Guild Wars 2

This!

Srsly, what were they thinking? Nothing at all…

NEOCROM.8957:

“So, new players are more important to you than the fan base that’s been funding you with gem store purchases for the last few years? Nice to know. Don’t get me wrong, im glad you’re throwing them a bone. Nothing irks me quite like buying something only for that something to be discontinued and re added with a bazillion perks/additions for the same cost (In this case, an expansion). But uhm, your current fan base, and the ones who’ve stuck around.. They should matter too.”
Found this comment in the wall-o-texts there. This guy deserves medal of honor.

So you and that poster are suggesting we outlaw promotions now? And if we do excatly who will benefit? all you’re saying here is if I dont get nice things, no one should get nice things!

nexxe.7081:

Disappointing. I never expected Anet to be this greedy. I can’t believe they aren’t including a free character slot for the Revenant.

The character slot would be FAR from “free.” You’d be paying for the expansion with the understanding that entitles you to play all the new content immediately.

Acharyn.4738:

Regina Buenaobra.6193:

To clarify: $50 is the price of the expansion. We included the core game as a free bonus to make it easier for new players to get into it.

By the same logic, veteran players should get a free copy of HoT to make it easier to get into it.

You became my guru now.

Galen Grey.4709:

BrooksP.4318:

Galen Grey.4709:

They’re already doing that.

Link because I see nothing on the announcement or in the FAQ. If true then there is no issue.

The current outcry is a perception of value, whereas this is more about deceptive business practices.

http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/3a46s4/preorders_for_heart_of_thorns_are_now_live/cs96lfu

Quote: “We’ll most certainly help anyone out who just bought the core game and would like to make the change to a HoT pre-purchase.”

How nice of ANet to bury that info in a Reddit thread instead of putting it somewhere where people could see it, like… oh, maybe the preorder page! That’s such a great idea, but I’m sure they just missed it. Surely, they’re not hoping people will miss their chance for a refund. With the latest lack of shady practices on Anet’s part, it’s easy to believe in their good intentions.

Likewise, the expansion is probably missing an extra character slot to teach veteran players to use the gem shop. It’s like a tutorial!

+1. For 50$ i except xpac being at least half as big as core zone. No benefits for vets (not even char slot for normal preorder) is a slap in the face.

Keep your “xpac” knows as ls3 for yourself greedy….

Toxsa.2701:

Maybe some of you guys can save that money and buy some crap shooting game that can be beated in 10 hours with 60~70 bucks.

I wouldn’t miss you though.

Well if you like to pay for things which you own already and they should cost half the price at least, thats your own choice feel free to pay the system and being “you know what” by it. Some people actually value their money and what they are investing them into.

I’m fine with paying £35 for the standard version, heck I’m probably going to buy the ultimate, but what annoys me is that they’ve bundled the main game in with the expansion. Whether it’s true or not, to me, at least in my mind, this comes across as having to pay extra for a game we already have, which really grinds on me.

Dott.5672:

Apparently they give away the base game for free in order to help new players settle into HoT.

How that makes any god kitten sense, I don’t know. Your guess is as good as mine.

As in, you buy the Pre-Purchase as a player who has never played Guild Wars 2, and you get to play Guild Wars 2. When HoT is released, you get to play that too.

Nihlus.9724:

Guys, there’s a term “Time value of money.” At its most basic level it means that money now is worth more than money later. Similarly, getting into an MMO at the ground level is worth more than getting into it later. You’ve had much more time to play the game and many more opportunities to progress than new players.

Let’s say that back when GW2 first came out, you went to buy it and were given an offer. You can buy the game now at full price and play it, OR wait for three years and you’ll get the game for free when you buy the expansion. I guarantee most if not all of you would have went with the buy now option. The core game was worth more when it came out than it is now. The new players are not getting a better deal than you.

Incorrect. New players get the base game for $0. Whatever we paid in the past for the game, be it $15 or $60, it is still more than $0. We do not get an extra copy of the base game. New players are de facto getting a better deal than any veteran player ever could, because regardless of the cost of the game in the past, it is still greater than 0. There is no way around that.

@Chocobo But WHY 50$ for something that we already paid for? The content in HoT seems way less than in the core game, that is 50$. If they wanna pay for HoT, then let it be only HoT, not something that we already paid for. HoT itself should be like 20-30$ for vet players, without the core game. Ppl thinking that Anet are fair to us with that 50$ price, the vets, they should stop posting in this kind of topics, cuz in this kind of topics, the majority can have a final word, those that see what Anet did there with the info at FAQ….paying again for the game, just to get an expansion.
At least if they would give us in those 50$ some gems and a character slot, that would be a bit more fair.

Another option would be to restrict new comers to not being able to play the Revenant class unless they purchased a character slot, that would be appropriate.

Or, here’s an idea, Anet could not gouge loyal customers by forcing them to buy the core game twice and have an expansion only option that is priced appropriately

Uproller.1849:

nerevar.6247:

Uproller.1849:

serenke.4806:

Uproller.1849:

nerevar.6247:

Uproller.1849:

nerevar.6247:

Uproller.1849:

nerevar.6247:

stof.9341:

Sold Out.7625:

Because THIS IS THE EXPANSION PRICE. Live with it. You don’t pay more for the Core game. But reading is hard, I know.

This isn’t a matter of “this is the price” or not. It’s a matter of doing it in a way that doesn’t result in kittenstorms on the internet. ANet is notoriously bad at that.

It’s a matter of perception. I know that perception is very subjective but as I said, manipulating and predicting percetion is part of the job ANet should be doing.

In this case, the perception is that :
- I’m a veteran player, I paid I don’t know how much for the game and currently you can get it for as low as $20 if you do it smartly. I can let that slide since everything lowers in price over time
- The expansion comes out and costs me $50
- The expansion has one of the major features be a new class and it’ll cost me $10 more to play it cause … my char slots are maxed for some strange reason

So, as a veteran, I feel like I’ll have after the HoT purchase spent $80 to get the game, while new players will have spent $50 for more or less the same value. Yes I know it’s not the same thing, those $80 gave me one extra char slot etc… But it’s perception. And the perception currently is that I’ll have to spend $30 more than new players to enjoy HoT.

This is too much plain and simple. Hence the complaints. What ANet should have done is throw us virtual bones that are more or less worthless but shift the value perception to a point where nobody complains. The easiest would be to give a free chat slot to players that already own the core game. It’s shift the value perception by a whole $20 back.

New players will also have to drop $20 for Season 2 pack if they want to play through it and won’t be able to relive the living content that most of us veterans were able to play through. Also the core game is F R E E with the expansion. If you already own the core game it doesn’t effect your just paying for the expansion while the core game is F R E E for those you don’t have it, but y’know a SMALL amount of people will complain when they don’t get something free.

You just don’t get it. To current players, they are paying $50 for the expansion; and new players are paying $50 for the expansion and the free core game. Why such disparity exists is beyond me.

It doesn’t matter the core is free or not; it certainly isn’t free for us and we’re paying the same price as the new players and getting half of the package.

No, you don’t get it. Everyone is still paying $50 dollars for the expansion.

No. You don’t. Current players are paying $50 for the expansion and new players are paying $50 for the expansion and the core game.

There is a difference.

You’re not paying for the core game and neither are new players. It is offered as freebie while everyone still needs to pay $50 for the expansion.

Where can I, as a current player, claim this said freebie?

You don’t need it to access the expansion, you already have access to the core game.

But it’s a freebie offered to anyone who pays $50! At least give me a new serial code for a new account! Why the distinction?

If you are so inclined to have the freebie purchase the expansion for a new account and you will have access to the core game + expansion on it.

There. I rest my case.

So, that is what you’re going to do? You’re going to purchase it for a new account and start the game all over again? Why not just purchase it for you’re current account since you already have the core game and I’m sure you have hundreds if not thousands of hours already put into the game if you are a long time veteran. Its not like they haven’t continual offered updates and support for the game for a one time purchase fee since the games release.

A single line post on reddit doesn’t actually state what they are going to do. So while it is good they are aware of it, I will withhold judgement until they give details.

Also to clarify, I bought the game at release, so this has no real effect on me personally. But it still seems shady depending on how they resolve it.

When the pricetag is that big (one of the biggest possible you could give for a core-game not even mentioning an expansion) you as a company better come up with all the information possible to justify it.

It’s like saying “hey..here ..we have a new bodykit (expansion) for your car (core game). We charge you the same amount as what you payed for the car..but we won’t go into details about it..you just know it’s a bodykit…just trust us..it’s cool.”

The amount of real information about the expansion…numbers..quantity..etc is close to 0…specially when talking about an EXPANSION..not a bigger feature patch.

How is this fair? It’s less than the complete game, and priced the same….

Its unfair, that new player can get bonus free core game, but old player nothing.

If anet want more pre purchase, u should give old player other bonus too.

I have 10 slots already, so I will pre purchase now, if 1000gem instead of core game.

dekou.6012:

How nice of ANet to bury that info in a Reddit thread instead of putting it somewhere where people could see it, like… oh, maybe the preorder page! That’s such a great idea, but I’m sure they just missed it. Surely, they’re not hoping people will miss their chance for a refund. With the latest lack of shady practices on Anet’s part, it’s easy to believe in their good intentions.

Likewise, the expansion is probably missing an extra character slot to teach veteran players to use the gem shop. It’s like a tutorial!

Your sarcasm pleases me.

Nihlus.9724:

Guys, there’s a term “Time value of money.” At its most basic level it means that money now is worth more than money later. Similarly, getting into an MMO at the ground level is worth more than getting into it later. You’ve had much more time to play the game and many more opportunities to progress than new players.

Let’s say that back when GW2 first came out, you went to buy it and were given an offer. You can buy the game now at full price and play it, OR wait for three years and you’ll get the game for free when you buy the expansion. I guarantee most if not all of you would have went with the buy now option. The core game was worth more when it came out than it is now. The new players are not getting a better deal than you.

The game price constantly gets lowered for new players to have an ‘easy’ path to start playing the game…………………. Is that not enough?

indelible.5928:

Indeed, and I can’t understand why people can’t see the problem here.

ANet are NOT charging $50 for a copy of HotT alone. They are hiding the cost of buying the core game in the cost of a relatively small expansion, then saying it’s a freebie.That hidden cost extends to EVERY PLAYER, new or old, whether you have the base game or not.

They also used a HIGHLY UNETHICAL (bordering on illegal, but not quite) marketing tactic to get people to buy the base game prior to announcing the pre-purchase by not revealing that they would be including the base game with the expansion. They purposefully withheld that information from their FAQ and on the day they released the pre-purchase they changed the FAQ to hide the fact that they’d been intentionally tricking and deceiving consumers into buy the base game.

The hell!? Highly unethical?

So practically every MMO in history is unethical? Every one I can remember always offers the core game along with the expansions. If not every one of them, at least the majority do.

And you’d have to be extremely dense to think they wouldn’t offer the core game along with HoT even from the initial announcement. It’d make absolutely no sense to force new players to purchase the game twice when you’re trying to encourage more players to play.

Just understand what you people are crying about:
That new players get a freebie $10 addition and you vets with all your gold, gems, pre-leveled characters, max bank slots and unlocked wardrobe don’t.

Understand how little you’re missing out on and get some perspective.

Interesting fact:
Most games’ expansion in NA cost 49.99 on default. (even those games with sub fee)
The price is fair tbh.

The core game is cheap now that you can get it with 10 dollars during discount period or maybe ebay. So the truth is the price of expansion is $50 dollars. It’s not really a “bundle price”, it’s the expansion price with a maybe 10 dollar worth of game attached to it.

If you find the x-pac to be too expensive, just don’t buy it. Maybe use that money to buy your meal that would be consumed in 2~3 days. Maybe just find a part-time job to earn 60 dollars in one day and buy the game too.

Seeing how the outburst of the community, I actually clearly see the picture of what’s the most common age-group of this game . No wonder so many nonconstructive posts in the forum.

Acharyn.4738:

Regina Buenaobra.6193:

To clarify: $50 is the price of the expansion. We included the core game as a free bonus to make it easier for new players to get into it.

By the same logic, veteran players should get a free copy of HoT to make it easier to get into it.

My new guru, spread the word coz this guy nailed it xD

Even as an anet fan and supporter of GW1 and GW2, I have to say the current pricing is not fine.

Not sure if anet marketing department was/is sleeping but this is way out there with bad customer communication and relation.

Let’s go through some things:

A.) Offering the base game at reduced sale price while stating it is mandatory for the expansion, then doing a 180. -> Not cool.

Everyone arguing you are getting the base game for free… stop drinking the bad marketing coolaid.

B.) The argument of some people “I’ve payed for the base game and never bought any gems in over 3 years so it’s fine”. Hate to burst your bubble, but some one else payed your fees for you in anet business model, otherwise the game would have changed or gone bottoms up.

C.) The fact that buying HoT and creating a new account versus adding it to an old one gives you 5 character slots and a bank slot. This in the very least should have been considered. Here anet are banking purely on the fact that people want to play their high AP main accounts and are willing to sacrifice huge benefits (5 character slots and bank). -> Again, not cool.

Offering the expansion at 10,- $ off for owners of the core game is the minimum they could have done for long time customers.

In general it is not a good idea to insult long time customers, especially in a market like the gaming market where word of mouth will do a lot for your product. I for one do not feel the need any more to be pushing any of my friends who are currently not playing to try the game.

Sold Out.7625:

Core game is a free bonus to a set Heart of Thorns price to incentivize new players to get the game and not have them pay double.

Your post is pointless.

Nobody misses you. Go away.

As the white Knight emerged from the mists of foolishness, he failed to realize his kingdom was ruled by a dishonorable king.

riparonies.

$50 for an expansion 3 years late to a game with no real content for players that have been playing since day one. Nothing like being treated like a peasant by a game company.

In all honesty. Anet owes its players a whole lot. This expac should be only $30 for people that have the core game already. After being constantly reminded that nothing major was going to come out month after month. This seems pretty horrid.

If the expac is not worth that price tag then I truly do feel sad for us veteran players that have stuck with the game since day one. With the hope of something to do in the game other than running around repeating the same thing since the first year.

Zoid.2568:

Release a version of HoT ONLY and without the core game. No one wants to pay extra for the core game if they already have the game. Yes you’re saying “The core game is for free”, then why the hell is the standard version so kitten expensive? lower the price.
HoT don’t have 1/10 of the content of the core game so why would anyone pay 44,99 euro? If you want bad rep ArenaNet, sure, go ahead don’t change the price.

and 74,99 for deluxe version? Not even the core game deluxe version was that expensive.

Actually, at launch, Guild Wars 2 was $89.99 for the Digital Deluxe version. I know because I have the receipt.

The three prices are fair (marketing tactics but anyway).

What’s unfair is that veterans players don’t get anything while new players got twice (if not more!) the amount we get!

We get the expansion (supposedly shorter than the base game) for 50€ while they get twice that for the same price. Feeling robbed much?

ArmoredVehicle.2849:

I would not buy this even if they offered the deluxe edition for the price of the standard one to existing players.

I must disagree. HoT + 4000 gems to spend as I like, for $50 would be perfect. I would be 100% behind that. (4000 gems cost $50 normally.)

Galen Grey.4709:

NEOCROM.8957:

“So, new players are more important to you than the fan base that’s been funding you with gem store purchases for the last few years? Nice to know. Don’t get me wrong, im glad you’re throwing them a bone. Nothing irks me quite like buying something only for that something to be discontinued and re added with a bazillion perks/additions for the same cost (In this case, an expansion). But uhm, your current fan base, and the ones who’ve stuck around.. They should matter too.”
Found this comment in the wall-o-texts there. This guy deserves medal of honor.

So you and that poster are suggesting we outlaw promotions now? And if we do excatly who will benefit? all you’re saying here is if I dont get nice things, no one should get nice things!

Suggesting that Anet isnt fair with the price. The price may be fair for newcomers, but what about vets? What about ppl who bought the game 3 weeks ago for example? 50$ for an expansion AND the core game we already have, and not even some gems in that absurd price.

Personally, I’ve probably spent less than $100 on the game in the 2 years I’ve played..so I will be getting it regardless of the price.

Machiavell.7396:

Acharyn.4738:

Regina Buenaobra.6193:

To clarify: $50 is the price of the expansion. We included the core game as a free bonus to make it easier for new players to get into it.

By the same logic, veteran players should get a free copy of HoT to make it easier to get into it.

My new guru, spread the word coz this guy nailed it xD

I said the same thing on another topic before him, NOTICE ME!

It seems right for me to afk 5 months ago and quit now.

Cause they already have our money so they dont give a kitten about the old players.

The incompetence of Anet right now gives me such little hope for the future of this series. I just don’t understand how a company can be run so poorly and be so out of touch with the community. There really are no words.

I was expecting to game to be around $40-60 as that’s what most new games are priced at. Anyone who complains they bought the game recently at $10-15 and now complain the first part is included with HoT and not they feel ripped off? I have no time for you. Really? Anet basically gave you the game at $10.

During the next year I know I would probably spend at least $50 in gems so I bought the $100 package, with no regrets, pricey in the short-run but not in the long run. I pre-ordered GW2 and never had any regrets.

The only thing I would ask Anet to reconsider in pricing is to give the basic package 1 character slot for the new profession. Many players might feel cheated that they just spent 50 bucks on a game and now they have to spend another $10 to try out the new profession. Otherwise, I can’t see what all the moaning is about.

Entenkommando.5208:

Exactly. People always forget about all the FREE content they recieved besides the 50$ core game.
So let’s say the expansion is worth 25$.
You pay another 25$ for having the living story and newcomers pay another 25$ for the core game.
Looks fair to me.

Do i will have the Living story 1 i dont have when i buy the core game again?

Wondrouswall.7169:

There just needs to be more options available. Having options won’t detract from this. The current 3 packages are fine and encourages new players into the game. However, all of these issues could have been avoided if there were options available for those that already own the core game and want only the expansion.

• Heart of Thorns Expansion ONLY Standard. Price $29.99-39.99
• Heart of Thorns Expansion ONLY Deluxe (same extras). Price $54.99-64.99
• Heart of Thorns Expansion ONLY Ultimate (same extras). Price $79.99-89.99

The price has some flexibility, but overall, more options are better. For the consumers, the fans, and the people at ArenaNet, the extra time and effort to add these additional options would be well worth it.

My 2 cents. Cheers.

if they priced it with a few $ off, there would still be enough People screaming: “Why did i have to pay 60$ for the Base earlier and 40 for the Expansion while New Players get both for 50?”

I am not one of those whiney Veterans. I paid 100€ a few minutes ago for the Ultimate Edition and already added the key to my Account. Is it expensive? Yes it is. But compared to other MMOs i have payed ~160-200 € over the last 3 years for the DDE and HoT Ultimate (not counting buying Gems, as that has no relevance in this matter). In a Sub Based MMO it would have been at least 540€ for the Subscription alone.

John Smith.4610:

InfinitytheSoulWarden.5963:

if you look at the world through the cold cynical eyes of economics

You rang?

Dude you really should engage your brain before replying like this.

The price of the xpac along with new players getting the core game as well is absolutely disrespectful to players who have supported this game for 3 years now and your reply just adds to this disrespect anet are displaying to core players. How about a character slot for older players just for example.

To be quite frank its pathetic all round.

I come on website and see it’s 44.99 euros now. Was it all the time like this, or they changed it from 49.99?

At any rate this seems alot more fair now, price is around same as in dollars.

That’s our thanks, to the vets, that we kept the game alive for almost 3 years. While newcomers can laugh in our faces. Lovely, isn’kitten

It was always 45 euros.

leman.7682:

I think the argument is that this ‘expansion’ is nowhere near worth 50 dollars and I will not be buying it.

Also, the ridiculous white-knighting by two users in this thread makes my day. Whole bullpen at the bank heard me laugh thanks to you, boys.

Sure, no one is going to rush you to purchase. If you wait about 6 months, there’s bound to be a sale or a price drop.

And there’s a difference between white-knighting and exposing the sheer magnitude of entitlement rampant among this playerbase.

free copy of the game mmmm will I be able to sell the EXTRA copy – why in the world would I like to buy a 2nd copy of the same game – I don’t mind spending money but hell who will buy a 2nd copy of GW to get a DLC wait buy a DLC to get a new copy hahahaha I want to gift mine to Father Christmas if I buy HOT………………

If you don’t think you have enough information to make a decision about whether or not to pre-purchase the expansion, don’t pre-purchase the expansion. ANet probably aren’t planning to send ninjas to your house if you wait a month or two.

Most MMO connoisseurs consider FFXIV to have far more content than GW2, even though it’s far smaller on paper. Numbers and quantities don’t count for much, because again, it’s the quality that matters, and that’s not something you can judge from “five maps and a new class” or whatever.

Animism.9803:

Nihlus.9724:

Guys, there’s a term “Time value of money.” At its most basic level it means that money now is worth more than money later. Similarly, getting into an MMO at the ground level is worth more than getting into it later. You’ve had much more time to play the game and many more opportunities to progress than new players.

Let’s say that back when GW2 first came out, you went to buy it and were given an offer. You can buy the game now at full price and play it, OR wait for three years and you’ll get the game for free when you buy the expansion. I guarantee most if not all of you would have went with the buy now option. The core game was worth more when it came out than it is now. The new players are not getting a better deal than you.

The game price constantly gets lowered for new players to have an ‘easy’ path to start playing the game…………………. Is that not enough?

Actually including the base game for new users is a good thing, splitting the user base is bad, charging for expansions one by one for new players was already super annoying when the competitors in this genre always did it. So I say giving new players the full content when they buy in is good.
It just isn’t good leave existing loyal customers feel they are drawing the short straw.
So it would either have needed a discountet upgrad price or to be made such that the package will adjust to wether you are a new or existing customer, such as giving existing customers something like free choice of an ingame-shop costumes and a character slot.

One mob is not happy with the price and is expressing it on the forums. Then another mob is not happy with the first mob, why? OK you do disagree. We’re not telling you not to buy though? are we? So what exactly are you complaining about?

Ark Bladesteele.2943:

Incorrect. New players get the base game for $0. Whatever we paid in the past for the game, be it $15 or $60, it is still more than $0. We do not get an extra copy of the base game. New players are de facto getting a better deal than any veteran player ever could, because regardless of the cost of the game in the past, it is still greater than 0. There is no way around that.

Or you can look at it this way. For $50 both you and a new player can play in exactly the same world when HoT comes out. The money you paid for the core game (be it $15 or $60) bought you enjoyment and progression in the game world from the point of purchase up until today when you could in theory preorder HoT. The enjoyment you received in that time is worth more than $0, hence why you paid more than $0.

I think the bigger misstep in marketing was the lack of character slot. It’s basically a neon sign saying “We’re really greedy and will squeeze you for every penny we can!”

Sold Out.7625:

Core game is a free bonus to a set Heart of Thorns price to incentivize new players to get the game and not have them pay double.

Your post is pointless.

Nobody misses you. Go away.

+1

I absolutely agree with OP.
Yes, there was tons of free content, but I’ve multiple times supported ANet for that by buying gems.
The main problem, in my opinion, is not the price, but the fact that players that have played the game since the day one, are getting far more less than the new ones.