Guild Wars 2

Not everyone who is upset has been playing 3 years!
I haven’t been playing close to a year but have several hundred hours in the game.
I got nothing on the people who buy it today for $50 less.
I’ve never heard of an expansion that forced you to buy the game as well… This is completely ridiculous.

Yesterday I was still thinking I’d get the expansion the very moment it became available… then they give me the middle finger.

The biggest issue for a big group is that I and everyone who bought the core game between the time HoT was announced and now were basically ripped off.

They edited the FAQ, as if that wouldn’t add fuel to the fire.

We didn’t get to enjoy all the things vets did and, no free LW content, next to no patches or updates and now we have to pay for little content compared to the full game as if we are re-buying GW2.

Player loyalty
Coming from a long time gw player, while trying to grab new player is a good move but neglecting loyal/veteran player by giving them the shorter end of the deal is not. Those player are the one making the expansion possible by purchasing the gam years ago and supporting the game via gem purchase. Without them there won’t even be a expansion as the game would be consider a failure. Move and marketing like this will sent out a vibe that loyal supporter and player are not appreciated and will not bore well in helping the gw and arenanet branding in the future. MMO like WoW strive due to it’s loyal playerbase while company like EA and activision get bad rep for milking it’s player base with map pack and DLC galore. Which type does arenanet want to strive to be?

Daily rewards. PvP rewards. All of these things should also be considered as “loyalty rewards”. Why? Think about Tomes of Knowledge for a second. Many long term players who’ve been saving them/hoarding them are going to be able to put newly created characters DIRECTLY into the (pardon the pun) heart of the action. Want to level those professions? You’ll have access to crafting materials galore..not necessarily from farming them but simply from logging in each and every day.

You, as a long term player, have already been rewarded for your loyalty. You just took it for granted.

OP you nail it.

ArenaNet makes an amazing game. They are very good at that job.

What they really don’t do well is market their game effectively. Look at the horrid live action trailer when the game launched or some of the miscommunication they have made since.

$50 is a fair price for the expansion, imo. It is on par with what other MMOs charge and again, knowing that Anet makes a great game, I fully expect way more value than what I actually just spent (and I bought the $100 package).

But the way the sale was presented was poorly executed, and we are seeing the fallout here on the forums. They should have made it very clear that what they are selling is the expansion – with a simple aside (probably best at the bottom of the page) that stated that new players would be receiving the core game as part of their purchase.

There would have still been complaints from the regular forum complainers, but – if they had simply put the expansion stuff above the “get core game” stuff, the perception that they care about existing players more would have come through.

I know that seems facile, but the reality is perception – and the management of that perception – is important.

Anet has now dug a little bit of kitten on the marketing front and they need to make some kind of gesture to show existing players they still value their business. If I were them, I would offer every current active player 800 free gems (the price of a character slot) if they log on between now and the launch of the expansion. It’s a minimal gesture, but it would go a long way.

I can’t wait to play HOT, but this was a marketing misstep on a day that should have been all about excitement and the content (especially given the info about guild halls coming out at the exact same time).

I already own the base game of GW2. Since HoT includes the base game as a free bonus, I own the core game twice now. Obviously I want to be able to link the HoT-content to my main account, and also be able to set up a second account with the core game that I got for free with HoT. If a copy of the base game is included as a free bonus, it is included as a free bonus for EVERYONE, not just for people who are completely new to the game.

I need a second account anyways. But I am not willing to pay for the base game, then purchase an Add-on which includes the base game again (which I can not use tho, because I already PAID for having the base game two years ago), and then be forced to pay at least another 10 Euros AGAIN to be able to get the base game again for a second account, even tho it was included for free when I purchased the Add-on. Where does this make any sense? Seriously, Anet.

Lasica.5068:

My issue is that I can’t seem to buy it no matter how much I try. Neither the in-game purchase nor the website work for me, both just give errors.

Seems their servers are being hammered.

I do not mind the $50 price. What I mind is that part of that price includes something I do not have the ability to use. If I could use the copy of the base game as another account, fine (I already have a mule/test account but could accept the compromise) but since I can not separate it from HOT then it is an unused part I am paying for. Another option would be if they compensated us for the cost of the basic edition in some way, like gems or character slots.

Couldn’t have said it better! +1

For now it doesn’t look like HoT’s worth 50$. That’s why i will not be pre-ordering it while i did pre-order GW2. I will wait for the review from someone who can call things for what they actually are, i.e. Angry Joe etc., and then will decide if i want HoT or not. If it turns out to be a smallish semi-LS Season 3 expansion, and unfortunately that’s how it looks so far, then i will not be buying it.

2 and 3.

Price wise, I think it is very steep because at the moment it seems we’re getting very little with the expansion. Not even a full set of new legendaries! I mean, we’ll see but atm seems harsh since we know so little about it.

Some people are getting confused here.

A lot of the features being listed as part of HoT are being added to the basic game, not HoT. Specializations, new Borderlands, Guild Halls etc. If you insist on listing what the expansion has, at least be honest and only include what the expansion specifically offers.

Personally I think the expansion is overpriced and blatantly so. I am fine with new players getting the base game for free, but veteran players deserve a reward of equal value, a character slot and a few gems would go a long way to covering that.

My god i just logged in, this is beyond ridonkulous, slapped in the face with absurd upgrades if i can even call them that.

1. i don’t want another copy of the base game, just the expansion.
2. A free char slot is a given with a new class.

By all means it’s a great deal for new players but come on… give us a standalone HoT+ char slot for 35$ or something.

I don’t remember these shenanigans with GW1. This is not about being spoiled when people blindly defend stuff like this it will be seen as normal and no it is not.

Entenkommando.5208:

Everything that is about to come in the next years.

More $50/50€ expansions?

The biggest issue for a big group is that I and everyone who bought the core game between the time HoT was announced and now were basically ripped off.

Anet edited the FAQ, as if that wouldn’t add fuel to the fire.

We didn’t get to enjoy all the things vets did and no free LW content, and now we have to pay for little content compared to the full game as if we are re-buying GW2.

It’s not that I think the current price is too high. It’s just kind of unfair to those who already own the game (especially if you only recently bought the game.)

I think a 20 euro off (or even 20%) on the expansion for those who already own the game would be more fair.

For those wondering if UK players are getting shafted on price, I’m fairly sure that US prices are usually quoted net since the tax rate varies from state to state. The UK prices are gross.

UK players are actually paying the equivalent of $45.90 to ANet for the game, and the equivalent of $9.12 goes to the taxman, for a total cost of $55.02. I’m fairly sure most Americans will ultimately be paying $55 after taxes.

I believe the EU also gets quoted gross prices, and the output tax paid depends on where the point of supply is.

ManBeerVark.9562:

Hi, I bought this game for the first time 5 days ago. I feel very cheated now seeing that the original game will be included in this expansion. I’m a student and can’t afford to fork out cash like this, I have very limited income atm.

Open a support ticket, and make it absolutely clear what your situation is. They’ve already said that players who recently bought the game can get the expansion more cheaply.

Alright. I’m sure this is enough, along with the million of other threads, to hopefully sway the developers to listen to our words.

All of the expansions for the original Everquest comes with the core game and all the expansions before which they are now up to 16 or 17 and for some that is with a sub fee. After looking at their forum the 1 thing I don’t see is players upset with the price. And most of their expansions are a few maps and maybe 5 new levels. I’m waiting for an Anet employee to come in and say that they will lower the price to $20 but you will have to pay a sub and then see how many complaint we get for that. We still don’t know everything that is going into the xpac and I think if you are truly a GW fan you will get off you high horse and pay the money cause looking at the other MMOs that are out now this game could be a whole lot worse.

if i understand it correctly, you either link hot to your acc, and by doing so upgrade it, you you kitten on your progress, buy the same game, do not link it and have an hot acc and a 10k+ap twink no hot acc…
if i could give away my “free copy” of gw2 that would be cool, and i thought of that 2, but they might think to many players would rather kjeep it as an alt acc then gifting it to frinds…

I agree that the standard edition should have the extra slot or at least the prices should be more fair for what you are getting. Like 30 euros for Standard (if no character slot included), 50 for Deluxe and 75 for Ultimate.

I have the feeling that they bet on us dying for new content, so we going to buy it anyways.

+1
Fair and Best solution:

HoT + GW2 core OR HoT + 800 gems.

This has gone from a day that should have been wondrous, to yet another of the days when aNet made everyone flinch. I wonder is this to be the norm from here on, every time aNet has an upcoming announcement, instead of excitement we feel a twinge of shadow pain at the possibility of them shanking us…Again?

Lydon.1890:

Shakunaw.9854:

I really think and advice everyone whining to stop, because they’re just overloading the servers and it doesn’t help anyone with it.
Complaining about the price won’t make it go lower, eventhough I have to admit I’m part of European countries where the average monthly salary doesn’t fit in the common rank of the European salaries, it is -quarter- of it, therefore the game would be rather overly expensive, however, stop crying and if you aren’t entirely dedicated to the game, don’t -pay- for the expansion.

Stop whining about people whining. Complaining about it won’t make it stop.

See what I did there?

Plus if people complain enough maybe Anet will realise they’ve made a horrible mistake like they did with the Flamekissed armour.

There will be continued content development of HoT over time, it’s not a case of what comes at launch is what you get and that’s that.

What they are selling is very simple – Heart of Thorns and whatever the person buying needs in order to play Heart of Thorns. That differs based on whether or not you own the base game.

They just did a horrible job explaining that.

I keep reading from a few people in this post that GW2 is free because we do not pay a subscription fee and we continually receive free content upgrades. Therefore we should be glad to purchase an Expansion to the game to keep Arenanet in business.
Have these people, who say the game is free played the game? Do they earn 1000s in gold, because that is the only way this game could be called free. The average player buys gems with real money because gems are not free. Arenanet earns money every day because of gem purchases and I have bought more than my share. So, GW2 is not free.
I have no problem purchasing an Expansion for $50 dollars if the Expansion was like GW1. But to repurchase what I already own, by purchasing an Expansion is too much.
I know Arenanet keeps saying the core game is free and we are only purchasing the Expansion, but that means that all of us, veteran players are getting less than first time players. They are purchasing the Expansion which includes the core game. When us veteran players first paid for the game we purchased it for $50 dollars or more, now we are to purchase the Expansion for another $50 dollars, that is $100 dollars for veterans, and $50 dollars for new players. So they get everything for $50 dollars and veterans get everything for $100. That is why people are very upset.

Then they try to soften the anger by openly stating “core game is a FREE BONUS, xpac is INDEED $50 alone”. lol wtf

$50/€40/£35 is too much for an expansion – it’s 45€ to start with.
And yes, so far the x-pac looks like roughly 20-30% extra content compared to base. So the price is not yet justified in my eyes.

I want to buy Heart of Thorns on it’s own – this too. If i link HoT with my base game account i’m saying farewell to 5 new slots i would get with new account, but i don’t like running an account farm here.

The Expansion adds a new class, but does not add a new character slot – and finally this. I got an empty slot for reve, but that’s still just being sleezy. It’s common courtesy to give slots for new professions/jobs/classes especially if they’re payed content (and you can’t play revenant without x-pac).

If only one of the above can be tallied up in the poll, then #1 would be it. HoT has yet to proof to me it’s worth the 5/6 of the game’s launch price.

Huggywuggles.2814:

Player loyalty
Coming from a long time gw player, while trying to grab new player is a good move but neglecting loyal/veteran player by giving them the shorter end of the deal is not. Those player are the one making the expansion possible by purchasing the gam years ago and supporting the game via gem purchase. Without them there won’t even be a expansion as the game would be consider a failure. Move and marketing like this will sent out a vibe that loyal supporter and player are not appreciated and will not bore well in helping the gw and arenanet branding in the future. MMO like WoW strive due to it’s loyal playerbase while company like EA and activision get bad rep for milking it’s player base with map pack and DLC galore. Which type does arenanet want to strive to be?

Daily rewards. PvP rewards. All of these things should also be considered as “loyalty rewards”. Why? Think about Tomes of Knowledge for a second. Many long term players who’ve been saving them/hoarding them are going to be able to put newly created characters DIRECTLY into the (pardon the pun) heart of the action. Want to level those professions? You’ll have access to crafting materials galore..not necessarily from farming them but simply from logging in each and every day.

You, as a long term player, have already been rewarded for your loyalty. You just took it for granted.

I’d consider those as game progression as thats what you do in the game and the more you play the game it’s obvious that you’ll “progress” more by getting more item, skin, mats.

50$ is a bit much for me, especialy if I compare to Heavensward. I was waiting for Anet to release more info about HoT before buying but so far, I don’t see anything justifying this price.
Sad :/

+1 OP. Well put.

The whole “Hey, let’s bring in as many new players as possible while shafting our existing playerbase!” thing is getting old…

Gray.9041:

The free addition of GW2 is only free for new players
specifically, that the GW2 is described as a free extra, but is not separate form the expansion, meaning that the “free” extra is only available to new players

The Expansion adds a new class, but does not add a new character slot
arenanet has always added free character slots equal to the number of new classes before, and the break from this tradition is troubling, especially since it may cause people to go for the delux edition over the standard – meaning many people may being paying $25 more just for a character slot

The free addition of GW2 is only free for new players
I’ve been hyping myself for several months now, and this is a major bummer. It’s nice that new players get the core game for free, but I feel left out as a veteran (gem paying) user. I would like some appreciation for my continued support. Not a slap in the face.

The Expansion adds a new class, but does not add a new character slot
Like most people the Revenant is one of the main reasons I planned to buy this expansion. Not getting a character slot, especially when the expansion is a whopping € 45,- is pretty disappointing.

I’m seriously considering not getting the expansion right now. It’s a shame, I love the game and i’m very curious what the expansion would bring. But this slap in the face is a major turnoff. I’m willing too buy the game, but only if all players get a little something, the veterans for their continued support, and the new players to help them get started.

rapthorne.7345:

There will be continued content development of HoT over time, it’s not a case of what comes at launch is what you get and that’s that.

The continued content will be handsomely paid for by gem purchases for outfits, minis, magic carpets and such.

I just wanna sum up the E3 announment

Collin: Hey Guys! So here is whats coming in Heart of Thorns ….. features and content! Hey by the way you can Pre Purchase HoT!!!

I just have one question regarding HoT epack for employe of Arenanet who can help me out: Will I be able to create a 2nd account since i will own 2 core game copies?If not why not?

P.S.: If you give me 15€ discount since i already own the core game i buy Deluxe version right now. i do understand you giving core game for ’’free’’ to new players but what extra content are we veteran players getting… you have to compensate that somehow maybe 2nd acc (its sarcasm btw)

P.P.S.:i think you should really change your economic strategies

Riku.4821:

The Expansion is applied to your account you already have, you needn’t a second account.
The Pricing on the game is irrelevant in terms of the Vanilla game being included FOR FREE. with or without the game included the Expansion pack is $50.

Please stop complaining over a cup of milk half empty. Or at the very least explain with real factual reason why it upsets you, I’m more then willing to put a word in to the developers. but not your constant banter.

The thing is, vanilla game is only included for free in the sense that there is no other option than to buy both the game and the expansion. You could just as well say that the expansion is free for everyone, but it’s only offered with the purchase of the deluxe vanilla pack that costs $50. Since there is no other option, the relative distribution of the price within the components of the pack is utterly irrelevant.

If we talk about the VALUE of the pack, for a new player they save the cost of the new game (apparently around $20 at the moment). This means compared to buying just the base game, the expansion adds $30 to the cost.

For someone who already has the game, the whole $50 has to be weighed towards decision to buy the expansion or not. Because there is no other option.

Like I’ve said elsewhere, if the options are set in stone, then it would be fair to give the owners of existing account a bonus they could claim instead of the bundled base game. What I’ve suggested was a pack of 1600 gems for anyone who links the expansion to existing account (and thus forfeits the bundled base game).

This would not only give the existing players something of equal value, but also give them an opportunity to use those gems to get a new character slot for revenant – and/or some other bonus of their choice from the gem store.

I believe this would ease most of the concerns.

I have always been a strong supporter of ANET and feel like they produce a terrific game with thousands of hours of playability. However, they completely failed on this effort. There are five people in my family who all have active accounts and we love to play together. I knew I would have to pay for the new expansion, but $50 is far, far too much for existing players. My gut tells me that they are rolling in the base game not only for new players, but also to “sell” the fact that they “acquired” hundreds (if not more) new players with the expansion — without fully telling people that many or even most of the “new” games sold are actually veteran players who bought the expansion and got the game with it. Either way, I will not be shelling out $250 for an expansion that — so far — has shown to only be worth $30.

ArenaNet: From a loyal, gem-store-buying patron…fix this. If the 1800 (and counting) messages on this board don’t get you to change your mind, I’m guessing the massive amount of vets NOT buying the expansion will be.

You need a G) We d not know what we are buying.

That coupled with b) and f) are my main dissatisfaction points. a) is also relevant, but b) would address a).

I’ve been inactive in GW2 for around a year now and thought I’d come back and check out the new coat of paint. Now I’m not so sure. As a returning player, the price point seems a bit steep for what we’re getting, and the message seems to be that I have to pay for the old game that I don’t need so you can attract new players. You really need to price/value this for your existing players.

The lack of a character slot, while not a huge deal is concerning. I don’t really want to pay 50 dollars for the expack and then immediately follow that up with another 10 dollars for a character slot. GW1 included two for Nightfall and Factions, to accommodate the new class being introduced.

TL;DR: Seems a bit price gouge-ey. Returning players will be watching your response very closely.

[mods: this is slightly off of the main thread so I created a new topic]

I know it is early on the west coast but someone there must know (or have anticipated) the blowback from the HOT announcement among existing players. Many of us were eagerly awaiting it and would gladly have opened our wallets and given you permission to take out what you wanted. Instead we are now waiting for when HOT goes on sale because we now feel like we, as proven loyal customers, are considered less important than new buyers who may or may not invest more money into the game.

I dont think there is that much content left to show us, so if this is it, i hope a meteor descends and shatters that horrible price to something more realistic

I don’t want to buy a bundle, I want to buy the expansion. It doesn’t matter how much it costs, I simply don’t want to buy something I already have. Nothing is for free, whoever thinks otherwise must be pretty naive.

How could anyone think this was a good idea?

45 euro for the standard edition is just waaaay to expensive.

I don’t know why most of us veterans are so upset that GW2’s expansion allows new players access to the game. Sure, new players get free stuff but you know what else they’ve gotten? They’ve gotten this game for 10$ several times. I know I bought it for 60$. They don’t need to reward the vets any more. The achievement system is a solid reward system for people who’ve stuck around. So are all the weapon sets from the various eras for the Black Lion tickets and from the living story. Instead of hating anet for giving away years of their own hard work for free for people who want to start playing an MMO 3 years after launch (which always means they’re starting behind the curve and will be nooby in a world full of vets who are completely ahead of them), focus on the fact that we’re getting a new class, a new zone, a long overdue complete rework of our specializations (for free, mind you) and elite specializations that bring the long anticipated new weapons to each class.

We aren’t getting nothing. We’re getting what the vast majority of us have waited for for years. Remember, while you’re mad that you can’t get the best value (IE a free game) this decision gives away years of their art and work for free. It’s one of their many ways to attract new players to an established game (a thing that is normally daunting). So stop whining at that one detail and just enjoy the expansion we’ve been hyped about for so long.

Huggywuggles.2814:

Player loyalty
Coming from a long time gw player, while trying to grab new player is a good move but neglecting loyal/veteran player by giving them the shorter end of the deal is not. Those player are the one making the expansion possible by purchasing the gam years ago and supporting the game via gem purchase. Without them there won’t even be a expansion as the game would be consider a failure. Move and marketing like this will sent out a vibe that loyal supporter and player are not appreciated and will not bore well in helping the gw and arenanet branding in the future. MMO like WoW strive due to it’s loyal playerbase while company like EA and activision get bad rep for milking it’s player base with map pack and DLC galore. Which type does arenanet want to strive to be?

Daily rewards. PvP rewards. All of these things should also be considered as “loyalty rewards”. Why? Think about Tomes of Knowledge for a second. Many long term players who’ve been saving them/hoarding them are going to be able to put newly created characters DIRECTLY into the (pardon the pun) heart of the action. Want to level those professions? You’ll have access to crafting materials galore..not necessarily from farming them but simply from logging in each and every day.

You, as a long term player, have already been rewarded for your loyalty. You just took it for granted.

Thats what you get for playing the game? It’s not loyalty rewards, companies must love you.

This is like car insurance renewal, new customers get the special offers and deals, existing customers get the shaft.. It’s ANET taking its veterans for granted not the other way round.

Here also to add my voice to the rest of the folk who find the pricing a bit high or off. As of this moment i haven’t seen anything that would justify a 50 euro price for HoT. I will probably wait untill the expansion is out, see what the actuall content on offer is (cause up untill now we don’t even know how many maps this expansion includes or that elusive challenging content we keep hearing about), see what the competition offers (don’t forget Blade and Soul is comming also, plus loads of single player games too) and then decide if i’ll wait for the sale or abandon ship completely. I really really hope the trait system changes they’re pushing us to beta test next week are good.

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.

in total i’ve paid more than 400€ towards the game, and now new players get the core game and exp. for 45, while i have to pay for the exp. alone 45, it feels like such a punch to the gut from you guys …. i don’t even know if i will buy it now …

Wow, kids these days….

What can they say? The pre-purchase is live so no changes can be made. Some people already pre-purchased so they will be screwed if something changes. If you expect Anet to come out and confess “Yeah, originally we thought HoT will cost 20 bucks but then we had the brilliant idea to add the core game and make it 50” don’t hold your breath.