Guild Wars 2

cargan.5689:

You do how ever buy those items with real world money. A 50 inch plasma TV has no real world value once the 60 inch comes out

Well, not true actually. It still has a lot of value for people with only room for a 50 inch TV.

A better analogy would have been a change in technology. For example. 32 inch tube TV have no value once 32 LCD TVs came along.

Cheers.

Giles Marchand.6970:

cephiroth.6182:

Yup. Simply don’t buy RNG-stuff. You knew in advance and still you put those $ in.

No one knew how bad the chances were to get all four mini-pets.

Correct. But even if you knew, it is just chances. With bad luck you pay a lot more than the average. Not buying RNG-stuff is not about chances, it is about the system as a whole.

Weren’t the chances in the very beginning estimated to be very high because some people got really lucky?

Although the problem with that was the sample size and the methods of counting the drops.

Lacechan.6524:

Weren’t the chances in the very beginning estimated to be very high because some people got really lucky?

Although the problem with that was the sample size and the methods of counting the drops.

Yep. Originally numbers like 25% were being tossed around and some people said it couldn’t be less than 10%.

People also hadn’t fully considered the draw-back of recieving a random amount of an account bound non-consumable item you will never need more than 1 of.

cephiroth.6182:

Yup. Simply don’t buy RNG-stuff. You knew in advance and still you put those $ in.

I want the quaggan. It is not fair that a friend of mine got one for $10 and I paid $60 and still have only 2 minis.

Danikat.8537:

Yep. Originally numbers like 25% were being tossed around and some people said it couldn’t be less than 10%.

People also hadn’t fully considered the draw-back of recieving a random amount of an account bound non-consumable item you will never need more than 1 of.

Ah yeah. I think the rates are closer to 2~5% per pet which is pretty bad for something you can’t get rid of if you are unlucky.

Lacechan.6524:

Danikat.8537:

Yep. Originally numbers like 25% were being tossed around and some people said it couldn’t be less than 10%.

People also hadn’t fully considered the draw-back of recieving a random amount of an account bound non-consumable item you will never need more than 1 of.

Ah yeah. I think the rates are closer to 2~5% per pet which is pretty bad for something you can’t get rid of if you are unlucky.

I think it’s unacceptable to have drop rates as low as they are even if they aren’t “2~5%.” It’s foreseeable that someone could spend 500$ and might not have all three mini-pets.

Giles Marchand.6970:

Lacechan.6524:

Danikat.8537:

Yep. Originally numbers like 25% were being tossed around and some people said it couldn’t be less than 10%.

People also hadn’t fully considered the draw-back of recieving a random amount of an account bound non-consumable item you will never need more than 1 of.

Ah yeah. I think the rates are closer to 2~5% per pet which is pretty bad for something you can’t get rid of if you are unlucky.

I think it’s unacceptable to have drop rates as low as they are even if they aren’t “2~5%.” It’s foreseeable that someone could spend 500$ and might not have all three mini-pets.

No, what’s unacceptable is you could spend $500, get 3 of the same thing and be unable to trade 2 of them. You basically just have to delete the extra mini-pets.

Whatever the chances are, ANet is under no obligation to share them with us. Account bounding the items for those who are lucky enough to win is just plain mean.

Giles Marchand.6970:

Gaudrath.6725:

Giles Marchand.6970:

Gaudrath.6725:

Gambling is for those who want a chance to get something for nothing. That’s what you get. A chance. Don’t like it? Don’t gamble.

If that were the case we’d all be happy, but it costs 2 gold to participate which is something and we don’t get any return except the cosmetic mini-pets, so in essence the problem is that we get nothing from something on a regular basis.

No actually it doesn’t work like that. 2 gold is the cost of the chance. If you “win” you get something whose arbitrary value is perceived as much higher than those initial two gold. Thus, you get “something for nothing” because in case you win, that initial investment is instantly forgotten. Of course, if you lose, then you are acutely aware of those two gold pieces. With each failed repetition you get more and more aware of the fact that you are gambling until you finally arrive at the conclusion that chance-based activities are really not a reliable way of getting anything.

Except I don’t think anyone perceives the mini-pets as being a much higher value. Which is why I stated nothing from something.

Tell that to OP, who has spent 50$ trying to get one.

Mkalafut.1273:

It’s Halloween all over again. I have nearly 10 of each of the other minipets and have yet to see a single mini Snowman. Bought 10$ more of gems for some more boxes again tonight and this time it was just a ton of tonics and presents (a.k.a sweaters socks and hats).

Meanwhile, my friend has ~20 of each pet and can’t send me a single snowman because they’re account bound. I’m not spending another cent on gems because I know I won’t get it if after 50$ I haven’t already gotten it.

Is there any plan to make these pets from the boxes tradable? Because this is a bit obnoxious.

Ho Ho Ho, looks like you got "snow-balled" into spending more money for holdiday crap from ANet. I thought the idea was to spend rl money and get nice things and not repetitive, monotonous crap. My bad...

If you choose to play with RNG, don’t expect anything. If you opened 1000 Mystery Boxes, and there was a 9 out of 10 chance to get something you want, it’s no guarantee you’ll get it. Some people are lucky, some aren’t. That’s what you have to understand and live with when you take chances.

For example, it took me, I would estimate, over 350 tries in the Forge to get my 77 Clovers. Some got it with less than 200. I envy the other person, but I’m not QQing at the Forge. I accept that I had bad luck, and move on to continue playing the game. As for the Wintersday minis, I purchased 40 boxes, and got four minis. I’m satisfied with the results.

PS – all items in the Mystery Boxes have the same monetary value, which is none. Each person values the contents differently. Someone could get no minis, and 40 bells, and be just as happy.

It is nothing all over again, the one and only reason RNG is in the gemshop is because developers know people buying things in their gemshop are a certain demographic and will continue to do so, regardless of what they sell.

That may sound harsh but the fact remains, who spends REAL cash on a chance to get something? Gamblers? People with no willpower? I read about people buying lotto tickets or scratch and sniffs (or whatever they are called) People must realize what they are doing. Imagine a person buying a car RNG gemshop style, a few lucky ones will get the whole car, others will have to continue flushing money down the drain until the gemshop coughs up that engine and 4th tire.

Ultimately the customer with the cash knows what they are doing buying things in the RNG gemshop and should have zero complaints, like the gambler in Vegas that spent 500k on Roulette and wonders why they lost it all.

Like the people that run Vegas, Anet knows through studies which demographic to target and why, and thus they make cash. There is no secret.

My issue with the RNG is one thing, but to have the boxes bugged and only send out a black lion chest as compensation is another. If a wintersday chest was bugged why not send out a wintersday chest as compensation. I am glad i got something but I wont be spending money on gems for anything but content again. And I will advise everyone in my guild to do the same.

After reading all the replies, people seems to be missing the point.

I agree that you may see what ANET is doing as legal and not gambling — several States agrees with you.

But to other States that do not share your definition of gambling strongly disagree, that is why it is illegal in their States.

Someone can gauge the value of something and someone else can out right disagree with that value, thus value is not the issue here.

Someone mentioned that items can be purchased with in-game money, but that is not the issue either — it is about what you get when you spend REAL money.

I hope that clears things a little and I am hoping that ANET will do the right thing and make it fair.

The only way to change a situation in the Gem Store that you don’t like is to vote with your money. Don’t like RNG? Don’t like account-bound RNG? Then don’t spend any money on it. But also don’t be that guy and refuse to buy anything ever again because that doesn’t encourage ANet to change their behaviour. Instead, spend your money on the stuff that you want to buy … so for me I spend money on character, bank and bag slots, and (very occasionally) town clothes. I haven’t spent a single gem on any RNG results because I despise that mechanic (account-bound or not is irrelevant to me) and I’m content to do without the potential (virtual) rewards.

For as long as they keep making money from the seasonal and Black Lion chests, ANet has no incentive to change them, so stop giving them money for stuff that makes you angry, and give them money for stuff that makes you happy instead.