Guild Wars 2

Gemstore skins are basically getting extremely annoying, all I see is “Here is some armor that we could have put in game for you to earn via achievements and/or new content but no, we are being lazy and just wanna milk the cash cow a little more each week.”

Outfits themselves are a strange option in a game where prestige is ‘cosmetic’ as there is no real customisation to outfits and there are plenty of sets being wasted. Imagine if the Chaos weapons could be earned by a new dungeon-esque Fissure of Woe?

I get some might be saved for HoT but there have been the following in the gem store;

- 22 Gemstore outfits
– 21 Weapon sets (multiple weapons in each set, average 11)
– 21 Full armor skins
– 55 Standalone helmet/weapon/armor skins

If that isn’t a drain on creative resources, I don’t know what is.

In comparison via typical updates since launch we have got;

– 1 Outfit (Hexed)
– 5 Full Armor Skins – 6 more are simply variants, not unique sets (Luminescent and Glorious Hero’s)
– 4 full weapon set (one for each wep and colour/particle variants not included e.g. SAB and ascended)
– 34 Individual weapon skins as random Champion Bag drops.
– 13 Standalone armor pieces (colour/particle variants are not included)

This is one of the reasons the game is getting stagnant. Would it be so terrible to spend less time on the gemstore and more time on new content that might keep the player base around?

The time it takes to develop a armor skin =/= the time it takes to develop content. Plus the gem store is a source of income for Anet, which keeps the game a float, this should be a given when playing any F2P/B2P that there will be more consistent additions to a cash shop then there is ingame in regards to cosmetics.

Though no argument with outfits.

I hate the idea of outfits as well, there is no prestige, costumization or flexibility to them, however, I feel that they keep coming because people keep buying them. I am also aware of the fact that anet needs to make money and this kind of things do just that for them. In one hand It’s a difficult dilemma for them since the complaints about this topic are abundant, on the other hand, I also believe that a big majority of the complainer turn around and buy the items any way

Wont ever happen, sorry. Well maybe if the entire game populace stopped buying them, but i doubt that will ever happen as well.

I aint after shutting down the gemstore, but so many of the items could have been better placed in content where they can be earned. The Chaos Axe for example was a prestigious weapon in GW1, then the BLC set comes out and it is easily bought with cash and not particularly hard to get if you have the gems.

I partially agree, especially with the Zodiac, Chaos and Tormented sets. Those should have been added with the implementation of an instanced hard party oriented content like it was in GW1: UW, FoW, DoA etc.

After years we veterans still ask for it and they still didn’t do anything.

Pyriel.4370:

Gemstore skins are basically getting extremely annoying, all I see is "Here is some armor that we could have put in game for you to earn via achievements and/or new content but no, we are being lazy and just wanna milk the cash cow a little more each week."

Outfits themselves are a strange option in a game where prestige is ’cosmetic’ as there is no real customisation to outfits and there are plenty of sets being wasted. Imagine if the Chaos weapons could be earned by a new dungeon-esque Fissure of Woe?

I get some might be saved for HoT but there have been the following in the gem store;

- 22 Gemstore outfits
- 21 Weapon sets (multiple weapons in each set, average 11)
- 21 Full armor skins
- 55 Standalone helmet/weapon/armor skins

If that isn’t a drain on creative resources, I don’t know what is.

In comparison via typical updates since launch we have got;

- 1 Outfit (Hexed)
- 5 Full Armor Skins - 6 more are simply variants, not unique sets (Luminescent and Glorious Hero’s)
- 4 full weapon set (one for each wep and colour/particle variants not included e.g. SAB and ascended)
- 34 Individual weapon skins as random Champion Bag drops.
- 13 Standalone armor pieces (colour/particle variants are not included)

This is one of the reasons the game is getting stagnant. Would it be so terrible to spend less time on the gemstore and more time on new content that might keep the player base around?

Trying to keep myself calm here.....
Me1: "So Me2, it must suck that you must pay every month to play that MMO of yours"
Me2: "Nah bra Guild Wars 2 is a revolutionary new type of MMO where you dont pay any money after buying the game. So that means you dont pay every month an subscription and also not for the updates that we get for the game that they could’ve just said "heres the fifth expansion" like with WoW"
Me1: "What! Thats unbelievable, but how does the game’s company survive without subscriptions?"
Me2: "Ah, they have this store called the gem store where you can buy lots of cool or cute outfits for your characters which are totally cosmetic but we buy it because we want to support the game, as well as you can get things to make you’re playing experience a lot more fun or atleast just easier"
Me1: "Kittenikitten that sounds awesome! Im gona get me that game right away"

Ok yeah theres a totally useless piece for you guys to read but, the point is, as I understand it the gem store is Guild War’s primary source of income, now some of you may have not even played subscription MMOs but it kinda sucks to pay 10$-30$ ecpesialy if your countries currency sucks against the dollar which makes it 12 times more!

So yeah, rather take this time, not waste it and use it to come up with a new way for Anet to finance Guild Wars 2 considering that you wanna QQ about them trying to make money!!!

if (noGemstore == 0)
{ guildwars2 = dead }else
{subsriptions = ’Yes’}

This post isn’t saying ‘Down with the Gem Store!’, it is asking for some balance.

Overemphasis on this aspect of the game is driving the cost of conversion too high and basically just boring the kitten out of everyone, because there’s little to do besides grind gold.

Dropped my WoW sub so I could afford all these lovely outfits! Mad Scientist is an Engi dream~

Jahroots.6791:

there’s little to do besides grind gold.

I dont know about you, but if you really think that grinding gold is the only thing that you can do in the game then you might not be playing the right game :I

It’s been a couple of years for some of us, there are a lot of things to do but we’ve already done them. Most of the new stuff goes straight to the gem store or TP, hence the grinding.

Jahroots.6791:

It’s been a couple of years for some of us, there are a lot of things to do but we’ve already done them. Most of the new stuff goes straight to the gem store or TP, hence the grinding.

Because they can generate outfits much quicker and cheaper than they can content. They are already developing new content via HoT, however they still need to sustain income while they develop it.

The game’s design asks too much of cosmetics. They are expected to generate revenue and serve as an endgame goal. ANet has to sell something in the store, and since they keep generating looks for character models and weapons, this suggests they sell.

I think it’s deceiving to look at the totals if you aren’t going to include all of the weapon and armor skins that were part of the initial box price. Those are in the game, also. It’s also deceiving to look at the totals of since-launch and in-store skins in general.

Look instead at recent trends. ANet has been experimenting with both content and rewards. If they are going to continue with armor pieces earned in game and outfits in the store, I think that’s a good trend.

Outfits have a place. They’re quite useful for those who level characters and don’t want to burn a ton of charges to have a decent look while leveling. Also, someone must be buying them or ANet would stop producing them.

Swimsuits. That will be the only outfit I accept…consistently. Where are they ANet, summer is upon us and I still need a swimsuit for my Charr.

RyuDragnier.9476:

Swimsuits. That will be the only outfit I accept…consistently. Where are they ANet, summer is upon us and I still need a swimsuit for my Charr.

omg I suggested this on the release of Southsun Cove; They created a beach scene, and forced the removal of armour on characters when entering the zone. That gem store swimsuits were not made available at the time (and still aren’t) just blew. my. kitten. mind. Total mindjob. Still wheeling from dizzy bewilderment.

RyuDragnier.9476:

Where are they ANet, summer is upon us and I still need a swimsuit for my Charr.

Since ANet is unlikely to provide, I thought I’d help…

I love the new skins and outfits. Hope they continue making more!

Waldir.2571:

I hate the idea of outfits as well

There is no prestige from anything that can be purchased in the gemstore.

Centurion.7296:

if (noGemstore == 0)
{ guildwars2 = dead }else
{subsriptions = ’Yes’}

Code won’t execute. C-style languages tend to need a ; every now and then :P

Centurion.7296:

Jahroots.6791:

there’s little to do besides grind gold.

I dont know about you, but if you really think that grinding gold is the only thing that you can do in the game then you might not be playing the right game :I

I’m fully willing to accept that someone with 7000+ hours of play might kinda be running out of stuff to do. I just don’t think this relates to a lot of players. Still it is easily conceivable that some players could run out of things to do.

BrooksP.4318:

Because they can generate outfits much quicker and cheaper than they can content. They are already developing new content via HoT, however they still need to sustain income while they develop it.

And I will go so far as to argue that in fact they sell well as well

Yes, ANET! Enough with the gem store items. We need to you stop making money to keep the company running and paying people who keep feeding an providing for their families with their unending needs.

Jeez this really has to stop!

I like the gemstore weapon skins. I do not like that they are RNG. As long as there was some reliable way to obtain them, I would support adding even more. Sadly, you currently have to blow a fortune just for one weapon, and that’s bad.

I will probably never use outfits. They don’t work on charr due to stretching and tails, and on asura my toes always stick out. So lazy. So, so very lazy.

Wasn’t the whole point of outfits to not have to be lazy anymore, to make something that would be a quality product with no clipping or other racial issues? I am just confused as to what the whole point of it all was in the end.

To me it just seems like we lost town clothes and didn’t gain anything. You can’t even mix outfits with the special headgear skins like the glasses, which are also available from the gemstore. So its a conflicting “buy this, but not this!” situation.

So you’ve already lost money from RNG and lack of customization, hmm.

As for the pro-gemstore arguments… let me say that the gemstore could be alot more than it currently is without becoming P2W. ArenaNet passes up massive amounts of ideas (e.g bunny ears, other species ears/tails, capes) that people suggest, won’t even return past retired content, and gives no explanation for any of it.

I’ve stopped buying gems… there’s just no point anymore. None of it is really good. The best gemstore items are stuff like bank slots, transmutation charges, etc.

^Their excuse for not fixing the Charr clipping is “not enough people play Charr”. A bit of BS to me, especially since people have said they would play charr if there was no clipping. A catch 22 moment.

To be fair, they did give us weapons skins in Dry Top, and Carapace & Luminescent in Silverwastes and season 2.

I don’t like outfits. You can’t play with wardrobe combinations. Borring stuff really.

while i do dislike outfits u have no right to bash them for releasing too many cosmetic overrides, this is free to play, u know what u signed up for. and ur like 2 months away frm an expansion or something arnt u? they are not going to make new content before HOT comes out

RyuDragnier.9476:

^Their excuse for not fixing the Charr clipping is “not enough people play Charr”. A bit of BS to me, especially since people have said they would play charr if there was no clipping. A catch 22 moment.

nobody should be playing the charr they are the bad guys and you are bad for using them

Centurion.7296:

Jahroots.6791:

there’s little to do besides grind gold.

I dont know about you, but if you really think that grinding gold is the only thing that you can do in the game then you might not be playing the right game :I

I might be not playing the right game then.

Edit: If you can call logging in once a week and logging out 20 minutes later playing that is.

Duke Nukem.6783:

while i do dislike outfits u have no right to bash them for releasing too many cosmetic overrides, this is free to play, u know what u signed up for. and ur like 2 months away frm an expansion or something arnt u? they are not going to make new content before HOT comes out

this is not f2p game

kkthxbye

Duke Nukem.6783:

while i do dislike outfits u have no right to bash them for releasing too many cosmetic overrides, this is free to play, u know what u signed up for. and ur like 2 months away frm an expansion or something arnt u? they are not going to make new content before HOT comes out

Two months? You’re extremely hopeful, try half a year at the minimum.

Also this game is not F2P, it costs $50 to buy it. That is alot of money. To put it into perspective, in some countries that is all you get paid each week.

tramwajarz.2369:

this is not f2p game
kkthxbye

The business models are relatively the same. The difference is the initial cost allow for the devs to avoid doing more gameplay invasive cash shop items in order to generate revenue. So the balance between cash shop items(in this case cosmetics) and cosmetics via content will still always lean towards cash shop similar to F2Ps.

Hannelore.8153:

Also this game is not F2P, it costs $50 to buy it. That is alot of money. To put it into perspective, in some countries that is all you get paid each week.

To put it into another perspective, single player games range from $50-60 and usually yield 30-60 hours worth of gameplay. GW2 being $50 initially with no other costs, means after 30-60 hours the initial cost of the game is irrelevant.

BrooksP.4318:

To put it into another perspective, single player games range from $50-60 and usually yield 30-60 hours worth of gameplay. GW2 being $50 initially with no other costs, means after 30-60 hours the initial cost of the game is irrelevant.

I detest this argument, and want to throw up every time I see it.

According to this, F2P games are the best thing ever, and can only be beaten by if you are a QA tester, and you even get paid for playing. Right….

If you really want to measure the “worth” of a game, please insert stuff like “level of enjoyment”, “saturation”, “personal gain” etc..

To put 50 dollars into perspective: 40-50 loaves of bread, or one hard disk, or half a CPU, or 1 hard disk.

Also, that weird gray looking heavy armor (similar to LA guard armor) every other new character is wearing. I need a toggle switch for. They are ugly.

The only thing I dislike about outfit is that the pieces are not interchangeable as far as gems go make enough just playing the game to convert gold to gem so no real need to use real cash (except when those special one day sales come by).

Bubi.7942:

BrooksP.4318:

To put it into another perspective, single player games range from $50-60 and usually yield 30-60 hours worth of gameplay. GW2 being $50 initially with no other costs, means after 30-60 hours the initial cost of the game is irrelevant.

I detest this argument, and want to throw up every time I see it.

According to this, F2P games are the best thing ever, and can only be beaten by if you are a QA tester, and you even get paid for playing. Right….

If you really want to measure the “worth” of a game, please insert stuff like “level of enjoyment”, “saturation”, “personal gain” etc..

As much as you may detest the argument, it doesn’t take away from the fact that B2P revenue stream is primarily based off of Cash shop and not initial purchase, in the way F2Ps are. If not then Anet might as well made a SP game and avoided paying server costs and devs. The measure is cost comparison, since saturation and enjoyment are subjective.

BrooksP.4318:

Bubi.7942:

BrooksP.4318:

To put it into another perspective, single player games range from $50-60 and usually yield 30-60 hours worth of gameplay. GW2 being $50 initially with no other costs, means after 30-60 hours the initial cost of the game is irrelevant.

I detest this argument, and want to throw up every time I see it.

According to this, F2P games are the best thing ever, and can only be beaten by if you are a QA tester, and you even get paid for playing. Right….

If you really want to measure the “worth” of a game, please insert stuff like “level of enjoyment”, “saturation”, “personal gain” etc..

As much as you may detest the argument, it doesn’t take away from the fact that B2P revenue stream is primarily based off of Cash shop and not initial purchase, in the way F2Ps are. If not then Anet might as well made a SP game and avoided paying server costs and devs. The measure is cost comparison, since saturation and enjoyment are subjective.

worked for gw1 so could have worked for gw2 possible, we will never know

your opinion about b2p and f2p comparison has nothing to do with the case – this game is b2p and saying otherwise is a plain lie

for a b2p game I would expect less cash shop focus and more content focus – especially paid content; I am not surprised with the OP. The gem store focus is out of proportion for last months. We know they’re working on expansion however some people are not happy with gem store focus and the amount of content added to gem store was bigger than real, meaningful content to play.

And no, living story 2 is not content but just a personal story extension with no real gameplay into it.

So please take into consideration people want to pay for content, not just skins and even worse – outfits.

tramwajarz.2369:

worked for gw1 so could have worked for gw2 possible, we will never know

your opinion about b2p and f2p comparison has nothing to do with the case – this game is b2p and saying otherwise is a plain lie

for a b2p game I would expect less cash shop focus and more content focus – especially paid content; I am not surprised with the OP. The gem store focus is out of proportion for last months. We know they’re working on expansion however some people are not happy with gem store focus and the amount of content added to gem store was bigger than real, meaningful content to play.

And no, living story 2 is not content but just a personal story extension with no real gameplay into it.

So please take into consideration people want to pay for content, not just skins and even worse – outfits.

When comparing GW1 and GW2 its obvious Anet didn’t want to go that route, my guess is they wanted to avoid having to release cash gated content, which is why they went with cosmetic heavy route. Now if this was a good or bad choice is unknown, though its obvious their current model isn’t working.

In regards to the F2P comparison is that since Anet DIDN’T go with content heavy cash shop and instead a cosmetic heavy makes it more inline with F2Ps then B2Ps. This is why I keep bringing it up. What you want and what Anet decided to do, are obviously at odds. It still doesn’t mean that GW2 isn’t a hybrid B2P/F2P that uses initial costs to act as a revenue surge, then sustain income via cosmetic cash shop, while releasing LS as the only cash content outside of initial. However with the failure of LS2 and the limited aspect of LS1 showed this system is flawed which is why they seem to be breaking away from that model and back into a expansion based system.

However development takes time, and Anet still needs revenue in the mean time, which is why they are still going to rely on cosmetics until they can get a working model running.

I also don’t disagree with the lack of content, or that the cosmetic heavy model isn’t sustainable and is bad, I’m just looking at things rationally.

And btw they could make more money if this outfit is armor skin. Just sayin’.

Ragnarox.9601:

And btw they could make more money if this outfit is armor skin. Just sayin’.

Clearly Anet’s actual sales figures disagree.

Also, just pointing out that GW1 had an in-game store as well, and sold costumes that were functionally pretty much identical to outfits.

outfits are certainly an annoyance as they take away creativity from the players (though as the whole game certainly set sails for “guiding players” and away from “horrible freedom”, that seems appropriate).

But with available payment methods, the game store items are in fact items that can be acquired in game. Why is farming specific content for items superior to farming randomly and converting gold to gems?

+1 to less outfits and more armor sets. Because besides it being good for the game, I know more people would buy them, probably for more gems (I wouldnt mind paying 1000 or 1200 for some of the good ones if you could actually mix and match pieces)

-1 to less gemstore items. Because while im sure the OP survives just fine on the allowance his parents give him, anet employees do not, so unless you agree with paying a monthly sub in exchange for getting rid of the gem store, its here to stay.

My point for less time on the gemstore is that it may retain higher player bases that are likely to spend on the gemstore anyway. Don’t get me wrong, there have been skin released that can be earned since launch (obviously), however the difference in what is available for cash since launch and what is available in-game since launch is staggering.

The secondary point is that a lot of these outfits would make brilliant armor sets for newer content, but by throwing out almost weekly skins via cash, they are using up creative resource faster than they should be and before you know it they will run out of ideas for new content to be earned in game.

I like the gemstore and do purchase from it. I just feel that a lot of resource is spent on beating the gemstore for more and more easy cash when a little more time can be spent on meaningful content that will retain a higher player base thus increase general purchases for the ‘sundry’ gemstore items.

I would not expect Anet to cancel the gemstore entirely at all, they have to make money somehow, though the seemingly obsessive way that Anet shove it full of skins seems to go against a lot of the ‘horizontal progression’ they were talking about, as well as taking resources away from creative in-game content.

Selling cosmetic in the store is the bread and butter of GW 2 remenber that theres no vertical progression here(well almost) so they can’t sell the usual p2w stuff that other mmos do to make profit.

And despite its huge popularity Gw 2 dont make that much money to NCsoft compared to other titles.

For curiosity the NCsoft q1 2015:
Gw 18 mil (got some boost in sales after the xpac announcement)
Aion 16 mil
Blade & Soul 23 mil
Wild star 2,2 mil (yeah…)
Lineage 59 mil (go figures)

Hyper Cutter.9376:

Ragnarox.9601:

And btw they could make more money if this outfit is armor skin. Just sayin’.

Clearly Anet’s actual sales figures disagree.

Also, just pointing out that GW1 had an in-game store as well, and sold costumes that were functionally pretty much identical to outfits.

No, he is right Anet would probably make more cash selling set parts on the gem store rather than full outfits,but they got a no clipping allowed policy that makes then choose the latter option because its Way easier to work around.

Hynoris.3684:

but they got a no clipping allowed policy that makes then choose the latter option because its Way easier to work around.

• No clipping allowed
• Charr

Pick one.
Edit/on topic: I don’t mind the skin releases. Though all these over the top armors and weapons get boring after a while, kind-of like a WoW syndrome.

All in all, some of the best armors in the game are armors that you need to work for like tier 3s, achi armor, pvp glorious armor, lumi, etc. In any case if you really want them to stop or make less then that means they would need to make money somewhere else, mmmmhhhh how does monthly subscriptions sound to you OP?

Centurion.7296:

All in all, some of the best armors in the game are armors that you need to work for like tier 3s, achi armor, pvp glorious armor, lumi, etc. In any case if you really want them to stop or make less then that means they would need to make money somewhere else, mmmmhhhh how does monthly subscriptions sound to you OP?

I refer you to my post about 3 posts up from yours.

Yalora’s Personal Perspective
I have spent a few hundred $s in gem cards.
How much have I spent on Gemstore Skins/Outfits you might ask?
Well actually…Zero.

What do I spend my gems on then?
Items that are useful in the game: Bank Tabs, Character Slot, Copper Fed, Many Permanent Gathering Tools, Home Portal Stone, Basic Cloth Rack, Storage Expander, etc.

The problem IMO is they are so busy selling the shinyies that the opportunity to sell new useful QoL items is being missed.

But let us forgo new useful items. When was the last time we saw Bank Slot expantion made available? I may have missed it but it seems like it’s been over six months since I had that option to spend my gems.

If you look at the News page (left hand tab, top left of this page), they’ve just put up a behind the scenes look at Ms. Cox’s role at ANet. This line seems relevant to the discussion in this thread:

“For example, armor sets are now exclusively designed as in-game rewards while outfits are primarily Gem Store offerings.”

Donari.5237:

If you look at the News page (left hand tab, top left of this page), they’ve just put up a behind the scenes look at Ms. Cox’s role at ANet. This line seems relevant to the discussion in this thread:

“For example, armor sets are now exclusively designed as in-game rewards while outfits are primarily Gem Store offerings.”

Thank. The. Legions. No really, thank the legions for that. That is how it should be!

Id rather wait till HOT and get a whole bunch of new armor skins for free just by playing, than have to buy any of them with real money, and i buy almost all the weapon skins that get added to the gemstore.

Donari.5237:

If you look at the News page (left hand tab, top left of this page), they’ve just put up a behind the scenes look at Ms. Cox’s role at ANet. This line seems relevant to the discussion in this thread:

“For example, armor sets are now exclusively designed as in-game rewards while outfits are primarily Gem Store offerings.”

And look at all the new in-game armors we got! rolls eye

Also some of the GW1 prestige weapons being released as…gem store item, hit right at the heart. Basically what our ancestors worked so hard to get 250 years back, we can get by opening our wallet. If that doesn’t sound bad, then I don’t know what does…

The Chaos & Tormented weapon should have really been “Elite Mission” / “Challenging Group Content” loot.

Avster.1935:

Donari.5237:

If you look at the News page (left hand tab, top left of this page), they’ve just put up a behind the scenes look at Ms. Cox’s role at ANet. This line seems relevant to the discussion in this thread:

“For example, armor sets are now exclusively designed as in-game rewards while outfits are primarily Gem Store offerings.”

And look at all the new in-game armors we got! rolls eye

Also some of the GW1 prestige weapons being released as…gem store item, hit right at the heart. Basically what our ancestors worked so hard to get 250 years back, we can get by opening our wallet. If that doesn’t sound bad, then I don’t know what does…

The Chaos & Tormented weapon should have really been “Elite Mission” / “Challenging Group Content” loot.

That would be 12 armor sets so far right?

The glorious/glorious hero and the carapace/luminescent. Each had a different armor for each profession and then a different one for male and female. That makes 12, right? since each one has to be designed separately.

If they had been sold in the store each profession and the variation, carapace and luminescent for example, would have been sold as a separate purchase.

Avster.1935:

Donari.5237:

If you look at the News page (left hand tab, top left of this page), they’ve just put up a behind the scenes look at Ms. Cox’s role at ANet. This line seems relevant to the discussion in this thread:

“For example, armor sets are now exclusively designed as in-game rewards while outfits are primarily Gem Store offerings.”

And look at all the new in-game armors we got! rolls eye

In Guild Wars, most new armor sets entered the game via … Factions, Nightfall and Eye of the North. It would be my guess that armor assets created since Cara/Lumi and maybe some from before that are earmarked for HoT.