Guild Wars 2

The current skin system has some detractors that scare many people away from purchasing skins from the BLTC. For the given cost of a skin (~600gems), which is limited to a one-time use and then requires further transmutation crystals to move the skin around smacks of price gouging your customers. I can’t help but feel that a majority of how the BLTC is setup feels this way. Your unlimited finisher unlocks was the first real example of an account-wide unlock that doesn’t feel like we’re being nickle and dimed every step of the way (much in the way number of use finishers did)

With that said, I would like to suggest the following changes to the skin system which will still provide a very useful role for the transmutation crystals that exist today:

• Skin bank in the achievement panel would be extracted into its own tab with support for various sorting options.
• Gem-store skins would unlock and could be retrieved infinitely from the skin bank much like the current achievement skins.
• Living World skins should also unlock in this skin tab with the same unlimited use mechanic.
• Transmutation crystals serve as a means of unlocking skins from standard weapons and armors found throughout the game in the skin bank. This process will not consume the source item. Once unlocked, it could be retrieved infinitely from the skin bank like the current achievement skins.
• Transmutation stones are admittedly not very useful at this point so I would perhaps consider making them simply components that can merge into a Transmutation Crystal. Perhaps at a rate of 25:1 or 50:1.

I feel that this new usage of transmutation crystals will find a significant increase in value as those collectors out there will find and at the same time us customers won’t feel like we’re being nickle and dimed every step of the way. Similarly the extra value of unlimited use skins, saved bank space from having to store skins and the ability to store regular skins I would expect to increase skin and crystal sales.

I realize that at the end of the day, you (ANet) needs to make money. Unlimited skins means you’ll need to create more skins both gem store and standard weapons to increase sales of crystals and gem store skins. But then you’ll actually be creating real value for us customers. Having us spend money to move a skin around is not something many people see value in. I suspect they would rather spend their money on persistent content like unlimited skins. The most successful F2P marketplaces (eg. LoL) behave this way and the way the BLTC is run is something that has always boggled my mind. Could you imagine how one-time use skins in LoL?

Anyway, hope you consider the my suggestion both specifically with regards to the skin system and to the BLTC content in general. Thanks for reading.

+1 I also want a change in the system. I think it would work as well if it just costs 1 stone/crystal per withdrawal or something like that. Unless you meant that as well.

As long as you unlock them permanently I’m happy. I have the Aetherblade Armor with Berserker stats and various Runes. Wanna change specc? That’s possible! You just loose your stats and runes if you wanna keep the looks. Wanna keep the looks and other stats or runes? Well too bad for you. Even though I spent 10 euros on my set I can’t apply it to multiple sets because I’ll loose the stats which is VERY annoying.

DCUO has an excellent wardrobe system, a game that’s also about looks. It also has its flaws and may not work for GW2, but some elements could.

LS skins and gemstore skins should be unlocked account wide and applicable on as many sets as you want per use of a crystal. That’s my two cents at least.

I was hoping to avoid a stone/crystal per withdrawal since again it takes away from the whole account-wide unlock and free/unlimited use of a skin.

I’ve played a number of F2P games and the games that I’ve found myself to be more inclined to make purchases in are the ones that offer free and unlimited use of their purchases (skins, pets, weapons, etc.).

I think if you saddle the system with a crystal per withdrawal, it then becomes this question to the user “do I really want to withdraw this skin for this character and item?” all because it now costs them money to do so. Whereas if it were free, they would see that as a purchase that unlocks the skin permanently without restriction for all their characters and wouldn’t be hesitant to withdraw. The hesitance on withdrawal takes some of the fun out of the system.

Take for instance how it is now. I have so many skins in my bank right now and I’m hesitant to use them because I don’t want to have to spend a crystal moving it to another character or item later. In fact the item part is the bigger part of that issue as I’m trying to save it for when I know I have an endgame item (waiting for those ascended armors…..).

True perhaps not for ALL skins, but at least for the gemstore skins. The reason they have this system is so people need to use the stones/crystals to transmute the whole time, which I can imagine is a source of income.

I guess you didn’t read my entire original post as I suggested an alternate use for the transmutation crystals/stones that would both add value to the crystals and allow for the unlimited use of all unlocked skins. Perhaps give that a read as that was IMO the biggest part of my skin system revamp idea – which I’m hoping would alleviate the whole revenue from crystals issue.

I did and I don’t think Arenanet will do something like that. The crystals would be sold a lot less, unless you care to explain it because it just seems to me that you use the crystals to put the item into the ‘wardrobe’.

It’s not the transmutation stones/crystals I have a problem with, it’s the fact that skins are not put in some sort of wardrobe like the achievement skins are and therefore I can only use them once – that sucks. I

I have a problem with both the crystals and the one time use of skins which is where my suggestion stems from.

I think it would only be sold a lot less if they stopped adding new core items to the game. The way I see it is that it is adding a new avenue for skins outside of just gem-store skins. Heck they could even perhaps allow PvP items to fit into this wardrobe via the crystals. There’s a lot of base content there to draw on which would expand the use of the crystals.

I can already think of many different cases where I would buy into that system. There are a lot of standard skins out there that I like. I’m just too unwilling to commit to putting that skin onto an item simply because I feel like I don’t want to apply it to an interim item. Rather I’d only place it on an endgame one.

Setting aside whether or not ANet is willing to accept this repurposed transmutation crystal, do you oppose the idea of removing crystals from per use of a skin?

My big beef is coming from the point of view of other F2P marketplaces that don’t saddle your purchases with restrictions that require additional monetary investment to use. I am much more willing to spend more money in those marketplaces than this one. I would hazard a guess and say that probably a majority of the purchases in the BLTC involve account-wide upgrades like bank tabs, character tabs, finishers or infinite tools (account bound ones now) as opposed to the rest.

I like MOST of your ideas.

However, when a skin is purchased it should be account bound and accessible to that account from that day forward with out the need of a regent to use it.

The fact that we are STILL getting skins via the achievement system that are 1 time only use, makes me so mad that I have stopped working on ANY META’s that reward a skin.

I will not buy skins from the gem store (except the new mesmer Staff, I was waiting for that for a long time…but thats the only exception here). I will not pay for black lion keys to get scraps to buy 1 time use Skins from the lion vendor in LA. (With Real Money or Gold)

until…

All skins are unlimited use and account bound on your achievement Skin bank screen.

No exceptions!

However, when a skin is purchased it should be account bound and accessible to that account from that day forward with out the need of a regent to use it.

That’s essentially what my suggestion proposes… The only time you would use a transmutation crystal is if you wanted to add the look of an existing item in game into your wardrobe. In other words, it would allow you to add the skin of a standard weapon or armor into your wardrobe.

The reasoning behind the rework of the transmutation crystal/stone is to provide a new purpose as allowing unlimited reuse of an unlocked skin would render the current transmutation crystal/stone meaningless. This way, transmutation crystals still maintain value and use in the context of this new way of maintaining skins.

Love the ideas! As it stands right now, the entire skin system is just not consumer friendly. If the system would work somewhere along the lines that Keilun suggested, I am sure many more people would actually buy skins. I know I would!

At this point, I am not buying skins because there is simply no point doing so on characters below level 80 and my 80s do not yet have great gear to make the purchase worth it. If skins were account bound, I’d be much more likely to purchase them since I could even use them on my lowbies. Sure, sale of transmutation crystals may decrease (although I think Keilun’s idea regarding crystals is great!), the increase in sales of skins would make up for it. At least I wouldn’t feel like getting ripped off when purchasing a skin. In conclusion, great idea!

This is how Anet is supposed to make money and they are punishing the customer who has already shown a willingness to support them. The issue is how much the skin already on the armor or weapon cost you. Cultural, gem store skins, temple and dungeon equipment have a significant cost. Either in game or in terms of cash. No one is going to transmute over those. No one is going to want to make another piece of ascended armor or another ascended weapon to put a new skin on. I did not lease these skins, I bought them. The pool of potential buyers of these will get smaller and smaller as people put expensive skins on expensive equipment. Transmute stones don’t even enter this equation.

I personally don’t really care one way or another. It just shuts that part of the game down for that character. But they are out $40 right now and probably any future skins they make I won’t buy. The cost is no longer $10 for a new skin. It comes with a 5 day
time gated wait, or the cost of another ascended weapon. Or instead of buying a $10 skin, you have to pay more to buy their skins because you also need a splitter. That is just for one piece. My characters have well over 15 pieces on them that I will not go through that. It doesn’t mean that much. The cost is higher than what they are asking for the skin.

My suggestion would be to…

1.) Copy the existing dye interface to hold images of skins and change the headings for the dyes to “weapon” and “armor” categories. They already have the code for the interface.
2.) Through the gem store, and also in game, sell and let players acquire a “blank pattern”, let them craft it, find it, earn if in monthlies, random reward for dailies, etc..
Sell them at a slightly higher cost than transmute stones.
3.) Double click the blank pattern, select the item with the skin you want, boom, you can reuse it on the character that copied it.

Problem solved. Anet can go back to selling me skins. Right now, I won’t buy anymore. I don’t care what they look like. They are not giving me a way to keep the value of the money I already spent. I won’t spend more until they do.

• Living world skins free from unlock bank

• Other skins cost Trans crystals to withdraw to preserve ANet profits.

Perfect solution guys, devs lose no profit while providing a huge boost in convenience to players. Hopefully ANet sees this and makes it happen

I’ll say HELL YES to this, and make it work for both BL skins, and achievement reward skins. So any skin you’ve bought/unlocked over time, will become available at that NPC, or panel. Also, any of these skins should be available at both PvE and PvP at the same time. There no reason why I should pay TEN DOLLARS, for a skin, only to use is in PvP, or PvE, without being able to use it in both, unless I’m a mor0n and decide to pay another $10.

Yes, something needs to be done. I would love to collect skins, but I am extremely hesitant in doing so because of the continual cost to change my appearance. If they acted like the achievement system, I would be buying gem store skins left and right.

This is a change that really needs to be made if they want people to buy skins.

I feel like ANet’s hesitance to implement something like this is because their whole marketplace is designed around character centric content.

I’m hoping that if we can get enough of us saying that we would buy skins if they were account wide without the restriction of costs to move them between characters, they will see that it’s a risk they should be willing to take. More skin purchases in lieu of less transmutation crystals.

They need only look at successful F2P franchises like League of Legends and DotA 2 to understand the benefits. Unrestricted use of a skin leads to more purchases. And in order to monetize that source further, they just need to keep producing more skins. I can’t imagine anyone sees real value for their money in having to pay to move skins around except ANet.

I am perfectly ok with BL skins not being unlimited. I understand why ANet wouldn’t want that, and agree with it from a business standpoint.

BUT! Any skin tied to an achievement should have unlimited uses. We already have the infrastructure in place with the achievement panel and the achievement chest skins. It should allow all living world skins to exist there. There is no need to completely change the system that exists for a ‘skin bank’ (Which by the way, sounds disgusting if you say it out loud), just use the tools already in place to do something that looks like it was already considered.

(Also, I don’t know if anyone else has noticed, but this whole issue seems to have reached a fever pitch lately. Call me naive, but I fully expect this to addressed by the end of the first quarter of next year, and for there to be an announcement about it in the next “What we have planned for the next year” update they are sure to have in December.)