Guild Wars 2

Seems as though the only real way to get the new skins from the new content is through the gem store. This IMO is a terrible decision by Anet.

If people don’t want to spend the cash they have to grind for hours on end. This is starting to sound more like a f2p business model. GW2 was supposed to be B2P.

Why can’t players get skins the reasonable way? You know, without having to get a super rare drop chest, then getting the super rare weapon ticket?

The Reasonable way would be getting the weapon/armor skins to drop from enemies in the appropriate zone. At least then people could sell the skins on the TP or maybe even give them to friends.

Same goes with town clothes. Why can’t we earn those from other means; such as doing an event in major cities? Oh wait, there aren’t any events in major cities, the cities are static.

All Weapon and Armor skins should be obtainable by actually playing the game. Not by farming gold, then converting it to gems, then buying keys or the skins in the gem store. It is very boring that way. Lets not forget how bad the RNG is.

TL:DR

Everything should be obtainable from in-game activities instead of wasting money in a gemstore. The boosts can be left in the Gem store for all I care.

They have been selling skins that are exclusive to the Store since Guild Wars 1. This is something that has been known since before the game released. The only thing I can agree with you is the gambling involved. I would prefer to have the skins available for X amount of Gems. But other then that, I disagree having skins in the store exclusively is a bad idea.

Chewablesleeptablet.3185:

Seems as though the only real way to get the new skins from the new content is through the gem store. This IMO is a terrible decision by Anet.

If people don’t want to spend the cash they have to grind for hours on end. This is starting to sound more like a f2p business model. GW2 was supposed to be B2P.

Why can’t players get skins the reasonable way? You know, without having to get a super rare drop chest, then getting the super rare weapon ticket?

The Reasonable way would be getting the weapon/armor skins to drop from enemies in the appropriate zone. At least then people could sell the skins on the TP or maybe even give them to friends.

Same goes with town clothes. Why can’t we earn those from other means; such as doing an event in major cities? Oh wait, there aren’t any events in major cities, the cities are static.

All Weapon and Armor skins should be obtainable by actually playing the game. Not by farming gold, then converting it to gems, then buying keys or the skins in the gem store. It is very boring that way. Lets not forget how bad the RNG is.

TL:DR

Everything should be obtainable from in-game activities instead of wasting money in a gemstore. The boosts can be left in the Gem store for all I care.

You’d have a point if this was a sub game, but it isn’t. Real money stores are a part of the bargain for the buy to play model, just something you have to deal with.

“Will there be micro-transactions or things to buy which don’t come with the box, like character slots?

Yes. The game includes micro-transactions via the Gem Shop. Items that can be purchased via the gem shop are cosmetic, intended to provide a convenience or are account services, such as adding character & bag slots. Gem shop items will not offer any substantial gameplay advantage over those available through the investment of time. You will also be able to trade coin, earned in-game, for gems that other players spent cash to buy."

The gem store sells cosmetic items. Skins are cosmetic items. Your exotic pearl greatsword will not do less damage than my exotic whatever-skinned greatsword. You do not need to have the skins in order to be on par, combat-wise, with people who spend real money on gems, or buy gems with gold. That was the intention all along and they’re not going to change it just because some players feel they are entitled to have skins that employees have spent hours drawing and modelling without paying real money for them.

eisberg.2379:

They have been selling skins that are exclusive to the Store since Guild Wars 1. This is something that has been known since before the game released. The only thing I can agree with you is the gambling involved. I would prefer to have the skins available for X amount of Gems. But other then that, I disagree having skins in the store exclusively is a bad idea.

The skins that were sold in GW1 were minimal. It just seems that Anet is never going to release anymore skins unless they are sold in the Gemstore or from temporary content(which I heard they are not going to do anymore I pray).

Chewablesleeptablet.3185:

Chewablesleeptablet.3185:

Seems as though the only real way to get the new skins from the new content is through the gem store. This IMO is a terrible decision by Anet.

If people don’t want to spend the cash they have to grind for hours on end. This is starting to sound more like a f2p business model. GW2 was supposed to be B2P.

Why can’t players get skins the reasonable way? You know, without having to get a super rare drop chest, then getting the super rare weapon ticket?

The Reasonable way would be getting the weapon/armor skins to drop from enemies in the appropriate zone. At least then people could sell the skins on the TP or maybe even give them to friends.

Same goes with town clothes. Why can’t we earn those from other means; such as doing an event in major cities? Oh wait, there aren’t any events in major cities, the cities are static.

All Weapon and Armor skins should be obtainable by actually playing the game. Not by farming gold, then converting it to gems, then buying keys or the skins in the gem store. It is very boring that way. Lets not forget how bad the RNG is.

TL:DR

Everything should be obtainable from in-game activities instead of wasting money in a gemstore. The boosts can be left in the Gem store for all I care.

You’d have a point if this was a sub game, but it isn’t. Real money stores are a part of the bargain for the buy to play model, just something you have to deal with.

And a sub game has what to do with this? Is Anet really under budget? If Anet was so strapped for cash , then why don’t they get their daddy “NCsoft” to front them some money from the success of the publisher’s game pool? At least make it so there is no RNG, and the skins are like 100- 200 gems each. The exchange economy would balance out whatever happens.

lcpdragonslayer.7895:

The gem store sells cosmetic items. Skins are cosmetic items. Your exotic pearl greatsword will not do less damage than my exotic whatever-skinned greatsword. You do not need to have the skins in order to be on par, combat-wise, with people who spend real money on gems, or buy gems with gold. That was the intention all along and they’re not going to change it just because some players feel they are entitled to have skins that employees have spent hours drawing and modelling without paying real money for them.

Since everyone can hit that power ceiling easily why must everyone spend more cash to look good? Entitled means receiving without work or effort from work. It wouldn’t be entitlement if players had to kill something in order to get a reward. Hell Anet could make a scavenger hunt or something…….Look at the Sclerite Karka backpiece!

You can get anything you want in the gem store with just gold, furthermore it is possible to get the skins without buying anything in the gem store either.

Also realize that this is a COMPANY. Everything they do from maintaining this website, to running servers cost MONEY. The less MONEY a company has, the less content you get.

You’re not forced to pay anything, enjoy the game and buy the skins if you want.

Town clothes have been exclusive to the Gem Store, but the Quaggan/Charr backpacks have dropped in BL Chests, the SouthSun crates have a chance to drop from mobs, the Flame and Frost story could grant you skins, and the SAB skins could also be earned by playing the game.

And really, gold earned by playing the game can be used to purchase Gems, so…what’s the concern again?

Chewablesleeptablet.3185:

eisberg.2379:

They have been selling skins that are exclusive to the Store since Guild Wars 1. This is something that has been known since before the game released. The only thing I can agree with you is the gambling involved. I would prefer to have the skins available for X amount of Gems. But other then that, I disagree having skins in the store exclusively is a bad idea.

The skins that were sold in GW1 were minimal. It just seems that Anet is never going to release anymore skins unless they are sold in the Gemstore or from temporary content(which I heard they are not going to do anymore I pray).

Chewablesleeptablet.3185:

Chewablesleeptablet.3185:

Seems as though the only real way to get the new skins from the new content is through the gem store. This IMO is a terrible decision by Anet.

If people don’t want to spend the cash they have to grind for hours on end. This is starting to sound more like a f2p business model. GW2 was supposed to be B2P.

Why can’t players get skins the reasonable way? You know, without having to get a super rare drop chest, then getting the super rare weapon ticket?

The Reasonable way would be getting the weapon/armor skins to drop from enemies in the appropriate zone. At least then people could sell the skins on the TP or maybe even give them to friends.

Same goes with town clothes. Why can’t we earn those from other means; such as doing an event in major cities? Oh wait, there aren’t any events in major cities, the cities are static.

All Weapon and Armor skins should be obtainable by actually playing the game. Not by farming gold, then converting it to gems, then buying keys or the skins in the gem store. It is very boring that way. Lets not forget how bad the RNG is.

TL:DR

Everything should be obtainable from in-game activities instead of wasting money in a gemstore. The boosts can be left in the Gem store for all I care.

You’d have a point if this was a sub game, but it isn’t. Real money stores are a part of the bargain for the buy to play model, just something you have to deal with.

And a sub game has what to do with this? Is Anet really under budget? If Anet was so strapped for cash , then why don’t they get their daddy “NCsoft” to front them some money from the success of the publisher’s game pool? At least make it so there is no RNG, and the skins are like 100- 200 gems each. The exchange economy would balance out whatever happens.

If you don’t know what payment models have to do with it, then I don’t think anyone can help you. Good luck with your thread.

Yeah, they put skins in these chests on the gem shop and then there is still the rng factor based into it, that isn’t fair, it might be if the gems you bought were going straight to Anet but they aren’t, they go to NcSoft and who knows what they spend the money on cause it sure isn’t game development when we still have bugs in game that have been in-game since launch, new bugs added with every single patch that don’t seem to get a fix and no one looking into anything like what the players really want just what the corporation big shots wants I guess.

Rama.6439:

Yeah, they put skins in these chests on the gem shop and then there is still the rng factor based into it, that isn’t fair, it might be if the gems you bought were going straight to Anet but they aren’t, they go to NcSoft and who knows what they spend the money on cause it sure isn’t game development when we still have bugs in game that have been in-game since launch, new bugs added with every single patch that don’t seem to get a fix and no one looking into anything like what the players really want just what the corporation big shots wants I guess.

There is no lack of misunderstanding how bugs and programming works on these forums. And throwing money at a problem like bugs does not guarantee a fix. And I could list a hundred things that were added at players suggestions, but I won’t because people who view the game like you are simply stuck in hate mode.

Rama.6439:

Yeah, they put skins in these chests on the gem shop and then there is still the rng factor based into it, that isn’t fair, it might be if the gems you bought were going straight to Anet but they aren’t, they go to NcSoft and who knows what they spend the money on cause it sure isn’t game development when we still have bugs in game that have been in-game since launch, new bugs added with every single patch that don’t seem to get a fix and no one looking into anything like what the players really want just what the corporation big shots wants I guess.

First off, the people making this game are paid to do so. Those developers never get any of the money we spend. They get to keep their jobs, and get potential marginal bonuses.

The management however determines the budget in regards to updating the game, his job is to release the most content for the least amount of money. If that manager can do so, he in return gets bonuses.

If you keep boycotting the gem store because you think the funds are going into games like Aion; then you are seriously mistaken. The second this game loses money, it’s going to get even more budget cuts. And it’s not going to get any more budget, until you start spending money.

Chewablesleeptablet.3185:

lcpdragonslayer.7895:

The gem store sells cosmetic items. Skins are cosmetic items. Your exotic pearl greatsword will not do less damage than my exotic whatever-skinned greatsword. You do not need to have the skins in order to be on par, combat-wise, with people who spend real money on gems, or buy gems with gold. That was the intention all along and they’re not going to change it just because some players feel they are entitled to have skins that employees have spent hours drawing and modelling without paying real money for them.

Since everyone can hit that power ceiling easily why must everyone spend more cash to look good? Entitled means receiving without work or effort from work. It wouldn’t be entitlement if players had to kill something in order to get a reward. Hell Anet could make a scavenger hunt or something…….Look at the Sclerite Karka backpiece!

The point was that everyone could hit the power ceiling easily, so that a casual player who can only play a few hours every other day or over the weekend isn’t severely disadvantaged because of their game time. This game is supposed to be casual-friendly. But ‘looking good’ is optional. It’s like asking why should people pay more for a Louis Vuitton handbag when you can have any old handbag that’ll carry your stuff.

Your original post is saying that it’s not reasonable to get a skin through various methods involving gems and/or RNG. All I’m saying is that you don’t need a skin to hit that same power ceiling that everyone else can hit, so it’s not unreasonable for them to charge for these extra shinies (that you want, but don’t need and are not disadvantaged by just because you don’t have) through the gem store.

If it bothers you so much, there’s even an option that most other games don’t provide to convert in-game currency for gems.

What bothers me with the way some skins are added is that it doesn’t make you play the game differently, taking you to new places. Instead you farm whatever you can (CoF because it seems it survived all the nerfs) then buy the item on the TP. No questing, no event, no running around to new places. Just farm for gold and buy it.

And then the RNG boxes take it to another level. You want to farm one ? It’s more efficient to farm and convert to gems, instead of wasting your time farming something rare hoping it gives you something extremely rare.

Guild missions have weapon skins that aren’t in the shop. SAB, a couple of months ago had weapon skins that weren’t in the shop. Every single dungeon has weapon skins that aren’t in the shop. Then there are the special mystic forge recipes you can make which can be quite expensive in mats. And there are the cultural weapons which you can buy with karma which is ridiculously easy to get. Plus there are many skins from karma vendors and others that drop.

My ranger, for example, uses the pirate longbow, which I got from a cultural weapons vendor at the end of one of the Lion’s Arch jumping puzzles. One of the nicest looking bows in the game to me. Not overdone. Very elegant. Very cool looking.

I don’t agree with the RNG in boxes, certainly not to the degree we’ve seen it, but I did buy Rox’s shortbow and quiver direct from the shop too.

There are plenty of weapon skins in the game. What we need is new armor skins.

Anet has to eat. They should be able to put as many skins in the gem store as they want. I’ve never had a problem with that. It’s the RNG short term playable content that bothers me. No one wants to go to the concert and miss out on a shirt.

Since we are on the subject of skins. Did they ever fix those Asuran t2 cultural weapons that have been borked since launch?

Arenanet is a business and like all business are there to make money. Salaries cost money, server costs money, electricity cost money, etc. You are not exactly playing a stand-alone single player game every single second the game is online it costs them money.

Just be thankful that it is not sub based and there are people willing to support your hobbies by buying from the gemstore.

And it is a skin, so what? They put out new skins every month that even if you are bound to get a rare skin just from normal play even if you don’t spend gold to gems. Try some games where you need to spend thousands of dollars to upgrade a weapon (cough… flyff… cough) and come back then complain about rng skins.

Personally I like the RNG concept for skins, it keeps things rare. Imagine if everyone and their grandma is running around with all the same things you got, kinda kills the mood.

-You can trade gold for gems
-You can grind for a while if you don’t have the gold
-You never have to actually buy the gems
-The skins are cosmetic and do not change the game in any way
I don’t see the problem here. Seems pretty fair to me

You can use in game currency to buy gems, something every game with microtransactions should do. Second, its cosmetic, and not needed to enjoy the game. As someone who before GW2 suffered through a ton of “F2P” games, GW2 is far from an offender in this regard.

They provide no advantage to the player. Selling them for gems (which I will remind could also be purchased with gold) is perfectly acceptable.

You don’t need gem-store or limited time skins to look good, anyway. Look around at all the available options (there are a lot of these), mix and match your armour skins and make a unique look for your toon, instead of thinking that ‘new’ and ‘rare’ automatically equal ‘good’.

(Pre-empting possible criticism: yes, the game does need more skins generally, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a hell of a lot out of what’s already there.)

Err i would consider transmutation crystals a gem store item, and you need them if you want to transmute level 80 stats onto anything.

digiowl.9620:

Err, i would consider transmutation crystals a gem store item, and you need them if you want to transmute level 80 stats onto anything.

Which are cheap enough to buy with gold, if you really wanted them.

There are plenty of great looking skins available in-game. Especially the dungeon skins.

I don’t agree with the RNG box for weapon ticket system at all, which is why I wouldn’t touch it with a 12-foot pole* but it’s not like your only options are that or plain boring skins. Have a look through the wiki or various fan site galleries and find in-game skins you like to go after.

(* For those unfamiliar with weird (British?) saying that means I won’t ever buy any of them.)

I’d probably spend way more money on the item shop if those kitten skins weren’t a random drop from a crate… just saying.

Edell.1286:

I’d probably spend way more money on the item shop if those kitten skins weren’t a random drop from a crate… just saying.

Me too. The problem is, the amount of money people spend on the random stuff is going to be a lot more than all of us who buy the skin combined.

Unless people stop buying random reward boxes, they’ll keep putting them in the game.

Because clearly all anet devs should live on welfare and design the game from homeless shelters. Am I right?

No, I don’t believe the initial game purchase would sustain the content generation rate for very long.

I don’t have any problem with this. The only problem I have with it is the gambling elements regarding to the chests. If they just sell the skins on TP I will be all up for it.

Cloudwalkernz.1328:

I don’t have any problem with this. The only problem I have with it is the gambling elements regarding to the chests. If they just sell the skins on TP I will be all up for it.

I have mixed feelings on the RNG from bought items. I don’t personally have a problem controlling (read avoiding) buying these items, but there is definitely people who have gambling addiction issues out there.

But to what extent companies are responsible for providing access to products that fuel some individual’s personal weaknesses is a grey area.

Might as well ban alcohol and tobacco too?

Also, sorry for opening this can of worms again – my interest in this topic reopened after reading a player’s gambling issues on cartel packs over in the swtor forums.

Well, if you don’t like it. You can always ask them to start charging you $14.95 a month.

You don’t need any of the stuff you can buy in order to play the game fully – so why sweat it?

I would only agree with the OP if gems weren’t purchasable with in game gold. As it stands, I have not spent a dime of real money on gems and I have extra character slots, bags, weapons, boosts, armor and the list goes on and on. I purchase all of my gems with gold that I earned in game. The gem shop is in place for all of us and fits all different life styles. People that can play more like me can use gold. People that have less time on their hands due to better paying jobs and they work more can buy gems. People that have a lot of time and money can earn a lot of gold and still buy gems too!

I would also agree with the OP if the gem shop was selling any form of power to the player. It is not. The weapons are just skins that you apply to a weapon in game. You aren’t getting better stats. Everything in the store is cosmetic. It’s a fantastic system. It also happens to be my favorite system. I have hundreds of hours logged into this game for a digital download price of $55-$60. It’s fantastic.

Things are just the way they are for a reason, in your title you clearly expressed it, pay to skin, and nothing more, I understand your reasons, everything should be obtainable without paying more, and in a way it is, you can convert gold gems, and in paper with enough work get whatever you want.

Its not much of a problem for me, if you want stuff you either work or pay for it, and that’s it, many have wisely said, its the same thing, you don’t actually need to get them to be better at the game, sure they look awesome!

If you have issues with RNG boxes then the only real solution is, don’t buy them.
You want awesome new skins, work for it.
The way of the world is just like that, you have the choice my friend!

TheProphetOmega.3596:

If you have issues with RNG boxes then the only real solution is, don’t buy them.
You want awesome new skins, work for it.
The way of the world is just like that, you have the choice my friend!

Yes, technically you can “work” for those skins in those RNG boxes by using Gold to Gems. But the problem is, it is RNG. Someone can work extremely hard, and in the end never end up with the skins they want before those skins are no longer available, and someone could buy 1 box and get the skin they want.

As a customer, I feel that the RNG boxes for skins is very customer unfriendly, but at the same time it doesn’t stop me from playing the game, but it does limit how much money I will eventually spend in the store, since I will not spend money on RNG.

It’s how they make money >_____>

@eisberg i´m on the same page as you! I would never buy one RNG box, for the same reasons I don’t gamble in casinos, the hose wins almost every time, the game is rigged…
but some don’t mind, and even enjoy the risks, and there is nothing wrong with that, the issue here is that completionists need their fix, and the only way to get some stuff here is either real money or gambling…

I see nothing wrong with that, its up to everyone to kitten the risks and the rewards for some awesome pixels…

I do plan on getting the wings, and since those can be achieved in time spending time, then bring them on!

BTW, I have spent thousands of karma units in orrian jewel boxes for the orrian priest mini, and haven’t gotten a single one, the other day a guild mate leveling a toon comes with me to the vendor and gets the mini on his first box EVER…

probability is an ungrateful mistress, sometimes…