Guild Wars 2

This is not a rage quit, not looking for sympathy, but thought the story was just interring to share as a marketing decision.

I bought GW2 (base game) for $10 in mid April and did not update because of the crazy Anet policy that said I could get a full refund for HOT but lose all my progress which was a lot. Hence decided not to to play GW2 seriously.

Fast forward to today. With the birthday celebration I jumped back in and decided to go HOT since now I can get my $10 off of HOT and keep all my progress since they revised the update. But wait! It seems there was a small window (two weeks?) that would let me get the refund.

Interestingly players that bought before December can upgrade to HOT and anytime, but for some reason Anet wants me to pay $10 more now for HOT if I update than totally new players. For a game that has not come out yet!

I can not make up my mind if this is a bad marketing plan or just greed. it just seem strange that do not want a lot more money for buying HOT and gem store purchases.

Anyway I will play with my $10 game with no more complaints, not going to buy gems to support a company that want to charge me more than new players. There a re lot of other companies that want me to play their games

Oh yea I now I missed the dead line so it is my fault.

You bought the base game for $10. And you’re mad that you can’t get your $10 back?

KittensWithClaws.3097:

This is not a rage quit, not looking for sympathy, but thought the story was just interring to share as a marketing decision.

I bought GW2 (base game) for $10 in mid April and did not update because of the crazy Anet policy that said I could get a full refund for HOT but lose all my progress which was a lot. Hence decided not to to play GW2 seriously.

Fast forward to today. With the birthday celebration I jumped back in and decided to go HOT since now I can get my $10 off of HOT and keep all my progress since they revised the update. But wait! It seems there was a small window (two weeks?) that would let me get the refund.

Interestingly players that bought before December can upgrade to HOT and anytime, but for some reason Anet wants me to pay $10 more now for HOT if I update than totally new players. For a game that has not come out yet!

I can not make up my mind if this is a bad marketing plan or just greed. it just seem strange that do not want a lot more money for buying HOT and gem store purchases.

Anyway I will play with my $10 game with no more complaints, not going to buy gems to support a company that want to charge me more than new players. There a re lot of other companies that want me to play their games

Oh yea I now I missed the dead line so it is my fault.

Just to prelude this: I am completely in the camp of “$50 is 10-20$ too expensive for an expansion pack.” Unless there is some seriously must have content worth that amount, I wont be buying it, though I do regularly spend money in the gem store for things that seem worth the price / convenience. Expansion packs are typically $40 for AAA titles from Blizzard and far less from other vendors.

New players get a kitten version of the base game for free. We all pay the same amount for HoT (too much!).

You paid $10 and have been able to play since April.
I paid $50 and have been able to play for a few years.

I dont really see the problem here. Maybe put in a support request and see if they can help, but remember: you got the FULL game for 10$. That is not the same as what new people are getting.

I bought the base game for $100, 3 years ago……..

I guess it’s to late for me to get that refund also.

Yeah, I got the GW2 on preorder, payed £60 for the digital deluxe edition. And not they want me to lay £35, or £60 for HoT or HoT digital deluxe, I should get it for free!

No this is not how it works. Older players will always pay more in the long run. It’s the price you pay for being there first and all the play time and shines you have that new players can’t get.

Only option is to man up and deal with it, or walk away. The choice is yours.

I bought the game for $10 in late March.

Since then, I’ve spent about $130 in gem cards (not all at once mind you, just $15 here and there whenever I had some extra cash, and a $25 card this past weekend).

I have not purchased Heart of Thorns just yet, but I expect to get the Ultimate Edition in about a month.

That initial $10 was a great investment and I don’t find it necessary to ask for a refund.

I’m not sure I’ll ever understand the mentality of people feeling entitled to a quality product for free. You paid $10 for the base game (With all updates and patches included free sans LWs2). That’s a pretty amazing deal and the fact that you bought the game puts you a step up (A big step) from f2p players in terms of your accessibility.

If you stay with the game, you will find that measly chump change of $10 will go a long, long way.

Raven.9603:

Just to prelude this: I am completely in the camp of “$50 is 10-20$ too expensive for an expansion pack.” Unless there is some seriously must have content worth that amount, I wont be buying it, though I do regularly spend money in the gem store for things that seem worth the price / convenience. Expansion packs are typically $40 for AAA titles from Blizzard and far less from other vendors.

How can you think this? You play a game completely FREE for years, NO subscription fee and you think $50 for another few years of totally FREE content is to much? This is not really an expansion pack as you get so much more. How much are you paying Blizzard EVERY MONTH and how often do they come out with expansions you ALSO need to pay for???

KittensWithClaws.3097:

This is not a rage quit, not looking for sympathy, but thought the story was just interring to share as a marketing decision.

I bought GW2 (base game) for $10 in mid April and did not update because of the crazy Anet policy that said I could get a full refund for HOT but lose all my progress which was a lot. Hence decided not to to play GW2 seriously.

Fast forward to today. With the birthday celebration I jumped back in and decided to go HOT since now I can get my $10 off of HOT and keep all my progress since they revised the update. But wait! It seems there was a small window (two weeks?) that would let me get the refund.

Interestingly players that bought before December can upgrade to HOT and anytime, but for some reason Anet wants me to pay $10 more now for HOT if I update than totally new players. For a game that has not come out yet!

I can not make up my mind if this is a bad marketing plan or just greed. it just seem strange that do not want a lot more money for buying HOT and gem store purchases.

Anyway I will play with my $10 game with no more complaints, not going to buy gems to support a company that want to charge me more than new players. There a re lot of other companies that want me to play their games

Oh yea I now I missed the dead line so it is my fault.

Yes it is. They published the refund for players who bought the game between the HoT announcement and the pre-purchase announcement on June 22nd for players wanting to buy HoT (only those players that buy both through ANet). Players had roughly 5 weeks to buy HoT and get a rebate on the core price.

Yes it took them almost a week to hammer out and announce the policy but they did offer it. You chose either to ignore the game’s website, the patch loader which had the news, most MMO and PC gaming websites covering that announcement. Or you thought it was too much of an unknown to buy HoT. Either way it’s on you and not some “crazy Anet policy”.

KittensWithClaws.3097:

Anyway I will play with my $10 game with no more complaints, not going to buy gems to support a company that want to charge me more than new players. There are lot of other companies that want me to play their games

10 dollars? This whole fuss you’re making, this thread you made is about 10 dollars? And now because of your own carelessness with the refund you’re saying you won’t buy gems. Maybe those companies do want you to play their games, now, but with this sort of attitude I bet they won’t want it for long.

$10. Geez. Go mow a yard or something and get it back.

Is it my imagination or are people getting more entitled every day? Whoever made up that nonsense about the customer always being right needs to come over here and deal with this stuff.

I spent more on mini pets than you did for the game..

Elric Of Melnibone.4781:

How can you think this? You play a game completely FREE for years, NO subscription fee and you think $50 for another few years of totally FREE content is to much? This is not really an expansion pack as you get so much more. How much are you paying Blizzard EVERY MONTH and how often do they come out with expansions you ALSO need to pay for???

wo. hi.

we are all just people right, with our own thoughts and opinions? It’s been a long time since I was subbed to WoW. I stopped playing when Mist of Pandabears and raiding in Chinatown was on its way. It was straying too far from its medieval roots and going off into themepark land again. I didnt want to play side by side with kongfu panda’s or be the casualty of catering the game lore to a new Chinese market. I like knights and wizards and rogues and dimmly lit castles and solid openworld PvP. I heard Draenor was better but never went back.

But lets talk money: WoW was ~$144 per year, plus box cost for games. There has not been a single year that I played GW2 that I spent less than that in the gem store. There is nothing free, sorry, “FREE”, about any of the content in GW2. The content some of the people here enjoy for free, sorry, “FREE”, is paid for by those of us that choose to support the game via the gem store at a rate that is greater than or equal too a normal subscription fee. If you didnt spend $144 in the gemstore this year, you are welcome: I paid for some of the content you enjoyed.

Now lets talk Arenanet: They sold this game on a manifesto and a bunch of concepts. I’m not going to launch into how most of the things in the manifesto have failed to happen, because I’m pretty satisfied with their effort on the PvE side. They missed the moon they were aiming for by a lot, but landing among the stars and the clouds is an enormous achievement in a genre where few companies are brave enough to do things like: abandon the trinity, ditch the quest system, open world raids, have personal storylines, introduce action combat to an mmorpg, have event outcomes effect entire zones, etc. The game was a big risk.

But they also claimed they would release an expansion’s worth of content, in increments, over the course of each year through living world events. that didnt happen, ever. if you packaged up season 2 and tried to sell it, how much would you pay for it (exactly 800 gems if on sale, minus dragon p1 and p2, apparently)? Seriously, do you feel you got an expansions worth of content over that year? Season 1 was even less. And keep in mind, that is only 1 side of the 3 sides of this game. PvP has seen even less development since then, and WvW, a huge, vibrant game mode, THE end-game mode that keeps this place running in between Living Story event patches, received basically zero development SINCE THE LAUNCH OF THIS GAME.

So, when Arenanet says “hey man, we really do have an expansion worth of content this time, but it’s $50”, I hesitate. I hesitate because I honestly feel it will be less PvE content than a cheaper expansion from ANY comparable AAA MMO. I hesitate because their track record for developing for WvW is total garbage, and I honestly feel that 1 new map is pretty underwhelming for an entire game mode that needs much more love than that.

I honestly do not believe there is $50 worth of stuff in HoT, and I’m a guy who will pay 1000 gems for a mining pick.

OP must be a bored troll no way you’re gonna make such a rant after getting a 60$ game for 10$ (40$ now from what i hear)

I bougth GW2 on december 2012 at the price of USD 60,00 for the deluxe edition… Spent about 50 bucks on ingame content and now ArenaNet want’s to charge another 50 bucks for the expansion?
Well… Farewell GW2… It was fun, but I will not pay twice for the same game + expansion… You messed up…

an exclusive outfit definetly isnt gonna make up enough to make it worth buying the game twice i ve already dumped about 130$ in this game as it was

SRoode.7318:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iayLBI7nsE0

If gw2 gold existed like reddit gold, you’d have it for this post.

bexbz.1905:

You bought the base game for $10. And you’re mad that you can’t get your $10 back?

Yeah some of us have been dumping tons of money in the gem store for years so they could develop all the nice updates that OP got for $10 flat and he’s unsatisfied with that remarkable deal?

Pshaw!

Raven.9603:

But lets talk money: WoW was ~$144 per year, plus box cost for games. There has not been a single year that I played GW2 that I spent less than that in the gem store. There is nothing free, sorry, “FREE”, about any of the content in GW2. The content some of the people here enjoy for free, sorry, “FREE”, is paid for by those of us that choose to support the game via the gem store at a rate that is greater than or equal too a normal subscription fee. If you didnt spend $144 in the gemstore this year, you are welcome: I paid for some of the content you enjoyed.

But they also claimed they would release an expansion’s worth of content, in increments, over the course of each year through living world events. that didnt happen, ever. if you packaged up season 2 and tried to sell it, how much would you pay for it (exactly 800 gems if on sale, minus dragon p1 and p2, apparently)? Seriously, do you feel you got an expansions worth of content over that year? Season 1 was even less. And keep in mind, that is only 1 side of the 3 sides of this game. PvP has seen even less development since then, and WvW, a huge, vibrant game mode, THE end-game mode that keeps this place running in between Living Story event patches, received basically zero development SINCE THE LAUNCH OF THIS GAME.

So, when Arenanet says “hey man, we really do have an expansion worth of content this time, but it’s $50”, I hesitate. I hesitate because I honestly feel it will be less PvE content than a cheaper expansion from ANY comparable AAA MMO. I hesitate because their track record for developing for WvW is total garbage, and I honestly feel that 1 new map is pretty underwhelming for an entire game mode that needs much more love than that.

I honestly do not believe there is $50 worth of stuff in HoT, and I’m a guy who will pay 1000 gems for a mining pick.

I have spent far more than the cost of the game in the gem store and I went for the full $100 because the game gave me three years with TONS of updates including holiday events, Living Story Season 1 and 2, Fractals, Ascended gear, new areas, PvP upgrades and a whole new WvW area, not to mention performance/server upgrades and I am sure lots I am forgetting. ALL OF THAT came for the price of the initial ‘box’ with no subscription fee.

Yes, Arenanet is making money from the gem store, but it’s completely voluntary and nothing in there is pay to win. In fact everything in there can be earned in the game and traded for by exchanging gold for gems.

What everyone gets for paying $50 is everything that comes out when HoT goes live PLUS everything they add until the next ‘expansion’. How can you put a $ value on content that you will get for FREE over the next few years? If your primarily a WvW player I can see where HoT may not be worth anything to you, and yes they have put WvW on the bottom of the list priority wise, but GW2 is much more focused on the casual player and PvE it seems to me.

I think the fundamental difference here is the usage of the term expansion. To me it’s just a toll booth along the route and considering how many miles I got out of the entry fee, it’s money I have zero problem paying. GW2 is remaking the rules for MMOs so what constitutes an expansion may need to be reconsidered as well.

Raven.9603:

But lets talk money: WoW was ~$144 per year, plus box cost for games. There has not been a single year that I played GW2 that I spent less than that in the gem store. There is nothing free, sorry, “FREE”, about any of the content in GW2. The content some of the people here enjoy for free, sorry, “FREE”, is paid for by those of us that choose to support the game via the gem store at a rate that is greater than or equal too a normal subscription fee. If you didnt spend $144 in the gemstore this year, you are welcome: I paid for some of the content you enjoyed.

You know you could have just not spent a single cent in the gemstore and let Arenanet worry about their business (income, content creation, etc.). Playing the game and managing your finances is your thing, creating content and managing their business is theirs.

Elric Of Melnibone.4781:

I have spent far more than the cost of the game in the gem store and I went for the full $100 because the game gave me three years with TONS of updates including holiday events, Living Story Season 1 and 2, Fractals, Ascended gear, new areas, PvP upgrades and a whole new WvW area, not to mention performance/server upgrades and I am sure lots I am forgetting. ALL OF THAT came for the price of the initial ‘box’ with no subscription fee.

But EotM is NOT a WvW area, its a PvE area. It doesnt count towards the war and 99% of the players there have 0 intention on killing any other players. Ascended gear isnt really content, the majority argued that it was against manifesto and a negative addition to the game. The outrage when it was released was deafening. It has only become less of a grind with the improved daily system reducing the burden years after implementation. The living world, living story season 1 and 2 ARE great, but are they 2-3 expansions worth of content they claimed they would release in that time? No. Absolutely not. They are not 2-3 expansions worth of pve content and they are zero expansions worth of wvw and pvp content.

kolompi.1287:

You know you could have just not spent a single cent in the gemstore and let Arenanet worry about their business (income, content creation, etc.). Playing the game and managing your finances is your thing, creating content and managing their business is theirs.

I am not complaining about spending money on the game. I am saying none of the content we have had over the past 3 years would exist if some players didn’t effectively make up the lost revenue of those who choose to play for free. Content costs money. There hasn’t been anything in HoT to suggest that it is as much content as a normal AAA expansion or that they will actually start developing regular content for WvW, and yet they are charging more than the industry standard for the title despite having a 3 year track record of delivering less than they said they would for pve and zero for wvw.

Raven.9603:

But they also claimed they would release an expansion’s worth of content, in increments, over the course of each year through living world events. that didnt happen, ever.

For what it’s worth… us players pretty much nixed that idea pretty much from its inception. This forum was rife with players demanding a traditional boxed expansion model and to drop the Living Story as the primary content delivery method.

It seems really odd to complain now that Arena.net has caved and is giving us what we claimed we wanted.

Ive thrown more money in the game in two weeks than you have OP, ive thrown probably…oh i dont even know, way to much over the past three years, plus my original 75$ purchase!!!

chemiclord.3978:

Raven.9603:

But they also claimed they would release an expansion’s worth of content, in increments, over the course of each year through living world events. that didnt happen, ever.

For what it’s worth… us players pretty much nixed that idea pretty much from its inception. This forum was rife with players demanding a traditional boxed expansion model and to drop the Living Story as the primary content delivery method.

It seems really odd to complain now that Arena.net has caved and is giving us what we claimed we wanted.

People complained about the living story model because they didn’t actually deliver an expansions worth of content in a year (for any of the years) and because what little content they did deliver was almost entirely pve. People are complaining about the new box because it is less content than a normal expansion for a AAA mmo would deliver while costing 20-40% more than those expansions.

Raven.9603:

I am not complaining about spending money on the game. I am saying none of the content we have had over the past 3 years would exist if some players didn’t effectively make up the lost revenue of those who choose to play for free. Content costs money. There hasn’t been anything in HoT to suggest that it is as much content as a normal AAA expansion or that they will actually start developing regular content for WvW, and yet they are charging more than the industry standard for the title.

So your complaining they are not doing what you want them to do with the money you give them? Since your being asked to buy an expansion you feel it should come with more ‘content’ where your definition of content is stories and WvW upgrades? Arenanet owns the game and it’s direction, as they should and how they spend their development resources is up to them. The beauty of this game is that except for the first box 3 years ago and $50 now, you are not forced to spend any more if you don’t like their direction. Anyone joining the game for free now is getting a TON of content to explore even considering they miss out on the Living story. The value here is just ridiculously fantastic and yet you expect more.

Elric Of Melnibone.4781:

So your complaining they are not doing what you want them to do with the money you give them? Since your being asked to buy an expansion you feel it should come with more ‘content’ where your definition of content is stories and WvW upgrades? Arenanet owns the game and it’s direction, as they should and how they spend their development resources is up to them. The beauty of this game is that except for the first box 3 years ago and $50 now, you are not forced to spend any more if you don’t like their direction. Anyone joining the game for free now is getting a TON of content to explore even considering they miss out on the Living story. The value here is just ridiculously fantastic and yet you expect more.

Yet I expect more? Just because its the internet doesnt mean we have to condescend.

I agree that for someone joining the game brand new, $50 is worth the first game, and all that has been released since then PLUS HoT is major icing on the cake. I would not argue against that.

For someone who has already been playing, $50 is just for HoT content. And that content costs much more than a normal expansion while containing far less.

Of course how Anet spends their development resources is up to them. That doesn’t make criticisms about how little they have spent on WvW for the past 3 years invalid.

Raven.9603:

For someone who has already been playing, $50 is just for HoT content. And that content costs much more than a normal expansion while containing far less.

And what about all the FREE content your going to get over the next year or three? Does that have no value? I am not arguing that what we get for go live of HoT is necessarily worth $50, but based on Arenanet’s track record I am not worried about it as I am sure over the next few years lots more content is coming.

OP, there’s an old saying, cutting off your nose to spite your face.

You won’t buy the expansion because you’ve spent $10 more than you should have. I can understand this feeling. I would still not let this feeling control me.

There’s a pizza place by my house. Best gourmet pizza I’ve ever had. Loved it. I later found out that there’s a special on the board there that no one told me about, even though I was buying the pre-requisite for the special. I probably lost a lot more than $10 over the many months I’ve been there.

So I stopped going. I was angry that I spent more money than I had to.

I’ve since gone to every other pizza place, gourmet and otherwise in the area and even much further. But no one makes pizza like that one place. It was awesome.

I recently decided to start going there again. Yes, I spent too much because I missed the sign with the special and no one told me it existed when I was buying there. But by the same token, I spent a whole lot more trying a bunch of places I liked less.

I wouldn’t let $10 stop me from playing a game I was enjoying. Principle or not, it’s 2 cups of coffee where I come from. For those two cups of coffee, I’m going to get at the very least dozens of hours of entertainment.

Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face.