Guild Wars 2

Whatever man, with the restrictions they put into place all my worries (which were many) have been put to rest. The only thing they need to tweak is whisper CD.

Oh ok, just took a look at all the restrictions on the account. Yeah, it’s like an unlimited trial account. They don’t get log in rewards and whispers are restricted. Not too big a deal I guess.

The restrictions make this sound more like a demo or trial version than a free to play game. And I’m OK with that. I’ve gotten into many games thanks to demos or shareware versions (anyone remember shareware, or am I just old?)

Thanks to all the restrictions I don’t think it will affect existing players and because they’re monetizing free accounts by pressuring them to buy the game (by making them so restricted) I’m cautiously optimistic that they won’t resort to typical, under-handed free to play sales tactics.

Basically I don’t think this will affect us at all. Except those of us who want to get friends to play.

Shouldn’t be able to whisper randoms period; it just opens the door to rampant gold spamming. Free accounts should only be able to whisper people who have added them to friend list.

The fact that f2p ppl can enter wvw alone means that soon there will be hackers running all over the places, as well as spies and whatnot.. wvw is definitely gonna suffer even more.. they should make ONLY EotM available to f2p accounts..

It’s a shame. We recently got a video from Mr. Corpening about how ANet will be focusing resources to improving the WvW experience after the release of HoT, with very legitimate concerns and complaints addressed in his video. Obviously not all of the company was informed about this decision, or clearly the effects of a free to play game where players could enter WvW were not considered.

The concerns with the game being available as F2P for WvW are huge: Commander tags become effectively useless as everyone with two computers capable of running GW2 (something fairly common these days) will be able to look at the opposing commanders’ locations. This has massive impacts on the ability for commanders to use critical positioning elements to ambush other groups of players. While spying is already fairly common, this is one of only a few concerns.

More concerning is the ability for F2P accounts to deploy and use siege, be killed, and take of population space in the arena.

Entire servers now have the potential to sabotage their opponent servers by flooding them with free accounts and queuing for WvW simultaneously. This allows for players to intentionally lock out their opposition from even playing the game. This is anti-fun and completely against ANet’s philosophy of letting everyone have fun, and from WvW being about community strength rather than the ability to shut out other players from having fun.

Further, it is now possible for players to station alts on opposing servers to act as free rally-bait— kills that easily enable downed players to rally —to disrupt the flow of battle by enabling large sums of players to instantly revive by an innately weak player. The concern lies not in new level 60 players in weak gear dying easily, but again in sabotage attempts where players get a known targeted with no armor to use as a free rally source.

Lastly, free accounts may deploy siege and use supply. This allows for even further sabotage by allowing free accounts to hit the siege cap in essential areas through building siege in unhelpful locations, as well as pour critical supply into senseless things, such as flame rams within a held keep, etc. For the next 50+ days, we must now also face the ability for these players to queue wasteful upgrades before the auto-upgrade system takes place, even further at the detriment to WvW.

There is no real reason for players to be able to enter WvW without purchasing the game. This is a competitive feature that a very large number of players take seriously. Allowing for this is the equivalent of allowing players to queue for enemy teams in sPvP; it’s destructive, illogical, and removes the legitimacy of the competition itself through the ability for players to grief others via sabotage and counter-productivity.

I am shocked by the choices made with this announcement, and am disgusted that player feedback was not requested before making these decisions due to the very serious threats that can be imposed by changing the player dynamic as a whole.

I thus request the reconsideration of allowing free-to-play accounts to enter WvW for the sake of the integrity of the game mode. It is self-destructive and insulting to the community as a whole who takes this format seriously.

SkullProX.7083:

F2p is healthy for the game? Ahh, thats the worst joke i ever heard)

It’s like you just ignored everything Crimson Clouds listed and instead still have your head stuck in the ground. The limitations are extremely well done. It basically eliminates the possibility of making multiple accounts a day to troll until you get banned, while minimizing the limitation of the gameplay of those F2P people. I was 100% against the F2P before today, and now am 100% for it.

erm how about no? I like the transition, brings more player influx into GW2. Gladly helping newbies in the next time until HoT release – so should you

https://help.guildwars2.com/entries/95982157?_ga=1.240955781.78332403.1436571105

this is awfully accurate somehow.

Free accounts can’t buy gems with gold, so if they want to gift something, they have to buy the gems to do so.

Conncept.7638:

On the other hand, you got charged for a free game.

No, I didn’t. I bought a game three years ago that has received a rather dramatic price drop today. That’s what happened. What you’re saying is like… if you bought a game on Steam for $60 three years ago, it’s on sale for $5 today, and you start saying, “I got charged $60 for kitten game!” It’s an absurd statement.

The free players coming in today did not get to play for those three years. I did. They also lack a lot of the privileges that I have as a paid player.

Conncept.7638:

Agent Noun.7350:

dane.4638:

maddoctor.2738:

dane.4638:

After all that everything I paid for and worked for is just free to everyone else if they want it. My money (which I work for and dont have tons of) means nothing to Arenanet obviously and if I want to play the new content I have to pay the same amount as someone who never supported this franchise who get everything I have paid hundreds of dollars for. I have to pay this outrageous amount for each of my 6 accounts!

So the loads upon loads of releases you got for free mean nothing to you? You got up to 40 completely free content releases (based on when you bought the game) and you still complain?

I didnt complain about what I got in content. Im upset that I have the pay the same ammount as someone who just buys the expansion and get everything I paid for for included which amounts to a large sum where I come from. No worries though I guess my investment has just become basically a ftp account because I wont buy hot for 6 accounts at that price and doubt if Id even pay once the price drops as Id already be so far behind everyone Ive played with this long.

You’re not owed anything. Neither am I. I preordered this game before launch, played in the betas, and I’ve played for three years. ArenaNet doesn’t owe me crap, because I got the game I paid for.

And you still have more than a free account does! Quite a bit more.

Under that exact same logic, he was charged for a free game, and so were you.

He was charged 3 years ago. There was a discount since then (100% in this case) that’s how markets work.

no map chat
limited auction house trading
unable to use mail and forums
restricted whispers
no daily bonus
WvW at level60
limited character slots
limited storage
unable to use guild banks

Conncept.7638:

Agent Noun.7350:

dane.4638:

maddoctor.2738:

dane.4638:

After all that everything I paid for and worked for is just free to everyone else if they want it. My money (which I work for and dont have tons of) means nothing to Arenanet obviously and if I want to play the new content I have to pay the same amount as someone who never supported this franchise who get everything I have paid hundreds of dollars for. I have to pay this outrageous amount for each of my 6 accounts!

So the loads upon loads of releases you got for free mean nothing to you? You got up to 40 completely free content releases (based on when you bought the game) and you still complain?

I didnt complain about what I got in content. Im upset that I have the pay the same ammount as someone who just buys the expansion and get everything I paid for for included which amounts to a large sum where I come from. No worries though I guess my investment has just become basically a ftp account because I wont buy hot for 6 accounts at that price and doubt if Id even pay once the price drops as Id already be so far behind everyone Ive played with this long.

You’re not owed anything. Neither am I. I preordered this game before launch, played in the betas, and I’ve played for three years. ArenaNet doesn’t owe me crap, because I got the game I paid for.

And you still have more than a free account does! Quite a bit more.

Under that exact same logic, he was charged for a free game, and so were you.

Not true. The game that F2P players are getting and the game that I paid for are not the same game.

Vayne.8563:

Looks pretty good to me.

Wow, SUCH a surprise!

Vayne, my good and excellent friend, tell me one thing: among those successful MMORPGs, of which you claim GW2 is a pristine example of, how many have changed their model to free to play?

Because I just happen to have a list of MMORPG failures which were forced to, at the apex of their failure, go free to play. In fact, for most of them going F2P was the main sign of how poorly they were doing.

Is this somehow familiar to you?

OP is asking for a list of items free accounts can buy/sell on the TP. But I don’t think Anet will release such a list (at least not yet).

That Other Guy.7351:

Shouldn’t be able to whisper randoms period; it just opens the door to rampant gold spamming. Free accounts should only be able to whisper people who have added them to friend list.

I agree completely. If they’re actual players, then they’ll make friends to whisper without issues and will get invited to guilds and parties as well. In some games, this is even required to whisper people, and those games have no problems with this from a community perspective.

I look at this announcement and feel as though this was a rash decision made by management to have a publicity stunt for PAX and to sell more copies of HoT in the future at release. This is a underhanded move and feels as though it was unplanned.

I can’t create a free account or log in to check but I assume so since it wasn’t on the list of restrictions. But since they can’t use the gold/gems exchange it won’t work as a way of transferring money off a free account. They’d have to buy the gems with cash.

That’s not what OP is asking. They want to know what items can be bought/sold on the TP, and what cannot. I’m curious myself, but considering how well done the other limitations are for everything else, I’m optimistic about this as well.

Edit: Ninja’d. Whomp.

Conncept.7638:

Agent Noun.7350:

dane.4638:

maddoctor.2738:

dane.4638:

After all that everything I paid for and worked for is just free to everyone else if they want it. My money (which I work for and dont have tons of) means nothing to Arenanet obviously and if I want to play the new content I have to pay the same amount as someone who never supported this franchise who get everything I have paid hundreds of dollars for. I have to pay this outrageous amount for each of my 6 accounts!

So the loads upon loads of releases you got for free mean nothing to you? You got up to 40 completely free content releases (based on when you bought the game) and you still complain?

I didnt complain about what I got in content. Im upset that I have the pay the same ammount as someone who just buys the expansion and get everything I paid for for included which amounts to a large sum where I come from. No worries though I guess my investment has just become basically a ftp account because I wont buy hot for 6 accounts at that price and doubt if Id even pay once the price drops as Id already be so far behind everyone Ive played with this long.

You’re not owed anything. Neither am I. I preordered this game before launch, played in the betas, and I’ve played for three years. ArenaNet doesn’t owe me crap, because I got the game I paid for.

And you still have more than a free account does! Quite a bit more.

Under that exact same logic, he was charged for a free game, and so were you.

“Charged.” Past tense. The game was not free in the past. He paid for three years of access (without the ftp restrictions) to a BTP game.

maddoctor.2738:

Beldin.5498:

lordkrall.7241:

Can’t you at least read the FAQ supplied that shows rather clear that the effect on the economy will be minimal?

https://help.guildwars2.com/entries/95982157

I can’t read the faq cause all i get is :

So can someone maybe post the faq here ?

What’s the difference between playing for free and playing on an account with a registered serial code?
……

Thanks .. found it already over the blog entry. This is the link for german players :

https://help.guildwars2.com/entries/95977128

“Flooding them with free accounts and queuing for WvW simultaneously”
is a bit exaggerated with the level 60 requirement I would say.

Still +1 to let f2p players only play Eotm.

I was about to make a similar thread..
f2p players should get access ONLY to EotM.

If this does not get changed even more players will quit wvw..

I’m shocked that people think anet has to include them in every single decision they make.. No seriously.. I’m totally shocked.

Sorry I was so sceptic. I have just created the F2P account and it looks like everything will be fine. No bot spamming, no gold selling, no changes to major things in trading post. I really like it. The restriction for free players are not restricting them from enjoying all the aspects of the game…. and if they want to join the community, they can either level up their ranks and levels, or buy the game.

Bravo ArenaNet.

Yeah I agree, free players shouldn’t be allowed to play in any WvW maps besides EotM.

That would solve most of the problems…

Free to Play Accounts should only be allowed to play Edge of the Mists. They can get a general feeling for WvW there and that should be enough. Reasons seen above.

I have experienced how backstabbing some servers get in WvW. There is a reason most WvW teamspeaks require you to confirm your identity on a WvW map of the server to grant you access. There WILL be people who’ll abuse this feature badly now that they get the chance.

No need to make it any easier for them than it was before.

Are not most of the so called servers your worried about already full population wise anyways?

Are people still crying about the f2p and how they think they deserve compensation? You are owed nothing. Plus the free accounts have many restrictions that b2p accounts DO NOT have.

Gaile Gray.6029:

You will get a lot of good info in Mike O’Brien’s article about today’s announcement.

could we also get a good looking outfit instead?

I honestly don’t see this effecting the game to that scale.

They must level up to level 60 before entering WvW.

https://help.guildwars2.com/entries/95982157

That looks so cool.

A question: Can free accounts see mapchat?

omg, seriously people. I know Vayne tends to be very white knight at times, but he’s not wrong here. We were all acting like chicken little, but what they have revealed is not a big deal. It’s basically like an unlimited trial account. Plus the game is not f2p. HoT is still B2P and they aren’t moving away from that model any time soon.

TJgalon.5012:

Are not most of the so called servers your worried about already full population wise anyways?

Server population fluctuates. The servers (s)he and you are referring to are not always full. At times when people are not on (OCX, early EU) I see those servers at very high. Granted that is at 3am PST, but that does not stop WvW server trolling. Sad fact of competitive, but fact nonetheless.

Heart of thorns isnt btp for people who bought the core 3 years ago. Its buy the rest to keep playing!

The people who are so dedicated to subverting WvW gameplay as to level characters up to 60 will already have bought multiple accounts in any of the sales that GW2 has had.

It’s crazy how we manage to find discrimination in literally every aspect of human society. It truly is outstanding. People will also find a away to blame things on “second class citizen”.

It’s just a video game man. WvW maps will always be full from now on and I as a pvp player I welcome this with open arms.

Mentioning people with two computers/ accounts who will spy on both sides is not exclusive to F2P players, and I am pretty sure people already do this. I know for fact, they infiltrate TeamSpeak Channels to eavesdrop convos, but that’s called “warfare”.
If they want to use cheap tricks, let them use it. It’s not gonna prevent me from enjoying the game and killing mesmers.

Now for you to stay F2P will ruin the game, that’s cheap af because you are acting like F2P aren’t players just like us. Like somehow, not spending $60 makes you a terrible, disgusting, dirty minded saboteur whose goal is to ruin your gamelife.

seriously man just chill and stop with this ridiculousness.

ham.8209:

AysonCurrax.3254:

Gaile Gray.6029:

You will get a lot of good info in Mike O’Brien’s article about today’s announcement.

could we also get a good looking outfit instead?

in red or pink maybe with some roses too.

actually. scratch that.
I want a “Skritt happened” t-shirt now. make it happen devs.

What Xarallei said. To play the game without restrictions, it’s B2P. To try it out, it’s free but with a pile of restrictions.

I still have some concerns about an influx of free accounts but the FAQ has allayed almost all of them. Knowing what category of items will be on the limited set available to sell on the TP will likely allay the rest.

No one gets to play HoT for free until the next expansion. Which I assume is at least 2 years away.

Test.8734:

Vayne.8563:

Looks pretty good to me.

Wow, SUCH a surprise!

Vayne, my good and excellent friend, tell me one thing: among those successful MMORPGs, of which you claim GW2 is a pristine example of, how many have changed their model to free to play?

Because I just happen to have a list of MMORPG failures which were forced to, at the apex of their failure, go free to play. In fact, for most of them going F2P was the main sign of how poorly they were doing.

Is this somehow familiar to you?

Okay, let’s get something straight. The GAME is not F2P – only part of the game, only a very restricted portion of the game. To play the true game, you still have to B2P. I am not an expert on MMORPG’s, but I do know that I thought of GW as a unique model, and GW2 as well. I like that it’s different, and that they aren’t just doing the same as everyone else. I am not sure if anything like this has ever been done? Maybe it has, but I don’t know about it. But again, it’s not that GW2 is now a F2P game and before it was paid, it is that now there is a F2P option with limited content.

I see this as a marketing strategy and not a “sign of doing poorly”.

Wow, look at all those restrictions put in place just to be able to play for free.

If you have to lock the game up that much, why even bother?

Aluna Darklady.3165:

I am not sure if anything like this has ever been done?

SWTOR F2P

Gene Archer.8560:

Wow, look at all those restrictions put in place just to be able to play for free.

If you have to lock the game up that much, why even bother?

Actually we need more restrictions.

I wont push my point. I will just say that I dont feel they owe me anything but I still dont think people who have supported this game as I did should have to pay the same amount for the expansion as someone else who gets everything I paid for in the core game for free. Also I never said I have a problem with the ftp model, just the price of Hot for people who already bought the core game.

Anet has taken a number of precautions, which some of them alleviate a number of concerns, but there still are no ‘real’ limit on people creating accounts on enemy servers and doing things to troll them in WvW. It is not hard to get to level 60 via crafting, people do it now with alt accounts, and will still do it.

You’re going to have to get over it. This is the model they are running with for all future expansions. Sorry, but that’s just the way it is. They gave veterans a free character slot already for HoT.

Gene Archer.8560:

Wow, look at all those restrictions put in place just to be able to play for free.

If you have to lock the game up that much, why even bother?

Because it will still get people to try the game out. It’s basically a demo version, you can do enough to get a feel for the game and make an informed decision (Which is what’s put some people off buying it before) but can’t make dozens of free accounts for betting, gold selling, or other activities which could ruin the game for other people.

For people who genuinely just want to play the restrictions are a lot less of an issue than for people looking for an exploit, but probably still frustrating enough that it gives them an incentive To buy the game if they like it.