Guild Wars 2

My email to Anet support asking for clarification:

I recently purchased GW2 for myself and girlfriend and have spent $30 on the gem store in preparation for the expansion. I was dismayed when I read today the cost of the expansion, and that it will include the base game. For new customers such as myself, this appears as “double dipping” or trying to extract as much money as possible from your customers. The FAQ stated that the base game was REQUIRED for HoT. Now I have attempted to prepare for the expansion, only to find that I have wasted my money and should have waited.

According to this reddit post (https://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/3a46s4/preorders_for_heart_of_thorns_are_now_live/cs96lfu) an Anet representative has stated “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.” Can you please explain what that help will be? According to responses in the forums, it will be terminating the original account(s) and not refunding gem purchases. Is this seriously the “help” being offered, the choice between losing all progress in the game and money spent on it, or being charged an exorbitant price for an expansion, that I was under the impression I was preparing for by purchasing the game and additional character slot?

Another pondering.

IF a player that tied a GW1 account to a GW2 account in the refund window takes the refund and the new account, and the old account is deleted as has been stated, well wait a kitten moment
Would that not also delete the gw1 account tied to that account tied to the GW2 account being deleted? Or would they then leave that super-loyal customer with a GW1 account with GWAMM that could never be tied to another GW2 account, and a GW2 account that would never reflect their dedication via it’s HoM rewards and titles, the way that it should?

To my mind, either is a seriously whack scenario, and just another highlighted question about this whole tangled and vile web of the worst marketing decision aNet ever made…

i think they are expecting us to calm down, forget about the overpriced expansion and then buy it anyways. thats why they are quiet.

Jade Arkadian.9280:

They should address the issue ASAP and if not. Every single blog entry since the prepurchase is being overshadowed by comments related to this.

What’s the point on telling how cool guild halls are if you have users everywhere leaving comments about the pricing?

It’s everywhere…facebook, twitter, reddit, theses forums, the game itself… and it’’s perfectly normal. People is concerned and wants you to change your mind about that mad pricing tag.
Come on Anet, I know things are not done instantly but you must react before it is too late.

They are likely hoping it will blow over, and they can get away with it by appeasing everyone with some forced, half-hearted apology. That might work when it’s a unpopular changes in free updates. Some will quit playing, but most will eventually (even if begrudgingly) accept the changes and go about their way.

But this is something they are asking money for, and have already been lying about for 6 months in a shady scheme to get more money. People aren’t going to just forget about it and hand over money anyway. You don’t forget about a lie the way an unpopular change fades away.

Jade Arkadian.9280:

It’s everywhere…facebook, twitter, reddit, theses forums, the game itself… and it’’s perfectly normal. People is concerned and wants you to change your mind about that mad pricing tag.

And nothing is gonna happen. I mean, nothing other than 99% of those people buying the xpac despite the price and the free spit in the face.

Nothing is free? Some things are free, I say. I’m getting fooled for free.

selan.8354:

i think they are expecting us to calm down, forget about the overpriced expansion and then buy it anyways. thats why they are quiet.

Well yeah, they know it’s gonna happen. The community (yes, myself included, even if I stopped buying gems since then) let them get away with other HoT topics: ascended gear, fractal reset, shady gemstore items… isn’t it silly to complain again, despite knowing the outcome?
They did it because they knew they’re gonna get away with it don’t forget they can do whatever they want, you paid for the privilege to access this game and they have the power.
Just calm down, /shrug and buy/not buy depending on friends or cash availability. That’s it. We little people get fooled everyday by the big corporations, yet the earth is still rotating on its own axis, hm? <3

mrstealth.6701:

As for the claim made in the original version of the FAQ, there is no mention made of HoT purchases including GW2. The heavily implied intent of the text is that a previous, separate purchase is required. This where #3 comes in; “has the potential to deceive a substantial portion of its targeted audience”. This establishes that even implied false information in a manner that might deceive is enough to consider the company guilty of false advertisement.

Unless you’re reading the actual statute, the link provided by the person who brought it up does not have any redacted text.

I think you mean #2 which is “the statement either deceives or has the potential to deceive a substantial portion of its targeted audience” while #3 is “the deception is also likely to affect the purchasing decisions of its audience.”

I don’t see the heavily implied text where a previous, separate purchase is required. Granted, I only have experience with a handful mmo expansions, but the ones I have experience with allow a person to buy the base game at the time of the expansion, if you don’t have the base game already.

This situation is no different. Anet has just made it more convenient for those who don’t have the base game already. It’s an incentive for new customers much like how cable companies throw in a couple months free of a premium channel to new customers.

NecroN.8306:

Really? Someone else did? Why would anyone think that? I think you need to go back and look who posted it to make sure!

Since you’re such a fan, if you see me in game, I won’t charge you for taking a screenshot of me. See you in HoT! =]

i’m sure others have said this, but i cant take the time to read 70 pages of disappointment.

an “expansion” is not worth $50, not for any game. And on top of that, you dont even give an extra slot for the new class unless you pay an extra $25 on top of that. I dont need/want that extra “fluff” you give us in the Silver and Gold packages. i dont care about mini’s or finishers.

All i can think about is back in the day, when Guild Wars: Factions and Nightfall came out. They were stand-alone “expansions”. If you already owned GW1 and got one of them, you paid $30 and got at least 1 extra slot since both expansions introduced 2 new classes.

Any thats what you should of done here. the “Upgrade” package. for $30, a current GW2 player will get just the HoT content and an extra character slot.

If you had that option, i would pre-order now. But as it stands now, i won’t. I’ll wait, and maybe eventually the price will fall. I’ll spend time farming gold to turn into gems and buy and extra character slot. But i’ll never spend $50 for HoT.

With all the money that’s being made on gem purchases for micro transactions, the 3 package deals you presented to all your current loyal customers was a “d!ck move”. Not only that, you have generated ALOT of bad press because of this. Good luck attracting new customers now that alot of your current ones feel burned.

bubalu.8301:

mrstealth.6701:

As for the claim made in the original version of the FAQ, there is no mention made of HoT purchases including GW2. The heavily implied intent of the text is that a previous, separate purchase is required. This where #3 comes in; “has the potential to deceive a substantial portion of its targeted audience”. This establishes that even implied false information in a manner that might deceive is enough to consider the company guilty of false advertisement.

Unless you’re reading the actual statute, the link provided by the person who brought it up does not have any redacted text.

I think you mean #2 which is “the statement either deceives or has the potential to deceive a substantial portion of its targeted audience” while #3 is “the deception is also likely to affect the purchasing decisions of its audience.”

I don’t see the heavily implied text where a previous, separate purchase is required. Granted, I only have experience with a handful mmo expansions, but the ones I have experience with allow a person to buy the base game at the time of the expansion, if you don’t have the base game already.

This situation is no different. Anet has just made it more convenient for those who don’t have the base game already. It’s an incentive for new customers much like how cable companies throw in a couple months free of a premium channel to new customers.

So you don’t receive money or other forms of compensation from Anet or NCSOFT?

what the fluff. why should we pay over double the original price of the game? to get an expansion that is smaller than the game?

GW2 core game is currently free but the only way to get it atm is buying an overpriced expansion.

so . . . kinda?

The question you need to ask is, do you have to spend money in order to get a copy of the core GW2 at this very moment. The answer is yes, yes you do, therefore it is not free.

Think of it like this, if you go into McDonalds and buy a Big Mac Meal are the fries free ? Nope they are part of the price of the Meal “Bundle”.

A simple point people don’t seem to understand is that the core game inclusion isn’t influencing the price in any way… it’s just something they threw in so new players that missed the previous sales aren’t stuck behind a huge paywall. They just got lucky to get the game at a lower price than others(free of charge in this case) the same way people got it for 75% less during the recent sales but nobody raised any pitchforks then even though they should have, according to the logic the complaining follows. The expansion itself costs 50$, you’d be paying that regardless of core game inclusion. Nobody is forcing you to pay extra for something you already have. Think of it as a 100% discount product you don’t have to put in your basket separately.
As for the pricing itself, $40 to $50 is just standard pricing for MMO expansions. And saying there’s not enough content to justify the price isn’t valid because we don’t know how much content there actually is. Which is where the magic of pre-purchasing kicks in… you don’t have to buy it now if you don’t feel you know enough. Pre-purchasing is an optional gesture of faith from the consumers. The game didn’t release yet. Anet isn’t demanding that we pay for the game now and then releasing it in a week or two from now. The game is several months from being ready. In fact, Anet isn’t demanding anything and people are hatemongering for no real reason. The game isn’t going live with just the things that were revealed up until now, and I don’t know why people are acting like it is. There’s still months of reveals ahead of us. Just stop with the pointless, and frankly baseless anger and hatred.

bubalu.8301:

mrstealth.6701:

As for the claim made in the original version of the FAQ, there is no mention made of HoT purchases including GW2. The heavily implied intent of the text is that a previous, separate purchase is required. This where #3 comes in; “has the potential to deceive a substantial portion of its targeted audience”. This establishes that even implied false information in a manner that might deceive is enough to consider the company guilty of false advertisement.

Unless you’re reading the actual statute, the link provided by the person who brought it up does not have any redacted text.

I think you mean #2 which is “the statement either deceives or has the potential to deceive a substantial portion of its targeted audience” while #3 is “the deception is also likely to affect the purchasing decisions of its audience.”

I don’t see the heavily implied text where a previous, separate purchase is required. Granted, I only have experience with a handful mmo expansions, but the ones I have experience with allow a person to buy the base game at the time of the expansion, if you don’t have the base game already.

This situation is no different. Anet has just made it more convenient for those who don’t have the base game already. It’s an incentive for new customers much like how cable companies throw in a couple months free of a premium channel to new customers.

The way it was cut looked like some was cut, but you’re right. It wasn’t. It’s not really an issue, though. As that section does still obviously apply to this case. There is definitely interstate commerce, placing it under federal jurisdiction.

The quote from “3” was 2, uncaught typo on my part. But I did also post the actual quote for clarity.

And I don’t see how anyone doesn;t see that implication in the original FAQ entry.

“Q: Do I have to own Guild Wars 2 to play the expansion? A: Yes. Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns is an expansion to Guild Wars 2 and not a stand-alone campaign, and therefore it requires the base game to play.”

They straight up stated that you need the base game. That you cannot use/play HoT unless you own GW2.

Combine that with the fact that very same day that went up, the base game was put on sale for $10, and a special “level up” double XP event started.

The fact that they are promoting the game in a sale, along with the announcement of the expansion, is a pretty clear indication that you’re going to need that base account when HoT is available. That FAQ entry gave no hint at all that the game would later be included in that HoT purchase.

If the base game is included, does this mean I’d be able to give said copy of the base game away to someone else since I already own the base game myself?

If the above isn’t true then you might want to rethink the marketing on this. If I can’t give away my extra copy then we’re not truly getting the base GW2 for free, which means I’m paying for it. Plus, what about those poor saps who buy the base game (which is essentially free as of the xpac) post HoT then buy the expansion? That would be some shady business dealing in my opinion.

I understand and applaud the intent in wanting to make the game more accessible to those starting with the expansion. However, there’s not quite enough information for the current customers.

Rhonin Greymane.8752:

A simple point people don’t seem to understand is that the core game inclusion isn’t influencing the price in any way… it’s just something they threw in so new players that missed the previous sales aren’t stuck behind a huge paywall. They just got lucky to get the game at a lower price than others(free of charge in this case) the same way people got it for 75% less during the recent sales but nobody raised any pitchforks then even though they should have, according to the logic the complaining follows. The expansion itself costs 50$, you’d be paying that regardless of core game inclusion. Nobody is forcing you to pay extra for something you already have. Think of it as a 100% discount product you don’t have to put in your basket separately.
As for the pricing itself, $40 to $50 is just standard pricing for MMO expansions. And saying there’s not enough content to justify the price isn’t valid because we don’t know how much content there actually is. Which is where the magic of pre-purchasing kicks in… you don’t have to buy it now if you don’t feel you know enough. Pre-purchasing is an optional gesture of faith from the consumers. The game didn’t release yet. Anet isn’t demanding that we pay for the game now and then releasing it in a week or two from now. The game is several months from being ready. In fact, Anet isn’t demanding anything and people are hatemongering for no real reason. The game isn’t going live with just the things that were revealed up until now, and I don’t know why people are acting like it is. There’s still months of reveals ahead of us. Just stop with the pointless, and frankly baseless anger and hatred.

A re-worded but still broken facsimile of the same tired argument. You’re in the minority that share that opinion. Stockholmers I like to call them.
Don’t tell us how to feel about getting a rough trade for our investment of time and money, and possibly even emotion for the realm. In return I won’t tell you to seek treatment to have your tongue removed from aNets lower cleavage.
Everyone will be that little bit happier.

Again, illegal in the US.

This is called “tying”.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tying_

I haven’t posted on this topic today, but want to be doubly sure that I avoid the issue some people have with understanding that “silence is not acceptance”

If a new player gets 5 character slots, I want 5 character slots.
Heck, I’ll take 3.

They can have the 20-slot bag, bank tab, collections stack, and EVERYTHING ELSE free.

With all of the changes that are going / have gone into the game in even the last year; in some respects I feel like I preordered the pre-order gw2 3 years ago and have just been playing beta this whole time.

Additions are cool, LS, SAB, PvP maps, holidays, guild missions, new bosses, 2 maps, currencies, dailies, monthlies, log in rewards, achievement rewards, new achievements, rewards tracks, wardrobe, megaserver, lions arch x3(?), DR, fractals, ascended, skins, just about everything guild related,

Not cool, the total change of: skills, personal story, conditions, boons, gear, traits, mf, skill points, influence, glory, movement speed, gaining experience from items earned on other characters instead of… gaining experience on a character, monthlies, megaserver, lions arch x2, ascended

This is definitely not the game I bought 3 years ago! (in both a good and bad way)

Idk, long story short:
New players, your welcome for us testing, evaluating, and providing feedback for the game you’ll be playing.
Arenanet, it would be nice to be treated as an equal customer, by providing HoT key and the free/included core key separately, Or at very least 3 charslots / gem equivalent. You’re welcome for the QA, I’m sorry if it wasn’t great, and came off in many cases as complaining, but at least it was free (wait… actually you got paid).

The more I think about it, the more I realize, depending on how you look at it, either the core game was vastly incomplete/broken/wrong OR the current game is.

I’d love to provide better, more helpful feedback, but there is unfortunately no new information to respond to. Just saying hi! I’m still here, I still want HoT, but I still feel like I’m being treated unfairly.

deSade.9437:

Jade Arkadian.9280:

It’s everywhere…facebook, twitter, reddit, theses forums, the game itself… and it’’s perfectly normal. People is concerned and wants you to change your mind about that mad pricing tag.

And nothing is gonna happen. I mean, nothing other than 99% of those people buying the xpac despite the price and the free spit in the face.

Nothing is free? Some things are free, I say. I’m getting fooled for free.

selan.8354:

i think they are expecting us to calm down, forget about the overpriced expansion and then buy it anyways. thats why they are quiet.

Well yeah, they know it’s gonna happen. The community (yes, myself included, even if I stopped buying gems since then) let them get away with other HoT topics: ascended gear, fractal reset, shady gemstore items… isn’t it silly to complain again, despite knowing the outcome?
They did it because they knew they’re gonna get away with it don’t forget they can do whatever they want, you paid for the privilege to access this game and they have the power.
Just calm down, /shrug and buy/not buy depending on friends or cash availability. That’s it. We little people get fooled everyday by the big corporations, yet the earth is still rotating on its own axis, hm? <3

pretty sad, but i agree with you. And it seems like they’re strategy at this point is “hopefully if we release more shiny things about guild halls, they will forget we just kittented on our fans faces.” hell they havent said anything else about the issue except they were looking into it. Just keep pushing the problem away and hope it gets shrugged off eventually.

Hopefully becuz of e3 week, there will be new mmos that will cater to people who are leaving. And in the future, our community will learn not to jump into the hype train with a blinded eye causes it seems like the old Anet from gw1 (the team that cares about its playerbase) is no longer there. I wonder when they will bring the holy trinity in gw2, its only a matter of time. They’re already selling pet rocks! (wtf)

Neptune.7920:

Again, illegal in the US.

This is called “tying”.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tying_

Tying is only illegal when the products are not related.

KPOBb.8476:

I don’t get the Veteran entitlement position.

Entitlement would be expecting Veterans to pay for a product AGAIN so one could get a FREE copy of the base game.

Or do you REALLY think Anet is going to just write off the cost of the FREE game?

Rhonin Greymane.8752:

A simple point people don’t seem to understand is that the core game inclusion isn’t influencing the price in any way… it’s just something they threw in so new players that missed the previous sales aren’t stuck behind a huge paywall.

That’s something we don’t actually know is true.

It’s quite likely product bundling to make the product seem to have a higher value by including other products with it. Using that “value” to justify a higher price than it would otherwise cost on its own.

They can label it as a free gift all they want, but it’s clear by their multiple recent sales that they expected new customers to pay for their GW2 base game. Their word of it being “free” doesn’t mean much right now. This is the same company that had false information posted up on their HoT FAQ for 6 months as part of a marketing ploy to sell more core game copies.

If they wanted to do honest business and bundling, they would have announced 6 months ago that HoT would included a GW2 account. Instead we get a surprise bundle where everyone is asked to shell out more money for, while only a portion of those customers actually get the bundled extra product.

Just bought the game about a month and a half ago and im a little dissapointed that ill basically have to buy it again.

I really hope the content that hasnt been revelaed yet, like the “challenging group content”, is epic because honestly there are a lot of other games/expansions coming out soon. heavensward(ff14), Wildstar( going F2p) , etc.

Anet making a joke out of this is discouraging and not really helping the situation. You want my $50? sure thing, but first show me all of what im buying. thanks.

deSade.9437:

Well yeah, they know it’s gonna happen. The community (yes, myself included, even if I stopped buying gems since then) let them get away with other HoT topics: ascended gear, fractal reset, shady gemstore items… isn’t it silly to complain again, despite knowing the outcome?

“Let them get away”?

Hardly.

Why do you think ArenaNet is this desperate? Why do you think they keep changing business model, from the Living World Season 1 to the completelly different Season 2 and then an expansion, despite how they had said earlier that they didn’t see the point of making an expansion when they could introduce everything through the Living World?

Why do you think key, high level employees like Chris Whiteside have left ArenaNet?

Take a look at how sharply GW2’s earnings have fallen. Even after receiving a booster when the expansion was announced, the game is still earning NCSoft less than a MMORPG released in 1998 and a MMORPG that has not even been released in Western territories yet.

The ship is sinking. HoT is a desperate gamble, and all those controversial decisions recently – making ascended gear even more powerful than exotic gear, this whole mess with HoT, and etc – clearly reek of despair. If HoT doesn’t sell very well, I wouldn’t hold my breath for a second expansion.

Ulitmo.9712:

I really hope the content that hasnt been revelaed yet, like the “challenging group content”, is epic

It won’t be. If it were, they would have talked about it before starting the prepurchase. ArenaNet’s silence right now, when they want the most people to buy the game, is a sign that if they spoke more we would be even less inclined to buy HoT.

funkyazn.9062:

They’re already selling pet rocks! (wtf)

“‘Fun? In MY MMO?’ It’s more likely than you think.”
Seriously, have a little sense of humor. People like the pet rock because it’s funny and it’s goofy. How is the pet rock any different from the other minis?

Face it. The fact that they changed the FAQ entry to now include the base game and expansion shows premeditation.
Oh I like that word. Say it again. MUFASA!

RDarken.2495:

FYI GW2 is not F2P, it is B2P. You would have to spend money on these expansions in order to take advantage of them, no matter what.

No one wants it for free. Everyone was/is prepared to pay money for the expansion.
Just not the ridiculous price it is. There are times when the full game didn’t even cost that much but we aren’t wanting to buy a whole new game and I don’t believe we should be forced to. We are either paying for 80% of a game we already have, or paying $50 for 20% extra content (rough figures ofc, just an example).

Like someone else said:
New players are paying $50 for A + B
Old players are paying $50 for B, when we have already paid for A.

We are asking the game be purchasable as an upgrade to those with the base game.
Not having to fork out more than what we paid for the original game, to get a pack with the original game and the expansion, when we already have the original game.

I have no issue in benefiting new players to bring in fresh blood, but don’t screw over your old ones. You will lose more than you will gain.

dervix.9126:

funkyazn.9062:

They’re already selling pet rocks! (wtf)

“‘Fun? In MY MMO?’ It’s more likely than you think.”
Seriously, have a little sense of humor. People like the pet rock because it’s funny and it’s goofy. How is the pet rock any different from the other minis?

The intent is obvious. The timing however is very unfortunate. Because of it being put up so close to all this, it looks just as easily like the intent was to say, “This lot are so eager to be fleeced, we could sell ’em a kitten rock…”

All along the Watchtower….

Ulitmo.9712:

Just bought the game about a month and a half ago and im a little dissapointed that ill basically have to buy it again.

I really hope the content that hasnt been revelaed yet, like the “challenging group content”, is epic because honestly there are a lot of other games/expansions coming out soon. heavensward(ff14), Wildstar( going F2p) , etc.

Anet making a joke out of this is discouraging and not really helping the situation. You want my $50? sure thing, but first show me all of what im buying. thanks.

What joke did they make?

Rhonin Greymane.8752:

A simple point people don’t seem to understand is that the core game inclusion isn’t influencing the price in any way… it’s just something they threw in so new players that missed the previous sales aren’t stuck behind a huge paywall. They just got lucky to get the game at a lower price than others(free of charge in this case) the same way people got it for 75% less during the recent sales but nobody raised any pitchforks then even though they should have, according to the logic the complaining follows. The expansion itself costs 50$, you’d be paying that regardless of core game inclusion. Nobody is forcing you to pay extra for something you already have. Think of it as a 100% discount product you don’t have to put in your basket separately.
As for the pricing itself, $40 to $50 is just standard pricing for MMO expansions. And saying there’s not enough content to justify the price isn’t valid because we don’t know how much content there actually is. Which is where the magic of pre-purchasing kicks in… you don’t have to buy it now if you don’t feel you know enough. Pre-purchasing is an optional gesture of faith from the consumers. The game didn’t release yet. Anet isn’t demanding that we pay for the game now and then releasing it in a week or two from now. The game is several months from being ready. In fact, Anet isn’t demanding anything and people are hatemongering for no real reason. The game isn’t going live with just the things that were revealed up until now, and I don’t know why people are acting like it is. There’s still months of reveals ahead of us. Just stop with the pointless, and frankly baseless anger and hatred.

Base game on sale at Amazon for $16 on May 6, 2015.
http://camelcamelcamel.com/Guild-Wars-2-Pc/product/B001TOQ8X4
Stand alone expansion lets call it $30
Total $46.00

The cheapest expansion is slightly more than that.

Test.8734:

The ship is sinking. HoT is a desperate gamble, and all those controversial decisions recently – making ascended gear even more powerful than exotic gear, this whole mess with HoT, and etc – clearly reek of despair. If HoT doesn’t sell very well, I wouldn’t hold my breath for a second expansion.

I shouldn’t be saying this, but I kiiinda hope you’re right. I say “I shouldn’t” because I’ll have to purchase HoT (but not _pre_purchase, likely) if my friends do. Not smart to hope for the game’s demise, is it? And yet…
I still think they’re gonna simply ignore the people complaining, though.

NecroN.8306:

Oh I like that word. Say it again. MUFASA!

Lols

MMOGamer.6175:

Rhonin Greymane.8752:

A simple point people don’t seem to understand is that the core game inclusion isn’t influencing the price in any way… it’s just something they threw in so new players that missed the previous sales aren’t stuck behind a huge paywall. They just got lucky to get the game at a lower price than others(free of charge in this case) the same way people got it for 75% less during the recent sales but nobody raised any pitchforks then even though they should have, according to the logic the complaining follows. The expansion itself costs 50$, you’d be paying that regardless of core game inclusion. Nobody is forcing you to pay extra for something you already have. Think of it as a 100% discount product you don’t have to put in your basket separately.
As for the pricing itself, $40 to $50 is just standard pricing for MMO expansions. And saying there’s not enough content to justify the price isn’t valid because we don’t know how much content there actually is. Which is where the magic of pre-purchasing kicks in… you don’t have to buy it now if you don’t feel you know enough. Pre-purchasing is an optional gesture of faith from the consumers. The game didn’t release yet. Anet isn’t demanding that we pay for the game now and then releasing it in a week or two from now. The game is several months from being ready. In fact, Anet isn’t demanding anything and people are hatemongering for no real reason. The game isn’t going live with just the things that were revealed up until now, and I don’t know why people are acting like it is. There’s still months of reveals ahead of us. Just stop with the pointless, and frankly baseless anger and hatred.

Base game on sale at Amazon for $16 on May 6, 2015.
http://camelcamelcamel.com/Guild-Wars-2-Pc/product/B001TOQ8X4
Stand alone expansion lets call it $30
Total $46.00

The cheapest expansion is slightly more than that.

Why even sell it? It would be way more decent to let preordering customers simply access the base game right? oh yea, this is anet.

Jski.6180:

Its free with the purchase of HoT. Did you buy HoT yes or no? If yes then you get ONE free copy (mostly to help get new ppl to play it) if no then you do not get it. Look at free shipping / handling with the purchase of a good dose this mean that its free to have you send any thing you want even if you did not buy the good that you must to get this “deal?”

Why do i get the feeling ppl are spending way too much time in the video game world and seemed to have caused them to lose all perception with real world economics.

Is this true? If so then I am satisfied. I will have 2 farming accounts and one HoT account. That makes up for the char slot. Parking 13 alts will be kinda fun actually.

Finally some official word from the devs…

yep you read that right! You are getting $99.99! After seeing some videos from the community and comparisons of other MMOs expansion, I’ve decided that 50 bucks MIGHT be a bit expensive (for an expansion) but good price I guess since we get no sub fees. Besides you have broken standard rules in MMOs and “getting the core game from buying an expansion” is another unique thing………a bit of a slap in the face for people who might buy core game a few weeks ago, but nonetheless unique. I support you!

Best regards eduardo

P.S. I plan to buy the ultimate edition soon

P.P.S. still waiting on that mini job-o/hobo/hero-tron XD

JohnnyS.1460:

Finally some official word from the devs…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZspKoupWAY

I just kittened myself laughing.

MMOGamer.6175:

JohnnyS.1460:

Finally some official word from the devs…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZspKoupWAY

I just kittened myself laughing.

I knew someone would end up doing it. That guy is priceless.

JohnnyS.1460:

Finally some official word from the devs…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZspKoupWAY

That was great!

mrstealth.6701:

MMOGamer.6175:

JohnnyS.1460:

Finally some official word from the devs…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZspKoupWAY

I just kittened myself laughing.

I knew someone would end up doing it. That guy is priceless.

Now THATS a guy I would watch over Colin any day!

I’m planning to get the Ultimate Edition as well. This game just gets better all the time haha

geekgirlonezeroone.1793:

dbgfeller.8120:

geekgirlonezeroone.1793:

Saying you just want the expansion pack separately won’t cost you any less because according to ANet it’s the expansion you’re paying for, so you’d still be paying £34 for HoT with or without the core game.

Whoever believes the lies of ANET must be pretty naive (no offense). This comic shows the process of pricing HoT:

http://i.imgur.com/1jI3LGy.jpg

Say what you will dbgfeller, I’ve really only outlined what ANet claims. Had you read the first paragraph you would’ve seen that I’ve said that due to the way the game is currently valued that it comes across as a sham and that we’re really paying for both a core game AND the expansion (the core game according to Amazon is now currently valued at £20) with none of the benefits of having bought a 2nd core game.

Please read other peoples’ comments thoroughly before you name/flame them.

Sorry if this came out wrong to you, I wasn’t talking about your personal opinion. I used your statement what ANET said to show that everybody that believes this lie must be silly. That’s why I started with “Whoever…” and not “If you…”.

Rhonin Greymane.8752:

A simple point people don’t seem to understand is that the core game inclusion isn’t influencing the price in any way… it’s just something they threw in so new players that missed the previous sales aren’t stuck behind a huge paywall. They just got lucky to get the game at a lower price than others(free of charge in this case) the same way people got it for 75% less during the recent sales but nobody raised any pitchforks then even though they should have, according to the logic the complaining follows. The expansion itself costs 50$, you’d be paying that regardless of core game inclusion. Nobody is forcing you to pay extra for something you already have. Think of it as a 100% discount product you don’t have to put in your basket separately.
As for the pricing itself, $40 to $50 is just standard pricing for MMO expansions. And saying there’s not enough content to justify the price isn’t valid because we don’t know how much content there actually is. Which is where the magic of pre-purchasing kicks in… you don’t have to buy it now if you don’t feel you know enough. Pre-purchasing is an optional gesture of faith from the consumers. The game didn’t release yet. Anet isn’t demanding that we pay for the game now and then releasing it in a week or two from now. The game is several months from being ready. In fact, Anet isn’t demanding anything and people are hatemongering for no real reason. The game isn’t going live with just the things that were revealed up until now, and I don’t know why people are acting like it is. There’s still months of reveals ahead of us. Just stop with the pointless, and frankly baseless anger and hatred.

That is what they are telling you and your buying into it. They have people that crunch numbers, that is their job, you can sure as heck bet your butt that they took into account the value of the core game and added it to the price tag. It would be idiotic for them to not do this. It helps them justify the $50 price tag even if they tell you it doesn’t.

Like I have said before, if you buy a meal from McDonalds they may tell you the fries are basically free but in actuality they have taken into consideration the value of each part of that meal, right down to the paper wrap around the straw.

JohnnyS.1460:

Finally some official word from the devs…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZspKoupWAY

HAHAHAHA! Oh my goodness, had me in tears.

Random.4691:

Rhonin Greymane.8752:

A simple point people don’t seem to understand is that the core game inclusion isn’t influencing the price in any way… it’s just something they threw in so new players that missed the previous sales aren’t stuck behind a huge paywall. They just got lucky to get the game at a lower price than others(free of charge in this case) the same way people got it for 75% less during the recent sales but nobody raised any pitchforks then even though they should have, according to the logic the complaining follows. The expansion itself costs 50$, you’d be paying that regardless of core game inclusion. Nobody is forcing you to pay extra for something you already have. Think of it as a 100% discount product you don’t have to put in your basket separately.
As for the pricing itself, $40 to $50 is just standard pricing for MMO expansions. And saying there’s not enough content to justify the price isn’t valid because we don’t know how much content there actually is. Which is where the magic of pre-purchasing kicks in… you don’t have to buy it now if you don’t feel you know enough. Pre-purchasing is an optional gesture of faith from the consumers. The game didn’t release yet. Anet isn’t demanding that we pay for the game now and then releasing it in a week or two from now. The game is several months from being ready. In fact, Anet isn’t demanding anything and people are hatemongering for no real reason. The game isn’t going live with just the things that were revealed up until now, and I don’t know why people are acting like it is. There’s still months of reveals ahead of us. Just stop with the pointless, and frankly baseless anger and hatred.

That is what they are telling you and your buying into it. They have people that crunch numbers, that is their job, you can sure as heck bet your butt that they took into account the value of the core game and added it to the price tag. It would be idiotic for them to not do this. It helps them justify the $50 price tag even if they tell you it doesn’t.

Like I have said before, if you buy a meal from McDonalds they may tell you the fries are basically free but in actuality they have taken into consideration the value of each part of that meal, right down to the paper wrap around the straw.

Apparently ignorance IS bliss. Don’t go into the light!

…..now Im craving for some fries >.<

Edit: but going back to Anets continued silence, do they really need to say anything at this point when they have their own army of youtubers running to their rescue? Dance puppets DANCE, muaahahahaha

JohnnyS.1460:

Finally some official word from the devs…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZspKoupWAY

JohnnyS. Internet Legend. All around good guy.

I lost it. I lost it bad. It’s all so…SO REAL.

funkyazn.9062:

Random.4691:

Rhonin Greymane.8752:

A simple point people don’t seem to understand is that the core game inclusion isn’t influencing the price in any way… it’s just something they threw in so new players that missed the previous sales aren’t stuck behind a huge paywall. They just got lucky to get the game at a lower price than others(free of charge in this case) the same way people got it for 75% less during the recent sales but nobody raised any pitchforks then even though they should have, according to the logic the complaining follows. The expansion itself costs 50$, you’d be paying that regardless of core game inclusion. Nobody is forcing you to pay extra for something you already have. Think of it as a 100% discount product you don’t have to put in your basket separately.
As for the pricing itself, $40 to $50 is just standard pricing for MMO expansions. And saying there’s not enough content to justify the price isn’t valid because we don’t know how much content there actually is. Which is where the magic of pre-purchasing kicks in… you don’t have to buy it now if you don’t feel you know enough. Pre-purchasing is an optional gesture of faith from the consumers. The game didn’t release yet. Anet isn’t demanding that we pay for the game now and then releasing it in a week or two from now. The game is several months from being ready. In fact, Anet isn’t demanding anything and people are hatemongering for no real reason. The game isn’t going live with just the things that were revealed up until now, and I don’t know why people are acting like it is. There’s still months of reveals ahead of us. Just stop with the pointless, and frankly baseless anger and hatred.

That is what they are telling you and your buying into it. They have people that crunch numbers, that is their job, you can sure as heck bet your butt that they took into account the value of the core game and added it to the price tag. It would be idiotic for them to not do this. It helps them justify the $50 price tag even if they tell you it doesn’t.

Like I have said before, if you buy a meal from McDonalds they may tell you the fries are basically free but in actuality they have taken into consideration the value of each part of that meal, right down to the paper wrap around the straw.

Apparently ignorance IS bliss. Don’t go into the light!

…..now Im craving for some fries >.<

Edit: but going back to Anets continued silence, do they really need to say anything at this point when they have their own army of youtubers running to their rescue? Dance puppets DANCE, muaahahahaha

Those youtubers were already fanboys, and whatever nonsense they’re saying now is just going to rally other fanboys. They’re not going to have any sway over reasonable, intelligent, people that can see this for what it really is.

Anet is going to have to own up to the trainwreck they created, and start taking steps toward fixing it, as well as re-earning the trust of their players.

I just bought Guild Wars 2 last month from an online video game store (not through ANet) on the recommendation of a friend, and I’ve enjoyed it so far, though I haven’t even quite gotten my first character to level 80 yet. I’m kind of annoyed to find out after the fact that I could have gotten it for free with the expansion had I waited another month, but I guess I won’t stress over that. My issue is that the small amount of content in the expansion (such as we know about so far) is Not worth 50 bucks to me. I’m not keen on buying things sight-unseen when they cost that kind of money. If it was 20 bucks, 30 bucks, I might bite. But for 50 bucks? That’s not a pre-buy price. That’s a “wait until it’s been out for a while, read some reviews, watch some videos of people playing it, ask friends what they think of it, and then make an informed decision” price.

I well be purchasing the ultimate edition as well soon. SHUT UP AREA NET AND TAKE MY MONEY.

I am trying to stay calm and keep my objective fair for both side. This is how I see the whole situation:

1. Anet offers a cheap starter pack (Standard version) to the new players. They will get core game with it and 5 character slots to have diversity to their characters. So it is more like potential customers.

2. Anet is pushing existing players more to the expensive versions (Deluxe and Ultimate) that’s why they have add in those packages character slot in them. They are showing that you will get this title and these fancy stuff with package too. So they are offering Shinies for existing players. Of course new players might buy these expensive versions too, but more likely they go to cheap one.

3. I understand that “veteran players” would like to have cheap version too without all shinies, but there is lack of character slot. The economical situation on the world is more economical depress than economical boom, so there is a lot of unemployment, or people need to take what work they can and don’t get a lot of sallary from there. They can not change working place to more profitable either, because there are not that kind of work to offer. That’s the reason many players would like to have cheaper version of the expansion with character slot too. Not all people who are playing in this game are rich.

4. Anet is a company and it has obligations to it’s shareholders and financier. They want profit for their money and investments. That’s why they try to get more money from existing players and offers more expensive versions to them.

5. I understand those players who just bought GW2 core game, because what was in FAQ page before pre-purchase started. Yes they are angry, they were given mislead information about HoT package in FAQ page.

So Anet’s intention was good to merge core game and expansion in same package. They didn’t took notice the economical situation around of the world and they didn’t remember what they had put in FAQ page either. That started whole mess.

I am not going to buy HoT, but it is not because I would be angry or upset to Anet. It is only my personal economical situation. I don’t have afford that HoT, I rather eat and pay my rent. I got unemployed some time ago because of production and financial reasons from my working place. There were kicked out 300 other people too. And where I am living, there are 11 000 working place open in whole country, but there are nearly 500 000 unemployed people to fighting those working places. And usually younger one get that working place. We older people are just ignored.

That’s how I see whole situation.

I bought the Ultimate an hour after it went live. I’ll probably buy it for my second account as well.