Guild Wars 2

I’d rather the demand for skins be determined by the community rather than arbitrary drop rate variation, but that’s just my opinion.

Splendid idea, I will add a question asking whether or not a skin was obtained.

The only data theyre paying attention to (and is worth paying attention to) is who buys what, how many, and how often.

That alone tells them everything they need to know. As long as there’s profit theyll continue to do it and they csn collect that data on their own.

The mad king chests was a gesture of leniency towards us and we should all appreciate it but money HAS to be made somehow.

If you really want to send a message, just stop purchasing items from the GS with real money.

This thread is pointless. No offense.

1. No. Never again.
2. Yes
3. Of course, I’ve spent over $300.00 in LoL because their model works for me.
4. Not sure at this moment.
5. Yes, it’s irrelevant whether other companies practice these methods or not. Just because someone else is doing it does not make it okay. It’s kittening stupid and compromises my fidelity with this company.

People can throw around whatever words they wish. If they choose to see others as entitled then more power to them. But if A-Net couldn’t foresee whats taking place as a result of turning holiday events into a horn tooting event then they need better planning. I’m positive that even Stevie Wonder could have seen this mess happening when ultra rare items become a part of a holiday event. Ultra rare items don’t need to be a part of a holiday event. And I laugh at those that only like an item if it’s rare. You know the ones…“I don’t want something that everyone has.” Those ones. My father saw the Halloween bow and loved it purely because of the aesthetic of it. He could care less about rarity or any of that vanity nonsense. He was all excited to get one, until I informed him that what he was looking at was merely a preview of a much more expensive permanent version. Needless to say, finding that out soured his view of the holiday event. He’s not ranting and raving about not getting a bow, he’s just not participating in the holiday.

1. yes
2. yes
3. no
4. yes
5. no
Your question are misleading and way too complex for a true tally. Your asking things in a one sided view point and that view point is your own you hate what going on and you want every one else to hate what going on.
Point need to be made is I think you should not be able to P2W in this game even if that means skins and i am sry but you think that you should.

1. NO

2. Unfortunately (5 keys)

3. I would if the price is right.

4. Yes

5. Yes

Black lion keys are the greatest scam ever.

Yes the problem of the negative portrayal of the word “entitled” is the difference between denotation and connotation. Being “entitled” isnt necessarily a bad thing but the word itself is more often used in negative situations and because of this it gets construed in an unfavorable light. Just like the word “consequence”. A consequence isn’t always bad.

When money stops being made, then theyll look into why that is but cmon, thats not gonna happen lol

Candy cane nodes?!

Wrong holiday imho

I agree with op on some points, the best way to tell Anet that you do not like RNG is to not participate and yes not everyone that shares their story should be labeled “entitled”, but OP you know that the majority of posts regarding the chest are of people throwing threats and harshly criticizing Anet because they lost in a game of chance that they chose to participate in.

Forums would be a lot nicer if the concept of gambling was understood. When you gamble the service that you paid for is the chance itself, not the prize.

I can relate to not feeling good about losing, no one likes losing and yes you can come to the forums and say " I’m sad that I did not win anything" the problem is when people come saying " I didn’t win anything, Anet must be scamming us" and generally flaming simply because they did not win in a game of chance.

The worst part is when they say that they were forced because they wanted to participate in the Halloween event… Even though there are events going on that give you a nice skin for your backpack and even though you have a free horn skin to wear.

The real reason behind many of this post flaming Anet is that people bought the keys thinking “I’ll be the lucky one” and when it turns out that they weren’t they got mad.

Would you say this is a mature response to losing in a raffle?

He meant candy corn I’m sure lol.

But… that’s a good idea for wintersday!!!! Make the candy canes “Trees” tho!!!! it would be more fitting to use an axe on candy canes!

edit* oh and to be on topic a little bit. I’m using up all my BL axes/picks/sickles. I haven’t had any ruined ore/logs/plant issues with them yet. On a rare occasion I get ruined ore/logs/plants when I’m being attacked while gathering.

Only thing i spent money on is buying the game and expansions i wont spent one eurocent on itemshop ever i hate cashshops. I have what i get ingame by playing thats all.

1.NO

1. Not a chance, after this the only way i’ll ever open a chest again is if i get a key via a quest/drop.

2. No, i was waiting for an event such as this.

3. Yes, i have actully spent real cash on gems to convert to gold and used that to buy skins – however i waited until the conversion had basically doubled as i’d expect at least 100 gems to get around 1 gold.

4. Yes, i honestly think Anet doesn’t think what they are doing is wrong.

5. They’ve certainly lost my trust, i actully feel like i was cheated out of my gold (the gold i spent on keys).

6. Nope, i recieved 300 candy corns, 30 jalloween crafting items and 6 tonics – in the end i sold the lot (trashed the tonics) and got around 75 silver (for my 20+ gold worth of purchases).

1. Will you or will you not be buying black lion trading company or random number generation materials again?

Never again, i’m done, trust is broken here.

2. Did you buy them in the past?

Yes.

3. If you would not buy trading post material/gamble, would you support direct to buy weapon skins and what general price do you find acceptable from a business standpoint both as a customer and realizing that they must make money as a business?

No, or not anytime soon.

4. Do you believe that future events will also be handled with random number generation to make profit based on limited time item acquisition?

I’m affraid so, money is money…

5. If you believe that the future events will be handled in the same manner, does this realization negatively effect your trust of Arena Net in regard to handling micro transactions for permanent content?

Yes, totally, do you know the thing called “false advertising” ? Well, if you don’t Anet does..

Unfortunately, a mere binary factor of whether someone bought it or not does not provide them some of the information that they can gain from reading things such as this if it is organized clearly. If someone does not buy it, they don’t know why. Silent customers who decide never to buy the chest again but would buy something else are not helping them. That hurts business in the long run. Its easier for an otherwise silent person to post if its simple and fast. If someone does, they don’t know the other extraneous factors. I disagree that nothing is to be gained from discovering the other tendencies and patterns. There are entire industries built around this sort of thing because they aren’t able to effectively gauge the entire spectrum by binary sales data.

I hope that helps you to understand the point.

1. Will you or will you not be buying black lion trading company or random number generation materials again?

No.

2. Did you buy them in the past?

No.

3. If you would not buy trading post material/gamble, would you support direct to buy weapon skins and what general price do you find acceptable from a business standpoint both as a customer and realizing that they must make money as a business?

I would if the price is right.

4. Do you believe that future events will also be handled with random number generation to make profit based on limited time item acquisition?

Yes.

5. If you believe that the future events will be handled in the same manner, does this realization negatively effect your trust of Arena Net in regard to handling micro transactions for permanent content?

Yes.

6. Did you obtain a skin or whatever it is you were looking to get from the black lion trading chests? From the Mad King Chests?

No.

CalvinHobbes.3541:

People can throw around whatever words they wish. If they choose to see others as entitled then more power to them. But if A-Net couldn’t foresee whats taking place as a result of turning holiday events into a horn tooting event then they need better planning. I’m positive that even Stevie Wonder could have seen this mess happening when ultra rare items become a part of a holiday event. Ultra rare items don’t need to be a part of a holiday event. And I laugh at those that only like an item if it’s rare. You know the ones…“I don’t want something that everyone has.” Those ones. My father saw the Halloween bow and loved it purely because of the aesthetic of it. He could care less about rarity or any of that vanity nonsense. He was all excited to get one, until I informed him that what he was looking at was merely a preview of a much more expensive permanent version. Needless to say, finding that out soured his view of the holiday event. He’s not ranting and raving about not getting a bow, he’s just not participating in the holiday.

What I think Anet would really like to know though is what would it take to get him playing again? What kind of rewards would we like to see? Would it be acceptable to him if there are more and less intricate skins with some being harder to obtain?

The problem is Anet needs to balance the needs of the “hardcore gamer” (i hate that term) vs the “casual gamer” (this one too). They need to allow the hardcore gamers to have a chance at the carrot while not leaving the casual gamers with a feeling of being left out. Its a lot easier to say than to fix though. Anet has their hands full.

1. Will you or will you not be buying black lion trading company or random number generation materials again?

I will not. I hate the idea of paying real cash for a chance at something good

2. Did you buy them in the past?

I bought Halloween minis, the Witch and pirate costumes and 5 keys today. I had gathered 5 chests wanted to unlock them but I didn’t expect anything halloweeny from them (nor did I get any).

3. If you would not buy trading post material/gamble, would you support direct to buy weapon skins and what general price do you find acceptable from a business standpoint both as a customer and realizing that they must make money as a business?

Yes, I would buy them if they were direct purchases. Just as I preferred to buy the costumes then to buy lots and lots of keys/chests.

4. Do you believe that future events will also be handled with random number generation to make profit based on limited time item acquisition?

After this backlash I doubt it.

5. If you believe that the future events will be handled in the same manner, does this realization negatively effect your trust of Arena Net in regard to handling micro transactions for permanent content?

If they do continue, then yes.

6. Did you obtain a skin or whatever it is you were looking to get from the black lion trading chests? From the Mad King Chests?

I received nothing Halloween related from the 5 blc I opened.

1. Will you or will you not be buying black lion trading company or random number generation materials again?

NO

2. Did you buy them in the past?
Example: Yes/No.

YES but only 5 keys

3. If you would not buy trading post material/gamble, would you support direct to buy weapon skins and what general price do you find acceptable from a business standpoint both as a customer and realizing that they must make money as a business?

Absolutely Yes

4. Do you believe that future events will also be handled with random number generation to make profit based on limited time item acquisition?

I hope not, but yes.

5. If you believe that the future events will be handled in the same manner, does this realization negatively effect your trust of Arena Net in regard to handling micro transactions for permanent content?

Only to do with RNG purchases which I won’t touch now or in the future.

6. Did you obtain a skin or whatever it is you were looking to get from the black lion trading chests? From the Mad King Chests?

NO

1. Will you or will you not be buying black lion trading company or random number generation materials again?
Yes

2. Did you buy them in the past?
No

3. If you would not buy trading post material/gamble, would you support direct to buy weapon skins and what general price do you find acceptable from a business standpoint both as a customer and realizing that they must make money as a business?
Yes. I have no problem with keys, but I also have no problems with some skins being direct purchase as well.

4. Do you believe that future events will also be handled with random number generation to make profit based on limited time item acquisition?
Yes

5. If you believe that the future events will be handled in the same manner, does this realization negatively effect your trust of Arena Net in regard to handling micro transactions for permanent content?
No

6. Did you obtain a skin or whatever it is you were looking to get from the black lion trading chests? From the Mad King Chests?
I got 2 skins. One from Mad King Chests that was a nice surprise, as I didn’t really expect to get any skins. Another I purchased from the TP for 90 silver.

1. Will you or will you not be buying black lion trading company or random number generation materials again?

Yes

2. Did you buy them in the past?

Yes

3. If you would not buy trading post material/gamble, would you support direct to buy weapon skins and what general price do you find acceptable from a business standpoint both as a customer and realizing that they must make money as a business?

No. I think the appeal of these items is their rarity.

4. Do you believe that future events will also be handled with random number generation to make profit based on limited time item acquisition?

No

5. If you believe that the future events will be handled in the same manner, does this realization negatively effect your trust of Arena Net in regard to handling micro transactions for permanent content?

No

6. Did you obtain a skin or whatever it is you were looking to get from the black lion trading chests? From the Mad King Chests?

No, I did not obtain the items I wanted from chests. I had to buy them from the trading post.

SmOkE.2805:

One of the best replies in this thread…

“Thank you! For not just giving everyone skins. It would have been like giving every kid a trophy while not keeping score.

All in all, even though ANet did not need to do this IMO. This is why I have continued to support them in ALL of the GW’s games over the years…

I hadnt realized this was a tournament that warranted “trophies”. I thought it was a fun holiday skin that I could get if I supported Anet. I was wrong.
I for one, am always against giving every kid a trophy when they don’t do as good as the other kid… but what did you do better than me to get your trophy? the correct answer is nothing… you did nothing better. because it was never a competition… it was digital merchandise that most thought could be easily purchased through keys. Next time you go to mcdonalds and order a number 4 and they take your money and come back and say… oh sorry… you didnt win a number 4, I want to make sure you thank them for giving you a chance to get a number 4 as you walk out hungry… because remember.. “It would have been like giving every kid a trophy while not keeping score.”

I’m cheap, so will only use them for Orichalcum, Onom berries, and ancient logs =/

It will take a LONG time lol.

1. Will you or will you not be buying black lion trading company or random number generation materials again?
Yes I will be buying more, but not very much

2. Did you buy them in the past?
Nope

3. If you would not buy trading post material/gamble, would you support direct to buy weapon skins and what general price do you find acceptable from a business standpoint both as a customer and realizing that they must make money as a business?
Yeah, if there were actual combat effective items for sale instead of town clothes skins, I would have bought them. I don’t care about the price so long as it’s reasonable for what they are asking. If they want 20 dollars for a skin that looks like garbage that’s a no, but if they want 20 dollars for something that looks absolutely amazing, yes.

4. Do you believe that future events will also be handled with random number generation to make profit based on limited time item acquisition?
Yes, most likley

5. If you believe that the future events will be handled in the same manner, does this realization negatively effect your trust of Arena Net in regard to handling micro transactions for permanent content?
Not really

6. Did you obtain a skin or whatever it is you were looking to get from the black lion trading chests? From the Mad King Chests?
Yes, several in fact, and I didn’t even open that many chests

I have mixed feelings on this issue, honestly. I think many of us are very familiar with holiday-themed “chance boxes”, and either spend money on them with no high expectation of receiving rare items, or do not spend money on them, knowing that the chances are very slim.

But for those who are not familiar with these kinds of things, I can see why they would feel “robbed” in a sense, knowing they essentially spent money on regular BLC rewards or uncommon Halloween crafting items, i.e., spent money on something they normally wouldn’t.

For those who knew the odds, didn’t get anything, and are using the “I gave you a lot of money” argument, yes, I would call that entitlement. For those who honestly didn’t know and feel deceived, I would not call that entitlement. It’s entirely possible that ANet just assumed everyone was familiar with the odds of chance boxes from playing other MMOs.

This thread is full of people who arent facing the reality of things.

Its a business. It will continue to conduct business as it has (with unforseen modifications obviously) and it will not change.

This whole black lion thing is stupid because people are whining about a money making method that is legit and widely used where applicable.

You spent money, received a reward and didnt get what you really wanted.

BOO HOO WAA WAA

i spent money and lost too but you know what i did?

I USED those boosts, I USED those salvage kits, I USED those mining picks and i farmed the living crap out of Orr and now i have the shield, rifle, and the pauldrons so that money WASNT WASTED.

people who actually take the time to stop and analyze the situation will see how they can win.

Plus, TP prices on the skins keep going down (thanks to those mad chests increasing stock) so if you really want your precious money to mean something, fork it over for gold and be done with it.

1. Will you or will you not be buying black lion trading company or random number generation materials again?

Yes. But not during this event.

2. Did you buy them in the past?

Yes.

3. If you would not buy trading post material/gamble, would you support direct to buy weapon skins and what general price do you find acceptable from a business standpoint both as a customer and realizing that they must make money as a business?

Even though I would play the RNG I would still say yes. I would buy them if they were direct purchases.

4. Do you believe that future events will also be handled with random number generation to make profit based on limited time item acquisition?

Yes. Basic buisness.

5. If you believe that the future events will be handled in the same manner, does this realization negatively effect your trust of Arena Net in regard to handling micro transactions for permanent content?

No. They have never been dishonest.

6. Did you obtain a skin or whatever it is you were looking to get from the black lion trading chests? From the Mad King Chests?

No I didn’t obtain the item I wanted from the chest. I also didn’t obtain the item I wanted from the Mad King Chest.

At its most basic, I think what happened here was a result of mismatched expectations. When ArenaNet used the word “chance” in its advertisements, it was using it in the most literal sense – the possibility that something might occur with unspecified probability. When many players read the advertisements, they interpreted “chance” to mean something more akin to “reasonable chance” in the traditional gambling sense, wherein the expected value of participating in a contest is not grossly disproportionate to the cost to enter. I don’t think people felt entitled to winning, but they did feel entitled to what they thought was reasonable chance at winning. This is the same sort of entitlement that people feel when they walk into a casino, and it does not inherently prevent them from walking out happy, even if they ended up losing.

What does interfere with their enjoyment is if they come to find out that the expected value of their contest entry was a great deal lower than they thought it was after they already paid to enter. Some might argue that they should not have read “reasonable chance” into “chance” in the first place, but this sort of interpretation of linguistic ambiguity (when perfect mathematical clarity is not available) is something we all do every day, and is in fact unavoidable. If we say that making any kind of assumption beyond the most literal definitions of words is unjustified and a symptom of entitlement, then we’re saying it would have been perfectly fine for ArenaNet to use the word “chance” to mean “there’s a chance our programmers implemented code to allow you to get a reward, and a chance that they did not.” I doubt many people think that usage of the word would be justified, yet that is where relying solely on literal definitions gets us.

Ultimately, my point is this: if you describe an opportunity in a way that is prone to misinterpretation, you should expect people to get upset when their reasonable interpretation of the opportunity is later proven to be wrong.

1. No I will not, and that goes for any RNG, just wont bother with it.

2. yes

3. Yes, all about supporting Anet, just not w/RNG

4. IDK, they made good money this turn, but many customers feel burned wont fall for it a second time.

5. Yes

6. No

1. Will you or will you not be buying black lion trading company or random number generation materials again?
- No, I will not.

2. Did you buy them in the past?
- Yes.

3. If you would not buy trading post material/gamble, would you support direct to buy weapon skins and what general price do you find acceptable from a business standpoint both as a customer and realizing that they must make money as a business?
- Yes, I would buy them even if they were direct purchases.

4. Do you believe that future events will also be handled with random number generation to make profit based on limited time item acquisition?
- Yes.

5. If you believe that the future events will be handled in the same manner, does this realization negatively effect your trust of Arena Net in regard to handling micro transactions for permanent content?
- Yes.

6. Did you obtain a skin or whatever it is you were looking to get from the black lion trading chests? From the Mad King Chests?
- No. 10 BL chests and 20 mad chests. I’m kinda lucky to spending only 900 gems on it.

Would it be acceptable to him if there are more and less intricate skins with some being harder to obtain?

They have given skins for casuals to work for, its the book. I understand if not everyone likes it, but the option is there. I happen to like the book.

I happen to like the staff also. So I’m gathering the Halloween mats that I will need and after the holiday will continue to work on it to get it.

32 BLchests, 24 MKchests…not again will I bother w/any RNG in this game of any sort.

XiaMae.9874:

I have mixed feelings on this issue, honestly. I think many of us are very familiar with holiday-themed “chance boxes”, and either spend money on them with no high expectation of receiving rare items, or do not spend money on them, knowing that the chances are very slim.

But for those who are not familiar with these kinds of things, I can see why they would feel “robbed” in a sense, knowing they essentially spent money on regular BLC rewards or uncommon Halloween crafting items, i.e., spent money on something they normally wouldn’t.

For those who knew the odds, didn’t get anything, and are using the “I gave you a lot of money” argument, yes, I would call that entitlement. For those who honestly didn’t know and feel deceived, I would not call that entitlement. It’s entirely possible that ANet just assumed everyone was familiar with the odds of chance boxes from playing other MMOs.

The one’s that don’t know aren’t completely innocent either. They could have used discretion and waited until other people figured out the drop rates. Or they could have bought only a handful of keys to test it. I find it hard to believe that someone would go out and buy 200 keys and not know the odds are low. I guess its possible that they could have bought the keys in sets of 5 but I think I would have caught on well before 200.

But again, I think Anet should have been more precise on their wording. “Chance” is a bit vague.

I just crafted 12 chests on one of my alts, and even though it mentions the chest is account bound, i am unable to move it to my lvl 80 so i can use my magic find gear.

It seems that the chests are treated like soulbound items.

Any update on this if anet going to fix this soon?

1. Will you or will you not be buying black lion trading company or random number generation materials again?

No

2. Did you buy them in the past?

Yes

3. If you would not buy trading post material/gamble, would you support direct to buy weapon skins and what general price do you find acceptable from a business standpoint both as a customer and realizing that they must make money as a business?

I might buy them if they was direct purchases.

4. Do you believe that future events will also be handled with random number generation to make profit based on limited time item acquisition?

Unfortunately, if Nexon is some how involved – then yes, I expect every event to be handled this way.

5. If you believe that the future events will be handled in the same manner, does this realization negatively effect your trust of Arena Net in regard to handling micro transactions for permanent content?

Yes, very much so

6. Did you obtain a skin or whatever it is you were looking to get from the black lion trading chests? From the Mad King Chests?

No/No 16 BL chests // 15 Mad Chests – I got nothing of value from the BL chests, and the best item I got was 3 spooky tonics from the Mad Chests.

I’m getting bored of reading the same arguments over and over. Play the game, enjoy it.

You paid for the game. You have no recurring subscription fee’s. Be happy.

1. Will you or will you not be buying black lion trading company or random number generation materials again?
No.

2. Did you buy them in the past?
Yes

3. If you would not buy trading post material/gamble, would you support direct to buy weapon skins and what general price do you find acceptable from a business standpoint both as a customer and realizing that they must make money as a business?
Yes I would make direct purchases or if the rng was higher than what is is, currently it feels like expecting a exotic level drop but instead of mobs its chests and thats too expensive.

4. Do you believe that future events will also be handled with random number generation to make profit based on limited time item acquisition?
Yes

5. If you believe that the future events will be handled in the same manner, does this realization negatively effect your trust of Arena Net in regard to handling micro transactions for permanent content?
Absolutely yes, If I have to farm hundreds of gold inbetween holidays just so the next one I have enough to buy some vanity items, this game would lose most of its appeal.

6. Did you obtain a skin or whatever it is you were looking to get from the black lion trading chests? From the Mad King Chests?
Nothing from both, counting the Mad King chests it was about 50+ chests with no skin at all

kaffaljidhma.1496:

SDChargers.8401:

Failth.2935:

Just gotta say….

Opened 6 Black lion chests (Bought 5 keys) -> Got the scythe skin
Opened around 7-9 New Mad King chests -> Got Heavy shoulder skin + Recipe: Gift of the Souls

So yeh… I am satisfied But even if I didn’t get any of those, I would still be. Bcos unlike most ppl here it seems, I knew it was a gamble and the chances are ridiculously low to get the skins or the rare recipes. That’s why I only bought 5 keys in the first place.

If you want to have somebody to blame, blame yourself. If you buy tons of Chests so you can get the skin it is your own fault being so stupid. If you want one of the BLC skins buy them off the TP. Don’t throw your money around like a fool and hope things you want fall from the sky on your lap.

Failth, you are COMPLETELY right. I do “blame myself”. I was “so stupid”… and a lot of people are in my boat. We take full responsibility for it. So in the future, in order to be not stupid, and not need to blame myself, I will no longer be supporting Anet with money. Lesson learned. Like I said earlier. I’m not mad, I’m not complaining, but lesson WELL learned. You have just turned away probably thousands of good paying customers. BUT… when it comes time to place the blame for THAT… please remember your post. ANet will need to “Blame themselves” for being “so stupid.” And when your beloved game turns sub-par, you make sure you remember why… and don’t blame it on us for not supporting anet. Good day. =)

It’s good that you’ve learned to be more fiscally responsible, and I believe that’s worth the loss in revenue to an MMO provider.

Kaff,
I am glad you have taken it upon yourself to tell me what I have “learned”. Especially when my post had nothing to do with being “fiscally responsible” and everything to do with trust in a company. I am doing just fine 40 bucks short in my bank account BECAUSE I am “fiscally responsible” thank you very much. Let me restate EXACTLY what my post said to you so you more clearly understand it:

I was comfortable spending money on a company based on something the company was offering. I did not know it was such a big gamble. I spent money. I was disappointed in the results. Therefore I will no longer give that company money.

If you take it past that point and start questioning peoples “fiscal responsibility” then you have taken it much too far. I hope I have cleared things up for you. All the best.

Kyle.3856:

CalvinHobbes.3541:

People can throw around whatever words they wish. If they choose to see others as entitled then more power to them. But if A-Net couldn’t foresee whats taking place as a result of turning holiday events into a horn tooting event then they need better planning. I’m positive that even Stevie Wonder could have seen this mess happening when ultra rare items become a part of a holiday event. Ultra rare items don’t need to be a part of a holiday event. And I laugh at those that only like an item if it’s rare. You know the ones…“I don’t want something that everyone has.” Those ones. My father saw the Halloween bow and loved it purely because of the aesthetic of it. He could care less about rarity or any of that vanity nonsense. He was all excited to get one, until I informed him that what he was looking at was merely a preview of a much more expensive permanent version. Needless to say, finding that out soured his view of the holiday event. He’s not ranting and raving about not getting a bow, he’s just not participating in the holiday.

What I think Anet would really like to know though is what would it take to get him playing again? What kind of rewards would we like to see? Would it be acceptable to him if there are more and less intricate skins with some being harder to obtain?

The problem is Anet needs to balance the needs of the “hardcore gamer” (i hate that term) vs the “casual gamer” (this one too). They need to allow the hardcore gamers to have a chance at the carrot while not leaving the casual gamers with a feeling of being left out. Its a lot easier to say than to fix though. Anet has their hands full.

To be honest I wouldn’t be surprised if he shared my sentiment that rarity doesn’t belong in holiday events period. There is plenty of rarity in the actual game that holiday events should be solely about the fun and goodies for all. But I think his main issue was the preview items themselves. His exact word when I told him they weren’t permanent weapons was “tease”. Especially when I explained what it would take to craft or buy a permanent one. But beyond what I’ve shared I really cannot speak for him. But my opinion is clear without care of who agrees with it or not. A-Net should just drop the concept of rare for holiday events and move on.

I don’t think any of the items it produces are soulbound, so you might consider just opening them on one character and transferring the items you wish to keep from it to the other character(s) as needed. I know this doesn’t answer your original question, but it might get you what you want in the end.

1. Will you or will you not be buying black lion trading company or random number generation materials again?
Probably a Yes, but not soon
2. Did you buy them in the past?
Yes
3. If you would not buy trading post material/gamble, would you support direct to buy weapon skins and what general price do you find acceptable from a business standpoint both as a customer and realizing that they must make money as a business?
Even though I said yes above, I would prefer to buy them knowing what I would get.
4. Do you believe that future events will also be handled with random number generation to make profit based on limited time item acquisition?
They might be, Maybe ANet will give us the option of both methods to get what we want too? We shall see when the time comes.
5. If you believe that the future events will be handled in the same manner, does this realization negatively effect your trust of Arena Net in regard to handling micro transactions for permanent content?
No, but I’m much more accepting than most people
6. Did you obtain a skin or whatever it is you were looking to get from the black lion trading chests? From the Mad King Chests?
No from BL, I haven’t yet gotten the Mad King Chests… we shall see later tonight!

P.S. Thank you ANet, I’m looking forward to my 2nd chance :-) And the Halloween event is a BLAST! :-D

He wants to use magic find gear to give him a better chance of rare stuff though.

Kyle.3856:

XiaMae.9874:

I have mixed feelings on this issue, honestly. I think many of us are very familiar with holiday-themed “chance boxes”, and either spend money on them with no high expectation of receiving rare items, or do not spend money on them, knowing that the chances are very slim.

But for those who are not familiar with these kinds of things, I can see why they would feel “robbed” in a sense, knowing they essentially spent money on regular BLC rewards or uncommon Halloween crafting items, i.e., spent money on something they normally wouldn’t.

For those who knew the odds, didn’t get anything, and are using the “I gave you a lot of money” argument, yes, I would call that entitlement. For those who honestly didn’t know and feel deceived, I would not call that entitlement. It’s entirely possible that ANet just assumed everyone was familiar with the odds of chance boxes from playing other MMOs.

The one’s that don’t know aren’t completely innocent either. They could have used discretion and waited until other people figured out the drop rates. Or they could have bought only a handful of keys to test it. I find it hard to believe that someone would go out and buy 200 keys and not know the odds are low. I guess its possible that they could have bought the keys in sets of 5 but I think I would have caught on well before 200.

But again, I think Anet should have been more precise on their wording. “Chance” is a bit vague.

Believe me, I’m trying my best to be unbiased and give some of the dissatisfied people the benefit of the doubt. A big part of me wants to say “Haven’t any of you played an MMO before?” because this type of grab-bag thing isn’t uncommon in the least. Every MMO I’ve ever played has had something like this, with similar odds.

1. Will you or will you not be buying black lion trading company or random number generation materials again?
– Likely no, but spare gems here and there might go that way.

2. Did you buy them in the past?
– No.

3. If you would not buy trading post material/gamble, would you support direct to buy weapon skins and what general price do you find acceptable from a business standpoint both as a customer and realizing that they must make money as a business?
– I would absolutely buy skins from the store. I routinely bought the cosmetics from the GW1 store.

4. Do you believe that future events will also be handled with random number generation to make profit based on limited time item acquisition?
Example: Yes/No.
5. If you believe that the future events will be handled in the same manner, does this realization negatively effect your trust of Arena Net in regard to handling micro transactions for permanent content?
– I’m not sure. I think it might become a hybrid model of sorts where the cosmetic stuff is in the store or grindable, BUT the actual game affecting items are only grindable.

6. Did you obtain a skin or whatever it is you were looking to get from the black lion trading chests? From the Mad King Chests?
– I haven’t yet, but I’m still waiting to make my Mad King Chests once the event is winding down and I’ve seen what is fully available and how.

Sahfur.5612:

I have no interest in discussion other than simply the reply of whether you plan to buy into the black lion trading chest random number generation again or not.

The idea of this thread is to give them a better idea on whether or not the majority of their player base will buy into this from a financial standpoint alone. No morals, no discussion. Pure data.

I want to keep this thread very short and hopefully very long detailing nothing other than your response and no extra information or argument. The idea is that maybe they will see this and gather an overall idea of what the player base is wanting or sticky it. Gauging customer likelihood to buy things is difficult so lets make it easier on them.

You may copy paste the section below to quickly reply and state your general views on the subject in a yes/no pattern. No extrapolation.

Five main responses are acceptable, please:

---

1. Will you or will you not be buying black lion trading company or random number generation materials again?

Example: Yes/No.

2. Did you buy them in the past?

Example: Yes/No.

3. If you would not buy trading post material/gamble, would you support direct to buy weapon skins and what general price do you find acceptable from a business standpoint both as a customer and realizing that they must make money as a business?

Example: Yes/No. I would/wouldn’t buy them even if they were direct purchases.

4. Do you believe that future events will also be handled with random number generation to make profit based on limited time item acquisition?

Example: Yes/No.

5. If you believe that the future events will be handled in the same manner, does this realization negatively effect your trust of Arena Net in regard to handling micro transactions for permanent content?

Example: Yes/No.

6. Did you obtain a skin or whatever it is you were looking to get from the black lion trading chests? From the Mad King Chests?

Example: Yes/No I did/didn’t obtain the item I wanted from the chest. I also did/didn’t obtain the item I wanted from the Mad King Chest.

---

Keep it simple, keep it civil, keep it short: My gratitude.
Yes/No answers to the above questions are alot easier to read and faster if ArenaNet wishes to gauge their audience. I am not taking sides even though I have my own opinion and wish to act as an intermediary within the confine of the thread.

TLDR; Copy and paste the section above with yes or no answers, please. If you are incapable of keeping things short and QQ (in either direction) we will all assume you have the inability to follow directions in order to give ANet another way to gauge customer satisfaction and the desire to buy gems or purchase other things.

If someone does start ranting and/or making page long arguments I ask that you please simply ignore the fact and move on in the short and objective manner.

1)No

2)No

3)Yes, though I don’t have a set pricepoint. For example, I will probably get chainsaw the skeleton since I know what it’ll cost me.

4)Yes, and I plan to avoid those as well. It’s rather frustrating.

5)I’ve played games by Nexon before. I know how this stuff goes. I’ve never thought that Nexon had their claws fully in til this company til now, but wow this holiday has been frustrating.

6)No, I opened about 15 chests this holiday and got absolutely nothing of value. I refuse to waste more currency, virtual or real, on them.

Is magic find gear expensive? Might be worth getting a set for the character that has the chests, but I’m not sure if that even affects the chests (though it’s a good idea if it does.)

I literally made a thread about this an hour ago:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/halloween/Mad-King-Chest-not-actually-account-bound/first#post536690

“During our Halloween celebration, you can purchase tickets for $1.50 each, guaranteed to reward you with buttons and paper clips. But every one-in-one-thousand tickets has a chance to reward a lucky individual with this AMAZING T-SHIRT! "

“…..Can I just buy the T-shirt?”

“No "

“……..”

This whole thing just seems really lame to me…