Guild Wars 2

I feel like the game is locking those who do not have heart of thorns out of the benefits of a guild hall, which should be for all members regardless if they spent $50 or more on your xpac. I had a member of my guild come into the hall today because he was told about the xp boost and the vendor would not let him have one without the expansion. What is the point of a guild hall for people without HoT and why should they donate materials to it if they can not receive any benefit from it. It is afterall, a GUILD hall and not an Heart of Thorns member’s club.

Please unlock the boosts and other things so that ALL members can enjoy and benefit the halls without being forced to buy your expansion to feel like part of the guild experience.

Guild halls are a HoT feature, not part of a free update. The maps are located in HoT zones, and HoT is required to claim them. Make sure to explain this to your members that don’t own HoT yet before they contribute to the treasury.

It might also be a good idea to explain to those members that further content patches, with the exception of festivals, are also HoT content.

Then they need to rename the halls to HoT member’s only clubs

The assumption is that people who buy the game have access to its features. People who don’t own HoT at this oint are either legacy accounts that have something you can no longer get (a paid core account without HoT) or F2P guys, who are glorified trial accounts and have a far larger set of restrictions than just guild hall things.

GW2 is a buy to play game. They assume people playing buy something occasionally (at the current rate, once every three years) to play the game and pay for the servers. The confusion right now is that certain people have forgotten the business model since it’s been so long between main releases, or that they see free accounts and assume it operates like other f2p models that nickel and dime you with required microtransactions to get full access to content.

you should be glad that they didnt make expansion compulsory…
buy to play model for online games usually start to lose money in long term, so they had to release expansion or find a way make up for the maintenance cost

It was expected that non-HoT couldn’t even get into Guild Hall.

But Anet let them. So that was good of them. Can’t expect to get everything new if you don’t buy HoT

NTDK.4897:

It was expected that non-HoT couldn’t even get into Guild Hall.

But Anet let them. So that was good of them. Can’t expect to get everything new if you don’t buy HoT

The problem is guildies aren’t upset about lack of access to new content. It’s that they had content ripped away from them and now sadly thrown behind a paywall…

Coming from a guild with over 1 million influence and everything unlocked the guild hall has been an underwhelming disappointment thus far. As a mid-sized guild we find the guild hall difficult but not impossible to upgrade. The entire process is a huge time and money sink – you actually get nothing for unlocking a building – other than more stuff to grind, farm, spend on and build with no immediate benefit to members other some pretty art. While there have been no tangible advantages to guild members as we have purchased the different areas, everyone has been active in looking forward and contributing as much as possible so we can recover our previously earned guild buffs and wvw bonuses (+5 supplies…. ). After the absurd discovery that buying an arena doesn’t actually mean you have one until tier 2 we collected our members and with great fanfare unveiled the T2 Arena as a place for all members to enjoy and interact in….

…Only to discover that those members who did not buy HoT are relegated to mere spectators and cannot participate in the Arena. How incredibly insensitive.

Please reconsider this decision so that ALL members of a guild can enjoy the only interactive part of a GUILD hall.

Thank you.

I agree I think it should require HoT to cap a guildhall but once capped it should be open and all it features should be available to all members of the guild. Unforunitly there could be programming issues that will not let Anet open all feature to all players With the guildhall part of HoT this may not be passable.

It pretty much requires HoT to claim a guild hall without going into spoilers here. It is not really a guild hall unless all members of the guild can get to enjoy it and reap the rewards of having one. I would not want to contribute to it knowing I got jack kitten out of it.

I’m pretty sure we can all agree that when Anet said those without HoT could enter the guild halls, we all thought that meant all members could benefit from the guild coming together to make things happen. This puts guild halls effectively behind a paywall and forces a player to buy something to do stuff with the guild even if they do not want the expansion to begin with.

atlrising.5134:

I’m pretty sure we can all agree that when Anet said those without HoT could enter the guild halls, we all thought that meant all members could benefit from the guild coming together to make things happen. This puts guild halls effectively behind a paywall and forces a player to buy something to do stuff with the guild even if they do not want the expansion to begin with.

They said, quite plainly, on the QA stream and in several forum posts when asked that this was not the case, and that people without access to HoT could enter the guild hall but could not use any but the basic services there. This information was avaliable for months before release. Anyone assuming otherwise didn’t take the time to inform themselves.

Whether you think it’s the right or wrong way to go about it is a matter of personal opinion, but this wasn’t a bait and switch. they were pretty clear about how the halls interacted with non-HoT accounts.

Further, non-HoT accounts don’t need HoT to access guild content (with the single exception of participating the claiming a hall, a one time event), only guild services. You don’t need HoT to participate in, be rewarded for, or spend the rewards from guild missions. You also don’t need it to benefit from passive buffs like the waypoint discount. You will need HoT to to skill scribe, decorate, or take advantage of the new taven buff system.

I never called it a bait and switch, I called foul on the entire thing, please tell me you do not think a guild hall is a guild hall if everyone in your guild is not able to use it’s benefits.

atlrising.5134:

I never called it a bait and switch, I called foul on the entire thing, please tell me you do not think a guild hall is a guild hall if everyone in your guild is not able to use it’s benefits.

It’s absolutely still a guild hall, and still confers several benefits to non-HoT members. My non-HoT people rather enjoy being able to instantly teleport to a merchant, guild bank, and repair anvil from anywhere in the world and back again, and getting a bit of a waypoint discount.

To be honest, I’m surprised they let non-HoT accounts teleport there at all, since guild halls are technically expansion zones.

What you’re asking for is to get access to HoT-specific features without actually buying HoT. You can call foul on it, and your opinion is just as valid as anyone else’s, but your argument is based on opinion, not fact. In purely factual terms, it’s a guild hall. A hall accessible by the enitre guild. Beyond that there are some services specific to HoT owners, and some everyone can use.

Can non-HoT accounts use the guild portal for missions (/earn mission rewards)?

The guild hall should give bonuses to the guild members – the bonuses we ALREADY earned as a guild should be returned to ALL members. Period. They were earned in good faith prior to the xpack, and the people who didn’t get the xpack aren’t just not getting new stuff – fair enough – but have LOST what they once had. That is very very foul indeed.

I made a post about this in general forum.. Its now on like page 5. Anyways. I said that Colin Johanson needs to fix this or I’m gunna smack him in the face with juggernaut. Lol

This is bull… Guild members had excess to 24/7 buffs pre HoT. And now about %15 of our guild has no access to buffs.. Its a real slap in the face tbh.. And tells me Anets game is $$$$$$$ to them and nothing else. There’s literally NO good reason why their game GUILDwars basically blackmails people into purchasing their xpac because they took something away from players and then made it only available for $$.. Disgusting. Even if they fix this.. I’ll never forget what they thought was “ok” to do to their player base who didn’t buy their xpac.

angellips.9753:

The guild hall should give bonuses to the guild members – the bonuses we ALREADY earned as a guild should be returned to ALL members. Period. They were earned in good faith prior to the xpack, and the people who didn’t get the xpack aren’t just not getting new stuff – fair enough – but have LOST what they once had. That is very very foul indeed.

If you’re talking about the guildwide 1-3 day buffs, those were removed completely from the system. Nobody has access to those any more as they were replaced by the tavern buff system, and nobody starts with the tavern buffs as every guild has to do upgrades to access them. The consumables (banners, yak, etc. you still have access to (as a leader or officer) obtain from the favor trader npc in the guild initiative until you get a scribe to craft them. You can also still guy guild armor, spend commendations, nad generally do anything you ha d upgrades to do before from the initiative HQ.

Consumables across the board are more costly to obtain with either favor or crafting mats. All members can still click the banners are receive buffs as before.

They significantly altered the system to stop it from being a passive buff factory for everyone. This is why the tavern system has lower buffs than the old system and makes you select only one type, and why banners now require a mission or more’s worth of favor or a scribe crafting recipie. The old system was a passive one. The new system is one that requires active effort.

The tavern buffs aren’t usable by ppl without HoT. The old guildwide buffs were. Therefore the non-HoT ppl have lost.

angellips.9753:

The tavern buffs aren’t usable by ppl without HoT. The old guildwide buffs were. Therefore the non-HoT ppl have lost.

No, they haven’t. Everyone lost the old buff system. HoT or no. The tavern buff system isn’t comparable at all as its scaling and acquisition method is completely different. non-HoT people can’t use it, this is true, but that’s like saying they “lost” scribing.

They have less buffs than people with HoT. Yes. But only if the guild in question chose to spend their resources on those buffs, knowing that many members can not use them.

If you spend materials donated by members without hoT knowing full well they couldn’t use them, in stead of fast tracking scribe or waypoint discounts, that’s the guild leader’s fault.

You are not required to take those buff upgrades in order to advance the hall’s services that do benefit non-HoT players.

PopeUrban.2578:

angellips.9753:

The tavern buffs aren’t usable by ppl without HoT. The old guildwide buffs were. Therefore the non-HoT ppl have lost.

No, they haven’t. Everyone lost the old buff system. HoT or no. The tavern buff system isn’t comparable at all as its scaling and acquisition method is completely different. non-HoT people can’t use it, this is true, but that’s like saying they “lost” scribing.

They have less buffs than people with HoT. Yes. But only if the guild in question chose to spend their resources on those buffs, knowing that many members can not use them.

If you spend materials donated by members without hoT knowing full well they couldn’t use them, in stead of fast tracking scribe or waypoint discounts, that’s the guild leader’s fault.

You are not required to take those buff upgrades in order to advance the hall’s services that do benefit non-HoT players.

I’m trying to figure out is ur just being a troll or not.. Lol.. Ur right the new tavern buff is different from the old buff… ITS LESS OF A BUFF! and non hot member do not have access to it even tho they had access to it 2 weeks ago ( a more OP version) I’m having a really hard time not calling you daft as a quaggan right now. Your comparing us saying the new buff system is still basically the same because its a guild buff that everyone should have access to , to us saying they took away scribing? Lol! We had no scribing at all before.. But we did have an XP buff)))))))))))))

durend.6237:

Can non-HoT accounts use the guild portal for missions (/earn mission rewards)?

Id like to know this as well… Because if they can’t, I wont be getting this upgrade as its practically pointless and almost just as easy to zone out of guild hall and meet at a WP linked in guild chat…

PopeUrban.2578:

angellips.9753:

The tavern buffs aren’t usable by ppl without HoT. The old guildwide buffs were. Therefore the non-HoT ppl have lost.

No, they haven’t. Everyone lost the old buff system. HoT or no. The tavern buff system isn’t comparable at all as its scaling and acquisition method is completely different. non-HoT people can’t use it, this is true, but that’s like saying they “lost” scribing.

They have less buffs than people with HoT. Yes. But only if the guild in question chose to spend their resources on those buffs, knowing that many members can not use them.

If you spend materials donated by members without hoT knowing full well they couldn’t use them, in stead of fast tracking scribe or waypoint discounts, that’s the guild leader’s fault.

You are not required to take those buff upgrades in order to advance the hall’s services that do benefit non-HoT players.

Or we could just tell your non HoT members that you do not support them having access to the services. That solves a lot of problems.

PopeUrban.2578:

Guild halls are a HoT feature, not part of a free update. The maps are located in HoT zones, and HoT is required to claim them. Make sure to explain this to your members that don’t own HoT yet before they contribute to the treasury.

It might also be a good idea to explain to those members that further content patches, with the exception of festivals, are also HoT content.

Guild halls are nothing to do with HoT, the game is GUILD WARS, the only reason they came with HoT is because Anet didn’t have them ready at launch.

You have nothing to worry about, guild buffs are what 3% and you can only have ONE activated far as I can tell. Plus there is nothing in these guild halls worth even visiting, they are just an endless money pit for no return. There is no reason to visit guild hall unless you are an officer or guild leader so non-hot people are not missing much other than an empty map.

atlrising.5134:

PopeUrban.2578:

angellips.9753:

The tavern buffs aren’t usable by ppl without HoT. The old guildwide buffs were. Therefore the non-HoT ppl have lost.

No, they haven’t. Everyone lost the old buff system. HoT or no. The tavern buff system isn’t comparable at all as its scaling and acquisition method is completely different. non-HoT people can’t use it, this is true, but that’s like saying they “lost” scribing.

They have less buffs than people with HoT. Yes. But only if the guild in question chose to spend their resources on those buffs, knowing that many members can not use them.

If you spend materials donated by members without hoT knowing full well they couldn’t use them, in stead of fast tracking scribe or waypoint discounts, that’s the guild leader’s fault.

You are not required to take those buff upgrades in order to advance the hall’s services that do benefit non-HoT players.

Or we could just tell your non HoT members that you do not support them having access to the services. That solves a lot of problems.

When it comes to making decisions ingame, I don’t really traffic in politics, but reality. In that lens I actually did straight up tell my non-HoT members not to donate resources for services they can’t use.

For the record, I think it would be awesome if we all got everything for free for having purchased the game three years ago, that every new skin was added ingame, and that the gem store was converted to a low cost gold store.

However, I don’t operate on assumptions of perceived morality or how I think the game should work unless its likely change can be made. The liklihood any changes will be made to the guild hall system to make it more accessible to people who refuse to pay for HoT is slim to none. That’s the reality. I empathize with it from a business perspective even though, yes, everyone would rather have more things for free and pay for less.

I support the revamp of the guild systems. The old buff system was passive, overpowered, and granted large guilds extreme advantages for literally zero effort. Once you surpassed a certain size, you could load a quite frankly obscene amount of buffs, permanently, and do nothing to get them but have guild members log on.

Would it be nice if all of HoT was a free update, and they didn’t need to incentivize people to buy HoT? Of course it would!

However it would also lead to even more predatory cash shop practices to pay the bills, less revenue for ongoing content updates, and generally move the game more toward the “okay, give us ten bucks, then ten more, you know what, give us even more than fifteen bucks a month just to stay competitive with veryone eelse’s buffs or cash sop income” in stead of “Hey guys, but something every couple of years so we can keep this going, also here are some skins you can buy if you want and some convenience things that you don’t even need.”

I fully support people buying HoT, and incentivizing people to buy HoT because I’d rather see expansion sales drive revenue for live updates than even more cash shop nickel and diming.

That’s the reality. To run the game, the game has to make money. people that refuse to fund the game they play on a regular basis complaining that they can’t use new stuff they decided not to pay for don’t get a lot of sympathy from me.

fixit.7189:

You have nothing to worry about, guild buffs are what 3% and you can only have ONE activated far as I can tell. Plus there is nothing in these guild halls worth even visiting, they are just an endless money pit for no return. There is no reason to visit guild hall unless you are an officer or guild leader so non-hot people are not missing much other than an empty map.

Actually those buffs scale up for each buff added to the tavern. My guild’s buffs are5% at this point. I don’t know where it caps out. You can only have one activated at a time however.

Wait. I have to buy the expansion to benefit from it? ERMEGERDREDERKERLERSE.

These days we earn nothing by playing with guild mates. In the old system only a small amount of influence was earned by just signing on, most of it was earned by teaming up and playing in the same team with guild mates. I’d love to see influence make a return and be a currency that the guild treasurer would accept in trade for the materials that are required ie: 600 silk or 6,000 influence fills an upgrade requirement.

Playing with guildies actually brings players to the game more often and keeps them in the game longer. This is good for A-Net and good for the game. The frustration of dumping wealth into the guild hall treasury does nothing to keep players coming back for more.

Favor or Aetherium in mass quantities being used to substitute mat requirements might not be bad. As long as the cost is high enough so that its not abused.

Aye.8392:

These days we earn nothing by playing with guild mates. In the old system only a small amount of influence was earned by just signing on, most of it was earned by teaming up and playing in the same team with guild mates. I’d love to see influence make a return and be a currency that the guild treasurer would accept in trade for the materials that are required ie: 600 silk or 6,000 influence fills an upgrade requirement.

Playing with guildies actually brings players to the game more often and keeps them in the game longer. This is good for A-Net and good for the game. The frustration of dumping wealth into the guild hall treasury does nothing to keep players coming back for more.

This is a thing I see a lot. That treasury is a group project. One that you have to want and work toward together. In order to get upgrades done, you’ll also have to do guild missions together (well, you can technically solo some of them, but they’re designed as group outings)

Influence was an extreme problem because it rewarded doing stuff you were going to do anyway better just because you were in a guild. It was passive, it was boring, and it did nothing to incentivize working toward things as a guild.

Under the new system you get out of the guild what you put it. It’s all a team effort now, and that team effort means investing in something as a group the same way you invest in your gear, skin collection, mini collection, or whatever as an individual.

It means there is real economic cost involved in operating a guild and benefitting from it, which necessitates people acting like team players, and playing as a team.

This is far better than the old system for the same reason the way the metas and their rewards adminitrate loot in the new zones is better than the “click 1 and hit f” model of the old ones.

People are upset they have to invest in their guilds to benefit from them, but that’s the whole point for the revamp. It was done to make guilds that are willing to work together toward shared communal goals, of all sizes, derive more benefit than guilds who just want some benefits but can’t be bothered to pause their personal goals and set aside time and resources to make that happen.

PopeUrban.2578:

Aye.8392:

These days we earn nothing by playing with guild mates. In the old system only a small amount of influence was earned by just signing on, most of it was earned by teaming up and playing in the same team with guild mates. I’d love to see influence make a return and be a currency that the guild treasurer would accept in trade for the materials that are required ie: 600 silk or 6,000 influence fills an upgrade requirement.

Playing with guildies actually brings players to the game more often and keeps them in the game longer. This is good for A-Net and good for the game. The frustration of dumping wealth into the guild hall treasury does nothing to keep players coming back for more.

This is a thing I see a lot. That treasury is a group project. One that you have to want and work toward together. In order to get upgrades done, you’ll also have to do guild missions together (well, you can technically solo some of them, but they’re designed as group outings)

Influence was an extreme problem because it rewarded doing stuff you were going to do anyway better just because you were in a guild. It was passive, it was boring, and it did nothing to incentivize working toward things as a guild.

Under the new system you get out of the guild what you put it. It’s all a team effort now, and that team effort means investing in something as a group the same way you invest in your gear, skin collection, mini collection, or whatever as an individual.

It means there is real economic cost involved in operating a guild and benefitting from it, which necessitates people acting like team players, and playing as a team.

This is far better than the old system for the same reason the way the metas and their rewards adminitrate loot in the new zones is better than the “click 1 and hit f” model of the old ones.

People are upset they have to invest in their guilds to benefit from them, but that’s the whole point for the revamp. It was done to make guilds that are willing to work together toward shared communal goals, of all sizes, derive more benefit than guilds who just want some benefits but can’t be bothered to pause their personal goals and set aside time and resources to make that happen.

Ummmm th op wasn’t complaining about the costs of upgrading… he like many others, are upset that buffs that were earned by guildies working together via missions are now hidden behind a paywall…