Guild Wars 2

Thick rimed glasses!
Bunny ears!

make it happen!

dreams can come true!

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

There are plenty of things for which we can critique ANet; there’s no need to invent issues out of tin foil.

Every year, even in GW1, there have been anniversary sales, regardless of whether there is new content or not. In 2015, you might have noticed that ANet has put most new content on hold for HoT.

In other words, there’s nothing surprising or unusual about the anniversary sale. If it’s not your cup of tea, don’t buy anything. I’m holding out for discounts and/or new shinies.

Skritt! I’m hit!

Did you have to use the word Shinies? :p The coincidence. But I agree with you besides that.

Leo G.4501:

So the unidentified account bound dyes, are they just regular dyes? Special edition dyes? Can I get duplicates of dyes I already unlocked?

Sorry, never bought these packs so no idea. I’m a little low on good looking dyes but my past record with buying dye packs has left me with a sour taste in my mouth.

Once you open the account bound unidentified dyes, you get unbound regular dyes, which can be of fine, masterwork or rare rarity. They dont contain special edition dyes and you may get some that you already unlocked. However, you can sell those on the tp.

fixit.7189:

Would have been nice to have some events for this instead of just bringing back old cash shop items instead and calling it a gift; I personally do not think asking for more money is a gift but that’s just me. I mean game has not had actual content updates in a looooong time and I expect HoT won’t show up until december at the very least so the end result is more waiting around bored.

I didn’t see them referring to this sale as “a gift” anywhere in that blogpost, maybe you’re confused with the birthday present (which is a gift) that your characters get for existing 1/2/3 years? (apparantly will be a birthday finisher or someting like that)

It’s a sale, not a gift, they’re not pretending it’s a gift, they’re are litteraly just saying “we’ll have items on sale , we’ll have returning items and new items” that’s it.

I’m assuming that the Bank Tab Expansions won’t work in the Account Jump Start pack if you have already maxed out your bank tabs? Can anyone tell me if this is correct? If so then it would be kind of pointless in getting it for those of us that have maxed out tabs.

Corson.2074:

I’m assuming that the Bank Tab Expansions won’t work in the Account Jump Start pack if you have already maxed out your bank tabs? Can anyone tell me if this is correct? If so then it would be kind of pointless in getting it for those of us that have maxed out tabs.

They won’t work if you’re already maxed out.

Behellagh.1468:

Did they do anything during last year’s aniversary other than a sale? I remember a lot of press about the various parts of Feature Pack 2 being talked about. We still had LW 2 going so maybe that’s why and this year without any distraction it’s so obvious.

I remember everyone gathering in the old LA getting ready for fire works show, I have no idea what happened with that one or when or what it was for, but that event was cool. Was that anniversary or LS event I accidentally got caught up in?

Wasn´t that fireworks for the defeat of Zhaitan?

sephiroth.4217:

Behellagh.1468:

Did they do anything during last year’s aniversary other than a sale? I remember a lot of press about the various parts of Feature Pack 2 being talked about. We still had LW 2 going so maybe that’s why and this year without any distraction it’s so obvious.

I remember everyone gathering in the old LA getting ready for fire works show, I have no idea what happened with that one or when or what it was for, but that event was cool. Was that anniversary or LS event I accidentally got caught up in?

I think you’re thinking of the Dragon Bash, which happened in June 2013. That was also part of the living story and not related to the game’s anniversary or other real life events.

The lore behind it was that we’d defeated the Molten Alliance, got the refugees sorted out and stopped the problems Canach caused on Southsun so everyone thought everything was ok again, except the dragons, and the Captains Council arranged a celebration based on the Canthan Dragon Festival to celebrate everything the city and the people of Tyria had survived and that we could fight off the dragons too. Then of course Scarlet’s minions showed up and wrecked everything and provided the first hints that all these seemingly unrelated problems were part of something bigger.

Last year in August they had a new part of the Living Story released, but that also wasn’t anything to do with the anniversary.

They’ve never done anything specifically related to the game’s anniversary except the gem store sales and the first wave of characters getting their birthday presents. Those are based on the age of the character, not the game, but many people still have characters from the first day of headstart so it tends to happen at the same time.

Wanze.8410:

Leo G.4501:

So the unidentified account bound dyes, are they just regular dyes? Special edition dyes? Can I get duplicates of dyes I already unlocked?

Sorry, never bought these packs so no idea. I’m a little low on good looking dyes but my past record with buying dye packs has left me with a sour taste in my mouth.

Once you open the account bound unidentified dyes, you get unbound regular dyes, which can be of fine, masterwork or rare rarity. They dont contain special edition dyes and you may get some that you already unlocked. However, you can sell those on the tp.

Thanks for the clarification!

The anniversary sale is exactly what it implies, returning items in the gem store from previous time periods in the span of gw2 as well as some occasional dropped prices of current items. Basically, the fact of the matter that anyone in this game should know is that Anet loves to put items in the store for a limited time span (in the past they didn’t even let you know of this ahead of time) and now is when they usually return. Another thing you should take note is that unlike last years sales this one is lasting for 21 days which probably means there will be newer (limited time only) items.
As for events. it’s no guarantee. The Queen’s Jubilee was a one time thing, though the reopening of the Crown Pavilion did reoccur but mainly for the zephyrite shenanigans. Overall this sale means Anet put some stuff in the store, it’s usually old crap that most of us have already or promotional items like the new bundles which I find are overpriced and useless. Outfits are lame so there’s that and the really old items that were taken out of the gem store to “make room” back in 2012 never returned. Which many of us never got to begin with as they were town clothes and the wardrobe was never a thing nor was it even conceived.

TLDR Buy stuff from the gem store when its available because it will not come back in a very long time or ever.

Just a flesh wound.3589:

BrotherBelial.3094:

Just a flesh wound.3589:

BrotherBelial.3094:

They did the queens jubilee the first year, and had scarlet show up at the end. People thought that would be the yearly thing for GW2. Sadly, it wasn’t.

Yah. However I have never have thought of that as being connected to the game’s anniversary. It started August 6th and the earliest anniversary date is August 24th. I always thought of it as being another Living Story update that just happened to be in the same month as the anniversary. Since they had updates frequently back then it feels more coincidental than meant. In addition, it was a jubilee for the Queen’s 10th year of reigning. This type of jubilee is typically a one time event, not yearly.

Indeed. But at the time ANet hyped it up as part of the first year celebration of the game, and if I remember right it ran for nearly all of August.

Did they hype it as a first year celebration of the game? Or is this two things you are conflating together?

Patch notes
“LIVING WORLD
Queen’s Jubilee
A celebration to commemorate ten years of Queen Jennah’s rule is about to kick off in Divinity’s Reach! The queen has commissioned a new gladiatorial arena for the occasion—the Crown Pavilion—as a shining symbol of her people’s endurance. Take a hot air balloon ride with dignitaries from across Tyria to the capital of the Krytan nation, and be there for the opening ceremony. Join in the festivities and compete in ceremonial combat in Her Majesty’s honor!”

I see nothing about the game’s anniversary here. All it says is Living World. The queen’s 10th year anniversary.

Wiki
“Queen’s Jubilee is a release launched on August 6, 2013. The release deals with the events surrounding the tenth anniversary of Queen Jennah’s coronation and features The Crown Pavilion, a new zone where players can embrace the human spirit and participate in the Queen’s Gauntlet.”

Perhaps you can post where they hyped this as having any connection to the game’s anniversary as I seem to be missing it. A Living World event in the same month as the anniversary, when they were having Living World events each month isn’t a compelling argument to me.

It was.more.from an interview with CJ. But you think what you want, and I’ll. Think what I want.

sephiroth.4217:

I remember everyone gathering in the old LA getting ready for fire works show, I have no idea what happened with that one or when or what it was for, but that event was cool. Was that anniversary or LS event I accidentally got caught up in?

That was Dragon Bash, which took place between June 11th and July 9th, which is over was not even remotely close to the date of the Anniversary (August 28th).

BrotherBelial.3094:

Just a flesh wound.3589:

BrotherBelial.3094:

Just a flesh wound.3589:

BrotherBelial.3094:

They did the queens jubilee the first year, and had scarlet show up at the end. People thought that would be the yearly thing for GW2. Sadly, it wasn’t.

Yah. However I have never have thought of that as being connected to the game’s anniversary. It started August 6th and the earliest anniversary date is August 24th. I always thought of it as being another Living Story update that just happened to be in the same month as the anniversary. Since they had updates frequently back then it feels more coincidental than meant. In addition, it was a jubilee for the Queen’s 10th year of reigning. This type of jubilee is typically a one time event, not yearly.

Indeed. But at the time ANet hyped it up as part of the first year celebration of the game, and if I remember right it ran for nearly all of August.

Did they hype it as a first year celebration of the game? Or is this two things you are conflating together?

Patch notes
“LIVING WORLD
Queen’s Jubilee
A celebration to commemorate ten years of Queen Jennah’s rule is about to kick off in Divinity’s Reach! The queen has commissioned a new gladiatorial arena for the occasion—the Crown Pavilion—as a shining symbol of her people’s endurance. Take a hot air balloon ride with dignitaries from across Tyria to the capital of the Krytan nation, and be there for the opening ceremony. Join in the festivities and compete in ceremonial combat in Her Majesty’s honor!”

I see nothing about the game’s anniversary here. All it says is Living World. The queen’s 10th year anniversary.

Wiki
“Queen’s Jubilee is a release launched on August 6, 2013. The release deals with the events surrounding the tenth anniversary of Queen Jennah’s coronation and features The Crown Pavilion, a new zone where players can embrace the human spirit and participate in the Queen’s Gauntlet.”

Perhaps you can post where they hyped this as having any connection to the game’s anniversary as I seem to be missing it. A Living World event in the same month as the anniversary, when they were having Living World events each month isn’t a compelling argument to me.

It was.more.from an interview with CJ. But you think what you want, and I’ll. Think what I want.

Oh, well. Of course we will both think what we want. But it’s always nice to have (and be able to show) the proof to back up what we think.

Just a flesh wound.3589:

Birthday events kill immersion, so buy a giant winged backpiece instead.

Oh dear lord, no… I hate those wings. Every time I see one, I want to throw that person off a cliff to see if the wings work. If he slams into the ground and break every bone in his body, then that’s a price I am more than willing to pay.

I wonder when they add the new items for the day. I was guessing Seattle midnight though I guess that doesn’t make sense if someone has to actively do it rather than just having a computer put them in when it’s time. I just checked at 9:10 am eastern (6:10 am pacific) and we’re still on Caithe/Kasmeer from yesterday.

I’m not upset or anything Simply wondering what time of day I should start checking if I want to see the offering for myself instead of getting a “spoiler” of sorts on the forums.

BattleCat.2098:

Just a flesh wound.3589:

Birthday events kill immersion, so buy a giant winged backpiece instead.

Oh dear lord, no… I hate those wings. Every time I see one, I want to throw that person off a cliff to see if the wings work. If he slams into the ground and break every bone in his body, then that’s a price I am more than willing to pay.

Here is a picture you can use for your computer desktop. ^^

Donari.5237:

I wonder when they add the new items for the day. I was guessing Seattle midnight though I guess that doesn’t make sense if someone has to actively do it rather than just having a computer put them in when it’s time. I just checked at 9:10 am eastern (6:10 am pacific) and we’re still on Caithe/Kasmeer from yesterday.

I’m not upset or anything Simply wondering what time of day I should start checking if I want to see the offering for myself instead of getting a “spoiler” of sorts on the forums.

I don’t know either but I would think most likely about the same time of day that the OP made his post saying that the sale had started.

That would make sense, that’s around 9 am pacific. Kudos to whatever ANet employee is in the office at 9 am on a Saturday to flip the switch, though.

Danikat.8537:

sephiroth.4217:

Behellagh.1468:

Did they do anything during last year’s aniversary other than a sale? I remember a lot of press about the various parts of Feature Pack 2 being talked about. We still had LW 2 going so maybe that’s why and this year without any distraction it’s so obvious.

I remember everyone gathering in the old LA getting ready for fire works show, I have no idea what happened with that one or when or what it was for, but that event was cool. Was that anniversary or LS event I accidentally got caught up in?

I think you’re thinking of the Dragon Bash, which happened in June 2013. That was also part of the living story and not related to the game’s anniversary or other real life events.

The lore behind it was that we’d defeated the Molten Alliance, got the refugees sorted out and stopped the problems Canach caused on Southsun so everyone thought everything was ok again, except the dragons, and the Captains Council arranged a celebration based on the Canthan Dragon Festival to celebrate everything the city and the people of Tyria had survived and that we could fight off the dragons too. Then of course Scarlet’s minions showed up and wrecked everything and provided the first hints that all these seemingly unrelated problems were part of something bigger.

Last year in August they had a new part of the Living Story released, but that also wasn’t anything to do with the anniversary.

They’ve never done anything specifically related to the game’s anniversary except the gem store sales and the first wave of characters getting their birthday presents. Those are based on the age of the character, not the game, but many people still have characters from the first day of headstart so it tends to happen at the same time.

Yer so I got caught up in some PvE thingy lol, it was still cool either way!

shuffles back off to WvW

Today’s items are the molten pick, molten sickle and the molten logging axe for 1000 gems each.

Just a flesh wound.3589:

Today’s items are the molten pick, molten sickle and the molten logging axe for 1000 gems each.

Once again at a discount that is out of this world, they must be insane to slash those prices by a whopping 0.00%, it’s madness down here at the black lion trading company everything must go! Liquidation discounts, we are basically giving them away… to anyone who gives us the equivalent value of the exact price of the item as advertised upon its release ignoring any potential previous discounts.

Jiggawattz.2697:

Just a flesh wound.3589:

Today’s items are the molten pick, molten sickle and the molten logging axe for 1000 gems each.

Once again at a discount that is out of this world, they must be insane to slash those prices by a whopping 0.00%, it’s madness down here at the black lion trading company everything must go! Liquidation discounts, we are basically giving them away… to anyone who gives us the equivalent value of the exact price of the item as advertised upon its release ignoring any potential previous discounts.

I was saying the same thing and was corrected. What they actually said is there will be 3 types of things for sale.

Check in every day for 21 days for
1) big discounts
2) returning old favorites
3) exciting new items

So this falls into category 2, returning old favorites. Could they have discounted this? I think they could have but they didn’t actually say that all the new or returning items would be at a discounted price.

It would be nice if they alternated day to day. I know they have 21 days of this but they really should have led off with something … better? I may be projecting my own interests here, as I already have the dagger, the staff, and all the infinite tools I really feel like bothering with unless a new really cool skin shows up. I know at least one person was over the moon at getting the staff yesterday, so my opinion is certainly not universal. Even so, I’m not feeling hyped by what I’ve seen so far other than the opening-a-present feel as I check each day’s offering.

Just a flesh wound.3589:

Jiggawattz.2697:

Just a flesh wound.3589:

Today’s items are the molten pick, molten sickle and the molten logging axe for 1000 gems each.

Once again at a discount that is out of this world, they must be insane to slash those prices by a whopping 0.00%, it’s madness down here at the black lion trading company everything must go! Liquidation discounts, we are basically giving them away… to anyone who gives us the equivalent value of the exact price of the item as advertised upon its release ignoring any potential previous discounts.

I was saying the same thing and was corrected. What they actually said is there will be 3 types of things for sale.

Check in every day for 21 days for
1) big discounts
2) returning old favorites
3) exciting new items

So this falls into category 2, returning old favorites. Could they have discounted this? I think they could have but they didn’t actually say that all the new or returning items would be at a discounted price.

I know the logistics of it. TECHNICALLY they weren’t lieing, they were just using huffery… but… it is an underhanded business tactic and it shakes my respect for the company. Also I was just using satire to poke fun at the fact that they have had random sales before that were 10 times better than the heap of crap bundles they have out right now. Back in beta they tricked me into wasting 20k gems trying to get a perm black lion trader… never again… I have come to expect this sort of thing from Anet…

Someone mentioned in one of the thread about stuff like this.
I play GW2 from day one and never approved the way they approached the celebrations.
Altho the jubilee and the gauntlet are a Living World content, they fitted very well during the last 2 anniversaries. This year we got nothing to play during the spring/summertime. Even with an xpac in mind it’s lame. Thumbs down.

Jiggawattz.2697:

Just a flesh wound.3589:

Jiggawattz.2697:

Just a flesh wound.3589:

Today’s items are the molten pick, molten sickle and the molten logging axe for 1000 gems each.

Once again at a discount that is out of this world, they must be insane to slash those prices by a whopping 0.00%, it’s madness down here at the black lion trading company everything must go! Liquidation discounts, we are basically giving them away… to anyone who gives us the equivalent value of the exact price of the item as advertised upon its release ignoring any potential previous discounts.

I was saying the same thing and was corrected. What they actually said is there will be 3 types of things for sale.

Check in every day for 21 days for
1) big discounts
2) returning old favorites
3) exciting new items

So this falls into category 2, returning old favorites. Could they have discounted this? I think they could have but they didn’t actually say that all the new or returning items would be at a discounted price.

I know the logistics of it. TECHNICALLY they weren’t lieing, they were just using huffery… but… it is an underhanded business tactic and it shakes my respect for the company. Also I was just using satire to poke fun at the fact that they have had random sales before that were 10 times better than the heap of crap bundles they have out right now. Back in beta they tricked me into wasting 20k gems trying to get a perm black lion trader… never again… I have come to expect this sort of thing from Anet…

If this shook your respect for the company then you must of missed them removing the karma buffs, resetting fractal progress because a leaderboard was being put in (then never putting in a leaderboard), remaking and selling a cultural armor in the gem store, and a bunch of other “false steps.” Where have you been all this time?

Like I said I ‘ve never approved their approach in each of the anniversaries. The Jubilee and the Gauntled fitted nicely during that time and it felt like some kind of a present. This year we have 0 events during the spring/summer time. I myself just log in to get the daily chest and log out. And they expect me to suddenly get in game and buy stuff just because it’s an anniversary… throw me a bone at least lol.

Forget the xpac. I’m 100% sure they could’ve bring something to kill time. That’s why they made the fests generic for easier implementation each year.

Btw someone mentioned something like this…
Peace. Out.

I lol’ed when I saw today’s ‘sale’. So the molten logging tools were brought back, but not discounted at all. And to add further reason not to buy them, is the watchwork mining pick gives you additional watchwork sprockets, which all the other mining tools (like this molten one) don’t – so there’s that.

Why would I want to buy a molten pickaxe, knowing there’s the watchwork mining pick that gives me extras, which in turn, gives me more profit? The only reason I can think of is if you’re trying to match the logging tools with said character’s theme I.E. molten for fire elementalist, dreamthistle for dreamthistle necromancer, mad scientist for engineer etc. but you see, this isn’t a good enough incentive. No discounts. No extras. No reason to buy.

I don’t call this one a sale at all. I call it a ‘brought back these items that no one will want to buy’ thing.

Yeah, their marketing needs a lot of work.

ON SALE = Discount
FOR SALE = Items being sold

People need to learn English.

Arenanet never said it’s “on sale”. They just said Anniversary Sale. This is ambiguous enough to mean both discounts and no discounts.

This only means they want you to spend the gems you have because something good is about to come out.

Just a flesh wound.3589:

Today’s items are the molten pick, molten sickle and the molten logging axe for 1000 gems each.

I was wondering why they pulled those while leaving the other gathering tools in the store.

Ah, and now that I look at the store I realize they pulled the undead-themed gathering tools as well. Guess I know what one of the other sale items will be.

Pandaman.4758:

Just a flesh wound.3589:

Today’s items are the molten pick, molten sickle and the molten logging axe for 1000 gems each.

I was wondering why they pulled those while leaving the other gathering tools in the store.

Ah, and now that I look at the store I realize they pulled the undead-themed gathering tools as well. Guess I know what one of the other sale items will be.

If I remember correctly they were the first gemstore harvesting tools. It’s been a long time, but I guess they pulled them when they made the second set. At any rate, there are several that are not available.

Such as these: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Gem_Store/historical
Tireless Harvesting Minion
Tireless Logging Minion
Bone Pick

Juclesia Elcritian.8410:

ON SALE = Discount
FOR SALE = Items being sold

People need to learn English.

Arenanet never said it’s “on sale”. They just said Anniversary Sale. This is ambiguous enough to mean both discounts and no discounts.

Ambiguous hell, the announcement states that the anniversary sale will include discounts, returning items and new items. But I guess everyone stopped reading when they read the word “discounts”.

Just a flesh wound.3589:

Pandaman.4758:

Just a flesh wound.3589:

Today’s items are the molten pick, molten sickle and the molten logging axe for 1000 gems each.

I was wondering why they pulled those while leaving the other gathering tools in the store.

Ah, and now that I look at the store I realize they pulled the undead-themed gathering tools as well. Guess I know what one of the other sale items will be.

If I remember correctly they were the first gemstore harvesting tools. It’s been a long time, but I guess they pulled them when they made the second set. At any rate, there are several that are not available.

Such as these: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Gem_Store/historical
Tireless Harvesting Minion
Tireless Logging Minion
Bone Pick

The molten pick is definitely one of the first infinite gathering tools and is as old as the consortium harvesting sickle and chop-it-all logging axe (which are still available), but the fused axe and sickle came out much later (around the end of Season 1), so they were pulled due to common theme rather than age.

And, yep, those three gathering tools you pointed out are the three undead-themed tools I mentioned.

Although I do see the frost wasp logging tool is the odd man out there.

Forum bug, begone!

this year’s sale is shaping up to be absolutely kitten

Today was not an auspicious start to the “sale.” Going to be waiting for them to actually discount something I want . . .

Anniversary celebrations like this should also be about showing your customers (that would be us players) that you appreciate the support they have given you over the years. They are not just an excuse to take cash out of your customers wallets.

To the ANet defenders on this thread: Can’t you learn to expect more from them? Are your expectations this low for every company you deal with in your lives? Seriously, is it your contention that something like a limited-time mini with a fairly rare drop rate added to the drop tables for champion bags and world boss chests, or a higher drop rate consumable like Birthday Cupcakes added to the same, will just break their backs as a company?

Here it is in a nutshell: They used to BE better. They used to DO better.

Arrow.4619:

Can’t you learn to expect more from them? Are your expectations this low for every company you deal with in your lives?

To be fair this is a common mindset in modern days. Expectations of companies who grow large and popular people tend to expect less, the gaming industry is no different if not worse. Shows the sad state of the gaming industry.

It’s an anniversary sale, not an anniversary celebration. And that right there sums up how they view anniversaries. It’s a Sellabration, not a celebration.

3 Anniversaries now, and they sure don’t seem to be as fun as they were in GW1. Don’t know the reason why, but they always seem kinda anticlimatic. This is not another post about how the weeks of sales are lackluster. I don’t want to focus on how many Queen Jennah’s my alts have, or these cool titles of Loyal & Veteran that I have. And I especially don’t want to focus on all the community grumpiness every single time we hit an anniversary.

There has been some good things (Birthday blaster, Boosters, and new finisher coming up), but I have to wonder why can’t celebrate like they did in GW1. That’s what I want to focus on.

Some of my best memories from GW1 was during their anniversaries. Man, did they know how to make a player have some fun. We had festivities for players to compete and participate in. We had great rewards that could be earned. Birthday cupcakes anyone? We had presents that had chances of providing random, sometimes exciting, minis. It only got better. Even by 2015. We had the anniversary weaponsmith, the Proof of Legend, and even a voucher for a free bank tab.

My point is, that GW1 anniversaries are exciting. It offers rewards for playing their game and even encourages players to invest time to earn more rewards. I still enjoy logging into my alts to see what cool mini they get this year. (even tho I already bought all of them) I enjoyed that randomness between my characters. For a brief moment, the game felt special and I felt more rewarded for all the cool things I could do for being loyal rather than this very, cool title I have.

None of that excitement has ever occurred during GW2 anniversaries. I just don’t get it. It seems so “night & day”. I understand that they are different creative teams, and the importance of the gem shop, but it just seems they are excessively stingy. Even after 10 years and a game that’s passed it’s prime, they still know how to celebrate. However, I have zero hope that the 4th anniversary will be any better.

Sorry, your terminology is a bit out … it’s not an anniversary, it a remembrance.

It seems pretty obvious they’re pulling an ‘all hands on deck’ sprint to get HoT done before the holiday shopping season passes them by. Don’t expect to see a lot of anything other than them grinding through the work in front of them relating to HoT. Even the usually clockwork-like Black Lion RMT team has been skipping weekly releases — almost certainly so they can pitch in on the big push.

Just like it’s been the last two times they’ve done this. Don’t remember this many complainers either of those times.

Nike.2631:

It seems pretty obvious they’re pulling an ‘all hands on deck’ sprint to get HoT done before the holiday shopping season passes them by. Don’t expect to see a lot of anything other than them grinding through the work in front of them relating to HoT. Even the usually clockwork-like Black Lion RMT team has been skipping weekly releases — almost certainly so they can pitch in on the big push.

I’m sorry, but this argument doesn’t address the OP’s post at all, unless ANet was working on the expansion at year one and year two anniversaries.

For some reason, ANet doesn’t value the anniversary of the game as a celebration instead of a sellabration and this cash shop focus on sellabrating isn’t helping the game.

Behellagh.1468:

Just like it’s been the last two times they’ve done this. Don’t remember this many complainers either of those times.

Bad memory.

Just a flesh wound.3589:

For some reason, ANet doesn’t value the anniversary of the game as a celebration instead of a sellabration and this cash shop focus on sellabrating isn’t helping the game.

Really ? Here I naively thought that giving money to the studio was supporting the game. How wrong I was ! [/sarcasm]

Turns out when you pre-sell an expansion for an MMO, you actually have to “make” the expansion eventually, which seems to have caught them unprepared. =P

Nike.2631:

It seems pretty obvious they’re pulling an ‘all hands on deck’ sprint to get HoT done before the holiday shopping season passes them by. Don’t expect to see a lot of anything other than them grinding through the work in front of them relating to HoT. Even the usually clockwork-like Black Lion RMT team has been skipping weekly releases — almost certainly so they can pitch in on the big push.

The thing is though companies like Anet can not bring on everyone. There are all specialists. For example, I am a web programmer. Sure, I could be loaned to the applications team if something they did were that much of a rush priority. Even though I know some of it they would not want to put me in networking because that is not my specialty.

The people who would be doing an anniversary are more the designers than the programmers.