Guild Wars 2

I actually havn’t pre-ordered HoT yet myself (saving up first) but I just wanted to thank ANet for addressing the issues people had with the pre-order and offering the character slots and the refunds to those who want them. I see that there are already a bunch of these threads but I felt the need to post.

GW2 is my favorite MMO, and it has never disappointed me. So, just, thanks guys.

ArenaNet moved surprisingly fast on this, and while it may not always be obvious, it’s clear at this point that they do, in fact, listen to players.

For anyone who missed it: Pre-Purchase Community Address

Nicely done, ArenaNet.

Going to go with this thread because it’s title comes closest to what I think about the situation.

First off: THANK YOU ARENANET.

Not necessarily to the exact change, but in general in showing that community desire and mood is important and does not fall on deaf ears. I think what many did not understand is that for some players the main problem was the small but constant changes in how business was beaing done.

On a related note this: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-06-22-destiny-the-taken-king-director-defends-40-expansion-price-tag has happened lately too. While different, it shares some similarities with why the entire HoT pre-purchase debate went down. This kind of leads me to believe that the industry is trying something new, or at least poking it’s head out in a direction which might not appeal to a big amount of players. So even under this point, thank you for clearing things up.

I’m honestly not sure why people feel compelled to thank anet for doing something that should have been done in the first place and shouldn’t have required a massive protest from it’s community.

Especially when it would have cost them literally nothing to do it in the first place.

Anet caving in to pressure doesn’t change the fact that they thought they could get away with it to begin with and no kind words from them changes that.

With GW2 they have a history of kittening up (flame kissed armor, gem store revamp are the first two that come to mind) and only fixing things after extreme community backlash and major gaming sites reporting on the issues. So once again, they do not deserve thanks.

Thank you!
I was already planning to buy the expansion, but your responsiveness to the community has made me consider pre-purchasing, rather than waiting for the release.

Again, thank you for making the effort to communicate clearly and responsively to all of us who play (and thoroughly enjoy) GW2.

Wow. After the debacle that Blizzard put me and numerous other players through, it’s ENTIRELY refreshing to see a company not only face the music, so to speak, but address the issue in a very timely and professional manner which benefits everyone moving forward.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it here, again. I’m danged glad to be a part of this community and I’m proud to be an Anet fan.

Just want to add in my ‘thank you’ to everyone’s here
Thank you for addressing the communities concerns and offering us vets a nice perk. It is very much appretiated!

Yep, Thanks anet ^>^ Character slot is all that was needed imo.

Look, ANet does appreciate veteran players. Those veterans just have to vocally remind ANet that they are still here for one week.

fellyn.5083:

I’m honestly not sure why people feel compelled to thank anet for doing something that should have been done in the first place and shouldn’t have required a massive protest from it’s community.

Whether or not it should have been done in the first place is a matter of opinion, and clearly ArenaNet’s original opinion was that it didn’t need to be.

When players objected, they moved quickly to accommodate them and changed their policy the very next business day.

When someone does something nice, it is customary to thank them. That’s why people are thanking them.

It’s not a big mystery.

Majic.4801:

fellyn.5083:

I’m honestly not sure why people feel compelled to thank anet for doing something that should have been done in the first place and shouldn’t have required a massive protest from it’s community.

Whether or not it should have been done in the first place is a matter of opinion, and clearly ArenaNet’s original opinion was that it didn’t need to be.

When players objected, they moved quickly to accommodate them and changed their policy the very next business day.

When someone does something nice, it is customary to thank them. That’s why people are thanking them.

It’s not a big mystery.

They didn’t do it to be nice no matter what words they chose to use.

They did it because they were getting a lot of negative press and pre order numbers weren’t hittng the numbers they want.

That’s the only reason they did it and it’s the only reason they caved and changed things in the past.

Notice how NPE and the redone trait unlock system stayed in place? Because no major game news sites call them out on how bad they were.

Unlike the flame kissed armor shenanigans and the changes they were going to make to the gem sore.

Major gaming sites jumped all over them for those things and what do you know? They got changed.

We as a community apparently have very short term memories.

fellyn.5083:

Majic.4801:

fellyn.5083:

I’m honestly not sure why people feel compelled to thank anet for doing something that should have been done in the first place and shouldn’t have required a massive protest from it’s community.

Whether or not it should have been done in the first place is a matter of opinion, and clearly ArenaNet’s original opinion was that it didn’t need to be.

When players objected, they moved quickly to accommodate them and changed their policy the very next business day.

When someone does something nice, it is customary to thank them. That’s why people are thanking them.

It’s not a big mystery.

They didn’t do it to be nice no matter what words they chose to use.

They did it because they were getting a lot of negative press and pre order numbers weren’t hittng the numbers they want.

That’s the only reason they did it and it’s the only reason they caved and changed things in the past.

Notice how NPE and the redone trait unlock system stayed in place? Because no major game news sites call them out on how bad they were.

Unlike the flame kissed armor shenanigans and the changes they were going to make to the gem sore.

Major gaming sites jumped all over them for those things and what do you know? They got changed.

We as a community apparently have very short term memories.

Doing something nice and doing something to be nice are not the same thing. Thanking someone for doing something nice, even i f their reason for doing that nice thing was at least partially self serving is not inappropriate.

fellyn.5083:

We as a community apparently have very short term memories.

Our memories are fine, and insulting other players for not sharing your negative world view doesn’t lend it more weight.

Even if your assumptions about ArenaNet are 100% correct, badgering other players for expressing appreciation for something positive is graceless, and matching good faith with scorn is counterproductive.

Such behavior is self-defeating and only encourages more of the same.

No thanks.

fellyn.5083:

I’m honestly not sure why people feel compelled to thank anet for doing something that should have been done in the first place and shouldn’t have required a massive protest from it’s community.

Especially when it would have cost them literally nothing to do it in the first place.

Because they made a mistake, and they owned up to it very rapidly after they realized the problem they caused. Frankly, they react amazingly fast, to this and other issues. And, almost always in the “right” direction.

I was a huge naysayer regarding HoT when it was first announced. But, they have clarified and, I think, changed some things. Frankly, I know of no other game company that reacts to their customers so rightly AND so quickly. I don’t know how they do it, but they’ve got my business.

fellyn.5083:

Majic.4801:

fellyn.5083:

I’m honestly not sure why people feel compelled to thank anet for doing something that should have been done in the first place and shouldn’t have required a massive protest from it’s community.

Whether or not it should have been done in the first place is a matter of opinion, and clearly ArenaNet’s original opinion was that it didn’t need to be.

When players objected, they moved quickly to accommodate them and changed their policy the very next business day.

When someone does something nice, it is customary to thank them. That’s why people are thanking them.

It’s not a big mystery.

They didn’t do it to be nice no matter what words they chose to use.

They did it because they were getting a lot of negative press and pre order numbers weren’t hittng the numbers they want.

That’s the only reason they did it and it’s the only reason they caved and changed things in the past.

Notice how NPE and the redone trait unlock system stayed in place? Because no major game news sites call them out on how bad they were.

Unlike the flame kissed armor shenanigans and the changes they were going to make to the gem sore.

Major gaming sites jumped all over them for those things and what do you know? They got changed.

We as a community apparently have very short term memories.

They didn’t do it to be nice. That’s 100% true. They didn’t sit there and think, I’ll be nice today.

On the other hand, they didn’t make the first deal in order to be mean. See that’s the corollary. Companies don’t do things to be mean and don’t do things to be nice. That’s because they’re in business to make money. And they make money in a number of ways.

Logically, though, being nice is going to make you more money than being mean.

The public does have a short memory. They forget the content they got for free just by logging in for Season 2, when all new players have to pay for that. Seems all those players who got that content for free seems to have forgotten about it completely when they say Anet doesn’t think about veteran players.

Of course, there’s the other side of the coin. Just as companies are in business to make money, consumers are trying to get the best deal for their dollar all the time, even when it’s neither fair nor reasonable.

There’s a thread on these forums right now about a guy complaining that everyone should get the game refunded, because new purchasers are.

The public has a short memory. Time after time I’ve seen this community attack Anet mercilessly and time after time, it’s either blow over or changed and people have thanked them.

That’s why I was sure this would be taken care of, while some of you were still screaming.

I’m basically the opposite of an altoholic (i.e. I only play one character in any MMO that I’ve ever played), so an extra character slot is of little use to me.

I agree with OP and want to add that this was all very, very well handled- perhaps not the original confusing FAQ but the follow-up. I had felt that Anet tried to address player needs but was starting to wonder with the recent roll-out. But the extra slot for the veteran players and the refund offer is an excellent case study in how to handle customer complaints.

Well done. Having come from a game where the company seems tone deaf, at best, and interested in gouging me, at worst, I really appreciate this.

I had actually purchased the expansion after a few days consideration and, while I thought it was the wise move, didn’t expect you to make any changes to extra slots or what not.

The Jaws of Defeat

Sister Swiftspell.1869:

IS it possible that the self-defeatist is the one projecting it onto others while not acknowledging it in self?

Indeed it is. It is also possible to miss the point that attempting to discourage people from encouraging good behavior is bad behavior.

We can disagree about ArenaNet’s motives — no harm, no foul, we are all entitled to believe what we want — and that is not in dispute.

Responding positively to good behavior encourages more good behavior. Responding negatively to good behavior discourages it.

To the extent my own response to negative behavior seems negative, case in point: I am responding positively ArenaNet by thanking them, and negatively to fellyn by not doing so.

If this is truly a case of not understanding why thanking someone for doing something good (for whatever reason) is appropriate, then I’m more than happy to explain further, because failing to understand that is a terrible handicap to carry through life, but that doesn’t seem to be at issue.

Just to reiterate, I’m not in any way suggesting players shouldn’t criticize ArenaNet or take them to task if they think they’re doing something wrong. I do it all the time and don’t mince words about it, either.

If people prefer to think ArenaNet is ignoble, greedy, evil or whatever, that is likewise their prerogative — although doing so usually speaks more of them than of ArenaNet (often to a degree that is downright embarrassing to witness even from the most remote of perspectives).

But there’s absolutely nothing wrong with thanking ArenaNet (or anyone else) for doing something nice (it is nice to be heard, acknowleged and given something of value in good faith), which is what some players have chosen to do in this thread, and there’s no reason why any player should be expected to defend doing so.

All you people should consider this episode ( the outrage about ~10 euro’s and/or vanilla) rubbing ppl (New Players, Returning Players) the wrong way and make them forget about Gw2, destroying ( A -possible- substantial part of ) the player base, and hampering A-nets business, and if this happens and monetary benefits are belowe their wishes NC Soft will pull the plug. As the money is managed by NCSOFT, not A-Net, potentially losing us further development, we still need 4 dragons killed…after Mordremoth…

Then you’ll earned yourself a character slot but could have lost the game. Though I like the second char slot tbh.

Just hope the people will reconsider and be enticed enough by an additional characer slot after every online gaming magazine posted the player base rioted about the expansion not being worth it’s monetary value and being dissaproved by a seemingly large part of the player base.

I hope this will make it clearer, and try to see it from some other perspective.
Oh and I still like the 2nd character slot. So I’ll have 19 now.

PaxTheGreatOne.9472:

All you people should consider this episode to rub ppl the wrong way and make them forget abouty Gw2 destroying the player base, and hampering A-nets business, and if this happens NC Soft will pull the plug.

Then you’ll earned yourself a character slot but lost the game. Though I like a the second char slot tbh.

Sorry, not quite sure what to make of that.

Oh yes, I havent said thank you Anet!

Thank you Anet! I still havent bought the Pre-order but I will as soon as I got the money but I am one of those who would hav bought it anyway and I didn’t complain (That much). But I am saying thank you becouse you listen and you do something about it, it may be small in some peoples eyes and it may be big in other peoples eyes. In my eyes the sign of you showing that you actually do something is worth more to me than a character slot.

PaxTheGreatOne.9472:

All you people should consider this episode to rub ppl the wrong way and make them forget abouty Gw2 destroying the player base, and hampering A-nets business, and if this happens NC Soft will pull the plug.

Then you’ll earned yourself a character slot but lost the game. Though I like a the second char slot tbh.

Eh… what!?

Majic.4801:

fellyn.5083:

We as a community apparently have very short term memories.

Our memories are fine, and insulting other players for not sharing your negative world view doesn’t lend it more weight.

Even if your assumptions about ArenaNet are 100% correct, badgering other players for expressing appreciation for something positive is graceless, and matching good faith with scorn is counterproductive.

Such behavior is self-defeating and only encourages more of the same.

No thanks.

Who did I insult and how. If I may ask?

A Little Short

fellyn.5083:

Who did I insult and how. If I may ask?

I took the reference to “short memories” as a collective insult, but admittedly am on a somewhat short fuse given all the vitriol flying around (just as I come back to the game after a long hiatus and want to get back into the community, no less), so please accept my heartfelt apology for flying off the handle and misinterpreting your intent.

It’s easy to do that in text discussions without the benefit of tone of voice, body language and other cues, and I suspect if we were talking in person we’d get along fine. We don’t have to agree on everything (or even anything) to get along.

I think the bone of contention here is that in my culture it is customary to express gratitude when someone makes a conciliatory gesture. Doing so is not a capitulation of principle, surrender of social status, submission to servitude or license for abuse. It’s just saying thanks.

If you’re not satisfied and/or don’t think ArenaNet deserves thanks, I fully respect your right to feel that way and have absolutely no compunctions with us seeing things differently.

If you can do the same, we’re good. If not, maybe we can work it out.

Majic.4801:

PaxTheGreatOne.9472:

All you people should consider this episode to rub ppl the wrong way and make them forget abouty Gw2 destroying the player base, and hampering A-nets business, and if this happens NC Soft will pull the plug.

Then you’ll earned yourself a character slot but lost the game. Though I like a the second char slot tbh.

Sorry, not quite sure what to make of that.

I updated it a bit:

All you people should consider this episode ( the outrage about ~10 euro’s and/or vanilla) rubbing ppl (New Players, Returning Players) the wrong way and make them forget about Gw2, destroying ( A -possible- substantial part of ) the player base, and hampering A-nets business, and if this happens and monetary benefits are belowe their wishes NC Soft will pull the plug. As the money is managed by NCSOFT, not A-Net, potentially losing us further development, we still need 4 dragons killed…after Mordremoth…

Then you’ll earned yourself a character slot but could have lost the game. Though I like the second char slot tbh.

Just hope the people will reconsider and be enticed enough by an additional characer slot after every online gaming magazine posted the player base rioted about the expansion not being worth it’s monetary value and being dissaproved by a seemingly large part of the player base.

---

I hope this will make it clearer, and try to see it from some other perspective.
Oh and I still like the 2nd character slot. So I’ll have 19 now.

Oh and I alost forgot:

Thank you, ArenaNet!
Thank you for developing and hosting Guild Wars 2, for almost 3 years now
Thank you for making HoT hopefuly a great expasion to your game.
I appreciate you quellling this uproar.
And I hope there will be many expansions to come in the future.
We have along way to go….

It’s moments like these why I think Anet isn’t just a money-hungry organization. I’m proud to say that I’m a GW2 supporter.

It does concern me when parts of a playerbase is this childish and deluded. ANet don’t owe you anything. They don’t have to be loyal to you. They’re not your friends. They provide a product and you either purchase and use it or you don’t. I can’t believe there are so many people still not understanding basic business concepts.

Quickly resolved the issue and just earned a pre-purchase out of me.

Thanks guys and girls; Go team!

To all community members still being sour in either way: STOP IT! It was in a way for may people a legit concern (however I do agree that Arenanet do not owe anyone anything), and yes people pulled a lot of things out of context during their blind dissapointment/rage. I can however also relate with many reactions.

I for one am glad Arenanet choose to adress this as good they could, and above all that they are listening to their audience. Personally I did not care THAT much about an extra character slot or not (even that it would be nice) as I simply will not pre purchase because I want a hard copy of the game (I own all Guild Wars games as a hard copy and this would be no exception for me!). I might however still purchase and get myself two copies, and just give one copy to a good friend of mine instead. Money is not the issue and it never was.

I want to say: Thank you Arenanet for being fast and adressing issues. This shows how you solve things as good as you can and are aware of ongoing issues at all times, and if not that you read, understand and solve those issues!

I think this is an incredibly nice gesture. I personally didn’t think they needed to anything, but the fact they did shows that Anet cares very much about their playerbase. They could have been stubborn about this, like many other companies I can think of, but they didn’t.

So thanks for continuing to be awesome, Anet. And thanks for the extra char slot, which I did not expect to get.

I understand that not every person is going to feel the same way about GW2, ANet, and these issues as I do, but maybe you could take your negative posts to a thread that’s not my nice simple little thank you thread. :P

Teennine.3901:

I understand that not every person is going to feel the same way about GW2, ANet, and these issues as I do, but maybe you could take your negative posts to a thread that’s not my nice simple little thank you thread. :P

Well, it’s probably moot anyway, at this point.

Now that the patch is out, it’s certain that threads like this one will be pushed down the stack to eventual oblivion by hundreds of new threads about new issues, because such is the ecology of the forums.

So before that happens forever, I’ll just reiterate…

Thanks, ArenaNet.