Guild Wars 2

I would like to get points from my local Game Stop if they offer pre-purchage DL.
But I do not want to lose the Veteran character slot bonus.

Is there may down side to not ordering directly from Anet?

For our long-standing fans and loyal players, we would like to say thank you and show our appreciation. For all players who registered the core Guild Wars 2® game prior to January 23, 2015 and who upgrade their account by prepurchasing and registering any Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns edition before Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns‘ launch, we will add one additional character slot to your Guild Wars 2 account. The process of delivering your additional character slot will take us some time, but rest assured we will get it to you as soon as possible. We’ll provide more details about the specific timing soon.

source: https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/pre-purchase-community-address/

Any version will work, as long as you make sure it’s pre-purchase and NOT pre-order.

The standard edition will be available in a “boxed copy” version from some authorized retailers. Some of those retailers are engaged in the pre-purchase program. Others are offering a pre-order, which is not the same thing and will not gain the benefits of the actual pre-purchase.

Hope this helps!

source: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/hot/HOT-have-Hard-Copy/first#post5190884

They have been clear in the community address in cases where purchase place is relevant, like in case of refund policy. But in the veteran bonus, any HoT version is applicable.