Guild Wars 2

Hey everyone, the gemstore was just updated tonight with Watchwork Mining Pick for 1000 gems and Mask of the Silent Sun for 500 gems.

Watchwork Mining Pick

• Account bound, infinite use mining pick.
• Has ~20% chance to yield Watchwork Sprockets when digging from any node.
• Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5V-GoW-jj8

Mask of the Silent Sun

• One dye slot
• Pics: http://imgur.com/a/jef3G

More info/pics: http://dulfy.net/2014/01/28/gw2-gemstore-update-watchwork-mining-pick-and-mask-of-silent-sun/

I am not a huge fan of the masks selling for 500 gems, when a full set of gemstore armor is only 800 gems. Oh well.

It’s a “Mommy let me paint your face” from your adorable 4 year old mask.

“Now you’re pretty.”

I can only eyeroll at the mask price, but what’s up with the “Has ~20% chance to yield Watchwork Sprockets when digging from any node.” Does this mean that it has a 20% chance of replacing what you should get with a sprocket, which seems like a bad idea long term? Or does it mean there is a 20% chance of adding a watchwork sprocket to what you get, which seems like it renders the previous infinite tool inferior?

I know they didn’t say that tools would remain BiS in the strictest sense, but this doesn’t seem like it will encourage people to invest…

Well they want to keep adding a “twist” to each new infinite gathering tool rather than simply offer the original now account bound pick.

CrashTestAuto.9108:

I can only eyeroll at the mask price, but what’s up with the “Has ~20% chance to yield Watchwork Sprockets when digging from any node.” Does this mean that it has a 20% chance of replacing what you should get with a sprocket, which seems like a bad idea long term? Or does it mean there is a 20% chance of adding a watchwork sprocket to what you get, which seems like it renders the previous infinite tool inferior?

I know they didn’t say that tools would remain BiS in the strictest sense, but this doesn’t seem like it will encourage people to invest…

The watchwork sprocket is in addition to whatever ore/orbs etc you would get, so it doesn’t replace anything, simply adding to it.

you sure it do this? cause in tp it says nothing about

Yea the new pick mines sprockets on nodes now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owLvS1GZudU

That being said does this mean that we are going to see the previous tools updated yielding bonus items as well? The fact that the TP doesn’t say anything about it is a little odd. They could be testing the water with the sprockets for future gathering tools but if that’s the case the previous tools need to be updated to yield either the same item or ones that fit their theme. Molten Picks get Molten Slivers?

jsut tested and they give sprockets

i think next tools will have different bonus – so people buy more than 1

good move arenanet

now make them like finishers^^

Seriously, now that the infinite gathering tool market is saturated and most people have their desired quantity purchased for outrageous amounts of money (for something as simple as that) – they add a new generation with a 20% Chance to get Sprockets Bonus Effect?

Are you kittening kidding me? What a bunch of greedy miscreants!

I have to agree that this seems… unfair. :/ I have no problem with new tools with different animations being released, but a new unlimited pick, for the same price as the previous ones, that gives EXTRA loot per swing? Why would we ever buy the old picks again? Or buy the tools now knowing that they could be superseded by future releases?

John (or anyone else from ANet), can you confirm that this behaviour is intended?

I wonder what would happen, if I tried to get a refund on my bone pick.

I don’t know, I’m just back from buying the pick and after testing it out on a few different mining nodes (iron, silver, mithril, orichalcum), it seems to have a steady return of sprockets for me, higher than 20% (or maybe I’m just lucky). For every simple mine I’d get between 1-2 sprockets. For rich mines I’d get 1-2 sprockets with every charge.

ENDLESS GEAR TREADMILLL!!!

Anet, I am disappoint.

Oh, it isn’t the first time they do something like this. The digital deluxe upgrade got added items for the same price as well, and the old buyers were left with an inferior purchase for the same price, yet very few people had complained about them.
They just applied the same principle to picks.

The new mining pick is pay to win. Not only offers it convenience like previous infinite picks but also more profit from mining.

Pay to win…..

The new mining pick is definitely pay to win. Sure, it’s just (cheap) sprockets now, but it sets a bad trend.

What if sprockets go to up 1 silver? Or future tools have a chance to mine the equivalent of asurite or toxic samples?

Where is my 20% UPDATE on my 2x Molten Minig Pick? Where? WHERE???

I am not a fan of it adding more than the other picks for the same price but I don’t see how this is pay 2 win? What advantage does this give you over another player that would cause you to “beat” them? What are you winning?

Maybe I don’t know what pay 2 win means anymore.

Face paint masks for 500 gems was and is still ridiculous. And now these mining picks give you more for your money. Why don’t my other 2 picks do something “more”?

I just wanted to snip this out of my post in the much longer thread going on in general discussion.

“As the person who posted the “20%” number on Reddit I feel partially culpable for it being used here over and over. As someone with an Engi I grabbed the pick right away purely for thematic purposes. That sample and derived percentage was based on a late night iron ore run where I pulled in about 130 mineral resources (iron and silver) and had about 30 sprockets as well. I’d hardly call this a meaningful data set, or meaningful money (I am whole 3s richer for it). It is notable, however, how quickly one person’s limited experience became a fact though. It is, like many other items, likely driven by RDM and I could have just been on a hot streak. To wave it around as some hard and fast number is a little ridiculous.”

This isn’t P2W people. You aren’t winning the game by getting a few more mats from a node.

This, however, is a slap to the face to people who bought previous mining picks.

How could this become a pay to win?? The sprockets value are a meaningless 38 copper, even with a full stack you’re hardly earning something of value. On top of that there’s now a permanent way to obtain them so the sprockets will hardly reach the silver value.

This addition is nice but now I won’t ever have to rely on the TP to craft things like Sigil of Bursting for example, sorry for you sprocket hoarders :P

Should I go to my car dealer and ask him to change my 1999 car for a 2014 one? Because you know in 1999 my car did worth the same price as a 2014 one now, but now they have more options ! Give me free A/C, MP3 player, etc for my 1999 car now !

Seriously, people complaining about this one are funny. You bought an given item for a given price, end of the story. You already got lucky when they allowed you to change your tools from soul-bound to account-bound, and now you want more..

I want azurite to be added for my molten pick, because its related to the molten aliance story.

Oh good WAY TO MAKE MY 30 STACKS OF COGS WORTHLESS!
GJ anet GOOD kittenING JOB
Why not just give out legendaries in the gem store?

kitten kitten it!
this breaks all sorts of things I previously loved. pay to win and gear treadmill.
if my molten pick doesn’t get a 20% chance of a bonus azurite crystal from any node, someone will be receiving a very strongly worded email. (Bone pick should have 20% chance of candy corn)

(Bone pick should have 20% chance of candy corn)

This on so many levels.

I sure wish they would expand on the crew running the gemstore, feels like some half empty overpriced bodega. Even the layout is unapealing unorganized.

Not sure who to blame? Anet? NCsoft? Is it a lack of artists and resources for this particular portion of the game? Where is the planning, and community work?

Is it because they don’t need to add items due to the gem=gold exchange? Just confused.

Truly my only major complaint for GW2 is how the gem store is handled, is that good or bad in a b2p game?

The direction of the game since launch has vastly got better as it grows, as the gem store gets worse & worse imo.

Behellagh.1468:

It’s a “Mommy let me paint your face” from your adorable 4 year old mask.

“Now you’re pretty.”

Haha! I must agree with this.

It’s also a little too close stylistically to the Norn character “tattoos”.

It’s pretty obvious they’re testing the waters on this new sales strategy. Will the community accept this? How far can they go with the gemstore?

For me, this is a bridge too far. This is not a convenience item. It cannot be labelled as such by any standard. It adds economic value to every single salvage you perform from now until the end of your days in this game. For myself, who can afford such items, it’s “nice”. But I have other interests as well, competing more important interests. The most important one being that this creates a further divide between the “haves” and the “have nots”, which drives people away from this game. It does, there is no question about it. And that is not in my – or anyone’s – interest.

Please, don’t mess up the delicate balance that exists in the gemstore; the line that is currently treaded is already thin as air.

Mystic.5934:

kitten kitten it!
this breaks all sorts of things I previously loved. pay to win and gear treadmill.
if my molten pick doesn’t get a 20% chance of a bonus azurite crystal from any node, someone will be receiving a very strongly worded email. (Bone pick should have 20% chance of candy corn)

I believe you only paid 800 credits for it.

I have huge trust issues over the gem store with Anet now because of this. I grabbed the infinite tool set when it was 800 and the salvage bot. Tool skins don’t russel my jimmies all that much, but I don’t think I’ll ever buy anything utilitarian off the gem store ever again, knowing that it can easily be one upped at any time. Granted, watchwork sprockets aren’t super valuable, but this opens the door for a future of other expensive items. Remember how expensive sprockets were on release, I do. Where’s the limit, will there be a salvage bot that salvages like the fine salvage, or journeyman kit instead of the basic we have now. I love my salvage bot, that’s why I spent dollars for it, along side all the tools. Had I known in a years time we’d get a better one, I’d have kept my money till then, even if I had to pay more gems. If I could pay a small upgrade fee like an extra 200 gems (1000 – 800) for it then I’d be ok with everything, but that’s never gonna happen.

This game has no equity, no stable value. If I buy a house, and pay my mortgage, then sell it, I can get cash value for it, and go buy a new house. If I craft ascended/exotic armor I can never sell it, it has no cash value anymore, that house just sits and rots. That money vanishes, which is a great money sink, but this means I expect my top tier things to stay top tier for a while, otherwise why pay extreme amounts of money (silk bolts… 100 per t7 mat instead of 50, oh and now it takes 3 scraps instead of 2 per bolt) for the best stuff. This slap in the face isn’t a singular occurrence, but seems like the reigning philosophy behind their marketing strategy. Anet will always rapidly make your BIS stuff, not. Great way to inspire people to spend money, constantly threaten them with better stuff in the future.

Might as well wait on legendary armor. Ascended is all released, apart from maybe jewelry crafting or food (who knows?), now it’s just a wait for legendary armor. Sure it’ll have the same stats as ascended, but you’ll be able to change those stats on a whim, which is everything. Plus it’s guaranteed BIS ( best in slot), which means you wont get hosed if they make “T8” stuff. That’s the piece of mind I expected from my salvage bot and tools, which I now realize is bunked.

Xista.7391:

This isn’t P2W people. You aren’t winning the game by getting a few more mats from a node.

This, however, is a slap to the face to people who bought previous mining picks.

KOPPER.1458:

I am not a fan of it adding more than the other picks for the same price but I don’t see how this is pay 2 win? What advantage does this give you over another player that would cause you to “beat” them? What are you winning?

Maybe I don’t know what pay 2 win means anymore.

Face paint masks for 500 gems was and is still ridiculous. And now these mining picks give you more for your money. Why don’t my other 2 picks do something “more”?

The let me explain why, in my opninion, it is P2W.
So far everything you could buy in the Gemstore made you look nicer (or at least, different) or help you beeing lazy (EXP-Bonus, mining-tools, …)
But this Minig Pick gives you a chance to obtain things that otherwise wouldn’t be able to obtain. Or at least, you wouldn’t be able to farm just these Sprockets.
Sure, it is only a small advantage, but next time it’s a little bit more and then again a little bit more. Before you realise we are at a point where you could buy things that give you a bigger advantage.
Of course that is just worst case, but they just took the first hurdle. And so far, most players don’t seem to care about it. Or at least, not about the fact that we drift towards P2W.

I understand where you are coming from. I still don’t see this as P2W. I do see this as a gateway or the first steps onto much worse things. It’s a slippery slope after all.

KOPPER.1458:

I understand where you are coming from. I still don’t see this as P2W. I do see this as a gateway or the first steps onto much worse things. It’s a slippery slope after all.

Agree with this its not strictly P2W but its definitely on a slippery slope. Seriously does no-one at anet review these ideas. This is getting absurd.

Actually it is PTW and its very simple. If you don’t spend gems to buy the pick, you cannot get that particular resource from mining. It is not available without buying gems with either cash or gold. Using this pick gives an additional monetary gain over my Molten Pick which is only a permanent skinned version of the Original pick.

Witaminka.4650:

Where is my 20% UPDATE on my 2x Molten Minig Pick? Where? WHERE???

I’m also dissapointed, but I have 11 of them and now what?

Seriously I’m kinda fed on how ANet threats people who use gem store.
Its worse and worse for like last 3 months.

I hope they know that it makes people feel bad and there is a line when feeling bad will stop people from playing even if they throw in the best content ever. People will just not get in to experience it because they will feel betrayed one time too many.

Xista.7391:

This isn’t P2W people. You aren’t winning the game by getting a few more mats from a node.

This, however, is a slap to the face to people who bought previous mining picks.

Yes, I feel slapped 11 times (as many as I have MAMP).

Besides it will ruin all economy around sprockets and the existing node in home will be useless.

That’s all great. Great work…

RottenRagamuffin.3159:

Behellagh.1468:

It’s a “Mommy let me paint your face” from your adorable 4 year old mask.

“Now you’re pretty.”

Haha! I must agree with this.

It’s also a little too close stylistically to the Norn character “tattoos”.

Yeah, Norn players should start protesting to have the face paint removed immediately. If Norn’s can’t wear Human cultural armor (on fire no less) no stinking Human should have face tats! Next you know Asurans will be able to have 4 horns and 4 ears…

Aidenwolf.5964:

Actually it is PTW and its very simple. If you don’t spend gems to buy the pick, you cannot get that particular resource from mining. It is not available without buying gems with either cash or gold. Using this pick gives an additional monetary gain over my Molten Pick which is only a permanent skinned version of the Original pick.

I get sprockets from mining everyday, without this pick. Your argument is tremendously flawed.

Xista.7391:

This isn’t P2W people. You aren’t winning the game by getting a few more mats from a node.

This, however, is a slap to the face to people who bought previous mining picks.

Any extra advantage, not cosmetic or convenience but actual advantage, is pay to win and shouldn’t be in the gemstore.

DarcShriek.5829:

Mystic.5934:

kitten kitten it!
this breaks all sorts of things I previously loved. pay to win and gear treadmill.
if my molten pick doesn’t get a 20% chance of a bonus azurite crystal from any node, someone will be receiving a very strongly worded email. (Bone pick should have 20% chance of candy corn)

I believe you only paid 800 credits for it.

I believe you are right.
However, I changed my mind after writing this. giving the older picks similar bonuses is not an acceptable fix. I do not like vertical progression, and giving these picks any bonus would result in that. I don’t want to now pay 1000 gems for a pick that gives watchwork sprockets, then 1200 gems for one that gives candy corn, then 1400 gems for one that gives azurite, then 1600 gems for one that gives higher-grade material (get ori from mithril), then 1800 that gives a 4th mining at every node, etc.