 4k gems does two things imo. It’s accessible to all the die hard collectors while being expensive enough that only die hard collectors and people who spend above the average amount will get it. This keeps it attainable yet preserves some exclusivity.

Before this you had to travel to a convention and get a code, which only a very few were able to do, or buy it from eBay. The price back then was $700, a bit more than $50.

I’m not seeing a problem with the mini.

It’ll be a really nice reward. I think it’s great, because as I have a lot of Christmas shopping to do for game friends, the 4k gems will be spent on them, so the nice little gift will be great!

But I’m sure that anet saw that people were willing to pay 40$+ for just a mini, so they saw it as an excellent opportunity for their Christmas bonuses!

Also to point out.. they have given gem buyers gifts in the past and people where upset because they did not know the time frame to qualify.. they have sent out emails and posted the exact dates to buy gems and the exact reward so anyone interested in it can get it. Honestly I hope this is a trend that continues.

I’m one of the mini collectors who will be buying 4k gems just to get the Mr. Sparkles and I’m really happy that they gave us this option.

Obviously I’d be even happier if it was free, but I’m certainly not going to complain. Especially since you still have the gems to spend afterwards (in my case most likely on more minis, like the Wintersday set that just appeared).

If they started doing this on a regular basis it would get to be a problem, 4k gems is a lot more than I’d normally buy and I couldn’t afford to do it all the time. But as a one-off or occasional thing and especially for an item that a lot of people were disappointed to miss out on the first time around I think it’s a great idea.

Now if they can just re-release the Wintersday Box minis from last year in a less unreasonable format they’ll have made me really happy. (Last year you could only get them from RNG boxes, they were account bound so you couldn’t even sell/swap extras for ones you missed. As a result a lot of people still have incomplete sets or refused to even try.)

I do agree with some of the OP’s sentiment that the attention and focus in this game has shifted too much to the gemstore. We need to regain a healthy balance again.

Account bound gemstore dyes, and skill-based exclusive armor skins would be a leap in the right direction. Let Evon go on a well deserved holiday for a while, give our wallets and our naive notion of integrity some time to catch up with the flurry of gemstore activity of the last three months.

It’s simply gemstore overkill now.

I don’t see much issue in the gem store, myself. Whether or not you deem Mr. Sparkles worth 50 smackeroonies is up to you. Personally, it’s Christmas time, and I find it was likely that I’d purchase those gems over a period of time anyway. I’m currently sitting on the 4000 I just bought, as I’m not overly enticed at what’s currently in the store (I already own some things) and gem price is accelerating faster than commodity prices (based on a goods bundle).

I firmly believe that if Evon was elected, you would have seen much better deals in his shop. But even then, he’s being generous enough to give you a bonus just for buying Gems. It’s a win/win situation here. Any complaints would just be “entitlement”.

You’ve had your point with the armors, but unfortunately you base everything on a Mr Sparkles mini. That point in itself is giving players opportunity to get something that till now could only be obtained for hundreds of dollars on ebay. Something like this encourages people to buy gems and use them for their own good, since some of us buy gems on regular basics anyways. Plus, they didn’t have to do anything to begin with to give us any kind of reward for gem purchases.
What should’ve been your point, it should be the new helmet skins that are 500 gems each. For a helm. The first gem store armor sets were 500 gems each. Which was pricey at the time, but they looked pretty cool. Then they came up with 800 gems sets that were fully newly designed giving a fresh feel to your character. Still bit pricey at 800 gems, but justifiable.
Then they took a wrong turn with toxic release and gloves and shoulders for 400 gems each. Two pieces of armor for the price of a full set. Given they look good, but 400 is way overpriced for one piece of gear.
Now… The new helmets… 500 gems each. One piece of gear which some of us have turned off most of the time for the old price of a full set of armor. If it keeps going that way we’ll have boots or gloves worth 800 gems each. And I don’t want to get into the whole debate on how bad of a choice was the last “set” of armors introduced. In my opinion they should’ve taken all of them down and rework each of them to make them unique, not some cheap karma armor with some fire sparkles on it.

Romo.3709:

You’ve had your point with the armors, but unfortunately you base everything on a Mr Sparkles mini. That point in itself is giving players opportunity to get something that till now could only be obtained for hundreds of dollars on ebay. Something like this encourages people to buy gems and use them for their own good, since some of us buy gems on regular basics anyways. Plus, they didn’t have to do anything to begin with to give us any kind of reward for gem purchases.
What should’ve been your point, it should be the new helmet skins that are 500 gems each. For a helm. The first gem store armor sets were 500 gems each. Which was pricey at the time, but they looked pretty cool. Then they came up with 800 gems sets that were fully newly designed giving a fresh feel to your character. Still bit pricey at 800 gems, but justifiable.
Then they took a wrong turn with toxic release and gloves and shoulders for 400 gems each. Two pieces of armor for the price of a full set. Given they look good, but 400 is way overpriced for one piece of gear.
Now… The new helmets… 500 gems each. One piece of gear which some of us have turned off most of the time for the old price of a full set of armor. If it keeps going that way we’ll have boots or gloves worth 800 gems each. And I don’t want to get into the whole debate on how bad of a choice was the last “set” of armors introduced. In my opinion they should’ve taken all of them down and rework each of them to make them unique, not some cheap karma armor with some fire sparkles on it.

It doesn’t cost any real money to convert in game Gold to Gems. That said, if you do spend real money to buy Gems, you get a bonus if you buy enough.

This is a promotion. It’s no different than a company offering $2,000 cash back if you buy their new model truck, or a store offering “Buy 2, get 1 free” deals.

Smooth Penguin.5294:

I firmly believe that if Evon was elected, you would have seen much better deals in his shop. But even then, he’s being generous enough to give you a bonus just for buying Gems. It’s a win/win situation here. Any complaints would just be “entitlement”.

Nah, same deals same situation. The only thing that would have changed is Evon supporters would feel validated and they could complain about an Abbadon fractal being “ruined”.

I do agree on the win/win situation, even if I personally am not interested in the mini.

Smooth Penguin.5294:

It doesn’t cost any real money to convert in game Gold to Gems. That said, if you do spend real money to buy Gems, you get a bonus if you buy enough.

This is a promotion. It’s no different than a company offering $2,000 cash back if you buy their new model truck, or a store offering “Buy 2, get 1 free” deals.

I’m with you on that 100%. That all fine and well. My point was that the prices of gem items are increasing and quality is diminishing. That what should have been his argument. Not a promotion.

Romo.3709:

Smooth Penguin.5294:

It doesn’t cost any real money to convert in game Gold to Gems. That said, if you do spend real money to buy Gems, you get a bonus if you buy enough.

This is a promotion. It’s no different than a company offering $2,000 cash back if you buy their new model truck, or a store offering “Buy 2, get 1 free” deals.

I’m with you on that 100%. That all fine and well. My point was that the prices of gem items are increasing and quality is diminishing. That what should have been his argument. Not a promotion.

Then what I would recommend is that people who convert Gold → Gems should watch and wait. Then the exchange rates get too high one way, it becomes tempting the other. There are players who still convert Gems → Gold, and when they do, the rates for Gold → Gems goes down.

The mini Mr Sparkles and the backpack is so ANet sells a lot of gems for the 4th quarter to bolster sales so year over year numbers aren’t as disastrous at first look. Lets face it a year ago GW2 had mondo huge income numbers as 3 million players bought the game that quarter. Now that most of the income is cash shop, their income is down significantly and those who simply glance at the numbers when they come out in February may unduly panic.

Smooth Penguin.5294:

Romo.3709:

Smooth Penguin.5294:

It doesn’t cost any real money to convert in game Gold to Gems. That said, if you do spend real money to buy Gems, you get a bonus if you buy enough.

This is a promotion. It’s no different than a company offering $2,000 cash back if you buy their new model truck, or a store offering “Buy 2, get 1 free” deals.

I’m with you on that 100%. That all fine and well. My point was that the prices of gem items are increasing and quality is diminishing. That what should have been his argument. Not a promotion.

Then what I would recommend is that people who convert Gold -> Gems should watch and wait. Then the exchange rates get too high one way, it becomes tempting the other. There are players who still convert Gems -> Gold, and when they do, the rates for Gold -> Gems goes down.

Ummm. Not sure what you’re getting at. I’m with you on the promotion part, but you lost me with this post.

Romo.3709:

Smooth Penguin.5294:

Romo.3709:

Smooth Penguin.5294:

It doesn’t cost any real money to convert in game Gold to Gems. That said, if you do spend real money to buy Gems, you get a bonus if you buy enough.

This is a promotion. It’s no different than a company offering $2,000 cash back if you buy their new model truck, or a store offering “Buy 2, get 1 free” deals.

I’m with you on that 100%. That all fine and well. My point was that the prices of gem items are increasing and quality is diminishing. That what should have been his argument. Not a promotion.

Then what I would recommend is that people who convert Gold -> Gems should watch and wait. Then the exchange rates get too high one way, it becomes tempting the other. There are players who still convert Gems -> Gold, and when they do, the rates for Gold -> Gems goes down.

Ummm. Not sure what you’re getting at. I’m with you on the promotion part, but you lost me with this post.

Talking about the exchange rates of the Gold -> Gems. The more people converting Gold for Gems via the exchange, the more expensive it gets. On the opposite end, rates of Gems -> Gold become cheap at the same time. When more players start converting their Gems for Gold, the rates for Gold -> Gems goes down.

Keep in mind that there are vastly more players who want to convert their Gold into Gems, so prices will continue to go up. This is especially true as the game gets older. The more wealth players generate, the more likely they’ll convert Gold into Gems, regardless of the exchange rates.

But the point I was getting to is that if Gem Store prices are out of reach, players can still convert Gold to Gems to afford items. And you can get more Gems with your Gold as the exchange rates drop.

Smooth Penguin.5294:

Romo.3709:

Smooth Penguin.5294:

Romo.3709:

Smooth Penguin.5294:

It doesn’t cost any real money to convert in game Gold to Gems. That said, if you do spend real money to buy Gems, you get a bonus if you buy enough.

This is a promotion. It’s no different than a company offering $2,000 cash back if you buy their new model truck, or a store offering “Buy 2, get 1 free” deals.

I’m with you on that 100%. That all fine and well. My point was that the prices of gem items are increasing and quality is diminishing. That what should have been his argument. Not a promotion.

Then what I would recommend is that people who convert Gold -> Gems should watch and wait. Then the exchange rates get too high one way, it becomes tempting the other. There are players who still convert Gems -> Gold, and when they do, the rates for Gold -> Gems goes down.

Ummm. Not sure what you’re getting at. I’m with you on the promotion part, but you lost me with this post.

Talking about the exchange rates of the Gold -> Gems. The more people converting Gold for Gems via the exchange, the more expensive it gets. On the opposite end, rates of Gems -> Gold become cheap at the same time. When more players start converting their Gems for Gold, the rates for Gold -> Gems goes down.

Keep in mind that there are vastly more players who want to convert their Gold into Gems, so prices will continue to go up. This is especially true as the game gets older. The more wealth players generate, the more likely they’ll convert Gold into Gems, regardless of the exchange rates.

But the point I was getting to is that if Gem Store prices are out of reach, players can still convert Gold to Gems to afford items. And you can get more Gems with your Gold as the exchange rates drop.

I wasn’t talking about how expensive gems are. I was referring to how expensive the items in gem store are getting compared to what they used to be.
500 gems for one piece of armor is just plain greedy. 800 gems for a full set is justifiable, but almost that price for just one item? It is just getting out of hand.

Romo.3709:

Smooth Penguin.5294:

Romo.3709:

Smooth Penguin.5294:

Romo.3709:

Smooth Penguin.5294:

It doesn’t cost any real money to convert in game Gold to Gems. That said, if you do spend real money to buy Gems, you get a bonus if you buy enough.

This is a promotion. It’s no different than a company offering $2,000 cash back if you buy their new model truck, or a store offering “Buy 2, get 1 free” deals.

I’m with you on that 100%. That all fine and well. My point was that the prices of gem items are increasing and quality is diminishing. That what should have been his argument. Not a promotion.

Then what I would recommend is that people who convert Gold -> Gems should watch and wait. Then the exchange rates get too high one way, it becomes tempting the other. There are players who still convert Gems -> Gold, and when they do, the rates for Gold -> Gems goes down.

Ummm. Not sure what you’re getting at. I’m with you on the promotion part, but you lost me with this post.

Talking about the exchange rates of the Gold -> Gems. The more people converting Gold for Gems via the exchange, the more expensive it gets. On the opposite end, rates of Gems -> Gold become cheap at the same time. When more players start converting their Gems for Gold, the rates for Gold -> Gems goes down.

Keep in mind that there are vastly more players who want to convert their Gold into Gems, so prices will continue to go up. This is especially true as the game gets older. The more wealth players generate, the more likely they’ll convert Gold into Gems, regardless of the exchange rates.

But the point I was getting to is that if Gem Store prices are out of reach, players can still convert Gold to Gems to afford items. And you can get more Gems with your Gold as the exchange rates drop.

I wasn’t talking about how expensive gems are. I was referring to how expensive the items in gem store are getting compared to what they used to be.
500 gems for one piece of armor is just plain greedy. 800 gems for a full set is justifiable, but almost that price for just one item? It is just getting out of hand.

But 500 Gems isn’t expensive, especially if you can convert in game currency for Gems. At that point, it’s basically free (from a real money perspective).

Smooth Penguin.5294:

But 500 Gems isn’t expensive, especially if you can convert in game currency for Gems. At that point, it’s basically free (from a real money perspective).

45 Gold for a Helmet with no stats is VERY expensive. Unless you’re loaded with gold, spending 45 gold on a helmet is crazy. Even Tier 3 cultural helmet being the most expensive in game is only 20 gold. Spending 45 gold on one piece of armor is not justifiable unless its some ascended piece of armor, which in this case it’s not. Especially since you can get a whole new armor set from gem store for roughly 72 (converted “free”) gold total. What I’m saying is that Anet is starting to become very greedy with the prices in gem store. Notably because it’s only one piece of armor compared to a whole set that can be bought for not much more. And they’re getting into a rythm with that single armor piece “sales”.

Romo.3709:

Smooth Penguin.5294:

But 500 Gems isn’t expensive, especially if you can convert in game currency for Gems. At that point, it’s basically free (from a real money perspective).

45 Gold for a Helmet with no stats is VERY expensive. Unless you’re loaded with gold, spending 45 gold on a helmet is crazy. Even Tier 3 cultural helmet being the most expensive in game is only 20 gold. Spending 45 gold on one piece of armor is not justifiable unless its some ascended piece of armor, which in this case it’s not. Especially since you can get a whole new armor set from gem store for roughly 72 (converted “free”) gold total. What I’m saying is that Anet is starting to become very greedy with the prices in gem store. Notably because it’s only one piece of armor compared to a whole set that can be bought for not much more. And they’re getting into a rythm with that single armor piece “sales”.

Considering there are helms on the TP right now with buy orders for well over 45g (the highest is a light Monocle where someone’s offered 125g) I’d say that’s a matter of opinion. Some people obviously are willing to spend 45g+ for a helm. (And of course weapons can sell for a lot more, especially Legendaries which are essentially just skins.)

I wouldn’t pay that personally. And I agree that after they’ve offered full armor sets for 500 gems it seems unreasonable to change that for one piece. But I also think Black Lion Keys are a complete waste of money and apparently other people are willing to buy them.

Romo.3709:

Smooth Penguin.5294:

But 500 Gems isn’t expensive, especially if you can convert in game currency for Gems. At that point, it’s basically free (from a real money perspective).

45 Gold for a Helmet with no stats is VERY expensive. Unless you’re loaded with gold, spending 45 gold on a helmet is crazy. Even Tier 3 cultural helmet being the most expensive in game is only 20 gold. Spending 45 gold on one piece of armor is not justifiable unless its some ascended piece of armor, which in this case it’s not. Especially since you can get a whole new armor set from gem store for roughly 72 (converted “free”) gold total. What I’m saying is that Anet is starting to become very greedy with the prices in gem store. Notably because it’s only one piece of armor compared to a whole set that can be bought for not much more. And they’re getting into a rythm with that single armor piece “sales”.

Yes it’s true that if you don’t have money, then it would be expensive. But take heart in knowing that not having the new hoodie doesn’t affect your game play one bit. If you feel it’s not worth 500 Gems, that’s your own personal opinion, and you can refuse to buy it if you choose. Players who can afford it will be able to enjoy their new cosmetic item, but still play the same before they bought it, and after they bought it.

And don’t forget that the prices are set based on cash not exchanged gold. So the question should be is $6.25 too much for a helm?

Behellagh.1468:

And don’t forget that the prices are set based on cash not exchanged gold. So the question should be is $6.25 too much for a helm?

If you can get a whole armor set for a $3.75, then hell yeah it is!

Romo.3709:

Behellagh.1468:

And don’t forget that the prices are set based on cash not exchanged gold. So the question should be is $6.25 too much for a helm?

If you can get a whole armor set for a $3.75, then hell yeah it is!

Well, there were threads where people asked to buy armor pieces separately and said they were willing to pay more for the individual pieces. I guess ANet reads the forums also.

I have to say I’m glad I seem to have a different opinion of good skins to Anet and most players.

After debating it for ages I finally settled on the perfect boots for my main character – the Falconers boots (human T2) and they cost me 80s. I’m combining them with various dungeon armors which basically cost me nothing because I’d get the tokens either way and HoM skins I got just because I’d been playing GW1 for years.

Having put the skins on karma armor the most expensive part of the whole set is the runes.

Astral Projections.7320:

Romo.3709:

Behellagh.1468:

And don’t forget that the prices are set based on cash not exchanged gold. So the question should be is $6.25 too much for a helm?

If you can get a whole armor set for a $3.75, then hell yeah it is!

Well, there were threads where people asked to buy armor pieces separately and said they were willing to pay more for the individual pieces. I guess ANet reads the forums also.

Except the helmet isn’t part of a set and people were suggestion selling single pieces of a set for ~200-30 instead of 800 for the whole thing, not 500.

Romo.3709:

Behellagh.1468:

And don’t forget that the prices are set based on cash not exchanged gold. So the question should be is $6.25 too much for a helm?

If you can get a whole armor set for a $3.75, then hell yeah it is!

But are those armor sets nicer aesthetically compared to those helms? I don’t find the 500 gems armors all that exciting but those helms are awesome and ANet knows it and priced them accordingly.

Crovax.7854:

Astral Projections.7320:

Romo.3709:

Behellagh.1468:

And don’t forget that the prices are set based on cash not exchanged gold. So the question should be is $6.25 too much for a helm?

If you can get a whole armor set for a $3.75, then hell yeah it is!

Well, there were threads where people asked to buy armor pieces separately and said they were willing to pay more for the individual pieces. I guess ANet reads the forums also.

Except the helmet isn’t part of a set and people were suggestion selling single pieces of a set for ~200-30 instead of 800 for the whole thing, not 500.

ANet doesn’t have to follow the ideas exactly. If people say they are willing to buy individual pieces and pay extra for it, ANet can then take the idea and do what they like with it. They can change it to selling individual pieces that are not part of a set and charge whatever they think the market will bear. They don’t have to use the prices that the threads suggest.

Astral Projections.7320:

Crovax.7854:

Astral Projections.7320:

Romo.3709:

Behellagh.1468:

And don’t forget that the prices are set based on cash not exchanged gold. So the question should be is $6.25 too much for a helm?

If you can get a whole armor set for a $3.75, then hell yeah it is!

Well, there were threads where people asked to buy armor pieces separately and said they were willing to pay more for the individual pieces. I guess ANet reads the forums also.

Except the helmet isn’t part of a set and people were suggestion selling single pieces of a set for ~200-30 instead of 800 for the whole thing, not 500.

ANet doesn’t have to follow the ideas exactly. If people say they are willing to buy individual pieces and pay extra for it, ANet can then take the idea and do what they like with it. They can change it to selling individual pieces that are not part of a set and charge whatever they think the market will bear. They don’t have to use the prices that the threads suggest.

You are completely missing the point. People were suggestion the option to buy single pieces, no matter the price. These skins are individual only without a corresponding set.

all i see is ppl noting the old saying, “same crud different day”

Crovax.7854:

Astral Projections.7320:

Crovax.7854:

Astral Projections.7320:

Romo.3709:

Behellagh.1468:

And don’t forget that the prices are set based on cash not exchanged gold. So the question should be is $6.25 too much for a helm?

If you can get a whole armor set for a $3.75, then hell yeah it is!

Well, there were threads where people asked to buy armor pieces separately and said they were willing to pay more for the individual pieces. I guess ANet reads the forums also.

Except the helmet isn’t part of a set and people were suggestion selling single pieces of a set for ~200-30 instead of 800 for the whole thing, not 500.

ANet doesn’t have to follow the ideas exactly. If people say they are willing to buy individual pieces and pay extra for it, ANet can then take the idea and do what they like with it. They can change it to selling individual pieces that are not part of a set and charge whatever they think the market will bear. They don’t have to use the prices that the threads suggest.

You are completely missing the point. People were suggestion the option to buy single pieces, no matter the price. These skins are individual only without a corresponding set.

It’s still an individual piece. It doesn’t matter if it’s part of a set or not.

Crovax.7854:

Astral Projections.7320:

Crovax.7854:

Astral Projections.7320:

Romo.3709:

Behellagh.1468:

And don’t forget that the prices are set based on cash not exchanged gold. So the question should be is $6.25 too much for a helm?

If you can get a whole armor set for a $3.75, then hell yeah it is!

Well, there were threads where people asked to buy armor pieces separately and said they were willing to pay more for the individual pieces. I guess ANet reads the forums also.

Except the helmet isn’t part of a set and people were suggestion selling single pieces of a set for ~200-30 instead of 800 for the whole thing, not 500.

ANet doesn’t have to follow the ideas exactly. If people say they are willing to buy individual pieces and pay extra for it, ANet can then take the idea and do what they like with it. They can change it to selling individual pieces that are not part of a set and charge whatever they think the market will bear. They don’t have to use the prices that the threads suggest.

You are completely missing the point. People were suggestion the option to buy single pieces, no matter the price. These skins are individual only without a corresponding set.

Nope, not missing the point. People wanted to buy single pieces and that’s what ANet is selling. Now the people were assuming the single pieces would be part of a set, but there is no reason for ANet to follow suggestions exactly. They read the forums, saw where people would buy individual pieces and were willing to pay extra and put their own twist to it.

Like I said, ANet reads the forums also. What they do with the ideas people come up with is another story.

The trouble with a kitten (the ideas that people come up with) is that
It grows up and becomes a cat (it can be changed from what people asked for. In this case, individual pieces that cost nearly as much as a whole set).

Septemptus.7164:

But the second step made me to write about it.
Making people who support the game and gather those special minis (fortunately I’m not one of them, but still…) to buy 4k gems in order to get 1 mini that most likely they miss is like kicking someone below his belt.

The second you suggest they are making anyone buy anything, you no longer have any credibility.

coglin.1867:

Septemptus.7164:

But the second step made me to write about it.
Making people who support the game and gather those special minis (fortunately I’m not one of them, but still…) to buy 4k gems in order to get 1 mini that most likely they miss is like kicking someone below his belt.

The second you suggest they are making anyone buy anything, you no longer have any credibility.

He didn’t say Anet is making people collect minis. He is suggesting that it’s not a good idea to make a certain collectible only accessible through spending money on gems (a considerable amount if i might add) or getting lucky and receiving one at gamescom/buying on ebay.

Jeez, is today ‘bad reading comprehension day’?

Crovax.7854:

coglin.1867:

Septemptus.7164:

But the second step made me to write about it.
Making people who support the game and gather those special minis (fortunately I’m not one of them, but still…) to buy 4k gems in order to get 1 mini that most likely they miss is like kicking someone below his belt.

The second you suggest they are making anyone buy anything, you no longer have any credibility.

He didn’t say Anet is making people collect minis. He is suggesting that it’s not a good idea to make a certain collectible only accessible through spending money on gems (a considerable amount if i might add) or getting lucky and receiving one at gamescom/buying on ebay.

Jeez, is today ‘bad reading comprehension day’?

No one is forcing these players to have to get the mini. It’s a bonus. If you want it, you buy Gems. If you don’t want to buy Gems, or can’t afford to, that’s ok. The game doesn’t revolve around the ability to make microtransactions. You paid for the game once, and aren’t forced to pay month subscription fees. You get new content every 2 weeks. Not having a special mini pet won’t stop you from playing the game.

coglin.1867:

Septemptus.7164:

But the second step made me to write about it.
Making people who support the game and gather those special minis (fortunately I’m not one of them, but still…) to buy 4k gems in order to get 1 mini that most likely they miss is like kicking someone below his belt.

The second you suggest they are making anyone buy anything, you no longer have any credibility.

Technically, he is correct. If the only real way to get something in game is to buy it in the gem store, they are “making” you buy it. He didn’t mean it in the sense that anet is forcing players to spend money.

cranked.3812:

coglin.1867:

Septemptus.7164:

But the second step made me to write about it.
Making people who support the game and gather those special minis (fortunately I’m not one of them, but still…) to buy 4k gems in order to get 1 mini that most likely they miss is like kicking someone below his belt.

The second you suggest they are making anyone buy anything, you no longer have any credibility.

Technically, he is correct. If the only real way to get something in game is to buy it in the gem store, they are “making” you buy it. He didn’t mean it in the sense that anet is forcing players to spend money.

It appears you do not understand what making or forcing means. A lack of basic understanding explains so much about the irrational comments around these forums.

The mini should be sellable on the TP or be able to be purchased from the gem store. The reason the gem store exists is so there isn’t a monthly fee, to provide new items, updates, patches, & fixes. The game shouldn’t exclude content from people that do not spend RL money, we paid to play this game too. Just as the gem store has an option to exchange gold for gems, there should be a way for a player to get this item with enough gold, dedication, & time.

I don’t dont even want this mini, but i feel very strongly about excluding content. As someone who prides himself on never spending RL money for gaming accomplishments, there really should be a way to get this through actually playing the game.

I kinda See that most of you are blinded by the fact you can get Mr Sparkles or whatever golem you want.

What I wrote was “Look as how their policy on gem store changed”. Yes, it’s unbalanced and They should start making it less money grabbing, cause now – lets face it. I feel like they are going for money grab.

I don’t say money aren’t important.
They are and a lot, yet until now I never felt that like someone in ANet wanted to milk me. I used money as I wanted and I always felt that there is a worth in what I get and the fact I support the game.

Now I’m feeling less and less enthusiastic about it with the policy they offer now.
(I won’t even go how I feel for the fact that single armor piece goes now for 500gems (400 before), yet I bought my Primevail for few parts of it for those exact 500gems).

Osi.3504:

I loved gw1 model much more, gw2 is becoming a joke trying to get people to buy every “limited” item they make which seems to be bi-weekly now.

For me also the run for limited editions is pretty short termed. Basically most people will finally get fed up with the way character looks (my 8 characters are preety finished anyway).

But there always be people who will go for every item in gem store.
The point is to get something that is worth money. Not reskins or being forced to buy massive gems quantity that aren’t really useful at some point except for making them transfered to gold.

Curse Drew.8679:

I don’t dont even want this mini, but i feel very strongly about excluding content. As someone who prides himself on never spending RL money for gaming accomplishments, there really should be a way to get this through actually playing the game.

I also don’t need it, but lets face it. This is the first time they made difference between people who can afford paying and those who don’t. Basically thats horrible because there will be more of those actions if we wont simply say “NO”.

From that to the point where we see gem stores with great advantages to people who pay is just a thin line. This is the reason I feel so disrespected.

It’s not about the money. I bought few thousand gems already by RL money. I have 11 slots, 8 maxed characters, 11 sets of unlimited gathering tools, max number of bank tabs, max number of bags on my characters, I event bought digital deluxe for gems.

Believe me when I say it’s not about the money, but the way they act that I say I feel disrespected.
Since now I will think twice before buying gems by RL money.

cranked.3812:

coglin.1867:

Septemptus.7164:

But the second step made me to write about it.
Making people who support the game and gather those special minis (fortunately I’m not one of them, but still…) to buy 4k gems in order to get 1 mini that most likely they miss is like kicking someone below his belt.

The second you suggest they are making anyone buy anything, you no longer have any credibility.

Technically, he is correct. If the only real way to get something in game is to buy it in the gem store, they are “making” you buy it. He didn’t mean it in the sense that anet is forcing players to spend money.

Exactly. I dont feel like I lost any credibility.
Since Dragon bash you were given items for free that were in gem store. Now you can’t get it if you don’t spend RL money.

Lets make an example:
You bought few thousand of gems, but you lost a job or have a child and for few months you don’t have a way to spend RL money?
It sucks to be you, It doesn’t matter that you spent money before, you cant convert from gold for the mini, you can’t do a thing.

Sure many of you will think: It’s just a mini, but what will happen when they will do it with something that looks awesome for your character or any other piece of the game that you would just love to have. Maybe as awesome looking as Ghastly shield… Just place in the slot anything that you would want and thats what I oppose.

“Let’s just make it unaccessible for people in game aside from people who will spend $ in this period.”
THIS IS THE MISTAKE IN THE STORE POLICY THEY MADE AND IF IT WORKS THEY WILL DO IT AGAIN.

I bought 4000 gems in late November

Just my luck…

NCSOFT has been known to shut down games that are cash flow positive, case in point would be City of Heroes. I wouldn’t depend on them to make rational decisions.

Evilbeavers.3964:

NCSOFT has been known to shut down games that are cash flow positive, case in point would be City of Heroes. I wouldn’t depend on them to make rational decisions.

I’ve come to believe that CoH’s closure was the result of throwing out the baby with the bathwater. They wanted to close Paragon Studios. It was a one trick studio and their last two ideas for a new MMO failed their gated development process. Without Paragon to support it and because it’s income was only in the $10-12 million a year range (GW2 earned over $20 million last quarter) they decided it wasn’t worth finding someone else to maintain/develop it so it was shut down.

NCSOFT may have been a bit gun shy since the Tabla Rasa debacle and didn’t want to keep the studio afloat anymore without them having some AAA MMO idea that’ll play well in Busan as well as NA and EU. That means it’ll need PvP and some e-sport aspect, two things that CoH didn’t do well and Paragon didn’t know how to fix (actually broke it more).

And before you get up in my grill about it I played CoH for eight years. I miss that game dearly because I don’t feel heroic or connected to any of my characters here as I did in CoH. The level of character customization and the ability to create your own backstory simply made it a game where you could really feel part of the world you inhabited.

Evilbeavers.3964:

I wouldn’t depend on them to make rational decisions.

I would also question the intelligence of people who doubt the logical decision-making process of an entity without any access at all to the information the said entity used for their decision making.

This act in itself is very irrational, indeed.

coglin.1867:

cranked.3812:

coglin.1867:

Septemptus.7164:

But the second step made me to write about it.
Making people who support the game and gather those special minis (fortunately I’m not one of them, but still…) to buy 4k gems in order to get 1 mini that most likely they miss is like kicking someone below his belt.

The second you suggest they are making anyone buy anything, you no longer have any credibility.

Technically, he is correct. If the only real way to get something in game is to buy it in the gem store, they are “making” you buy it. He didn’t mean it in the sense that anet is forcing players to spend money.

It appears you do not understand what making or forcing means. A lack of basic understanding explains so much about the irrational comments around these forums.

You are barking up the wrong tree when you try to lump me in at all with anyone here who makes irrational comments.

Having said that, I don’t think you are understanding what me or the OP is trying to say. I am NOT saying anet is forcing anyone to buy anything. What I was agreeing with is that this is the first time anet is actually making you spend actual money to get something in game. No one needs these items, but that doesn’t change the fact that the only way to get them is to spend money on gems.

Personally, I don’t agree with the OP on the subject. I think anet can and should do whatever they want to make money to support their company and the game. I think it was generous of them in the first place to allow people to trade gold for gems and I also think a lot of people forget about that when they complain about the gem store. If this behavior turns people off, then those people are free to not purchase it or go play another game.

No one is “making” you buy the Gems. The individual player who wants the bonus makes the decision on their own accord.