Guild Wars 2

Smooth Penguin.5294:

The current model is indeed a good one, but I’m suggesting ways to reward who spend real money on microtransactions. These players are on a higher tier of importance, in terms of revenue, than non-paying players. Creating small incentives can help drive sales of Gems, thus increasing the bottom line of NCSoft. Minor P2W items was just one idea. Others liked the idea of getting some freebies that didn’t affect game play.

You already get rewarded by convenience.

Sometimes, getting extra goodies in addition to the convenience is a greater incentive than the convenience alone.

Perks would be fine, they’d be like GW1 items, a little bonus goody to make them feel special. P2W though undermines the current system by giving people who drop more cash means to more success, as well as introducing another balancing concern through power creep. It’s just a nasty pandora’s box that best left closed IMO.

I would not be opposed to a “Black Lion’s” gear set being available, every $20? you drop you can choose one piece of gear out of the 18 slots (6 slots X 3 weights). Something like that could be cool.

I think at some point, the convenience angle is saturated … but maybe that’s just me because I’m not all that creative. Gemstore offerings will have to become more sophisticated as players already have specific convenience items. For instance, offer all the inifinite tools you want but … if I have one, I’m not part of the potential market. Now, offer me an infinite sickle/axe with bonus mats, I’m going to get at least two of each.

Responses are leaning more towards the idea of freebies being ok, and P2W not. Fair enough. Allow me to edit the thread title to then more accurately frame the discussion.

If this has drifted away from p2w (which is seemingly has) then I’m perfectly ok with it. people who pay real life money deserve more for keeping the game alive, in the form of exclusive minis, special skins, etc. (something you don’t need to have but completionists or people who just like it would want)

Don’t they already do this irregularly? I’ve occasionally bought a gem card, and I remember that several times I got a mail a few weeks later, with a ‘thank you for supporting GW2 during <insert yearly quarter>’ note and a free goodie. I got a free kite somewhere last year when they just came out (around the time of the Zephyrites’ first appearance I think), once I got a total makeover kit and something else, also a hairstyle kit and 2 keys or so if I remember correctly (and no, of course the BL chests didn’t contain anything useful, haha). Each time the free goodie was worth about 300-400 gems. I thought it quite nice a gesture, especially since it seemed fairly random, it wasn’t an announced incentive thingy like that sparkling cat.

Wanze.8410:

Smooth Penguin.5294:

The current model is indeed a good one, but I’m suggesting ways to reward who spend real money on microtransactions. These players are on a higher tier of importance, in terms of revenue, than non-paying players. Creating small incentives can help drive sales of Gems, thus increasing the bottom line of NCSoft. Minor P2W items was just one idea. Others liked the idea of getting some freebies that didn’t affect game play.

You already get rewarded by convenience.

They’re also rewarded by constant, and consistent, sales on the gem prices of items, which in effect increase the purchasing power of your money spent on gems. The digital deluxe upgrade for example. It’s normal price is 2k gems, but when it goes on sales, it’s typically for 1k gems, which doubles the purchasing power of your 2k gems during that sale, allowing you to buy the upgrade and say, because you got it for keyrunning, an extra character slot and STILL have gems left.