Guild Wars 2

I would be jubilant to pay, say, $4-6 for the scythe staff skin, but instead, Arenanet seems to think that all of these skins and services should be a lottery found in chests instead of a straight, legitimate purchase.

I concur. I’ve opened 30 chests, not one skin. People are having just as bad if not worse luck than me. The good thing is that these can be traded but the prices are just going to be ridiculous you already know. I’d rather pay straight up cash than do more of this lottery bullkitten.

Yes it’s really lame but you’d better get used to it, that’s how this game is going to be. It’s obvious now that GW2 is the typical asian MMORPG where they make $$$ with gambling.

Opened around 80 chests. No weapon skins at all. The skins are already going for at least 40g on the TP, but we all know that’s just going to get more expensive.

i would concur that gambling thing is lame. when i want to buy something, thats what i want to buy, not a chance at the thing i want. i would never spend my money on gambles. however, if they offered exactly what i wanted i may consider that option.

Apparently there might be a crafted version of the skin. I’m done for now, though,

I guess the thought nobody would talk about it… Or that fans would spin it as a positive, they figured they had the mojo going.

I wonder how many 13 and 14 year olds are screaming 10 more dollars.

Set price for a skin on the TP would probably mean a lot less money then the lottery system.

Weathermore.9125:

Apparently there might be a crafted version of the skin. I’m done for now, though,

Crafted skins are completely different – the BLC skins are exclusive.

Weathermore.9125:

I would be jubilant to pay, say, $4-6 for the scythe staff skin, but instead, Arenanet seems to think that all of these skins and services should be a lottery found in chests instead of a straight, legitimate purchase.

Agreed. I’d be happy to buy things directly, I’m aware this is a f2p game after all (though I’d prefer to be playing a subscription game, guess I’m just waiting for the next decent sub game to arrive).

However I won’t spend money on gambling.

the gambling thing is such a scam to begin with. this is their game, and if the want to they can choose the outcome of your gamble so you spend the most money possible.

im sorry, but thats just being realistic. if you want to sell something, then sell it. do not try to sell me some gamble like I am some moron who cannot see what you are doing.

House always wins when you gamble, Fritz. The thing is, you are often getting tonics instead of getting anything you can actually use.

There are numerous other gambles to be had when it comes to the mystic forge, but this topic is about the Halloween event and the skins being put into something so random.

They need to just create the skin for us to buy, short window, or whatever; paying money for a dice roll for appearance is unsettling.

Called it. I knew it was going to suck.

I gave them the benefit of the doubt thinking “maybe the drop rate won’t be so bad”.

I guess not. This is the same crap other F2P MMO’s pull and it’s awful. =/

Buying each skin for like 700-800 gems flat out would probably be alot cheaper.

it doesnt really matter how you slice it. gambling with your money is a poor choice.

i really like the concept of the game, but this topic does drive me up the wall. i have seen it in many f2p games. they do these gamble things to take advantage of those who lack self control and will keep spending their money until they win. its in poor taste, its low class, and its demeaning to those who actually do try.

if they are that desperate for money then i can expect nothing more than to be dissappointed for buying gw2.

I am agreeing, truth be told. I have thoroughly enjoyed the game until this point

I think you need “new” chests to get the event loot.
Otherwise you could save all chests till the next event and open up 100+ at one time and flood the market with skins/fluff.

Keep on gaming, you will get your stuff. Prices will fall, not rise. The event started 1 day ago, there will be much more event items in a few days.

Yeah this is very frustrating. I know this is a B2P game and they make their money off the cash shop but they could’ve done that without any randomness at all. Just put the items up at a certain price and let everyone buy what they want. Personally i’m not gonna spend any money on keys just for a CHANCE to get a weapon skin, but if I could buy the skin on the store I would. This is clearly gambling, asian level gambling which I was hoping I wouldn’t find in this game. And if you think this is gonna get you more money, you’re wrong. As you can see people are so turned off by this that they don’t wanna spend any money on the cash shop because they’re losing respect for this company and are feeling cheated. As for me, the only thing I’m gonna spend gems on from now on is Black Lion Salvage kits.

Fritz.5026:

it doesnt really matter how you slice it. gambling with your money is a poor choice.

i really like the concept of the game, but this topic does drive me up the wall. i have seen it in many f2p games. they do these gamble things to take advantage of those who lack self control and will keep spending their money until they win. its in poor taste, its low class, and its demeaning to those who actually do try.

if they are that desperate for money then i can expect nothing more than to be dissappointed for buying gw2.

People with no self control, a.k.a. people that want the skin, lose a ton of gold/money on gambling for it.

People with self control, a.k.a. people that refuse to gamble, won’t get a skin.

Great.. =/

this is just stupid. All the benefit of the doubt ive given them because of their track record on the GW1 cash shop, all out the window.

out of principle unless they stop this nonsense theyre getting no more gem purchases from me. Maybe not even an expansion at this rate because i really hate this kind of shenanigans.

As consumer, i speak with my money. I hope the majority if you guys will too and deny anet the money so theyll understand. I dont want this company to turn into another Nexon

The gambling is optional. In so many ways.

1. If you want the skins you can buy them off the trading post. Convert gems to gold and buy them. There’s always this option if you want them so badly.

2. They’re cosmetic. So it’s really a want, not a need. I know that premium skins are a large part of Guild Wars, and that’s exactly what they are, premium. Premium = expensive, difficult to get.

I, for one, am glad they did this. I hope they profit from this and can continue to bring great updates to the game.

axiology.5807:

The gambling is optional. In so many ways.

1. If you want the skins you can buy them off the trading post. Convert gems to gold and buy them. There’s always this option if you want them so badly.

2. They’re cosmetic. So it’s really a want, not a need. I know that premium skins are a large part of Guild Wars, and that’s exactly what they are, premium. Premium = expensive, difficult to get.

I, for one, am glad they did this. I hope they profit from this and can continue to bring great updates to the game.

1. If the chance to get them is as low as people are reporting so far, the prices on the TP will be very high.

2. This game is all about cosmetics

Voidspawn.1934:

1. If the chance to get them is as low as people are reporting so far, the prices on the TP will be very high.

2. This game is all about cosmetics

1. Yeah. Oh well. The price of vanity.

2. There’s also the whole other part where you actually play the game? That part isn’t affected by these high prices. Which is great, because everyone gets to play the game. So there’s the accessible gameplay which everyone can easily take part in, and the race for looks. The race is pricey, absolutely, but the more expensive/rare the skins are, the more exclusive your look will be, and the higher your status, looks-wise.

axiology.5807:

Voidspawn.1934:

1. If the chance to get them is as low as people are reporting so far, the prices on the TP will be very high.

2. This game is all about cosmetics

1. Yeah. Oh well. The price of vanity.

2. There’s also the whole other part where you actually play the game? That part isn’t affected by these high prices. Which is great, because everyone gets to play the game. So there’s the accessible gameplay which everyone can easily take part in, and the race for looks. The race is pricey, absolutely, but the more expensive/rare the skins are, the more exclusive your look will be, and the higher your status, looks-wise.

When I said this game is all about cosmetics I didn’t mean that it is bad. I like the fact that there is no gear treadmill and looks are what matters. Also I never said that I don’t enjoy the rest of the game. All i’m saying is it would be so much better if they had fixed prices for these items instead of giving us a chance of getting them. Gambling might be cool for some people, but if I wanted to gamble I’d go to a casino, not play GW2.

I’m glad that there’s no gear treadmill too. I’m sorry I misunderstood what you meant, there are just too many people who seem to be hung up on cosmetics being the only thing in this game.

Maybe a mix of fixed prices and chest skins would have been good.

I don’t know about the USA, but I am sure this sort of pay real money for a gamble encroaches several gambling regulatory laws here in the UK. Speaking as a former (and still recovering) addict to gambling this certainly falls in the gambling bracket. And working in the gambling sector myself I do have some knowledge of the gambling regulations here in UK.

In game item and gold gambling at the mystic forge is one thing, but this is real money people are gambling with. So packaging on the game needs to promote that there can be real money gambling involved and a clear promoting of gamble helplines/sites.

I don’t mind spending a silly amount of money on guaranteed items, I have done already so far, but I am highly concerned that now theres a “pay real money for a gamble to attain items you may or may not get”, and especially when you consider the impressionable age some of GW players are.

You can argue that yes you are getting guaranteed items as each chest you bought a key for will yield some items, and people have had the choice to spend real money on these keys from day 1. But introducing an element of gambling for added extra items brings a new level of encouraging people who may not have been inclined to buy chestkeys before to part with money in the hope, not guaranteed, of receiving something back. This is gambling.

I understand the rareness and unique of items I see people mention, but keep this sort of RNG gambling to in game items and gold, not real money. I will continue to support Anet with my money for things i am guaranteed to get with a fixed price, but I am disappointed and very much concerned that real money gambling has been introduced.

I use games like GW2 as an escapism from my everyday real life problems, like work, stress etc. And part of working in the gambling sector i see and hear a lot stories of people who have no self control, and I carry these with me in my everyday life, but to see real money gambling for items you may or may not get despite how much you spend encouraged to all ages and walks of life in a “casual” game really flashes those red bulbs of concern for me.

Apologies if i have rambled and repeated things, just finished a 12hr shift through the night and a bit zonked.

If any of you have ever played a Nexon game, you’ll be very familiar with this type of Cash Shop gambling practice.

A few months before GW2 was released, Anet brought someone in from Nexon’s Maple Story to help them design their Cash Shop. It was after that point that we saw the new Dye system changes, etc.

This is GW2’s Cash Shop philosophy unfortunately. I know alot of you are unhappy with this and I understand (we like the game and care about our characters/accounts), but if you don’t want to get reamed like this then just take your free devil horns and leave the gambling to the kiddies.

Let us capitalize on this oppurtunity by raising chest prices on the TP, until they go back to 1 copper after halloween lol.

Agreed. I will never spend money in the cash shop for the chance to get something. If I’m going to spend real money, I want to know exactly what I’m getting for it.

The more items in the CS that involve RNG, the less likely I am to give ANet more of my money.

ArenaNet is going to sell, and encourage the purchase of, the items which people buy. If you want to see them stop incentivizing gambling, stop buying dozens or hundreds of keys. This should be pretty obvious.

The reason why they are creating so many new incentives for black lion chests is because people are buying the keys up like hotcakes. Personally, I don’t mind spending money on ArenaNet, but I will never gamble my money on a random number generator.

ANet has to make money and gambling seems to be one weakness that earns a great deal.

Personally I never gamble so will never buy keys or dyes or mini pets off the BLT. If they instead sold those items for say 20 dollars a skin I would buy one or two.

I would pay gems to buy the skins from the store, but I won’t pay gems for BL keys for a very low random chance to get them. So i guess I wont be getting the chainsaw greatsword.

Some guy got 700 keys, used all of them and didn’t get a Halloween skin. That’s $1100 worth of keys, by the way, so this tired old argument of “but they have to be super rare or they’d be worthless” is getting to be extremely absurd.

If you guys really think they should be that rare, ArenaNet should just be upfront about the price. Put them on the gem store for 100,000 gems (that guy’s 700 keys would have been 87,500 gems) instead of claiming we have a chance at skins from chests, then making the drop rate so obscenely low that players can blow thousands of dollars worth of keys and not get one.

I might have bought a couple of the skins if they were reasonably priced, but I’m not going to be wasting huge sums of money for an infinitesimal chance for one.

well dude u just dont pay it and that’s it

i’ve seen a lot of F2p game that u need to gambling to gain advanctage in the game.

but this’s just cosmetic

ps : i actually dont like how u only can get combat boosts from chests though.

Remember, Arenanet hired someone from Nexon, that had previously worked on Maple Story, to handle the BLTC. First thing she did, make dyes character based rather than account based. She even tried making identified dyes soulbound so that you couldn’t buy/sell dyes on the TP.

So yes, you are seeing the same strategies used in other MMO’s to leech money from players because that’s the experience of this employee.

Guild Wars 2 is not free to play. You do not get to log in to the game without a copy being purchased. Purchased =/= free. Simply having no subscription doesn’t make it free. Guild Wars 2 is not free to play, it just doesn’t have a subscription. Which isn’t uncommon these days.

That said, I find the ‘gambles’ (chests, dye packs) to be so unrewarding I think my money is better off spent on other things. (Hooray Skylanders!).

This is a decision every player will have to make for himself/herself. Telling someone “too bad, ur dumb for not knowing lololz” is all well and fine… and then those people stop buying items. If you’re really a fan of ArenaNet, wouldn’t you like to see ANet make money?

i would buy all costumes for my class at 20-30euro/each. as i did in the last game i played last 5 years. lol,Anet,ur approach in taking my money is so wrong! u sell pixels and im willing tu buy in MY terms. So,no euro for u if u are greedy and offer nothing. do u think i will buy for example 20 primeval suits for my journey from 1 to 80?
better sell 1 charbounded at 30 eu. a stupid way to do bussiness. i guess more then half of the players are adults,and u wont fool us so easy.

I spent 20g in game to buy gems managed to get 2 light mantle skins with all the keys that i bought, It isn’t what I wanted but its the gamble I certainly am glad they have the gold to gem transfer thing because I wouldn’t spend RL money on that kind of gamble but in game gold can be change to them so I gave it a shot and that was that, I can make my money back in game. For those who spent a lot of money on a gamble and didnt see it for what it was well I am sorry. You clearly have no self control issues, I also have no self control over my virtual spending habits because I spent all my in game gold lol but I am not upset because what i lost was virtual wealth. I do work and I don’t have all day to make that gold back, but over time I will have it again.

I have not spent any money on Black Lion keys. I doubt I will. I don’t have the money to spare for RNG rewards right now. Easy as that.

I would imagine that if these skins remain very rare and expensive on the TP, they will probably be back next year. If I play GW2 for nearly as long as I played GW1, every Halloween will be an opportunity to get one of these super-rare skins, and I probably won’t get one, but you know what? That’s what makes them super-rare and exciting. If you could straight buy them, seriously, everyone would seem to have them.

I’m also unsure where this stuff falls in relations to RL gambling laws, that’s my only iffy area. But in general, if you don’t want to gamble, don’t buy the keys.

It’s obvious now that GW2 is the typical asian MMORPG where they make $$$ with gambling.

- This is what annoys me. This is not a core mechanic in GW2, but more to the point, just because a game is published by NCSoft, doesn’t mean it’s designed in Korea -_-;