Guild Wars 2

Me and my friend wanted to know if we were to buy HoT, do we still need to pay $49.99 or if we get to pay a lower price if we already have the core game.

Nope, they had to clarify this earlier, but every expansion will always be $50 and include the core game and previous expansions.

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

Business Model Clarification

We want to be clear about our business model for future expansions now that we are approaching our first paid expansion for Guild Wars 2. We believe that to keep the game dynamic and vibrant with a constantly growing community, it should be as easy as possible for new players to get into Guild Wars 2. For Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns, we didn’t want the core game’s price to be a factor in a new player’s decision to begin playing Guild Wars 2. In the future, if we release further Guild Wars 2 expansions, we plan to offer all of the prior expansions, the core game, and the latest expansion for one single purchase price.

We are committed to our players and believe we remain the single best value in the MMO space. We set out on this journey to challenge the conventions of MMOs, to knockdown the barriers to accessibility, and to fulfill the promise of what online worlds should be. In the process, the best community in gaming came together in Guild Wars 2. It is to our community—past, present, and future—that we are committed. Thank you for your understanding, and we look forward to seeing you in game.

Thank you for the fast reply.

But the problem is, while they say they are “committed” to their players, they are too committed to giving new players a great deal and not giving their veteran players a break. Their policy of keeping the core game and its current updates/expansions bundled with any and all new future expansions has to be paid for and that keeps the price of their expansions too high.

Veteran players need better value for their continued support since they get the least bang for their exceptionally high buck.

This scheme forces all existing veteran players to subsidize the new players that may come along. Maybe we wouldn’t mind that so much if we felt we were getting the best value for our money.

I don’t know….considering how map events can dwindle in population after their ‘hotness’ fades, it is a ‘value’ to be able to play with others while said ‘hotness’ is, well, hot.

I wouldn’t consider giving up years of progression and being present when content is new for a ‘free’ copy of the game, but that’s just me.

For some, I’m sure cost is the determining factor for ‘value’, and for others it is something else.

Good luck.

Everquest does the same thing with their expansions and they are ar expansion 17 or 18. Everyone on that game seems to be fine with it.

I can’t speak for Everquest. But, most players, like most populations, don’t consider the costs of subsidizing goods and services.

This would not be an issue if those who are being forced to subsidize others were given value for their money.

The veteran character slot is an example of providing value to the veteran. But, I think it is a very small value. I’d like to see some more value. Anet and I disagree on the value of the veteran character slot. I’d like to see some gems included in the deal for the veteran player purchasing the standard edition.

In short, I want to see more value for my subsidizing new players.

I suppose it’s a philosophical difference. I’ve paid for the game to enjoy it for myself. Possibly I’ve overspent because I do like to get the new shiny even if I don’t use it for months or even years. But I’ve chosen to spend the money based on what I get out of the game and I have only pleasure in knowing that it makes it possible for others to enjoy it even if they haven’t got as many resources as I do.

It doesn’t bother me when other people get nice things. Here, where that nice thing is a chance to come in and play the game alongside me so -I- get more life around me in the game I’m having fun with and even make new friends … bonus!

Electra.7530:

I can’t speak for Everquest. But, most players, like most populations, don’t consider the costs of subsidizing goods and services.

This would not be an issue if those who are being forced to subsidize others were given value for their money.

The veteran character slot is an example of providing value to the veteran. But, I think it is a very small value. I’d like to see some more value. Anet and I disagree on the value of the veteran character slot. I’d like to see some gems included in the deal for the veteran player purchasing the standard edition.

In short, I want to see more value for my subsidizing new players.

I suppose we are completely disregarding the value of having access to the game for potentially years?

Electra.7530:

I can’t speak for Everquest. But, most players, like most populations, don’t consider the costs of subsidizing goods and services.

This would not be an issue if those who are being forced to subsidize others were given value for their money.

The veteran character slot is an example of providing value to the veteran. But, I think it is a very small value. I’d like to see some more value. Anet and I disagree on the value of the veteran character slot. I’d like to see some gems included in the deal for the veteran player purchasing the standard edition.

In short, I want to see more value for my subsidizing new players.

Problem with the character slot in my case is that I already got a slot for every single class there is, now we’re getting two character slots, and only one new class, so im setting here with a character slot I can’t use for anything, atleast not that I know of :s

ZoiN.4280:

Electra.7530:

I can’t speak for Everquest. But, most players, like most populations, don’t consider the costs of subsidizing goods and services.

This would not be an issue if those who are being forced to subsidize others were given value for their money.

The veteran character slot is an example of providing value to the veteran. But, I think it is a very small value. I’d like to see some more value. Anet and I disagree on the value of the veteran character slot. I’d like to see some gems included in the deal for the veteran player purchasing the standard edition.

In short, I want to see more value for my subsidizing new players.

Problem with the character slot in my case is that I already got a slot for every single class there is, now we’re getting two character slots, and only one new class, so im setting here with a character slot I can’t use for anything, atleast not that I know of :s

key farming or pack mule.

It’s really a pretty stupid model. This will do more to keep veteran and especially lapsed players away than it will do to bring in new players.

support what you love.

Just bad marketing,they should have had two deals at 50$ one for new player and other for vets giving them somthink extra if they own the core game.

Cash.2385:

support what you love.

I would if the devs support it, unfortunately the devs have not supported WvW for 3 years now; and now as a result I and some other players will not support this game.

Einlanzer.1627:

It’s really a pretty stupid model. This will do more to keep veteran and especially lapsed players away than it will do to bring in new players.

So I guess WoW and EQ are both stupid as well, since they both do it. You buy WoW and the current expansion and you get every expansion created in between for free (and there are a bunch of them).

The fact is, you’re not paying for a game, you’re paying for access to content. The content access is the same price. They simply decided to give the core game away free, which they’d been selling for $10 anyway.

My guess is every game is eventually going to go this way, because each expansion that comes out provides more and more barriers to entry for a player each time an expansion comes out. So reasonable people will see this as necessary (or perhaps a necessary evil). Others will not play, but that tiny percent, and it is a tiny percent, will be dwarfed by the number of new players that pick it up.

What happens when there are six expansions. Do you really expect new players to buy 6 games?

What is it about guild wars that makes people think they should get more because they have been playing longer? When I played another game I never once heard anyone complain that new players got previous expansions free.

uhohhotdog.3598:

What is it about guild wars that makes people think they should get more because they have been playing longer? When I played another game I never once heard anyone complain that new players got previous expansions free.

I don’t know. By logging in regularly I got the Living Story Season 2 for free and I got all the log in rewards, which is pretty big money just for logging in.

What about me ? I just bought this game 3months ago and now i have to pay another 50 dollar for heart of thorns ? rly ?

If you bought it through Anet you will get a refund for your game if you prepurchase until july 31st.

DerAlteSack.3572:

If you bought it through Anet you will get a refund for your game if you prepurchase until july 31st.

As a further comment, a refund will deactivate the old account permanently. It may also deactivate the card used to purchase that account in their files so that you can’t use it again with ANet to buy another account. If you have any gems on your old account that you bought with gold, those will be lost. I’m not sure about what happens to gems bought with real money. You’ll need to discuss that with ANet but if you already bought items from the gem store they might be lost also.

Just a flesh wound.3589:

DerAlteSack.3572:

If you bought it through Anet you will get a refund for your game if you prepurchase until july 31st.

As a further comment, a refund will deactivate the old account permanently. It may also deactivate the card used to purchase that account in their files so that you can’t use it again with ANet to buy another account. If you have any gems on your old account that you bought with gold, those will be lost. I’m not sure about what happens to gems bought with real money. You’ll need to discuss that with ANet but if you already bought items from the gem store they might be lost also.

not in this case.

For all players who purchased the Guild Wars 2 core game from our website and registered it between January 23, 2015 and June 16, 2015 in anticipation of Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns, we will automatically refund what you paid for the core game should you decide to pre-purchase Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns from our website or in-game store any time through July 31, 2015. If you take advantage of this refund and pre-purchase Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns, all of your current account progress will be kept intact. We’ll provide further details on when refunds will be processed in the next couple weeks as we set up this process.

uhohhotdog.3598:

What is it about guild wars that makes people think they should get more because they have been playing longer? When I played another game I never once heard anyone complain that new players got previous expansions free.

I think what you are seeing are two distinct groups of people in a war of philosophy, so to speak.

1) For the MMO crowd, this is old hat. They had been crying and demanding a traditional expansion model for the last two years or so, to the point that Arena.net decided that they needed to be catered to. This group either was unaware or didn’t care about the people in…

2) GW1 veterans or players new to the MMO way of doing things. To them, this is either an example of double-dipping (getting someone to pay for the same product twice) or yet another example of Arena.net betraying their roots to become more like everyone else.

It’s also an example of people in group 2 not speaking up when the people in group 1 were rather loudly voicing their opinions. Where was all this protest when the forums were filled with threads of “This game needs a real expansion!1111!!1!”